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One of the big lessons of 2020 has been the need to have a robust business continuity plan in place. This learning has become all the more pertinent in light of the fast-moving nature of lockdown restrictions, which can change from one week to the next. For many business owners, the impact of a succession of multiple shocks has made for anxious times. A global pandemic and economic shutdown have taught us that businesses need the capacity to withstand a range of challenging s

Keeping customers happy once you have them board is vital for small businesses. This maintains your income, your position as expert or 'go to' with customers and provides opportunities for referrals and extra services. So what about attracting new customers? Failing to attract enough customers is concerning - but if you know why it’s happening, you might be able to turn things around. Here are six reasons why customers could be going elsewhere and what to do about it. 1. Your

Can you guess what the key ingredient is for small business success? No, it’s not funding, and it's not a business plan. In a word... it's confidence! We look after a lot of small businesses and the word we hear over and over is 'confidence'. Some have it in abundance and others, particularly those just starting out need a bit of hand holding. A fascinating study by Kabbage revealed that entrepreneurs, specifically small business owners, are battling with under-confidence. T

As the UK starts to make some tentative headway into 'normal' life, businesses are waking up to a different world than 12 weeks ago. Consumers have never been more careful about how they spend their money. Savvy spenders are looking for quality, personalised service they can trust, as well as value for money. The right customers are prepared to spend more on the right supplier and contrary to what you may believe, no longer look for 'cheapest'- in fact they haven;t done for s

A hotly contested question at present is ‘Should l take out a business loan?’ There are two distinct groups, those who do not want a loan and will only resort to a loan as the action of last resort, i.e. when the cash is about to run out. And there are those who access debt finance in case they need it. This has become particularly prevalent in the current circumstances, we have all heard about CBIL’s by now and there is a high degree of uncertainty amongst many businesses co