How I started The Bottled Baking Co
The dream of any small business must be to get their products stocked by renowned high-street retailers. But, as anyone will tell you, reaching the right buyers and convincing them to sell your products is far from easy. In this fascinating start-up story, we speak to Greg Fraser, founder of The Bottled Baking Co which…
How print on demand enabled me to start my business
When you start your own business, you must minimise your start-up costs, because then your business starts to make a profit much sooner. If you have to shell out for stock, it increases your start-up costs considerably. And you tie up money you could have used to run your business, while there’s also a risk…
How to develop confidence in your new business
Confidence is said to be everything. That’s not strictly true, because other things in life and business are also important. But, confidence can help you to overcome challenges, build relationships, take risks, deal with setbacks but ultimately achieve great things. You need to have confidence in yourself and your business. So, why might that not…
How to increase online sign-ups, enquiries or sales
Does your website successfully convert web traffic into paying customers? Does it deliver what your customers expect? What are the essential elements that every website needs to persuade visitors to sign up, enquire or make a purchase? Why does web design matter and how do you keep visitors engaged and coming back for more? Answering…
Boost your website’s Google ranking
Even if you don’t sell online, having a great website is a must. Before many customers will buy from you, they’ll want to find out more about what you sell and how much you charge. Many will also want to know more about your story, who you are, your values as a business and what…
How to generate sales leads for your business
Success and indeed survival in business relies upon making enough sales. If you don’t, you’ll soon run out of cash and that’s likely to spell the end for your business. If you are to make enough sales, you must generate sufficient sales leads, which is a never-ending challenge, because all businesses lose customers over time. So,…
How innovation and social media fuelled CRIMPiT’s success
Who among us doesn’t enjoy a toastie or Mexican-style wrap? Both can be a delicious snack or meal. CRIMPiT is a successful, award-winning new British business. Its clever, innovative products offer a quick, easy and mess-free way to create delicious toasties using your kitchen toaster or burritos, calzones, enchiladas, kebabs and pasties that can be…
How to start a successful small retail business
There are more than 310,000 retail businesses in the UK, which is 5.7% of all businesses, with SMEs accounting for more than 99% of them. Many UK retail businesses, especially those in the high street, have had a very tough time in recent years, having battled Covid and a record inflation-fuelled cost-of-living crisis that’s left…
How to use music to create a great customer experience
Creating a great customer experience is crucial, especially for new and established businesses operating in retail and hospitality. If you don’t create a great experience, many customers will avoid your business or head for the exit not long after entering your premises. There are many ways to encourage a great customer experience, but the potential…
How Ecoegg revolutionised the laundry industry
How and why would a small business attempt to take on multinational companies? Can a small business even compete in a market dominated by a handful of big players? In short, yes! Dawn White of Ecoegg did just that. Dawn battled eczema while growing up and her struggles with sensitive skin inspired her to create…
How to create a brilliant business plan for your small business
If you don’t have a well researched business plan, you may still be able to start and grow a reasonably successful business – but it may never achieve its full potential. To do that, you need goals and a successful strategy that enables you to achieve them. So, what are the key components of a…
How to future-proof your small business
What does the future hold for small businesses in the UK in the next five to ten years? What are the small business trends and which businesses are most likely to survive and succeed? How will customer wants and needs change and how might small businesses market their products and services to them? Will online…
How to buy and sell wholesale
Many new small independent retailers buy their stock wholesale, often from small suppliers, makers and craft businesses. It can really set you apart by providing you with high quality, exclusive stock that’s superior to the mass-produced options sold by others. But where do you find such suppliers and how do you negotiate good deals? Consultant…
Key tasks you need to complete when starting your own business
Starting your own business is challenging. If you haven’t done it before, you’ll inevitably lack know-how, while there are common pitfalls to avoid. So, what key tasks do you need to complete when setting up your own business, if you’re to get off to the best possible start? Start-up and small-business content expert, journalist Mark…
How to start a scalable business
While some businesses grow steadily over many years, others achieve significant growth in a far shorter time and are started with that key aim. A high-growth business is called a scale-up. A scalable business is defined as a business with average annual growth of at least 20% in the past three years, with at least…
How to use email marketing to grow your business
Email marketing can be a highly cost-effective way to attract and retain customers, but your strategy and content must be right if you are to get the open rates and click-throughs that lead to sales. Laura Hanlon of Birmingham-based agency Pink Leopard reveals the secrets of building good email marketing lists, sending emails in the…
Start-up story – Charlie Low and Dale Comley of Nohma
In 2019, tired of their daily commutes and living for weekends, Charlie Low, then head of analytics for an adventure travel company, and design consultancy engineer Dale Comely decided to leave the nine-to-five behind by converting an old DHL delivery van into an off-grid mobile home, so they could live a simpler life and travel…
How small-business owners can gain from peer group support
