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 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 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 »
Posted on December 12, 2008 by Nick
There’s something wrong in the air for the car industry.
As I write, in the US, the House of Representatives in the US has just approved a £9bn bailout for the States’ beleaguered car industry (particularly Chrysler and GM- Ford has said it will not be using the bailout money).
Sweden has just announced a similar £2.3bn [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, sales | Tagged: agility, business, change, change management, Chrysler, downturn, entrepreneur, finance, Ford, GM, motor industry, recession, runnin your business, start a business | 1 Comment »
Posted on December 1, 2008 by Nick
I’ve held off ranting about the VAT cut until now, because I wanted to speak to a few other entrepreneurs, to see what they think. So: the results are in, and here is the news…
Firstly, I was on my way home at 11.45 last night, and couldn’t fill the car up with petrol because all [...]
Filed under: finance, retail, sales, technology | Tagged: 15%, business, finance, price policy, prices, retail, running a business, start a business, VAT, VAT change | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 27, 2008 by Nick
Do you run a shop? Read on, then…
As I write, it appears that Woolworth’s, staple of the high street for 99 years, is to be put into administration.
For fans of slightly soggy pick’n’mix- or sweets with a strange rubbery patina from the fingers of 50 other small children, this is bad news.
I genuinely sympathise with [...]
Filed under: current affairs, retail, sales, service | Tagged: bank, business, finance, Hilco, pick'n'mix, recession, retail, risk, running a business, sales, shopfitting, start a business, start your own business, store, Woolies, Woolworths | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 25, 2008 by Nick
Hi all,
As you now no doubt know, VAT has been reduced (on most products and services) to 15%; from December 1st 2008; for at least a year.
If you provide a service to your clients (as I do), get your invoices out fast! The essential fact here is that the applicable date is the date of [...]
Filed under: finance, tips | Tagged: business, entrpreneurship, finance, invoices, invoicing, late payment, payment, recession, start a business, VAT, VAT cut | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 7, 2008 by Nick
Yesterday, the Monetary Policy Committee cut the base rate of interest by a whopping 1.5%; from 4.5% to 3%.
If you’re a homeowner, you’ll know that rates usually change in increments of one quarter of a percent, so a change six times as large is a sure sign of an economy teetering on the edges of [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance | Tagged: borrowing, business, downturn, economy, finance, interest rate, macroeconomics, monetary policy, mortgage, MPC, recession, run a business, saving, start a business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 24, 2008 by Nick
I was recently lucky enough to be invited by effervescent entrepreneur Tom Ball of Cognac to a lunch, where a bunch of us business types discussed the doom and gloom of recession, and what we thought businesses could do to survive.
I thought you might be interested in their collective wisdom, so, here are some of [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, marketing, sales, technology, tips | Tagged: advice, angels den, bill morrow, bloor research, business advice, business finance, cognac, downturn, expert advice, experts, finance, george emsden, in2 consulting, justin speake, rebecca caroe, recession, run a business, start a business, tom ball | 2 Comments »
Posted on October 21, 2008 by Nick
Just thought you might all like this helpful advice from the latest edition of NatWest’s “MoneySense” magazine!…
Filed under: finance | Tagged: debt, debt management, finance | Leave a Comment »
