5 top small business tips

#1 – Innovate but not as you know it When most businesses hear the word innovation they tend to think about technology, or how they create their next product or process. But innovation isn’t all about ideation, technology and widgets. Actually, it means ways to create value from ideas. In many cases this starts with […]

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Barclays Bank mentoring helps hackney based business

We have spoken to Inan Gokcek.Inan received support from Barclays Bank mentor, Andy Murphy. Inan runs Anares (http://www.anares.co.uk) and has a small studio based in Hackney, London, his work ranges from furniture design to interior architecture and even small architecture projects such as house extensions, conversions and more. Inan’s main focus is on interior architecture […]

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Strategies for Selling Efficiently to Distributors

So, you’ve created a great product and you’re ready to scale. Whether you’re looking to land distribution with retailers or ambassadors, there’s one common need: to make sure who you’re selling to understands the incredible business opportunity that rests in working with you. To achieve this, they must believe they can easily sell your product […]

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6 tips for creating a cash flow forecast, to help grow your business

1. Cash flow is more important to monitor than profits. Too many business leaders rely on the monthly profit and loss (P&L) statement to gauge cash flow. Your P&L is important, but it’s not an accurate picture of the cash flowing into and out of your business. The cash flow statement is the go-to document […]

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15 Common Pitfalls To Avoid As A New Business Owner Or Entrepreneur

It’s often said that you don’t know what you don’t know. As an aspiring entrepreneur, there will be many aspects of your journey that may catch you off guard or downright confuse you. While this is normal, some areas of ignorance can impact your chances of success. 1. Losing Sight Of The Big Picture In […]

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Over 200 businesses started each week through DWP scheme

The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme has helped launch 203 businesses by unemployed benefit claimants on average each week in the UK, since 2017. Older claimants and people in the North West in particular have shown entrepreneurial skills. Helping unemployed people become their own boss as a route from claiming benefits, the NEA scheme offers claimants a […]

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The Pawfect Mentoring Relationship

We are diving into the mentoring relationship between Anastasia Georgiou of Lloyds Bank and mentee Louise Nelson. Mentee Louise runs Yorkshire Paws a professional dog sitting, walking and transportation service based in Leeds, UK. Anastasia has over 24 years experience in the wealth management & financial services domain working at renowned banks as well as […]

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The 2019 National Enterprise Network Annual Conference

This flagship event is sponsored again this year by Barclays and takes place on Friday 22nd November 2019 at the prestigious Barclays offices in Canary Wharf, London. This one day event dedicated to Unleashing Innovation in Enterprise offers fantastic networking opportunities and an impressive programme to inspire and encourage new thinking as to how an […]

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Some of our favourite start-ups improving mental health

The mind can be a difficult place. Sadly, mental illness is invisible and affects everyone. At times, it may seem like an epidemic that can’t be beaten as workplace-related mental illness has reached staggering numbers. However, UK startups are changing our approach to mental wellbeing. So we wanted to share 5 mental health UK startups and celebrate […]

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Marston’s Telecoms Communicate Their Support for Enterprise In The UK

SFEDI Group and The Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs are thrilled to have Marston’s Telecoms on board as our headline sponsor for this year’s Celebrating Enterprise Awards at The House of Lords in London. The event will see eight categories of awards handed out to the countries rising and existing starts of enterprise. Marston’s Telecoms […]

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Celebrating Enterprise: Haydar Ali-Ismail

The Celebrating Enterprise Awards 2019 is fast approaching so we’re taking a look back over last years’ winners in anticipation of the awards which will take place at the House of Lords on the 3rd October. One of the most notable receivers of an award last year was the Enterprising Learner of the Year, Haydar Ali-Ismail. Ali was […]

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What Does Suspended Parliament Mean for SMEs?

