Archive for August, 2009
By in Uncategorized
Home business website, Enterprise Nation, is going on a national road trip to produce a documentary on the rise of home business in the UK.
Starting in Scotland on Monday 14 September, a crew of three ( Emma Jones, Founder, Enterprise Nation; Tim Sargent, Mint Video; and Nick Clark, 1st Class Travel) will travel south to interview home business owners and talk to experts and politicians, with the team expecting to meet over 400 businesses at events and meet-ups over the course of the week.
More than 2 million businesses are run full-time from home but the documentary will also take a closer look at what Enterprise Nation has termed the ‘Working 5 to 9′ trend that is seeing millions of people hold down a day job and build a business at nights and weekends. It’s a way of easing out of insecure employment, into self-employment.
Founder of Enterprise Nation, Emma Jones, says:
‘Streets are buzzing with people starting and growing their own business. Amazing businesses that utilise the best of technology to make and sell niche products and services. We’ll be revealing the stories of people turning business dreams into reality and showing that home business is truly the bright spot of the UK economy. Yet we don’t think enough is being done to allow home business to flourish - and it remains almost a hidden sector - so we’ll be calling for action from policy makers and politicians and recording their response.”
The Enterprise Nation team will visit home business hotspots in Scotland, North East, London, South West and return home to the West Midlands on Friday 18 September. They will film by day and at night host get-togethers for anyone starting and growing a business from home. They will also show how to work whilst on the move in a trip that’s sponsored by communications company, Orange.
The documentary will be aired on Friday 20 November - a date that marks the UK’s first ever Home Enterprise Day, held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. The first people to see footage will be delegates at the Enterprise Nation Conference.
As Jones says:
“Visitors to the conference may not be surprised by what they see as they are living and breathing home business owners but for those in Government and large organisations this documentary will uncover the incredible entrepreneurial activity underway. It will also call on them to act. Home business is Britain’s best-kept secret and its story needs to be told!”
Over 60% of new businesses were launched from home in 2008. The attraction is lower costs, no commute and being on hand for friends and family. Sectors range from fashion design and food production through to IT and business services with whole families coming together to make these businesses a success and growing profits through outsourcing and sub-contracting.
Full details of the roadtrip and registration for meet-ups is online at Enterprise Nation.
The documentary will be aired at the Enterprise Nation Conference on Home Enterprise Day, Friday 20 November. Home Enterprise Day is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Source: Microsoft Small Business
According to a story on the BBC business site today, the answer is Undoubtedly yes.
Here’s a taste of the article:
“On Tuesday, Radio 4 starts a new series called A Small Business.
There’s no better time to be hearing from people who have been there, done that, survived recession and all those other hurdles at which small businesses sometimes falter, and, in the case of Fran Cotton got the rugby shirt.”
The programme starts at 4pm so you’ve got 2 hours to find a radio!
Source: Microsoft Small Business
On the Small Business website we have a an SB+ section dedicated to providing additional resources for small businesses – covering things like tax, HR, buying a business and starting up. It’s not a complete, comprehensive guide for start-ups but more of a snap-shot of resources that some will find useful. This month we’re spotlighting some websites that are dedicated to women in business
Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE)
Women unlimited: inspiration and motivation for female entrepreneurs
Everywoman: advice, tools & networking for business success
Aliquantum: networking for women
Women In Business Network
Women in Technology
Source: Microsoft Small Business
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Guest post from Emma Jones, Founder of Enterprise Nation, the home business website, and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’ .
According to retail experts, the health and beauty sector is in rude health; thriving, they say. So if you’re wondering which sectors present good options for a new business start-up, this could be the sector for you. Here are a few facts and figures you may find interesting and some business ideas you might like to try.
A healthy prognosis
Researchers at retail consultancy, Verdict, have published a report saying the health and beauty sector is set to grow by 2.7% this year. It’s already worth £16.3bn to the UK economy so the figures are impressive. The report sets out a couple of reasons as to why the sector is in such good shape, including people’s increasing concern with health and wellbeing and a growing market in male-grooming.
