Employee Empowerment has become an increasingly popular way of working for many organisations in direct contrast to the control and command strategies of the past. Jan Carlzon, the ex CEO of SAS, famously said: ‘That to free an employee from traditional business controls, was to unleash a whole range of resources previously unknown to the […]
Experienced Sales Directors for better Business Management Solutions
Should you Hire experienced Sales People or Ambitious Rookies? A good sales strategy is key to any successful business but hiring experienced sales people in your sector is not always the best option. Sometimes hiring the inexperienced yet ambitious can be a solution to dwindling sales. To illustrate this point, I met up with a […]
2014 Looking good but more SME business finance needed
In this first article of the year we review the drivers that are making 2014 look more promising for the economy and business growth generally. It seems that the majority view among UK businesses is that we are past the worst and looking forward to a better year. Nb Notwithstanding this new found confidence, […]
SME business finance – where is it?
Whilst the UK economy continues on its growth path, and is at least firing on some cylinders (if not all), business finance for the SME sector remains patchy. The Stats Bank of England figures – released on 29 November – showed that net lending to the SME sector had fallen by some £206m in October. […]
What are Directors’ duties and the personal risks relating to insolvency?
In the current climate, where asset values have diminished and directors’ decisions are increasingly under the microscope, it is in a director’s personal interests to be fully aware of what planning should be implemented within their company generally (regardless of how well it may be doing), and the necessary steps to take in advance of or […]
End of Funding for Lending – What effect on SME business finance?
It seems the Bank of England has spotted the issues regarding the potential bubble in the housing market as referred to in our article. Ironically, as I mentioned in this recent post, I think the froth in the market was starting to soften anyway. There is further evidence of this in the latest release from MasterCard […]
7 steps to find the right business support when you need it
When you start a new business it’s a very exciting time; when you have finally put your plans into place and taken that last bold step into the unknown. You knew your trade very well with lots of good connections, and you probably had a business plan giving you a well sign-posted route forward. The […]
UK turnaround warning – decline in consumer financial wellbeing
As we have mentioned in previous blogs, the UK economy is in large part driven by consumer spending. Hence, you and I make up around 60% of our £1.4 trillion economy. And, as we are all aware, things have been going a bit better recently in terms of the UK turnaround and recovery, with us […]
Interest rates at 2.5% – what effect on UK turnaround strategy?
It’s now nearly five years since the Bank of England reduced rates to the record low of 0.5%. Many of us will be used to average rates of between 5% and 7%, and some of us will remember rates at 15%, so this will have been a historic period of in terms of monetary policy, […]
Invoice finance industry self-regulates; a promise of better service
I have written a lot about invoice finance in recent months, including articles on how this form of business funding can help businesses find new working capital, and what to look out for when you are seeking such a facility. Parts of the invoice finance industry have come in for a good deal of criticism […]