Author Lorraine Allman

7 Questions To Ask When Considering Equity Finance For Your Business

Do you have a registered limited company? For equity finance to work, you need to have a limited company (occasionally limited partnerships are acceptable), which then allows for the allocation of company shares to your external investors. If you are unsure about the advantages and disadvantages of moving from your current structure to that of…

It’s SME Jim, but not as we know it…

We all know how important small and micro-businesses are to the economy so it’s great to find some neat little INFOGRAPHICS which enable us to see at a glance some basic facts and figures about the number and characteristics of small and micro-enterprises across the UK. There are, however, a number of areas of concern…

Competitive strategies for small business

The danger of trying to undercut competitors. How can we add value in different areas? This was a question posed on Twitter last week and my immediate response was: “Don’t compromise & undercut competitors, offer something special/better in areas such as customer service, added extras…” My thinking behind this reply was that all too often…

Collaborate to Accumulate

There’s no denying times are tough for small business. Competition for customers is fierce, overhead costs are rising, and although there is much talk of ‘going global’ the reality is for many small enterprises the costs of breaking in to new markets are often prohibitive. Yet there is a way for small business to remain…

Crowdfunding – could it work for your business?

Crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly popular method for small businesses and social ventures to raise much needed funds.  The map below gives you some idea of the scale of growth in Crowdfunding over recent years.  Interestingly, the same source indicates that 46% of all UK Crowdfunding platforms were launched in 2011 alone, so with the…

8 Top Tips for Start-Ups

January is perhaps unsurprisingly one of the busiest months of the year to start up a business, yet the statistics on survival rates continue to make shocking news. For example in 2010 297,000 UK businesses went bust, equivalent to more than 1,170 every working day. Further research shows that less than 50% of companies established…

Mirror Mirror on the wall…’tis the season to reflect

I have often been quoted as saying you need more than just a good idea to get a business off the ground.  I’m sure over the festive season many people taking a rest from work will be hearing the cogs whizzing as they take some time out to ponder on a new business idea, and…

The mindset of small business

I recently came across a couple of interesting INFOGRAPHICS relating to small and micro-enterprises in the UK and USA which I would like to share with you.  The first is from the UK based on research from Smarta – the DNA of Sole Traders. In a nutshell it says that UK sole traders are ‘motivated…

Business Awards – you have to be in them to win them

The last few months has seen a flurry of activity on the Business Awards scene – from Start-ups to Growth business, from Social entrepreneurs to Mumpreneurs there are so many opportunities to get your business noticed by entering a competition, being shortlisted, and potentially winning an award. The big questions is, when there’s already so…

Life’s a Pitch and then they buy

As a small business you know that every communication counts. When speaking with customers, suppliers, investors, competitors, or peers, the way in which you present yourself and your business will have a lasting impact on whether or not they do business with you, or in the case of competitors treat you as a genuine threat…

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