But not only does this sector offer economic opportunity, it also offers happiness. That’s according to business owner Nathalie Page who runs a make-up school from her home and says: “Beauty therapists are rated as the happiest workers in the UK scoring a massive 9/10 according to a City & Guilds happiness index” Wow. Being in the beauty business brings health, wealth and happiness! Nathalie goes on “The beauty industry is a great business to be in - suitable for those wishing to retrain either after redundancy or children.”
So let’s look at the options and ideas you can start.
Your options
Go freelance – become a make-up artist, reflexology professional or fitness instructor and offer lessons/receive clients in your own home or travel to clients homes/offices. If you set up in London, check out http://www.returntoglory.co.uk as a site that helps with promotion and business development.
Create products – unhappy about the products they were finding on the high street Yaa Adjei-Bohyen and Sarah Brown set out addressing this by creating their own products and business. Yaa sells organic, herbal and natural alternative skincare, beauty and hair products and is branching out by launching an own-label product that’s been made in Ghana by local artisans and based on a formula used in West Africa for centuries, made without chemicals or preservatives. Sarah Brown has a similar story; launching her business, Pai Skincare, to fill a gap in the market for a chemical-free skincare product. As she says “I started making my own chemical-free creams. Friends started sampling (and loving) them and it all led from there.”
Start a School! - Follow Nathalie Page’s example and start a make-up school from your home. Nathalie’s business is buzzing as people sign up to learn from this professionally qualified lady who specialises in high definition for film, TV and photographic shoots.
Whichever way you decide to go, start taking steps now whilst this sector thrives!
Source: Microsoft Small Business
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to include a map when you’re sending a meeting request? Thanks to a neat new tool from Multimap you can now do this – and more. You can also add maps to your contacts and get directions, maps or bird’s eye views – whatever you prefer. It’s quick and easy to install the add-on and it’ll make life a lot easier if you have regular meetings outside your office or home.
Source: Microsoft Small Business
A website is like any other business tool – you need to make sure it’s working as well as it can. So once you’ve got it up and running and are comfortable that you’ve got the basics right, it’s worth spending some time looking at how you can develop your website. You might want to consider adding PayPal for example, so you can get sales from your site, or once you’ve had a look at your competitors’ sites you might decide to adopt a new colour scheme or format. Could you introduce a business blog too, perhaps? One that helps your customers get to know your business better and encourages them to come back. Or perhaps you’re thinking about doing some online advertising?
Take a look at our Finding Customers section of the small business website and see if you could take your business one step further.
Source: Microsoft Small Business
We’re recently produced some great mini-guides on various business and IT topics. These are all very relevant to small businesses and are available to download free of charge:
Source: Microsoft Small Business
We’re recently produced some great mini-guides on various business and IT topics. These are all very relevant to small businesses and are available to download free of charge:
Source: Microsoft Small Business
Pinpoint is online marketplace (replacing Solution Finder) that helps you identify which Microsoft Partner is best positioned to advise you on an IT solution that could help you overcome business challenges. Search for products, services or partners, and locate an expert who’s right for you. A ratings and reviews feature enables feedback on partners registered in Pinpoint, and spotlight articles provide business insight.
Microsoft Partners include Small Business Specialists, who specialise in helping start up and small-to-medium businesses tackle business their challenges through IT solutions. You can use Pinpoint to find an SBSC partner near you, or to search for partners with expertise in a specific industry area.
Browse Pinpoint to find an SBSC Partner near you.
Learn more about SBSC Partners and how they can help you decide what IT solutions you need.
Source: Microsoft Small Business
Not such a small business anymore? Maybe it’s time to take a look at our Business & Industry site (not that we want to lose you of course!). Targeted at those companies with 25+ seats, you’ll find detailed product information plus many resources to help your business. You might also want to consider subscribing to the Business Insights Newsletter – provides an insight into business and technology issues relevant to IT managers and business decision makers.
Source: Microsoft Small Business