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Blog

The small business blog for owner managers providing opinion & comment on all things related to small businesses

How to improve your credit rating

Credit makes the business world go round. And when it stops, you may find your plans to start up, stay afloat or expand come to a grinding halt. Now more than ever it is important to make sure you have a good credit history. Annelies Van de Velde on behalf of Aqua Credit Card gives her top tips on how to get into your creditors' good books.

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Blog

Great British inventions

Being British sometimes feels synonymous with a resigned acceptance of disappointment. A feeling football, cricket and tennis fans know all too well. Having brought these great sports to the world, we can now quietly murmur into our pints that we’re ‘not bad’ at most of them.

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Brave new world

As Spanish banking giant Santander completes its rebranding of Abbey National and Bradford and Bingley this month, and American conglomerate Kraft swallows up Cadbury, many may feel a pang of sadness as the darlings of British business keep diminishing.

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The forgotten Christmas bonus

As staff wind down for Christmas, owners worry about lost productivity caused by the month's distractions. However, Christmas can be a great time to get ahead with word of mouth referrals, writes Charlie Lawson, national director of Business Networking International.

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The Rowlands Review – Money isn’t everything 

To little fanfare, the Rowlands review was published this week. In case you’re wondering, it’s a government-backed report looking at the Provision of Growth Capital to UK SMEs.

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Access to finance 

Small businesses are being promised the world as the next General Election looms closer.

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How to resolve business disputes and disagreements

Whether it's about late payments, pricing or quality of service, disagreements can quickly turn nasty in business. Mark Tudor, a principal at the law firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP, looks at how to resolve disputes between small businesses speedily and effectively.

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Hustlers and Gurus – 2 self-help books on business

Self-help books on business are often contradictions in terms. They're the equivalent of playing The Beatles: Rock Band on a games console - in your head, you're on the rooftop of Apple Records in Savile Row, playing Get Back to hundreds of people, whereas in reality you're a friendless adult, alone in a living room, frantically pressing coloured buttons.

Blog

How to resolve business disputes and disagreements

Whether it's about late payments, pricing or quality of service, disagreements can quickly turn nasty in business. Mark Tudor, a principal at the law firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP, looks at how to resolve disputes between small businesses speedily and effectively.

Blog

Hustlers and Gurus – 2 self-help books on business

Self-help books on business are often contradictions in terms. They're the equivalent of playing The Beatles: Rock Band on a games console - in your head, you're on the rooftop of Apple Records in Savile Row, playing Get Back to hundreds of people, whereas in reality you're a friendless adult, alone in a living room, frantically pressing coloured buttons.

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Get back to the future

Failure, not necessity, is the mother of invention.

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Be ready for the best and worst of times

The uncertainty we all face has been exacerbated in recent years by, among other things, globalisation and the growing interconnectedness of the world.

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Keeping the Bank happy

Trevor Nobbs, associate director of Barclays business support team, to offer some top tips to staying on your bank manager's good side during the downturn.

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Why we need women in business

‘There aren’t enough women in business,’ goes the age-old debate. When you listen to some commentators, you’d be forgiven for thinking we were stuck in a time where the right to vote was still a dream in the pretty little head of Emmeline Pankhurst.

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What are the benefits of business broadband?

Business broadband offers a host of advantages over standard domestic connections, here’s why you should be considering an upgrade

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How should I select my business broadband provider?

As with any supplier, it’s important to do your research and ask important questions before you select a broadband provider for your business. But what are the must-have things you should take into consideration?

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Why your business should switch to a broadband-based phone network

Analogue phone systems are increasingly being replaced by smarter broadband based networks – here’s why you should consider switching

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Streamlining document management for your small business

David Malan, sales director of DocuWare for the UK and Ireland, explains how the platform can streamline your document management