Category: Advice

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

Businesses ignore the storage and disposal of confidential information at their peril as the Government’s regulator steps up its scrutiny of private sector breaches in data laws.

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.

If you run a small business, ensuring your employees are paid on time is vital. Small businesses can’t justify the cost of customised payroll systems but over recent years, the features on offer have evolved to benefit the small business customer, and to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulations.

Heather Baker, Founder, TopLine Communications and editor of the B2B PR Blog gives us a detailed look at the accounting software provider Xero as a daily user who has changed her business practice after using the package.

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.

The European victory in Golf’s Ryder Cup was a magnificent example of tenacity. 10-4 down on the final day Poulter and Mcllroy played a series of outstanding shots to deliver a seemingly impossible European victory, but what can business learn from this ‘never give up attitude’?

A company’s web site is its shop window whether it sells online or not, so why is it that so many companies leave their hosting choices to chance, asks Raj Sukkersudha, Managing Director at Q3 Internet Services.