Tag Archives: small business

News

Beachcombing Business: The Woman Turning Ocean Trash into Treasure

Sophie Witt, originally from Somerset, started a successful jewellery business as a result of her beachcombing hobby – where she turns ocean trash into treasure. 

Beachcombing is the process of wandering the high tide line and collecting interesting finds, and it has risen in popularity in recent years. 

For Sophie Witt, Founder of Bahari Blu Jewellery, her love of looking for beach treasures has taken her further than the occasional DIY project. Having started beachcombing with her grandpa when she was four years old, it was while studying a degree in Sustainability at The University of Exeter that Sophie started thinking about what she could create with her growing collection of beach finds.

Sophie started with her collection of sea glass – a material that is created when broken pieces of discarded glass make their way into the ocean and are rubbed smooth over the years by the sand, pebbles and waves. Effectively, the natural movement of the ocean turns unwanted shards of waste glass into gem-like looking treasures, ready to be found by meandering beachcombers like Sophie.

Intent on building a business that did not further deplete the Earth’s resources, Sophie set about learning how to create unique jewellery out of her sea glass finds. After months spent shadowing traditional silversmiths at work, Sophie launched her first bespoke sea glass jewellery collection, made from pieces of surf-tumbled sea glass set in 100% recycled sterling silver.

Sophie’s designs are inspired by the shapes of seaweed, shells and other fragments she finds whilst beachcombing, and she now works from her home-based studio creating ocean-inspired designs with the very treasures she has spent her life collecting. When asked what her favourite part of the process is, Sophie said:

“My favourite part is dreaming up new designs, and bringing them to life. Each piece of sea glass is uniquely shaped, and I draw endless inspiration from the sites I see along the shoreline. Beachcombing is a wonderful excuse to spend many hours of my free time by the sea – I find the process so therapeutic and peaceful.”

You can see more of Sophie’s work on her website: https://www.bahariblu.com/

Or, follow her on Instagram, where she often shares behind the scenes of her jewellery-making and beachcombing adventures: @bahari.blu 

(Note to readers: Sophie does not collect any live shells, and collecting sea glass clears the beach of pollution as it is originally a man-made material).

News

Sugar Studios Spreads Holiday Cheer with Extended Christmas Deals Until February 2024, Showcasing Support for Small Businesses

London film, photography and events studio Sugar Studios has launched a festive “Christmas tree” themed promotion, allowing customers to access studio deals without waiting for the traditional January sales.

Sugar Studios has extended its Christmas promotions until February 2024, offering discounts for bookings throughout December 2023, January 2024, and February 2024.

Starting in December, clients can enjoy a remarkable 40% discount on their booking total by securing a confirmed booking and payment between December 1 and December 31, 2023.

The discounts continue in January, with a 30% discount applicable to bookings made and confirmed from January 1 to January 31, 2024.

Finally, in February, clients can still benefit from a 20% discount by securing a confirmed booking and payment between February 1 and February 29, 2024.

“We started our Christmas offers earlier than ever this year with the commitment to help make Christmas more affordable and have decided to continue giving our clients big savings up until February 2024 to help make the best of their festive budgets,” said Frankie Barclay, Social Media Manager at Sugar Studios. “This is our way of expressing gratitude to our valued clients for their continuous support throughout the year,” 

Additionally, we aim to give small businesses a positive start to the year by offering savings during these challenging times, added Frankie”

Customers can secure the promotion by confirming bookings within the specified months, with shoot or event dates extending until August 31, 2024. To access the discount, quote “XMASPROMO” during booking communication. Terms and conditions include Monday-to-Friday availability from 9 am to 6 pm for studio hire only; overtime and catering charges are not covered.

Discover these exclusive deals on the Sugar Studios website at www.sugarstudios.co.uk

News, Tax

What you need to know about starting a business while employed at your day job

Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, online searches in the UK for ‘side hustle’ have grown by 58% in the past year. In fact, as reported in CityAM, a recent study found that 10 million Brits are considering taking on a second or even a third job to make ends meet (while 5 million have done it already).

Darren Fell, CEO and Founder at online tax and accountancy platform, Crunch, said: “We’ve all seen those case studies in the news where someone has thrown in their day job to pursue their side hustles full time, and while it’s certainly possible for some, leaping from permanent employment to focus purely on your own business ventures isn’t always viable. The reliable income from a 9-5 is something that only a few can spare to ditch, especially amid the cost of living crisis, but the extra income and sense of fulfilment that can come from pursuing a side hustle or small business idea are nonetheless attractive. With this in mind, we have put together our tips for setting up a small business while remaining employed at your day job for anyone seeking the best of both worlds.”

