NatWest has announced plans to grow its entrepreneur Accelerator community to 50,000 members by the end of the year, a fivefold increase on its 2025 target and a signal that the bank sees small business support as central to its commercial strategy.

The ambition is not as fanciful as it sounds. In 2025, NatWest exceeded its own goal by building the community to around 12,000 members, surpassing in a single year the total number it had supported over the previous decade. The programme, which provides mentoring, workspace, peer networks and access to specialist advice, has become one of the more substantive bank-backed support schemes available to UK founders and early-stage businesses.

The numbers behind the programme are worth paying attention to. Companies that completed the Accelerator grew their turnover by an average of 104 per cent year-on-year, compared with 20 per cent growth among a control group. Perhaps more strikingly, nine out of ten Accelerator businesses were still trading three years later, compared with fewer than half of comparable firms that did not participate.

The expansion includes a push into universities, with hubs already established at Manchester, Oxford, York, Brighton and Warwick, and plans to open at up to ten universities over the next three years. The aim is to catch potential founders earlier, embedding entrepreneurial thinking alongside academic study and giving student businesses access to the same networks and resources as more established firms.

For small business owners who are past the start-up phase but still growing, the programme offers something that many find harder to access than capital: structured peer support and expert guidance. Running a small business can be an isolating experience, and the evidence consistently shows that founders who have access to mentors and a community of peers make better decisions, avoid common pitfalls and grow faster.

The Accelerator forms part of NatWest’s broader “Growing Together” plan, a five-point framework that includes backing regional economies, supporting mid-market businesses, strengthening infrastructure investment and improving financial confidence among families and young people. Whether the plan amounts to more than a branding exercise will depend on execution, but the Accelerator itself has a track record that suggests it delivers tangible results.

For any small business owner or aspiring founder who has not yet explored what the programme offers, it is worth a look. The entry point is free, the bank does not take equity, and the practical benefits, workspace, mentoring, access to investors and a network of fellow founders, are the kind of support that most small businesses struggle to find on their own.

Applications are open through the NatWest website, and the bank says it is particularly keen to hear from founders outside London and the South East, reflecting a broader push to support entrepreneurship across every region of the UK.

Read more:
NatWest wants 50,000 entrepreneurs in its accelerator

As UK small businesses head into 2026, many are feeling the squeeze from rising digital subscriptions, higher utilities and stubborn operating costs. Yet thousands of pounds in potential savings are still being missed, not through lack of ambition, but through habit.

In partnership with company formation specialist 1st Formations, we’ve identified ten practical, often overlooked ways limited companies can take back control of cash flow without chasing high-risk growth or complex tax strategies.

Graeme Donnelly, founder and CEO of 1st Formations, says the mindset shift is crucial: “In 2026, operational efficiency is the new profitability. Too many directors focus on top-line growth while ignoring the silent drain of legacy bank fees, incorrect VAT categories and dormant software subscriptions. Saving £200 a month through smarter digital choices is equivalent to adding thousands to turnover, without the cost of acquisition.”

Tap the hidden value of sector groups

Membership of bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses or local Chambers of Commerce is often assumed to be for larger firms. In reality, the annual fee is frequently outweighed by discounts on business insurance, HR and legal support, and software such as Xero or Microsoft.

Consider voluntary VAT registration

If turnover is below the £90,000 VAT threshold, registration isn’t mandatory, but opting in can allow you to reclaim VAT on stock, hosting, advertising and equipment. For many B2B firms, the reclaimed VAT more than offsets the added admin and can also improve credibility with larger clients.

Re-examine your VAT Flat Rate category

The VAT Flat Rate Scheme simplifies reporting, but many businesses are using the wrong sector percentage. A small adjustment, for example, between IT consultancy and retail categories, can materially improve margins overnight.

Hunt for hyper-local micro-grants

National grants attract heavy competition, but local Growth Hubs and Local Enterprise Partnerships often offer £500–£5,000 grants for digital upgrades or energy efficiency. These are less publicised and far easier to secure.

Eliminate the spreadsheet tax leak

Manual expense tracking leads to missed deductions. Tools like Dext, Pleo or Expensify capture receipts in real time and sync with QuickBooks or Xero, ensuring every allowable cost is recorded and reducing year-end stress.

Look beyond traditional bank lending

High-street loans remain hard to access for micro-companies. Alternatives such as Tide’s funding marketplace, Uncapped’s revenue-based finance or invoice-finance platforms like Kriya offer flexible funding without long-term lock-ins.

Ditch legacy card machines

If you’re paying monthly rental fees for a card terminal, you’re likely overpaying. Fintech providers such as Square, Zettle and SumUp remove fixed costs and integrate directly with your bookkeeping, improving visibility and cash flow.

Optimise working-from-home deductions

Directors running a limited company from home can legitimately recharge costs such as broadband, mobile contracts and mileage. Whether using the flat-rate allowance or a formal rental agreement, documenting this properly keeps you compliant with HM Revenue & Customs while reducing tax leakage.

Run a quarterly subscription audit

The “SaaS drain” quietly erodes margins. Tools like Cledara highlight unused or duplicate licences. Set a quarterly calendar reminder to review subscriptions — and always negotiate at renewal, where providers often have unadvertised retention discounts.

Stop paying for basic banking

Many SMEs still pay monthly fees for basic accounts. Digital-first banks such as Starling or Monzo Business now offer fee-free banking with better app integration, saving both money and administrative time.

The bigger picture

For UK SMEs, 2026 isn’t about radical reinvention — it’s about tightening the screws on everyday inefficiencies. Each small saving compounds, freeing cash to reinvest in staff, technology or resilience.

As Donnelly puts it: “Being lean is no longer defensive. It’s how ambitious businesses stay in control.”

Read more:
10 under-the-radar ways UK small businesses can regain control of cash flow in 2026

If 2024 was the year when artificial intelligence dominated the headlines, then 2025 has been the year of the cyberattack. From luxury fashion houses to high-street retailers and car manufacturers, businesses across the UK and beyond have found themselves under siege from hackers.

The scale, frequency and audacity of these attacks raise urgent questions about how well user data is being protected – and what risks lie ahead for millions of consumers.

The biggest breaches of 2025

Perhaps the most high-profile attack came this summer when Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was forced to halt global production after hackers crippled its IT systems. The incident left thousands of workers temporarily stood down, dealerships unable to service vehicles, and suppliers facing cash-flow crises. Investigations later confirmed that “some data” had been affected, with regulators notified. While JLR has yet to specify if customer records were included, the disruption underscored how dependent modern manufacturers are on interconnected digital infrastructure – and how vulnerable that leaves them.

In retail, Kering, the French parent company of Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen, admitted in June that hackers had stolen personal data linked to as many as 7.4 million email addresses. Shiny Hunters, the cybercriminal group claiming responsibility, released a sample of records showing not just names and contact details but also the total amount customers had spent. Some victims were flagged as spending upwards of $80,000, raising fears that high-net-worth individuals could be targeted for further fraud or scams.

Luxury brands weren’t the only ones hit. Marks & Spencer, Harrods and the Co-op all confirmed incidents earlier this year, forcing online and in-store operations offline. Even when financial details weren’t compromised, personal identifiers such as email addresses, order histories and loyalty scheme records were exposed – highly valuable information for criminals running phishing campaigns.

And it wasn’t confined to retail. The financial services sector also reported breaches, with mid-sized lenders and fintech platforms warning customers about attempts to access online accounts. Each case might appear isolated, but taken together they point to an alarming trend: cyberattacks are now routine, not rare.

What hackers want – and why user data is so valuable

For most attackers, the motivation is financial. Groups like Shiny Hunters typically steal large datasets and then ransom them back to the company, demanding payment in cryptocurrency. If the ransom isn’t paid, the data may be sold on the dark web, where criminals trade in email addresses, phone numbers and behavioural data.

Even without bank details, this information is potent. With a customer’s contact details and knowledge of their shopping or spending habits, criminals can craft convincing phishing emails or texts. High-spending customers are particularly attractive targets, as the Kering case illustrated. A fraudster who knows you spent £10,000 in a single transaction has a better chance of tricking you with a fake refund email than one casting a generic net.

The other motivation is disruption. In the case of Jaguar Land Rover, the attack brought production lines to a standstill. For hackers, this can be a way of demonstrating power, inflicting reputational harm, or forcing a company into paying a ransom simply to get back online.

Why 2025 has been so bad

Several factors explain the surge in successful cyberattacks this year.

First, the volume of personal data being collected and stored has grown exponentially. Retailers, carmakers and banks all rely on vast CRM systems to understand customer behaviour, personalise offers and drive sales. That makes them rich hunting grounds.

Second, geopolitical tensions have created an environment where hostile state-linked actors are more active. UK cyber experts have repeatedly warned that international conflicts are spilling into cyberspace, with attacks on infrastructure and businesses used as tools of leverage.

Third, despite improvements in security, many organisations remain under-resourced or over-confident. Too often, investment goes into protecting the most obvious assets – like payment card numbers – while overlooking other valuable datasets such as loyalty programme histories or purchasing records. As cyber lawyers point out, under UK GDPR the principle of “data minimisation” requires firms to only store what they truly need. Too many continue to hoard data indefinitely, increasing the scale of potential breaches.

What it means for UK consumers

For individuals, the lesson of 2025 is sobering: assume your personal data has already been compromised at some point. With so many large-scale breaches, it is statistically likely that your email address, phone number or purchase history is in circulation.

That doesn’t mean panic is necessary, but it does mean vigilance is. Consumers should:
• Be sceptical of unexpected messages, especially those claiming to be from luxury brands, banks or retailers.
• Use strong, unique passwords across accounts, and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.
• Monitor financial and loyalty accounts for unusual activity. Even if criminals don’t have your card number, they may attempt to exploit rewards programmes or request refunds.
• Act quickly if notified of a breach – change passwords, review recent transactions and follow any advice provided by the company.

Perhaps most importantly, don’t dismiss non-financial data as harmless. A breached email address linked to your shopping history can be weaponised in highly targeted scams.

The road ahead

Regulators are already circling. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been notified of several incidents and will expect companies to demonstrate that they had appropriate security and response measures in place. Meanwhile, policymakers are considering whether tougher disclosure rules are needed to ensure the public understands the scale of attacks.

For businesses, the wake-up call is clear. Data is both an asset and a liability. Investing in cybersecurity, minimising unnecessary data storage and being transparent when breaches occur are not optional extras – they are essential for protecting reputation and customer trust.

As for consumers, the spate of attacks in 2025 is a reminder of the double-edged nature of our digital lives. Convenience and personalisation come at the cost of handing over more personal data than ever before. The challenge now is to ensure that the systems designed to protect that data can keep pace with those trying to steal it.

Because if 2025 has shown us anything, it’s that cybercriminals are no longer at the gates – they are already inside.

What to do if you think your data has been breached

Top five steps UK consumers can take if their data has been breached

Change your passwords immediately

Update any login credentials connected to the affected service. Use a strong, unique password and activate two-factor authentication if available.

Monitor your accounts

Keep a close eye on bank statements, online accounts, and loyalty schemes for any unusual activity. Criminals may target store credits, refunds, or loyalty points as much as cash.

Be alert to phishing attempts

Fraudsters often use stolen data to send convincing fake emails or texts. Don’t click on suspicious links or share more personal details without verifying the source.

Check if your email is on the dark web

Services like Have I Been Pwned allow you to check if your email address has been involved in previous breaches. This can help you understand your exposure.

Report and protect

If you believe your financial details are being misused, contact your bank immediately. Report suspected identity theft to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre.

Remember: Even if only “non-financial” data such as your name, address or purchase history is compromised, it can still be exploited in scams. Treat every breach notification seriously.

Read more:
Cyberattacks 2025: Millions of UK users exposed in year of hacks — here’s what it means for your data

Corporations are spending big on AI. According to IDC, total business investments in generative AI are expected to increase 94% this year to reach $61.9 billion. However, just investing in AI does not guarantee a payoff.

In fact, as Laura Clayton McDonnell, President of Corporates at Thomson Reuters explains, new research from McKinsey finds that the vast majority of companies implementing AI have seen no significant bottom-line impact from the technology. These findings are echoed in our Future of the Professionals Report 2025, which found that although 71% of C-suite leaders say their company has invested in AI tools in the past year, and a further 18% plan to invest in AI within the next 12 months, just 19% of corporate professionals say their department has a clearly-defined AI strategy in place.

As investment in AI increases, it becomes ever more important for businesses to develop an AI strategy to maximize the value of their AI investments. A solid AI strategy will define the investment, training, and guardrails necessary for departments to effectively utilize the technology. An excellent AI strategy can drive top-line growth for companies. However, this growth will never occur without a clear plan.

Based on our experience at Thomson Reuters helping large corporations integrate AI into their tax, legal, risk, compliance, and HR workflows, we’ve seen what can happen when businesses have a clear strategy in place and how expectations can be missed without a plan. We recommend that organizations follow seven key principles to maximize the effectiveness of new AI tools they adopt. These principles emphasize the necessary steps—from developing protocols to training employees—that are essential for achieving your business’s core objectives.

The seven key principles for a successful AI strategy

Align your AI strategy with your firm’s overall strategy

AI initiatives must directly support the core objectives of in-house departments and complement their organization’s overarching AI strategy. This includes reducing legal and regulatory risk exposure, improving compliance, streamlining procurement, and speeding up contract review. Leaders should also consider how to reinvest the new time savings into handling a greater volume of value-added work.

Corporate leaders should consider where they want their in-house functions to be in a year. They should begin by identifying the obstacles that are now blocking their departments’ strategic progress.

Establish clear AI goals and objectives

Leaders should convert broad company goals into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) AI objectives. For example, if a departmental goal is to improve regulatory compliance monitoring, a good AI objective could be to boost department efficiency in handling particularly tedious manual tasks, like drafting updated contracts or researching local tax laws. Additionally, leaders should encourage input from different departments on how AI can support these goals. They should also promote early experimentation with AI tools across legal, tax, and compliance teams.

Corporate leaders should identify and prioritize an AI goal that tackles the departments’ most urgent issues, developing relevant initiatives to achieve realistic objectives.

Create a data strategy

Remember that AI’s effectiveness depends on the data it is trained on or references. Leaders should ensure their departments develop strong strategies for managing, securing, and utilizing data for AI purposes—while upholding confidentiality and legal privileges.

Leaders should work with internal teams and external resources to establish the best data strategy for their organization, considering factors like company size, industry, structure, and best practices.

Establish strong governance & ethical frameworks

It’s essential to establish clear policies on data privacy, security, and responsible AI use. This involves creating processes for identifying bias and ensuring accuracy. When verifying GenAI outputs, it is important to clearly define policies related to confidentiality, transparency, and the preservation of legal privileges.

Leaders should assign AI responsibilities within each department and establish approval procedures for new AI tools that consider the specific ethical and legal issues of each department. Another important step is to develop and document standard protocols for selecting AI tools and verifying outputs.

Invest in talent and training

While AI can be a powerful tool, people drive its success. Leaders should train staff not just on how to use AI tools but also on how to develop judgment to review AI outputs critically — an essential skill for building trust and ensuring compliance. Leaders must also identify skills gaps within the organization, address professional liability concerns, and foster a culture of responsible experimentation. They should also communicate openly about the organization’s overall AI strategy and its benefits to gain better buy-in from all professionals.

Businesses should consider using free or low-cost training resources from professional associations and technology providers. This is a cost-effective way to boost your organization’s training programs.

Prioritize and pilot

Leaders should identify two or three high-impact, high-feasibility pilot projects involving AI tools. Ideally, these projects should address critical pain points, such as contract analysis, regulatory monitoring, or tax provision automation. Early successes can build momentum, offer important lessons, and demonstrate the value of a solid AI strategy — all of which will facilitate broader adoption. Piloting new AI tools should be viewed as an ongoing process, incorporating feedback from frontline professionals.

Measure, iterate and adapt

Leaders should establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of AI initiatives in areas like reducing compliance incidents, speeding up risk detection, and increasing the accuracy of tax provisions. It’s also important to measure AI initiatives against departmental goals to better evaluate their impact on overall performance. Additionally, regularly reviewing progress and being ready to adjust strategies is crucial as regulatory requirements, technology, and organizational needs change.

You should routinely track each department’s progress using simple before-and-after comparisons. This approach can often show return on investment without the need for complex analytics.

The winners in the AI arms race are those organizations that have all the elements of their strategic plan both mapped out and carefully implemented. We think that careful planning is worth it. With AI the risks of getting it wrong may look high but so are the potential returns.

Read more:
Seven keys to a successful AI strategy for corporate enabling functions

Jules White has never been one to follow the traditional sales rulebook. Internationally recognised for her bold “Live it, Love it, Sell it” methodology, she champions authentic, human-centred strategies over pushy tactics.

This is a philosophy that has not only earned her clients worldwide, but also the respect of peers who call her the “Dragon Slayer” for her entrepreneurial courage.

When the pandemic shifted networking and client relationships online, White found a simple yet powerful way to stay connected. She launched Virtual Cuppa with Jules, informal chats that gave her the chance to meet people away from the curated world of social media.

“What started as conversations often sparked on posts became real human connection,” she reflects. “Some meetings have simply led to new friendships or recommendations, while others ended with someone saying, ‘How do I work with you?’ It’s been mind-blowing to see how such a small idea could open so many doors.”

Her message to entrepreneurs who may feel invisible or uncertain in difficult climates is clear: show up. “It’s very easy to retreat when business slows down,” she says. “But if you’re hiding, no one knows about you. Staying visible is crucial. Be present on social media, and most importantly, show up as the real you.”

That visibility, combined with hard work and authenticity, helped White earn recognition at the 2019 Woman Who Achieves Awards. Surrounded by what she describes as “incredibly talented entrepreneurs”, she hadn’t expected to win. “It was a total shock,” she recalls. “I was just proud to be a finalist. But winning made me reflect on my achievements and the fact that I now work all over the world. Who knew?”

For startups and young entrepreneurs eager to carve out their path, White’s advice is rooted in passion and pragmatism. “Do something you love,” she says, “because when you love it, everyone can see it. But don’t underestimate the work it takes. Building a business isn’t about doing a couple of things and waiting for results. It’s hard graft. So love what you do, work hard, and be real.”

Looking back on her own journey, she credits her success not only to resilience but also to her deeply held values. “Integrity has always been huge for me, along with a love of people,” she explains. “Sales is about empathy. I love stepping into someone else’s world and seeing it from their perspective. It’s fascinating, and it creates real connection.”

Resilience, too, has been a defining theme. “I’ve always tried to stay positive,” she adds. “My dad used to tell me, ‘There’s no such word as can’t.’ That’s something I carry with me, and it’s helped me push through the toughest times.”

For Jules White, the formula for success is not complicated. It comes down to visibility, authenticity and a genuine love of people. In an era where businesses are increasingly judged on transparency and purpose, her message resonates: in sales and in leadership, authenticity always wins.

Read more:
Why authenticity wins in business: insights from Jules White

At some point in their history, businesses commonly have need for external funding to help their growth trajectory.

However, acquiring investment has its dangers and pitfalls and the last thing the Board will want is to invest time and money getting to the point of securing the funding only for it to be pulled.  As a commercial lawyer with decades of handling funding rounds, James Fulforth, Senior Partner and Partner in Kingsley Napley’s Commercial, Corporate and Finance team explains some of the reasons why fundraises can go wrong and therefore how best to avoid such a scenario.

Valuation and financials

Investors will wish to see a credible valuation for the company which is raising investment, and the more substance that lies behind this, the better. Is the company already trading? If yes, what financials are available? If any year end accounts have been finalised, these should be disclosed, but ideally they will be accompanied by up-to-date management accounts.

If initial trading is modest, then the focus will be more on forecasts for future periods. These will generally be incorporated within the company’s business plan.

Even if the company has researched the position carefully, financial projections are by their nature highly speculative which is why they are rarely supported by warranties in the transaction documentation. If investors do invest in an early round, future relations between founders and investors will be happier if trust is established early on. If the initial valuation proves too frothy, relations may start to sour quickly, and founders will spend more time on managing relations with grumpy stakeholders than on building their business.

Far better to take a realistic, even conservative, approach to valuations and projections, to avoid overselling the idea, and to then exceed those expectations.

Proposition

The credibility of the company’s business plan will depend on the nature of the product or service, the market, and the degree to which data is available to support the company’s analysis. Investors will consider the extent to which a product or service has already been developed, launched and tested.

Has an expert been engaged to produce a report on the product, service or market, and can such a report be regarded as independent and therefore credible? How original is the business idea, and is it possible to protect the intellectual property underlying it? If there is little substance behind the proposition, then even if the financial performance and valuation is modest, investors will struggle to see future value.

But highly detailed analysis may be of limited value if the founders are unable to articulate the company’s proposition in their pitch. Much will depend on the individuals concerned and the character of the founder team. More introverted individuals may have the technical skills, but they will need to be complemented by those with energy, charisma and leadership.

Many successful businesses are led by gifted individuals, but raising investment involves stiff competition. Balanced founder teams tend to appear a more compelling offering.

Preparation

Careful preparation prior to the fund raising is critical. A well-researched plan and a strong pitch will have little traction with experienced investors if the same level of professionalism has not been applied to the management of the company. The same applies to the organisation of the due diligence process, and the way in which founders engage in the process.

While family and friends may be prepared to rely on their trust in the founders, more sophisticated investors will require detailed answers to detailed questions. Most important is capital structure. Have all share issues and share options been documented properly?

Have terms with key suppliers, customers, employees and consultants been agreed and written down? To what degree are such terms standardised? Has the company acquired ownership or a licence over all key assets, such as intellectual property? What governance is in place around data, cyber security, and regulatory issues? Potential investors may wish to go back to when the company was founded, so ideally founders should start addressing any gaps in these elements early on.

Any obvious issues which are uncovered may be difficult to fix quickly, and may compromise an awful lot of hard work in devising and selling the proposition.

These are not the most exciting elements of running a business, and some founders will simply not have the desire or the skillset to give them much focus but, once again, the key is to have someone in the team who is prepared to understand the detail and to directly address any wrinkles that inevitably emerge.

Other investors

Securing a lead investor is often key to attracting additional investors, especially if that investor is well-known or has significant expertise in a particular sector. Even if that’s not the case, a lead investor is often someone who has already spent time in getting to know the company’s product, service or team, and provided they appear credible and are able to articulate their views to other investors in the course of due diligence, they will help reassure smaller investors and build momentum.

However, founders should be cautious of getting too close to one investor, and again they should carry out their own research on the background and track record of that individual or institution. If a lead investor pulls out of the round, others may follow.

If this happens shortly before completion, the damage may be significant. If a company is fortunate enough to have the option of choosing between investors, it should be strategic about who it collaborates with, and it may not wish to put all eggs in the same basket.

The ideal investor or investors will not only provide capital but also commercial experience and real knowledge of the sector. They may even be a suitable person for the company to have on the board.

Founder terms

Finally, founders should be realistic about their personal compensation and the terms under which they hold shares. Even though they may own a substantial percentage of fully vested shares prior to the fund raise, investors will wish to include appropriate protections, and these may include requiring the founders to offer up their shares for sale in certain circumstances.

Again, the protections required will vary, depending on the nature of the parties involved and their experience, but also on the other elements already touched upon, ie the valuation, track record of the founders, nature of the preparation and dynamic between the investor group.

If a founder can confidently justify the overall proposition, negotiations will be easier. But an unrealistic founder may fall at the last hurdle. These matters need careful consideration alongside advisers and, much like a company’s valuation, the key is to be reasonable and to think long-term.

This also applies to other employees’ compensation. Investors will wish to see that employees are properly incentivised to stay and perform and to add value to the company. Companies that don’t offer equity to their employees (for example, through EMIs) risk losing important talent to competitors.

Securing funding has its pitfalls, and expert advice should always be sought to help guide your business through the process but, if properly managed and executed at the right time, the result can prove transformational for your business.

Read more:
5 Reasons Why Fundraising can Go Wrong

Deciding whether to register a trade mark for your business name, logo, or both is an important step in protecting your brand. But how do you choose the right option for your business, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?

In this article, Ben Evans, Head of Trade Marks at Harper James, explores the benefits of registering a trade mark, explains when it’s better to register your business name, logo or both and outlines the key steps involved in securing trade mark protection in the UK.

What are the benefits of trade mark registration?

Registering a trade mark is one of the simplest and most effective ways to secure exclusive rights to your brand name or logo. Once your trade mark is registered, you have the legal right to stop others from using the same or a confusingly similar mark for the same types of goods and services in the country where your mark is registered.

It also makes enforcing your rights much easier. Trade mark infringement is simpler to prove when your mark is registered than when you are relying on unregistered rights, which require evidence of goodwill and reputation.

Once registered, you can start using the ® symbol, putting others on notice that you legally own the trade mark. A registered trade mark also becomes a valuable asset in its own right. For example, you can license or sell it or use the trade mark as collateral for a loan.

Is it better to trade mark a business name or logo?

