London, UK, 12th September 2022: New research exposes the difficulties businesses face accessing finance from mainstream lenders and how alternative solutions can plug the gap. More than a quarter (26%) of business leaders surveyed have had difficulties accessing finance from main banks, over a third (38%) say that banks don’t understand their business needs and two in five (41%) think banks’ lending policies haven’t kept pace with modern business needs. The research from embedded finance and payment solutions provider, Sonovate, follows a recent announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator warned banks to improve their treatment of small…
Author: sme-admin
According to data from What Customers Want, 91 per cent of consumers prefer to purchase from small to medium-sized businesses. Why? Unlike their corporate-scale rivals, small businesses offer a personal service, better relationships and typically, better communication. But, what about when communication isn’t up to scratch? Here, Kristian Torode, Director and Co-Founder of business comms provider Crystaline, presents some top considerations that SMEs should bear in mind when selecting their communications technology partner. Putting an effective communication setup into place is a challenge for SMEs. Data from the Enterprise Research Centre revealed that some of the key communications challenges that…
Katherine Ellis, COO, WOLF (The World’s Online Festival) shares the lessons learned after the tech startup looked abroad for talent. A challenge affecting all areas of business today is recruitment. Dubbed The Great Resignation, the UK has witnessed above average numbers of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs since the pandemic, which is having a significant impact on businesses finding and retaining talent. There is much debate around how this economic trend started, with many experts suggesting it has been driven by the rise of flexible working expectations, the increase in cost of living and Brexit – all of which aren’t…
Sharply increasing interest rates, red-hot inflation and a prolonged energy crisis are leading to conviction that the UK is headed towards recession. The Alternative Board (TAB), which runs leading business advisory boards across the UK is advising SMEs to get recession ready now to survive what is predicted to be a prolonged downturn: “SMEs are crucial to the UK’s economy and account for over 53% of private sector employment, so it’s vital they ready themselves now for a potential recession,” commented Ed Reid, co-owner of The Alternative Board. “We’re here to ensure our SME facilitators and the businesses they support come out fighting…
Nextbase, the UK’s leading Dash Cam brand, has seen a 200 percent increase in year-on-year sales to the UK’s leading automotive brands, amidst an ambitious new campaign to revolutionise the availability of this life-saving technology to UK vehicle manufacturers and their customers. Five of the top vehicle manufacturers across the UK and Europe, representing over 50 percent of the UK’s automotive market share, now offer bespoke vehicle manufacturer Nextbase Dash Cams pre-installed. These brands include Toyota, Lexus, Kia, Hyundai, Skoda, Volkswagen, Seat, Isuzu, and Ford. Since their introduction to the UK market by Nextbase in 2012, Dash Cams have become…
Jill Whittaker OBE, Managing Director at The Executive Development Network (EDN), highlights how vital training is for businesses struggling with recruitment and retention, debunks common myths, and offers practical advice on how to make apprenticeships work for you. What we seek from our careers has undoubtedly changed since the advent of the pandemic. Ultimately, employees want to try new things, to upskill and reskill, and to have their value recognised more than ever before. To recruit and retain staff in this climate, SMEs must find the balance between meeting training demands and other time-consuming priorities. It may come as no…
Revolut, the global financial super app with over 20 million retail customers, today launched Revolut Pay – a new secure online checkout feature which allows UK and EEA merchants to present ‘Revolut Pay’ as a payment method across product, cart, and checkout pages. Revolut Pay aims to disrupt the payments ecosystem by making shopping online even easier as it facilitates direct payments, while providing best-in-class security for Revolut users: payments will be validated via secure features such as Face ID, or fingerprint unlock, and no account number will be shared. This in turn will help to prevent fraud and keep…
August 2022: With seniors returning to the workforce in their masses, Gen Z instant video messaging social media app, Frog, has launched a search for a senior intern to join their team. New statistics have found that in the UK a growing number of older people are entering employment once more with the latest figures revealing a record 173,000 people aged 65 and over were in work between April and June 2022. With an employee average age of 28, the Gen Z company seeks the wisdom of an intern aged 60 and over to join the team. The unique job…
Exactly one year since launch, Lottie – the UK’s leading later living marketplace – are one step closer to their mission of transforming the elderly care sector. Now valued at £45million and with the backing of American Venture Capital Firm General Catalyst and chief executives from Airbnb, Zoopla and Monzo, Lottie have completed their acquisition of Found – one of the UK’s leading CRM and occupancy care home software in a seven-figure transaction (£1.5 million). Plagued by their own experience of finding care for their family, brothers Chris and Will Donnelly launched Lottie – a care home comparison website that…
Making the decision to become an entrepreneur can be overwhelming at times, particularly if you’re deciding to completely reinvent your working life. Being an entrepreneur means becoming comfortable with the highs and lows that are common in this type of work environment – being able to be both flexible and adaptable is essential to the success of any entrepreneur. Aiman Kabli, digital entrepreneur, serial author, blogger, and speaker, provides SMEToday readers with some insight. Once you’ve decided to become an entrepreneur it can become especially tempting to focus all your attention on building your ‘hard skills’ like technical skills, analytical skills,…