LMDTFY News

Positive thinking helps small businesses survive in a hostile climate

Apparently around 25% of small business owners feel today's trading conditions are worse than they were at this time last year.

35% of us don't believe Britain's economy will recover for at least three more years. And allegedly 47% of us have had to inject extra cash into our small businesses from personal sources. To top it off 89% of small business owners find Britain an 'unbearably expensive' place to do business.

All of which paints a horribly gloomy picture. But there's a mounting body of evidence that shows the more positively you think about your business, the better. It makes sense.  [more...]

Are you bendy or stiff? The business benefits of flexibility

Is your business flexible or stuck in the mud? Whether you're a Blue Chip or small business it's wise to keep a conscious eye open for threats and opportunities so you can act fast. Luckily when you're a small business, start up or sole trader it's much easier.

If you've ever worked for a large organisation you'll know how long it can take them to react to market forces. They can't just act. They have to bring their employees in line, provide Change Management training, re-structure, re-write their systems, policies, administration and procedures, invest in expensive software, re-brand... all sorts of complicated stuff. Whereas life is much simpler for us. [more...]

Government support for small business growth

How much do you know about Government support to help your small business grow? Here's some information about current schemes.

There's the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, where the government guarantees 75% of your bank loan and the lender covers 25%. You can tap into this if your annual turnover is less than 25 million pounds and it covers loans between £1,000 to £1M over ten years. Businesses use EFG for new loans, refinanced loans, converting overdrafts to loans, new and extended overdrafts and cash flow issues. Your first stop is your bank, and there's a detailed guide to the scheme on the Department for Business website. Here's a link.

Then there's Enterprise Capital Funds, nine government supported venture capital funds especially  [more...]

The big business chill: How to survive August Mediterranean-style

We almost expired from the heat over Easter. And even though the summer has proved a damp squib so far, it’s still too warm to rush about. If you’re feeling frazzled, limp, damp, humid and languid, maybe it’s time to listen to your body clock and do stuff the Mediterranean way.

It makes sense in all sorts of ways. Marketing for one. The first of August signals a fallow time for many marketers. SEO carries on regardless because search engines don’t care what time of year it is. But people do – and millions of us go on holiday in August. So if you’re running yourself ragged creating marketing campaigns for the month, chill. Drum up something fabulous for September when your target audience will have their work heads back on and the kids are safely back at school. Other than that you can safely let it lie. [more...]