This depends on how your business uses its brand. Consider whether your customers recognise your business primarily by its name in text or through a distinctive logo. If your brand is mainly encountered as a word, spoken, written or online, a word mark usually provides the broadest protection. It allows you to use the name in any style or font while maintaining legal protection.

A logo mark protects the exact visual presentation of your logo. It can include wording or be purely used as an image. Protection only extends to the specific design you have registered, so if the logo is altered in a noticeable way in future, a new application will be needed.

There are cases where registering a logo mark is more appropriate. For example, if your chosen business name is descriptive or lacks distinctiveness, combining it with a distinctive image can help secure registration. A name like “Eat More Cheese” would be too descriptive on its own for cheese products but might be acceptable as part of a striking combined logo.

If your business sometimes uses the logo without wording, it may be wise to register the logo separately from the name. While word marks are generally recommended for broader protection, the right approach will depend on how your brand appears in practice.

Do you have the budget to trade mark a logo and business name?

Ideally, you would register a trade mark for your business name and your logo. This offers the strongest protection for each brand element.

If you do not have the budget to register both trade marks at the same time, a phased approach works well. You could start with the word mark or logo (whichever holds more commercial value or is most widely used) and then file additional applications later as your business grows.

How do I register a trade mark in the UK?

UK trade marks are registered through the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), which manages the official Register of Trade Marks. This is a public, searchable database showing registered trade marks, their owners, and the goods and services they cover.

Trade marks must be registered in the correct “Class” or classes, according to the NICE international classification system. You will need to carefully list the goods and services your business offers in each class. This requires precise wording to meet UKIPO requirements. Poorly drafted or incomplete class lists can lead to delays or refusals.

You also have the option of a ‘Right Start’ application, where you pay half the fee initially and receive a preliminary assessment. You can then decide whether to pay the remainder and proceed or withdraw without paying the second half. This can be helpful if you’re unsure whether your mark is distinctive enough.

After you file your application, a UKIPO examiner reviews it for compliance. They will check that the mark is distinctive, not purely descriptive, and free from other restrictions (such as offensive wording or misleading claims). The examiner will also check that your goods and services are correctly classified. You will usually receive an Examination Report within four weeks. This will confirm whether your application is acceptable or whether amendments are needed.

What happens after your application is examined?

If your application passes the examination, it will be published in the UK Trade Marks Journal for two months. During this time, other businesses can object if they believe your trade mark conflicts with their existing rights.

If no objections are raised or you resolve any that are, your trade mark will proceed to registration, and you’ll receive a formal registration certificate. The process takes around six months if there are no complications.

What happens if someone opposes your trade mark application?

If someone threatens to oppose your application within the two-month publication period, this deadline can be extended by one month. This allows time for negotiations, with the aim of reaching a compromise without a formal opposition.

If agreement is not reached, the cooling-off period can be extended by up to 18 months if both sides agree, or it can be terminated so formal opposition proceedings can begin. If unresolved, this process can take a year or more and may lead to delays or changes to your application.

How long does a trade mark registration last?

Once registered, your UK trade mark lasts for ten years. You can renew it every ten years indefinitely. If you do not use your trade mark in commerce within five years, it may be vulnerable to cancellation. It can also be challenged if someone can prove they used a similar mark in the UK before your trade mark was registered or used.

Summary

Registering your business name and logo as trade marks is an important step in protecting your brand. It can be more complex than it seems, with important choices about what to register and how to describe your goods and services. Careful planning, along with a proper clearance search for similar existing marks, is required to avoid potential issues. Getting expert advice early from a trade mark solicitor will help you protect your brand, avoid objections and ensure you have a trade mark strategy that supports your business growth.

Read more:
Should I trade mark my business name or logo?

The UK has long been a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) research, pioneering breakthroughs in areas like healthcare, financial modelling and cybersecurity. The Government’s AI Action Plan and recent investments highlight a clear ambition to establish the UK as a global AI superpower. However, ambition alone is not enough.

The UK is ranked among the top five nations in the world for AI readiness, yet businesses continue to struggle with implementation. A recent survey found that just a quarter of UK enterprises have adopted AI technology since the pandemic. Without effective adoption across multiple industries, the UK risks gaining a reputation synonymous with AI ambition rather than successful execution.

Michael Green, UK&I MD and Country leader, Databricks, explain at to convert theoretical innovation into tangible use cases, businesses must address three critical areas: workforce upskilling, data democratisation, and specialist AI talent acquisition.

Democratising data to drive AI success

Effective AI adoption is impossible without strong data foundations. Yet, many UK businesses still struggle with data quality issues. Research indicates that  9 in 10 (91%) of UK business leaders admit it negatively impacts their operations, limiting AI’s ability to drive meaningful insights.

Investing in platforms that centralise and democratise data access can help eliminate the blocker that poor-quality data can have on AI success. With intelligent data platforms built on a lakehouse architecture, which provides an open, unified foundation for all data and governance, employees have access to the ‘one true source’ of unique data in real-time. The result? They are able to easily and effectively access data from across the business and query it in natural language.

By making data more transparent and accessible, teams are empowered, AI-driven decision-making is enhanced and, importantly, valuable insights from across the business aren’t being overlooked or lost.

Workforce upskilling and AI literacy must be prioritised

AI tools are only as effective as the people trained to use them. A lack of AI literacy within organisations remains one of the biggest barriers to successful deployment. PwC found that the majority of UK CEOs (78%) reported some form of skills shortage within their organisation, and 68% specify a lack of tech capabilities is inhibiting their ability to progress with digital transformation.

To ensure a smooth transition, businesses should take a structured approach to AI training, aligning upskilling with business goals. This means taking ownership of internal AI education and integrating continuous learning programmes to ensure employees feel thoroughly equipped to engage with new processes.

Focus on building in-house AI expertise to bridge the talent gap

Recruiting specialist AI talent is another significant challenge. A recent study showed that two thirds of recruitment leaders found hiring for AI roles more challenging than for other tech positions. Due to this skills shortage, businesses are paying a premium for those with the relevant, specialist knowledge.

Without this internal expertise, businesses often rely on generic third-party solutions that may not align with their unique operational needs. To address this, businesses  must prioritise recruiting AI specialists with both technical and industry-specific knowledge, while also upskilling existing employees to create a workforce capable of working alongside AI systems – and to ensure there isn’t a major skills gap across the organisation.

Investing in home-grown AI applications can also provide long-term advantages. When developed in-house, preferably within a unified data platform, AI tools and agents can be customised to meet specific business challenges and build institutional AI knowledge. Businesses that develop in-house AI expertise will be better positioned to adapt the technology to their unique needs rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions that may not fully align with their operational goals, and therefore not achieve the intended results.

Transparency and collaboration are key for involving employees in the AI journey

AI adoption is not just a technological shift – it’s a cultural one too. Despite AI’s potential, 85% of workers believe AI will impact their jobs in the next five years, leading to a sentiment of resistance and uncertainty.

Businesses must be transparent about how AI will be used and what its limitations are. The focus should be on AI as an enabler, not a replacement. By clearly communicating that AI’s role is to automate routine tasks while augmenting human expertise, organisations can alleviate some of these concerns and put in place a more collaborative AI adoption process.

A gradual implementation strategy is key. Businesses should pilot AI tools with employee involvement, allowing teams to provide feedback and refine the integration process. This helps create a sense of ownership and shared responsibility, so AI is viewed as a workforce asset rather than an imposed transformation.

For the UK to solidify its position as an AI superpower, businesses must move beyond idealist AI hype and focus on practical execution. Investing in workforce training, breaking down data silos, and embedding AI literacy into organisational culture will determine whether AI delivers meaningful business value, or remains an untapped opportunity.

UK businesses have a unique opportunity to collectively work towards leading a new era of AI development and data intelligence. But without addressing the fundamental challenges of implementation, we risk falling behind. The time to act is now.

Read more:
How UK businesses can effectively overcome the AI implementation gap

In today’s fast-paced, people-powered business environment, leadership is no longer the preserve of the C-suite. That’s the clear message from Chubb Fire and Security UK & Ireland, where a culture of “building great leaders” has been steadily embedded across every level of the organisation—from frontline engineers to boardroom executives.

We sat down with managing director Gary Moffatt and people director Lesley Leach to explore how Chubb’s commitment to everyday leadership is transforming employee confidence, company performance, and customer satisfaction alike.

“Leadership is everyone’s responsibility”

“Building great leaders is foundational to everything we do,” says Moffatt, who has overseen a significant cultural transformation at Chubb in recent years. “It’s about creating an environment where leadership is everyone’s responsibility. Not just those in management—but every single teammate empowered to take initiative, drive impact, and live our values with integrity.”

It’s a philosophy that has evolved into a core pillar of the company’s identity, helping to define how Chubb delivers on its purpose: protecting people, property and livelihoods. “There’s a real emotional connection,” adds Leach. “People work for Chubb because they believe in making the world a safer place. And that belief powers how we think about leadership—not just as a title, but as a mindset.”

Leader Labs: real growth, real results

At the heart of Chubb’s leadership development programme lies the Leader Lab: a hands-on, immersive workshop that brings leadership principles to life in meaningful, personal ways.

“Leader Labs are where it all clicks,” explains Leach. “They’re a safe space to explore what leadership means on the ground. People leave feeling empowered—often for the first time—to lead within their role. Whether that’s being more decisive, collaborating with new colleagues, or stepping into a bigger role.”

The impact is tangible. Participants frequently return to their teams with renewed confidence and a sharpened sense of ownership. Moffatt points to improvements in customer satisfaction and operational performance directly tied to these behavioural shifts.

Leader Labs aren’t just a UK initiative either. They are part of a wider global strategy embedded across the API Group, Chubb’s parent company, which spans North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. “The consistency is incredibly powerful,” says Moffitt. “It means no matter where in the world you work, you’re aligned with the same core leadership principles.”

Leadership, every single day

Workshops are only one part of the puzzle. As Moffatt acknowledges, “Culture doesn’t change overnight. It’s got to show up in the day-to-day.”

At Chubb, leadership is now part of the operational fabric. From daily check-ins and transparent comms to team meetings and internal newsletters, leadership development is woven into every layer of engagement. Leach notes: “We start most meetings by talking about leadership. We share podcasts, articles, even employee stories—real voices sharing what they’ve learned, what leadership means to them.”

It’s this lived experience that ensures authenticity. “We’re not just talking the talk,” says Leach. “Our supervisors and field leaders are encouraged to lead with courage and care—and that shows in the decisions they make, the support they give, and how they represent our values to customers.”

From apprentice to COO

Chubb’s belief in nurturing internal talent is epitomised in the story of Dave Dunnigan. Now the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Dunnigan joined as an apprentice and worked his way up—thanks to years of mentorship, training, and leadership development.

“Dave is the embodiment of our philosophy,” says Leach. “He’s a walking example of what can happen when you invest in people. For new apprentices or admin staff just starting out, he’s an inspiration—and proof that you can build a remarkable career here.”

Moffitt agrees. “It’s not just about his personal success—it’s what he’s brought back to the business. That return on investment in people is huge. We’ve seen it time and again.”

Defining culture through integrity

So what keeps all of this aligned? For Chubb, the answer is simple: integrity.

“Integrity is our one non-negotiable,” says Moffatt. “Our work matters. We’re trusted to protect lives and assets. That kind of trust starts internally—with how we treat each other, how we lead, and how we make decisions.”

This clarity of purpose guides the company’s leadership culture from the top down. “Our leaders are expected to model integrity,” says Leach. “They don’t just enforce the rules—they inspire their teams to do the right thing, every time.”

It’s also having a measurable impact. Chubb has seen employee engagement scores rise and attrition fall. Internal promotions are up. Collaboration across teams has never been stronger. “People are stepping up, working together, and staying longer,” notes Leach. “It’s a strong signal that our approach is working.”

Embracing change, shaping the future

But the leadership journey doesn’t stop here. As technology and market expectations evolve, so too must the tools of development.

“We’re constantly adapting,” says Moffatt. “Our Leader Labs evolve with the business landscape. We’re exploring Agile modules, personalised development plans, and tech-led learning. And because we’re part of API Group, we benefit from insights across the globe.”

Chubb also leans heavily on employee feedback. Regular surveys and check-ins help the business refine its approach and stay relevant. “If it’s not valuable to our people, it won’t work,” says Leach. “So we’re always listening.”

Leadership beyond the workplace

Importantly, Chubb’s leadership ethos extends beyond its business. Through its “Charitable Chubb” volunteering programme and partnerships with community groups, employees are encouraged to lead in their local areas too.

“Leadership is about service,” says Leach. “We’re proud to see our people mentoring, volunteering, and representing Chubb in meaningful ways across the country.”

Advice for others: start small, stay authentic

For businesses hoping to emulate Chubb’s approach, both Moffatt and Leach emphasise starting with clear behavioural expectations and small, achievable actions.

“Define what good leadership looks like for you,” advises Moffatt. “Then start with peer mentoring, honest conversations, and lead by example. The culture will follow.”

Leach agrees: “Create opportunities for people to connect and lead beyond their roles. Confidence comes from real-world experience, not just theory.”

What’s next?

Chubb’s leadership journey is far from over. Upcoming plans include expanding mentorship programmes, strengthening diversity and wellness initiatives, and partnering with educational institutions to support future leaders.

“It’s about sustainable, inclusive leadership for the long term,” says Leach. “We’re building something that can carry us—and our people—forward, for years to come.”

Subscribe to the In Conversation podcast

For more interviews with Britain’s most inspiring business leaders, search Business Matters In Conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

Read more:
Building great leaders: how Chubb Fire and Security is redefining leadership from the ground up

Being accused of trade mark infringement is serious and can have significant consequences for you and your business. Be aware that not every claim is valid, legally sound, or backed by proper evidence. Even if the claim has merit, you may have a legal defence or be able to settle it without going to court.

In this article, Ben Evans, Head of Trade Marks at Harper James, sets out the steps to take if you receive a trade mark infringement claim and the key points you should consider.

Is it a legitimate trade mark infringement claim?

Not every trade mark claim is genuine. Some are made without a solid legal basis, often in an attempt to pressure businesses into making unnecessary payments. When you receive a claim, the first step is to check whether it’s valid.

You should seek legal advice as soon as you receive a claim. A trade mark solicitor can assess the claim, explain your options, and help you plan your next steps.

While waiting for legal advice, gather information about your position. Start by checking:

• Is your trade mark registered?
• Is the registration valid, up to date, and does it cover the goods and services you offer?
• Can you prove when you first started using your trade mark?
• Do you know when the claimant began using theirs and was this after you?
• Can you find evidence of them trading from the date they claim?

You should also review any licences, permissions or agreements that give you the right to use the trade mark. If you acquired it as part of a business purchase, check whether the transfer of the mark and goodwill was properly covered in the agreement. If you are using the mark under licence, confirm that you have a valid, signed copy of the licence agreement and that the licensor still legally owns the mark.

Finally, make sure you can prove your products are genuine. Keep clear product descriptions, photographs of your items, and details of any unique features that help distinguish your goods from counterfeits. This might include holograms, bespoke packaging or unique barcodes. If your products rely on a particular composition, ingredient or specification, expert reports or test results can also help confirm their authenticity.

Is there a time limit for you to respond to a trade mark claim?

You must stick to any deadlines set by the claimant. If a court or tribunal is involved, you could face additional costs or harm your case by missing important deadlines. So, check any letters or documents carefully and note down key dates.

Are there steps you can take to limit the damage?

Before fully assessing the claim, it’s sensible to pause some business activities linked to the trade mark. For example:

• If the product in question is still for sale online, consider removing the listing until you understand your position.
• Let any third parties using your trade mark under your authorisation know they should pause use too.
• If someone is supplying you with counterfeit products under your business name, stop further deliveries while you investigate.

How do I respond to a trade mark infringement claim?

You will need to respond to the claim in full, but only after you’ve thoroughly investigated it and taken legal advice.

Your first response might be a simple acknowledgement. Confirm receipt of the correspondence, explain that you are seeking legal advice, and state that you’ll respond fully within the given deadline. If the deadline is very tight (less than 14 days), you might be able to request an extension.

When you respond fully, you may need to:

• Dispute the claim and request evidence to support the allegations.
• Set out any valid defences you have and supply supporting evidence.
• In some cases, file a counterclaim to challenge the claimant’s own trade mark use or registration.

How long does it take to resolve a trade mark infringement dispute?

This depends on the nature of the case, the size and nature of the businesses involved and their relative bargaining powers and whether any external bodies are involved, such as the Courts or Registries.

If you can negotiate a compromise or coexistence agreement, you might resolve the dispute fairly quickly. Often, this means making simple adjustments to your trade mark use to avoid confusion between your business and the claimant’s.

If the dispute goes to court, be prepared for it to take much longer. Managing your expectations will help you stay proactive and avoid frustration. Factor in the time and potential disruption to your business when deciding how to proceed.

How can I protect my business moving forward?

The best way to avoid future problems is to take sensible, proactive steps before you start using a new trade mark.

Start with a trade mark clearance search. This means checking national and international trade mark databases to see if your proposed name, logo or sign is already registered. It’s important to do this before you begin trading or apply for a trade mark registration. A proper search helps you spot potential conflicts early and avoid problems later.

It’s also worth carrying out some simple commercial checks. Look online to see if any other businesses are already using a similar name or brand. Check domain names, Companies House records and business directories. These checks are quick and can highlight obvious risks.

Once your trade mark is in use, put clear brand guidelines in place. Make sure everyone in your business and any contractors or partners you work with understands exactly how your trade mark should be used. This reduces the risk of mistakes and protects the strength of your brand.

You should also keep your trade mark registrations under regular review. Make sure you know what trade marks you own, what goods and services they cover, and where you have protection. As your business grows, you may need to update your registrations or register new marks for new products, services or markets.

Taking these simple steps now will help protect your brand and reduce the chance of problems in future.

Summary

Receiving a trade mark infringement claim is not always as bad as it first seems. Keeping good records, including evidence of your trade mark ownership and use of your marks where will strengthen your position if a claim arises.

Most importantly, seek legal advice early. It can help you resolve the matter quickly, minimise losses and help you get back to running your business.

Read more:
You have been accused of trade mark infringement – now what?

President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on global imports — including a 10% charge on all UK goods — have triggered fears of a global trade war, with wide-ranging implications for UK consumers, investors and businesses.

While the UK’s tariff rate is lower than that faced by some countries, the knock-on effects could still be significant — from higher prices and rising inflation to weaker pensions, lower interest rates, and job losses in key sectors.

Will prices rise?

At this stage, the UK has not introduced retaliatory tariffs on US imports, meaning American goods entering the UK remain unaffected. However, if the UK were to respond in kind, prices for US goods could increase, especially for products with tight profit margins, where importers may pass on costs to consumers.

Some importers may choose to switch suppliers to countries unaffected by US tariffs, which could help keep prices down. If supply from alternative markets grows, prices could even fall in the short term, although such outcomes are highly uncertain.

There have been questions around the role of VAT in Trump’s trade complaint, but the UK government is unlikely to alter VAT rules in response — doing so could unfairly advantage US imports over domestic products.

What about pensions and investments?

Stock markets have reacted sharply, with both UK and US markets falling in response to the escalating trade tensions. For UK consumers, this could affect pensions and personal investments, especially those with exposure to US equities.

Most pension funds are globally diversified, and even savers with indirect exposure will likely see a dip in fund values. However, market corrections can provide buying opportunities for those contributing regularly.

Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International, said: “It may sound counterintuitive, but staying invested throughout times of volatility is the best strategy. Trying to time the market can lead to missed opportunities.”

He added: “Taking a long-term approach is more likely to deliver the outcomes investors are looking for.”

Could mortgage rates fall?

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 4.5%, but hinted at a gradual decline amid growing economic uncertainty — with tariffs now part of that picture.

Money markets are already pricing in a potential interest rate cut as early as May, with further reductions possible this year. If this happens, mortgage rates could fall, making borrowing more affordable.

Are jobs at risk?

One of the clearest risks is to UK manufacturing jobs, especially in export-focused industries such as automotive. US tariffs on car imports have been set at 25%, putting intense pressure on British carmakers.

Think tank IPPR estimates that over 25,000 UK jobs are at risk, particularly at Jaguar Land Rover and the Mini plant in Cowley, Oxford.

If demand for UK exports falls due to tariffs, businesses may scale back operations. Redundancy protections exist — workers are entitled to statutory redundancy pay if they’ve been with their employer for two years or more — but the wider economic impact could stretch beyond the automotive sector.

The outlook

The full implications of Trump’s tariff policy are still unfolding, but UK consumers should brace for increased volatility, both in prices and the jobs market. At the same time, lower borrowing costs and potential long-term investment opportunities could help soften the blow — if the UK economy navigates the turbulence with care.

Read more:
What Trump’s tariffs could mean for UK business & consumers

Taxpayers have until 5 April 2025 to take advantage of a limited-time opportunity to top up their state pension by making backdated National Insurance Contributions (NICs), according to leading audit, tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.

The government previously extended the deadline to allow individuals to fill in gaps in their NIC records for any tax year from 2006 onwards. Ordinarily, taxpayers can only make voluntary contributions for the past six tax years.

Robert Salter, Director at Blick Rothenberg, said the extension offers a vital opportunity for those with incomplete contribution histories. “This easement is designed to help ensure that people who have missing NIC histories — perhaps due to time spent living overseas or caring for children without claiming child benefit — can still make voluntary contributions to maximise their future state pension.”

A full state pension typically requires 35 qualifying years of NICs. While many UK residents achieve this automatically through employment or benefit claims, others — such as those who have worked abroad, been self-employed and paid via dividends, or earned income from property — may fall short and could benefit from making voluntary top-ups.

Salter cautioned, however, that “voluntary contributions won’t be appropriate for everyone. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.” He advised individuals to first review their own NIC records and state pension forecasts to make an informed decision.

How to check your state pension entitlement:

Rather than calling HMRC — which could result in long wait times — Salter recommends the following options:

• Use the HMRC app: Once downloaded, this allows users to check their National Insurance record and state pension forecast. Download the HMRC app – GOV.UK
• Check your state pension forecast online: Check your State Pension forecast – GOV.UK
• Request a call back:

  If you’re unable to get through by phone, you can complete a form to request a call back from HMRC. Request a call back to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions – GOV.UK

While a response from HMRC by the 5 April deadline is unlikely, Salter notes that officials are expected to act pragmatically. “If you complete the call-back request before the deadline, HMRC may allow you additional time to decide whether to proceed with a top-up.”

With the deadline fast approaching, those with gaps in their National Insurance record are urged to act quickly to assess their eligibility and potentially enhance their retirement income.

Read more:
Taxpayers given until 5 April to boost state pension via National Insurance top-ups

Let’s be honest – marketing isn’t a straight path for any business, least of all SMEs.

There’s no perfect blueprint, and everyone stumbles along the way. What separates successful marketing leaders from the rest isn’t avoiding mistakes – it’s recognising them quickly, learning the lesson, and moving forward without dwelling on the failure. In this short article you’ll find a hand-picked  selection of marketing mistakes you’ll likely make – not to discourage you, but to help you spot them sooner and overcome them faster. Think of this as your pre-emptive troubleshooting guide from someone who’s already navigated these choppy waters.

Remember, making these mistakes doesn’t mean your marketing strategy is fundamentally flawed or that you’re doing it wrong; it simply means you’re facing the same challenges as virtually every other SME trying to grow. You’re in good company.

1. Marketing Will Fall Down Your Priority List

You start with the best intentions. Then reality hits – a crisis emerges, cash flow tightens, or operations demand attention. Suddenly, marketing slides from a ‘top priority’ to a “we’ll get to it next week.”

Advice: Set concrete triggers that force marketing back onto your agenda – whether it’s a revenue threshold not being met or a period without leads. Use these as alarm bells that cannot be ignored.

2. You’ll Make Poor Hiring Decisions

Finding the right marketing talent – whether in-house team members or agencies – is deceptively difficult. The candidate with the “all-singing, all-dancing” CV might struggle to deliver. The agency with flashy case studies might not understand your challenges.

One bad apple shouldn’t spoil the barrel. A single hiring misstep doesn’t mean your entire marketing approach is flawed. Be willing to change the player, not necessarily the game plan.

Advice: Create 30, 60, and 90-day benchmarks for any new marketing resource – inhouse or external. Focus on revenue centric business outcomes, not just activities. If it all goes wrong, don’t beat yourself up. Keep your head held high, reflect on what could have been done differently and move forwards. Change the player, not the game.

3. You’ll Become Disheartened and Disillusioned

Let’s face it – marketing isn’t all instant gratification and hockey-stick growth curves. There will be campaigns that flop, strategies that fizzle, and moments where you seriously question whether any of this effort is actually worth it. That ROI you were promised? Sometimes it feels more like throwing money into a black hole.

This disillusionment is actually part of the process. Every successful marketing leader has gone through periods of questioning whether their approach is working. The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t isn’t avoiding this feeling – it’s how they respond to it.