  1. Check your employment contract – thoroughlyBe sure to read through your current employment contract with a fine-tooth comb before you make any moves towards starting your own business at the same time. This is because there may be contractually binding clauses that set out whether or not you can pursue your own business during your tenure as an employee – even if you’re doing so outside of your normal working hours.

    There may also be clauses or policies in there that state what amounts to a conflict of interest. The last thing you want is to risk termination by inadvertently (or even deliberately) breaching your contract – so give it a thorough read-through, and raise any questions or grey areas with your HR department.

  2. Be aware of your employment rights and benefits – they could transform your ability to take on a side hustle or start a business of your own.Working two jobs can be very challenging and, unless you set boundaries, it can cause a whole host of problematic consequences.

    If you overwork, both endeavours will suffer. If you devote too much time and energy to one, the other will be stunted. It’s challenging to juggle both, but thankfully there are a few options to help you strike the balance.

    Firstly, you have the right to request flexible working from your employer – in fact, since 2014, this right was extended to all employees, rather than only those with family commitments. That said, remember you only have the right to request it; your employer is within their rights to deny your request if they have a legitimate reason.

    Secondly, you could propose working part-time, a reduction in your contracted hours, or even suggest working on a job share basis, especially if there’s someone else in the business who has the same intentions as you. Neither of these things hurt to ask if you feel that you’re working yourself too hard in your pursuit of a second self-employed job.

    The third, and probably most common, option, is to manage your time very carefully, while staying aware of the impact on your wellbeing and productivity. The trick is to find a balance that works for you. Maybe you can devote one weekend a month to your new business, or maybe weekday evenings. Make sure you have downtime to spend with family and rest.

  3. Get organised

    If the third option above is your most likely route to starting a side hustle or business of your own, you’ll want to structure your to enhance your productivity. Set realistic goals and stick to them; a good example would be to look at what you want to achieve over a 30-, 60-, or 90-day period, and construct a week-by-week checklist of what you need to do to get to those milestones. There are many Apps that can help you with this, like Todoist, Trello, Scrivener, Goals on Track, Toodledo and ATracker to name just a few.
  4. Be respectful

    While your side venture may be new and exciting (possibly more so than your day job), remember that you’re still employed and need to be respectful. Don’t waste company time working on your business idea – this could harm your reputation and burn bridges you might regret later on. If you do decide to focus on your own thing full time, try to leave your day job on good terms – you’ll thank yourself for doing this if you ever need to call on your former boss or colleagues for support.
  5. Don’t shy away from networking

    There are many resources to help support you whilst you consider or plan to start your own business – these range from funding and grants to crowdfunding, or if you’ve got a few flush friends, peer-to-peer lending. Networking is your best friend, no matter what stage your business is at, so don’t shy away from local events. Your city’s Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start for this, as well as conferences, Slack and Discord communities specific to your industry.
  6. Tell HMRC

    If you’re starting your own business, as either a sole trader or limited company, you’ll need to let HMRC know. This is so you can file your Self Assessment on time and pay the correct tax on your income. It is a legal requirement to inform HMRC once you start earning from your business. Don’t create any additional worry or concern for yourself by not having your taxes organised. Crunch has a useful article on the tax implications of being self-employed and freelancing on the side that can help you get started.

 

Feature image by Kelly Sikkema (via Unsplash)

 

News

UK watch business breaks into US with a hand from TikTok

British-based watch brand Hagley West is making inroads into the vital US market thanks to significantly increased exposure on TikTok.

Owner, entrepreneur and TikTok influencer, Tim Hayden, has had two recent trips stateside, where he travelled to different states, hosting a number of live streams, to his nearly one million followers. A third trip is also planned for the end of this month, due to the success of the previous visits.

During his visits Hayden runs his now legendary ‘Find Tim’ live stream challenges to give social media fans a chance to locate him and potentially win a free watch. As a direct result of the visits, the brand has already seen more than 796 US sales and many more enquiries.

The first visit to the US alone delivered more than 300 new US customers and another 40,000 new US social media followers. This spurred Hayden on to want to visit again and also look at different sectors.

“Our famous strapline is ‘love your journey’ and there is nothing more exciting than breaking into new markets”, explained Tim Hayden.

“We’re obviously really proud of our British heritage and we’ll never lose that, but there’s already so much interest in the US and we’re only really just getting started.”

