When setting up a limited company there are a few things that you need to think about. Firstly, you need to think of a company name with a corresponding website, then you need to register your company at Companies House and at HMRC. You then need to set up a business bank account and take out business insurance…. Continue Reading

As an employer, part of your role is to provide employment references for your employees. You could be in a position of making or breaking their next move. It may be tempting to try to provide a reference that does not reflect your employees in a good light, as a way to holding on to them. Or you may be glad to see the back of them and want to portray this to the new employer.

This blog is intended to guide you in avoiding employment reference traps. … Continue Reading

We know technology is an important factor in the world we live in now. It is advancing at a faster pace than we could’ve anticipated. So how can technology be utilised by small businesses to make them more efficient and propel them towards new growth opportunities?

Although you may think technology is there to distract you from doing your job or that it makes you lazy. However, the technology is there to make us work smarter and increase our productivity. … Continue Reading

Are you a small business owner who is stressed with the workload? Not freeing yourself enough time from work to visit the gym? Why not bring the gym to where you are without all the need for expensive gym equipment? The title of this blog surely hints you to where we are going with this.

Yoga! We know when you are running a small business, there are various tasks and activities of your business that will eat your time make you pin down to a desk. As many of you small business owners are, with doing 9-5, five days a week, yoga will provide relief by breaking this cycle…. Continue Reading

One of the best thing about being a small business owner is that you can enjoy as much freedom as you wish, particularly when it comes to being in control of your working hours. This means you may not prefer to work the usual 9-5 working hours. Some days, you might be up late, past midnight working on tight deadlines or wake up at 5 am to rush to client meetings. However, you must become aware that unusual working patterns will onset some adverse impacts on preserving a consistent work-play balance especially your sleeping patterns. Further, when family commitments are also put into the balance, it becomes difficult to achieve the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep by the National Sleep Foundation…. Continue Reading

A higher life expectancy and most individuals failure to make a provision for their retirement were a key driver that has lead to compulsory pension compliance in the UK.

Automatic Enrolment (AE) was initiated in October 2012. Any employer no matter what size their business is now legally obliged to offer their employees a pension scheme. All qualifying individuals between the ages of 22 and 65 can save for their retirement. … Continue Reading

As an owner of a small business, you tend to spend a great proportion of your time being involved in your business and its activities. You live and breath your business. It is everything to you.

Research has shown that UK’s small business owners work an additional 15 hours more a week in comparison to the national average. Working more hours does not equate to being more productive…. Continue Reading

The new year is awash with resolutions and a sense that now is the time to take action. For many this can be a case of getting back into shape or giving up a bad habit, but why not take it a step further and fulfil your dream of being your own boss.

While it’s perfectly normal to fear giving up the security of having a salary, there are plenty of reasons why more and more people are taking the plunge and becoming self-employed…. Continue Reading

Nearly everyone has worked in a position that they were not completely satisfied with at some point or another. It may have been the first job they were able to get at the time or one that would help them get a better position in the future. Regardless of the reason, working a job that you dislike is often difficult and depressing.

When the employees are not as productive, it costs the business more money. It has caused business owners to wonder what they can do to change things around a bit for everyone, especially the employees who are unhappy. We hope this blog will help business owners with employee motivation issues…. Continue Reading

Good people management

As a business, your most important and valuable asset is the people that you employ. It is important that you manage to get the best performance out of each individual and ensure to create a working environment your staff will no only enjoy working in, but that helps them to develop and flourish too…. Continue Reading