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.

News

Free risk assessment for your business

With tribunals over workplace accidents on the increase due to stricter safety rules, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is looking to help small firms reduce the risk of accidents, with the launch of a free online risk assessment service.

Business management

Businesses struggle with finance questions

Small business owners have shown a “worryingly low level of understanding of some of the most basic businesses practices” according to the first national IQ test of entrepreneurs.

Legal advice

How to develop your terms and conditions

Terms and conditions (also known as terms of trade), whether they apply to sales or services, are essential to your business as they set out the level of responsibilities that apply to you and your customers.

Buying and selling a company

Finding a business for sale

There are three key stages when it comes to buying a business: finding one, valuing it and financing the purchase.

Marketing

Building your brand

As soon as you start your business, you should be thinking about the brand you are trying to get across to customers. The aim of your brand is to distinguish your product or service from the competition.

Buying and selling a company

Buying a business

This fortnight Lesley-Anne McKenna asks what loans are available when buying a business.

Finding and selling to customers

How to win new business

The focus in this article is on winning new business. Tony Wilford of Plan-it UK asked for tips on becoming a preferred supplier.

News

Flexible ways of working

A sharp increase in the number of people working long hours and taking time off for work-related stress has led to a call for employers to take steps to help employees develop a work-life balance.

News

Learn the basics of financial management

Poor financial management is costing Britain’s small businesses £1.5 billion a year, thanks to a lack of basic financial know-how.

News

Identifying and preventing fraud

Small- and medium-sized enterprises do not commit enough resources to tackling fraud.

News

Guide to better credit checking

A new guide on how to run credit checks has been published by the Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG) to help reduce one of small businesses particular headaches, late payments.

News

How to win customers online and make them stay

Government e-commerce promoter UK online for business has produced a free guide for small businesses on how to optimise online sales and get their sites noticed.