The British Franchise Association has launched a search for the UK's finest franchisees.

The Franchisee of the Year Awards 2007 are organised by the bfa and backed by HSBC Bank and Express Newspapers.

Cathryn Hayes, Head of Franchising for HSBC Bank said: “Franchisees are fundamental to the success of the booming franchise industry now employing more than 370,000 people, which is why HSBC has been supporting this exciting sector for over 20 years. We’re calling on the UK’s best franchisees to tell us why they should be named bfa Franchisee of the Year.”

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From Bizjournals: Behind nearly every successful manager is a carefully chosen team of employees.

A team that clicks. A team that is supportive of its manager. And a team that can be relied on to get the job done.

How does a manager assemble such a team?

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Building a fruitful and productive franchisee-franchisor relationship is crucial to the success of a franchise venture.

The International Franchise Association provides some advice in improving the relationship.

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As many as 8 out of 10 UK businesses could be missing out on important training, sales and compliance benefits of recording telephone conversations according to latest research.

Independent research for York-based Crucible Technologies involved 200 businesses and has revealed that 30% of those asked falsely believe recording telephone conversations is illegal.  46% of companies questioned believed there was no need to record phone calls.

And 15% of businesses in the survey conceded that if staff wanted to record details of a telephone conversation then they would take handwritten notes instead of using a recorder.

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UK business owners and managers are risking their companies’ profitability and their own value at exit through inadequate succession planning.

This is the warning from small to mid-market regional private equity house, NVM Private Equity.

According to the report among 200 Managing Directors and Financial Directors of SMEs across the UK, conducted by NVM; one in three owner managed businesses (32%) do not have a succession plan in place for when the business leader decides to exit, retire or can no longer work. This lack of preparation risks vendors losing out on exit as they are unable to demonstrate the ongoing sustainability of the business.

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Social networking is the new buzzword. Everybody is talking about it. Everybody's doing it.

Entrepreneur.com asks: What is it? And how can it be used to help drive your business forward?

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CNNMoney.com columnist Anne Fisher says bosses who offer their employees the occasional 'thank you' are likely to see better more productive results.

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50% of small businesses think St George's Day should be a national bank holiday.

That was the finding of a survey conducted by Unicom, which specialises in telecoms and broadband services for small businesses, as Monday 23rd April passed by relatively unnoticed once again.

A cross section of owners and managers were asked: "Do you think that St George's Day should be marked by a national bank holiday?"

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“What’s in a name?” says Juliet to her “star-crossed” lover in Shakespeare's famous tragic romance.

When it comes to business, quite a lot actually. The name of your business can have many connotations, leading people to subconsciously assume certain things about your company without having used your products or services.

And the more crowded your market is, the more important it is to choose a name that stands out from the rest.

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From the BBC: We have had the industrial age, we have had the information economy.

But now for something different: "the care economy", predicts BT's Ian Pearson.

And, says Mr Pearson assuredly, women - not men - are best suited for this shift.

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Changing working practices and increasing home working are fuelling growth in professional business support companies from new business sectors, says Leeds city centre-based City Business Support UK Ltd (www.citybs.co.uk).

With National Work from Home Day, on 18 May 2007, set to highlight the 2.3 million people currently working or based from home, City Business Support (CBS) has seen a shift in its client base, as industries normally perceived as “office-based” but now increasingly conducted from home need the reception support and administrative and accounting services that a virtual office can provide.

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Andrew Wilson-Smith (39) noticed that where he lived in Wandsworth, south-west London had a lot of families but no eating facilities catering for residents with young children.

So he set up a child-friendly restaurant called Crumpet, which has been offering busy parents a respite since 2004 and is capitalising on the current trend towards organic food.

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From Manage Smarter: Business is all about the customer, and the big money isn't found as much in winning customers as it is in keeping them.

Each customer's perception of your company plays a role in determining your success, and you'll leave out the most important component — the individual customer — if you put all your focus on the merchandise and services your corporation offers.

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Here's a profile of the billionaire investor in the news this week for criticising US-Israeli policy in the Middle East.

Hungarian-born Soros is that rare thing – a successful intellectual businessman.

His ‘Quantum Fund’ returned more than 4,000% in its first decade of existence while he studied under Karl Popper, one of the 20th century’s most distinguished philosophers. But he has always maintained that his investment activities – which would make many a Wall Street high-flier green with envy – are a means to an end, to support his true calling as an author and philosopher.

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A new communication skills course has been launched in a bid to help the business community overcome it's issues.

In three years of networking in the small business community, experienced business coach Jeremy Marchant has observed that most business people face the same issues. 

So Jeremy is running two courses to equip business people to work better with other people. He has teamed up with another NLP master practitioner, David Griffiths, to deliver ‘Work Better with NLP Techniques’ on Wednesday 2nd May in Bristol.

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The first winner of BBC's The Apprentice, Tim Campbell, has launched The Bright Ideas Trust, a fund that aims to give at least £1 million a year to entrepreneurs.

Former London Transport manager Campbell, who left his £100,000-a-year job with Sir Alan Sugar and Amstrad last month, says he wants to provide expertise and start-up capital to the next generation of young entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the launch of The Bright Ideas Trust in London, Campbell says: "We want to target 16 to 29-year-olds who have a viable business idea - one that's going to turn a profit."

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With the US tax deadline fast approaching, small businesses will be relieved to hear they have been given an extra two days grace.

BusinessWeek says:

Look for hidden deductions, avoid shortcuts, and understand the extension process. And don't miss out on last-minute help from these sources .

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US site SmartBiz provides some advice on creating a successful business website.

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British workers lose more sleep over their careers than affairs of the heart, according to a recent survey.

However, it also reveals that they do believe the perfect job exits.

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UK's disenchanted SMEs expose lack of commitment and poor customer service.

SMEs are getting a raw deal from large service providers, according to a survey released today by Companeo, Europe's leading online purchasing service for SMEs.  The survey shows that two thirds of small businesses believe that they are ignored by large service providers and receive poor customer service simply because of their size.

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