Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Good news for all you retailing freelancers out there plying your trade through Etsy or your own online store – recent research has shown that online shoppers choose to buy from smaller retailers with personality rather than larger online stores.
As we reported a few months ago, payments to small businesses are taking longer than ever. Research by payment infrastructure behemoth BACS found that the average payment period was a rather lengthy 52 days.
New research has found that more than a third of small businesses would consider relocating in order to help cut costs. The study was carried out by Make It Cheaper, a price comparison site for businesses, and the Centre for Economic and Business Research who identified the cheapest and costliest regions in the UK to run a business.
There are any number of reasons a fledgling business can fail – and the sad truth is that the majority do within the first year. Be it financial mismanagement, lacklustre marketing or just poor products, the reasons for failure are almost as numerous as the failed businesses themselves. Now a study from the Startup Genome, a research group assembled to investigate what makes a successful business, has revealed that the top killer of startups is in fact premature scaling.
We’ve known for some time that the freelancer and contractor sector has been growing, and now a few pieces of research have revealed the source of some of that growth – students and over-55s are increasingly choosing self-employment over the traditional job market.
Jon Norris | Lifestyle & Time out
Here comes another study which will cause the freelancers of the world roll their eyes wryly as the rest of the world slowly figures out what us homeworkers have been preaching all along.
Rachel Soothill | Lifestyle & Time out,News
A survey by IFF research has revealed that more than a third of small and medium businesses would not dream of hiring a candidate from BBC series The Apprentice. 500 small and medium sized businesses took part in the poll with 35% admitting that they would view a job application from an Apprentice candidate in a negative light.
New research has revealed the spending habits of the men and women of the UK, and the results make for interesting reading. The study revealed that millions around Britain are squireling money away without the knowledge of their partner, but for very different reasons.
Mel Dixon | Lifestyle & Time out,News
Television shows like The Apprentice, Dragon’s Den and The Secret Millionaire are persuading more people to consider starting up their own business, according to government research. The ‘Impact of Media on Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions’ report found that media portrayals of enterprise is having a positive impact on non-entrepreneurial Britons.
Jon Norris | Lifestyle & Time out
Aside from being a perpetually-delicious promotion tool at Yo! Sushi, “Blue Monday” is a term coined by the media to proclaim today, the third Monday in January, as the “most depressing day of the year”. At the time of writing, Blue Monday is trending on Twitter, and many large media organisations are publishing “Blue Monday survival guides”.
New small businesses have been asked about their love of outsourcing in order to trace what the future holds for the phenomenon of hiring essential business services instead of performing the same functions in-house.
According to research by OutsourceMyProject.com, the global value of outsourcing stands at $60bn and is set to grow by 20% year-on-year for the next five years. If that’s to be believed, the 2010s are set to be the decade of the outsourcing revolution!
The reason I ask is due to a recent study carried out by Harvard which has apparently discovered that if you sit in a ‘power pose,’ not only will it have a positive effect on others, it will also benefit you directly. You will be rewarded physiologically, mentally and emotionally. Apparently.
I guess at this point you will be asking: what is this ‘power pose’? And how can I perform it?
A new report the how the internet is transforming the UK economy has been published by the Boston Consulting Group.
The research illustrates how small businesses actively using the internet are reporting sales growth more than four times bigger than that of companies less active online.
New research reveals that many small business leaders have reservations about employing people over the age of 60.
Does that mean the older generation are being discriminated against?
New research has shown that over a third of SMEs use social media on a daily basis to promote their businesses.
For many freelancers and contractors, utilizing free networking tools is clearly a no-brainer, but which is the most popular?
MyCake founder Sarah Thelwall talks to Andy and Darren about business benchmarking for freelancers, how to discover business opportunities in your own data and how to compare your rates and outgoing with others in your field.
Podcast 23: Turning boring business data into brilliant business plans [ 17:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Having a supportive spouse can be the key to a business’ success or failure, new research has found.
The research, by Bibby Financial Services, found that 38 per cent of spouses believed their partner working weekends was acceptable when running a business, and 44 per cent believed working late nights was also acceptable.
In the wake of the results of the Kingston University survey on freelancers, we get reactions and opinions from John Kell of the Professional Contractors Group and Nathan Pope of Latitude Hosting and the Brighton Farm. Topics Covered: Growth in the freelance market Freelancer figures, statistics and research Male and Female freelancing split in IT [...]
#11: The growth in the Freelancer Marketplace - Fact or Fiction (Part 2) [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