When times get tough, that’s exactly when you need a fire in your belly. If marketing success was easy, everyone would be doing it, and every brand would be the best in their industry. The reality? There can only be one winner in each category – so make it you. These challenging moments separate the brands that will dominate from those that will merely participate.

Advice: Create a “marketing experiments” budget – a small, designated portion of your overall marketing spend that’s explicitly for testing new approaches with zero pressure to succeed. When the main strategy feels stagnant, having this playground for innovation keeps the momentum going and often uncovers unexpected wins. More importantly, it prevents the all-or-nothing thinking that leads many SMEs to completely abandon marketing when their primary approach hits a plateau.

4. The Guilt Cycle Is Real

Here’s one nobody talks about: the guilt cycle of marketing neglect. You know marketing matters. You know you should be doing more. You feel guilty for not giving it attention. That guilt makes you avoid it further. The cycle deepens.

Breaking this pattern requires honesty with yourself. Marketing is either a priority or it isn’t. If it is, treat it like other non-negotiable aspects of your business. If it truly isn’t a current priority due to other pressing needs, acknowledge that decision deliberately rather than letting it happen by default.

Advice: Document your marketing journey – the wins, losses, and lessons. This creates perspective during tough times and reveals what actually works for your business.

Final Thoughts – SME Marketing Mistakes

The hardest truth about SME marketing isn’t that mistakes happen – it’s that you’ll often need to make them yourself before the lessons truly sink in. Reading about potential pitfalls helps, but there’s no substitute for first-hand experience.

What separates thriving businesses from struggling ones isn’t their ability to avoid these mistakes entirely – it’s developing the resilience to view each setback as market research rather than failure. Every underwhelming campaign teaches you something about your audience. Every hiring misstep clarifies what your business actually needs.

SMEs who embrace marketing challenges with curiosity rather than frustration inevitably outperform those with technically “better” strategies but fragile mindsets. Your attitude toward marketing obstacles matters more than your marketing budget.

So, approach your marketing journey with equal parts determination and flexibility. Set clear objectives, but be willing to adjust your route. Celebrate progress, not just outcomes. And perhaps most importantly, find the balance between learning from others’ mistakes and being willing to make your own unique ones. That’s where true marketing wisdom comes from.

Read more:
SME Marketing ‘Mistakes’ You’ll Make – Don’t Beat Yourself Up

It’s no secret that the US, with the Trump administration’s renewed focus on dismantling government-led DEI efforts, is sparking a shift among major companies.

The question for British business leaders is whether to follow suit — or whether they might regret cutting back on policies designed to foster more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces.

What’s clear from fresh research is that the most successful DEI strategies are those woven into a company’s core values and day-to-day operations. Treating them as an afterthought or a separate programme is where things often go wrong. Worse, cosmetic gestures can alienate those who feel left out — turning what should be a collaborative mission into a source of division.

Focus on leadership and data

Leaders and managers who actively promote inclusive thinking set the tone. This starts with the ability to coach teams, tailoring conversations to individual needs, and encouraging honest, open dialogue. Pay attention to who gets listened to in meetings and who might be talked over or overlooked. Make sure people receive credit for their ideas — and that standards apply equally, irrespective of background, role or seniority.

At the same time, track the data. Monitor who is joining your organisation, who is being promoted and whether any unconscious bias creeps into assessments. Targets and measurement still matter. Recent history shows that clear goals have driven progress on issues like gender pay gaps and women on boards.

Ditch the big gestures (or not?)

Some organisations are moving away from high-profile campaigns or ‘celebration days’, partly because these can leave some employees feeling excluded. Instead, they’re promoting inclusive culture through everyday steps that benefit everyone. This could include internal mentorship schemes, sponsorship programmes, flexible working arrangements, robust data collection, and transparent promotion policies.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating shared experiences. Groups and networks can give employees from different backgrounds a space to connect. But, as with anything, it’s about balance. Constant fanfare without practical change won’t deliver real results.

Keep an eye on the bottom line

Ultimately, companies that nurture inclusivity are more likely to attract top talent, improve staff retention and spur innovation. If inclusivity is integral to how you do business, you’ll see better engagement and stronger overall performance. But if you treat DEI as a box-ticking exercise — or, conversely, if you drop it altogether — you risk alienating current and potential employees, undermining trust and losing your competitive edge.

For British firms pondering a similar rollback to their US counterparts, the key takeaway is simple: DEI on paper achieves little. DEI in practice, supported by genuine managerial commitment, performance targets and real accountability, can keep your workforce engaged — and keep your organisation ahead.

Read more:
Should you drop your diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives?

Companies that rely heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare their Research and Development (R&D) tax claims could find their claims rejected by HMRC if the process lacks human oversight.

That is the warning from Blick Rothenberg, a leading audit, tax, and business advisory firm.

Ele Theochari, a Partner and R&D specialist at the firm, says the government’s recently announced AI Opportunities Action Plan offers both “opportunities and risk” to R&D claimants. A growing number of providers use AI-based tools to compile and submit R&D claims as well as additional information forms, sometimes falsely claiming they enjoy special privileges with HMRC.

Theochari highlights concerns about the quality of AI-driven R&D submissions, warning that many appear “wordy but lack substance,” making them vulnerable to HMRC scrutiny. She notes that some large, volume-focused R&D companies have already gone out of business over the past four years due to the poor quality of their work and follow-up investigations they could not defend.

Although AI can streamline aspects of the R&D claims process, Theochari stresses that the role of a knowledgeable adviser “cannot be underestimated.” Even accurate data fed into AI can result in mistakes and falsehoods—known as “AI hallucinations”—that compromise the integrity of a claim. HMRC’s own attempt to rely on AI for fact-checking during compliance queries has similarly encountered this problem.

On a more positive note, Theochari points out that AI can be harnessed to effectively summarise complex technical information, identify baseline technologies, conduct research, and manage large calculations. However, she emphasises that expert input is essential to ensure any AI-generated content is factual, relevant, and ready for HMRC’s scrutiny.

Read more:
Businesses using AI to file R&D tax claims risk HMRC rejection

Gary Lineker, the former England footballer turned broadcaster, has strategically placed his television production company, Goalhanger Films, into voluntary liquidation ahead of upcoming capital gains tax rises.

Co-owned with former ITV controller Tony Pastor, the company reported net assets exceeding £440,000 in its last published accounts.

The decision comes as the UK government announced in the recent Budget that capital gains tax rates will increase from 10% to 14% starting in April, with a further rise to 18% in 2025. By liquidating the company now, Lineker and Pastor can benefit from the current lower tax rate on distributions from the company’s assets.

Tony Pastor confirmed that Goalhanger Films is being “mothballed,” allowing the duo to focus on their rapidly growing venture, Goalhanger Podcasts. The podcast platform hosts popular series such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Football, and reported net assets close to £591,000 earlier this year.

Lineker’s move aligns with the practice of Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL), a process that enables solvent companies to wind up operations in a tax-efficient manner. An MVL allows business owners with significant retained earnings to treat distributed funds as capital gains rather than income, potentially resulting in substantial tax savings under the Business Asset Disposal Relief framework.

Originally launched in 2014, Goalhanger Films produced high-profile sports documentaries featuring stars like Mohamed Salah and Serena Williams. However, the shift towards the more successful podcast division reflects Lineker’s adaptation to changing market dynamics.

Despite stepping down from hosting Match of the Day after a 26-year tenure, Lineker remains a prominent figure at the BBC, with contracts to present coverage of the FA Cup and the 2026 World Cup.

Lessons for Business Owners

Lineker’s financial move offers insights for entrepreneurs and company directors:

Act Early: Anticipating tax changes and making timely decisions can maximize financial benefits.
Consider MVL: For solvent businesses planning to close, an MVL can be an effective tool to unlock value efficiently.
Adapt to Growth: Shifting focus to more successful ventures ensures resources are allocated to areas with the greatest potential.

Read more:
Gary Lineker liquidates Goalhanger Films ahead of capital gains tax increase

Successful digital marketing involves constant review of your SEO, PPC campaigns and website UX, which can result in a sense akin to FOMO for marketers concerned about getting the best possible ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment).

Phil Turner of Bespoke explains how to judge if your marketing is working, and how to strike a balance between staying at the top of your digital marketing game, without confusing your customers through over-adaptation.

In 2023, digital ad spend in the UK is set to exceed £30billion. But research by Bespoke shows that, of that figure, an estimated 31% is wasted. That’s £9.3billion being spent every year on digital tactics that generate no, or limited, return.

We conducted our research by analysing the findings of our Digital Strategy Workshops carried out over five years with companies from across the North West and South East of England, two of the UK’s hotspots for digital marketing as a whole.

The workshops, targeted at inhouse digital marketers, start with an extensive audit of current spend on all areas of digital marketing. After analysing the results over five years, we were astounded to realise just how much digital marketing spend on average is currently wasted. The key culprits according to our findings are:

Spend on PPC on platforms that simply don’t work for that industry

PPC is not like playing the lottery. It’s not a case of being in it to win it. To avoid wasting money, PPC campaigns have to be aligned with buying behaviour for that industry. If you have a niche product that consumers search for, Google is the natural choice. If it’s a consumer product that’s disrupting the market in some way, Facebook is a good option. If it’s corporate B2B, LinkedIn is probably best. But rarely will you get good returns from all three. Yes, there can be a case of trial and error. But if it’s more often error, the best move companies can make to improve these digital tactics is simply to switch them off. The saved money can be put into meaningful investments such as UX, which in fact will help convert more customers who’ve reached the site through appropriate clicks.

Paid ads just left to run

Sometimes, when a PPC plan is put in place and can be seen to work, companies just leave it running. This “if it ain’t broke” attitude can lead to huge losses from campaigns that can actually be improved by ongoing management, maintenance and development. In the worst-case scenarios, we’ve seen many more companies than you might imagine, who have simply set up campaigns and then forgotten about them. In the interim, they have updated their products and services, making these old ads meaningless, and every click they get, simply a waste of money.

Again, the advice here is review your campaigns regularly and seek constant improvement.  If they’re not working, turn them off, or change them.

Jumping too soon

The third most common way digital ad spend is simply wasted is where companies start spending before they have got the fundamentals right. If you have not carefully worked out your product or service’s positioning in the marketplace before you start spending on ads, you’re bound to be wasting a large portion of your budget.

The lesson is simple: Look before you leap. Spending the time, before you start spending your money, to get your digital strategy aligned with your products’ USPs in the context of the marketplace you’re entering will save you huge amounts of budget in the long-run.

Companies can avoid wastage by investing money and time in getting their digital strategy right before they start handing their money to Google or social media platforms.

Being aware of the potential areas of digital wastage can be the absolute decider between glorious success or outright failure as an online marketer.

Strategy

As a simple question, does your web strategy make your business stand out in your industry? A well researched strategy is fundamental to successful online lead-generation. To perform well, websites and campaigns should be designed around a well researched strategy. For example, one that includes deep profiling of your ideal customer, consistent marketing messages that have been proven to excite your customer, and an understanding of the expected return on investment across each of the digital channels available to you.

Website

Do you have a performance website with a great conversion rate? Many business persevere with an old or underperforming website for too long. A performance website is designed based on data and built with advanced lead-magnets. For example, a performance website might convert 1 in 20 of its visitors to leads whilst a regular website might only convert 1 in 200.

A brand refresh and website redesign by senior professionals who are specialist in your sector will typically improve performance overnight (on average we see an instant 15% performance increase when we relaunch a website – equivalent to £100,000s of new business in some cases).

Marketing

Do your campaigns get more high quality leads than competitors? When a business has a good strategy and website in place it makes sense to invest in online marketing campaigns to drive laser targeted prospects to your lead magnets.

Yet, we often see budget being wasted on campaigns that are poorly targeted or whose key messages do not excite the target customer. When it comes to marketing campaigns there is competition for the best value traffic across digital channels so it pays for your campaigns to be in the best shape they possibly can be.

When these three essentials are fully developed and working in harmony, a business gets the best possible flow of quality leads from its website and other online marketing. But if any of the three are not quite as they should be, the whole marketing operation underperforms. A weakness in one weakens the others too.

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FOMO about ROMI? How do you know when your marketing is working?

UK R&D tax relief enables companies undertaking innovative activities and qualifying R&D projects to claim corporation tax relief and/or tax credits on qualifying R&D expenditure.

The purpose being to encourage UK innovation by providing relief on qualifying R&D spend, effectively derisking the cost of the R&D work for qualifying companies. This has enabled companies to invest in vital R&D that aims to achieve scientific and/or technological advancements, which typically leads to additional employment and increased expertise in the UK. It is universally recognised that without innovation in business, economies will not grow, therefore a reduction in R&D tax relief and discouraging valid companies from claiming may result in the UK falling behind other major world economies.

R&D tax relief has been in existence for more than 20 years, however over the last couple of years there have been monumental changes, including a significant increase in HMRC enquiries. Over the life of the R&D schemes, the number of companies claiming R&D tax relief has increased exponentially, partly because companies and their advisors have become more experienced and adept at identifying qualifying R&D activities but also because some companies, often misled by rogue R&D advisors have pushed the boundaries of the legislation, leading to exaggerated and fraudulent claims being filed.

Historically, HMRC’s enquiry rate was 1% and the vast majority of R&D claims were processed with no or few questions asked. This all changed a couple of years ago with the introduction of the HMRC R&D ISBC enquiry team. It was widely accepted in the accounting and tax profession that change was needed to tackle inflated and fraudulent R&D claims, however, the resulting consequences of HMRC’s sledgehammer approach to enquiries, along with the changes in legislation reducing the amount of relief available, has had a disastrous impact to genuine claimants and has the potential to cripple the UK’s economy and innovation.

The ISBC unit was primarily made up of newly trained and inexperienced R&D staff and although the enquiry process quite rightly sought to target companies who were making overinflated and fraudulent claims, HMRC’s volume approach to enquiries has also targeted genuine qualifying companies, who have been caught up in long drawn out enquiries, where in some cases, HMRC has ignored evidence and denied companies the opportunity to discuss the R&D claim in person, instead adopting a tunnel vision approach to deny genuine qualifying companies this vital tax relief.

Across other HMRC taxes, when enquiries are opened, there is usually a named HMRC caseworker/Inspector, allowing a level of understanding, direct contact and collaboration between taxpayers, advisors and HMRC to ensure the correct amount of tax is paid, which has enabled fairness and trust in the enquiry process, very much in line with the taxpayer’s charter. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the ISBC unit as no names are provided as to the HMRC staff conducting the enquiries, reducing accountability and recourse when serious errors have been made.

The accounting/tax profession and their professional bodies have understandably been up in arms about HMRC’s failings and the adverse ramifications it is having on companies genuinely undertaking qualifying R&D. Some companies have been pushed into serious financial difficulties and many have thrown in the towel, deciding not to contest HMRC’s decision to disallow their claim, as they do not have the resources to fight against the might of HMRC. Companies do have the choice to appeal against HMRC’s decisions at a tax tribunal, but to do this requires significant cost and time which many companies simply cannot afford, particularly start-ups.

It is easy to overlook the significant and cumulative adverse effect that a lack of investment in innovation by businesses is likely to have on the UK economy in the future. With thousands of legitimate R&D qualifying companies experiencing an unjust and unfair enquiry process, and the adverse consequences this has brought, many have had no choice but to reduce resources spent on innovating or stop innovating completely. Whilst tax takings from HMRC denying legitimate claims may appear to increase in the short term, the long-term adverse effect on growth in the economy and associated tax takings could be devastating, with ramifications across all industries and supply chains.

The Chartered Institute of Tax (CIOT) has written comprehensive open complaint letters to HMRC regarding the serious failings occurring in the current R&D enquiry process. However, despite HMRC recognising its lack of training and that serious errors have been made, not enough is being done to address HMRC’s failings, or deal with unscrupulous R&D advisors.

The reduction in tax relief available, the increased costs required to support R&D claims, combined with the increased risk of HMRC denying genuine qualifying companies R&D tax relief has significantly deterred companies from investing in innovation, creating a perfect storm and a potentially disastrous effect on growth in the economy moving forward.

It is now more important than ever that genuine R&D claimants ensure they are working with experienced, creditable R&D tax advisors. Collaborating with their advisors throughout the year to develop their R&D strategy, understanding the complexities of the R&D schemes and the increased requirements and capturing evidence in ‘real time’ is now essential, to support their R&D claims and mitigate the risk of an enquiry. Gone are the days of a ‘light touch’ approach at the end of the accounting year, it is vital companies choose the right R&D advisors and challenge the advice they are given. If something seems too good to be true, it often is. But with the right advisors, expert advice and a robust R&D strategy, companies can navigate through the complexities of the R&D schemes to ensure if HMRC do enquire, their claims stand up to this intense and rigorous scrutiny.  This in turn should help restore a level of confidence to the R&D tax relief schemes and encourage the innovation and growth the UK economy needs.

About the Author:

Rory Fothergill is an experienced R&D and Tax Advisory Senior Manager at JS Accountants and Business Advisors.  He has a wealth of experience in supporting companies with R&D claims, advising on how to strengthen and protect claims, advising on R&D systems and processes, and successfully navigating HMRC R&D enquiries. Rory and JS also provide specialist R&D support and advice to clients of smaller partner accountancy practices, to ensure their clients can also benefit from expert and experienced comprehensive R&D support.

Read more:
A Disaster for Innovation – The Research and Development Relief Perfect Storm

BBC Director General Tim Davie has faced tough questions about his handling of the Huw Edwards investigation.

Among the points raised by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy were why Mr Edwards was not dismissed upon the BBC learning of his arrest and why he received a pay rise during this period.

A recent tribunal ruling has highlighted the risks of dismissing employees suspected of criminal activity.

Care assistant Jacqueline Difolco brought an unfair dismissal claim against her employer, Care UK, after being charged with murder in October 2022. The Employment Tribunal upheld her claim, stating that the company failed to properly investigate whether the charges could reasonably cause reputational damage to the organisation.

Rob McKellar, Legal Services Director at Peninsula, remarked, “The Difolco case clearly demonstrates how the law and the public interest are not always aligned. This may shed some light on the BBC’s decision to act cautiously in not dismissing Huw Edwards when they became aware of the police investigation into child pornography offences.

“Whereas in Difolco, the employee had actually been charged, albeit not convicted, in Edwards’ case the matter was still at the investigatory stage until last week.

“Had the BBC decided to dismiss Huw Edwards when it was notified of his arrest in November, it may have found itself using taxpayers’ money to defend and potentially pay out on an expensive lawsuit.

“That does not mean, however, that employers cannot dismiss for reasons of reputational damage or public interest. The law states there are five fair reasons for dismissal, and misconduct is only one of them.

“Employers can also dismiss on the grounds of ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ (SOSR). The legal test for deciding whether an SOSR dismissal is fair is whether the employer followed a fair process and acted reasonably in reaching the conclusion it did.

“When it comes to the topic of pay, the contract of employment is key. If a contract states that when an employee is suspended it is on full pay, then they are entitled to be paid in line with that contract. Pay rises that would fall to be given during a suspension would also need to be honoured, unless there was a contractual clause stating otherwise.

“If there is any kind of wage recovery agreement that sets out pay can be deducted or claimed back, then there may be an option to do so. The employer would need to ask the employee to return the money. If they fail to do so, and there is an agreement in place that states they would need to, a claim could be pursued through the civil courts.

“Lisa Nandy has called for Huw Edwards to return his pay; it remains to be seen what course of action could be taken here.”

Read more:
Huw Edwards: new tribunal ruling sheds light on HR and employment law risks

In the fast-paced world of public relations, timing is everything. As someone who has spent years navigating the intricacies of media relations and crisis management, I cannot stress enough how critical speed is when it comes to getting your name featured in news stories.

This is particularly true in the context of events with immense public interest, such as the recent UK general election.

Why Speed Matters

When news breaks, journalists are on high alert, looking for fresh angles, expert opinions, and immediate reactions. The window of opportunity to provide these insights is often measured in minutes, not days. Sending a reaction comment four days after a major event is not just ineffective—it’s a colossal waste of time and resources.

Imagine this scenario: A significant political event unfolds, and your PR company drafts a perfect response. However, it sits in their inbox for days, only to be sent out when the news cycle has moved on. By then, the media has already published numerous stories and moved on to the next big thing. Your carefully crafted comment is now irrelevant, buried under a pile of newer updates.

The Financial Cost of Delays

For SMEs, every pound counts. Hiring a PR company can be a significant investment, but if they are slow to respond, you might as well take that money out to the car park and set fire to it. At least then, you’ll get some warmth in this unseasonable British summer. A delayed reaction not only fails to capitalise on the immediate news cycle but also wastes the budget allocated for timely PR interventions.

Actionable Advice for SMEs

Set Clear Expectations: Ensure that your PR company understands the importance of speed. Set clear guidelines for how quickly they need to respond to major events.

Prepare in Advance: Work with your PR team to prepare draft responses for various scenarios. Having pre-approved comments can save precious time when news breaks.

Stay Informed: Keep abreast of major news events, especially those relevant to your industry. This allows you to provide timely and relevant reactions.

Leverage Social Media: Sometimes, your official channels might be slower. Use social media platforms to share immediate reactions while your PR team crafts a more detailed response.

Evaluate Performance: Regularly review the performance of your PR company. If they consistently fail to deliver timely responses, it might be time to reconsider your partnership.

In the realm of public relations, particularly during high-stakes events like general elections, speed is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity. SMEs must ensure their PR companies are equipped to act swiftly and effectively. Delayed reactions are a waste of time and money, undermining the very purpose of engaging PR professionals. By prioritizing speed and setting clear expectations, SMEs can enhance their media presence and make the most of every opportunity.

Remember, in PR, being second is not an option. Be first, be fast, and make your mark.

Read more:
The Importance of Speed in PR: A Wake-Up Call for UK SMEs

Throughout the general election campaign, Labour officials maintained there were “no plans” to increase taxes beyond their stated manifesto pledges.

However, given the precarious state of the nation’s finances, the wealthy and their advisers anticipate future tax hikes now that the party has assumed control of Number 10.

Labour’s landslide victory was, in part, secured by pledging not to increase income tax, national insurance, VAT, or corporation tax rates — the “big four” taxes which account for about 75 per cent of the annual tax revenue.

This leaves limited flexibility if economic growth falls short of expectations. As a result, speculation about which tax levers might be pulled in the future has been a hot topic among advisers and their clients.

Predicting potential changes to tax rules is fraught with risk. However, higher earners and the wealthy are weighing the risks of pre-emptive action against the potential benefits of lower future tax bills if their strategies succeed.

Aside from relocating abroad, here are four ways the wealthiest are looking to “Labour-proof” their finances against possible future tax increases.

Restructuring your investment portfolio

Advisers suggest that changes to capital gains tax (CGT) could be a subtle way of imposing a wealth tax. Gains on investments held outside pensions and ISAs are currently taxed at 20 per cent: historically low for the UK and relatively low compared to the US and Europe.

Wealth managers report a sell-off has begun as some wealthy clients fear Labour will increase CGT rates, potentially aligning them with rates charged on dividends or income tax.

“We are seeing people taking action and rebasing their portfolios, selling assets now to crystallise gains at 20 per cent in the hope this will protect them from higher future tax rates,” says Katherine Waller, co-founder of Six Degrees, a wealth management firm.

Many of her clients, who are entrepreneurs, have large allowable tax losses to offset gains, making a pre-emptive CGT hit more palatable. Another strategy involves storing up any allowable losses for future use if CGT rates rise, although Waller fears Labour could impose a time limit on these. “It’s also possible that future capital losses will be capped,” she adds.

Christine Ross, client director at Handelsbanken Wealth, notes that her clients are also carefully reshuffling their investment portfolios. “They generally sell [a shareholding] and immediately purchase similar investments to bank the current capital gains tax rate,” she explains. “The shares must be different, as UK tax rules negate this form of planning if the same shares are repurchased within 30 days of sale.”

Investment platforms report that customers are selling shares held within general investment accounts and repurchasing them within ISAs, making use of their spouse’s £20,000 annual allowance alongside their own.

Advisers strive to ensure reconstructed investment portfolios maximise the whole family’s tax allowances, though this raises questions of control. Holding assets in the name of a spouse or civil partner in a lower income tax band can be advantageous — provided there is trust they won’t spend it.

The fear of future CGT increases is also adding to financial pressures on smaller buy-to-let landlords, prompting many to sell up. CGT is charged at 24 per cent for higher-rate taxpayers selling second homes or buy-to-let properties. Larger landlords, who often hold rental properties within corporate structures, are less affected. However, advisers say potential CGT changes could accelerate planned exit strategies and reduce investment levels, neither of which bodes well for a government aiming for growth.

Labour insists there are no plans to raise additional taxes. However, if any future CGT changes do occur, tax experts expect they will be implemented with little warning to avoid mass pre-emptive disposals. Meanwhile, asset owners spooked into selling are swelling the coffers, potentially delaying any reckoning.

