Debate: Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? December 7, 2018 Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? Yes – Jordan Marshall is policy development manager at IPSE. SMEs represent 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses. Included in this figure are 4.8m self-employed people – the UK’s smallest enterprises. A report from MPs this week exposed the shoddy practices of [...]
Support your local small business all year, otherwise it might not stick around December 3, 2018 American Express’s Small Business Saturday last weekend saw a call to arms to encourage us to shop locally and support small businesses. Since its launch in 2010, this annual event now reaches millions of people across the US, UK and Australia, helping independent retailers get their share of the Christmas spending frenzy. Small Business Saturday [...]
Heed Hammond’s warning: We must not be prisoners of change December 3, 2018 Britain has become a single issue nation. So all-consuming have the ins and outs of Brexit become that the national debate seems incapable of concentrating on anything else. Which was why it was so surprising when Philip Hammond spoke to a small business audience last week and didn’t drop the B-word once. In so doing, [...]
A new hope: Backing firms of the future November 30, 2018 If you missed the big news of the last couple of weeks, you must have been hiding under a rock. And no, I’m not talking about the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal – but rather Small Business Saturday, which is returning for a sixth year on 1 December. This is the most important day in the calendar [...]
Whitehall tells late payment outsourcers to ‘clean up their act’ or face not winning public contracts November 29, 2018 Government contractors who do not pay suppliers on time could be prevented from winning public contracts altogether, Whitehall has said. Cabinet Office (CO) minister Oliver Dowden announced the crackdown this morning, which will see serial slackers on supplier payments forced to “clean up their act” or face being prevented from winning new contracts from Autumn 2019. [...]
DEBATE: As discounts get out-of-control, is there a case for retailers to ignore Black Friday altogether? November 21, 2018 As discounts get out-of-control, is there a case for retailers to ignore Black Friday altogether? Michelle Ovens, director of Small Business Saturday, says YES. Black Friday started off as a day when consumers could enjoy making great purchases, but now it has just become a day for deep discounting – and that is incredibly damaging to small [...]
Profit or purpose? Business must find a better balance November 15, 2018 Last week, I attended a meeting of entrepreneurs backing Small Business Saturday (coming up on 1 December) to look at a survey of what motivates these firms. I expected a tirade against red tape and tax. What we got was the news that, of over 1,000 SMEs polled, only 60 per cent were primarily driven [...]
Why edgy art, craft gin and spa treatments are all part of the modern hairdressing experience November 14, 2018 The digital age has come for many traditional industries over the past few years, from taxi driving to hotels. But one trade that won’t be disappearing with the tap of an app is hairdressing. Anyone who has seen that video of the Boston Dynamics robot falling over while stacking boxes will know that androids aren’t [...]
Theresa May continues to woo business groups with new forum to hear industry concerns November 1, 2018 Theresa May’s attempts to woo the business world has gone up another notch with the creation of a special forum for boardroom leaders and government ministers. The new initiative will see bosses from companies including Rolls-Royce Holdings, BT Group and ITV meet with the Prime Minister and senior cabinet figures twice a year to discuss key [...]
MPs call for new tribunal system to help SMEs take on big banks October 26, 2018 A row is brewing over how to prevent another RBS-style asset stripping scandal after MPs backed a new tribunal system to help small businesses take on banks. The Treasury Select Committee is throwing its weight behind establishing a special system for settling disputes involving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large banks. The plan goes [...]