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Running a Business

This section takes you through every important aspect of how to run a successful business. It offers expert guides and advice articles on the key elements of business management such as employing staff, finding customers, marketing and sales, pricing, people management, office and home working, business technology and everything else an entrepreneur must tackle in order to succeed.

Do you have to advertise vacancies internally in all circumstances?

The advertising of vacancies is, to a degree, a balancing act.

Employing & managing staff

Employing & managing staff

The benefits of a virtual workforce

If things start to get on top of you while running a successful small business, it may become necessary to enlist further help. Yet employing additional, permanent staff brings with it extra headaches. SmallBusiness.co.uk spoke to Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and chief executive of online skills marketplace Peopleperhour.com about the benefits of using a virtual workforce.

Business management

How to reduce your business overhead costs

Increasing the turnover of your business is not always enough to improve your profit margins. Cost control and reduction of overheads play an important part in managing the margins of small businesses.

Finding and selling to customers

Get your customers to buy more

Sales form the backbone of any business, whether you provide a service or sell products in a retail outlet, you can't survive without customers. Enticing those customers in can be a challenge.

Finding and selling to customers

Essential guide to business presentations

Just thinking about giving a presentation can make you feel nervous but for a small business owner, presentations are an excellent marketing tool that tell potential customers what you do and why they should use your business. Here are some tips from SmallBusiness.co.uk and procedure and training specialist Sarah Dobson to help you prepare.

Marketing

Adverts with impact

When you're first creating advertising for your small business, it's very tempting to try to go for the flashy, clever adverts. But adverts with impact are those that actually generate customers and, with a limited budget, you may end up biting off more than you can chew. Have a look at or top tips to help you along.

Business management

Lessons Learned: Ian Merricks, MD, Itchy Media

Ian Merricks began his career as a record promoter in 1996, specialising in youth media. In 2007, he raised private equity for the MBO of media and marketing company Itchy Group, for whom he has overseen five acquisitions and several million pounds of private investment. SmallBusiness.co.uk sat down for a cup of tea with him to find out the secret to his success.

Business Technology

Coping with data loss

According to data recovery firm Ontrack, 89 per cent of companies fail to allocate budget for data recovery and 78 per cent have experienced data loss in the past 12 months. SmallBusiness.co.uk offers the following tips on handling data.

Business management

Lessons Learned: Ian Merricks, MD, Itchy Media

Ian Merricks began his career as a record promoter in 1996, specialising in youth media. In 2007, he raised private equity for the MBO of media and marketing company Itchy Group, for whom he has overseen five acquisitions and several million pounds of private investment. SmallBusiness.co.uk sat down for a cup of tea with him to find out the secret to his success.

Business Technology

Coping with data loss

According to data recovery firm Ontrack, 89 per cent of companies fail to allocate budget for data recovery and 78 per cent have experienced data loss in the past 12 months. SmallBusiness.co.uk offers the following tips on handling data.

Buying and selling a company

Need to sell my business

My business has been for sale with incompetent agents. I must sell as soon as I can due to severe health needs. The business is solvent and profitable but needs total commitment. I am a sole trader with no family and cannot afford to walk away. Are there other options open to me?

Business management

Lessons Learned: Derek Browne, CEO, Entrepreneurs in Action

Derek Browne left a lucrative career in the City to start his own business, Entrepreneurs in Action, aimed at teaching students the value of entrepreneurship. He went on to win Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2006 and to act as coach and business mentor for Jaime Oliver’s four graduates on the Channel 4 ‘Jamie's Chef’ show.

Employing & managing staff

Annual leave for part-timers

Our full-time staff work 37 hours a week with 4 weeks annual leave excluding bank holidays. Part-timers work different hours each day. How do I calculate their leave? How do I calculate it if they change their contractual hours?

Buying and selling a company

Buying a going concern: employees contracts

I'm buying a shop which employs two staff, one of whom I will no longer need as I'll be working there myself. Is it reasonable to ask the vendor to tell the employee, arrange a leaving date etc, or must everyone stay in their jobs until after the handover?

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Employing & managing staff

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