The evolving role of pensions

The very wealthy often view their pensions as vehicles for intergenerational wealth transfer rather than for their own spending. Ending the favourable inheritance tax (IHT) treatment of defined contribution pensions could be an easy target in a future Budget, prompting advisers to think of mitigation strategies.

Pensions have previously been attractive targets for Labour chancellors. However, former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb believes that if Rachel Reeves, the new chancellor, has to target pensions, she will do so “with the minimum amount of hissing”.

Webb predicts she will avoid changes to tax-free lump sums, higher rate tax relief, or bringing forward increases to the state pension age — at least in Labour’s first term. Nevertheless, advisers say clients remain deeply concerned.

For over-55s planning to draw on their pensions, taking tax-free cash sooner rather than later might seem a tempting hedge against future rule changes. The maximum tax-free lump sum most people can take is capped at £268,275, equivalent to 25 per cent of the historic pensions lifetime allowance (LTA).

Anxiety levels rose two weeks before the election when Sir Keir Starmer mistakenly said the LTA would be scrapped in the future.

Financial advisers report that older clients with plans for their tax-free cash, such as paying down a mortgage or funding children’s property deposits, are most motivated to take their entire lump sum. However, they urge caution: withdrawing a quarter of a pension only to reinvest it in a general investment account risks future CGT bills and brings money within the estate for tax purposes.

Those with large pensions were relieved when Labour’s manifesto abandoned plans to reinstate the LTA. Scrapped by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt last March, Reeves initially promised to reinstate it if Labour were elected, only to drop it last month.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future,” says Webb, now a partner at LCP, noting a general feeling within Labour that pensions tax relief is “too skewed towards the top”.

Since last March, advisers say some clients have opted to withdraw small sums to crystallise their pension benefits, fearing the LTA would be reinstated by Labour. “This is because, historically, changes to the rules have only affected uncrystallised pensions,” explains Adam Walkom, founder of Permanent Wealth Partners.

Much has been made of Reeves’s previous support for a flat rate of pensions tax relief, but Webb does not believe she would end higher rate tax relief of 40 per cent, especially as 3 million more workers are expected to be drawn into this tax band over the next five years. He expects Labour’s promised “pensions review” to focus on directing more institutional investment into British companies.

For now, workers in the “accumulation phase” can take advantage of the increased £60,000 annual allowance on pension contributions while it lasts. Even if Labour reduces this to £40,000, advisers do not anticipate changes before the April 2025 tax year.

With many already battling the effects of fiscal drag, making additional pension contributions to reduce income tax is an efficient strategy, especially for parents earning over £100,000 who could retain valuable childcare benefits when the system expands in September.

Accelerating your inheritance strategy

Advisers have long recommended “giving while living” to reduce inheritance tax bills and start the seven-year clock ticking on potentially exempt transfers. Political change has added urgency, with some wealthy families accelerating asset transfers to younger generations out of fear of changes to IHT under Labour.

“Many families who already intended to make substantial gifts to their children or to a trust are proceeding with their plans,” reports Ross.

Advisers worry that any future IHT rule changes could make it less advantageous to inherit a pension or remove business property relief on certain AIM-listed shares held for more than two years — a common, though risky, tactic to reduce IHT bills. The IFS estimates that removing these reliefs could raise nearly £3bn annually.

Ollie Saiman, co-founder of wealth manager Six Degrees, notes a growing interest in taking out insurance policies to hedge future IHT liabilities. “If you’re in your 50s or 60s and in good health, whole of life cover to provide liquidity for the eventual tax bill can be cost-effective,” he says. “Probate cannot be granted until IHT bills are paid, and beneficiaries inheriting a large, illiquid estate with a lot of property or carried interest may struggle to do so.”

Saiman also reports increased interest in setting up pensions for children and grandchildren. Up to £2,880 per year can be invested, topped up to £3,600 with 20 per cent tax relief, and cannot be accessed until retirement age. “Wealthy families understand the power of compounding,” he says.

Family investment companies are also becoming more popular. Family members become shareholders and can be paid dividends. “This could be a very tax-efficient way of covering university expenses for children or grandchildren, who will be subject to a low tax rate on their dividends,” Saiman adds.

The use of tax deferral vehicles such as offshore bond portfolios is also increasing. These are subject to the income tax rate of the recipient, making gifting a segment to a child at university a popular move. However, consider the upfront charges and advisory fees for setting up these structures.

Another simple way to avoid CGT bills on investments is to donate them to charity. Charities can dispose of shares free of capital gains tax. While they cannot claim Gift Aid on the value of the donation, individuals can offset the gross value of the gift against income tax, potentially solving two problems in one.

School fees — grandparents to the rescue?

Labour’s plans to apply VAT to private school fees were one of the few tax-raising measures consistently maintained throughout this year’s campaign.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has stated that changes will not be introduced for boarding and day schools until next year, meaning they will not affect the beginning of the school

Read more:
Safeguarding your wealth: Strategies to navigate potential labour tax changes

A leading VAT expert is calling on private schools to review the accounting treatment of pre-paid school fees in order to avoid huge tax charges at a later date.

It follows news of Labour’s plan for anti-forestalling measures on proposed private school VAT legislation. This would see the party recoup VAT on pre-paid fees for education that takes place after the VAT comes into effect.

Now, Daphne Hemingway, VAT Director at Jerroms Miller Specialist Tax is urging schools to remodel their finances and reassess the VAT accounting for advance payment schemes, as she believes many of these schemes are not sufficiently robust. She says it’s crucial for schools to act, as parents will expect that existing contracts to protect the VAT exemption on prepayments:

“There’s lots of speculation that VAT may be chargeable regardless of when the legislation is enacted. Without action, this could leave schools facing significant tax bills and could even face closure as a result of relatively simple VAT accounting errors. If the relevant pupils have left the school when the rules are applied, parents may no longer be contactable to clawback the additional 20%.

What’s more, not all parents can afford a rise in fees so pupils could be withdrawn from private education, creating a further gap in finances. Advance payments will therefore be crucial. VAT law is rarely clear or logical, and the correct accounting treatment can override the terms and conditions of several fees in advance schemes. Schools will be able to recover VAT on historic and ongoing expenditure and may well be able to reduce fees and thereby pass on less than 20%.”

Read more:
Private school fees: Schools need to act now to avoid huge tax liabilities in the future 

BritishAmerican Business (BAB) has launched the latest edition of its annual Trade and Investment Guide, a crucial resource for British companies aiming to expand their operations in the United States.

This comprehensive guide is designed to assist UK firms in navigating the diverse and extensive US market, offering detailed insights into various sectors and states.

The US, composed of 50 distinct markets, presents unique opportunities in areas such as fintech in Florida, energy solutions in Texas, electric vehicles in Indiana, and creative industries in California. The Trade and Investment Guide provides UK companies with essential information to make informed investment decisions, covering critical aspects such as financial planning, logistics, legal services, and immigration. Additionally, it highlights the support available from governments, economic development agencies, leading associations, and networks to help UK businesses thrive in the US.

BAB’s new guide also examines how companies can leverage opportunities from the UK Government’s state-led Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) scheme. Trade pacts have been signed with states including Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington State, Florida, and Texas, enhancing trade and investment prospects for UK firms.

Duncan Edwards, CEO of BritishAmerican Business, commented: “As the largest transatlantic trade organisation, we are pleased to offer the most comprehensive resource on the market for UK businesses looking to do business in the US. Our latest Guide to the US is being released at a time of great momentum for the UK-US trade and investment relationship. The US economy is leading the developed world in growth, and the US government’s investment packages on infrastructure, chips technology, and green industries are creating additional incentives for British firms. Knowing how to navigate the extensive US market is vital and we hope that this Guide offers British companies a complete overview of all the useful resources available to grow their business in the US.”

Laurie Farris, Minister Counsellor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in London, added: “There has never been a better time to start or grow a business in the United States. This year, the U.S. market topped the A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for the 12th year in a row. Opportunities abound, particularly with incentives such as those offered by the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Businesses of any size can succeed in America. From large automakers and steel manufacturers to small software companies, and from energy producers to service providers, and everything in between. The United States is also the world’s single-largest economy and most attractive consumer market. Investing in the United States gives companies direct access to those consumers and a solid base through which a company can grow globally.”

The latest Trade and Investment Guide from BritishAmerican Business is now available and serves as an invaluable tool for UK companies seeking to explore and succeed in the vast US market.

Read more:
Helping UK Businesses Find Success in America: BritishAmerican Business Launches New Trade and Investment Guide

Every business grapples with a diverse range of financial challenges and no company is fully protected from cash flow issues, late invoice payments, and unexpected costs.

Understanding these challenges is the first step in navigating them successfully and achieving business success.

As James Robson, CEO, FundOnion explains, we know that adopting effective cash flow management strategies, leveraging technology, and ensuring timely invoicing and negotiation with suppliers are vital for SME financial stability. As are key practices such as creating and managing a realistic budget, and establishing an emergency fund.

Effective cash flow management

Monitoring the money entering and leaving your business is the essence of cash flow management. Maintaining a positive cash flow is key to the survival and expansion of your business, while avoiding negative cash flow is crucial. Understanding your operating cash flow can provide valuable insight into your business’s day-to-day operations.

Effective techniques like consistent financial analysis and forecasting, efficient invoicing and payment collection processes, and striking beneficial payment deals with suppliers can help you achieve successful cash flow management and avoid cash flow issues. By focusing on financing cash flow, you can ensure the stability of your business’s financial health.

Maintaining your business’s financial health requires consistent financial analysis and forecasting. This helps you gain a deeper understanding of your business and foresee future issues, enabling you to manage your cash flow effectively.

A significant part of managing cash flow is ensuring that you collect payments from your customers on time. By streamlining your invoicing and payment collection processes, you can improve your cash flow and reduce the risk of late payments. Negotiate favourable payment terms with your suppliers to help you manage your cash outflows more effectively.

Budgeting strategies for SMEs

Budgeting plays an integral role in financial management and holds paramount importance for SMEs. It’s about making informed decisions so that every pound you spend helps your business grow. A detailed and realistic budget can guide your business and provide a convenient way to compare performance from one year to the next. But you must regularly review and update your budget accordingly.

A detailed and realistic budget can help you plan for future expenses and allocate resources effectively. By keeping track of your income and business costs, you can make informed decisions about your business’s financial future. Your budget should evolve with your business. By regularly reviewing and updating your budget, you can ensure that it accurately reflects your business’s current financial situation.

While you can’t predict all your business expenses, you can certainly prepare for them. An emergency fund can provide a financial cushion to cover unexpected costs and protect your business during times of financial strain.

The importance of diversifying revenue streams

By finding new ways to generate revenue, you can enhance your business’s stability and mitigate risks.

Expanding your product or service offerings can open up new opportunities for your business. Whether it’s adding a new product line or offering a new service, diversification can help you reach new customers and increase your revenue.

Exploring new markets and channels can help you achieve business growth by reaching a wider audience and diversifying your revenue sources. Whether it’s expanding into a new geographic region or tapping into a new customer demographic, there are many opportunities to grow your business.

Regardless of whether you’re a start-up or aiming to scale up your business, professional advice and support can prove to be of immense value. Numerous resources, ranging from consulting a financial advisor to government grants and resources, can assist you in overcoming the financial hurdles associated with running a small business.

Consulting a financial advisor can provide you with expert guidance on a wide range of financial matters, from budgeting and cash flow management to investment strategies. A financial advisor can help you make informed decisions and navigate financial challenges more effectively.

Government grants and resources can provide additional funding and support to help you overcome financial challenges and grow your business. From grants for start-ups and established businesses to resources for energy efficiency projects, there’s a wealth of support available for SMEs.

Whether you’re just starting your small business journey or looking to take your SME to the next level, mastering cash flow management is key. By understanding the financial challenges you may face, implementing effective cash flow management techniques, creating a detailed and realistic budget, diversifying your revenue streams, leveraging technology, and seeking professional advice and support, you can navigate these obstacles and drive your business towards financial success.

Read more:
How SMEs can navigate the most common financial challenges 

Philip King FCICM, former Small Business Commissioner and advisor to PKF Littlejohn Advisory, believes a ‘back to basics’ approach would help many businesses overcome the late-payment challenge.

It is an established fact that companies often become insolvent not because they are inherently bad businesses, but simply because they run out of cash. Poor cashflow management, compounded by bad debts and slow paying customers, are typically to blame.

But while it is tempting to lay the blame wholly on late payment, businesses must shoulder some of the responsibility for their own poor credit management practices. Put another way, best practice credit management can limit the amount to which a business finds itself financially vulnerable.

So how can bad debts be avoided, and payments accelerated? Much can be achieved by getting back to basics and doing the basics well.

Know your customer

First and foremost, even the most basic checks can avoid potential embarrassment later. Know your customer (KYC) should be the mantra of every director, every sales executive, and every individual in your credit team. How well do you know the company you are dealing with? What is their Company Registration Number? Do they even have one? What is their legal status? Are they a limited company? A Partnership? A PLC? LLP? All such information is important, not least to ensure you invoice the correct legal entity at the point your product/service has been delivered.

Using data from reputable credit reference agencies is always advised to supplement the information stored at Companies House. This enables you to dig deeper and get beneath the company itself. It will help you determine the amount of credit you want to extend, especially since their success and survival may depend on the stability of their customers and other suppliers.

As well as published sources, there are also other tactics you can use to discover more about the company you keep. Looking through their social media accounts (LinkedIn, Facebook etc) and any comments around them can give you hints about their reputation and how they treat their supply chain. Traditional media coverage through google searches can also give you a better steer on their financial viability. Google Search can also show if the warehouse they say they own, even exists!

Documented rules of engagement

Once a new customer is being onboarded, the terms and conditions you agree are absolutely critical. They should be documented with explicit payment terms.

The concept of ‘30 days’ – a particular favourite among politicians and the media for denoting best practice – can still mean different things to different people. Is that 30-days from date of invoice, receipt of invoice, or end of month, for example? This needs to be crystal clear or else 30 can so easily become 50 or more.

When you are invoicing, make sure you understand their payment and invoice approval process and whether, for example, a purchase order is required and what other specific information may be needed. Make sure the amount you are invoicing is also correct in terms of what has been agreed; even a penny difference can cause the payment process to grind to a halt!

Customer interaction

In terms of how you interact with your customers, build a strong relationship with key people in the company; they could be invaluable when you need to chase payment ahead of other suppliers. At your end, keep the ledger clean and have absolute clarity about what invoices are outstanding. Confusion is a great obstacle to payment and can easily be exploited by those who are seeking to delay paying what they owe.

Making contact in advance of the due date to ensure the invoice has been received and is correct will also reduce the likelihood of a payment subsequently being held in dispute. Keep large totals separate from smaller ones; there is nothing to be gained for having a £10,000 invoice comprising £9,800 for the product and £200 for the delivery held up because the delivery charge is being disputed.

Even if you have clear lines of communication with the customers, always follow up on the day the invoice is due; never wait and hope for the best. Hope is not a strategy and someone else will be being paid while you’re left waiting. To that end, never be afraid to escalate a late payment to your collections team and/or a third-party activity sooner rather than later. A customer that doesn’t pay you isn’t a customer worth having.

Seek advice early

Such advice should not come as a surprise, but in my 40 years in credit management, it still amazes me how businesses are quick to blame everyone else when they’ve ignored many of the fundamentals themselves.

Getting back to basics may not always be successful, but like winning the lottery, you first have to buy a ticket. And if despite all your best efforts, an insolvency may still be looming, talk to the experts at PKF Littlejohn Advisory. They might be able to help the business avoid failure and, if the worst happens, they can work with you for the best outcome from the unfolding insolvency process.

Read more:
Tackling late payment by getting back to basics

The new financial year is often an opportunity to get organised for the year ahead. For self-employed parents juggling the demands of running a business with caring for their family, it could also be a good time to review the family planner and take a fresh look at the household budget to ensure they’re getting all the support they’re entitled to.

We asked the experts at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to outline the financial help available for our readers so they can access the childcare they need while keeping an eye on their bottom line.

What help is available for self-employed parents?

There are a number of schemes available that could be worth thousands of pounds a year including Tax-Free Childcare, free childcare hours, Universal Credit, tax credits and Child Benefit.

What is Tax-Free Childcare?

Tax-Free Childcare is a government funded top-up scheme for working parents, including the self-employed. It can save parents up to £2,000 a year per child – or £4,000 if their child is disabled – to put towards the cost of childcare. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account, the government tops it up with another £2.

 Who is it for specifically?

Working families including self-employed parents. Latest statistics show more than 63,000 families, with at least one self-employed parent, use it to help pay for their childcare.

Families should check out the full eligibility on GOV.UK but in summary it’s for working parents or guardians, including those who are self-employed, who:

• have a child or children aged up to 11. They stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th If their child has a disability, they can receive support until 1 September after their 16th birthday
• earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average
• each earn up to £100,000 per annum
• do not receive tax credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.

 What can I use it for?

Tax-Free Childcare can be used flexibly to pay for any approved childcare that suits your family’s needs. You can use to pay for childminders, nurseries and nannies, before and after school clubs, holiday or activity clubs. If you find a provider you want to use and they’re not signed up, encourage them to do so by going to Childcare Choices for more details of how to sign up and what it means for them.

How do parents open an account?

It’s simple to open an account via GOV.UK and only takes about 20 minutes. Accounts can be opened at any time of the year and can be used straight away, money can be deposited at any time and used when needed. Any unused money can be simply withdrawn at any time.

Account holders will be reminded every three months to confirm their details are up to date to continue receiving the government top-up.

I have more than one child in different childcare settings – can I use it for both?

Yes! If families have more than one eligible child, they will need to register a Tax-Free Childcare account for each child. The government top-up is then applied to deposits made for each child, not household.

For more information about Tax-Free Childcare and how to register go to GOV.UK

Can Tax-Free Childcare be used with the free hours offer?

Yes! If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can receive both free childcare hours and Tax-Free Childcare.

In England, eligible working parents of 2 year-olds have been able to access 15 hours free childcare per week since 1 April This the first step in the rollout of the largest investment in childcare in England’s history.

The offer will expand to 15 hours free childcare for working parents from nine months old up to when their child starts school by September this year, and 30 hours by September 2025. This is set to save parents using the maximum allowance up to £6,900 per year.

Can I use Tax-Free Childcare with Child Benefit?

A.Yes! Child Benefit is worth £25.60 per week for the oldest or only child and £16.95 per week for each additional child. It can be claimed by parents or guardians once you have registered your child’s birth and can be claimed up to age of 16 or 20 if the child stays in approved education or training.

In addition to financial support for your family, Child Benefit ensures parents qualify for National Insurance credits which could help protect their state pension, and also helps children automatically receive a National Insurance number when they reach 16.

You can now claim Child Benefit online and manage your account via the HMRC app. To check eligibility and make a claim go to  GOV.UK .

Can I use Tax-Free Childcare while claiming Tax Credits or Universal Credit?

No, but tax credits offer alternative childcare support that could also be worth thousands.

If you already claim tax credits, you’ll receive a letter from HMRC by 19 June. There are two types of letters to look out for: if your renewal pack has a red stripe across the page then you will need to check the information, renew and report any changes by 31 July otherwise you risk your payments being stopped. If your renewal pack has a black stripe across the page, you need to check the information is correct, and only contact HMRC if you have any changes to report.

Tax credits are being replaced by Universal Credit by April 2025. Many customers who move from tax credits to Universal Credit could be financially better off and can use an independent benefits calculator to check. If customers choose to apply sooner, it is important to get independent advice beforehand as they will not be able to go back to tax credits or any other benefits that Universal Credit replaces.

You cannot claim Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit at the same time.

How do I know which offer is best for me?

Go to Childcare Choices to find the right childcare offer for your family.

Read more:
Understanding the new Tax-Free Childcare plans

As an incoming MD, possibly taking the place of the original founder/MD who may be moving into a chair role, you’re there because the business needs a senior person who has skills and experience that don’t currently exist in the organisation.

Phil Gripton, partner at Waypoint Partners explains that the incumbent leadership team will have mapped out their ambitions and then realised they need additional firepower and expertise to bring their vision to life.

First impressions

In the early days you’ll spend plenty of time with the outgoing MD and SLT learning about every aspect of the business including what’s up for grabs and what’s sacrosanct. You’ll clarify your remit and where your focus should be.

Some new MDs can find that they aren’t always empowered to deliver against the remit and targets.  Remember why you’re there. The leadership team has identified you as the person with both complementary and differentiated experiences, skills and knowledge that are valuable in helping the business achieve its goals.

You are a change agent who should be additive to the business and clearly demonstrate the value you bring. Fight your corner hard and negotiate for what you need in the best interests of the business. But also listen to what’s worked so far – you don’t want to throw everything up in the air and unsettle good people.

In the early days as you’re making an assessment of the business, there’s a useful Harvard Business that new leaders often call on: The First 90 Days. It will help you to analyse the environment you find yourself in, use a structured framework to address its needs and have a common vocabulary that facilitates focused communication and reduces the risk of miscommunication or interpretation errors.

Identify allies and detractors

There may be some tricky conversations along the way. Not everyone will want you there. Your arrival might spark suspicion and fear and you have to deal with that. Under-performers or those hiding away in fur-lined ruts are right to worry. Moreover, someone else might have wanted your job, ouch!

Where you’ve been hired to shore up the performance and economics of the business, you’ll probably uncover habits and behaviours that that have been allowed to continue unchecked and need to be dealt with quickly.

You’ll quickly identify the naysayers who aren’t open to change, but more importantly you’ll also spot your natural allies who will appreciate the changes and value you’re bringing in that will lead them to greater things. You’ll work out where the power base sits in the company – not always where you expect it.

You can’t win everyone over and my experience in this kind of role has shown there’s little point putting effort into people who sit firmly on the “other side of the fence”. Either they come over of their own accord or not at all and will eventually move on. That group usually only represents a handful of people but if it’s anything sizeable then you’ve got to work to neutralise that threat quickly.

Be human!

During this tricky transition phase, it’s vital that you appear as a strong, visible leader and communicate with the wider team to secure buy in and galvanise them in a collective undertaking. Make sure to listen to everyone and their analysis of where the issues lie, while adapting your leadership style to suit the needs of key team members where that’s required.

If you want to win hearts and minds you have to come across as a leader who is human and genuine. You might have to make your own cultural adjustment, for example if you move from a big corporate to a start-up where the tone is very informal. And making that transition in public can be a good way of showing the team you’re prepared to make an effort to fit in. It could be something as simple as showing up on day one in a suit and tie, and gradually adopting a much more relaxed look that aligns with everyone else. Showing that you can be vulnerable and authentic in this way can be very powerful.

Communicating your plans

People like to know what’s going to happen. Signal how long the initial assessment phase is likely to last and when a clear plan will be announced. You might have to break it up into several stages. A short-term plan with some initial quick wins as proof of concept – especially if performance has been rocky recently – can be a great way to calm the water, build confidence and show the positive impact you are making.

Longer term planning might be about ensuring ongoing corrective growth, for example. It could focus on building in processes to bring in higher quality leads, or reducing the long tail of unprofitable clients. If it’s about supercharging the sales/new business engine, then build initiatives that people can latch on to.

Why you’ll need extra support

Speaking as someone who’s been in this situation, coming in as MD can be the loneliest job on earth. You owe it to your team to give them the leadership they need, not the leadership you want to give them. Part of your remit is to constantly inspire them to do great work.

And while it’s important that your decision making is fast but considered, decisive but transparent and you show authentic vulnerability, what you can’t do, at least in the early days, is show when you’re struggling or are not sure what direction to go in.  It’s vital therefore to alleviate some of the loneliness and pressure that comes with the job by organising support, either through a non-exec, coach or mentor.

The combination of a considered recruitment process and an enlightened leadership team who recognise they play a part in helping you deliver should mean the appropriate external support is put in place. Your success is everyone’s success – you’ve been brought in to do an important job that no one else in the business can do. Making you feel as though you’ve been abandoned in what is already the loneliest of roles is in no one’s interests.

Read more:
An incoming MD replacing a founder/outgoing MD – a tricky balancing act

Whether you’re looking to build a thriving company culture, access top talent, or foster fairer opportunities and outcomes – diversity and inclusion are absolutely imperative in the workplace.

Nevertheless, promoting true equality as an employer often requires careful planning, particularly when it comes to the oft-overlooked neurodiverse community, which can come up against unique challenges.

What is neurodiversity? And how does it affect people at work?

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that describes any brain function seen to deviate from the ‘norm’. Think of it as a bell curve. Whilst the majority will fit within this bubble of standard behaviours, information processing and thinking, certain people will inevitably fall outside these parameters. These people are often diagnosed with – or identify as living with – conditions like dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and ADHD.

Michael Doolin, the Group Managing Director of Clover HR. explains that whilst the ways in which each neurodiverse individual struggles will inevitably differ, it’s commonly things like in-person meetings, spontaneous plans and phone calls that prove a challenge, particularly for those with autism. Likewise, reading through vast amounts of information can feel overwhelming for dyslexic employees, whilst ADHDers might struggle with a lack of recognition or task variety.

