Jon Norris | Getting a Job,News
It would seem the continuing economic malaise is starting to get better of the UK’s freelancers, contractors and small business owners. A survey by Aviva of 500 small and micro-business owners in December has found that a full 25% of entrepreneurs are considering putting their business out to pasture and re-entering the general workforce as an employee of a larger entity.
With the ongoing shift towards employers using freelancers / contractors instead of employing PAYE workers and employees in the current uncertain climate, we look at how small business owners can get the best out of their relationship with freelancers, for the benefit of both parties.
Was one of your New Year resolutions to be more productive and grow your business? Digital Dragonfly believes you need good IT systems in place to do both. If you spend all day working on your computer read on for 7 ways to develop healthy tech habits in 2012.
One of the keys to securing some of that lucrative repeat business is to make sure your clients remember you. If you design their website, you want them to leap from their chairs and yell “let’s call Geoff!” when it comes time to make some alterations, rather than “who was that web guy? George something?”
Accordingly to the quarterly yardstick of freelancer, contractor and small business confidence, the Federation of Small Business’ ‘Voice of Small Business’ index, the mood of the UK’s small firms crashed in the latter part of 2011 due to a combination of high inflation, rising utilities bills and reduced consumer spending power.
Be thankful if you’re a freelancer, contractor or small business owner in the South of England today. A recent study from RMS Tenon, one of the UK’s largest accountancy firms, has showed that more than 21,000 companies became insolvent in 2011, but more importantly saw a widening of the divide between the North and South of the country
Pensions auto-enrolment – some good news for small Businesses! From October 2012 most workers will have to be auto-enrolled into a pension plan by their Employer (under the Pensions Bill that also abolished the Default Retirement Age during 2011). At the end of November 2011 however the Government announced the welcome news that business with less than 50 workers will not have to auto-enrol their staff into such a pension scheme until May 2015.
It appears that business groups are welcoming Government plans to move UK clocks permanently forward by one hour in order to sync them with central Europe. The plan, known as The Daylight Savings Bill, is due to be examined later this month when it goes before the House of Commons.
Rather than coming from a dawdling consultant, or ghostwritten on behalf of a high-flying CEO, the author Daniel Priestly actively practises what he preaches, putting on seminars which are attended by entrepreneurs in their hundreds. His opening gambit – “I arrived in the UK with nothing more than a suitcase and a credit card” – may seem a little cheesy, but indulge him for a while and you’ll most likely find something useful in this book.
As mumpreneurs get recognition in the latest edition of the Collins English Dictionary, it has also emerged that the number of mums starting their own business has doubled in the last year. According to a survey carried out by online freelance marketplace PeoplePerHour, there has been a 110% increase in the number of entrepreneurial mothers signing up to the website over the past 12 months.
Worried about how your relationship might change with your agency now Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) has come into play? The PCG have compiled a set of letter templates for members to help maintain those agency relationships while providing assurance that that they are out of scope of the troublesome new legislation.
Last week software developer Serif released a new piece of research showing that some small businesses are spending over £1,000 on developing their company websites. The motives for this survey were obviously self serving, however the press release raised some interesting questions.
Start up business owners could be in with a chance of winning a one-to-one session with successful entrepreneur and star of The Apprentice, Karren Brady. The Business Makeover competition has been launched by Nectar to help offer start-ups an opportunity for a business boost from the experts.
A virtual assistant carries out the same role as a traditional administration assistant; however the person fulfilling the role no longer has to be physically present in the office (or home, if you’re a working from home type).
Your brain. Resplendent in it’s awesomeness; it has many distinct advantages. Without the weird array of half remembered crap it keeps locked up in it’s squidgy folds you would be a gibbering vegetable and would almost certainly fail hard at everything you did. However there are a large number of techniques and tricks you and your business can use to make your business, tactics and marketing better.