Hagley West is a UK small business success story set against a really difficult current economic landscape. The business is less than five years old and run primarily from Hayden’s Hertfordshire home, with his kitchen doubling as his office. Nevertheless, each year has seen a significant increase in profits and social media following.

Hayden continued, “Times are difficult for a lot of people at the moment and if we can be a source of inspiration for other small businesses on their own journey, I take a lot of personal pride in that.

“This US agenda is just one of a number of really interesting initiatives we are currently undertaking on our growth journey. There are so many places we are keen to take the brand, but that’s not to say we’re forgetting our UK audience.”

Hagley West is currently gearing up for its big Black Friday event, with exciting discounts and opportunities set to be announced in the coming weeks. Hayden is also collaborating with other influencers and supporting charity initiatives via his social presence.

News

Burton business owner raising money for local charity by taking part in 2022 London Marathon

The 2022 London Marathon takes place  2nd  October with up to 50,000 runners taking part. Anna Stubbs, Marketing and HR Director at The Chartwell Practice in Burton-upon-Trent, applied for many years before striking lucky when a place opened up for her via the Washlands Women’s Runners Club ballot.

She teamed up with Burton-Upon-Trent’s YMCA, so that her efforts can help support the local community. Before she embarks on her second marathon of 2022, she reflected upon her journey so far and what lies ahead.

Anna said: “I arrived late to the joys of running and I’m by no means gifted with natural talent. Sometimes, I don’t feel like getting the trainers on, or it feels really slow going and just hard work. But like a lot of people, the habit of getting out for a run regularly helps me in more ways than I would ever have predicted.”

Whether it is a couple of muddy miles over the fields with her dog, or a run with friends, Anna always returned home feeling both physically and mentally boosted. For years, she bravely put her name in the ballot for a chance to run the London Marathon and was never selected. After years of bad luck, she plucked up the courage to tackle the big distance in a different city – Manchester. With her first marathon under her belt in April, little did she know that 2022 would turn out to be a double marathon year!

Anna added: “At the last possible second, an extra place was given to The Washlands Women’s Runners Club as a bonus for them sending a marshal team to London and my name was drawn out!

“I couldn’t believe it!”

Her marathon training began during the summer heatwave, with Covid-related hitches in between, she is now just days away from the starting line. October is also an important month for YMCA Burton with their annual Sleep Out event taking place at Burton Albion Football Club’s Pirelli Stadium.

Paul Laffey, CEO at YMCA Burton, added: “Everyone at YMCA Burton wishes Anna lots of luck for this year’s marathon. Undertaking the training for the London Marathon is no mean feat and we appreciate the hours of running Anna has already done to prepare for this challenge.

“She joins our other marathon runner Chris in raising much needed funds for our charity. As everyone is struggling with the cost of living crisis, this will help us towards supporting our clients and members of the local community.”

Anna added: “I have been aware of the really important work that the YMCA do in Burton for some years now, as we have supported them at Chartwell’s, and I know that the care and provision for people in crisis is desperately needed. If I can help raise some funding for them I’d be really delighted.”

Anna’s Go Fund Me page can be found here: Anna Stubbs is fundraising for YMCA Burton (justgiving.com)

News

15% of business owners say the cost of living crisis is putting the survival of their business at risk

A third (33 per cent) of business owners say the cost of living crisis is hitting them hard – with 15 percent admitting their business is at risk and they may have to shut it down.

New independent research conducted on behalf of mortgage brokers Boon Brokers questioned over 300 business owners on how the cost of living crisis is impacting on their business as well as their personal finances.

Almost one half of those questioned (44 per cent) said they would have no choice but to pass price rises on to customers in order to stay in business. One in four (27 per cent) are paying themselves less of a wage to mitigate rising costs.

On top of the 15 per cent considering closing their business permanently, a further six per cent are thinking about downsizing their business to help reduce the risk. Seven per cent think they may close their bricks and mortar premises to go purely online, savings costs.

But according to the Boon Brokers’ research, it’s not only businesses which are in jeopardy. One in seven business owners (14 per cent) say their home is at risk if their business fails, with 11 per cent already having missed a mortgage payment in the last year. When compared to the general population, double the number of business owners are worried about losing their homes compared to non-business owners.