Changing laws

Whilst the initiative to alleviate these struggles for neurodiverse people should always extend beyond obligatory compliance, it’s important to acknowledge that the government’s new ‘Chance to Work Guarantee’ will see a greater number of neurodivergents entering the UK workforce. The scheme essentially means former disabled benefits claimants will be asked to seek suitable employment, with employers being asked to respond with flexible conditions such as allowing people who need it to work from home.

Reasonable adjustments

When managed correctly, the move could be positive for neurodiverse people previously excluded from 9-to-5 society, who might otherwise feel anxious and intimidated about entering the world of work. It’s all about making reasonable workplace adjustments to allow them to perform well and thrive.

Introduced under the Equality Act of 2010, which protects people from discrimination in the workplace and wider society, reasonable adjustments refer to any changes that employers can feasibly make to ensure those with disabilities – or physical or mental health conditions – are not significantly disadvantaged in their roles. This can be anything from installing wheelchair ramps and giving employees with anxiety their own, isolated desk to purchasing special ergonomic equipment and implementing flexible working, for example.

Supporting neurodiverse talent

For neurodiverse people, reasonable adjustments could mean purchasing standing desks or implementing hot-desking to keep those with ADHD from getting bored. Equally, it could mean creating sound-proof booths for privacy, perfect for reducing phone-call anxiety and mitigating sensory overload. Noise-cancelling headphones, time-management apps and extra time for reading likewise make for more comfortable working lives, as do fixed schedules and pre-established routines for those who prefer them. It’s all about doing things that allow employees to achieve their best, without being held back by their differences or burning out.

Given the broad range of potential accommodations that employers could make – many of which they might not think of themselves – the most important thing to do when supporting neurodiverse people is to speak to the employee concerned and find out what they want. It’s usually a good idea to get HR and occupational health professionals involved in this process to avoid inadvertently coming across as intimidating or causing any unnecessary nerves. You need to make it clear that your goal is to support to employee – not to question their abilities or review their progress.

Whilst UK employment laws grants people the right to request such conversations on their own behalf, it’s better to take a proactive approach, encouraging discussions before they are forced to reveal their struggles. People will often try to hide their difficulties for fear of getting in trouble, so it’s important to promote trust and transparency from the start.

Other team members

Another way to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion is to teach other members of staff, who are not disabled or neurodivergent, to deal with difference. Without breaching personal confidence, it’s important to teach them about any signs and symptoms that could indicate that colleagues are struggling, particularly if they work in a managerial role. Specialised training courses on equity and diversity go a long way towards eliminating any unintended discrimination, ensuring that help is delivered in a constructive, positive way. This applies to both work-related feedback and any personal, in-office help that might need to be delivered, without appearing condescending.

Beyond caring

Once again, the primary reason for implementing these changes should be concern for your neurodiverse team members. Nevertheless, there are more tangible reasons for supporting diversity, too. Take, for instance, the fact that a study conducted by Purdue University found ADHDers to be 88% better at out-of-the-box problem solving than other people – or the fact that a 2009 study led by the University of Montreal found autistic people to be 40% faster of solving problems. Likewise, 84% of people with dyslexia have above-average reasoning, according to charity Made by Dyslexia, whilst ADHDers often demonstrate unprecedented levels of creativity, in addition to a thirst for knowledge. By supporting neurodiverse people who may possess these talents, you can nurture unique abilities to create a competitive edge for your business.

Equal progression

Given the right support, neurodiverse employees are capable of great things. Employers that truly care about creating an inclusive culture should therefore do all they can to ensure they can achieve their true potential. Remember, it’s not just a case of allowing them to perform in their current roles comfortably but also conducting thorough, well-thought-out reviews that result in rewarding career plans and potential promotion.

When inclusive attitudes towards neurodiversity are successfully adopted, businesses can create a culture in which they themselves can thrive, alongside their neurodiverse talent.

Read more:
Inclusive leadership: strategies for supporting neurodiverse talent

In today’s fast-paced business world, SMEs face numerous challenges in their quest for growth and success.

As we step into 2024, it’s more important than ever for these businesses to master the art of business growth. The strategies that worked in the past may no longer be effective, and new approaches are needed to thrive in the ever-evolving market.

Here we will delve deep into the essential strategies that SMEs should adopt to conquer the challenges and unlock their potential for growth in 2024. From leveraging digital marketing to harnessing the power of data analytics, we explore the key tactics that can make a tangible difference. By embracing innovation, fostering a customer-centric mindset, and developing robust partnerships, SMEs can position themselves as competitive players in their industry.

Understanding the Current Business Landscape

The first step to mastering the art of business growth in 2024 is understanding the current business landscape. The world is rapidly changing, and SMEs must keep up with the latest trends and developments to stay relevant. One of the key factors shaping the business landscape is the advancement of technology. From artificial intelligence to blockchain, emerging technologies are disrupting industries and creating new opportunities for growth.

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation across industries. SMEs need to adapt to the new normal and embrace digital solutions to thrive in the post-pandemic era. This means investing in digital infrastructure, leveraging cloud computing, and adopting remote work practices. By embracing technology, SMEs can streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and tap into new markets.

Furthermore, globalization has opened up new doors for SMEs. With the rise of e-commerce and cross-border trade, businesses can now reach customers all over the world. However, this also means facing increased competition from both local and international players. To succeed in this globalized market, SMEs need to differentiate themselves by offering unique value propositions, delivering exceptional customer experiences, and building strong brand identities.

Identifying Growth Opportunities for SMEs

To master the art of business growth, SMEs must identify and capitalize on growth opportunities in their industry. This requires a deep understanding of market dynamics, customer needs, and emerging trends. Conducting market research and analysis can provide valuable insights into untapped market segments, unmet customer needs, and potential areas for innovation.

One growth opportunity that SMEs should consider is diversification. By expanding their product or service offerings, businesses can reach new customer segments and increase revenue streams. This could involve developing new products, entering new markets, or targeting different customer demographics. However, it’s important for SMEs to carefully assess the feasibility and profitability of diversification strategies to avoid spreading resources too thin.

Another growth opportunity lies in strategic partnerships and collaborations. By forming alliances with complementary businesses, SMEs can leverage each other’s strengths, share resources, and tap into new markets. This could involve partnering with suppliers, distributors, or even competitors to create win-win situations. Strategic partnerships can also provide access to new technologies, expertise, and distribution channels, enabling SMEs to scale their operations more effectively.

Lastly, SMEs should consider the potential of international expansion. With the rise of e-commerce and globalization, businesses can now expand their reach beyond national borders. This could involve setting up international offices, establishing distribution networks, or entering into joint ventures with local partners. However, international expansion comes with its own set of challenges, such as cultural differences, regulatory compliance, and logistical complexities. SMEs must carefully evaluate the risks and rewards before embarking on this growth strategy.

Developing a Growth Strategy for Your SME

Once growth opportunities have been identified, SMEs need to develop a comprehensive growth strategy. This involves setting clear goals, defining actionable steps, and allocating resources effectively. A growth strategy should be aligned with the overall vision and values of the business, and it should take into consideration the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the SME.

One key aspect of a growth strategy is setting measurable goals. These goals should be specific, achievable, and time-bound. For example, an SME might aim to increase revenue by 20% within the next year or expand its customer base by acquiring 100 new clients. By setting clear goals, SMEs can track their progress and make adjustments as needed.

Another important element of a growth strategy is identifying the key drivers of growth. These drivers could be factors such as innovation, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, or market expansion. By focusing on these drivers, SMEs can prioritize their efforts and allocate resources accordingly. For example, if innovation is a key driver, the SME might invest in research and development, hire creative talent, or collaborate with external innovation hubs.

Furthermore, a growth strategy should include a detailed action plan. This plan outlines the specific steps that need to be taken to achieve the defined goals. It should include timelines, responsibilities, and key performance indicators to track progress. By breaking down the growth journey into actionable steps, SMEs can ensure that they stay on track and make steady progress towards their goals.

Leveraging Digital Marketing for Business Growth

In the digital age, effective marketing is crucial for business growth. SMEs must leverage digital marketing strategies to reach and engage their target audience. Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of tactics, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, and paid advertising.

First and foremost, SMEs should focus on optimizing their online presence for search engines. This involves conducting keyword research, optimizing website content, and building high-quality backlinks. By improving their search engine rankings, SMEs can increase their visibility and attract more organic traffic to their website.

Social media marketing is another powerful tool for business growth. SMEs should identify the social media platforms where their target audience spends the most time and create a presence there. By consistently sharing valuable content, engaging with followers, and running targeted ad campaigns, SMEs can build brand awareness, generate leads, and drive conversions.

Content marketing is also essential for SMEs. By creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and informative content, businesses can position themselves as thought leaders and build trust with their audience. Content marketing can take various forms, including blog articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, and ebooks. SMEs should develop a content strategy that aligns with their target audience’s interests and needs.

Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for customer acquisition and retention. SMEs should build an email list of subscribers who have expressed interest in their products or services. By sending personalized and targeted emails, SMEs can nurture leads, promote new offerings, and drive repeat purchases.

Lastly, paid advertising can provide an immediate boost to business growth. SMEs can run targeted ads on search engines, social media platforms, or other relevant websites. By carefully selecting keywords, demographics, and interests, SMEs can ensure that their ads reach the right audience at the right time. Paid advertising can be a cost-effective way to drive traffic, generate leads, and increase conversions.

Implementing Effective Sales and Marketing Strategies

In addition to digital marketing, SMEs must implement effective sales and marketing strategies to drive business growth. These strategies should be customer-focused, data-driven, and aligned with the overall growth strategy of the business.

One key aspect of successful sales and marketing strategies is understanding the customer journey. SMEs should map out the various touchpoints that a customer goes through when interacting with the business, from initial awareness to final purchase. By understanding these touchpoints, SMEs can identify opportunities for improvement, optimize conversion rates, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Moreover, SMEs should invest in data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. By analyzing data from various sources, such as website traffic, social media engagement, and sales transactions, SMEs, with the help of a fractional CMO, can make informed decisions and tailor their sales and marketing efforts to meet customer needs. Data analytics can also help identify trends, predict customer behavior, and identify new growth opportunities.

Another important element of effective sales and marketing strategies is building strong relationships with customers. SMEs should prioritize customer retention and loyalty by providing excellent customer service, personalized experiences, and ongoing support. By focusing on customer satisfaction, SMEs can generate positive word-of-mouth, repeat business, and long-term customer loyalty.

Furthermore, SMEs should consider implementing referral programs to incentivize existing customers to refer new customers. Referral programs can be a cost-effective way to acquire new customers and tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing. By offering incentives, such as discounts, exclusive access, or rewards, SMEs can motivate their loyal customers to become brand ambassadors.

Streamlining Operations for Improved Efficiency

To support business growth, SMEs must streamline their operations and improve efficiency. By eliminating inefficiencies, reducing costs, and optimizing processes, SMEs can free up resources to invest in growth initiatives.

One effective approach to streamlining operations is implementing lean methodologies. Lean principles focus on eliminating waste and maximizing value for the customer. SMEs can apply lean principles to various aspects of their operations, such as inventory management, production processes, and supply chain logistics. By identifying and eliminating non-value-added activities, SMEs can improve productivity and reduce costs.

Moreover, SMEs should invest in technology solutions to automate manual tasks and streamline workflows. This could involve implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) software, or project management tools. By leveraging technology, SMEs can improve accuracy, speed up processes, and enhance collaboration among team members.

Additionally, SMEs should regularly assess and optimize their supply chain management. This involves evaluating suppliers, negotiating contracts, and monitoring performance. By partnering with reliable suppliers and optimizing logistics, SMEs can ensure a smooth flow of materials and reduce lead times. This, in turn, can improve customer satisfaction, minimize stockouts, and increase operational efficiency.

Lastly, SMEs should foster a culture of continuous improvement within their organization. This involves encouraging employees to identify areas for improvement, experiment with new ideas, and learn from failures. By embracing a growth mindset and promoting a culture of innovation, SMEs can stay ahead of the competition and adapt to changing market conditions.

Investing in Talent and Employee Development

To fuel business growth, SMEs must invest in talent acquisition and employee development. Building a high-performing team is crucial for driving innovation, delivering exceptional customer experiences, and executing growth strategies.

When it comes to talent acquisition, SMEs should focus on attracting top talent that aligns with the company’s values and culture. This involves clearly defining job roles and responsibilities, conducting thorough interviews, and assessing candidates based on their skills, experience, and cultural fit. SMEs should also consider offering competitive compensation packages and opportunities for career growth to attract and retain top talent.

Once talent is onboarded, SMEs should provide ongoing training and development opportunities. This could involve organizing internal workshops, enrolling employees in external courses, or providing mentorship programs. By investing in employee development, SMEs can enhance skills, foster creativity, and promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Furthermore, SMEs should create a positive and inclusive work environment. This involves fostering a culture of open communication, collaboration, and mutual respect. SMEs should encourage employees to share their ideas, provide feedback, and contribute to decision-making processes. By fostering a supportive work environment, SMEs can boost employee morale, improve retention rates, and attract top talent.

Lastly, SMEs should consider implementing performance management systems to track employee performance, provide feedback, and set goals. This can help align individual objectives with the overall growth strategy of the business and ensure that employees are accountable for their contributions. Performance management systems can also provide valuable insights into employee strengths, weaknesses, and training needs.

Building Strong Customer Relationships for Sustainable Growth

At the heart of business growth is building strong and lasting customer relationships. SMEs must prioritize customer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty to drive sustainable growth and differentiate themselves from the competition.

One key aspect of building strong customer relationships is delivering exceptional customer service. SMEs should strive to exceed customer expectations at every touchpoint, from pre-sales inquiries to post-purchase support. This involves providing timely responses, resolving issues promptly, and going the extra mile to delight customers. By delivering outstanding customer service, SMEs can generate positive word-of-mouth, foster customer loyalty, and attract new customers through referrals.

Moreover, SMEs should actively engage with their customers through various channels, such as social media, email marketing, and customer feedback surveys. By listening to customer feedback, SMEs can gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points. This feedback can then be used to improve products, services, and overall customer experiences. SMEs should also proactively seek feedback through customer satisfaction surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews to ensure continuous improvement.

Another effective strategy for building strong customer relationships is personalization. SMEs should strive to understand their customers on an individual level and tailor their offerings accordingly. This could involve segmenting customers based on demographics, purchase history, or preferences and delivering personalized recommendations, offers, or experiences. By personalizing interactions with customers, SMEs can create a sense of loyalty and make customers feel valued and appreciated.

Furthermore, SMEs should consider implementing customer loyalty programs to reward and incentivize repeat business. Loyalty programs can take various forms, such as point-based systems, tiered memberships, or exclusive perks. By offering rewards, discounts, or exclusive access to loyal customers, SMEs can encourage repeat purchases, increase customer lifetime value, and foster long-term loyalty.

As SMEs navigate the dynamic business landscape of 2024, mastering the art of business growth is essential for success. By understanding the current business landscape, identifying growth opportunities, and developing a comprehensive growth strategy, SMEs can position themselves for success. Leveraging digital marketing, implementing effective sales and marketing strategies, streamlining operations, investing in talent and employee development, and building strong customer relationships are all key elements in the journey towards business growth.

Read more:
Mastering the Art of Business Growth: Essential Strategies for SMEs in 2024

Whether you’re looking for your first job or a career change, motivating yourself to job hunt can become challenging and tiresome for many people. Couple this challenge up with dark winter days, and it may reduce motivation and resilience even more.

To help job seekers navigate their job search  this winter with confidence and determination, Naomi Humber, Head of Mental Wellbeing at Bupa UK shares her advice and tips.

Benefits of motivation

Pursuing any new goal requires a change in behaviour. Our brains need time to turn a new ‘reflective’ (slow thinking) behaviour into something automatic (fast thinking). Motivation plays a crucial role in this process, as it can fuel the transition of a ‘reflective’ behaviour into an automatic one, ultimately contributing to long-term success in achieving goals.

When you start job-hunting, or feel like you’ve hit a bit of a wall, it can be useful to remember this process. Maintaining motivation while job hunting can help you stay engaged with the application process and focussed on your end goal. This engagement can help you to invest more positive energy, and strengthen your applications. Motivation can help fuel your enthusiasm for the roles you’re applying for, which can translate well for future potential employers.

Tips to help you get motivated

It’s important to remember that it’s natural to experience changes to your mood occasionally, particularly during the winter months. There may be days you wake up on cold dark mornings and – even though you have so many tasks to get through – all you want to do is bury yourself back under the duvet.

Making slight changes to your routine can help nurture motivation and keep you inspired throughout the day:

• Set an alarm – for an early but reasonable wake up. You have more time to start the day well, and think about your plan for the day. Also, this will also set you up for when you start your new job.
• Write down a list – of what achievable actions you aim to get through on the day.
• Don’t take on too much at once – keep your goals to a minimum and make them small to give you a sense of achievement when completed.
• Stay focussed on the process – break down larger objectives into manageable steps to help you stay focussed on the end goal.
• Reward yourself – treat yourself to something you like when you have completed a goal.
• Take a break – if you feel yourself start to struggle focussing, take yourself away from the task and do something else for a while. Whether it’s a walk outside, light exercise such as yoga or cooking a healthy meal, shifting your focus can help you regain it when you come back to your applications.
• Change your day-to-day tasks – Mix up your goals each day to avoid repetition and boredom.
• Don’t be afraid of failure – having self-compassion will help you cope better with setbacks. Failing can be an opportunity to learn from and improve.

Job hunting strategies

 Searching for jobs can be exciting, but it can also be challenging finding the time to dedicate to your hunt – especially when you’re already working. With the right strategies, you can enhance your chances of finding a job that aligns with your ambitions. Here are some effective ways to navigate the job search process efficiently, to help increase your chances of job success:

• Define your job targets: think of the type of role, industry, and company you are interested in to focus your efforts effectively.
• Plan your approach: create manageable tasks to bring structure and order. Maybe implement a 30-60-90-day planner to help with longer term efficiency.
• Stay organised: keep a record of your job applications, contacts, and follow-ups to ensure no opportunity slips through the cracks.
• Stay motivated: cultivate a productive mindset to stay focused and resilient throughout the process by taking on board our ‘tips to help you get motivated.’
• Where to search: explore as many avenues for potential roles, such as online job boards, networking, recruiters, job fairs and company websites and internships.
• Build your skills while you’re waiting for employers to respond take the opportunity to enhance your skills through online courses or certifications to add value to your profile and stay proactive.

Those already in employment may find it useful to use any wellbeing tools and services they have access to through their employer, to help build their resilience and protect their mental health at this time of year.

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How to keep motivated when job-hunting during winter

In the fast-paced world of business, every SME owner dreams of finding a way to clone themselves to handle the ever-mounting workload. Well, thanks to AI, that dream could become a reality.

Imagine being able to click a key and instantly have a whole floor of additional staff at your disposal. AI has the potential to revolutionise the way SMEs operate, granting them the power to scale up operations without the need for extensive recruitment processes and high overhead costs.

Understanding the benefits of AI for SMEs

AI technologies offer SMEs a wide range of benefits that can significantly impact their growth and success. One of the key advantages of AI is its ability to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time for SME owners and employees to focus on more strategic activities. By automating mundane and time-consuming tasks such as data entry, invoicing, and inventory management, AI allows SMEs to increase productivity and efficiency.

AI can also provide valuable insights through data analysis. SMEs often struggle with analyzing large volumes of data to make informed business decisions. With AI-powered analytics tools, SMEs can quickly process and interpret data, identifying trends, patterns, and opportunities that would otherwise go unnoticed. This enables SMEs to make data-driven decisions, improving their competitiveness and positioning in the market.

The impact of AI on workforce productivity

One of the most significant impacts of AI on SMEs is its ability to enhance workforce productivity. With AI automating repetitive tasks, employees can focus on more complex and creative work that requires human intelligence. This not only improves job satisfaction but also allows SMEs to maximize the potential of their workforce.

AI can also augment human capabilities, acting as a digital assistant to support employees in their day-to-day tasks. For example, AI-powered chatbots can handle customer inquiries, freeing up customer service representatives to address more complex issues. This improves the overall customer experience while reducing the workload on employees.

How AI can automate repetitive tasks

AI has the power to transform mundane and repetitive tasks into automated processes, saving SMEs both time and resources. For instance, AI-powered software can automatically generate invoices, track expenses, and manage inventory, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors.

Additionally, AI can automate customer service and support through chatbots. These virtual assistants can handle basic customer inquiries, provide product recommendations, and even process orders. By automating these tasks, SMEs can deliver faster and more efficient customer service, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

AI-powered customer service and support

Customer service is a critical aspect of any business, and AI can play a significant role in improving this area for SMEs. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide instant support to customers, answering frequently asked questions, resolving common issues, and even assisting with online purchases.

Moreover, AI can analyze customer data and provide personalized recommendations based on individual preferences and behavior. This level of personalization can enhance the customer experience, making customers feel valued and increasing the chances of repeat business.

AI-driven decision making and data analysis

Data analysis is crucial for SMEs to make informed business decisions. However, manually analyzing large volumes of data can be time-consuming and error-prone. AI can streamline this process by automatically processing and analyzing data, providing valuable insights and recommendations.

AI-powered analytics tools can identify patterns, trends, and correlations in data that humans may not be able to detect. This allows SMEs to uncover hidden opportunities, optimize their operations, and make more accurate forecasts. By leveraging AI for data analysis, SMEs can gain a competitive edge in their industry.

Implementing AI in SMEs: Challenges and considerations

While the benefits of AI for SMEs are clear, implementing AI technologies can pose challenges. One of the main challenges is the initial investment required to adopt AI solutions. SMEs may need to allocate resources for infrastructure upgrades, software implementation, and employee training.

Another consideration is the ethical and legal implications of AI. SMEs need to ensure that they comply with data privacy and security regulations when implementing AI technologies. Additionally, SMEs must handle AI-driven decision-making processes responsibly to avoid potential bias or discrimination.

AI tools and technologies for SMEs

There are various AI tools and technologies available that are specifically designed for SMEs. These tools are often user-friendly and cost-effective, making them accessible to smaller businesses. Some popular AI tools for SMEs include chatbot platforms, marketing automation software, and predictive analytics solutions.

Chatbot platforms, such as Chatfuel and ManyChat, allow SMEs to create AI-powered chatbots without any coding knowledge. These chatbots can be integrated into websites and social media platforms, providing automated customer support and lead generation.

Marketing automation software, such as Mailchimp and HubSpot, enable SMEs to automate their marketing campaigns, from email marketing to social media scheduling. This saves SMEs time and resources while ensuring consistent and targeted messaging to their audience.

Predictive analytics solutions, such as IBM Watson Analytics and Google Analytics, empower SMEs to analyze historical data and predict future trends. This helps SMEs make data-driven decisions, optimize their marketing efforts, and identify potential risks and opportunities.

AI implementation success stories in SMEs

Many SMEs have already embraced AI and reaped the benefits. For example, a small e-commerce business used an AI-powered chatbot to handle customer inquiries and saw a significant reduction in response time, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.

Another SME implemented AI for inventory management, enabling them to automate stock replenishment based on demand patterns. This not only reduced inventory holding costs but also ensured that popular products were always in stock, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

These success stories demonstrate that AI is not just reserved for large corporations. SMEs can leverage AI technologies to streamline their operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth.

Conclusion: Embracing AI for SME growth and success

In conclusion, AI has the potential to transform SMEs by providing them with the digital workforce they need to scale up operations and stay competitive. From automating repetitive tasks to analyzing complex data and providing valuable insights, AI technologies offer SMEs the opportunity to streamline their operations, increase efficiency, and deliver better customer experiences.

However, implementing AI in SMEs comes with challenges and considerations. SMEs need to carefully evaluate their needs, allocate resources, and ensure ethical and legal compliance. By leveraging AI tools and technologies designed for SMEs, businesses can overcome these challenges and unlock a whole new world of possibilities.

Embracing AI could be the game-changer that propels your SME to the forefront of your industry, giving you the competitive edge you’ve been craving. So, get ready to click that key and unleash the power of AI as your digital workforce. The future of SMEs is here, and it’s powered by AI.

Read more:
AI could give your SME a whole floor of additional staff at the click of a key

Are you looking to take your business to the next level and increase your online visibility? Guest posting is the secret ingredient you need to achieve just that.

By leveraging the power of guest blogging, you can reach a wider audience, establish your expertise, and drive up your sales.

Imagine having your content featured on reputable business websites and influential blogs. By guest posting, you can tap into their established audience base and gain immediate exposure to potential customers who are already interested in your niche. Not only will this boost your brand awareness, but it will also build trust and credibility among your target audience.

But guest posting isn’t just about getting your name out there. It’s a strategic marketing tactic that allows you to establish your brand as an authority in your industry. By providing high-quality, informative content that resonates with your target audience, you can position yourself as a go-to resource and forge meaningful connections that will ultimately drive up your sales.

