Opinion-in-brief: Brexit barriers are hampering our small businesses The energy and ambition of Britain’s start-up community is palpable. According to the latest research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, two-thirds of UK adults are looking to start a business in the next three years. Compared with the start-up ecosystem of a few years ago, today’s firms are forging ahead with an eye to the [...]
There is a generation of small businesses hungry to reinvent the high street You’d be forgiven for thinking the story of our British high streets was all about the evacuation of large retailers. Debenhams, Mothercare, Topshop, Peacocks barely scratch the surface of the total exodus which has seen 11,000 shops close in just 12 months. Many have been quick to explain that the pandemic has simply accelerated an inevitable, crumbling demise. While our high streets might look bleak right now as larger companies withdraw, small businesses are [...]
Small business advisers, your country needs you Like a rallying cry in 1940s war-time Britain, thousands of the UK’s business advisers have been called up to do their bit for Britain’s small businesses as part of a timely initiative we are launching today. The national effort is asking accredited advisers to sign up and lend their expertise for an hour a month [...]
Covid changes could electrify entrepreneurial Britain, so let’s give SMEs the support they deserve June 16, 2020 We have always been a nation of small businesses. The UK’s 5.9m SMEs account for 99 per cent of all our businesses. They give us jobs, they’re a familiar neighbourhood face — and in the age of coronavirus, new Barclaycard and Enterprise Nation research has found that some are not only surviving, but getting ready [...]
The importance of being positive: How to build a resilient business mindset February 21, 2020 From my experience, entrepreneurs are an optimistic bunch by nature. They see opportunity; they grasp it. Yet the not-so-simple journey from startup to growth requires relentless hard work and unshakable commitment. Of course, there will be high fives and heady moments of rapture in the bar. But the reality is that before we get to [...]
How to start your own business in 2020 January 17, 2020 As many of us embark on our new year’s resolutions to eat less and get fit, a good 20 per cent of us will be making plans to start a business. According to Companies House, 2019 was a record year for UK company registrations. An incredible 678,288 new businesses were registered. This is part of [...]
Startup entrepreneurs are seeking more advice than ever before November 1, 2019 As a nation, we’re not great at admitting when we need help. We like to soldier on with a stiff upper lip, while often heading for a fall. It was therefore interesting that in a recent poll among our Enterprise Nation adviser community, we found that more than half of them say that small business [...]
How government is opening its supply chain – to small business’s benefit December 7, 2014 If you’ve never considered government as a potential client for your business, think again. Government spends £230bn every year on products and services across all layers – from central and local government, to the police, NHS, and emergency services. This may not previously have appealed to the small business owner, as the perception has always [...]
