Blog

As many business owners are experiencing, the COVID-19 pandemic has created serious financial difficulties for entrepreneurs. Small businesses especially are faced with cutting their budgets so they can continue to operate—even at a smaller scale—and not have to close for good. They also have to figure out how they can market themselves so once the pandemic is over, their customers and clients come back to them. During a financial crisis,…  Read more

Your “war chest” is the financial reserve your business has built up so you can take advantage of an opportunity or cover unexpected costs or emergencies. Building a cash reserve when finances are tight, however, can be difficult. You need money to continue running your business but, if at all possible, you want to keep your reserve account healthy. Here are some ways to build—or preserve—a cash war chest during…  Read more

Most small business owners face a time in their career when they have to communicate in ways or about topics they aren’t comfortable with. COVID-19 has put small business owners in the position of having many conversations that are uncomfortable and stressful. Whether you’re communicating with employees about business issues during the pandemic, hoping to negotiate a rent reduction or changes to credit terms, or asking customers for help in…  Read more

Hello again for another week. We hope you are healthy and well. This week you probably heard news of the government’s plan to implement a 5 Step COVID-19 Alert System. Government plan for the coming months Step 1 encourages those who CAN work from home to do so. Only those who CANNOT work from home should return to their workplace. Step 2 will not start until at least early June,…  Read more

By the time you read this, we may know more of the government’s plan to ease lockdown restrictions. Obviously, getting people back to work will help restart the economy which is good news for all of us. So in this week’s digest, as well as reminding you about government support for businesses, we’ve included a number of resources to help with navigating your business out of the dire situation we’ve…  Read more

We hope you and your family are safe and well. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting nearly every aspect of our lives and will be remembered as a pivotal time in history. Like any other event that impacts the world, we don’t know what the future will be like, but we do know that the other side of this will require resilience and creativity from all of us. In terms of…  Read more

Whatever your political views, seeing the Prime Minister in intensive care for three days showed how serious COVID-19 can be. I hope you and your family are safe and well. In terms of government news and updates for business: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme online portal from the UK government is expected to be up and running by 20 April, with the first payments in place by 30 April. You’ll…  Read more

Firstly, we sincerely hope you and your family are doing well. We know it is a stressful and confusing time with a lot of uncertainty. Please rest assured we are here to help. If you have any questions please just ask. As the COVID-19 pandemic deepens its hold across the country, governments and industry leaders are stepping up to help those impacted. To help you make sense of the barrage…  Read more

As a small business owner, you’re likely always looking for ways to achieve more. Maybe you made a New Year’s resolution about it. You might have resolved to make more money, find more clients, or grow your business. It’s fantastic to have an idea of what you want to do, but how will you know whether or not you’re successful? That’s where SMART goals come in. SMART goals help you…  Read more

The holiday season is once again here, and with it comes time to relax, focus on family and friends and take stock in what is really important in life. Unless you’re a small business owner. Every small business owner knows that being away from the office can be just as stressful as being in it. Phone calls from employees dealing with a minor crisis will pull your focus from your…  Read more

Everyone likes making money, especially small business owners. Invoicing, however, is typically one of the tasks that small business owners like the least. Chores like creating and sending invoices get set aside for other duties that are seen as more enjoyable or even more urgent. You tell yourself you’ll get around to it tomorrow, but tomorrow becomes next week, next week becomes next month, and suddenly you realise your client…  Read more

A Canadian bank surveyed over 500 small business owners about what they love and hate most about owning their own business.   Unsurprisingly, flexibility and feeling in control ranked first in the “love” category. Meanwhile, almost 60% said bookkeeping was hands-down their most hated task. Most business owners understand that effective financial management is key to their success. But lack of knowledge, frustration, and even avoidance can add up to accounting…  Read more

For small business owners, the risk of data breaches and fraud is high, so taking all the necessary steps to protect your sensitive data is a must. Unfortunately for many entrepreneurs the decision to increase their company’s data protection comes too late – after they’ve been victimized by a malicious hacker. The good news is, simple and inexpensive steps can be taken to avoid being hacked. According to a recent…  Read more

Too many businesses fall over because the owner has not established efficient business systems. This typically happens because the business owner is so caught up in the day-to-day running of the business that the fundamentals of good business management get forgotten. Often too it must be said that the owner simply doesn’t like bookkeeping or other administrative tasks, so these get put on the back burner. The symptoms are familiar,…  Read more

The key performance indicators (KPIs) for one company will invariably be different from the KPIs of another firm.  What both hypothetical companies share, however, is the challenge of selecting which KPIs are best suited for measuring the goals and progress of their particular business model. Indeed, entrepreneurs have a vast array of reports and data sets from which to choose and select from, but that data needs to target those…  Read more

When things are hectic, most small business owners wish they could find a way to get more than 24 hours into a day. Often, your ‘to-do’ list can get so long that you feel you never get to put as much attention into every task as you would like. It can also mean more time in the office or dealing with work issues after-hours – cutting into your free time…  Read more

Without knowing your break-even point, you can’t make informed business decisions. To cover the costs of your business you need to sell enough goods or services to reach your break-even point. Knowing where that point is, and how long it will take you to reach it, can be fundamental to your success. This especially true if you’re thinking about starting or buying a business. Calculate fixed and variable costs The…  Read more

Businesses are capturing more information than ever before. The most successful firms are analysing that information and are focused on building their strategy around customer and market data. Data management strategy To create a data-driven business, you need to have a data management strategy. This needs to start with your culture and people. You need to encourage the right behaviours among your staff. It might help to create a training…  Read more

In theory, when you travel with work, you should have time to focus on getting a few things done. In reality, it can be almost impossible to work in a busy airport or on a busy flight. Here are a few tips to help you to be more productive when you are on the road. Plan ahead There is nothing worse than starting a piece of work and realising that…  Read more

High-performance organisations stimulate more effective employee involvement and commitment in order to achieve increased profits, improved productivity and higher levels of customer loyalty. We are living in uncertain times. The highest performing businesses will, by their very nature, ride out the storm more effectively than their competitors. So how do you create a high-performance organisation? A truly high-performance business will deliver higher levels of productivity, customer satisfaction, sales and will…  Read more