GB | Growing Business

Those who subscribe to a traditional definition of 'entrepreneur' will become uncomfortable with the word's ubiquity, says James Hurley. Sunday Times news editor turned entrepreneur Greg Hadfield, who sold Soccernet to ESPN for £15m in 1999, and until last month worked as head of digital development at The Telegraph , recently suggested the word ‘entrepreneur’ faces an imminent fall from grace. Speaking to an audience of journalists and publishers, he recalled his early career...
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By James Hurley in blog
20/01/10 17:15

How to make your website the route to new customers

Richard Stobart, managing director of web consultancy Unboxed Consulting, explains why taking an established website to the next level needn’t require hefty investment. Your company’s website is more important than ever before. Many companies are opening up their site as a portal for customers to engage with the company and each other, to buy, browse, comment and criticise. In the current climate it’s an easy way to extend your reach to new customers, encourage existing customers to s...
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By Richard Stobart in blog
15/01/10 11:42

Quotes of 2009

It's been a tough year for businesses large and small, but that hasn't stopped owner-managers talking a good game. Of the hundreds of entrepreneurs we've spoken to over the past year, here’s a small selection of some of the memorable pearls of wisdom the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs gave us in 2009: Philip Green, Acadia Group Charles Dunstone, Carphone Warehouse Deborah Meaden, Dragon Simon Calver, Lovefilm ...
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in blog
18/12/09 17:00

Pre-Budget report: The small business verdict

This week’s Pre-Budget Report (PBR) has received a mixed response. Some called it electioneering. On last night's Question Time , for instance, former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown described the one-off tax on bankers’ bonuses worth more than £25,000 “a piece of gesture politics that will never work”. Suggesting that banks will be able to sidestep the levy fairly easily, he added that it was “more riddled with holes that a cheese grater”. Meanwhile, John Wright, national ch...
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in blog
11/12/09 17:00

Managing your online reputation

A strong online reputation is something that you build in the good times. Unfortunately that’s a bit like saying the best way to cure a hangover is to drink a little bit less the night before, but the best time to do this is certainly not when you’re in a crisis situation. News is increasingly breaking online, and the immediacy of things like Twitter and Facebook means that it can spread very quickly. If your website is revenue-generating, monitoring what’s being said about you online ...
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By Will Critchlow in blog
11/12/09 15:45

Bridging the gender gap in business financing

Julie Hall, founder of Women Unlimited, on why women need to start learning the language of equity finance According to a recent report by the Women’s Enterprise Forum, the average amount of money needed to start-up a high-growth business is £120,000. However, what we find is that while male and female-owned businesses both need the same amount of money to get off the ground, where they get that money from differs greatly. Like it or not, the gender divide exists in financing bus...
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By Julie Hall in blog
02/12/09 10:33

How to manage working capital

Martin Mitchell, head of operations at financial training firm CTG, explains why entrepreneurs should put working capital management at the core of the business’ operations. Many entrepreneurs think their business is financially sound if it’s making profits, but that isn’t always true. The demands of working capital mean that even profitable companies can run out of the cash that’s needed to meet current expenses such as payroll, benefits, rent, and other liabilities, particularly duri...
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By Martin Mitchell in blog
25/11/09 10:55

What I've learned about entrepreneurship

I have been exposed to entrepreneurialism throughout my working career. In 2000, I left university to join Espotting, which was the first paid for search placement player in Europe. I was part of a hugely entrepreneurial and exceptional but small team of people, who together created a large and successful company that was to sell for millions of pounds. Being involved in this cycle of aggressive growth was hugely exhilarating and instilled in me the desire to build my own business.
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By Satish Jayakumar in blog
10/11/09 09:30

Prepare your business for the upturn

Business expert René Carayol and Barclays’ local business MD Steve Cooper give their tips on how your business can get ahead of the recovery. Last month, we announced details of a series of regional networking events we’re running in conjunction with Barclays which will help entrepreneurs prepare for the upturn. The ‘Let’s Talk Preparing for Growth’ seminars, free to attend for Growing Business readers, will be led by business and leadership expert René Carayol and will provide ...
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in blog
09/10/09 12:19

Why green isn't just for big business

Having recently chaired an excellent event on sustainable entrepreneurship at the IOD I had the good fortune to meet with Colin Challen MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group, but came away a little less than my usually positive self. Colin presented the challenge well and the message from him and other panel members showed that we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 76% from their 1999 levels by 2050 in order to stabilise the environment. Collectively we face a mas...
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By Simon Godfrey in blog
09/10/09 11:40

Making the most of your FD

David Bloom, managing director of fd unlimited, on how fast growth companies can get the best value from finance directors. Spinvox, the telco play that enjoyed significant growth before its recent and very public fall from grace, would seem to have suffered both publicly and internally by the lack of a finance director. The finance director’s (FD) primary role in fast growth environments is to support the CEO in delivering the strategic vision by ensuring the business is suitably...
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By David Bloom in blog
30/09/09 09:41

James Caan's verdict on Labour’s enterprise policy

The Dragon delivers his verdict on Labour’s record on supporting small businesses – and asks if the Tories represent better value for the entrepreneur’s vote. The UK is currently one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world and ahead of Germany, France and Italy according to annual research published by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), but there remains significant headway required to reach the levels of the United States and Australia. We are an incredibly entrepr...
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By James Caan in blog
07/09/09 15:48