Running a small business can leave you feeling isolated and lonely at times. Often you have no one to share your thoughts and feelings with. That’s when reaching out to other small-business owners can really help. Great value can be gained from seeking their independent opinions (and giving them yours). Many formal peer networking options…
How to start and run a business with a family member
There are more than five million family businesses in the UK. They employ 14.2 million people and generate a quarter of UK GDP. Many people who start a business do so with a family member, whether their spouse, partner, sibling, son or daughter or other relation. And although there can be many pros to going…
Start-up Story – Matt Mahatme of Lixir Drinks
Ex-bartender, Matt Mahatme, launched Lixir Drinks with his childhood friend Jordan Palmer in 2018. They spotted a gap in the market for tonics and mixers that combined big flavours with less sugar, fewer calories and nothing artificial. Matt and Jordan are proud disruptors who wanted to create a brand with an edge and a contemporary…
How to become more confident when running a small business
Some people ooze self-confidence. Others aren’t very self-confident at all. Most of us are probably somewhere in between. Often, it is the things that happen to us in life and business that damages our self-confidence. Why do some people lack self-confidence while others are supremely confident? How can you boost your self-confidence? Self-confidence and human…
How to keep your business afloat when times are tough
Following a year of eye-watering inflation in 2022, especially energy prices, economic forecasts for the UK for 2023 make for sobering reading. According to the Bank of England, the UK is facing its longest recession since records began, while the UK Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the UK economy to shrink by 1.4% in…
How to get more done each day
Time is the one thing that small-business owners don’t have enough of, with many having to work long hours. Those starting a new business often must work even longer hours to get their business off the ground and into profit. So, what’s the key to making best use of every minute of every day? What…
How to grow your new small business
More than 640,000 new businesses are started each year in the UK and most don’t grow much, they pretty much stay as one man/woman-band enterprises, which suits their owners. Others are more ambitious, they want to take on staff, win more customers, expand their operation, grow their business and take it to new heights. But…
Start-up story – Surlender Pendress of Love Writing Co
The best start-up advice usually comes from the best-placed experts of all – those who’ve actually been there and done it. In this episode, we speak to Surlender Pendress, co-founder of Love Writing Co, which is based in the West Midlands. Love Writing Co sells innovative writing pencils, erasable colour pencils and washable crayons developed…
How to use Instagram to grow your small business
Instagram is the world’s seventh most-visited website. Some 1.22bn people use Instagram each month, with 18 to 34-year-olds making up the biggest share of Instagram’s audience. About 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business, and reportedly, half of its users have discovered new brands via Instagram. When you get it right, Instagram can…
Get the right tech for your new business
Making sure that you have the right IT can enable your new business to quickly get established and grow. If you don’t have the right hardware and software – it will hold you back. In this episode, we speak to leading small-business technology expert, Richard Hillsdon, of Caerphilly-based IT consultancy Tekeez, which provides IT systems,…
Start-up Story – Troy Johnson of Sweet Dee’s Jerk
The best start-up advice usually comes from those who’ve been there and done it. In this start-up story episode, we speak to Troy Johnson, co-founder of Sweet Dee’s Jerk (Juici Jerk at the time of recording), an award-winning Caribbean food brand, kitchen and meal-kit maker, which is based in Tooting, South London. Sweet Dee’s Jerk…
How to provide excellent customer service
Offering superior customer service is a proven way that small businesses can be more attractive to customers and lure them away from larger and more established competitors. But any commitment to offering superior customer service must be firm and consistent throughout your business. In this episode, we speak to leading customer service expert Stephanie Edwards…
How to start a new business on a shoestring budget
More than 640,000 new businesses are launched each year in the UK and the popularity of starting up continues to grow. But significantly rising costs mean many people will have to try to start their own business with little or no money. In this first episode of our third series, we get top money-saving start-up…
How to succeed when selling face-to-face
Regardless of where you are selling – from a market stall, shop, garage, restaurant, or café – being able to sell successfully face-to-face is key to success. It comes more naturally to some rather than others, but by adding a little knowledge and experience, most people can drastically improve their face-to face selling technique. In…
Recruiting and managing staff
Recruiting and managing staff can be a legal minefield with costly consequences if you get it wrong. There’s a wide range of legislation you must comply with as an employer if you want to steer clear of trouble. In this episode, we speak to employment law specialist Hannah Thomas of Markel Law. She explains how…
How Clear Three made their business carbon neutral
As well as being better for the planet, being a net-zero business can bring a range of bottom line benefits. However, according to FSB research, although most small firms are concerned about climate change, only one-in-three has a plan to help tackle it. In this episode, consultant Graham Oakley explains how his business ensures that…
How to win customers with digital advertising
Digital advertising can enable businesses of all sizes to attract customers. Its popularity continues to grow. About £10.5bn was spent on digital advertising in the UK in the first half of 2021 – 42% higher than in H1 2019. Paid search makes up 36% of UK digital advertising spend, followed by digital display (27%). In…
What allowable expenses can sole traders claim?