Don’t miss out on the incredible opportunities that guest posting can bring to your business. Start exploring this powerful marketing strategy today and watch your online visibility soar to new heights.

Understanding the power of guest posting

Guest posting is a marketing strategy that involves creating and publishing content on someone else’s website or blog. It allows you to leverage the existing audience and reputation of these platforms to expand your reach and gain exposure to a wider audience. When done right, guest posting can be a game-changer for your business.

One of the key benefits of guest posting is the opportunity to establish yourself on websites like Business Matters as an industry expert. By sharing valuable insights, practical tips, and thought-provoking ideas in your guest posts, you can showcase your expertise and position yourself as a go-to resource in your field. This helps build trust and credibility among your target audience, making it more likely that they will choose your products or services over your competitors’.

Additionally, guest posting allows you to tap into the SEO benefits of backlinks. When you include a link to your website in your guest post, you not only drive traffic to your site but also improve your search engine rankings. Backlinks from reputable websites are seen as a vote of confidence by search engines and can significantly boost your website’s visibility in search results.

Benefits of guest posting for business visibility

Guest posting offers numerous benefits for boosting your business visibility online. Here are some of the key advantages:

1. Increased brand awareness: By having your content featured on authoritative websites and influential blogs, you expose your brand to a wider audience. This increased exposure helps build brand recognition and familiarity, making it more likely that potential customers will choose your brand over competitors.
2. Expanded audience reach: Guest posting allows you to tap into the existing audience of the platform you’re publishing on. This means that your content will be seen by people who are already interested in your niche, increasing the chances of attracting qualified leads and potential customers.
3. Improved search engine rankings: When you include backlinks to your website in your guest posts, you enhance your website’s SEO. Backlinks from reputable websites signal to search engines that your website is trustworthy and relevant, leading to improved search engine rankings and increased organic traffic.
4. Established credibility and authority: By consistently delivering high-quality, informative content in your guest posts, you establish yourself as an authority in your industry. This builds trust and credibility among your target audience, making them more likely to engage with your brand and purchase your products or services.
5. Networking opportunities: Guest posting allows you to connect with other industry experts and influencers. By forging relationships and collaborations with these individuals, you can expand your network, gain valuable insights, and open doors to new business opportunities.

Guest posting statistics and success stories

The effectiveness of guest posting as a marketing strategy is backed by compelling statistics and success stories. Here are a few noteworthy examples:

1. According to a study by HubSpot, businesses that prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to see a positive ROI.
2. A case study by Moz showed that guest posting on high-authority websites resulted in a 20% increase in organic traffic for a company.
3. Neil Patel, a renowned digital marketing expert, credits guest blogging as one of the key factors that helped him build his personal brand and business.

These statistics and success stories highlight the power and potential of guest posting in driving business visibility and sales.

Developing a guest posting strategy

To maximize the benefits of guest posting, it’s essential to develop a well-thought-out strategy. Here are some key steps to consider:

1. Set clear goals: Determine what you want to achieve through guest posting. Whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, or generating leads, having specific goals will help guide your strategy.
2. Identify target platforms: Research and identify reputable websites and blogs in your industry that accept guest posts. Look for platforms with an engaged audience that aligns with your target market.
3. Create valuable content: Develop high-quality, informative content that provides value to the readers. Focus on addressing their pain points, answering their questions, and offering practical solutions.
4. Craft compelling pitches: When reaching out to potential platforms, customize your pitch to demonstrate why your content would be a valuable addition to their site. Highlight your expertise and explain how your guest post will benefit their audience.
5. Follow guidelines and best practices: Pay attention to each platform’s guidelines for guest posting. This includes word count, formatting, and any specific requirements. Adhering to these guidelines will increase your chances of getting accepted.

Finding the right platforms for guest posting

Finding the right platforms for guest posting is crucial for maximizing your visibility and reaching your target audience. Here are some strategies for finding suitable platforms:

1. Research industry-specific websites and blogs: Use search engines, social media, and industry directories to find websites and blogs that cater to your niche. Look for platforms with an engaged audience and a track record of publishing high-quality content.
2. Leverage online communities and forums: Participate in online communities and forums related to your industry. These platforms often have sections dedicated to guest posting opportunities, making it easier to connect with potential platforms.
3. Network with industry influencers: Attend industry events, webinars, and conferences to network with influencers and experts in your field. Building relationships with these individuals can lead to guest posting opportunities on their platforms.
4. Utilize guest posting platforms: There are several online platforms that connect guest bloggers with website owners looking for content. These platforms streamline the process of finding guest posting opportunities and can be a valuable resource.

Crafting compelling guest post pitches

Crafting compelling guest post pitches is key to securing guest posting opportunities. Here are some tips to make your pitches stand out:

1. Personalize your pitch: Take the time to research the platform and understand their audience. Tailor your pitch to showcase how your content will provide value to their readers specifically.
2. Highlight your expertise: Emphasize your knowledge and experience in your pitch. Showcasing your expertise will make the platform more likely to trust your content and accept your pitch.
3. Pitch unique and engaging topics: Brainstorm fresh and innovative ideas for guest posts. Offer topics that haven’t been covered extensively and provide a unique perspective that will captivate the readers.
4. Include writing samples: Attach relevant writing samples or provide links to previously published work to showcase your writing ability and style.

Writing high-quality guest posts for maximum impact

Writing high-quality guest posts is essential for making a lasting impression and driving up your sales. Here are some tips for creating impactful guest posts:

1. Research the platform: Familiarize yourself with the website or blog’s style, tone, and content. This will help you align your writing with their audience’s expectations and preferences.
2. Craft a compelling headline: Create attention-grabbing headlines that entice readers to click and read your guest post. A strong headline can significantly impact the success of your guest post.
3. Provide valuable insights: Deliver actionable insights and practical tips that readers can apply immediately. The more value you provide, the more likely readers will engage with your content and consider your brand as an authority.
4. Write with clarity and conciseness: Use clear and concise language to communicate your ideas effectively. Break up your content into paragraphs and use subheadings to enhance readability.

Optimizing guest posts for SEO

Optimizing your guest posts for SEO will help improve your search engine rankings and drive organic traffic. Here are some SEO best practices to consider:

1. Include relevant keywords: Research and incorporate relevant keywords into your guest posts. This will help search engines understand the topic and context of your content.
2. Use internal and external links: Include both internal links (to other relevant content on the hosting website) and external links (to reputable sources) in your guest posts. This adds value to your content and enhances its credibility.
3. Optimize meta tags and descriptions: Craft compelling meta tags and descriptions that accurately summarize your guest post and entice users to click through to read more.
4. Optimize images: Compress and optimize images used in your guest posts to improve page load speed. Add alt text to images to provide context for search engines.

Tracking the results of your guest posting efforts

Tracking and analyzing the results of your guest posting efforts is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of your strategy and making informed decisions. Here are some metrics to consider tracking:

1. Website traffic: Monitor the traffic generated from your guest posts. Analyze the number of visitors, their behavior on your site, and the conversion rates to determine the impact of your guest posting efforts.
2. Backlinks: Keep track of the number and quality of backlinks generated from your guest posts. This will help you gauge the SEO benefits and authority-building potential of your guest posting strategy.
3. Social media engagement: Track social media engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments on your guest posts. This will give you insights into how well your content resonates with the audience and whether it’s driving engagement.
4. Lead and sales generation: Analyze the number of leads and sales generated as a result of your guest posting efforts. This will help you determine the return on investment and the overall impact on your business.

Conclusion: Embracing guest posting as a powerful marketing tool

Guest posting is a powerful marketing tool that can significantly boost your business visibility online and drive up sales. By leveraging the established audience and reputation of authoritative websites and influential blogs, you can reach a wider audience and establish yourself as an industry expert. The benefits of guest posting include increased brand awareness, expanded audience reach, improved search engine rankings, established credibility and authority, and networking opportunities.

To make the most of guest posting, develop a strategic approach that includes researching and finding the right platforms, crafting compelling guest post pitches, and writing high-quality content that resonates with your target audience. Additionally, optimize your guest posts for SEO and track the results of your guest posting efforts to measure the impact and make data-driven decisions.

Don’t miss out on the incredible opportunities that guest posting can bring to your business. Start implementing this powerful marketing strategy today and watch your online visibility soar to new heights.

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Guest posting will boost your business visibility online and drive up sales

HMRC aren’t known for their Christmas spirit, but there is one area where some taxpayers can benefit from a little cashflow bonus if they act now.

Stefanie Tremain, from eading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, said: “Most people are aware that the normal filing deadline for a Self-Assessment tax return (and to make any payments due) is 31 January, which means 2022/23 tax returns and tax payments are due by 31 January 2024.

“What is less well known is that if your tax liability is less than £3,000 and you have a source of PAYE income (e.g., employment or private pension income), and your tax return is filed by 30 December, your tax can be collected through your PAYE code in the following tax year.”

She added: “For example, if you owed tax of £2,500 for 2022/23, you would either need to pay this in full by 31 January 2024, or HMRC could take a deduction from your pay in 12 instalments, starting in April 2024. This can be a huge boost to cashflow at what is already an expensive time of year.”

Stefanie said: “Taxpayers need to make sure that they have enough PAYE income in the relevant year to collect the additional tax, and make sure they would not end up paying more than half of their income in tax.”

She added: “For any taxpayers filing their own tax returns who would like to take advantage of this, HMRC should do this automatically when they process your return, provided you leave the relevant box unticked.”

She added: “It’s also important that taxpayers remember whether any tax was collected through their PAYE code when they file their tax return for the relevant year in the future (e.g., for 2024/25, in this example) as you they otherwise mistakenly think they are due a refund!”

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A Christmas tax bonus from HMRC for some UK taxpayers

After another year of increasing costs and continued supply chain issues, businesses have become accustomed to operating in an ever-changing economic landscape.

While many are looking ahead to the fresh opportunity that a new year brings, business growth may be harder to find in 2024. Instead, with elevated interest rates and higher energy prices on the horizon, the majority of businesses will be looking to create new ways to be efficient and extract maximum value from every pound spent.

Linked to this increasing drive for efficiency is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). After hitting the mainstream in 2023, growing businesses are looking at how AI can help them automate, gain new strategic insights, and supercharge their operations.

Here, Nicky Tozer, SVP, EMEA, Oracle NetSuite details the top five ways businesses can drive efficiency and productivity in 2024:

By doing more with less

Economic circumstances continue to squeeze profit margins and create operating difficulties for businesses. In 2024, increasing efficiency and boosting productivity will be critical to success. Business leaders can only manage what they can measure, and success in the next year will undoubtedly require management to know their numbers – from performance metrics to supply chain data – which will be the key to finding ways to do more with less.

Achieving this will require robust data integration, and automation of manual processes, across internal teams like finance, sales, and operations. There is a strong case to be made for boosting productivity, regardless of the current business landscape. The International Monetary Fund highlights the link between improved productivity in Europe and overcoming short-term financial pressures, while research has shown maintaining just a 1% annual improvement in SME productivity over five years could grow advanced economies like the UK economy by £94 billion.

By cautiously tackling AI FOMO (fear of missing out)

As the potential gains afforded by AI mature in the year ahead, many will look to embedded and generative AI in their business management system to help increase user productivity, reduce costs, harness the power of their own data, and improve overall efficiency. AI should be used to advise and assist. By combining AI with finance and operational data, web analytics, lead-generation data and customer satisfaction metrics, businesses could uncover unique trends to unlock new insights or develop strategies to build their audience.

But SMEs must taper their enthusiasm to adopt AI at any cost. They must consider how connected their data is, ensuring that it draws on information from across lines of business. AI is only as good as the data it is trained on, highlighting the continued importance of having business information that is integrated and relevant across departments.

By solving the software hairball

Connected to doing more with less is solving the ‘software hairball’. We’re in a period of steady convergence, with manufacturers, retailers, and service companies more commonly becoming all-in-one platforms – leading to complicated ‘hairball’ scenarios whereby companies inherit five pieces of software for five different outcomes. However, this hairball adds complexity. Data may be siloed or require complex integration processes, while also eating into budgets and draining the internal resources required to manage multiple vendor technologies.

Businesses require simplicity, and the ability to create connections across processes and lines of business. In 2024, visibility of real-time, reliable data will be vital to enable proactive action. By adopting one integrated system, businesses can bring together data from across functions such as finance, inventory, and supply chain under a single view to help maximise return on investment, deepen customer relationships, and spark investment in future growth.

By putting ESG higher up the business agenda

Business leaders no longer look at environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics as something that only pertains to big companies. Small and mid-sized, fast-growing businesses also must chart a strategy for ESG success.

Investors, customers, and employees all increasingly favour businesses with clear goals and real progress around ESG, especially environmental sustainability. Regulation is also a driving force, with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requiring larger enterprises and listed SMEs to report across several areas of ESG in 2024.

More robust regulations increase the need for greater tools and measures to support compliance. Systems that go beyond basic financial and managerial reporting to include specific and non-financial metrics such as capturing carbon emissions and plastic usage, will be especially pertinent. In 2024, ESG success will be key to attracting conscious consumers, recruiting in-demand talent, as well as increasing revenue while mitigating risk – all of which will be intricately connected.

By harnessing Industry 4.0

After years of promise, Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing and smart warehousing are gaining traction and forecast to grow significantly, according to the Global Smart Manufacturing Market Report 2023. Having historically been dominated by larger international organisations, advancements in automation, robotics, and AI are making Industry 4.0 a more realistic goal for growing manufacturers and logistics companies.

Smart tools and connected systems can sense and interact with the real world and provide predictions that can allow organisations to benefit from improved productivity. It can also improve operational efficiency by minimising – or entirely preventing – sudden shutdowns of manufacturing facilities or limiting the disruptions when supply chains face bottlenecks. Recognising these advantages, businesses across industries will become more digital to create new, innovative, and competitive business models. Data is the glue for bringing together the processes that make Industry 4.0 a reality. In 2024, growing manufacturers should look to integrated business systems that enable flexible planning, enhanced control, and deep analysis of supply chain data.

Read more:
Five Ways UK Businesses Can Maximise Success in 2024

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Act was passed in late October after years of public consultation on tackling economic crime, spurred on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Act contains measures to stop criminals forming companies in the UK and using them for illegal purposes. It also gives new powers to Companies House in the fight against money laundering and fraud.

The ECCT Act represents a major shift in Companies House’s role. It changes it from a passive curator of the public Companies Register to an active watchman. It now has powers to police the Register to prevent inaccurate information from entering it and force those who control companies to formally identify themselves.

How effective the new laws will be in fighting economic crime will depend on how the government chooses to put them into action via secondary legislation. Much will also depend on how Companies House proceeds with the necessary systems development, process changes, recruitment and awareness-raising to allow it all to run smoothly.

John Korchak, Managing Director, Inform Direct a company secretarial and formation specialist explains parts of the Act that will most directly affect UK companies and how they are likely to work in practice.

Identity verification

When this is fully in force it will be built into the company formation process so as to make it impossible to incorporate (form a company) without formally identifying its company officers and PSCs (persons with significant control).

Identity verification will be carried out directly with Companies House or through a new type of intermediary called an Authorised Company Services Provider (ACSP). Both routes will carry an equal level of assurance because ACSPs will be agents such as company formations, tax, legal or accounting professionals who already conduct due diligence checks on clients as part of their duties. They will themselves be identity checked and registered with a supervisory body for anti-money laundering (AML).

Verification will take place through a third party provider of identity document validation technology such as the ones already in use in banks and other financial institutions.

As far as possible, the government aims to make identity verification a one-off event for each individual director or PSC. In theory at least, once a person gains verified status they can occupy positions in various companies without having to be ID checked separately for each appointment.

Existing companies’ officers and PSCs will have to go through this process too, or risk having an ‘unverified’ flag against their company on the public register. Identity verification is also likely to be extended to limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

Changes to Companies House accounts filing

Small and micro-entity companies will have to file fuller accounts. In the consultation phase leading up to the ECCT Act, it was argued that the minimal amount of financial information these companies are currently required to expose on the public register does not justify the benefits of limited liability. To earn that right, small companies including micro-entities will soon have to file a profit and loss account as well as a balance sheet. This makes it harder for money launderers to conceal the flow of funds through their companies. However, it will also cause concern among law-abiding companies because it means disclosing their turnover and profitability, commercially sensitive figures that many small businesses are not used to revealing.

Companies House is also committed to moving to software-only accounts filing. This means that many small and micro companies will have to source accounting software that meets certain requirements, such as full iXBRL tagging. Other existing routes for filing accounts, such as Companies House’s online service (WebFiling) and paper filing, will be phased out in favour of software packages. These accounts filing changes will take many months to come into force, which does leave time to find suitable software.

More information required about shareholders

The Act will require companies to record more information about their shareholders. The register of members, where shareholder information is recorded, will have to include full names (full first names rather than initials) and service addresses. It will also be required (eventually, likely via secondary legislation) to disclose whether any shareholders are acting as nominees for the real shareholders. This is intended to make it harder to remain anonymous by hiding behind nominees.

New ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence

A new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence is designed to stop companies benefitting from fraud committed by their officers or employees. The company will be held to account where specified fraud offences are committed by anyone in the company and where adequate fraud prevention measures were not in place. It will not be necessary for prosecutors to prove that the directors knew about it. This is aimed at producing a shift in corporate culture whereby bosses stop turning a blind eye to fraudulent activity within their companies.

Registered email and office addresses

Companies will have to supply a registered office address where Companies House can reliably contact them and expect a reply. PO boxes are banned. Companies will have to supply a statement that their registered office address is ‘appropriate’ in that correspondence sent to it would be expected to come to the attention of company officers. The company also has a duty to ensure that the delivery of documents there is capable of being recorded by the obtaining of an acknowledgement of delivery.

A company email address will be required along similar lines to the office address: one where emails can be expected to be received and acknowledged by company representatives. Like much of the Act, how this will work in practice is in the process of being established.

Restrictions on corporate directors

Finally (there is more in the Act but we are talking about things that will most directly affect the day-to-day running of companies), existing restrictions on corporate directors will be brought into force. These are aimed at curbing the use of obscure chains of company ownership for economic crime. Under the new rules, only entities with ‘legal personality’ (registered incorporated limited companies) can be directors of other companies. Trusts and other non-incorporated entities cannot. This tightens up traceability of ownership and influence.

Furthermore, chains of faceless corporate directors will be curbed by a new rule. Company A can be a director of Company B, but only if all of Company A’s directors are natural persons and have had their identities verified. Company A must also be UK-registered.

This long-awaited partial ban on corporate directors and the other measures described in this article are intended to usher in a new era of corporate accountability. This legislation is a balancing act between imposing additional administrative burdens on companies and helping them to operate in a more transparent and crime-free corporate environment.

Read more:
A New Chapter in Transparency? Companies House’s New Powers to Tackle Economic Crime

With Shakin’ Stevens back on our radios for the first time in 12 months, and a shipment of mince pies large enough to feed a small army having arrived at your local supermarket, it’s certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas wherever you go.

The festive period’s arrival portends many things – the absolute hammering your credit card will soon be subjected to for one, not to mention familial squabbles at the dinner table that even Jerry Springer would struggle to resolve. Besides this and much else, it also signifies that the office Christmas party is just around the corner.

Eagerly awaited and dreaded in equal measure, this annual event serves as a chance to let your hair down with colleagues and reflect on what you’ve collectively achieved over the course of the year. However, the thought of spending an evening of music, dancing and small talk with your co-workers may strike terror into your heart – particularly if your festive energy is more akin to that of the Grinch than Buddy the elf. In reality though, provided you take note of the “do’s and don’ts”, the Christmas party can actually be a lot of fun.

With that in mind, Michael Doolin, the Group Managing Director of Clover HR discusses the three most important things to do when celebrating with colleagues. to help even the biggest workplace Scrooge survive the office Christmas party, and get swept away in the spirit of the season.

Enjoy responsibly

We’ve all heard the alcohol-related horror stories surrounding the office Christmas party. Those unfortunate individuals who’ve gone a little too heavy on the complimentary drinks and ended up making a drunken pass at a colleague, or even gone so far as to challenge their manager to a fistfight (did somebody ask Santa for a P45?).

While such tales may have gone down in legend among office workers up and down the country, they’re hardly shining examples of how to conduct yourself at the Christmas party. I don’t want to sound like a party pooper – on the contrary, those who enjoy a drink should feel free to do so – but you need to remember where you are. While people are generally more relaxed at the Christmas party than they are in the office, bear in mind that you’re not on a night out with the lads, or a prosecco and cocktail-fuelled binge with the girls. Your bosses are present, and probably keeping a close eye on you – even if they don’t appear to be.

So, by all means, raise a glass in celebration, but just make sure not to have as many as you might on a typical Saturday night. Eat plenty beforehand, avoid mixing your drinks, take your time, and have a glass of water if you feel like you’re reaching your limit. Stick to these principles, and you should manage to get through the night without doing or saying anything you might live to regret!

Don’t sit it out

If you’re the kind who’d happily strike the entire festive period off your calendar, you might be considering sacking off the office Christmas party altogether. You certainly wouldn’t be alone if this is the case, with a survey commissioned by Reward Gateway revealing that a massive 54% of employees dread the occasion.

While you may be tempted to pull a sickie or claim that you’ve already got a prior engagement to attend – we both know you’d just spend the evening curled up on the sofa watching Love Actually and eating all your advent calendar chocolate early – you should really make an effort to join in. Attendance may be optional, but showing your willingness to spend time with colleagues outside the confines of the office can help to demonstrate that you’re a team player; someone who doesn’t work purely to pick up a paycheque. On top of this, it can be a great opportunity to get to know your co-workers better, helping to bring you closer together as team.

By conquering your fears and throwing yourself into the festivities, who knows, you just might end up actually having a good time!

Avoid controversial talking points

After a year jam packed with more deadlines and boring team meetings than you care to remember, it’s totally understandable that you won’t want to spend your evening talking to colleagues about work, and all the stuff you need to pick back up when you return in the New Year.

In this sense, steering clear of work-related conversations is a shrewd move, but that’s not to suggest that this isn’t the only topic that should be left alone. Offices tend to bring together people with a broad range of ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, etc., so it’s likely that co-workers will have different ways of viewing the world due to their diverging experiences. As such, some areas of debate – such as politics and religion – are likely to be controversial with colleagues, especially if their opinion is diametrically opposed to your own.

You might find some certain subjects particularly interesting, but if you know they’re likely to stir up some controversy, you should try to keep your opinions yourself and stick to the tried and test topics – what you’ve been watching on Netflix, your plans for Christmas, etc. They might not be quite as riveting, but they’re much less likely to spark yet another argument over the festive period.

Don’t forget to have fun

Hopefully, you’re now feeling a bit more prepared to face your office Christmas party. With various do’s and don’ts, it can be easy to get bogged down in etiquette, but you shouldn’t obsess over getting things right to the point where you actually forget to enjoy yourself, which is the most important thing of all. After all, you and your colleagues have worked hard throughout the year, and have earned the right to kick back a little and have some fun.

So, be sure to have a great time at your office Christmas party, and make it a night to remember – but for all the right reasons!

Read more:
Your survival guide to the office Christmas party

What do the terms ‘malware’ and ‘ransomware’ mean to you? Probably not very much given that they sound more like plot lines from an Ian Flemming novel rather than very real threats to the stability and viability of our businesses.

However, they are likely to become as familiar to small business owners as ‘profit’ and ‘invoice’ are to us now.

Why? Well according to recent government figures, some 53 per cent of SMEs were the targets of cyber crime in 2023. And ransomware (which is a type of malware) is the preferred method of attack used by cyber criminals. These figures are likely to be an underestimate as many SMEs prefer to ‘pay-up’ and say nothing rather than draw unwelcome attention to themselves.

Ransomware is a particularly vicious kind of cyber-attack where a piece of malicious software infiltrates a company’s IT network and renders it inaccessible until a ransom demand is paid.

So why should SMEs in particular be concerned about cyber-attacks? Many SMEs believe that they are too small or too niche to be attractive to ransomware criminals. That attitude is exactly why SMEs can find themselves in the crosshairs.

Steve McCormack, Head of Privacy Care at cyber security specialists Incognito highlights the cyber perils that lie in wait for SMEs as they are easy picking for cyber criminals as they frequently have the weakest anti-virus software installed. Off-the-shelf antivirus protection packages are no match against sophisticated cyber criminals who will simply brush aside virus protection software. It’s like throwing a cup of water on a house-fire. Also, cyber criminals could well be targeting larger companies along your supply chain.

Small businesses find themselves victims of ransomware, not because they have been individually targeted by a criminal, but because of simple human error.

Believing that they are unlikely to fall victims to a cyber-attack, the majority of SMEs fail to adequately inform and educate staff about cybercrime and what to look out for, particularly with regard to ‘phishing’ assaults. This is where a perfectly normal looking email – perhaps from a supplier or government agency – is opened and instead of being legitimate, it is laced with ransomware and once unleashed onto an SMEs computer network it wreaks havoc.

