Small Business Matters

Take the Intuit financial fitness challenge

Intuit is searching for 300 small businesses in need of a fitness boost as it launches the latest in a series of government-supported training workshops.

The workshops will take place in Liverpool as part of Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) – the largest gathering of start-up champions in the world. More than 400 businesses have already benefited from Intuit’s financial fitness workshops since they were launched in November 2011.

Intuit's financial fitness initiative was devised in response to figures from the Office for National Statistics which revealed that one in three businesses do not make it past their third birthday. 

Intuit’s own research into early-stage businesses, the Three-year Glitch report, highlighted that poor financial management is one of the key contributors to business failure and that getting to grips with their finances early is vital to the success of startups.

Get your business financially fit

Intuit is offering 300 places to small and early-stage businesses to take part in the next series of workshops, hosted in Liverpool on 12 March as part of GEC2012. 

Intuit, makers of QuickBooks desktop and online accounting software and one of the main sponsors of this year’s GEC, will host three workshop sessions throughout the first day of the GEC. The free-to-attend workshops offer unique opportunities for regional businesses in and around Liverpool to shape up, with practical advice and training on the key aspects of financial fitness, including:

• Invoicing and being paid
• Tracking income and expenses
• Managing cashflow
• Handling VAT and other taxes

Intuit searching for 100 budding entrepreneurs: Have you got a brilliant business idea?

Intuit has this week launched its new 100Up campaign and we’re looking for 100 budding entrepreneurs  to help them get brilliant business ideas off the ground.

You need to act fast - you only have until 11.59pm on 26 February to enter. Read on to find out how.

What is 100Up?

Intuit 100Up is a co-ventured campaign between Intuit and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), supported by the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE), to create a new and unique enterprise community of 100, high-potential startups and aspiring entrepreneurs.

At Intuit we believe small businesses form a crucial part of the UK economy, with the power to drive growth and generate prosperity. We’re always doing our best to help and understand small companies and this is the next step in our mission to do just that.

What is it about?

100Up will create a unique community of entrepreneurs at the beginning of their careers. It is an initiative that will seek to celebrate, inspire and accelerate their full potential. It will build on BIS’s ‘Business in You’ campaign, a partnership between private enterprise and Government to highlight support for start-ups and growing businesses and encourage entrepreneurial spirit in 2012.

The community will come to life at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress and will continue to exist as an inspirational group that will learn, share and champion the ideals of enterprise:

It will benefit aspiring entrepreneurs through:

• Profile: you and your business will be profiled and promoted
• Voice: your views will be sought on issues relating to starting a business
• Champion: you will be case study champions of entrepreneurship

The 100Up will represent entrepreneurs from a wide range of backgrounds, with real, inspiring stories of how they aim to turn their passion into action.

How do I get involved?

We are looking for 100 entrepreneurs from a wide range of backgrounds, with real, inspiring stories of how they aim to turn their passion into action. If you would like to be considered for the competition to win one of the 100 prize places:

• Create an ‘elevator pitch’, telling us about your business idea in no more than 150 words.
• Send it with your name, business name, address, email and mobile number to intuit100Up@promoentries.com
• Applicants are also encouraged to submit a link to a one-minute YouTube video telling us about your business. However, this will not form part of the judging criteria.

All entries must be received by 11.59pm on 26 February so you had better move fast!

How will I be assessed?

IDEA: 30 points

Q&As with the Prime Minister - Part three: Finance for startups, health and safety and more

As you may know, Prime Minister David Cameron recently visited the Intuit UK offices for a PM Direct event.  It was a great day and very informative.

For those of you that couldn’t attend, we’re publishing all the Q&As in a short video series.  Here’s the third and final part. 

Advice for entrepreneurs

Health and safety

Finance for tech startups

Local Government confidence in new ideas

National Insurance holiday for small businesses

A questions from our very own Diana Flier, compliance analyst for Intuit UK

What do you think of David Cameron's comments? Is there anything you would have liked to ask him?

Go Global in 2012

Research in the first month of the New Year points to record levels of new businesses being created and high optimism amongst small business owners. Will this confidence convert into international trade and expansion? Enterprise Nation founder, Emma Jones, hopes so! 

Here, she offers four steps to going global in 2012 and announces a series of events with DHL and Regus that will help you along the way. 

This will be a good year to grow sales and Go Global. A sizeable opportunity is opening up with growth in markets beyond the Eurozone where more people are going online and wanting to buy British-made products and services.

Here’s how to make the most of it: 

1. Know your product/service – this sounds like a basic starting point but what I mean by this is focus on your niche. Clearly define the look/feel and cost of your product so you know exactly how to position it in new markets and where to promote it. 

2. Look beyond the Eurozone – in late 2011, the HSBC Trade Forecast predicted that world trade will grow by 73% in the next 15 years, with forecasts showing Egypt, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Brazil to be the international powerhouses that will drive growth.

Small business news round-up (28/1/12)

We search out key small business news stories and articles each week so you don’t have to, leaving you more time to spend on running your business.

Want to keep up with regular small business news, features and tips? Why not subscribe to our blog by RSS or email?

HMRC Self Assessment returns – two more days to file and pay

HMRC has agreed that customers who can’t get through to HMRC's call centres on 31 January because of strike action will have a couple more days to submit their returns. Late penalties will not be imposed for people who file their Self Assessment returns on 1 and 2 February, the HMRC has said.

