Is the seven year itch a thing for businesses too? When we think of our businesses, we often forget that it is a relationship, one that is meant to go two ways, and we can find ourselves falling out of love. Even if we say we love what we do and even though we may have uttered the words, “I’m married to my business”.
Fundraising has always been a time consuming and often frustrating process for founders. This is no different as we head towards the end of 2024, but there are some unique challenges in this market. Most notably, fundraising is taking longer – 6 to 12 months – and has become more relationship driven, requiring founders to invest time in building strong foundations. The era of telling investors you are ‘heads down building’ and then running a short, sharp process is over.
If we look back at the payments landscape in 2009, more than half of transactions in the UK were made by cash. Today, as we approach the latter half of 2024, Statista found that only 10% of point-of-sale (POS) transactions are made with cash. The rise of cashless payments has propelled this dramatic shift, further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed consumers towards more contactless payment methods. But the transformation doesn’t stop at the transition from cash to card. We are now experiencing a significant shift towards instant bank transfers, with Pay by Bank emerging as the future of transactions.
This National Apprenticeship Week, the CIPD is calling on the government to take urgent action to develop the skills and capabilities needed to deliver economic growth, by involving employers in the early design of the new Growth and Skills Levy and introducing an Apprenticeship Guarantee for all young people aged 16-24.
MyWorkSpot is a flexible office and co-working provider based in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Currently operating three locations in the area, MyWorkSpot is “a home for startups, established local businesses, and even large international corporations, where we provide satellite offices or desks for employees who want to work closer to home,” explained David Johnston, Co-Founder of MyWorkSpot.
UBS has published its first Global Entrepreneur Report, based on a survey of 156 UBS entrepreneur clients and network members across a full range of economic sectors. Their businesses account for approximately $19.1 billion in combined annual revenue, which equates to an average of $123 million each.
In today’s global economy, businesses are increasingly affected by geopolitical developments. From economic shifts driven by trade agreements to the ripple effects of conflicts, climate change agreements, sanctions on migration and resource availability, global decisions shape the business world in surprising and complex ways.












