Small Business Matters | A Blog for UK Small Businesses

Small Business Britain focuses on customer service

It is now three days since we launched our Small Business Britain Charter based on a YouGov survey of over 1,000 small businesses in Britain, and so far the feedback has been great! As well as calling on UK Government and Banks the Small Business Britain Charter also discusses how the Small Businesses Britain community can help itself to prosper in 2010 and beyond.

One area that particularly resonated with the YouGov respondents was the importance of good customer service:

• 84% of the sample recognised good customer service as a key contributor to the success of attracting   new and keeping existing customers
• 73% felt that that their greater emphasis on customer service was one of the major advantages they had over their larger rivals
• 84% backed the claim that a small business’s ability to provide a more personal touch with customer was a key advantage over their large competitors

More Top Tips from the We Mean Business conference

Yesterday’s We Mean Business conference was a great event where we met some really inspiring women – so we couldn’t resist passing on a few more of their useful tips and tricks for small businesses.

Deborah Szebeko, Founder of thinkpublic: the journey of a social entrepreneur

Eleven great tips from Deborah who started her business based on being inspired by wanting to help improve the patient experience in the NHS:

1 - Be adaptable… things will change, be open to this and stay flexible

2 - Learn the lingo… listen to others and record what they say, use this to develop your language

3 - Develop your story and brand… each opportunity has a story and their story is their brand, embrace this and include it in all your branding, right down to your logo

4 - Build relationships… don’t underestimate your clients as your advocates

5 - Give people respect and responsibility… by giving people opportunity they will be empowered to learn and innovate, and this will help the business to be great

What Small Business Britain wants from …

With our Small Business Britain Charter now live we thought you might be interested to read some of the key findings from the YouGov survey which questioned over 1,000 small business owners from around Britain.

The survey was split into three focus areas, what Government needs to do for small businesses, what banks need to do for small businesses, and what small businesses can do for themselves over the next year and beyond.

In order to avoid posting a novel, we will focus on the first two today and the third tomorrow!
… the UK Government

• 40% of respondents called for a reduction in employers’ national insurance contribution.
• 30% called for Corporation Tax deferment

The UK’s small business community are a leading contributor to the country’s employment and economy. In the run-up to the 2010 General Election, small businesses are looking to the successfully elected party to develop programmes and policies that will encourage growth in this economically difficult time.

Inspiration from the We Mean Business conference

It’s been a really exciting morning at the We Mean Business conference and we’ve already met most of the delegates before hearing some really great key note speeches, two of which we have detailed below

Steph Cutler, Founder of Making Lemonade: Viewing obstacles as opportunities, not setbacks.

One of the most inspirational speakers I’ve heard in a long time. Having come from a very successful career in fashion where she lived a ‘work hard, play hard’ lifestyle, Steph experienced unexpected sight loss in 2003.  This led her to set up a disability equality consultancy business and really live by a new mantra: If life deals you lemons, make lemonade!

One of the most memorable parts of Steph’s speech was when she told the room about her reply to Gordon Brown when asked ‘Why did you set up your business?’ Her direct answer was “because no bastard would give me a job!”

This one line epitomised what I felt when listening to Steph speak, she told how from very early  on she made a very conscious decision to not let her new disability get in her way.  This drive and passion is what has motivated her to help many businesses like hers and become a successful entrepreneur. 

Steph inspired, encouraged and embraced the room and showed how important, as a business, it is to allow yourself the time to learn about yourself as a person, about your business and, most importantly, to learn about the people around you.

We Mean Business TODAY!

Today, the We Mean Business Conference is taking place in Westminster, London, and is part of the run up toInternational Women's Day on March 8th. As part of our partnership with Business Link, Intuit is excited to be sponsoring the event and looking forward to mingling with some of the UK’s leading business women and entrepreneurs. The day is targeted at female business owners to provide them with the tools and network channels to succeed in business.

If you’re at the event, we’d love to meet you in person. Feel free to drop by our stand or send us a tweet @IntuitUK and we can chat about the splendid world of business ownership!

Highlights of the day include keynote speakers from some of the UK's most successful female entrepreneurs such as; Penny Power, founder of Ecademy and Steph Cutler, founder of Making Lemonade. There is also going to be a number of interactive workshops on areas such as social media, presentation skills and PR as well as business support exhibitions.

If you’re not attending but interested in networking opportunities with other women in business, you can join the LinkedIn group - London Women Mean Business or follow Business Link in London on Twitter.

For more information please visit the Business Link website.

 

The Small Business Britain Charter goes live!

Exciting news, we are today launching our Small Business Britain Charter

A couple of months ago we decided to commission YouGov to survey over 1,000 small business owners around Britain to find out about the challenges and opportunities they face in the run-up to the 2010 General Election.

