Customers are the lifeblood of any business and without them no company can survive. So how do you go about getting (and keeping) customers? Finding customers is the key to running a successful business and all highly successful businesses are good at marketing. This doesn’t mean that you need to spend thousands on an expensive [...]
As of today’s date 24 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion which on the face of it is supportive of small businesses but in actual fact is totally pointless. In fact it could be evidence, if such is needed, that MPs really have no idea of the realities of business life. The motion reads: [...]
Google recently reached an agreement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) under which the firm will pay $125 million to resolve outstanding legal actions against it in relation to its Google Book search service, which offers full-text searching facilities to users. The agreement, reached after two years of negotiations, is subject [...]
In the present financial crisis there will be very few businesses who will not be finding things difficult. The most important area that business owners and managers should be concentrating on is cash flow and the following are a few elements to look at where managing cash flow is concerned: Credit Control – no sales [...]
An offshore bank account can be described as: “a bank account maintained by an individual or business in a bank in any country of which they are not normally a resident”. Basically what this long phrase means is that if you are a British resident and you open a bank account in somewhere like Spain [...]
Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for nearly fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle. In recent years, Barbie has faced increasing competition from the Bratz range of dolls. The doll was the brain child [...]
The online auction Web site was founded in San Jose, California, by French-born Iranian computer programmer Pierre Omidyar on 3rd September 1995. Originally the site was called AuctionWeb and was registered to Omidyar’s consulting business, Echo Bay Technology Group. In 1997 Benchmark Capital offered $5 million in funding to develop the online auction idea and [...]
Seeing an opportunity to work for himself 19-year-old, James E. (“Jim”) Casey, borrowed $100 from a friend and established the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. According to accounts given by Jim there were quite a few messenger services already in the Seattle area, some of which he had worked for in the past and [...]
During development it was referred to as Windows 4.0 or by the internal codename Chicago and It was a significant progression from the company’s previous Windows products. Windows 95 was intended to integrate Microsoft’s formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products and includes an enhanced version of DOS, often referred to as MS-DOS 7.0. It featured [...]
Many small start-ups find setting up an office at home the most attractive option. It is cheap and handy, but there may be drawbacks. The Legal Position The first thing is to consider is whether or not you can legally set your office up at home. If you rent your home there may very well [...]
The first mail-order catalogue was published by Chicago based Montgomery Ward & Co. and though the first edition was only a single sheet of paper it began what became a massive global industry. Ward started the company in 1872 with $2,400 capital and the aim of buying large quantities of merchandise wholesale and then selling [...]
Must all companies have a secretary? Yes and No. From 6th April 2008 private companies will not need to have a company secretary but public limited companies still will. Furthermore companies registered before 6th April 2008 will have to change their Articles of Association at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the shareholders to remove the [...]
Ever wondered why some people succeed in business and others don’t? Or why some of them are exceptionally successful? Well some of it may be luck but there are common factors seen in all successful business people that would seem to indicate otherwise. It appears that great entrepreneurs have 5 key qualities that help them succeed in situations [...]
There is a saying in marketing that “image is everything” and there is a lot of truth in that. Your customers, existing and potential, will expect you to present a professional image and your stationery is an important factor in creating your business image. You should take time to consider what you will need and [...]
The one aspect most likely to delay the start of business for a new company is not the actual incorporation but the printing of stationery. Letter headings and other stationery cannot be printed until after the company is incorporated. This is not just commercial prudence in case a name is turned down, but certain items [...]
As from 1st of October 2007 there were changes made to what information you need to include on a VAT invoice. If you don’t comply then HM Revenue and Customs can hit you with pretty massive fines. Although fines are unlikely to be levied for non compliance in the first year, business owners cannot be [...]
“Going Offshore” is a phrase that one commonly hears usually accompanied by a wry smile or a sly wink of the eye. There is an assumption that somehow “Offshore” is “dodgy” and anyone who has an offshore bank account or business must automatically be up to no good. Phrases like “tax avoidance”, “tax evasion” and, [...]
In the first two parts of this post we have looked at what you will need by way of furniture for your office and also what communications equipment you will need to consider. In this part we will now look at office equipment: what you are likely to need, what your options are, and how [...]
In the first part of this post we looked at what you needed to furnish your office. Now we consider what equipment you will need in order to connect to the outside world. Communications The one item you are certain to need in your office is a telephone line. Even if you have a [...]
At some point as you establish or expand your business you are going to have some sort of office set up. This may be a one-man office for your own use, possibly in a spare room of your own home, or it could be a much larger set up in a business centre or business [...]
