May 29, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 7:18 am
Vice President Antonio Tajani has launched European SME Week 2010 today in Brussels in an effort to support and promote entrepreneurship. It is expected that three million people will attend and participate in the events that are scheduled in over 37 different countries within Europe.
The event will showcase support for start-up businesses across the country on a local, national, European, and regional level.
Throughout the 1261 events micro-firms and SMEs can share tips and experiences that have helped them develop their business. A special side focus will be on the perspective of entrepreneurship in terms of a career option especially for those that are younger in age.
Also throughout the week some countries will have open company days which are aimed at offering full insight into the rewards that come with running a business and the challenges that may also be present.
This week in Brussels the winners of the European Entrepreneurship Video Award in 2010 will be honoured with the Vice President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani stating that SMEs create many jobs across Europe.
Tajani also stated that in the wake of the recovery the European needs a jump start more than ever and comprehensive support both in business and via public policy is vital.
Due to the occurrence of the economic crisis that began in 2008, the fast development of SMEs came to a rushing halt. Previous to the recovery from 2002 up to 2008, SMEs within the EU drove the growth of job opportunities within the country.
May 25, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 5:53 am
In the modern era in which businesses need to be connected and on at all times, solutions to business communication such as the Hosted Exchange allow companies to respond to customers at any time of the day.
Cloud computing firm Outsourcery, has changed the way that business communications occur as it is the first UK company that can offer smaller organizations a free email service. It also has helped SMEs by making large communication tools accessible and affordable for them, such as tasks and calendars. These perks are offered for free over a twelve month period, with the contract of another hosted service from the company.
In the past, these features and security options were only available to six figure IT budget corporations, but now Outsourcery has allowed smaller businesses to get involved, which is changing the market place dramatically.
Given the fact that the recession has driven more people to start building their own businesses, the demand for these types of tools is only increasing according to research from the BBA (British Banker’s Association).
This new cloud technology not only helps SMEs survive in the new tough market, but it also eliminates the need for Exchange Servers to be hosted in house without sacrificing productivity of communications.
Outside of free business email, Outsourcery, is also able to offer businesses four months of free access to the business communication service from Microsoft, Office Communicator. This product allows businesses of all sizes to use Outlook and communicate as an organization.
May 23, 2010
Filed under: Business Finance,Loans,Small business — admin @ 4:51 pm
There are a number of instances where small business loans can be called upon to revitalise a company, as well as address some of the impending issues it may be facing. For many people, the most costly part when starting out can be at initial set up, but they can also find that once they are up and running it becomes necessary to obtain a little more collateral in order to compete with their fellow entrepreneurs.
One area in particular which can benefit from such a financial boost to push you ahead of your peers is market presence. This means cash might be needed to spend in a number of areas – including advertising, marketing and improvements to any online facilities you may have in place. If your firm is already enjoying a period of growth, expenses can also come from elsewhere, such as new staff and bigger premises. In most cases these don’t come cheap – but they may be absolutely essential if you want your small business dreams to come true and your projects to continue to flourish.
For some start ups, technology plays a big part in day-to-day affairs and may even be a key element in the products and services you provide to your customers. This can mean it is vital to have access to the best hardware, software, data storage, telecommunications or manufacturing facilities. After all, if you fail to furnish your company with the most up-to-date systems, what’s to stop one of your competitors jumping ahead of you and doing just that?
So what options are available for Lloyds TSB business account customers looking to kick start, boost or expand their brand? Well, one option that could provide a short-term, flexible solution is an overdraft, which can be handy when unexpected overheads arise. For a more long-term investment, a loan could be more appropriate for you needs – and with variable and fixed-rate options available to applicants the terms can be tailored even further.
Once a small business has started to make its mark on the community, thoughts may also turn to making sure a dedicated headquarters is available to your growing staff – at which point it may be prudent to look at a commercial mortgage. That is, of course, if refurbishing and building upon your existing premises is not a realistic possibility.
Those who do decide to opt for a Lloyds TSB business loan will find there are a number of tempting features to the range of packages that could be just what they have been looking for. If the purpose of the cash is to fund a long-term strategy, the fact you could repay over a term of up to 30 years might be of interest, while being able to borrow anything from as little as £1,000 means smaller, quick-fix investments are also a possibility.
