Category: Advice

As banks continue to replenish their depleted capital stocks in a bid to fall in line with new regulatory targets, lending to small and medium sized business have found difficulty in borrowing money from traditional financial institutions.

Go on, admit it. You know you’ve been tempted. Maybe you actually have. I know I have.

We are all subject to what are known as “cognitive biases”. These are thought-patterns that we are unaware of, that influence the choices we make. We look at six types of bias that may be affecting the decisions that you make.

Wisdom is in the eyes and ears of the people around you, so to make the right impact with your insights, you need to be able to generate the gravitas. Dr Mark Clayton gives us his top ten tips for making an impact with your ideas.

Depending on the size and scope of your company, this article may or may not directly answer how you measure your Facebook success. However, even if you’re a relative start-up with only a few employees, or even if you’re flying solo, you can still use the information in this article to help you get a solid idea about how well you’re doing on Facebook – just in case the financial figures aren’t explanatory enough.

Dr. Mark Clayton author of 9 books to date, including Brilliant Project Leader and Risk Happens gives us his top ten tips to leading projects

The taxman is on the warpath. Taskforces and campaigns are under way aiming to collect an additional £7 billion in tax revenue each year. Intensive “bursts of compliance activity” are targeting business sectors that are considered to be high risk for HMRC, such as restaurants and fast food outlets, plumbers, medical practitioners and private tutors.

In business, as in life, reputation is everything. Protecting, managing and maintaining a strong, positive, professional reputation is vital to your success, whether you’re looking for work, starting or growing a new business or trying to close a deal with a new customer.

Ecommerce has revolutionised customer service, with individuals able to purchase products or services around the clock consumer interactions now need to reflect this 24 hour mentality. Colin Stevens, Founder and Managing Director of Better Bathrooms, knows all too well how effective customer service has aided the company’s journey in becoming the UK’s largest independent retailer of bathrooms and tiles.

Over the past few years, social networking sites have developed from a way to keep in touch with friends and family, into a powerful promotional tool for businesses. The likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest represent great opportunities to engage with customers and show a different side to a business.

Negative mentions about a business or its products on the internet could hit a company in the balance sheet, and once a company has a poor online reputation, it could spread like a virus. Companies need to take ownership of their online reputation to avoid potential disaster.

Jo Haigh is a partner in fds Corporate Finance Services, with bases in London, Birmingham and Yorkshire, and a partner in the fds Group, here she gives us her top tips on how not to negotiate.

At the best of times, in any organisation, internal communication is very important. Add a recession, insecure employees and an uncertain future, as companies such as JJB Sports and FirstGroup are currently experiencing, and internal communication becomes paramount. Gail Franks, managing director, Summersault Communications tells us why.