Without comprehensive protection, and staff training too many SMEs will panic and simply give-in to a ransomware demand, hoping that cyber criminals will be honest enough to release the crucial data they have ring-fenced and encrypted – like bank account details or customer account information.

Why would a cyber criminal kill the goose that has just started to lay golden eggs?

One small business we know fell victim to a devastating ransomware assault. A member of staff at a dental practice in the Midlands received what looked like an invoice from a supplier. It wasn’t. Once opened, ransomware was released  and the practice was unable to access patient records, appointment details and billing information. Then the demands for payment appeared.  If they refused to pay, the data could be destroyed, or sold to the highest bidder on the dark web.

Another SME client of ours (well, they are now) watched helpless as, at exactly 08.00am, some 3000 emails left their servers and went to clients and suppliers. There was nothing they could do. A colleague had worked on a home computer at the weekend and saved the work onto a memory stick. Once plugged into the company’s network on Monday morning, the network was flooded with ransomware.

A client was attending a trade exhibition and was on an exhibitor’s chat room. Up popped an advertisement for exhibition furniture. It looked interesting, so they clicked on it to find out more. It was riddled with ransomware, and we were called in to clean up the mess and create the strongest malware identification, isolation and removal package.

These attacks on SMEs inevitably lead to huge disruption, significant cost, loss of business focus, loss of revenue, reputational damage and ultimately bankruptcy. Not to mention the legal consequences and non-compliance issues.

The recent trends toward working remotely, often from home, or storing data in the cloud, accepting on-line payments and conducting business online, all conspire to create a cyber criminal’s playground.

There are several actions that SMEs can take to minimise their exposure to criminality including:

• Training employees to identify phishing attempts
• Backing up data and keeping it offline
• Keeping security patches up to date
• Having robust anti-spam processes
• Introducing multi-factor authentication
• Configuring your firewall to repel invaders…and so on.

If all that sounds a bit overwhelming, then outsource all of it to a cyber security specialist company which has a commercial interest in keeping your business safe.

All the indicators are that 2024 will be the year that SMEs are confronted by wave after wave of catastrophic cyber-attacks. All the signs are there and in the realm of cyber criminality, prevention is far better than cure.

Read more:
Cybercrime and SME’s – why your business could be next

The Government’s Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill featured in the King’s Speech 2023 on Tuesday (November 7), indicating the Government’s intention to pass the new law in the coming months. Security expert Marcus Gerrard, of Safetyflex Barriers, discusses what this means for businesses…

Business owners will join national efforts to tackle the rising threat of terrorist attacks in the UK under new legislation which has taken a significant step forward this week.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill was one of 21 Bills mentioned in the King’s Speech on Tuesday, signalling the Government’s intention to pass it into law in the coming year.

The Bill will place a statutory duty on qualifying premises and events to take proportionate and reasonable measures to improve public safety and protect against the threat of terrorism.

Under the current draft, that could mean business owners creating anti-terrorism plans and staff undertaking terrorism protection training so they are briefed on how to react to a situation and evacuate customers, or installing hostile vehicle mitigation such as bollards and barriers.

The changes are something businesses must start preparing for now, but what exactly does this law mean in practical terms? And how can businesses ensure compliance?

The Bill is known as Martyn’s Law, named after Martyn Hett, who was one of 22 people killed by a terrorist attack as they left an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in 2017.

According to the Home Office, the legislation could affect some 650,000 businesses in the UK, but the scope will look different dependent on the size of your business or event.

The new duty will apply to qualifying public premises – that is essentially those which are accessible to the public, hold 100 people or more, and is used for one of the qualifying activities such as retail, food and drink, entertainment, recreation and leisure, places of worship, healthcare, and more.

Public events such as a food market or festival must also abide by the rules if they have a capacity of 800 or more where there is express permission to enter with or without payment.

The scope of the law is currently going through pre-legislative scrutiny and the Government has stressed “proportionality is a fundamental consideration” when setting out requirements, which is fundamental to making sure this is right for business owners as well as the public.

At the moment it is set out in a two-tier system: standard duty, and enhanced duty.

Those in the standard tier will have a maximum capacity for 100 people or more – like a library or restaurant – and must undertake a terrorism evaluation assessing the types of attack likely to occur, what measures have been put in place to mitigate against this, and the response to an attack.

They must also devise a six-step terrorism plan which outlines how they will inform people on the premises of an attack that is taking place, how they will lock down the premises, evacuate members of the public and staff, notify emergency services, consider first aid and fire safety, and inform people nearby.

Terrorism protection training must also be given to staff at each premises or event.

Those in the enhanced tier will have a maximum capacity of 800 people or more – such as a large-scale hotel – and have additional responsibilities such as setting out a robust security plan and appointing a designated senior officer responsible.

All qualifying premises and events must also register with a regulator set by the Secretary of State, likely to be a local council.

The sheer variety in activities the law will apply to means it will impact everything from museums, gyms to shops, and will form part of initial staff training alongside health and safety procedures, as well as annual company system reviews.

Proposed enforcement includes a maximum fine of £10,000 for standard duty premises or £18 million for enhanced duty premises – or five per cent of the person qualifying’s worldwide revenue, whichever is greatest.

Whilst there is a monetary incentive to comply on top of a financial cost to ensure businesses are compliant, the potential real-life human impact of not following these rules is far more serious.

The stats tell us there have been 15 terror attacks in the UK since 2017 and the national threat level is currently set at ‘substantial’, which the Government classes as meaning ‘an attack is likely’.

Predicting targets is tough, and methods of attack are diverse and continuously evolving, which makes them hard to prevent too.

However, from our experience of working with businesses and protecting publicly accessible locations – whether it’s stadiums such as Twickenham, Wimbledon and the home of Saracens Rugby Club, to visitor attractions such as the London Eye – hostile vehicle mitigation is one of the most important measures to protect from the threat of potential attacks.

Since 2014, vehicles have been used as weapons in more than 140 attacks worldwide and an overwhelming majority (nine out of 10) did not have significant security barriers or bollards in place. That’s a worrying figure which demonstrates the need for a tougher stance on terrorism.

Campaigners have fought for the Bill to be passed as soon as possible and its inclusion in the King’s Speech this week is the signal many have been waiting for which tells us it is now coming, to help the country better prepare for possible attacks and ensure public safety.

That challenge must begin now – and it is owed to victims like Martyn Hett and others.

Read more:
Martyn’s Law: What does it mean for businesses following the King’s Speech announcement

Claire Johnson, a partner in Clarke Willmott’s private capital team, looks at the implications associated with the so-called ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ and how parents can make informed choices about contributing to their child’s property purchase.

Making an outright gift

Parental loans

Investing in your child’s property purchase

Trust planning – a best of both world’s solution?

Read more:
The implications of the bank of Mum & Dad

As the digital world undergoes constant transformation, the importance of effective web design cannot be overstated. A meticulously crafted, engaging, user-friendly website serves as the digital face of a business, where first impressions count and can be costly.

In this article, we are going to explore the fundamentals of effective web design, drawing upon our extensive industry experience as a leading web design agency in London. Our insights aim to highlight some key elements that create an effective online presence and how these can be used to create a powerful and successful website.

Understanding Your Audience: The Cornerstone of Web Design

Understanding your audience is the key fundamental of effective web design. This involves a thorough examination of your customer persona, demographics, preferences, behaviours, and online activities. Gaining a robust understanding of your potential site visitors, their needs, and what motivates them allows you to create a website tailored to their specific requirements.

This will not only increase the likelihood of attracting your target audience, but it will also encourage them to complete core objectives (sales, member signup, social sharing, etc.), ultimately improving conversion rates. A website must always put your audience at the centre of your web design strategy.

The Role Of Aesthetics In Web Design: More Than Looks

Aesthetics in web design are often just associated with visuals. However, the role extends far beyond just the looks. The aesthetic design of a website can significantly impact the user experience, user journey and overall satisfaction.

A visually pleasing design helps to capture the attention of users, but it is the seamless integration of design elements that keeps them engaged. This includes areas such as the use of colours that align with your brand image, intuitive and logical navigational structure, and consistent typography, all of which help contribute to a website that is visually pleasing and simple to use.

Good aesthetics also include the effective use of white space, ensuring that content is legible and easily readable and images are optimised so that they load quickly. Thus, the role of aesthetics in web design is not just to make a site look visually attractive but to help improve its overall usability and user journey. Have a look at the web design portfolio of London-based web design agency ID Studio to see some great examples of design, form and function working together.

The Impact Of User Experience (UX) On Website Effectiveness

The importance of User Experience (UX) in determining the success of a website and its overall effectiveness is paramount. A well-designed and intuitive UX ensures that visitors can easily and instinctively interact with your website, elevating user satisfaction and their ability to complete the site’s core objectives. UX involves carefully planned consideration of critical website elements such as information architecture, interactive design, and usability.

Well-structured information architecture has numerous benefits, including the ability for visitors to easily find the information they need, while an effective interactive design helps create a seamless journey to complete site objectives (like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter).

Furthermore, website usability will greatly influence your user satisfaction. A design that is easy to navigate, with clear and obvious call-to-actions, readable content and a responsive design that adapts to different devices will significantly improve the user experience.

Accessibility: Ensuring Your Website Is User-Friendly For All

Accessibility is, unfortunately, an often overlooked aspect of the web design process. It is important to ensure your website is accessible and user-friendly for all. This includes making sure the site is easily accessible for those with disabilities or impairments such as vision loss, hearing issues, or physical challenges.

A fully accessible website guarantees that all users have easy access to all information and functionality, regardless of their abilities. Techniques used to enable this include features such as text alternatives for non-text content, inclusion of captions for audio or video, expandable text, colour contrasts, etc.

By making your website accessible, it will increase your audience base and improve overall usability and SEO effectiveness. Accessibility must be considered from the beginning of a web project, not an afterthought, as its integration will not be as effective. In addition, there are legal requirements for some industries to make their website accessible, so it may not even be a choice.

The Significance Of Mobile Responsiveness In Today’s Digital Age

In today’s digital era, a responsive build holds significant importance in effective web design. With the explosion in usage of smartphones and tablets, there is an ever-increasing number of users accessing websites via their smart devices. A responsive website is one that adjusts and displays optimally across a multitude of screen sizes and devices.

Responsive websites require grid-based layouts and images that are scalable so that they automatically adjust depending on the device being used to view them. Google favours mobile-friendly websites higher in their search results, adding another important aspect to getting this process right. Non-responsive websites risk alienating a large portion of their audience and can greatly affect their online visibility. Any website that is not responsive starts with a significant disadvantage that is quite likely impossible to overcome.

Content Is King

“Content is King” is not an overstatement, and there is a good reason for its prominence. Content can include text, images, videos, and any other form of communication with the user. It delivers your business message, demonstrates the value of your offerings, and helps to attract and keep your visitors engaged.

Quality, meaningful content helps differentiate your website from the competition. It is also well known that Google considers quality content as a key ranking factor.

Creating SEO-optimised content with targeted keywords increases your chances of appearing higher in search engine results for those terms, driving more traffic and, more importantly, relevant traffic to your site.

SEO And Web Design: An Inseparable Partnership

Last but definitely not least, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and web design are a partnership that must work in tandem. SEO isn’t just filling your website content with relevant keywords. It is about incoming and internal links, quality content, clean well-coded and constructed pages, responsive designs, loading speed and relevancy.

SEO needs to be planned from the early stages of the design process, ensuring that the site is built to and targets keywords for your business. A great way to learn some ideas is to look into your competitors, what keywords they are targeting, URL structures, incoming links, etc. There are some great tools to help with this, such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and GA4. Even with the greatest design quality and build, without effective SEO, your site will not be found.

Conclusion

In conclusion, effective web design is a multifaceted discipline that requires a deep understanding of various elements, all working in harmony for the end goal of an intuitive, engaging, and accessible user experience. From the fundamentals of UX, through the importance of accessibility and mobile responsiveness, to the significance of content and the integral role of SEO, each aspect carries its unique weight in the equation of successful web design. The journey of crafting an effective website is a blend of technical prowess and creative insight, a balancing act between functionality and aesthetics. At the heart of this endeavour lies a user-centric philosophy, a commitment to deliver a digital experience that transcends barriers, adapts to devices, communicates value, and ensures visibility. As digital landscapes continue to evolve, so too should our web design strategies, always striving for excellence, relevance, and meaningful connection with our audience.

Read more:
Fundamentals Of Effective Web Design And Development: Insights From A London Agency

Contrary to the TV stereotype in Absolutely Fabulous and other cultural spoofs, a PR is far more than the character Edina guzzling bottles of champagne or an obsequious person in a marketing meeting who is thin on good advice and ideas.

The reality is quite different and hopefully you’ve met the right ones.  Done well, PR is an art, a science and a vital component for your new business drive and company growth.

Sam Pepper, Founder of PR on a Tin provides her insights on making the most of a PR budget to support the growth of the business.

Ensure your PR budget is agile

It’s a fallacy that start-ups and scale-ups need to pay external PR agencies all of the time.  Having advised hundreds of small and growing businesses for more than 25 years, I understand how critical it is to keep the marketing budget lean and also there are natural ebbs and flows with PR.

There are times when your business can put the pause button on PR activity and there are times when you should gear up.  This may be a product launch, it may be a time to update your target audiences about the business, perhaps you need to raise the brand’s profile ahead of a fund-raising timetable or you need to give your new business development a boost.   Traditionally, a business pays a PR agency or a consultant an ongoing monthly retainer.  A different approach focused on a project basis (provided you do the planning) will free up a lot of £££ in the marketing budget and gives the brand flexibility to look at different initiatives, rather than feel locked into an ongoing PR commitment.

Enjoy the creative process but make sure it supports the commercial vision

The vital ingredient for an effective PR campaign is creativity.  But to make this happen, the business needs to embrace the process – and not expect a PR to work in a silo.

The creative starting point is to ensure you get the brand, PR positioning and strategy right – do spend time working with your PR to create a distinct brand and external messages which will support the commercial vision and the business priorities.  A big misunderstanding amongst businesses (and even some PRs) is to see the PR tactics as the creative part, but it all begins here.

For PR tactics, do be open to all creative ideas for the campaign.  Creativity isn’t purely for consumer-facing brands, but also those working with other businesses and operating in the professional services industry.  One management consultancy I worked with, did just that. To bring their brand to life and showcase their expertise they held a half-day event with some of their clients and invited an FT journalist to take part in a war-games activity, complete with travelling on speed-boats “James Bond style” down the River Thames!  The ££ investment wasn’t that much (the hire of the speedboat and the cost of the venue) and because of the event and media coverage, the company benefited from direct new business leads and an immediate client win.  Of course, you don’t need to go so bold and there are other ways to achieve the quality of coverage, but it all arises from allowing the creative process.

Quality of coverage to support new business

Too many marketers fall into the trap of ticking boxes when evaluating PR.  And one of those boxes is focusing on quantity of press coverage hits as opposed to quality.  Two-liner quotes in national media outlet can be great brand- boosters but the re-use of the article for new business can often be limited.  And even if your PR team reaches the monthly KPI of, say five such media hits, one has to question to what degree these results are actually helping drive new business.  In contrast, a news exclusive in one top tier media outlet or a 500-word expert by-line in a respected industry publication will be far more beneficial.  It will also be valuable marketing collateral for your sales and marketing teams to use in the new business drive and to build momentum about your brand.  It could accompany an email the team are sending to prospects, handed out at exhibition stands or posted on social media platforms.

Be pro-active not reactive

There are media tools, which allow journalists to post to PR subscribers about a current article they are writing and serve as an invitation for quotes on the topic.  What tends to happen is 100 different PRs jump on the bandwagon to try and get quoted.  It’s a reactive bunfight and rarely does a  journalist have time to sift through all the emails.  If you’re quick off the mark, there’s a chance that your spokesperson’s soundbites make the cut of one or two lines in the article, alongside other competitors.  The reality is too many PRs and companies spend time drafting and getting sign off with little or no yield.

Instead, be proactive and drive the news or features agenda in different media outlets.  Remember your brand is seeing the changes at the coalface; your business will be in a strong position to provide new and valuable insights gained from your day-to-day dealings with customers and clients, case studies, data or commissioning additional research to support your assertions.

Focus on the bigger picture

If you want to grow big, think big with PR and be prepared to invest time and allocate some or even all of the annual budget to a thought leadership campaign.

To be clear of exactly what a thought leader is, I always refer to Joel Kurtzman, who in 1994, as editor-in-chief of Strategy and Business magazine said “A thought leader is recognised by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who understands the business they are in, the needs of the customer and the broader marketplace in which they operate.  They have distinctively original ideas, unique points of view and new insights.”  Finding this point of difference requires creativity and collaboration between some of the senior management and your PR.  Yet the return on investment (both time and money) can be huge and yield great results for your brand’s profile, new business pipeline and growth.

Read more:
Better PR for your business’s growth

Changes to regulations regarding Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and separating couples could alert people to the fact that they may have failed to pay sufficient tax in the past.

New measures to ease difficulties over the transfer of assets experienced by spouses or civil partners who are separating and enable them to split in a tax-efficient manner have been widely welcomed.

Announced by the Government in the last Budget and applying with effect from April 6 2023 the regulations extend the time allowed for ‘no gain/no loss’ asset transfers to up to three years, or unlimited time if it is the family home that is transferred under an agreement or a court order.

Under the previous regime, couples had only until the end of the tax year of permanent separation to benefit from the no gain/no loss relief, often creating great stress at an already difficult time. If they happened to separate in March, this would create only a very small window of time to transfer assets without triggering a potential CGT charge.

Experienced Private Client tax specialist Tracy Underwood, Azets Partner, based at the firm’s Guildford office, has welcomed the changes as a major step forward.

However, she said: “For many couples separating, it appears the previous rule that applied up until 5 April 2023 was not well known or understood. Separating couples may assume the transfer of assets between themselves continued on a no gain no loss basis up until the point the separation was finalised by divorce or dissolution, Unfortunately, this was not the case

“Although many lawyers will recommend that tax advice is acquired in these situations, this is not always followed up. However, the tax implications of divorce is an important part of understanding the full ramifications of a financial settlement.

“Individuals who have previously gone through this process and are now concerned that they may have underpaid tax should get specialist advice on how to quantify and report this to HMRC.

“And if you are going through this process at the moment, then please do make sure you get appropriate tax advice so that you fully understand your position.”

Underwood added that the situation often becomes more complicated if a business is involved.

She said: “This extension may be of particular interest where one of the parties is a business owner and where shares may form part of that settlement.

“The valuation of private business shares can take a long while to agree and may well have previously extended beyond the period where a no gain no loss transfer was possible.

“It could also be relevant where properties are involved and formal valuations may be required, particularly where the financial settlement is dependent on a sale. The new rules include special provisions which apply in circumstances where an individual retains a financial interest in their former family home after a separation and the home is then sold.

“Publicity surrounding these CGT changes will hopefully alert people both to the fact they may need to take action to avoid certain pitfalls to ensure that their financial settlement on separation takes into account the effect of any tax liability – not just capital gains tax – and the correct tax is paid.”

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2021 there were 113,505 divorces granted in England and Wales, a 9.6% increase compared with 2020 when there were 103,592 divorces.

CGT is the tax on the gain arising which applies when certain assets are sold. If the asset has increased in value from when it was acquired, then a tax on this gain may be payable – although a number of reliefs and allowances are available.

It is payable on assets such as property that is not the main home, shares, business assets and certain personal possessions valued at more than £6,000.

Underwood also warned that CGT benefits that apply to separating couples, old or new, do not apply to unmarried couples or those not in civil partnerships.

Read more:
Capital Gains Tax changes may reveal underpaid tax

Venture debt may not appear that enticing to founders during periods when capital is abundant and equity investors are pouring money into startups at sky-high valuations. However, when the funding market regains rationality and becomes more discerning, as we’re seeing now, the venture debt route becomes an option worth considering.

Here Risto Rossar, CEO and founder of the insurtech, Insly, outlines what he learned from the process.

For many startups, the path to success has traditionally involved securing multiple rounds of VC funding, chasing high valuations, and prioritising rapid growth at all costs. However, this approach only works for very high growth business sectors, or during boom times, when money is free, and investors are throwing cash at anything that moves.

For us, as a B2B enterprise SaaS insurtech company with a relatively complex product and long sales cycle, we’ve never really fit that mold. Our focus has always been on building a sustainable and profitable venture, rather than pursuing astronomical growth by burning a lot of investors’ money. As a result, venture debt has always appealed.

And, despite the Silicon Valley Bank collapse last year and reports that venture debt is harder to come by, it is still very much an option for the right companies. One of our investors, Denis Shafranik, Co-founder and Partner at the venture capital firm, Concentric, agrees:

“There still seems to be quite a fair amount of activity. The market in the UK is competitive with a range of funds and bank lenders in the sector. Terms have indeed tightened up and become more expensive as you would expect in this cycle, but it’s marginal in the context of the businesses that can take advantage of venture debt. Its risk hasn’t changed fundamentally and while it’s not for every company, for those that can be profitable or continue to raise equity, it can be a useful tool.”

In our case, we’ve had numerous conversations with venture debt providers over the years but have always been told it was too early. Only this year did we finally reach the point where it made sense for us, and providers would lend to us, so we were able to move forward. In the process, I have learned a few valuable lessons about when an early-stage business should consider venture debt, potential obstacles along the way, and how to successfully close the deal.

 Three fundamentals

You really need three elements in place for venture debt to be the right instrument: predictable revenue, reasonable growth, and a path to profitability. For us, now we are generating a meaningful amount of annual recurring revenue and getting really close to profitability, venture debt has become a realistic option. If you don’t have stable revenues and your burn rate is high, then it’s probably too early and you’re unlikely to have enough time to generate the new business and growth you need to service the debt. There is also a minimum amount that providers will lend (usually around £1.5m in Europe) so you need to be of a certain size to absorb the loan, plus the transaction costs, such as legal fees for drafting the loan agreement. Taking less than that doesn’t make much sense.

Venture debt vs. venture capital

Why is venture debt sometimes a better option than venture capital? Again, it comes down to three considerations: timing, how much you want to raise, and what you’re planning to spend the money on. It’s a combination of the market situation, where the company is today and where the future growth will come from.

• Timing: VCs have pulled back significantly in the last 12 months, which means that raising equity financing is much harder than it was. So that was one reason why venture debt made more sense for us, in terms of accessing funds quickly and at a lower cost.
• How much you want to raise: Secondly, we were only looking to raise a relatively small amount of money, so it wasn’t worth the time and effort of an equity round. In most cases, venture debt is cheaper than venture capital because the combined return from interest and warrants is still considerably smaller than that of equity holders, who expect a 30% return at the very least, with the real aim of more than 100%. It doesn’t make sense to lose a large chunk of equity for a relatively small sum.

Finally, what is the risk profile of the investments you intend to make? We wanted funds to primarily scale up our existing products and markets through investment in sales and marketing and some mini acquisitions to enhance the product and bring in additional revenue, taking advantage of discounted valuations. We know that we have a great product, and we can now onboard customers fast enough, so we are confident that these investments will impact our revenues and valuation to a meaningful extent.

In contrast, if we were looking to make riskier, longer-term investments, such as exploring new territories, or launching a new product, then venture debt is unlikely to be the best option. The risk level is different, and it comes down to the predictability of the outcome.  When you’re at the level of taking venture debt then you already have something to lose. Get it wrong and you could lose everything. I would say you need to have 70% to 95% certainty of success, for the risk to be manageable.

Find a funding structure to match your business

From a founder’s perspective, your biggest focus should be finding a financing structure that suits your cash flow and business plan. Venture debt funds have a range of financing structures; with terms ranging from one or two years, up to three or five years in some cases. In addition, some require you to start repayments straight away, while some give you nine month ‘holiday’ before you start.

In my opinion, finding a structure that works is as important as the interest rate; it is better to pay a slightly higher rate for a loan that suits you better. In our case, as a B2B business, we have a long sales cycle, so we didn’t want to pay the money back too quickly and that drove a lot of our decision-making. Around 70% of the options I looked at weren’t fit for our business.

Ensure your base case stands up to scrutiny

Raising venture debt is 95% the same as raising equity funding. Venture debt providers need to buy into the story, trust the team, and validate the numbers. However, there are a couple of key differences.

Firstly, venture debt providers aren’t necessarily looking for the same level of growth as a pure VC. They will be satisfied to know that you will deliver 10% or 20% growth rather than 50% or 100% growth; just enough to ensure that you can pay the money back (although, of course, it’s totally fine to aim for much higher growth rates internally – and you probably should). And secondly, be prepared for tough due diligence to ensure that you will deliver on your forecasts. Our finance team spent several months under pressure creating financial models, which was surprising for what was a relatively small amount of funding.

