Posted on June 5, 2009 by Nick
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I hope I’ve been broad enough in my declared opinions for you not to be able to guess which way I vote in political elections. After all, that’s nobody’s business but my own.
I’m not going to tell you here how I voted on Thursday (although [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, marketing, sales, service | Tagged: british politics, business, business and politics, business survival, customer service, depression, downturn, economic recovery, economy, election, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, european election, general election, marketing, recession, recovery, run a business, sales, start a business, turnaround | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 1, 2009 by Nick
I am watching a manufacturing edifice come crumbling down. As I write, the future of General Motors, a global manufacturing behemoth, hangs in the balance. At least, that’s what the media and politicians would like you to think. There’s a lot of kudos in last-minute rescues, so let’s not pretend all is lost.
GM is not going [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, sales | Tagged: build a business, business, depression, downturn, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, general motors, GM, recession, run a business, start a business, unions | 3 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2009 by Nick
Like many hoity-toity Londoners, I don’t get out of London much.
It’s a bit like being a politician – I get the feeling that the fine upstanding folk of Westminster don’t much like getting their hands dirty by going out to their constituencies and seeing how the other half live!
But last week, I did leave the [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, retail | Tagged: Birmingham, business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Halfords, heavy industry, manufacturing, retail, run a business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 1, 2009 by Nick
If you read my last posting, you’ll know that I’m now on the hunt for a new office. My situation is just a bit of a shame. But the following shows that I have actually been quite lucky, compared to some.
I had lunch today with a good friend, a successful CEO who is highly ethical [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance | Tagged: business, business scam, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, MLS, office space, premises, run a business, scam, serviced office, start a business | 3 Comments »
Posted on April 23, 2009 by Nick
I’ve been wondering what to say about Budget 2009.
Truth is, this will go down as one of the strangest budgets in history. It’s one in which Mr Darling split the economy into neatly separated areas, which apparently don’t ever meet or interact.
Darling is rightly concerned (worried? petrified?) about the state of the macro-economy. There was [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance | Tagged: budget, budget 2009, business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, finance, run a business, start a business, tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 17, 2009 by Nick
On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend the first of the 2009 series of Digital Dinners, an informal (i.e. quite boozy) gathering of people who work in my business – the digital communications industry. It’s a great place to meet a small number of players and actully get a chance to speak to everyone; [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, retail, sales | Tagged: british business, business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, environmental issues, environmentalism, green, green business, jaguar, motor industry, motoring, paul walsh, recession, recovery, run a business, start a business, tata | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 14, 2009 by Nick
Hello! I hope you had a fine and restful Easter!
I’ve been trying to resist writing about BBC1’s bizfest, The Apprentice, but I can’t help it. It’s getting me quite annoyed.
Let me be fair, here. We’re into Series 5 (yup, 5!) and rather like Big Brother, that means that the game has changed a little. The [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, people skills, sales, service | Tagged: Amstrad, apprentice, BBC, Big Brother, business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, run a business, Ryanair, start a business, The Apprentice | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 9, 2009 by Nick
All things considered, it’s been a pretty good first quarter to the year.
Business isn’t exploding and I’m not hiring more staff, but equally we haven’t been hit by the recession. Work is still coming in, we’ve trimmed back costs where necessary, and no clients have left us.
However, June is coming. Let me explain.
Working for small [...]
Filed under: finance, marketing, sales | Tagged: business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, procurement, run a business, sales, start a business | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 3, 2009 by Nick
There are times when I wonder whether I have any authority whatsoever to write this blog. I certainly ought to get some guest writers in, because sometimes I just don’t have all the answers.
Last week, I made a bit of a schoolboy error- the sort that sales experts hand out a real slap on the [...]
Filed under: finance, marketing, sales | Leave a Comment »
Posted on February 16, 2009 by Nick
One of the things you get used to when you start your own business is living on fresh air. It’s an acquired taste, but if there’s one thing I hear all the time when I speak to new entrepreneurs, it’s their shock at how fast money can disappear.
Unless you’re very rich, or very clever, the [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance | Tagged: finance, business, money, startup, entrepreneurship, small business, start a business, starting a business, running a business, small companies, start your own business, entrepreneur, business finance, business advice, company, revenue, personal finance, cashflow | 1 Comment »
