Lara Morgan dissects the issues facing every company, as she discusses everything from working from home, or going to the office, as well as the UK economy and global business concerns. Prices are going up everywhere, whether its ingredients, logistics, people. Companies have little choice but to raise their prices, while consumers will become more selective in their purchases. Which items are necessities and which are simply luxury goods? Working from home has been an issue too. The older employees – especially those with families – are happy to spend more time working from their own homes ..read more

It’s fair to say that 2022 hasn’t been the year many of us were hoping for following the pandemic, where we could rest, recuperate and get back to normal life – whatever that is for each of us. Opening a paper, anyone could be forgiven for feeling a bit overwhelmed looking at the range of challenges this country has to tackle. That’s why it’s more important than ever to accentuate the positives and celebrate success among ourselves and those around us.  Since time immemorial many of the most inspiring, feel-good instances we’ve commemorated as a nation have come from sport. It is likely ..read more

With inflation, hiring challenges and the lingering effects of a global pandemic, is it any wonder that small business owners are struggling to both drive success and provide mental health support for themselves and their employees? In fact, a recent Xero study found that 82% of small business owners state their mental health deteriorated over the pandemic, with financial troubles a common cause. While there are obstacles to providing support – 21% of small business owners said that the main barrier to investing in mental health was cost – the benefits of embracing these initiatives are sign ..read more

To increase profitability, you need to think about the bigger picture. Phil Ball, a High-Performance Coach with 15 years of experience at ActionCoach, took to the stage for the first day of Elite Business on 11 March in a breakout session and spoke about how to increase your profits your business, revealing a simple step-by-step process to generating more sales and growth for your start-up. If you think growing your business is all about sales, it really is all about profits. Maximising your profits should always be one of your main goals. The sure-fire answer to generating more profits is to ..read more

Liz Truss, who previously served as foreign secretary, will officially take over as PM on Tuesday. Liz Truss will be the UK’s next Prime Minister after winning the Conservative Party’s leadership contest on Monday. She will begin the mammoth task of taking over Boris Johnson’s post as she is set to face a series of challenges including the cost-of-living crisis, the aftershocks of Brexit and a war in Europe. Liz won 57% of Conservative Party members’ votes in a landslide victory over her opponent Rishi Sunak, who lost with a small margin of 43% votes.  The UK is facing a cost-of-living ..read more

The oncoming energy crisis is top of mind for every SME as the country heads towards crisis. Where should business owners look for help today? We are entering a dangerous period for SMEs. I do not want to be an alarmist, but we are weeks away from a hike in the energy bills that for some businesses will mean the doors that stayed open through a global pandemic will be forced to close. I am writing this before the emergency budget statement scheduled for 21 September and don’t know what measures will be put in place to help SMEs now. I am hoping that the British Chamber of Commerce will be in ..read more

What are the different types of funding out there? Andrea Reynolds, CEO and Founder of Swoop took to the stage for the first day of Elite Business on 11 March in a breakout session, speaking about the differences between growing and scaling a business, and the various types of funding available to SMEs. A growing business is primarily focused on expanding by obtaining new clients, attracting new talent and acquiring new assets. This requires an increase of resources – and that requires lots of capital at the start. “The biggest problem with growth is that it sucks cash. No matter where you lo ..read more

I know the future is looking very scary for families and pensioners, with predictions of average energy price caps jumping from around £2,000 a year to double that or more in 2023. We had our next indication of the direction of travel that energy prices are taking - which is only up - when OFGEM announced the energy price cap will increase to £3,549 per year for dual fuel for an average household from 1 October. More increases to the cap (and why call it a cap when it keeps increasing??) are expected in January and in the spring of next year. But spare a thought for the small businesses who ..read more

Amy Golding has launched _nology, a course that teaches people how to code in just 12 weeks with no prior tech experience required “I was very independent as a kid and always trying to find random ways to have adventures and make money,” Amy Golding said. The 36-year-old was born and raised in South East London with her two older sisters. Being the youngest child in her family, Amy always had a voice and was determined to stand out from the crowd.  After graduating from Cambridge with an English degree, Amy jetted to China to work as a journalist at a magazine. Taking her skills and kno ..read more

If there’s anything the past two years have taught us, it’s that adaptability determines survival. As the world transitions to remote ways of working, businesses have been turning to scalable digital solutions to meet their unique challenges and thrive amidst the disruption. Reducing administrative pressure and increasing savings is a key concern for small businesses. In 2016, UK business owners said they spent nearly a quarter of working hours dealing with paperwork and 67% felt they are unable to focus on their primary purpose. An increasing number of solutions is rising to meet the needs ..read more