One in 10 (11 per cent) have started using a credit card more frequently to make ends meet. In fact, 96 per cent of business owners admitted they are reducing their personal spending to save money. The five most common areas to cut back were revealed to be:

  1. Food/groceries (50 per cent)
  2. Holidays (45 per cent)
  3. Eating out (44 per cent)
  4. Takeaways (35 per cent)
  5. Electricity usage (34 per cent)

Gerard Boon, managing partner at Boon Brokers, said: “These are very worrying statistics. The cost of living crisis is obviously impacting everyone, but business owners are feeling the pinch from both a business and a personal perspective. Many business owners admitted they were taking home less of a
wage and are worried about the roof over their head. One in seven (14 per cent) told us they find it hard to secure a mortgage, which can often leave people stuck on expensive Standard Variable Rate deals, unable to switch. We’d always recommend business owners use a specialist whole of market and fee-free broker to help them secure the best possible mortgage. Doing so can save large amounts of money and help keep credit scores positive – both of which are going to be vital to weather the storm ahead.”

FInance, News

FullCircl Partners with Codat to create a frictionless and personalised experience for financial service providers onboarding and serving SME customers

London, 28th June 2022: FullCircl, the Customer Lifecycle Intelligence (CLI) platform that helps B2B companies in financially regulated industries do better business, faster, is delighted to announce a partnership with Codat, the universal API for small business data.

FullCircl’s mission is to help banks and financial service providers overcome their biggest challenges. Getting the right data on small business customers is one of those challenges.

Publicly filed accounts on small businesses, available through Companies’ House, don’t always accurately reflect current profitability or expenditure. By partnering with Codat, FullCircl can provide its users with seamless integrations to the accounting platforms used by 84% of UK SMEs. Combining this data with FullCircl’s rules-based automation mean FSIs get an instant real-time view of a customer’s financial health, plus can act with accelerated pace to find the right customers, onboard them faster, and keep them for life.

Commenting on the partnership Stuart Boardman, Director of Channels and Revenue Partnerships at FullCircl, commented:

“FullCircl is thrilled to partner with Codat to provide standardised accounting data through our Customer Lifecycle Intelligence platform, enhancing our capabilities and increasing the value we deliver for our clients by reducing the level of manual effort needed to onboard SME clients.”

Phil Low, Head of Partnerships at Codat added:

“We’re delighted to announce our partnership with FullCircl, hot on the heels of our $100m Series C. Across the 600+ financial institutions FullCircl works with, there are millions of SME customers being served. By providing those FSIs with the combination of Codat’s data infrastructure & FullCircl’s technology, small businesses will ultimately get a more frictionless and personalised experience from their financial service providers.”

Finance and Banking, News

Are banks shying away from lending to small businesses?

Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine

When the confidence among the small businesses was already showing signs of dwindling amid record-high inflation and supply chain bottlenecks, the latest report of the Blackpool-based Federation of Small Business (FSB) will shake it further. The survey report revealed that in the first quarter of 2022, small businesses struggled to access finance.

The survey results FSB, the UK’s largest campaigning group for small businesses, has highlighted that companies and banks in Britain remained concerned about the worsening economic outlook, which resulted in lending to small businesses falling to its lowest since at least 2014. Just 9 per cent of small businesses applied for finance in the first three months of this year, and the number of approvals for finances reached a record low of 43 per cent.

The most striking thing was that a majority of smaller businesses sought finance to help with their cash flow requirements. Not only this, one in ten small businesses are mulling closing, downsizing, or even disposing of their businesses over the coming year.

Deteriorating small business scenario

Small businesses have been hit hard in the country, first by the Brexit and followed by the unprecedented event of the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of small businesses in Britain witnessed a drastic fall of 6.5 per cent to around 5.5 million at the start of 2021 compared to the last year. Small businesses, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that account for 99.9 per cent of them and are the major employment generator, with three-fifths of the total UK private sector employment.

SMEs have faced a challenging situation in 2021, which is still continuing, with many reporting no-cash and a low level of confidence in survival, as they not only had to deal with the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic but also with the implications of Brexit during 2021. Small businesses continued experiencing significant challenges limiting their capabilities to engage in innovation and finish projects on time.

Lending for small businesses is getting tough

Going by the FSB survey results, the majority of the 1,211 small business owners and sole traders surveyed in March and April sought traditional overdraft or loan products, and 25 per cent went for asset-based finance, about 7 per cent sought funds through P2P lending platforms, while 5 per cent via crowdfunding. Small businesses are already struggling to repay the support taken from the government during the pandemic, and if the further funding dries up, the possibilities are that they will default and ultimately get closed.

Even the latest report from the Bank of England (BoE) has shown the annual growth rate of lending to SMEs reached a record low. There have been business disruptions that have been stressing the revenue generation of small businesses; while many in the survey reported late payment of invoices; these could be the reasons they are delaying repayments.

