2020 has required businesses, specifically young startups, to evolve and adapt in so many ways to successfully navigate such unprecedented challenges. With the world shifting towards remote working, company culture has become more important than ever. VC-backed startup HomeHero is on a mission to transform how people manage their homes, all whilst juggling the delicate challenge of retaining company culture when the team is growing fast and personalities are joining HomeHero, remotely, every other week.

The Home Office has launched a new campaign to ensure businesses are ready for the introduction of the UK’s new points-based immigration system as free movement ends.

Small businesses are heralding accountants’ increasingly critical role in keeping them running since COVID-19 arrived, considering them to be among the ‘key workers’ of the post-pandemic economic recovery according to new research.

Flexible office specialist, Workthere, has created a Spotify playlist for people to listen to whilst working from home to help boost their mood and increase their productivity levels.

According to research from outsourcing provider, Woven, more than three-quarters (78%) of consumers trust online reviews when it comes to making a purchase. As UK businesses continue to manage the fallout from lockdown, customer service experts from Woven have revealed the significant impact that positive reviews could have in helping small businesses recover.

Office workers are now demanding new levels of flexibility in working arrangements following COVID-19 remote working. That’s according to a new survey of 189 office-based workers carried out this month by UK-based office software experts, SmartWay2.

Boris Johnson addressed the nation at 8pm last night, and announced a myriad of new restrictions - including a new urge to work from home if possible.

Every business needs to constantly assess what it sells, to whom, and how it sells it. It also needs to constantly assess the market and its competitors, as well as attempting to forecast future trends in demand and technology. All of this is quite a task in normal times when events move in a predictable way and in a linear timescale.

More than 11 million UK working adults have taken time off work for poor mental wellbeing, costing businesses an estimated 40 million working days each year, according to new research from not-for-profit healthcare provider, Benenden Health.

The Government’s furlough scheme has saved an estimated two million jobs and helped protect tens of thousands of startups and SMEs from closure. However as the clock ticks down to the end of October, the point at which the scheme will end, many businesses are now understandably concerned about what will come next once this provision is taken away.

Here Ramya Sriram, Digital Content Manager at Kolabtree, the freelance platform for scientists, gives five steps to ensure that you protect your Intellectual Property (IP) while working with a freelancer or remote worker.

Boris Johnson and his government have been pushing for employees to return to their offices in a bid to get the economy back up and running; but figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the last week of August, only 50% of workers are back in the office.

A community-led co-working space dedicated to creating real social impact, Impact Brixton has announced the launch of Impact Day - a free working space and training programme for local individuals or organisations working towards social change in Lambeth.

A new study, commissioned by business bank, Allica Bank, shows that the practice of regular training correlates strongly with high performance in SMEs and will be vital to businesses’ prospects of a swift recovery post-COVID. The study analysed data from over 1,000 companies and ranked their success on a scale that evaluated factors including productivity, growth, consistency and outlook.

One thing that every early stage business should produce is a pitch deck, whether they are looking to raise external funding or not. A pith deck is typically a 15 to 20 page very simplified business plan set out in a PowerPoint type format. Its purpose is to succinctly outline all aspects of the business to any outsider. Just like a business plan, producing a good pitch deck is a good exercise for any founder in refining the business itself, and considering all aspects clearly and objectively.

Is the education system equipping young people with the skills to succeed in a fast changing labour market? A new report from The Entrepreneurs Network argues that as children return to schools after lockdown, students as young as eleven should have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship in order to develop the skills and mindset necessary to prosper in the modern economy.

A new study, commissioned by business bank Allica Bank, urges small businesses to re-evaluate their trading horizons, following the establishment of a clear link between overseas trade and SME performance.

The ‘commute’ was falling out of favour prior to the pandemic, as an increasing number of office workers started to embrace flexible working.

Remote working has been in the technology ecosystem for many years. I have personally been doing partial remote work for the last ten to twenty years and what I have found is surprising. Most individuals are not used to this style of work which is accelerating a nationwide transformation of company culture.

Before any business is established the founder will of course have spotted a gap in the market, thought of the original idea, conducted research, and come up with the MVP. Taking these basic thoughts and then forming a business around them, with all the necessary steps that regular readers will now be very familiar with, does of course take considerable time and effort.