The new Omicron variant has sent governments scrambling. Despite ministers' protestations to the contrary, Christmas restrictions in the UK would not come as a surprise.

As the world of fashion is growing at a rapid rate, but so is the footprint the industry is leaving on the planet, we spoke to Stefan Hauswiesner, CEO and co-founder of Reactive Reality, the augmented reality leader enhancing e-commerce for retailers, who explained more about the vital role that AR will play in reducing the carbon footprint of the fashion industry and some of the key consumer fashion trends of that we will see in 2022.

As a business owner, your wellbeing and ability to deal with the demands of your company is inextricably linked to the wellbeing and longevity of your business.

With COVID-19 rapidly altering the nature of the workplace to one that's more digital and flexible, the debate about the future -  and the purpose - of the office continues. As society adapts to post-pandemic life, businesses need to figure out how to accommodate their employees’ desire for flexibility while navigating all the difficulties that come with the lack of regular in-person contact with their team. Hybrid working appears to be the solution, but comes with its own challenges.

It is true that many people do not like change and shy away from it. But it is equally true that periods of change bring much more opportunity for innovation and for businesses to adapt and pivot and supply products and services to fulfil needs that have opened up or changed in some way. In times of rapid change as we have seen over the last few years then the opportunities are both bigger and more abundant.

Startups and corporates are often depicted as advisories. The challenger and the incumbent; the plucky upstart and the behemoth. But, in truth, there are an increasing number of partnerships forming between these two groups, particularly when it comes to the development of new technologies.

Ask any established business leader for the secrets of their company’s success, and it is almost certain that having inspirational role models – be they other entrepreneurs or businesses - would have played a key role in their growth.

Deadlock (a lack of unanimity between co-directors/co-shareholders) is a situation to be avoided by all SMEs. Unfortunately, it is all too common, particularly in private, owner-controlled businesses and during times of economic crisis such as has been precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proportion of new-build homes in the UK that are developed by small housebuilders has been shrinking for over three decades. In 1988, SME developers were responsible for 40% of newly built homes, but by 2019 that number had shrunk to just 12%.

With extraordinary women from across different parts of the country, a variety of backgrounds and industries, the 19th annual NatWest everywoman Awards brought these entrepreneurs together having one thing in common - being some of the UK’s most inspiring females, recognising their outstanding achievements during one of the most challenging periods for businesses in living memory.

Customer data decays at an alarming rate (approximately 37.5% every year), with thousands of people moving home or passing away daily.

Starting a business is not always easy. But scaling a business, any business, often brings many more challenges than actually starting one. A typical small business is quite simple, bat as that business grows it becomes more complex and has more moving parts which become ever more complicated to coordinate.

We’ve all heard about the ‘Great Resignation’: a mass exodus of employees worldwide, caused by a rapidly changing working landscape and general pandemic fatigue. In the UK, almost a quarter of workers say that they are actively planning on quitting their jobs in the next few months, while job vacancies are at the highest level since records began.

Brits are being urged to support this weekend’s Small Business Saturday bonanza as a whole host of local events boost and celebrate small firms nationwide. 

After a long-winded eighteen months of distancing and lockdowns, Britain rejoiced as restrictions were lifted. Many of us were hoping to throw the ultimate festive bash to mark the end of another difficult year, especially as last year’s office celebrations were entirely online.