What is This “Culture” Thing, Anyway? (And What Does it Mean for Small Businesses?) What is this 'culture' thing anyway? And what does it mean for small businesses? Chances are, if you follow business news at all (and we assume you do if you’re reading this platform!) you will have heard a lot about Brewdog in the last couple of weeks.  Without rehashing the whole situation, here’s an executive summary: dozens of former employees signed an open letter accusing the craft beer firm and its co-founder James Watt of fostering a “culture of fear.” Ex-staff members claim they were bullied ..read more

Lockdown is Extended. What Now? Lockdown Extended. What Now for Small Businesses, the Self Employed and Hospitality? Yesterday, 14th June, the Prime Minister confirmed that the current lockdown restrictions (with some small exceptions) will be extended through until at least the 19th July. This is unlikely to be welcome news to many people. Most of us were looking forward to returning to full normality next week, and now have to wait a little longer. Jess Amy Dixon Freelance journalist, fiction writer, and editor based in the East Midlands. She’s also working on her PhD in Creative Wr ..read more

Calls For The Right To Disconnect – A Message To The Self Employed? Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn Calls For The Right To Disconnect - A message to the self employed? Employees are finally getting what many self employed business owners have almost taken for granted – working from home. But there is a growing realisation for the employees and employers that will not only be familiar to the self employed small business owners, but what potentially happens next could effect them for years to come. The Trade Union Prospect is calling for ..read more

Small Business to Create Over 1.2m UK Jobs Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn From Bond Street to High Street To Your Street, How CoVid Changed Fashion for Everyone With optimism coming from the vaccine rollout programme, UK SMEs expect to be hiring 1.2m staff over the next year. Renewed optimism is the driving force behind these hiring plans, with an added desire for SMEs to grow their workforce diversity and prioritise employee wellbeing. In the UK, there will be a bigger focus on ways of working and employee wellness, with 37 per cent l ..read more

When Is It Time to Quit? When is it the right time to quit? “Don’t quit” is popular advice for anyone who is trying to start or grow a business (or, frankly, achieve any other goal.) And I think it’s good advice… up to a point. Giving up too quickly or not persevering through difficulties is pretty much a guarantee of failure. Setbacks are a part of life, and certainly a part of business.  But I also believe there is value in knowing when you should quit. Jess Amy Dixon Freelance journalist, fiction writer, and editor based in the East Midlands. She’s also working on her PhD in ..read more

From Bond Street to High Street to Your Street, How CoVid Changed Fashion for Everyone Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn From Bond Street to High Street To Your Street, How CoVid Changed Fashion for Everyone Only now, are we beginning to understand the lasting impact that the pandemic has had on the fashion industry, on both a national and global scale. Unsurprisingly, the ‘Fast Fashion’ market decreased by 12.32% in 2020.* Suddenly accessibility, speed, and current fashion trends were no longer mitigating factors in our fashion purchases ..read more

How to Support Your Team as We Come Out of CoVid How to Support Your Team as We Emerge from the Pandemic Much as we’d all like to be done with Covid-19 forever, the reality is that the journey out of the pandemic is much slower and more gradual. As restrictions ease and more and more people are vaccinated, you might be thinking about how to transition your business from a remote setup back to a completely or partially face-to-face model. Perhaps you’ve even already done so, depending on the industry you’re in. Jess Amy Dixon Freelance journalist, fiction writer, and editor based in t ..read more

E-commerce: Simple Steps to Embrace It In Small Business Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn ecommerce simple steps to embrace it for small businesses and the self employed Some say everything needs to be online. And they have led you to believe that everything is now actually online and you won’t succeed unless it is. Yet, as we look across the business landscape at how customers and clients are coming back to businesses, there is still a very healthy demand for face to face contact and relationship building. So the sensible and and logical ..read more

Get To The Damn Point! How to Say Less and Be Heard More Lewis D Chaney Talks about saying LESS but being heard MORE Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn You’ve said it about them; they’ve said it about you. Well, maybe we just said it to ourselves, murmuring slightly with an un-noticed eye roll, or have at least thought, “Just get to the damn point already!” I am not just talking about presentations or speeches given to larger audiences. I am talking about daily communications within groups, particularly in meetings. To attempt to fix it, it’s ..read more

eKitchenette - Serving the food industry the CoVid era and beyond eKitchenette: Serving the Food Industry in the COVID Era and Beyond In challenging times, innovative solutions are called for. And for three local entrepreneurs from Leicester, the pandemic inspired them to come up with a creative way to support local restaurants and food businesses.  Thomas Edde, Ali Datoo, and George Martin founded eKitchenette, an app that combines influencer marketing and online ordering to build a trusted community of food business owners, influencers, and consumers. I met Thomas via Zoom this wee ..read more