There has been a lot of back-and-forth about the effectiveness of social media for generating genuine business leads in the last few weeks. A study by Forrester found that commerce activity on Facebook was still lacklustre compared to other marketing avenues – a claim swiftly rebutted by the giant social network.
A new survey from technology market research specialists Radicati.com says the average corporate email user sends and receives around 105 email messages every day and that nearly 20% of these are spam or ‘greymail’ i.e. unwanted newsletters or notifications.
A study by the Forum of Private Business has found that small firms are spending more time and money complying with Government legislation than ever before, with a massive 84% of businesses saying they have increased compliance activities since 2009.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has carried out a news survey that reveals sole traders are being deterred from becoming employers due to the expensive cost of employee pension plans, sick leave and dismissal rules.
A new survey by financial group Investec has found that confidence amongst entrepreneurs across the UK is the highest it has been in years, with a mammoth 96% predicting their revenues will increase in the next year.
On 1st July 2011 the Bribery Act (2010) comes into force across the UK, making it a criminal offence for an individual or organisation to offer or receive a bribe – and carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years if convicted.
Antoinette Oglethorpe | Getting a Job,Resources
If you are thinking about going freelance, you’re not alone. Over a quarter of a million people are likely to go it alone and turn self-employed in the UK this year, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.
Selina Murray | Getting a Job,Resources
It may sound like something Victorian mothers used to advise their daughters about, but these days managing your reputation – or at least your online reputation – applies to us all. Reputation management these days refers to the practice of monitoring the internet reputation or online presence of a person, brand or business.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Research published by PC World Business has revealed that UK small businesses are adopting tablets for use in the workplace, with many more looking to do so in the near future. According to the research nearly 25% of small firms are using tablets such as iPads and Android slates to increase the efficiency of their business.
Selina Murray | Lifestyle & Time out,Resources
If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from Ryan Giggs in the last few weeks, it’s how not to use Twitter for business. Love it or loathe it (probably the latter for Mr. Giggs), Twitter can be a very useful business tool. If you work alone it can be invaluable for making connections.
Rachel Soothill | Getting a Job,Guides
Some see networking meetings as the foundation of any successful freelance business. It is an opportunity to meet potential clients, form relationships and share contacts which could turn into new business. Others see these meetings as an awkward and pretentious excuse to drink tea and waste business cards.
Rachel Soothill | Getting a Job,News
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has revealed that the number of start-up businesses in the UK has increased by nearly 50,000 from 2009-2010. The government statistics show that there are now 4.5 million private sector firms operating in the UK, despite the difficult economic climate.
A good conference is never far away if you know where to look, especially during the summer months in London. Those looking to get their business moving forward and listen to some brainy people talking about innovation and the current trends in the entrepreneurship could do a lot worse than attend the Inspire Conference!
Jon Norris | Getting a Job,Guides
Freelancers can be a paradoxical sort. From a client’s perspective we can be highly regarded specialists brought in to solve issues that no staff member can fathom, or we can be sandal-wearing layabouts who flit from place to place, only working when we choose to. Freelancers know that neither stereotype is correct – unfortunately the client’s perspective is often the only one that matters.
The weather is getting warmer, and the birds are starting to sing – that can only mean two things. Firstly, it’s spring! Secondly, it’s time to bust out the business cards and the messenger bag, because conference season is almost upon us! If you’re looking to do some networking and learn a thing or two from some of the biggest brains in the business it’s a good time to be alive.
It’s not often that students are the cause of a positive news headline, but it feels good to break with convention. A survey of English universities has discovered record levels of student engagement in enterprise and entrepreneurship thanks in part to funding from businesses.
Is this going to lead to a new generation of graduates starting up their own businesses instead of watching Cash in the Attic whilst browsing through the jobs pages?
As we wrote last week, it seems to be the season for polls and surveys right now. An informal poll of the Freelance Advisor office I took just now reveals that around 65% of people think there are a lot of poll results flying around right now. Another one has appeared today asking freelancers to name the business person they most admire in the UK.