UK businesses are watching events in parliament with growing frustration and alarm, judging by this statement from Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce: “Businesses feel like Westminster is playing an endless game of political chess, while their futures and the health of the UK economy hang in the balance. “Every move in this game […]

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Being an outstanding mentor to your apprentice

Every apprentice needs a workplace mentor – someone there every day who understands and supports their learning and development needs, and the concerns that go along with settling into a new role.So here’s a few tips on how to look after your apprentice successfully. Don’t assume it’ll be easy because you’re already a manager It’s […]

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The Start Up Mindset

Startups are born to scale. They’re created to search for and validate a scalable business model in a way that can have a major impact on the market or how a problem has traditionally been solved. The innovation, disruption and scalability aspects of a startup are why they are different from small businesses and more […]

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Westminster’s Business & Brexit Meeting

Meeting in Westminster on 31 July 2019, senior representatives from businesses including Tate and Lyle Sugars, JML Group, Tangle Teezer, Laing O’Rourke, Scottish Power and 50 Cycles told the Business Secretary how they were ready and determined to seize the opportunities of a post-Brexit Britain. They explained that while there were some concerns about readiness […]

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ENTERPRISINGLY ME

‘Enterprisingly Me’ is a monthly feature where you can follow my entrepreneurial adventures. Names have been changed to protect the innocent but everything you read really happened. I hope my story inspires you to take your first steps, or if you already have, then it lets you know you’re not on your own. Starting and […]

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Brexit Bulletin

Brexit Business Readiness Weekly Bulletin  — 6 August 2019 Introduction  Welcome to the latest in a series of business readiness bulletins, aimed at keeping trade associations, business representative bodies and business intermediaries up to date on the latest information and guidance for business on the UK exiting the EU.  The objective of this Bulletin is to […]

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A No Deal Brexit for most firms

Most firms that export only to the EU do not have the paperwork they need to carry on their business after a no-deal Brexit, government figures suggest. The Liberal Democrats said the statistics showed that no deal, which increasingly seems to be the outcome ministers think is most likely, would be a “wholly irresponsible political choice”. But […]

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Unlocking the Potential: Developing Micro Enterprise Owners & Managers

The Challenges Micro-businesses are a key part of the UK economy. They represent 96 per cent of the business population and make a significant contribution to job and wealth creation in the UK. In 2018, micro-businesses accounted for one-third of employment and just over one-fifth of business turnover. Given the economic importance of micro-businesses, there […]

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An Entrepreneur’s Mental Health

Entrepreneurs are not strangers to anxiety and depression. They’re just as susceptible as the rest of the population, if not more so, to mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, sociopathy, schizophrenia, and more. I have written here on Entrepreneur about my problems with anxiety, especially while networking. Anxiety and depression disorders are on the rise. Generalized anxiety is common, […]

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Providing enterprise, learning and skills ‘on the go’ – Developing the enterprise and employability skills of migrants in Europe

We are in the middle of a growing refugee crisis that is taking place across the world. According to the latest UNHCR figures there were 68.5 million displaced people at the end of 2017 and the number is set to steadily rise. In 2015 over 1 million people made their way to the European Union […]

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Working place stress is costing European business millions

As our brain’s alarm reaction system, moderate levels of stress can help spring us into action, but this survival mechanism takes a toll on the body. Today, the problem we face is too much stress, partly due to a shift to hustle-focused and burnout-inducing working cultures across Europe. The chronic uncertainty of Brexit is making this worse […]

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Enterprise Education – a Gateway to Develop Societal and Environmental Responsible Graduate

Should enterprise education play a role in developing societal and environmental values in our graduates, so they can better-contribute to supporting the ethical and sustainability challenges facing our People and our Planet? Little did we know that Manchester Met’s launch of Young Enterprise in 2004, catering for forty nascent entrepreneurs on the then BA (Hons) […]

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You’ve successfully grown your business and secured a solid foothold in your domestic market. That’s great, especially when statistics from the European Commission show that more than 50 percent of European businesses fail in the first five years. So, what’s next? Chances are that you are now turning your attention toward international expansion and how to achieve […]

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