Ethics and business aren’t always easy bedfellows in a crisis. Now, more than ever, in order to survive, most businesses need to be risk averse and fret primarily about the bottom line.

Throughout the pandemic, SMEs have had to adapt to survive - which has been no mean feat. In many cases, technology has proved to be essential in keeping operations running during lockdown. Whether it be shifting entire workplaces to remote working, or using video conferencing tools and cloud accounting software, small businesses have been relying on tech more than ever before.

We’re living through a time of economic uncertainty, so it’s no surprise that money worries are responsible for a high level of stress and anxiety right now. Financial concerns can have a huge impact on an employee’s performance and productivity levels at work and employers therefore have a duty of care to their people when it comes to financial wellbeing.

In my last article, I explained how to make changes to an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, including the types of situation when you might need to do that. For example, if reducing someone’s working hours or making a major change to their role.

It still makes me laugh even to this day, that during my first IT support role, there were numerous times when people would call up and think they had reached the wrong department because a woman answered the IT department phone!

Many business people and career professionals are consulting business and career coaches these days. One of the reasons why this trend is gaining prevalence is because just like in the normal world, people in the business world need a shoulder to lean on whenever the going gets tough.

It’s no secret that women are still widely underrepresented in the gaming industry, particularly when it comes to video and mobile game development. Whilst this has been historically accounted to the common misconception that gaming is a predominantly masculine hobby, women actually make up a significant amount of the industry, representing nearly half of hyper-casual gamers.

In 2013, four years after having my first child, I finally waved farewell to the prospect of high value, full-time employment in the digital advertising sector. Juggling a client in Asia (early mornings), a client in North America (late nights), a workplace culture dominated by presenteeism, the needs of a pre-schooler and a four hour round trip commute, something had to give. And that something was me.

I set up SimplyHair in 2013. I was working alongside my husband, Pip, to grow digital marketing agency, digitalbeans and also juggling a role in customer services and a side business as a mobile hair extension stylist when I realised how poor online purchasing experiences were in the hairdressing trade.

Written by Amy Filippaios, Founder of ecommerce wholesaler, SimplyHair and Creative Director at digitalbeans

As we carry on focusing on female founders and women in tech ahead of our next issue, we decided to catch up with Lindsay Gledhill, a partner at UK law firm, Harper James Solicitors. Lindsay heads up the Intellectual Property (IP) team. She has specialised in IP exploitation and dispute resolution since 1997. It has made Lindsay the go-to lawyer for IP-rich firms who wish to protect and exploit their proprietary technology in fast-growing and international markets.

Razor’s Head of Client Services, Ellie Mosley, recently shared her story with us on having a career in technology as a new mother. Now, Razor’s CEO, Jamie Hinton responds. In his mind, it was the natural thing to do.

Tailoring your marketing efforts to a global audience can be a perfect chance to expand your business and reach prospective clients that may not otherwise learn about your products or services. Targeting a global audience, however, requires having an in-depth understanding of regional laws, cultures, and purchasing behaviours. Here are four clever ways to market your business abroad.

The stats are not promising when looking at women in tech within the UK. Last year it was revealed that women only make for 16.8% of workers within the tech field. Shocking right?

Startup founders and investors, especially in Silicon Valley, often talk about scratching your own itch as a way to reach the highly sought-after product-market fit, which will then accelerate your company to greatness. It’s likely that your problem isn’t unique, the theory goes, so by solving it you could stumble upon an idea for a product that could help thousands or even millions of people.

I always thought that nothing would take priority over my career. Even during pregnancy, I was certain that I’d be itching to get back to work. Back to my routine, back to what I’m good at and have worked so hard to progress and refine over many years.

In the current turbulent economic climate, many startups will be faced with financial challenges. In many sectors and industries, employers have not seen a return to pre-lockdown customer demand. That being the case, the starting point is to think about what your structure will look like for this new normal?

As a startup, taking the first steps into marketing can be daunting. Where should you start? What activity will be the best use of my time? If you’re limited on time or budget - and even if you’re not - a great place to start is content marketing.

For years, if not decades, being a ‘woman in tech’ has been seen as the exception to the rule and for many, a career path that’s littered with challenges. According to a Women in Tech report from PWC, only 5% of leadership positions in the tech sector are held by women, a paltry 3% of females say a career in tech is their first choice and only 16% of females have had a career in tech suggested to them (vs 33% of males).

A rise in startups born during the pandemic is hugely positive but also not surprising. We’ve had more time to think and do and explore new avenues, particularly where existing business models or employment have ceased to exist. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. But while the pandemic has created new opportunities, the lending environment for startups looks set to be challenging.

COVID-19 has brought about sweeping changes across all industries. Whether for better or worse, these changes are forcing a reset, providing an opportunity for businesses to emerge in a much stronger position.