10 Mistakes all new businesses should avoid
Life as an entrepreneur is always a learning process, and you won’t grow without taking risks. Sometimes, you need to trust your judgement, but there are some mistakes you can avoid altogether. Here are 10 common mistakes you need to avoid. 1 Lack of planning Don’t neglect to provide a detailed business plan showing your […]
SMEs have reasons to be cheerful in 2015
The manufacturing and services sectors are growing; the number of firms that are recruiting is at an all-time high; and businesses are well-placed to grow in 2015. These are the findings of the British Chambers of Commerce Q4 Quarterly Economic Survey, which polled almost 7,000 UK businesses. Director general John Longworth said: “With employment and […]
Looking to grow your business? Some tips for safe business expansion
As your start-up business develops, your thoughts may turn to expansion. This can be a scary prospect. It will mean your business enlarging, spreading its wings further afield, and venturing into new markets. It will almost certainly mean you can’t do everything all on your own, and you will need to get familiar with more […]
The Coalition and Business Partnerships
There is an interesting thread on the IOD group on Linkedin on the Cameron-Clegg partnership. There are a lot of sceptics around, but also a few who think it could change the face of politics in the UK. From a business perspective partnerships can work very well, but they are also often the cause of […]
69. Leadership in recession for small business – John Adair’s Action-Centred Leadership
Leadership has become a major management topic in recent years, and there is a tendency to think naturally about large teams and big corporations. Having yesterday attended a workshop of the Leadership Academy at the Open University the subject of leadership and leading out of recession is top of the mind. Small businesses usually lead the […]
68. Social Media for Small Business and PEST analysis
I attended some time ago an advanced social media workshop which is run for the St Albans Enterprise Agency by two of its licensees: FL1 Solutions and Cerco Communications. The social media offer a wealth of opportunities for small businesses and it is such a fast-moving and dynamic area that any business these days has to […]
67. Leadership thinking for small business (part 2)
Leadership for small business is essential but so often forgotten. We scanned some of the theories in the last of these. So what should a small business person do with all this theory? Most importantly, to be aware. Be aware of the need to lead as well as to manage your business; be aware of […]
66. Leadership thinking for small business (part 1)
We have been looking at some of the motivational theories and how they apply to small business. In the area of leadership, the gurus come by the pile, with lots of theory and not much evidence. What it is critical for a small business to know is that leadership is not the same as management, […]
65. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y for small business
McGregor published his book, The Human Side of Enterprise, back in 1960, and it has been influential ever since. He suggested 2 approaches to management. Theory X managers believe that employees do not like work and have to be managed with carrot and stick to get anything done; Theory Y managers believe that people get […]
64. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and small business
Abraham Maslow published his theory in 1943 and it has been influential ever since. He believed a lot of psychological theory had been based on people with significant problems, so he studied people who were not clearly in difficulties, and came to a different perspective on motivation in particular. The theory is represnted as a pyramid with […]