Final thoughts

The central bank has not only raised concern over the declining lending to the small businesses but has England warned of a sharp economic slowdown and a recession, with inflation surging to over 10 per cent record levels by the end of this year. At this juncture, if the lenders start shying away from the small businesses, it could turn detrimental to the already faltering economic recovery. Small businesses contribute a major chunk to economic growth and are a major source of employment generation. Now is the time for the lenders to come out of their outdated lending processes and rigid criteria to support small businesses and the nation’s overall economy.

Marketing, PR and SEO, News

Bloomberg Partner with Nottingham Agency Group, The Digital Maze, on New Green Energy Initiative

Newly formed digital agency group, The Digital Maze, announced their latest partnership with Bloomberg & Square Mile Sport to create a web application for a new energy saving scheme – Bloomberg PWR Ride. 

Bloomberg PWR Ride is a scheme whereby staff from their office in London create their own energy using cutting edge static bikes. The RE:GEN bike founded by UK-based company Energym, is a first-of-its kind static bike, featuring a generator unit that transfers the energy output from a person’s workout into stored renewable electrical power.

Not only will this project promote a greener, more sustainable environment, cutting down on Bloomberg’s carbon footprint, exercise at work has also shown to stimulate creative thinking and help employees get over the 2pm slump by increasing blood flow to the brain.

Rob Twells, Commercial Director of The Digital Maze said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Bloomberg on this exciting initiative. As we’ve grown and developed as a brand over the last year, sustainability is something that is high on our agenda, so we’re confident that The Digital Maze and Bloomberg are an excellent fit. We’re proud to be providing the tech behind what is hoped to be a global initiative for Bloomberg and their sustainability journey in partnership with Square Mile Sport.”

For this project, Bloomberg consulted with the Frogspark team at The Digital Maze to create a web application that enables their staff to book a bike, track their performance, see how much energy they’ve created and show a leaderboard per person and per office. The Digital Maze team will be creating a user-friendly application using Laravel to ensure a smooth, modern interface that is both easy to use and powerful.

James Walsh, Head of Web Design at The Digital Maze, said: “Bloomberg PWR ride is an exciting brand – and not just from a sustainability perspective. Globally, the visual language around climate and green energy is in danger of becoming stale, at a time when it needs to cut through more than ever.

The tone that Bloomberg PWR ride and Energym’s branding has brought to the table feels crucial and fresh; there’s as much high-powered energy here as there is in the bikes themselves. I’m stoked to be leading the design team that gets to translate this dynamism into a web app, and I’m looking forward to what we can create as a team.”

Midlands News, News, Storage

Self-storage company opens new branch in Shrewsbury

Self-storage company, Space Station, has announced the newest expansion to its UK operations with the opening of a new facility in Shrewsbury.

The new store boasts a sizable 57,000 square feet of storage space available for local customers and businesses, which includes up to 750 individual storage units to rent, providing a boost to the accessibility of externally sourced storage in the local Shropshire community.

After purchasing from fellow storage company, Rent a Space, Space Station officially opened it’s doors to its newest venture earlier this year but will retain the previous external branding in the short term, until planning permission is approved to change it.

Whilst the plan is to fully refurbish the premises later in the year, customers will now be greeted by Space Station uniformed staff for all their needs and queries.

Included in the facility are a variety of different sized storage units, available to rent with great flexibility, with both short- and long-term options available. Furthermore, the facility is fitted with 24/7 CCTV surveillance and even has workshops and office spaces available for rent in addition to storage units.

Space Station’s CEO Kevin Prince, said: “It’s terrific for us to be able to open our new self-storage facility in Shrewsbury.

“Having just expanded one of our newer stores in Solihull earlier this year, it’s exciting to continue the momentum and open our 11th store in the UK, offering a variety of storage solutions to customers and businesses in the Shropshire region.

“Our new store gives our customers access to individual storage unit, as well as office workspaces, which are all managed extremely well by the existing team already in place.  We are delighted that they have decided to remain in their positions, giving the existing customers a reassurance of a smooth transfer. We are excited to welcome them all to the Space Station family.”

This will be Space Station’s 11th store in the UK. The business was created by Alastair Caldwell, a former McLaren Formula 1 Team Manager, and is now owned by Heitman, a global real estate investment management firm. There are an additional ten locations in its portfolio throughout Greater London, Berkshire and Birmingham.

For more information about Space Station’s Shrewsbury store, please visit: https://www.space-station.co.uk/locations/shrewsbury-self-storage