Filing a tax return is frequently cited as the worst aspect of being self employed. And there’s little wonder. With complicated rules on what you must declare, how you must submit your return and when, combined with the threat of penalties for late and incorrect filing, these findings are no surprise. Then there’s the whole…
How to deal with stress and set backs
Stress is the leading cause of long-term sickness absence and accounts for approximately 57% of all long-term sickness. According to the Health and Safety Executive, between 2020 and 2021 822,000 UK workers suffered from work-related stress, depression, or anxiety Workplace stress can be caused by poor people management, long hours, and a lack of work-life…
How Grasmere Gingerbread started selling online
The COVID-19 lockdowns meant many businesses had to close their doors to customers. For some businesses, who already had an online presence, selling online became a vital lifeline and source of income. Others, who did not have an online presence, were faced with having no way to reach customers. The need for all small businesses…
Make offline marketing work for your small business
Such has been digital marketing’s rise to prominence you could be forgiven for thinking that there’s no point in bothering with offline marketing. But for many start-ups and small businesses with a limited budget, tried and tested offline marketing techniques continue to offer excellent returns, helping them to attract and retain customers In this episode,…
Protect your wellbeing as a small business manager
Starting a business can be an exciting time and there are hundreds of things you will need to consider. It’s likely that with all the other demands vying for attention, you haven’t considered how you can protect your mental and physical health. This could be a mistake In this episode we speak to Christine Husbands,…
How to set up a successful ecommerce business
An introduction to selling online, whether via marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and Etsy, or your own ecommerce or general website In this episode we speak to online selling expert, Chris Dawson of Tamebay, who talks about the advantages of selling online and guides us through selling via popular marketplace platforms. Show notes Find links…
How to market your new business online
An unmissable introduction to the all-important business of online marketing and digital marketing methods you can use to attract and retain customers In this episode we speak to Aggie Meroni to find out all about social media marketing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and search engine marketing (SEO), so you stand a better chance of…
Start-up Story Lee DeSanges of restaurant Baked In Brick
Discover how a wood-fired pizza oven and a shed at the bottom led this week’s guest on a start-up journey that involved a hair-raising European road trip that resulted in him winning the accolade of ‘Best Street Food in Europe’ In this episode we speak to Lee DeSanges, founder of Birmingham-based Baked In Brick, a…
Raising start-up funding and managing cashflow
Why it’s important to spend as little as possible when starting a business, where to get funding and tips on cash flow management and setting prices In this episode we speak to Guy Bridge to find out about the pros and cons of various sources of start-up funding. Is it possible to start a business…
How to create a winning brand and business name
Why a brand is much more than just colours, fonts or slogans and how to come up with a great business name In this episode we speak to Liz Mosley to learn the importance of creating a strong, distinctive brand when starting a business. We hear about the importance of brand values and how to…
Start-up Story – Eve Kekeh of baby clothing service Bundlee
Pick up top tips and learn key start-up lessons from the biggest experts of all – those who’ve actually been there and started their own business In this episode we speak to Eve Kekeh, London-based founder of Bundlee, the UK’s first and most popular baby clothing rental subscription service. Eve explains why she started her…
Forming a business
Sole trader, limited company or partnership? The pros and cons of the main business formation options and how to legally register your new business. In this episode, we speak to expert Carl Reader, who talks through the main options for forming a business, the pros and cons of each option, how to register and the…