Of course, just as with an equity raise, relationships and trust are also critical. You need to feel out whether you can work with their team for five plus years, and check references, particularly cases that haven’t gone well. How do they treat and support businesses when times aren’t great? Are they super aggressive? Venture debt is the highest security investor, so if they’re very inflexible, then it’s hard. Doing due diligence on them is as important as them doing due diligence on you.

 Venture debt > venture capital?

As a startup founder, there’s a perception that venture capital is the ‘be all and end all’ of funding, but venture debt is a really useful instrument for the right kind of company, at the right stage of growth. As the economy has shifted, we’re moving away from the ‘growth at all costs’ mentality, and if you have a solid company, growing organically, with reasonably predictable revenue growth, and the right risk management in place, there is no reason why debt couldn’t be one of your options – and even replace your need for equity funding altogether.

Read more:
Raising venture debt as an early-stage business – when is the right time?

Whether you’re considering selling a portion of your equity or your entire company, it’s essential to prepare your business effectively.

Much like selling a house, the process of selling a business involves highlighting its potential, fixing any weaknesses, and ensuring it’s presented in the best possible light.

Potential buyers will undoubtedly want to conduct their own due diligence before committing to a purchase. This is a crucial step in the transaction process, providing transparency and building trust.

“Due diligence is about demonstrating the value of your business transparently and honestly.” – Anonymous

The financial preparation for selling a business is multifaceted. From ensuring that your books are in order to demonstrating profitability, it’s about showing potential buyers that your business is a sound investment.

Your business’s profitability is the first thing that potential buyers will assess. They’ll want to see consistent revenue growth and a strong bottom line.

Maintaining clean and organised financial records is crucial. These should include your balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

Legal Preparation

Before selling your business, it’s important to have all your legal documents in order. This includes any contracts, leases, licenses, and insurance policies.

Operational preparation involves ensuring that your business can run without you. This means having a solid team in place, streamlined processes, and a clear business plan for the future.

Marketing Your Business

When you’re ready to sell, it’s time to market your business. This involves creating a compelling sales memorandum, listing your business on relevant platforms, and engaging with potential buyers.

The negotiation process is where the price and terms of sale are agreed upon. It’s crucial to approach this with a clear strategy and a firm understanding of your business’s worth.

Finalising the Deal

The final stage in selling your business is finalising the deal. This typically involves signing a sales agreement and transferring ownership to the new owner.

Post-Sale Considerations

After the sale, it’s important to consider any post-sale obligations. This may include a handover period, non-compete clauses, or consultancy agreements.

Preparing your business for sale can be a complex and time-consuming process. However, with the right preparation, it can also be an exciting and rewarding journey. It’s about understanding what potential buyers are looking for, presenting your business in the best possible light, and negotiating a deal that’s beneficial for all parties involved.

Whether you’re considering selling your business now or in the future, this guide should provide you with a comprehensive understanding of what’s involved. Happy selling!

Read more:
Preparing Your Business for Sale

There are so many reasons in this world to be miserable. War, famine, poverty, pandemics, mental health crises, the list goes on. As leaders, we have the opportunity – nay, responsibility – to prevent the workplace being such a reason.

Depending which article you read, the stats say we spend anywhere between 25% and 40% of our lives at work. When I ask people that question directly, they answer between 50% and 60%. Whichever you believe, it is a huge chunk of our lives.

As Andy Nisevic from One Degree Training & Coaching, explains: If we are miserable at work, that is an awful lot of time to spend being unhappy. We go home in low mood and wake up in low mood. Other factors, which we have no control over, then have a compound effect. According to Gallup’s 2022 state of the workplace study the UK ranked in the bottom third of European countries for employee engagement. It found that only 9% of the UK workforce feel fulfilled at work. With the amount of time we spend feeling like that, it’s no wonder so many people are experiencing depression in the modern world.

The good news is that, with the right training, and on-going support, leaders can implement some very simple measures to enable a more positive environment. This will help prevent their workforce being part of the alarmingly low Gallup statistic.

The first step is to recognise that leadership training, on its own, is not enough to produce effective leaders. People tend to be promoted because they are good at their job, which is great. If they’re lucky, they may well be sent off to a local college or leadership training provider to sit in a classroom to learn about the various leadership & communication models etc. They’ll sit exams, write essays, and at the end of the course be presented with a certificate and a national qualification that looks great on a CV.

“What’s the problem with that?”, I hear you ask. Firstly, as the training is aligned to national qualifications, it encourages a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership development, which simply doesn’t exist. Also, when we look at leadership from a neuroscientific perspective, we begin to recognise why so many managers, with very high leadership qualifications, are such toxic leaders.

Logic vs Emotion

Conversations in the classroom engage the logical centre of the brain – the pre-frontal cortex. This is where logic, learning, language, intelligence, and rational thought exist. When we’re in the workplace, and faced with a leadership challenge, the part of the brain we’re using is the emotional part – the limbic system. This part, depending on which book you read, is 5 – 15 times stronger than the pre-frontal cortex, it’s the part of the brain that’s always first to act, it has none of the benefits of the logical centre, and contains what Prof. Steve Peters refers to as the Chimp.

The Chimp is there to detect threats and keep you alive. Unfortunately, the lack of logic and learning means that it’s unable to differentiate between a mad man running towards you with a machete, or a situation that makes you just a little uneasy. So even a very minor leadership challenge can make the chimp want to get you out of that situation very quickly.

Why leadership training alone is not enough

Often, people will be promoted, and given no ongoing training or support. They are then expected to deliver from day one.

The emotional & logical parts of the brain don’t talk to each other. Success from the chimp’s perspective is just to get you out of the situation. You’re flooded with adrenaline and cortisol, and your fight or flight responses are activated. These chemicals and responses don’t result in calm, logical, thinking. All the learning gained from leadership training, doesn’t even feature in your thought process until at least 5 minutes after the situation first arose – often up to as long as 15 minutes. You know what they say about first impressions! If 60 seconds is all it takes to give someone an impression of your leadership skills, imagine the damage that can occur in 15-minutes! A further problem with this is, if the chimp’s measure of success is purely to get you out of the situation, but it was handled poorly, the chimp doesn’t know this. All it knows is that it did its job and got you out of there. This creates a neural pathway that tells the chimp this is the right thing to do in the future.

Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky as to even be provided with the training in the first place. Often, people will be promoted, and given no ongoing training or support. They are then expected to deliver from day one.

Why talented individuals become toxic leaders

These two factors are why it’s so easy, and very common, for talented individuals, who are good, honest, decent people, to become toxic leaders. It’s not that they don’t want to be good leaders, it’s that they haven’t been developed properly and are under a lot of pressure – maybe even stress.

Step One

Now, leadership training is important. It’s just not effective on its own. It’s one step of leadership development, but not even the first. The first step to developing a great leader is taken on the first day an employee starts working for you. The culture, attitude, behaviours, and standards that you influence through your leadership will have a lasting impression.

Step Two

The next step is to identify the developmental needs of your staff; not just the hard skills essential for their operational output, but the soft skills too. Active listening, effective communication, personality profiles, etc.; anything that is going to increase their awareness of why people act the way they do.

Step Three

Respond calmly, logically, and confidently. They will be able to handle any situation effectively and keep the workforce fully engaged and productive.

Now, remember what was mentioned about training in isolation, the third step is ongoing coaching and mentoring, either in-house, or through third party support. This will take hypothetical, classroom-based learning, and put it into an individual’s reality. This coaching and/or mentoring will, over time, create the neural pathways that, when the individual is promoted to a position with leadership responsibility, can kickstart the pre-frontal cortex. This means the leader can use the leadership training, and respond calmly, logically, and confidently. They will be able to handle any situation effectively and keep the workforce fully engaged and productive.

Make the world a happier more successful place

Keep your workforce fulfilled, help the UK workforce to be more engaged

Leaders who can do this will keep your workforce in the 9% who feel fulfilled at work, helping to make the UK’s workforce a more engaged one, and bit-by-bit make the world a happier place.

Read more:
How a good person becomes a toxic leader

Employment law experts have warned business leaders of the challenging optics in the face of the predicted influx of redundancies during 2023, alongside shifting expectations in a changing workforce.

Research conducted earlier this year revealed that two-fifths of employers predict that they will be making redundancies during 2023. The research also found that 16% of those who identified themselves as C-suite, managing directors, or HR professionals, do not fully understand the redundancy process.

Experts at Womble Bond Dickinson, the international law firm that undertook the research, have warned of how this could be perceived negatively by a less mature workforce, and the tricky relationship between trust and making tough business decisions.

Gearalt Fahy, partner and employment law expert at the firm, said: “On the surface, we know that business leaders – especially those in the c-suite of large organisations – don’t need to understand the nuts and bolts behind the redundancy process and that this is the responsibility of a wider team and, often, requiring external support. However, the climate that organisations are operating in needs to be considered. We’re amid a huge workforce upheaval and the pace of change and speed at which these decisions must be made is unprecedented and presents an evolving challenge.”

Gearalt also warns that businesses are not only contending with swift decision making, but a multi-generational workforce that has been exposed to a different working experience during covid, with more flexibility, hybrid working and an employment safety net through the likes of the furlough scheme. This has created a set of challenging optics.

Gearalt explained: “The impact of these decisions reverberates across the organisation and can influence staff retention and recruitment.

“There’s a balancing act as businesses need to appeal to a workforce that might have different expectations of normal working life or how their employer should behave during tough times. A lot of Gen Z employees in particular will have the support that they received during the pandemic as their only or most recent point of reference. They might expect that during tough times, there’s always going to be a safety net. For younger generations communication is key, as they may not understand the process or have the built in trust that their employer is making tough decisions because it is absolutely essential for the survival of the business.”

What influence will the Gen Z workforce have?

Gen Z will account for 27% of the workforce by 2025. According to Edelman’s report The Power of Gen Z: Trust & the Future Consumer, Gen Z highly values safety and security, with 70% of them making it a top priority. The lasting impacts of the Global Recession and the 2020-21 Global Pandemic have ingrained a strong need for stability in all aspects of their lives. The research states that only 50% of Gen Z trust CEOs. Comparatively, they tend to trust experts such as doctors (77%), scientists (75%), and educators (74%).

Gen Z is ushering in an era of openness. They demand inclusivity, fairness, and equity, and are wary of mistreatment or inequality. A notable 60% of them believe most people are untrustworthy, valuing individual trust more than in organisations.

Gearalt says that this cultivation of trust will be essential during tough times in business. He advises: “Trust must be earned, and the Gen Z workforce will expect employers to uphold the values that they declare. This makes managing redundancies well critical for future appeal to the next generation of employees, starting with an understanding of the process you’re undertaking. Achieving this means fostering open dialogues, thoroughly adhering to proper procedures, and maintaining transparent communication channels. You might not be able to offer everyone in your organisation stability, but you can treat them with respect and offer transparency. There’s a way of getting things done quickly, but also getting it right, and that’s something business leaders and HR professionals are going to face more of.”

Read more:
Redundancies and Trust: Can the two coexist?

It was Benjamin Franklin who once said “…nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

Business owners know only too well the importance of dealing with taxes, but rarely think about or plan for how they will deal with the death of a business partner or shareholder.

As a nation, we’re not good at talking about death. So, it is hardly surprising that recent research shows that half of UK adults don’t even have a will. Yet, as Here Jen Goodwin, a solicitor in the corporate and commercial team at solicitors Jackson Lees explains as a business owner, failing to plan for death is a serious risk, not just to your family but also to your business.

As unpleasant as it is to think about, a responsible business owner needs to have considered what will happen to ownership of their business if they or a co-owner dies or becomes seriously ill while still active in the business. Indeed, it is healthy to include these issues as part of your business continuity and risk planning particularly when you consider a Legal & General survey which found that 59% of businesses believed that they would have to stop trading in less than a year after the death or critical illness of a key individual.

Aside from not wanting to think about the worst, one of the reasons more businesses don’t plan better around death or critical illness is because they wrongly assume that their families will automatically benefit from the value built up in the business in the event of their death, but that is not necessarily the case.

The default position is usually that shares in a company will pass to the estate of the deceased, leaving family members with shares and not cash, and surviving co-owners with new shareholders who often have little or no working knowledge of or interest in the company. It can be a less than ideal situation for both sides.

Yet, there is a simple solution to avoid this by having a cross-option agreement.

What are they?

A cross-option agreement is a contract between the shareholders of a private limited company and is a private document that does not need to be filed at Companies House. It gives the other shareholders the option to purchase the shares of a shareholder who is incapacitated or has passed away. This option allows the surviving shareholders to retain control of the business without having to introduce new shareholders.

The agreement will also provide the beneficiaries of a deceased shareholder (very often the spouse, children or other close family members) a similar option to require the surviving shareholders to purchase the deceased’s shares, just in case those surviving shareholders don’t exercise their own option to buy.

For those left behind, whether personally or professionally, it provides real peace of mind. For family members, it provides certainty that the demands of the business will not fall on them and for those left in the business, it provides clarity as to the business’s future.

Importantly, as the name suggests, cross-option agreements provide just that, options. The parties do not have to exercise their rights under the options. If neither the surviving shareholders nor the estate of the deceased exercise their rights then the shares will be inherited in accordance with the relevant will or intestacy rules and any applicable shareholders agreement, which might be particularly welcome in a family-run enterprise where one individual has been identified to take over from the deceased.

What is included?

The main elements of a cross-option agreement include the details of the shares eligible to be bought or sold, the rules around how the shares are to be valued (or if there is to be a fixed price) and a timescale as to when the transaction should take place and payments be made.

Valuing and paying for shares on death

Depending on the terms of the cross-option agreement, the shares may need to be independently valued. Some agreements contain a formula which might take into account market value and a multiple of profits. There will of course be tax implications for both sides in any sale and it is absolutely essential that both sides seek independent financial advice prior to entering into a cross-option and on exercising their option.

The cross-options are very often backed by an insurance policy taken out by each shareholder known as a shareholder protection policy. This is so that when an option is exercised, the purchasers have the cash available to buy the shares, otherwise they may need to fund the purchase price themselves or find a way for the business to fund it, which many will be unable to afford. This can leave a surviving shareholder in the very difficult position of being legally bound to purchase shares following exercise of an option by the estate, but without the money to be able to pay the purchase price.

These insurance policies are different to ‘key man’ or ‘key person’ insurance, which simply insure the business itself against the losses stemming directly from the absence of a critical person. Shareholder protection insurance pays out to the owners of the business for the sole purpose of acquiring the shares of the deceased or critically ill shareholder.

What else to think about?

At the same time as completing a cross-option agreement, you should also update your will to reflect what is in the agreement.

Just as important is to review and renew the cross-option agreement and any shareholder protection insurance every few years to make sure it still reflects the current business and value.

While you may not consider making such provisions for your business when you’re still young, fit and healthy a priority, considering a cross-option agreement could be a fundamental part of securing your businesses legacy.

Read more:
How to plan for the death of a business partner.

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Rising Threat of ‘Hackers for Hire’: How End-to-End Encryption Software Safeguards Businesses

For a founder or seller, the sale of a SME business will be one of their key life events.  For a buyer it can be a springboard to a faster growth rate.  In recent months buyer and seller expectations have changed in relation to SME transactions.

Francis Dalton, Corporate Partner at national law firm Freeths, explains that :It is now taking an average of 12 months for transactions to complete leaving buyers and sellers in limbo.  In this article our Corporate experts identify some of the frequently occurring gaps between seller and buyer expectations in Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) transactions and methods of addressing them to determine the best possible outcomes for both parties and to reduce transaction timetables.

Price

Price can often become the main point of disagreement during negotiations because the seller and the buyer rely on different approaches when valuing the business. Sellers have become accustomed to higher multiples and in some cases valuations based on future earnings.  As the economy has tightened, pricing from buyers has dropped and this has led to lower multiples.

Multiples

Multiples, which is a commonly used price metric, works on the basis that a company is worth several times its profits (EBITDA) or its revenue.

For some tech firms, revenue multiples (or annual recurring revenue) have been the basis of valuations as part of the market for a few years.  However, where these were once closer to 6 times, now they are more settled around 3 or 4.  For non-technology assets, it is more common to see a multiple based on EBITDA.  Again, these are sector specific but have reduced in recent years.

When choosing between profit-based and revenue-based multiples, it is crucial to consider the specific characteristics of the SME, the industry in which it operates, and the transaction context. Some additional considerations include:

• whether the SME has consistent and predictable profit margins, if it has then profit-based multiples may provide a more accurate reflection of its value. However, if profitability is low or volatile, revenue-based multiples may be more appropriate; and
• whether the SME is in a growth phase with significant revenue expansion potential, if yes, revenue-based multiples may better capture its future value. Conversely, profit-based multiples might be more suitable if the business has stable or declining revenue but is capable of improving profitability.

Working Capital Targets

Most transaction required that the Seller leaves the business with a normal of working capital in the business.  However, agreeing on what counts as a normal level of working capital is often a source of disagreement.  These disagreements typically arise due to differences in perspectives regarding the appropriate level of working capital that should be included in the transaction. For example, disagreements can arise regarding the treatment of cash, accounts receivable, inventory, or accrued liabilities and the period over which the target should be set.  In a recent transaction, this resulted in a difference in the price of over £1m and ultimately caused the transaction to fail.

When a disagreement in relation to the working capital targets occurs, it is important to have clear and open communication between the parties. Efforts should be made to understand each other’s perspectives and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution.

Earn-out provisions

Earn-out provisions are often used to bridge valuation gaps and align the interests of the buyer and seller as these are payments usually contingent on the business’s future performance.  Of course, a buyer will look to put as much of the overall consideration as contingent on the businesses’ future performance as possible whereas sellers will want more money up-front.

It is generally advisable to exclude the impact of uncontrollable external factors from earn-out provisions. For example, economic downturns, changes in industry regulations, or unforeseen market conditions can significantly affect business performance. Excluding these factors from the earn-out calculations ensures that the outcome is based on the performance within the control of the buyer or, more commonly, a seller/founder who is remaining in the business.

Earn-out provisions should be designed to focus on the performance of the specific business being acquired rather than general market conditions. Both parties should agree that earn-out provisions should not be subject to financial engineering or accounting manipulations. This ensures that the earn-out payments are based on the genuine performance of the business rather than artificially inflated or manipulated financial figures.

Earn-out provisions should be drafted with clarity and precision to avoid ambiguity or misinterpretation. Clear definitions of performance metrics, milestones, and calculation methodologies should be included to minimize the potential for disagreements and disputes in the future.

It’s worth noting that the specific exclusions or considerations for earn-out provisions can vary depending on the unique circumstances of the transaction and the preferences of the parties involved. It is strongly recommended that both the buyer and seller consult with experienced professionals, such as legal advisors, to ensure that the earn-out provisions are fair, balanced, and accurately reflect the intentions of both parties.

Liability Caps

In SME transactions, a seller will make a number of promises about the state of the business to the buyer (known as warranties).  In the event that the these are untrue, the seller will be liable to the buyer for the loss.

It is normal for this loss to be capped but the level of this cap is a point of contention.  Historically sellers have got used to caps of 20%/30% of the consideration whereas buyers will want to make sure that they have protection for the entire consideration amount.

Ultimately this will come down to how comfortable a seller is with the business that they are selling.  Many sellers will say that they know their business and are comfortable giving the warranties.  In other circumstances, the parties may seek warranty insurance protection to bridge the gap.

Basis Liability

In SME transactions involving multiple founders or shareholders, the allocation of liability can be structured in different ways. Two common approaches are joint and several liability and several and proportionate liability.

Joint and Several Liability

Joint and several liability means that each founder or shareholder is individually responsible for the full extent of the liabilities of all founders. In case of a breach or financial obligation, any one founder can be held fully liable for the entire amount, even if other founders are unable to fulfil their share of the liability. If one founder has the means to satisfy the liability, it ensures that the affected party can recover the full amount owed. This approach can provide a stronger level of protection for the buyer but it can seem unfair to sellers who don’t feel that they should cover the liability of their co-founders.  However, where a buyer insists on this approach the co-founders are able to regulate the position through an agreement between themselves.

Several and Proportionate Liability

Several and proportionate liability means that each founder or shareholder is responsible only for their respective share of the liabilities based on their ownership or agreed-upon proportion (i.e. if they have 30% of the shares they are liable for 30% of the claim).  This approach is preferred by sellers but it can leave Buyers exposes of required to bring claims against a number of people which is costly and time and consuming.

• The choice between joint and several liability and several and proportionate liability depends on several factors, including the specific circumstances of the SME transaction, the relationship and trust among the founders, the financial capacity of individual founders, and the preferences of the parties involved. In some cases, a middle ground can be reached by incorporating a combination of both approaches. For example, certain liabilities may be subject to joint and several liability, while others may be subject to several and proportionate liability.

Next Steps

In conclusion, bridging the gap between seller and buyer expectations in SME transactions requires a win-win approach. Both parties must be willing to compromise on key issues and understand each other’s positions to arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement. With proper preparation and open communication channels, the likelihood of a successful deal increases. It is important for both seller and buyer to consult with legal professionals who specialise in corporate law and SME transactions due to the complexities and potential risks involved. If you have any questions relating to a SME transaction or you’re contemplating embarking on a sale or acquisition, please get in touch with Francis Dalton.

Read more:
How to bridge the gap between Seller and Buyer expectations in SME transactions?

In the 18th century, at the beginning of the industrial revolution, human resources were valued no more than material resources. Today, the situation has changed radically. It takes several years, educational infrastructure, technology, and much more to educate a highly qualified specialist.

Therefore, every employer understands how difficult it is to find a true professional and how valuable it is to keep them. In this situation, the role of recruitment agencies can hardly be overestimated.

However, in the 21st century, another trend has emerged — massive globalization and a significant increase in the popularity of remote work. If you are a CEO and want to scale your business, these processes will definitely affect you. How can you attract employees from all over the world and overcome the difficulties of hiring in different countries? There is a simple and effective solution — to contact an employer of record (EoR) who will help expand the team and take a new step in business development.

What is EoR?

Remember how you registered the company. Most likely, it was not the easiest process, associated with numerous difficulties. Now imagine that you need to go the same way, only in another country. This country has its own laws, rules, and mentality. And this is exactly what you will need to do if you want to legally hire employees there. No doubt it can be done, but it takes a lot of time and energy that an entrepreneur can save for more important things. An EoR is an intermediary that has legal offices in dozens of countries and is ready to provide the recruitment process for your firm.

Benefits of partnering with an employer of record

Most likely, you comprehend some benefits such cooperation brings to you. A partner who will attract the best employees from all over the world is a great value. Partnering through Employer of Record services can simplify this process and broaden your global reach. Such cooperation is a complex solution that needs to be considered in more detail and highlight the main benefits that you receive.

No need for foreign entities

Opening each office and establishing a legal entity in another country requires time, money, and knowledge of local laws. Even if you are a technology company and all employees work remotely, you still need a representative office in every country where you hire employees. As we said above, the employer of record has already done this for you. Therefore, you can safely work with people around the world and not open offices.

Guaranteed compliance with local laws

Unintentional violation of labor laws is possible if you do not know them. The EoR company guarantees that all rules will be respected, both during the recruitment process and throughout the duration of the employment contract. This is a very important advantage, since many countries have very strict laws, and violation of them can lead to heavy fines and legal proceedings.

Full outsourcing of recruiting activities

By cooperating with an employer of record, you not only relieve yourself of the burden of hiring but also of all issues related to the payment of wages and taxes. Since you are entering into a tripartite agreement, taxes and salaries are the responsibility of the EoR. All you have to do is to manage and use the professional skills of the employee.

Growth rate

If you are a small or medium entrepreneur with global ambitions, speed is very important to you. Entering other markets may take months or years. Bureaucratic complexities slow down the development process. An employer of record provider will help you quickly become an international company and get ahead of your competitors.

Support

We have no doubt that you have a recruiter or even an entire HR team. However, to work with foreign specialists, it is necessary to understand the mentality of local residents and their expectations of work. Therefore, consulting an employer of record will help you become a truly international business person. Remember that you and the employer of record are working towards a common result, which is possible with synergy.

Cost reduction

Obviously, all of the above benefits will allow you to significantly reduce your costs. Opening an office and legal support requires money. The risks of violating labor laws and getting a fine are significantly reduced by partnering with an employer of record. But most importantly, your rapid growth and access to global markets can bring you such a profit that is impossible within the borders of one state.

The best employees

Last but not least. Today, a business focused on quality, not quantity, wins. Two bad employees will not replace one good worker in the short or long term. An employer of record service will help you find the best employees in the world and use their talents for the benefit of your business.

Conclusion

We live in an era of globalization and international cooperation. Growing companies can no longer remain within the boundaries of one state. Entering new markets requires hiring qualified local staff. An employer of record offers comprehensive recruitment services around the world. This partner will help you focus on your key business objectives and ensure that all employment-related legal requirements are met. Contact the best providers and enjoy the growth of your company.

Read more:
The Advantages of Using an Employer of Record: Streamlining Global Workforce Management