As an SME owner responsible for projects, you’ll be acutely aware of the importance of setting clear objectives. The success of the project lifecycle depends entirely on detailed planning and accountability from start to finish, and a key component in achieving this is the Statement of Work. Ashley Gurr, a commercial and contract lawyer at LawBite, shares valuable insights on ‘Statements of Work.’ With over 15 years of experience in both corporate and private practice, he explores their importance and explains why you should always have one in place before embarking on a new project. What’s a Statement of Work?…
Author: sme-admin
A specialist tea merchant, which sources some of the rarest and most unusual varieties of Britain’s favourite brew, is hoping to tap into Newcastle’s bustling night scene by pioneering a unique day-into-night venue at its Heaton-based headquarters. The Estate Tea Company was launched in 2014 by Tom Webb, who drew inspiration from a project he worked on whilst studying at Northumbria University. Upon graduation, Tom decided to revisit the business idea he had explored as a student and set about scouring tea producing countries across the world to source rare and unusual varieties of tea and bring them to the…
Former professional footballer and current television pundit Rio Ferdinand has announced his investment in the Manchester-based tech platform, DeliveryApp, a move that signifies a huge milestone for the team and the business as a whole. An already passionate investor in the technology market, Rio aims to support DeliveryApp’s brand scale and awareness, drive revenue growth through targeted campaigns, and leverage his extensive business network for strategic introductions. What is DeliveryApp? DeliveryApp’s founder and Chair, Lance Jones, developed the tech platform to address persistent issues within the logistics sector. By merging technology with a commitment to fair driver treatment and increased customer transparency,…
According to Dave Adamson, CTO at Espria, the modern contact centre is the driving force behind customer experience, not PR and Marketing. There is an irony that in 2023, we confidently and enthusiastically talk about metaverse brand experiences and community engagement. However, we still need help to make it easy for the customer to pick up the phone to speak with us. A term that’s less familiar than Web3 today is CCaaS: contact centre as a service. Yet despite its anonymity, it quietly underpins the reputation of any customer-facing organisation. Whilst telecoms communications touch points were levelled down during the pandemic,…
One of the UK’s leading independent fostering agency, Banya, is holding a drop in session in Eastbourne on Wednesday July 12. Independent foster agency Banya is inviting anyone interested in finding out more about becoming a foster carer to visit their drop-in session at Giorgios Coffee House, 2-4 Cornfield Road, Eastbourne between 7pm and 9pm on Wednesday July 12. The drop-in will be run by supervising social worker Madeleine Andrews. She said: “We want to raise awareness of a career in fostering and to help highlight the positive impact it has on both children’s lives and society at large. There…
Northwest based ethical property developer Integritas Property Group (IPG) has secured a £10 million development loan from Maslow Capital to fund the next stage of IPG’s residential development at The Lyceum, Greater Manchester. Following the completion of groundworks and foundations, the loan from leading provider of real estate development finance Maslow Capital will provide working capital for the next phase of the high-end development situated in Eccles. All 82 units have been purchased leasehold after they were released for investment in February 2023, with the first expected completion date set to be within Q1 of 2024. IPG took over The Lyceum, Greater Manchester development in 2020 after the previous…
As an entrepreneur or business owner, you’ve probably identified an area of your business where technology or software could add value, offer customers a better experience, or simply provide better efficiency. Now, the next step is to buy commercial ‘off-the-shelf’ software or build a custom solution. In this article, Jose San Miguel, Managing Director at white label ticketing platform Nuweb Group offers businesses expert advice on how to decide between buying ready-made software solutions or starting from scratch. As with most things in life, there are positives and negatives to both depending on your exact needs and budget. However, going down the…
Author: Sue Tumelty, Founder and Executive Director of HR Dept The daily barrage of comments in the news about TV presenter Phillip Schofield admitting to having an extramarital affair shows no sign of abating. MPs even summoned the bosses of ITV to appear before a committee to give answers. While ITV declared it had investigated rumours of the relationship between Schofield and a much younger colleague, it emerged afterwards that this was false. Personal situations like this are always difficult, and it is why we advise following the rule of “assume nothing, believe no one and check everything” during any investigation.…
The UK faces a construction apprenticeship “crisis” after new figures revealed just one in five of the sector’s small business owners plan to take one on this year. The statistics, taken from a survey of tradesperson directory Checkatrade’s member base* shows the appetite among SMEs for hiring apprentices is currently low, with just 20 percent planning on doing so over the coming year. The figure for firms employing between 10-19 employees was as low as nine percent, while for sole traders it was 17 percent. The stats make for concerning reading when viewed alongside Government figures that show apprenticeship starts…
Many businesses are currently concerned with the slower rate of economic growth, traditionally slow levels of growth come with recession rumours and sometimes a starker reality. Despite lower levels of growth in some industries, across the UK the tech industry is outpacing other sectors when it comes to growth. In fact, it’s expanding over two and a half times faster than the rest of the UK’s economy, with newly registered tech companies appearing at an average rate of 22%. By inspecting this highly competitive industry, it’s clear to see that certain regions seem to be attracting higher levels of tech…