Small Business Matters

Identify opportunities in challenges and other ways small businesses can learn from TOTs

Henley Business School recently identified a new breed of small British business. These companies have been named TOTs, which stands for firms that are Twelve months old, have an Optimistic outlook on business and are Technologically-minded. 

The research suggests TOTs could add £360 million to the UK economy and create over 70,000 new jobs over the next 12 months.

The T-Mobile 12 Study was commissioned by the mobile communications company to investigate traits displayed by successful businesses that survive their first 12 months. 

Professor Dominic Swords, from Henley Business School, shares his top tips on how small businesses can learn from the TOTs, remain optimistic during economically uncertain times and identify opportunities in challenges that may arise.

How to stay on track during your first year in business - tips from a real business owner

This post was written by Sharon Lowe, owner of The Pure Emporia, a natural skincare website. She shares what she has learned during her first year in business.

Starting or recently started a business? Are you feeling daunted? Questioning whether it was the best idea? Lost in the massive amount of work that it takes to run your own business?

You need to stay positive and be as proactive as possible in order to push your business forward, particularly in the current economic climate.

These are my tips for staying on track:

Winning business tips

If you’re a tweeter you may have noticed that just before Christmas Intuit was involved in the #12daysofSUB competition alongside StartUp Britain. Intuit donated a copy of QuickBooks SimpleStart to give away to the person who gave the best business tip each day over 12 days.

There were some brilliant tips so we thought it was worth sharing the winning ones here:

2012: A small business wishlist

By Anthony Teasdale

It's not often the self-employed ask for help – after all, by our very nature we’re extremely self-reliant. But with an economic downturn that shows little sign pointing in the opposite direction, there's a few things that could benefit a significant number of us in the year ahead.

As someone who runs a small business myself, here's what I'd like to see take hold in the coming months…

Small businesses working together 

Five years ago, banks were queuing up to give small business loans or extend their overdrafts, confident that they’d get their money back – and more – soon enough. Today the situation is very different, with loans increasingly difficult to obtain. In Coventry, a group of business meet once a month to talk with local banks about how they can get finance – and it’s the numbers of people joining forces that gets the banks to listen. Ask around your area and see if anyone else wants to do the same. 

Making the most of the Christmas holidays

'Tis the season to be jolly but if you run a small business, you might find the drop in trade and the disruption that occurs over Christmas a little unsettling. Many small business owners simply can't bear to turn off from their business completely for over a week.

However, the slowdown can provide a chance to recharge your batteries as well as assess some areas of your business that may have gone unnoticed recently. 

If you’re one of those business owners who can’t close the door on business altogether, here are a few ideas that will help you to make the most of the holiday whilst still getting some rest and relaxation.

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:

Going with the crowd: What is crowdfunding and how could it work for you?

This guest post is by Luke Lang of Crowdcube. He gives the lowdown on crowdfunding, which has been hailed as “the next big thing” by a number of business commentators.

The task of securing investment is notoriously difficult for any public, private or social enterprise.  Few people who submit business plans to angel investors, venture capitalists or similar sources of funding are successful in raising the money they seek.

For social enterprises, where profit maximisation is not the main objective, this is often a far greater challenge. Angel investors and venture capitalists remain elusive to all but a few. Banks tend to adopt a risk-averse approach to lending and the Government’s recent agreement will not necessarily make it any easier. Demand for finance continues to outstrip supply.

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.

Top tech tactics for productivity

This post is written by Francesca Geens. Francesca runs Digital Dragonfly a technology consultancy that specialises in one-person businesses. Francesca is especially interested in productivity and the use of technology to improve people’s day-to-day business lives. 

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier but from experience with my clients I think most people will agree that it doesn’t always feel this way! So what are the three easy steps you can take to increase your productivity - or better put, your tech sanity?

Instead of the usual long list of favourite productivity apps, I thought I would add some best practice into the mix as I find that this can often make the biggest difference.

Social media mistakes to avoid

Getting the hang of social media can be a daunting task and some small businesses avoid using it because they don't want to become the next notorious catastrophe.

The key to mastering social media is researching the different channels and planning how to best utilise them. However, this process can take time, so we've outlined a few of the most common mistakes to help you make sure you avoid them.

Not tailoring your content for specific media