LEADING independent property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard marked this year’s International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) with the release of a special podcast, interviewing civil engineer Natalie Clemson about her journey from sandwich year placement to national director at the firm.

2021 has seen more new businesses being registered by women than ever before. I believe that when you truly set your intention to build your own business, and when you determine that nothing is going to stand in your way, you are already one solid step on the road to success. However, for women hoping to become mothers, or who already have families, the challenge of running your own business and bringing up a family at the same time is a complex one. Unless you have a stay-at-home and supportive partner, there will always be additional challenges.

Five innovative UK start-ups have been shortlisted for the Top Tier Impact (TTI) Group’s inaugural Global Impact Awards, celebrating entrepreneurs around the world at the cutting edge of sustainability and positive impact.

You might have, in fact you most likely have, been hearing a lot of stuff about Clubhouse over the last few months. Although this audio-first social media platform actually came into existence well over a year ago, it has featured in the marketing and branding world’s Zeitgeist most heavily since the beginning of 2021.

The business world is changing at a fast pace. In this climate, industry giants are forced to quickly re-evaluate how they work and to be able to face the new challenges in their markets: startups. 

New data released by Tech Nation and Dealroom analyses the UK’s position on the global tech stage in comparison to the US and China. Analysis finds that the UK ranks third in the world for its number of tech businesses valued above $10bn.

Expanding the business abroad is one of the most important goals and the most sought after ones for young entrepreneurs. It gives them a significant rise in their customers and also increases their popularity manifolds.

Sanofi’s acquisition of Cambridge UK-based, Kymab in early 2021, in a deal worth up to $1.45bn, was the largest sale of a UK biotech company on record, but was soon dwarfed by the $6.9bn acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals by Jazz. These announcements drew global attention to the UK life science and healthtech sectors, and form part of a growing trend in these industries for increased funding, commercial and M&A activity.

Rising numbers of people are returning to trains and buses to get work, newly released figures reveal. The data found that in some parts of London footfall was up almost 300% last week compared to the same time in June 2020.

Whether you are running a fledgling startup from a home office or heading up an international company employing tens of thousands of employees across the world, the challenge over the past 16 months has been the same. Those business owners who successfully navigated their business through the COVID-19 pandemic should take pride in coming through such an uncertain period in one piece.

Marketing is a pivotal area of functionality for all businesses and brands. While the ultimate objective of every business is to drive sales and profits, marketing is a means to it. Marketing takes a business among people, attracts the target audience, and endorses products and services to influence call-to-action and buying.

Now that just about everything happens online, cyber security has taken on a new significance. Unfortunately, hackers and other nefarious actors have leapt at the opportunity of the pandemic, and cyber crime is on the rise.

It’s fair to say that over the past 16 months or so, we’ve become more digitally-connected than ever before. We can’t underestimate the roles that data and digital technologies continue to play in helping small businesses survive during the pandemic. Almost every interaction we all undertake every day produces data. This creates endless opportunities, but with opportunity comes responsibility - particularly when it comes to how data is used.

It's common for startups to experience growing pains and go through trial and error when getting their ideas off the ground. There are some misconceptions attached to running a startup, too - including the idea that finding the funding to successfully launch your startup is no easy task.

If your business is still using out-of-date systems and servers, then it’s high time that you started thinking about moving it over to the cloud. Not only will this help to reduce costs, but it can also make your life a whole lot easier.

As we say goodbye to lockdown restrictions, new research from Sky Connect, Sky’s new B2B telecoms business, celebrates the strength and adaptability of British small businesses with a third revealing that the secret to their resilience over the past year is sheer hard work and motivation. The majority of the UK’s SMEs (80%) - which make up over 99% of the business population - believe they have shown resilience at its best throughout the pandemic.

As we successfully hosted the 2021 Hustle Awards last night at the Finsbury Business Centre (in-person finally!) and had a virtual livestream too, we saw five incredible startups take the prize across the five different categories, plus an array of talent that was also shortlisted and five amazing runner-ups. But not only that we saw our community again, and what an amazing feeling that was to be able to speak to some of you face-to-face!

If you imagine a business like a body, company culture is the lifeblood that circulates, revives and powers everything. It’s a fundamental component of commercial success and without it, you and your team are likely to become rudderless and disorganised.

Language and communication tools are continuously developing. Human beings have an amazing ability to find new ways of understanding one another and the world around us. 

Schools, colleges and universities may have finally got back into rhythm following numerous lockdowns, but in embracing new technology, there are elements of the shift to remote learning that will surely continue long after the pandemic is over.