The SA deadline remains midnight on 31 January. However, HMRC will treat all returns that come in by midnight on 2 February as though they were submitted by 31 January. No one will have to pay interest on payments due on 31 January that are paid on 1 or 2 February.

Find out more

Set up your business in a Government department, says Cameron

Entrepreneurs will be allowed to set up their companies in empty Government offices, David Cameron has said this week.

StartUp Britain Enterprise Calendar launch

A few key members of the Intuit team had a great day yesterday, attending the StartUp Britain Enterprise Calendar launch.

The StartUp Britain Enterprise Calendar is a new, interactive calendar of enterprise events, showcasing Britain’s vibrant and dynamic enterprise community. The calendar should be a great tool for entrepreneurs, signposting them to key events and growth opportunities. You can also submit your own events to the enterprise calendar.

Following the launch of the new calendar, Mark Prisk, minister for business and enterprise, said: “We want 2012 to be the year of enterprise, where entrepreneurs can unlock their business potential. Enterprise events don’t just take place on one day, or during one week, but they appear throughout the year and across the country. We need to make sure people know that there is support and advice available, that it is easy to get, and it is often on their doorstep.”

He added: “The Enterprise Calendar is a great addition to our support for business in 2012 and beyond.”

(pssstt…don’t forget you can download our calendar too, which will also help you keep up to date with events as well as key financial dates.)

Expert advice

“I shifted to QuickBooks and I understood how the business ran. In some ways that was one of the most delightful periods of my life with King of Shaves because I understood everything financially.” Will King, founder of King of Shaves

There was also a panel discussion on the day, with some expert advice from Intuit UK's very own managing director, Pernille Bruun-Jensen, as well as Will King, founder of King of Shaves, Doug Richards, original Dragon, investor and serial entrepreneur and Bob Forsyth, head of UK SMEs at Ernst & Young.

Watch a snippet here:

You can see more short interviews with Pernille over at Business Zone.

Pernille discusses shows how the Enterprise Calendar can help kickstart your business 

Is there a business in you? Intuit’s Pernille explains how everyone can be involved in startups 

New small business resources

StartUp Britain, which Intuit is a sponsor of, has also launched a range of new resources for small businesses. These were highlighted at the event and include:

Download your free month-by-month guide to financial fitness

At Intuit, we know that when you’re running your own business there are lots of things to keep up with, and when they’re all scattered in various places it can be tricky. That’s why we have produced a calendar to pull everything together – you can see all the important information you need at a glance.

Download our calendar month by month as we publish a new tip each time or download it all at once so you can plan everything out right now.

Our calendar includes:

Key financial compliance dates

Self Assessment, payroll, Companies House requirements - every month there are compliance deadlines to keep on top of. We’ve picked out the key dates so you don’t have any unforeseen disasters, or fines! Put them in your computer calendar, set reminders on your phone, stick post-it notes on the fridge – whatever you need to do to make sure you meet those deadlines.

The most useful small business events

Industry events are a great way to compare notes with other small businesses and to meet new suppliers and even prospective customers. However, if you don’t keep your ear to the ground they can pass you by.

Business trend predictions for 2012

2011 has been quite a year, both in business and beyond – from the summer riots, to banking fraud, and companies and countries alike going to the wall.

In cheery news, it has been mooted that ‘2012 will be the end of the world’. However, David Bowler and Julia Payne,  co-founders of business consultancy Incisive Edge,  believe it will only be the end of the world for those entrenched businesses which choose to hide.

They comment: “Those businesses which simply work to protect the balance sheet, and fail to invest in growth in a brave new world, will not succeed.”

Here, Payne and Bowler offer their predictions for business trends in 2012:

Making the most of craft events

At this time of year many businesses selling handmade goods or gift-related items are busy attending sales events. Emma Maudsley, the creative mind and hands behind SockMonkeyEmporium, gives her advice on preparing for and making the most of such events.

One of the most exciting parts of being a crafter is being able to get out and about at craft fairs. These could be as simple as a school fete or as complex as a major event at a historic house or football stadium. You can find information about events in your area through various internet sites - stick it in Google and see what comes up.
 
There is normally a fee involved in taking part; make sure you know what is being provided for you - the table is usually provided but not all events include chairs, especially if you need more than one. If you need access to electricity you should certainly ask the event organisers if you can be placed in a suitable space.

Also, be sure that the fee involved is a figure you feel you can afford. I have been offered tables at events ranging in price from £10 to £100 and I price it by monkeys - £10 is one monkey. If I don't feel I would sell more than 10 monkeys at an event then I certainly wouldn't be paying a £100 fee.

Preparation is everything

Prior to the event make sure you are organised. If you have Facebook and Twitter tell people where you are going to be.

How to avoid a Christmas cashflow crisis

Sorry to mention the C-word so early but it is December now so we figured it was OK…

While many of us wonder if the run up to Christmas could get any longer, proper preparation can make the period truly relaxing.

This is particularly true for your business's cashflow. Many companies, especially those experiencing their first Christmas period, can be caught completely unaware by the impact that Christmas can have on their cashflow. However, there's still time to ensure this doesn't happen, as long as you start planning now and follow a few simple rules.

Who is taking responsibility?