The loss of a job is always a stressful situation, whether it’s through dismissal or redundancy. At this time of year, having a steady income never seems more important, but thanks to the continuing financial difficulties the UK is facing, jobs have also never felt more insecure.
One of the biggest worries for those facing unemployment is the risk of bankruptcy and the fate of the family home. Homeowners naturally carry massive debts in the form of mortgages, but what will happen to your home in the unfortunate event of bankruptcy?…
It’s an interesting time for the postal delivery industry, with the dominance of Royal Mail – after a spate of strikes and a controversial privatisation plan – now being challenged, its rule coming under threat from a constantly improving sector of alternative business mail services.
This comes in the midst of a rocky few months for Royal Mail, with its recent flotation on the London Stock Exchange creating confusion after its undervalued stock price.
More recently, there are now reports that the service has been missing its targets for a 93 per cent delivery rate of all first-class letters on the day after collection, instead reaching only 91.7 per cent, leading to concerns and the threat of fines from industry watchdog Ofcom.…
Owning your own business: It’s part of the American dream, but it can quickly turn into a nightmare with lawsuits, theft or other issues that can cause major financial devastation. Inventory shrinkage is a major issue for small businesses, with Tyco’s security survey revealing that the retail industry was hit with $35.28 billion in theft in 2011. You might not want to think about the many disasters that could befall your business, but one way to keep your business going strong is to look at all of the ways you can protect it.…
If there’s one thing that the Prince’s Trusts proves, it’s that you’re never too young to be a business owner. Helping disadvantaged young people across the UK, the Prince’s Trust can give youngster between the ages of 18 and 30 the chance to turn their lives around and set up their own shop – online or otherwise.
As always, this year saw another group of talented young individuals rewarded for their determination – from beauty bars to art groups, the Prince’s Trust has seen the birth of a wealth of innovative young businesses; all set up by people who didn’t have such a good start in life.…
As we are approaching the year’s end, businesses scramble to offer the best for customers; this also holds true for restaurants. However, it’s often challenging to increase sales.
But fear not! In this article, you will get 10 ideas on how to improve your restaurant sales before we enter 2014. Here they are:
1. Happy Hour rocks!
Similar to retail stores, restaurants could use a boost during off-peak hours. Typically offered in the late afternoon, Happy Hour can be a great way to introduce new items in your menu, as well as a way to keep your restaurant busy; empty restaurants are turn-offs, in my opinion.…
Modern technology has grown in leaps and bounds. No matter where you look or where you turn, you will no doubt see a tablet or a state of the art laptop being used for everything. From every day enjoyment to catching up on the latest in news and weather to utilizing for business organization, one can find a tablet just about anywhere. If you and your employees are not using them yet, tablets are an excellent way to stay ahead of the technological curve, while utilizing the latest in management technology for your business.…
The IT team is a company’s strong line of defense. It protects a good portion of the company’s assets in terms of information and data, and ensures that all pertinent information that the company keeps is secure from prying eyes and sticky fingers. Aside from protecting the business environment from predatory practices, the IT team also helps ensure the integrity and relevance of current hardware and related services.
Learn how to build the perfect IT team for your business and know which qualifications and characteristics to look for in each member.…
A large part of success in business is about being able to think ahead and anticipate what’s around the corner. The companies that are best able to think ahead are the ones that will spot opportunities before other people and be able to capitalise on them, and they’re the people who will stay one step ahead in terms of their tools and their methodologies.
But perhaps the most important way that a business should think ahead, is by thinking about potential disasters and pitfalls so that they can avoid being caught out by any unwanted surprises.…
With mobile devices being so ubiquitous these days, shoowrooming–the consumer practice of price-checking on their phones or viewing products in-store only to purchase them online–is more prevalent than ever. According to a survey by Vibes, 44% of consumers say that “they frequently use their smartphone in-store to comparison shop/buy from a competitor.”
As a result, some retailers have resorted to slashing their prices to match whatever’s the lowest price online. This isn’t an ideal strategy, though, because it would likely kill your profits and attract not-so-loyal customers.…
We’ve already talked before about basic things you can do to save money in your household living budget (here for example). So now let’s cover a similar idea that you can also apply to your business while at the same time doing your bit to save the environment.
The following are several very easy to implement and low cost green office tips that you can start practicing right now.
1. Go Paperless (Or get as close as you can)
Creating a paperless office is not only an excellent green solution for nearly any business, it’s also a great money saver, and especially with the kinds of low technologies now available to just about anybody.…
