Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United Kingdom and Ireland:
- From the coalface:Selling without a sales team: In the first in a new series of articles focusing on real challenges faced by real entrepreneurs, small business expert Edward Bodiam explains the solution he offered to a client looking to boost sales without taking on a sales team.
- SMES forced to hike prices: PROFITS are falling for most small businesses in the north west, as a direct result of spiralling costs, a report said today.
- SME Business Owner Charged After Citizens Arrest: A small business owner in Essex who suspected that one of his staff was guilty of stealing a company cheque and attempting to cash it, has ended up being arrested himself.
- Cost Rise At Above Inflation For SME: As if you needed telling, recent research has discovered that the costs of running a business has increased by twice the general rate of inflation over the last two years.
- What the Conservatives propose to do for small businesses: With the Tory conference in full swing, what exactly do the Conservatives propose to do to help UK businesses?
- Lights go out for energywatch: The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is decrying the demise of energywatch as the regulator shuts down this week.
- Regulation volumes to high, FSB warns: Dozens of new business regulations to be implemented this week will add to the unnecessary hours employers already spend dealing with government red tape, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), has warned.
- Government response to slowdown criticised by SFA:The representative group for small businesses has criticised the Government’s response to the worsening economic situation.
- Bank charges and lending restrictions could get worse for small businesses, warns business lobby group: The FPB is concerned at reports that high street banks are beginning to reduce credit facilities and increase overdraft charges at a time when small businesses are most in need of funding. Following the merger of HBOS and Lloyds TSB, the FPB is warning that less choice between banks could mean that, as the credit crunch continues, the services offered to small firms are diminished.
- FSB calls time on beer ties: Britain’s leading small business organisation is calling time on the beer tie imposed by pub companies (pubcos) on landlords.
- Brown’s small business claims undermined by evidence, says business lobby group: The FPB is rejecting a claim made at the Labour Party Conference by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown, who suggested that the million small businesses set up in the UK since the 1997 election have boosted employment.
As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.
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