How can I make sure my cash doesn’t run short?
Ask James Caan: Cash really is king, no matter what the size of your business. The success or failure of a company always comes back to one thing — the amount of cash or liquidity in the business.
Financing
Will the extension of FLS increase the amount of credit extended to SMEs?
Will the Government’s announcement of an extension to the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) deliver an increase in the amount of credit extended to small and medium-sized enterprises? It should certainly mean more credit is available – but that doesn’t mean there will be greater demand for loans, or that SMEs previously denied access to borrowing will now find lenders any more accepting.
Spencer Ogden is a recruiter rigged up to enjoy the fruits of recession
Spencer-Percival is what you might call a bit of an eccentric. The 42-year old owns a forest, has funded the RAF’s first table tennis academy and has full-size punch bags throughout the offices of his fledgling business — as well as roulette wheels where staff can win random bonuses.
Heard of RTI? It might do you a lot of good
All good things come to those who wait: while the introduction of real-time information (RTI) seems inevitably destined to prompt one of those IT meltdowns for which our public sector is so renowned, there are plenty of reasons why businesses should welcome the overhaul.
Small Talk: Here's how Osborne can make a big difference to the SMEs
Almost exactly a year ago today, George Osborne arrived at the Federation of Small Businesses annual dinner with an inspiring message. "I know that with the energy, creativity, innovation and courage of Britain's small businesses we can take on the forces of stagnation and win," the Chancellor of the Exchequer told his audience, inviting small and medium-sized enterprises to take the lead in driving economic recovery.
Save the schemes that find finance for our small firms
Treasury minister David Gauke was in congratulatory mood at the EIS Association's annual dinner at the House of Lords last week. The enterprise investment scheme, through which investors get tax breaks for putting money into smaller companies, is "the most successful and widely respected venture capital relief scheme in Europe", Mr Gauke told his fellow diners.
Enterprise investment scheme growing in popularity
Could the enterprise investment scheme (EIS) be the solution for growing businesses that need to raise money? The growing popularity of the EIS with companies – there was a 47 per cent increase in the number of businesses seeking EIS approval from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the 2011-12 tax year – suggests it just might be.
What should SMEs do if they have been affected by expensive interest rate swap deals sold to them by their banks?
The wheels of justice often grind very slowly. More than two years after small and medium-sized enterprises first began complaining about the expensive interest rate swap deals sold to them by their banks, the Financial Services Authority has finally announced some decisive action. The good news is that 11 banks will now have to reconsider each interest rate swap deal they’ve sold – and compensate those SMEs who should never have been advised to take out the products in the first place.
Pawnbrokers may give unexpected boost to SMEs
Many small businesses continue to find it difficult to get credit from the banks, the Bank of England’s latest data suggests, but help may be at hand from an unexpected source – the pawnbroking sector.
Business on a budget – how to fund your business
How to raise cash without it costing you a pile of cash: The days of friendly bank managers are long gone. The reality is we have reached a point where banks don’t trust businesses and businesses don’t trust banks. So what are the alternatives for cash-strapped businesses who want to grow?
Exporting has positive effect on SME growth
London SMEs looking for a way to grow should look overseas - according to a new report from Barclays. The bank has found that businesses that export grew by almost a third in just two years, with almost a third (29%) of small and medium sized businesses claiming tosee a positive impact on their bottom line within just six months of expanding into international markets.
Cultivating an advertising firm just came naturally to Anthony
The business card of Anthony Ganjou, founder of Curb Media, isn’t any old business card. “If you plant it, it will grow into flowers. There are seeds embedded in the paper,” Ganjou explains. This may seem unusual but considering Curb Media specialises in creative media with much emphasis on natural resources, it all starts to make sense.
Small Talk: If Start Up High Street is to work the road must be clear
Small Talk:When the Prime Minister first began talking about the Big Society, one assumed he was thinking about volunteers and community groups providing social services, rather than potentially crucial planks of his Government's business policy. As it turns out, some of the most interesting examples of what might be described as big society initiatives are in the latter space.
Want a megastar mentor to boost your creative business? Read on.
Professional development is critical to growing the nation's talent and businesses - but in these cash-strapped times, it’s tough for businesses to find the help they need. At innovation foundation Nesta, we think mentoring is the way forward. Our Creative Business Mentor Network, which opened last week for a 3rd cohort of applications, demonstrates how a little bit of organisation and some generous support from volunteer mentors, can have a huge impact in helping creative businesses to thrive.
Vacant shops to be made available for start-ups
Empty High Street shops will be thrown open to hundreds of entrepreneurial start-ups desperate for an outlet, in a move to boost enterprise and retail growth. The initiative, StartUp High Street, is kicking off on Richmond High Street, and will see the fledgling retailers involved able to pitch their products to retailers including John Lewis. The scheme is backed by Business Secretary Vince Cable, who said: “The initiative will give new businesses important access to the high street.”
How to save money on…Hardware
This week: The easy way to make hardware savings. It can be a hard job searching for hardware bargains. But you don’t need to be a technical wizard to conjure up some savings. Below are some money saving top tips to take a ‘byte’ out of your bill for anything from computers and laptops to printers and scanners.
Government scheme gives SMEs £80 billion to expand
The Government is convinced that small and medium-sized enterprises are the key to dragging Britain out of recession, which is why it has been concentrating its firepower on SMEs. The announcement last week of an £80bn ‘funding for lending’ scheme aimed at small businesses is just the latest in a series of initiatives designed to make sure SMEs have the credit they need to expand.
Will small businesses want the billions offered to them?
Small Talk: With SMEs nervous about their prospects they may not want to add debt to their balance sheets
Alternative funding sources fill gap left by banks
The row over the provision of credit to small and medium sized enterprises continues to rumble on. Statistics published by the banks last week appeared to show that only a tiny minority of SMEs applying for credit are being rejected. But that data was undermined by the first report from the Ombudsman to whom small businesses can appeal if their loan applications are turned down – he said he was upholding more than a third of all such complaints.
James Caan heads Government scheme to help young entrepreneurs
More details are emerging of the Government’s plans to offer loans to young entrepreneurs, with the former Dragon’s Den panellist James Caan this week signed up to head up the scheme. Caan is to be the chairman of the fund management company that will take overall charge of the project, which was first unveiled in the March Budget.