Jason Oakley, CEO of Recognise Bank, Britain’s newest SME Bank, comments on the extension of the furlough scheme and the extension of the VAT cut to 5% and then 12.5% announced in this weeks budget: “This is great news for firms that have already weathered a tough 12 months under COVID-19 restrictions. One in four small businesses wanted the Chancellor to extend the furlough scheme in today’s Budget, while nearly half of hospitality firms said they wanted the reduced 5% VAT rate to continue. “Britain’s growing businesses are a tough and confident bunch, and the bosses I talk to say they…
Author: sme-admin
During the summit, which took place on Thursday 4th March 2021, almost 30 female speakers took to the stage to share their own experiences and tips for navigating predominantly male-occupied businesses. The speakers at the event ranged from Lauryn Bradley, who spoke about the ‘Feast and Famine Cycle’ – the rollercoaster of income boosts and drops that businesses often get stuck in – and how to take care of yourself during the ups and downs, to ‘Empress of Networking’ Ungenita Prevost, a former Hollywood body double who spoke about her experiences of racism and sexism on her way to become…
Author, speaker & coach, Taz Thornton hoping to unleash the awesome of 200 women at her virtual event for International Women’s day 2021 “On International Women’s Day, it’s all about give and no take,” said Taz Thornton, inspirational speaker, coach and author. That’s why Taz is giving away two hours of mentoring, coaching and support to inspire women in business and unleash their awesome! “After the year we’ve all had, I wanted to make this uniqueoffer on this special day for women to help them recognise how powerful women in business are, how to grow their audience and turn up…
Zoom has seen a boost in users over the last year, but with all the other options on the market, which service would fit best for you and your business? This article will compare Zoom (which has gone from 10 million daily users to 300 million), Google Meet (over 100 million daily users) and Microsoft Teams (75 million daily users) in a series of categories such as free and paid-for features, and the software’s security. What limitations do the free versions have? Using the free Zoom package, you are able to host up to 100 people in a meeting for…
A survey by alternative lender Capify has highlighted a demand for more financial support with cashflow, expansion and funding for new equipment among the reasons Confidence for the future is mixed with 38% expecting the economy to improve while 36% expect a decline in 2021 43 per cent of SMEs say the support offered by the government to businesses has not been good enough Eighty-three per cent of UK SMEs are still actively looking for finance according to a new study, despite the government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) having lent almost £45bn to more than 1.4m businesses. The findings…
A former adviser to the government on SMEs has warned there could be a mass exodus of talent out of the UK if Chancellor Rishi Sunak hits businesses with tax hikes in this week’s Budget. Mr Sunak is widely tipped to be considering an increase in Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax in a move that would hit entrepreneurs hard. Personal income tax bands and the £50,000 higher rate threshold could be frozen for three years pushing 1.6 million people into a higher bracket by the time of the next General Election. National Insurance for the 4.5 million self-employed could…
The second of last week’s Great British Expos, South West Expo Bristol, which took place on Friday 26th February 2021, was a roaring success and left audiences inspired. Speakers ranged from those who built billion-dollar businesses to successful entrepreneurs who started with nothing. They shared stories, advice and guidance on do’s and don’ts in sectors such as social media, marketing and more. One of the speakers who attended was Andy Smith, who explained the key tips of ‘marketing to win, even during a recession’, and how to balance new and existing clients in regards to marketing formats. Darren Clark and…
At the time of writing, coronavirus infections are continuing to decrease around the UK, fewer people are testing positive, the R number is falling and over a quarter of the UK population have had their first does of the COVID vaccine – including the most vulnerable. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing to publish a roadmap for the easing of restrictions in the UK; and whilst most experts are warning against unlocking too rapidly, ministers are under pressure to re-open schools, shops and the hospitality and tourism industries. If all the analysis is correct, and the predictions are accurate,…
On Wednesday 24th February 2021, The Great British Expos invited business owners and entrepreneurs to the North West Expo Manchester to take the virtual stage and tell their inspiring stories to hundreds of SMEs. As well as listening to journeys of struggle and adversity, the audience of small and medium enterprises were able to pose questions and ask advice to the keynote speakers. Guests included Nyasha Gwatidzo, who explained how she built a £180 million business empire from nothing, and is now developing a billion-dollar fund for women in Africa. “If you are passionate, money will follow.” Also speaking was…
The return to school for all pupils is being prioritised due to the significant and proven impact caused by being out of school to the health and wellbeing of children and young people. The government has been clear that the return to face-to-face education is the national priority and that 2 weeks’ notice would be given ahead of any change. All students will begin to return to face-to-face education on 8th March with the following testing measures in place: All primary school children will return to school on Monday 8th March. Primary school staff will continue to take 2 rapid COVID-19 tests each week at home. All secondary school…