Ok, so that second part might not be scientific fact (yet), but the first part is 100% true. The PCG have released the results of the poll they commissioned for National Freelancers Day (which is today – November 23rd – hooray!). The results make pretty pleasing reading for freelancers.
Although you may associate it with over-zealous Americans hoarding boxes of vintage 1985 Tupperware in their garage, eBay is actually a huge company (The 4th biggest web-based company in the US, no less), and a really good economic barometer. In the same way that the Big Mac Index can be used to measure the relative wealth of a country by the price of a juicy McDonalds burger, eBay and it’s web-payments arm PayPal can track a huge amount of transactions and mine a wealth of data from its users.
Do you need to haggle over a contract? Are you about to enter a showdown meeting where you need to negotiate the best possible terms for you?
Here are a few tips to help you get what you want. It’s time to play hardball!
Clare Evans | Working From Home
You’ve decided to go down the freelance route and now you’re working from home. Balancing work within the home environment can often be difficult. You may be working around children and family while focusing on your business. There are all the distractions of being at home but needing to be in work mode.
Freelance productivity expert Clare Evans explains how to create a balance between ensuring work gets done and enjoying the flexibility of working from home.
You probably dread coming back from holiday to hundreds or thousands of emails.
The thought of spending the first week dealing with them all and feeling that you’re having to catch up all the time. Here are a few quick steps to help you deal with the backlog.
When you start and grow a business, you’re involved each day in the detail of running the business; perfecting customer service, ensuring positive cashflow, making new products, and so on.
This is all good and right but to plan for business growth, it’s important to step away from day-to-day affairs and take a good look at the business from a distance.
Emma Jones believes in starting a business and then finding and focusing on your niche.
But what happens when you feel the niche audience you’ve chosen could be restricting in view of its size? Then it’s time to expand your product range, as opposed to extending your niche.
Emma explains how…
What do freelancers need to do in order to thrive and develop their businesses in today’s economic climate?
Business performance coach Daryl Close says the old business revenue models are dead and new competencies are needed to effectively compete.
Judy Heminsley | Lifestyle & Time out
When freelancing or starting a small business and looking to keep costs down working from home is the obvious solution.
There’s also a downside, though, and that’s the risk of becoming lonely and isolated, with its knock-on effect on self-confidence and motivation.
Continuing our #WorkingFromHome series Judy Heminsley shares her hard-won tips for overcoming the gloom of isolation and how to get motivated in the mid-afternoon slump…
Winning new business the easy and fun way. By following 6 simple rules you can build the freelance life you always dreamed of. Lucky you! You could be getting yourself shed-loads of new business starting from today.
You may to want to earn good money, have long holidays and be your own boss….but all you have to do is win new business. That’s the bit where most freelancers get the heebie-geebies. But I promise you can do it and you’ll get good at it!
While the effects of the recession on cash flow and business profitability are on the minds of most at present, the pending year end of April 5th 2010 provides an opportunity to ensure that your liability for the 2009/10 tax year is no greater than necessary.
In this year end tax guide, Paul Cleworth of Wealth Matters considers some of the ways you might act now to help you achieve a more tax efficient and secure future for you, your family and you business.
Joyfully Jobless! Part 1 of an interview with Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job.
Making a living without a job - Freelance Advisor Podcast #19 [ 23:29 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Emma Jones | Working From Home
Freelance Advisor and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up’ Emma Jones offers us the first in a new series of pieces for our Working from Home section. Here she takes a looks at what freelancers with a home office can do to create a professional image for clients and a great first impression for customers [...]
today’s current climate it is essential to choose every aspect of your freelance business dealings carefully. This applies not just to your clients and suppliers but also to your professional advisors – especially a good accountant.
The right accountant will meet all your business accountancy needs, from the preparation of accounts and dealing with tax matters, but also helping your company or business grow in the future.
