Birmingham has long had an image problem.

But the city – just under 120 miles north-west of London, with a population of 1,001,000 – has long outgrown the stereotypes of ugly concrete architecture and vowel-mangling accents to become one of the country’s most vibrant and multicultural urban centres.

Cushman & Wakefield’s annual ‘city monitor’ report recently concluded that Birmingham was the best city for business in the UK outside London. It was 19th in Europe, only two places lower than Stockholm and just above Geneva.

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In the second of a series of features on current retail trends, BBC News business reporter Gavin Stamp examines the mail order industry's efforts to master internet shopping.

Not everyone may openly admit to filling their cupboards and wardrobes by mail order.

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Small businesses account for a whopping 47.1% of employment and 37.2% of turnover in the UK, according to a government report published last week.*

Small businesses often get overshadowed in the world of business, but this eye-opening figure illustrates the power in numbers and urges us to take notice of the 'little people'! So while the big boys such as TESCO and British Airways take the spotlight internationally, we should be showing a little more respect to the smaller UK businesses, whose combined economic contribution is enormous and well worth recognition!

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From The Telegraph: Companies concerned about their staff using Facebook need to face up to the reality of modern living and instead issue clear guidelines on acceptable use of the site, one of the country's biggest unions warned today.

Three and a half million Britons are now members of the social networking site and according to research, a large number of them are young, middle-class professionals.

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From Entrepreneur: It's fascinating to hear other people's success stories.

One of the most interesting parts is learning how successful entrepreneurs got their start and how they overcame challenges and adversity. Did an idea flash in their minds like a lightning bolt? Or was it something that percolated over the years? How did timing play into their launch? Did experience or desperation drive their plan forward?

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From the Houston Chronicle: Though three of four new hotel chains consist so far of only a single hotel apiece, their decision to offer tiny, cruise ship-like rooms is a significant event which might foretell the future of lodgings.

And though they are found in just a few cities, the new "chains" — easyHotels, Yotels, Pod Hotels and Qbic — possibly might provide you with a cheap overnight stay if you just happen to be passing through.

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The British pub offers a lucrative business opportunity for entrepreneurs as it re-emerged at the core of British society as the favoured place to meet people and friends.

The study which reported the findings, undertaken by Greene King, reveals that a staggering 70% of those surveyed cited pubs as their ideal socialising venue.

The findings of the report – which have been analysed by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) - show that British pub-goers are demanding ever higher standards from their pub landlords and acknowledge the business skills that are required of the modern licensee.

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You can find business opportunities in the unlikeliest of places.

You can also find them at the click of a mouse by visiting Ubops.com, the Business Opportunities Marketplace.

Here are just five examples of the adverts on Ubops.com at the moment.

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The UK’s best-performing franchisees are toasting their success after reaching the National Finals of this year’s bfa Franchisee of the Year Awards, sponsored by HSBC and Express newspapers.

The 12 National Finalists, will now attend the glittering black-tie Awards Dinner, to be held at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre on Thursday 4th October.

Here, the entrepreneurs will battle it out for the top title ‘bfa Franchisee of the Year 2007’ and HSBC’s £5,000 Gold Winner’s cheque. The Silver and Bronze award-winning franchisees will also receive cheques from HSBC for £3,000 and £2,000 respectively.

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Almost half of Britons are so depressed at coming back to work after a holiday that they consider resigning and looking for a new job.

As the peak summer holiday season nears its end, new research from The Franchise Group reveals that as many as 48% of those returning to work could be thinking about handing in their notice in favour of pastures new.

And more than two thirds hanker after being their own boss.

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Wall Street Journal Online: Five years ago, Tom Scott and Tom First realized they would never have to work again.

Friends from college, the pair had launched a juice brand called Nantucket Nectars from the back of their island boat and catapulted themselves - the self-dubbed "juice guys" - into the stuff of entrepreneurial legend as their beverage took off nationwide.

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Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post since 1963, is not only one of the most successful female business figures of the twentieth century – she is also one of the most prominent women ever in public life in America.

 Her influence is due to two great achievements: the fact that she forged a career path in journalism and publishing during a period in which few women were employed in either industry and the pioneering investigative work carried out by the Post during her reign – mainly the paper’s revelations regarding the Watergate scandal.

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It is very important to have a very clear vision of what you want your business to be from the very outset.

Every company should have a mission statement, which encapsulates in one sentence your business’s core aims.

An example of a mission statement is Levi Strauss’s: “We will market the most appealing and widely worn casual clothing in the world. We will clothe the world.” Or Wal-Mart’s: “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people.”

Unable to think of any more, I thought I’d try and guess a few others.

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From Forbes: When somebody of note passes on to the next world (or simply dies) those of us who remain behind reach deep to measure our own life against that of the departed, to find meaning in the life gone by or simply to think of something nice to say.

The death of Leona Helmsley is no different. Interestingly, the people we spoke to seemed especially - perhaps overly - intent on choosing the last option.

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Ubops.com The Business Opportunities Marketplace

Alan Sugar look out, it seems Britain is a nation of budding entrepreneurs. A recent survey reveals that the majority of jobseekers are really dreaming of owning their own businesses.

• Entrepreneurship is the key to career fulfilment
• Job seekers shun traditional professions in favour of lucrative financial careers
• 68% of respondents said that money is top driver for career choice

The poll of over 2000 jobseekers was commissioned by Reed Employment. It reaveals that more people want to become entrepreneurs than pilots - the old conventional childhood ambition, which was the second choice.

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From The Times: Britain’s big supermarket chains are forcing their suppliers out of business with their “unreasonable” behaviour, according to Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm.

Duncan Swift, head of the food and agribusiness recovery group at Grant Thornton, told The Sunday Times that supermarket suppliers were reporting financial distress at a rate of one a month, and “unreasonable supermarket behaviour” was a contributory factor in more than half of these cases.

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Young and female, Sophie Hughes and Lucy Cohen were met with a lot of scepticism when they decided to set up Mazuma soon after leaving college.

But one year on, the Cardiff-based 24-year olds now have an office with two additional staff, and revenues are rising impressively.

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From GrowthBusiness: Investment in web companies in Europe has soared over the past 12 months.

But Darren Harper, head of analysis and editorial at Library House, argues that fears of a second dotcom bubble are unfounded.

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How often have you sat at your desk and wondered what it would feel like to ‘Escape the 9 to 5’ and be your own boss?

National Franchise Week (1-12 October 2007) stages a series of events focusing on the established and sizeable UK franchise sector. It is now established within the industry and providesan ideal opportunity to explore the different franchises option available and find out if franchising is the right choice for you.

The overall goal of National Franchise Week is to raise awareness of franchising as a successful business model.  Franchising in the UK is a £10.8 billion industry that encompasses 781 franchise systems and employs 371,600 people. 

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