Optional loan protection is also available to help out in the event of sickness, accident or death and the bank offers you the opportunity to make your application on the telephone or in your local branch – look at our website for more details.
Any property given as security which may include your home, may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other debts secured on it. All loans are subject to status and we will need your permission to carry out a credit check on you and your business. You should not apply for an amount that you cannot comfortably afford to repay.
Lloyds TSB Bank plc Registered office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 2065.
Lloyds TSB Scotland plc Registered office: Henry Duncan House, 120 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4LH. Registered in Scotland no. 95237.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority under numbers 119278 and 191240 respectively.
Licensed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 under registration numbers 0004685 and 0198797 respectively.
We subscribe to The Lending Code; copies of the Code can be obtained from www.lendingstandardsboard.org.uk
May 21, 2010
Filed under: Uncategorized — Alan @ 8:56 pm
The impending Royal Mail sell-off has been brought back to light by the coalition government that signals that the state owned postal provider may soon be in need of private capital.
The announcement came at the same time that Royal Mail announced that mail volumes had decreased which caused a 26% increase in operating profits up to £404m.
The decision to privatize Royal Mail was led by the Conservative Government and was met with tensions from the Communications Workers Union and staff members. It also met with opposition from the Liberal Democrat MPs.
Conservatives previously felt that 49% of the Royal Mail stakes should be sold to private equity investors, and it seems that now it is likely the shares will be up for auction.
However, the future of Royal Mail in general is still in jeopardy given that there is not yet a solution to address the £10b pension fund deficit.
Royal Mail stated that it was able to improve profits in the March year to year end analysis even though mail had fallen in volume by about seven percent.
Over a third of all letters that are posted within Britain are now handled by private post companies.
In addition, many customers are now choosing to pay utilities and other bills via electronic formats such as emails and texting that utilize automatic withdrawal.
Chairman of Royal Mail, Donald Brydon, stated that given the poor economic conditions last year’s small increase in profit was a positive sign.
May 13, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 2:47 pm
The UK government formed after the general election may have to turn to the United States and explore their ‘special partnership’ for something that extends past international politics.
By using American style laws to encourage small business growth within the UK the economy may be driven forward according to research from leaders in UK small business. The research found that much of American job growth is fuelled by small businesses.
In America, firms that have less than 500 employees make up 64% of all of 22.5m new jobs created between the years of 1993 and 2008, according to statistics from the US Bureau of Labor.
The National Small Business Association states that any business with less than 500 employees is defined as a small business, but the average small business in America only has five to six employees.
President and CEO of the NSBA in Washington, Todd McCracken stated that the laws were created to help people get their businesses off the ground.
However, in Britain, the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) and the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) said that within the UK there is little support for small businesses.
In response, the former Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson, stated that there is a new scheme called ‘UK Finance for Growth’ that will look over all publicly funded capital schemes to help British small businesses get the finance that they need in order to help promote the UK economic recovery.
However, economists are worried that changes in national insurance, regulations, and taxation will hurt small businesses instead of helping them.
May 7, 2010
Filed under: Small business — Alan @ 2:31 am
Exports from SMEs in Britain have increased to their highest levels over the past two and a half years, according to new data from the CBI.
The CBI’s newest SME trends survey reported that 36% of SMEs had an increase in their orders during the first three months previous to April.
Also good news was the fact that while 26% of all the firms reported orders were still down, the 10% positive balance shows that there has been some movement of growth since January of 2008.
Manufactures stated that due to the fallen value of sterling export orders increased over what most observers expected.
About a third of the firms included in the survey also said that their export order volumes rose although ten percent reported they had decreased. This 18% balance is the best growth that has been seen since July of 1995 with domestic orders showing a marginal ride.
Chairman of the CBI’s SME Council, Russell Griggs, stated that smaller manufacturers within the UK are starting to see their hard works pay off along with the weak currency. He continued to say that domestic demand and production are starting to stabilize, exports are continuing to grow, and firms are starting to feel better about their overall prospects.
Griggs even added that since the demand is expected to increase over the next few months some manufacturers are going so far as to consider hiring extra staff to meet the increased demand over the next three months.
