About

Ben Lobel was the editor of SmallBusiness.co.uk from 2010 to 2018. He specialises in writing for start-up and scale-up companies in the areas of finance, marketing and HR.

Business Loans

How three companies received a start up loan

Here, we look at three small businesses and their efforts to secure finance through the Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust.

News

Time and cost of auto-enrolment concern SMEs in 2016

Managers of UK small businesses have identified the new legal requirement to automatically enrol staff into a qualifying pension scheme as one of the biggest business challenges facing them in 2016.

News

Businesses do not believe they are at risk of cybercrime

Two in five businesses don't feel they are in danger and more than a third of businesses would not know what to do if they became the victim of a cybercrime, research finds.

Office & home working

Tips for expanding office space for a growing team

There comes a point in many businesses when the office space becomes outgrown. Here's what to do in that event.

News

More than half of SMEs failing on security 

Three fifths of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are in severe danger of a security breach, research finds.

Advice

How four small companies experienced trade shows

Obtaining effective but good value marketing is always a challenge for a small company, but trade shows can be a cost-effective way to get the word out. Here, business owners share their opinions of the method.

News

Employees feel in the dark about company information

UK workers are unsatisfied with how much data is revealed to them by bosses, research finds.

News

Self-employed people three times more happy 

Self-employed professionals are more likely to feel happy during work hours as they view their work as a key part of what makes them happy, research finds.

News

IT skills shortage continues to impede businesses

Despite rising rates of educational attainment, employers continue to struggle to hire thanks to troubling skills shortages, a study finds.

News

Small employers urged to take action to prepare for Living Wage compliance

With the introduction of the National Living Wage less than three months away, many employers need to take urgent action to ensure full compliance with this new law, research shows.

News

Number of self-employed people continues to soar

The number of self-employed people has risen by 98,000 in the three months leading up to November 2015, compared to the same period in 2014, according to figures from the ONS.

Government Grants

Receiving a business grant for research and development 

Harry Norman discusses how his business received grants to further research and development into new technologies.