UK businesses have been doing it tough in 2020 and with the recent announcement of the UK's unemployment rate jumping to 4.8%, as 314,000 people lose their jobs, there is no denying many companies will be facing an economic downturn.

To celebrate a decade in business this month, digitalbeans is supporting local businesses to invest in digital and keep growing in spite of tightening COVID restrictions.

Simply put, working in a team means collaborating with other people to achieve a common goal. This, of course, presents several benefits. For starters, working together in a project ensures that work is completed on time, hitting deadlines much easily. What’s more, a team pulls together people with different talents and skills, making problem-solving easier and enhancing creativity and innovation.

Recruitment platform, Tempo has conducted extensive research into hundreds of amazing companies to create the Super Startups list - the 20 best startups to work in Manchester in 2021.

Having the ability to work from anywhere, on a device that’s secure and appropriate for your workload is now more critical than ever, as we embrace working away from crowded offices for the foreseeable future.

Lockdown has been a massive change for almost everyone across the world, both in our personal lives and in our profession.

We are failing to meet our CO2 emission goals, seeing widespread overexploitation, and entering a sixth mass extinction event. This doesn’t bode well for a strong economic future. The science screams for urgent action, yet society seems to be slumped, dragging its feet towards a more sustainable future.

The word 'disruption' has long been a buzzword in startups and small businesses looking to take on larger rivals, often with a reputation for doing things a certain - old fashioned - way. The global energy market has been flooded with 'disruptors' while the multi-billion pound FinTech industry has long revelled in its 'challenger' moniker.

Hitachi Capital Business Finance recognise that the resilience and strength of the small business community lies in its diversity. We all too often read about how the average UK business is performing, how they are reacting to issues or planning for the future. In truth, there is no absolute average - rather the range and diversity of people setting up and running small businesses is what makes the sector so fascinating.

Since the beginning of the year, wellbeing has been a prominent topic of interest among Brits, in fact, searches for the term ‘wellbeing’ have increased by 257% in the past five months. As people continue to spend more time indoors, Rebecca Snowden, Interior Style Advisor at FurnitureChoice.co.uk, explains how to create a calming oasis to maintain wellbeing at home.

A 32% increase in downloads in the last  four  weeks is a tangible  indicator that  planning is back at the  top of the business agenda  according to  Plandisc,  the world’s first digital,  shareable and interactive circular planning tool.  Usage has soared  this  Autumn with 60,000 customers across twenty countries worldwide.  

The majority of small and medium-sized businesses believe there are financial opportunities in the shift to a greener economy and that they personally can benefit from them, according to new Opinium polling commissioned for a new report by The Entrepreneurs Network and the Enterprise Trust. The findings from the report, Green Entrepreneurship, challenge the historic assumption that pursuing sustainability is a hindrance to businesses and the economy.

The international pandemic has forced every founder to re-evaluate their strategy, urgently! I’ve paid close attention to the media and have noticed that the business model pivot topic has certainly been well covered. The article that surprised me the most, was one by Sifted that referenced a Station F survey of VC funded startups in Europe, the USA and Israel. The stat that grabbed me was this one: 80% of the startups involved had gone through some kind of business model pivot in the last few months. That’s a lot of change, especially considering that startups are also dealing with other challenges related to the pandemic.

A third of employees are too busy to take holiday, with another 63% stating 'there’s nowhere to go' when asked why so many had the majority of their holiday left to take.

Traktion, a London based startup that connects businesses to on-demand digital marketing talent, has secured early-stage angel investment from marketing and technology entrepreneurs Nigel Morris (ex Dentsu) Nimrod Priell (ex Facebook).