Small businesses are absolutely crucial to our economy. So instead of just announcing the results as an FYI, we decided to develop them into the Small Business Britain Charter, which will give small business owners a platform from which they can call on government, elected bodies, banks and the wider business community to support their success over the coming decade.

As well as the Charter, the Small Business Britain website, which went live today, includes profiles of small business owners who have already had a sneaky peek of the Charter and details their feedback on the areas that they most relate to. Why not take a look and see if their experiences match yours? 

We Mean Business conference - Tuesday 23rd Feb

This year, as part of our partnership with Business Link, Intuit is pleased to be sponsoring a fantastic event, the We Mean Business Conference. In the run up to International Women's Day on March 8th, the event has been integral in supporting and motivating London's business women over the past two years. It is taking place next Tuesday 23rd February in Central Hall Westminster, London and is set to be a great day...

Aimed at female business owners it’s a great opportunity to network, learn something new and take away lots of top tips and tricks to succeed in business.

The day will feature keynote speakers as well as some of the UK's most successful female entrepreneurs including; Penny Power, founder of Ecademy and Steph Cutler, founder of Making Lemonade. They will be sharing their own business experiences and giving first hand advice. Other highlights of the day include a number of interactive workshops on areas such as social media, presentation skills and PR as well as business support exhibitions.

If you’re planning to attend the event, we’d love to meet you in person! Feel free to drop by our stand for a chat about the awesome world of business ownership.

For more information please visit the Business Link website.

The undiscovered population

Recent figures from the Princes Trust Youth Index 2010 did not deliver the most optimistic news for today’s young unemployed Brits who are being dubbed as ‘the lost generation’.

According to the research, one in five young people, that’s 927,000 of 16-24 year olds, are currently out of work in the UK.

The Princes Trust fears that the long terms effects could be significant and that the UK risks losing out on the next generation of doctors, scientists and entrepreneurs if today’s young people don’t manage to get started on fulfilling their career ambitions soon.

Rather than looking at this group as the ‘lost generation’, they should instead be seen as the ‘undiscovered generation’, who should be fostered and encouraged to become the UK’s next cohort of young entrepreneurs and eventual business tycoons. Movements such as the Princes Trust Undiscovered campaign designed to help this group and the Make Your Mark campaign aimed at increasing entrepreneurial behaviour among young people are great ways of encouraging this.

Small business remains the back bone of the British economy, however more support is clearly needed to harness the younger generation of entrepreneurs who are hungry for opportunity and success.

Love your local businesses this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is nearly here and this year we’re all in favour of sharing the love!

Why not go local when buying that all important gift and card for your loved one this Valentine’s Day? You win, your sweetheart wins and your local merchants win! 

One-of-a-kind gifts are a fantastic way to show your special one how much you care! Handmade cards, artisanal chocolates, bespoke trinkets and baubles are all for the finding in local shops and businesses.

Here are a couple of our favourite local small businesses we came across for gifts ideas this Valentine’s:

-    Lola’s handcrafted cup cakes – check out the Valentine’s love box

-    A dozen red roses from McQueens – what better way to be romantic

-    Chocolates from Coco – liqueur cherries and champagne truffles look rather tempting.

Why not see what’s local to you and share your favourites with us? We’d love some tips for next year!

The Social Enterprise Mark is launched

Last week the new Social Enterprise Mark was unveiled at Voice10, the annual conference for social enterprise. The Mark identifies businesses which meet set criteria for social enterprise, and  offers consumers an instantly recognisable logo that identifies businesses that are trading in a way that benefits both society and the environment.
   

 
  

The Mark has already proven itself as more than just a logo, it’s also giving access to a network of social enterprises across the UK with Twitter already racking up nearly 1000 followers to date: http://twitter.com/SE_Mark

We can’t help but love The Mark because it is going to give the 62,000 social enterprises in the UK the recognition they deserve. Across the country, lots of people embark on new business in order to contribute to their community, and give something back to society.

What’s more, The Mark proves that being a social enterprise has real value. As David Cameron stated, "Your creativity, dynamism, compassion and ingenuity is absolutely central to the good economic future we must build in our country." It’s excellent to see these unique businesses getting the credibility they deserve and as a result it will help social enterprise move into the main stream and give the industry strength to grow, which can only be a good thing!

Do you qualify for the Mark?

• Do you have evidence of your company’s social and environmental aims?

• Does the company have its own constitution and governing body?

• Are at least 50% of the company profits spent on socially beneficial purposes?

• Does the company earn at least 50% of its income from trading?

• Can you provide externally verified evidence that you are achieving your social or environmental aims?

You can find our more by visiting: www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk