The world is now facing a public health crisis known as Covid-19 and a financial crisis. The crisis on our hands manifests differently for individuals and companies. The uncertainty over our ability to revert to our normal state creates pressures on mental health, relationships, and business performance.

According to UK Government statistics some 660,000 new companies are established each year and many of these will have plans to scale rather than to remain a micro business. Some founders will of course be happy to run their startup as a side hustle, and others will only be looking for a lifestyle business. But for many others that are looking for something larger, ‘how do I scale my business?’ is a question that I am often asked.

The team at Quotezone.co.uk, an insurance comparison site, surveyed 600 UK businesses about how they are dealing with the lockdown. The research revealed that two fifths of UK businesses (39%) have had to pivot their offerings since the beginning of lockdown, with 76% of these providing a brand-new service.

When you are trying to navigate the management of a business in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s all too easy to neglect the maintenance of your company culture. Yes, it’s true that other priorities might seem more pressing right now; after all, your clients and suppliers won’t be sending you impatient emails demanding to know how you plan to safeguard your internal team relationships.

"In a crisis, beware of the danger- but recognise the opportunity," John F Kennedy. Highlighting the light in the dark, this is perhaps one of the most salient quotes for our times.

Kindness - a word used so frequently. Social media feeds are covered in quotes including: "In a world where you can be anything, be kind" and many more. Especially now, given our current Corona-climate, we’ve all realised the power of kindness.  

As employees return to work, UK businesses are likely to face a backlog of annual leave requests that could cost thousands of pounds. By collecting data and analysing the average monthly salary at a baseline at £2,214 and at least 50% of employee annual leave owed, Coworking Specialists Instant Offices have calculated how much it would cost for companies of different sizes to pay staff for a minimum of two weeks of annual leave.

“The rapidly changing world brought about by COVID-19 means leaders face many challenges, opportunities and dilemmas - never has there been a greater need to develop critical thinking, personal agility and managerial decision-making skills to help organisations survive and thrive."

The UK’s online behaviour has changed dramatically since the country was put into lockdown on March 23rd, with the consumption of adult content notably spiking at a 292% increase when the changes came into effect.

British shopkeepers sighed a breath of relief on Monday night as the Government announced lockdown restrictions will be lifted as of 15th June 2020, allowing non-essential retailers to reopen.

After nine long weeks of lockdown, businesses are starting to re-open or, at least, planning to reopen in the near future. For some of the luckier ones this might be possible without having to make too many, or too onerous, changes. For others, the planning will need to be much mere detailed and the implementation will be much more complex.

There is nothing better than being able to walk out of the house to exercise in the park, the countryside or even to stroll by the sea. Just the ability to go outside gives us a new sense of perspective, and enables us to maintain our health and wellbeing.

Agile startups have proven that they are able to help in a crisis. Access to bright thinkers and technical experts means they can come up with creative solutions quickly in response to changes in circumstances - and many have been helping in the fight against COVID-19.

The global pandemic is creating huge uncertainty for people, businesses and livelihoods in the UK. To support those who are looking to better understand the new government financial support that is available and how it can help them, Jim Harra, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HMRC, will be participating in a LinkedIn Live interview and Q&A hosted by Emily Spaven, UK Editor of LinkedIn News, on Thursday 21st May at 3pm BST. 

A considerable task business owners face during the outbreak is keeping teams motivated and productive in the face of uncertainty. According to the people management and CIPD poll, around 63% of employers say anxiety is the biggest challenge facing their organisation right now, followed by the inability for their teams to work remotely.

In the current climate, many of us have found ourselves in different working environments - with the majority of people working from home. With our home and work spaces becoming the same place, it’s more important than ever to ensure you take steps to create some separation and avoid burnout - a common issue faced by small business owners.

Working from home is the new norm for many professionals and it’s still not clear how long this new way of working will last. So for many small businesses this means adjusting and managing the logistics of running a business remotely for the foreseeable future.

Right now we are in uncharted territory. COVID-19 is here, we don't know how long for, and it is affecting so many people in so many different ways. Everyone is feeling different things and everyone has different circumstances. You are not others, others are not you.

The first step in an energy company collaborating with a startup is to ask itself a simple question: why? In part one of this series, we answered that from a wide-angle perspective – because the industry needs to innovate to keep up with the pace of change, and collaboration with startups appears the quickest, surest way to do so. Because the old model of fiercely guarded, siloed research has reached its limit.