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.

Blog

How do you get the best hourly rate in the gig economy?

A competitive freelance market can make getting a decent hourly rate difficult. What can be done?

Investing in a franchise

Franchise fees explained for prospective franchisees

The cost of a franchise will include the initial fee and, most likely, some kind of continuing fee. Here, we explain the franchise fees to expect as a new franchisee.

Marketing

PPC for e-commerce: a guide for beginners

Thomas Coppen discusses the ins and outs of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising for new business owners. Here's what you need to know.

Small Business Banking

Opening a foreign currency account

If your business has a strong hold in an overseas market, you may benefit from opening a foreign currency account. Here, we look at how to go about it.

Advice

Going into business with a friend: tips for best practice

Two small business owners talk about their experiences of setting up a company with a friend and how to make it through tough times.

Accounting

Deregistering for VAT: How do I go about it?

I registered for VAT voluntarily when setting up my business and would like to deregister. I have stock at the moment of around £3,500 in cost value. What are the implications of this?

Business management

How business incubators help boost growth and innovation

Incubators can speed up the growth of start-ups and guide small companies to success. In this piece, we discuss their rise and the benefits they can bring to your business.

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.

Ben Lobel

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