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Your EnterQuest Bulletin - Issue 207
In this week's issue:
If you're looking for a grant, or a source of help or further information about your local area or sector, send an e-mail with your query and location to the EnterQuest information team and we'll do our best to help. Send your question to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.
The 'mumpreneur' who started up on her credit card Jo Ashburner is the award-winning businesswoman behind the NooNoo Design Company, which produces children's comfort blankets. She was inspired to start the enterprise after watching her young son curl up to sleep with some of the fabric she had been using for her university design course. But the business would never have been founded if Jo hadn't decided to return to university to study design. "I suddenly became a single mum when I was still pregnant. I'm not a stay-at-home sort of mum. I have to be busy," she said. Jo started up in business without any formal funding. She says applying for grants is "restrictive bureaucracy" - and believes the paperwork takes so long that you often need to pay someone else to do it for you. Plus, there's the possibility your application will be refused. She said: "In the beginning it was credit cards. I just borrowed in my own name up to the eyeballs. "There've been times when I've thought 'what the hell am I doing?' "It's been incredibly hard and we have gone without. Unless you've got a solid, solid foundation, I wouldn't do it on a whim." Jo spent 14 months working from 8am to 11pm to get her business off the ground. But in less than a year after the venture was launched, Jo and NooNoo have scooped a number of awards. Jo is the O2 X Grazia 2006 Businesswoman of the Year, while the NooNoo blanket took a Best Product accolade at the prestigious Maison&Objets show in Paris. NooNoo is continuing to expand and is now in a stronger position to approach the banks for funding. Jo said: "The graft that goes into making a business a success makes it all worthwhile. I don't sit back on my laurels at all, ever." TPS options for small businesses If an individual or organisation that is registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), the corporate TPS or the Fax Preference Service (FPS) makes a complaint about receiving unsolicited calls from your business, you'll face an official investigation and could be fined up to £5,000. You can register as a member of the standard TPS by applying for a licence and choosing one of the three following membership categories:
For the CTPS and FPS, the costs are as follows:
All these costs are exclusive of VAT. Licence and membership application forms are available from the TPS and FPS websites. There's also a pay-as-you-go online interrogation service designed for small businesses. To use it, you log on and type in the phone or fax number you want to check, and then receive confirmation of whether that number is registered with one of the TPS lists. There's a minimum monthly charge of £50, which entitles you to search up to 500 numbers. Once registered, you receive a monthly bill based on the number of searches you've done (over and above the £50 minimum, searches are charged at 10p per number). Read more about using and complying with the TPS lists in our helpful factsheet.
Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK and elsewhere around the world.
Worst mistakes in web design Website navigation and usability guru Jakob Nielsen has published his latest top ten list of worst mistakes made by website designers. Each one is written about in Nielsen's typically candid style, and many signpost you to further tips on how to avoid these errors on your own site. Here's how the list of mistakes looks for 2007: 1) Having poor search facilities.
Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations. Do you know the meaning of the word 'extemporaneous'? a) existing alongside or at the same time as Answer at the end of the Bulletin.
The following topical business issues have been recently reported in the media. Did your radar pick them up? 1) Which communications service is to be discontinued for home-based customers later this year, following an announcement from BT? a) Dial-up Internet connections 2) Legislation known by the acronym 'Reach' is coming into force on 1 June - but what does the acronym stand for? a) Recognised authority on evaluating catering hygiene 3) Which type of seafood has seen annual sales increasing at a rate of knots recently, overtaking even cod in the popularity stakes? a) Squid Answers at the end of the Bulletin. Flexible working rules have been extended New rights were granted from 6 April to allow people with caring responsibilities to request flexible working arrangements from their employers. Luckily, advisory and conciliation body Acas has published a booklet to help business owners understand and meet their obligations under flexible working legislation. The booklet, which is free to download, covers different types of flexible working, how to implement a flexible working policy, and a summary of the latest changes brought in under the Work and Families Act 2006. There's an incentive to file PAYE returns online HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is encouraging small employers to file their 2006/07 Pay As You Earn (PAYE) end-of-year returns online and receive a £150 tax-free payment. The system has a built-in error alert tool which checks your return for mistakes. HMRC has also produced a free CD-ROM containing dos and don'ts for employers to bear in mind when they are filing their PAYE returns. The deadline for filing is 19 May. An entrepreneurial inspiration portal The Financial Inspiration Café website boasts that "you will find the things that will give you a push in the right direction" towards becoming a successful entrepreneur. It includes information about famous entrepreneurs, links to female entrepreneurs, plus games, poems, quotes and songs the author hopes users will find inspiring. It has been put together by South African Leon van der Walt, who works as a banking information analyst - but says he's an entrepreneur at heart. Free Google site optimisation tool This free Google website optimiser tool aims to help Google AdWords users determine which aspects of their landing pages work best. It analyses how the visitors that arrive at your site behave based on various 'experiments', or combinations of different headlines, images and calls to action, that they see on arrival. You then get reports and graphs to help you work out which combinations performed best and led to the visitor ordering your product, signing up to your newsletter or otherwise registering their interest.
This book outlines 14 small companies that avoided growing purely to go public and instead focused on other unique selling propositions, such as high quality or passion for their sector, achieving high profitability as a result. The book delves into great depth about the experiences, skills and personalities of these businesses' leaders, giving readers a fascinating insight into their inspirational stories. Check out:
Visit www.enterprisequest.com to access all back issues of the EnterQuest bulletin. If you have any feedback or suggestions for us to make this service more relevant please e-mail your comments to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com. If you wish to discontinue your subscription to EnterQuest please click on the 'SafeUnsubscribe' link at the bottom of the bulletin. Remember that we guarantee never to sell or give your e-mail address to anyone else. Good luck The EnterQuest Team This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate. |
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