Category: Opinion

The last thing this country needs is for the clock to turn back to a 1970’s summer of discontent when industrial militancy reigned.

Young Entrepreneurs Get Council Backing A number of young people from Belfast could soon be starting up their own enterprises after taking part in a business programme, funded by Belfast City Council.  Bank tackles small business loan appeals Lloyds Banking Group will this week attempt to steal a further march on rival Royal Bank of […]

We can indulge ourselves in squabbles about missed Project Merlin lending targets, sky-high bonuses and extra bank taxes but I want to focus on how businesses and lenders can better work together.

So only nine remain and this week their early morning began huddled in the foyer of the headquarters of one of Rupert Murdoch’s old newspapers, before he created the global TV network with Sky TV.

As I have an investment that is involved in recycling and turning people’s unwanted items into charity donations, I watched this week’s episode of The Apprentice with extra interest.

Why is thought leadership really necessary and how can you make sure that people listen to your message? Follow these tips to ensure that your business stands out above all the rest!

It’s Wednesday, it’s 9pm. You get your preferred beverage and your smart phone on twitter and away you go. It’s the aspiration of would-be entrepreneurs, an anathema to serious business people, simple, light entertainment to those with a job, and a tenuous claim to fame of all those now ‘business gurus’ who were once fired from the show we love to hate – Yes, it’s The Apprentice.

When interviewing candidates for a job we consider many things, whether they will fit in with the rest of the team and the company culture. Ultimately we are considering what this person will bring to the company. But we are not allowed to consider if in a month’s time they will ask for a year off, and their job to be held open. And we are certainly not allowed to ask if that is their plan.

We have all tuned is as the ‘tum te tum te tum tem tum’ music strikes up. The hopefuls in their designer suits pulling their little cases behind them, strolling confidently through, over and past a variety of well known landmarks in our capital. All out to impress the dark Lord; Alan of Amstrad.

Time to end the ‘one-size-fits all’ approach to health and safety: A British Chamber of Commerce survey finds that health and safety laws are putting businesses off making new hires Management Today are reporting. However, the employer group thinks it has a possible solution… Facebook, Twitter Increasingly Popular Among Small Businesses: Of those doing social […]

This £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund is ‘Fool’s Gold’ and I warn every small and medium-sized business owner to steer well clear of the fund!

Cable tells banks: Lend firms more or we’ll tax you harder – Vince Cable has threatened banks with higher taxes if they fail to abide by a deal to lend companies more to boost Britain’s recovery. The London Evening Standard is reporting that the Business Secretary admitted recent bank lending trends, particularly to small and […]

If you’re feeling swamped in your business and there just seems far too much to do and far too many problems that need sorting out, with new ones appearing almost every day – there is a little trick I learnt early in my career that will help.