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.

Finding and selling to customers

Six tactics to get more clients for your start-up social media agency

Gavin Hammar discusses the six most effective tactics he has adopted at his social media agency to gain clients early on.

Employing & managing staff

Fixing staff retention issues in the hospitality industry

Staff retention in hospitality is among the poorest of any sector. Here, we reveal what hospitality businesses can do to address the issue.

Employing & managing staff

Five employee benefits to attract the best talent when recruiting for your business

Here are five employee benefits your small business could adopt in order to stand out from the larger organisations and attract the best possible talent.

International Business

Air freight guide: Process, costs, and timelines

If you’re weighing up your options for importing or exporting, you’ll want to do some research on the advantages and disadvantages of using air freight. Here’s all you need to know.

Business Ideas & Planning

Top five business ideas for students

In this article, we've put together five ideas that you can use while you’re still a student to start your own business.

Accounting

How to tackle PAYE in your small business

The rules and red tape around hiring staff for the first time can be daunting for any small business owner. So read our guide on how to tackle PAYE.

Accounting

Accounts and tax: A small business guide to managing your finances

In this piece, we share some essential tips on managing your accounts and tax, from tackling tax returns to beating late payment.

Marketing

Top things to consider when organising networking events

Here, we shares some advice on how you can run successful networking events as a small business.

Business Loans

How a small company can get a business loan: Three options

Here, we look at three routes to debt finance for your small company.

Blog

Is diversity too big an issue for small businesses?

The benefits of a diverse workforce are clear to see. But if the opportunity for diversity doesn't present itself, can it be an unrealistic goal for a small business owner?

Small Business Banking

Interview with David Beaty, UK head of business banking at HSBC

We talk to HSBC's UK head of business banking about the structure of the bank's SME services, how Brexit is encouraging positive export intentions and the relationship today's customers seek with their bank.