Responding to news that CPI rose by 3.2% in the year to March 2024, down from 3.4% in February, Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses  said: “March’s fall in the annual consumer price inflation rate takes some more of the heat out of rising prices for small businesses. It’s difficult to overstate the toll that the cost of doing business crisis exacted on small firms, so further signs that its worst effects are firmly behind us are very welcome. “Small business owners know all too well that they can never be complacent, especially in an economic situation charact ..read more

By Phil Doyle, Founding Director, 5Plus Architects For as long as they’ve existed, offices have been culture carriers. That means your office sets the tone of your business; it’s where people get the essence of what you’re about, what matters to you, and how you treat your people. Today, the office is also a demonstration of how much attention your business pays to the protection of the planet. While there is an onus on property developers to create commercial spaces that tick boxes when it comes to sustainability, there is also a huge benefit for business owners to seek them out. By choosing ..read more

Steven Bartlett, Chairman of Flight Studio, with, left, Christiana Brento and Georgie Holt Photographer: Tom Harrison Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur and host of Apple’s #1 podcast of 2023 and the 2nd largest podcast on YouTube, ‘The Diary Of A CEO (DOAC)’, has announced the launch of Flight Studio a global podcast media and technology company. The new company is working across every component of the podcast development, creation, growth and monetisation process – and is aiming to redefine the industry. Flight Studio’s podcast and media growth platform is the culmination of the last th ..read more

Caroline Evans, below, Managing Director at London Speech Workshop, looks at how organisations can build anxiety-free workplaces According to The Workplace Health Report, 60% of employees experience anxiety, with a quarter experiencing clinically relevant symptoms. Research published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has also found that stress, anxiety and depression account for more than half of all work-related sickness absences.  Workplace anxiety is also contributing to reduced business performance, with one in five employees reporting that poor mental wellbeing affects th ..read more

By Georgina Bagnall, below, patent attorney, Adamson Jones Registering a trade mark in your chosen jurisdiction(s) is only half of the journey. You also need short and long-term strategies for strong brand identity and brand longevity. Here, I  explain why investing in a watching service should be a key part of your strategy. Some brands need no introduction. We recognise them by a simple image, font, or colour, before their names are even spoken. Since 1990, more than 15 million trade mark applications have been submitted worldwide, with the highest brand value estimated at more tha ..read more

A new report out today reveals that small business labour productivity remains below pre-pandemic levels in the UK, putting pressure on already struggling small businesses. The report by Xero – Small business productivity: Trends, implications and strategies –  which is based on anonymised and aggregated data from more than 240,000 Xero small business customers, looks at small business labour productivity in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. It identified that productivity is below pre-pandemic levels for all three countries, but the UK is lagging further behind Australia and New Z ..read more

Sole traders who need to comply with the new requirement to report their profits at the end of the tax year can access a GOV.UK interactive tool to help them navigate the changes. The tool will help sole traders complete their 2023-24 Self Assessment tax return correctly based on the details they provide about their business, profits, losses and other information. Around 280,000 sole traders along with around 250,000 partners in partnerships and LLPs will be affected by the changes being introduced by Basis Period Reform, also known as tax year basis reporting. There is guidance available for ..read more

With the Flexible Working Bill now in effect, UK businesses will need to be prepared for a potential deluge of incoming flexible working requests. As such, SME gathered the thoughts of some experts within the future of work space to discuss what the flexible working bill means for businesses and how they can navigate it effectively Chris Mills, Global Head of Customer Success, Slack The way we work is continually evolving, and the Flexible Working Bill reflects how employee expectations have also changed in recent years. Our research found that more than half (55%) of UK small business employe ..read more

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