Life
While car MOTs were scrapped during lockdown, taking the same approach with a business could be a mistake that leads to catastrophic consequences. Just as leaving unchecked, unroadworthy vehicles on the road is potentially dangerous, by not taking control of a business and leaving success to chance is a gamble at the best of times, but right now that approach could be the beginning of the end.
Over the course of the last three months, the private sector has undergone a seismic shift with an anticipated 531,000 businesses in the US set to go under in 2020 and a fifth of all small businesses in the UK to fail during the COVID-19 period.
Some founders come up with their business ideas alone, whilst others do so with friends or associates. Some founders wish to stay as sole founders, whilst others prefer to work with co-founders to share the tasks, decision making, and risks, as well as adding often complementary skills or knowledge to their own.
Commercial real estate, HR and technology professionals are focused on finding innovative ways to meet the challenges of a post-COVID workplace through safe and effective back to work strategies. John Williams, Head of Marketing at Instant Offices, considers what this means for businesses heading back into the office.
Growing fears of a no-deal Brexit will prompt an increasing number of British and international investors to move their financial assets overseas out of the UK, believes the CEO of a large independent financial advisory and fintech organisations.
A new survey by global consultancy, Brandpie has uncovered that the number one challenge CEOs expect to face over the next five years is finding the right talent. Furthermore, Brandpie reports that 98% of CEOs surveyed agree that the new generation of talent have different expectations from previous generations – with emotional considerations such as alignment of a company’s culture and values trumping benefits like flexible working, training, and access to technology for the majority of millennials.
Following the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, we have seen widespread business closures, pay cuts, reduced hours, and redundancies, resulting in many workers looking for a new venture. Today, LinkedIn is one of the go-to platforms for budding job hunters searching for a new role, therefore the competition is high. To help those looking to enter a new career field, online educational platform, Preply has provided tips on the things to consider when messaging a recruiter on LinkedIn.
Starting a company and being a founder is stressful – especially in the current COVID-19 environment. Last year, 19% of all European founders said starting a company had a negative impact on their wellbeing, and a global pandemic will not bring that number down. However, mental health issues are not widely discussed in the startup ecosystem and beyond.
‘Homepreneurs’ are emerging across Britain during lockdown, as time at home and changing employment conditions have encouraged many to consider new opportunities and think creatively about the future.
In the COVID-19 era many people are taking the opportunity to organise and simplify their home working spaces, making good use of the ample time at home. But de-cluttering your virtual space – including your computer/laptop, phone, cloud storage, etc – is just as important as de-cluttering your physical space.
The home kitchen and dining area have become the most lucrative money making locations in Britain, that combined are generating £37.4bn to the British economy during lockdown – that’s being coined as ‘Kitchen Table Talent’. The research commissioned by Attic Self Storage, revealed that although restrictions are being lifted, 41% of office workers are expected to continue their jobs from home, with 44% saying it’s the most productive place they have ever worked.
The data from Close Brothers Asset Finance’s latest research is now available on its free-to-use SME Data Hub. Conducted in late June and early July in partnership with Kantar, the research focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Are you working at home and struggling to maintain productivity? For the majority of Brits currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for those looking to do more home working in the future, flexible office specialist, Workthere, has shared 10 tips on how you can create an office space that leads to maximum productivity.
Welcome to a new series of articles where I will provide practical top tips on a wide range of decisions and challenges that early stage businesses have to make every day. Here I will look at everything from start up to scale up and from the more simple to the more complicated.
Sage has launched new research revealing 62% of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) have made or are planning to make redundancies following the COVID-19 pandemic. This equates to 1.4m jobs at risk if the Government fails to take decisive action now.
There is some light at the end of the tunnel for small businesses. As the lockdown continues to ease many retailers and hospitality businesses are now opening up again, or preparing to return soon.
Re-skilling Britain’s workforce for the economy of the future has acquired a new urgency post lockdown, as COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated long term trends towards digitalisation and distance working.
As the nation continues to work from home for the most part, new research reveals that a quarter (24%) of those currently working from home say maintaining communication with colleagues is the biggest challenge they have faced while working away from the office.
Even in the bleakest of times, entrepreneurs have found a way to innovate and create disruptive products that have enhanced our daily lives or solved a problem. Take the humble chocolate chip cookie, baked for the first time after the Great Depression. During a period of severe economic hardship, this new treat offered some richness and comfort and remains immensely popular to this day.
The Managing Director of Xero today has argued for a national campaign to help the UK’s 5.9 million small firms bounce back post lockdown.
