Entries from October 1, 2006 - November 1, 2006
A Match Made in Heaven?
For many businesses their main asset is their staff. Employees can make the difference between success and failure.
According to recruitment consultants Carlton Resource Solutions (Carlton), employers need to have a strategy in place to ensure that they find the right person for a vacancy rather than someone who is merely adequate.
Suzanne Cameron, Senior Commercial Consultant of Carlton comments: “It is always important for an employer to be sure that they find the right person for their vacancy. This can be particularly challenging in a buoyant economy when it is a candidate’s market.
Jo Dalton
in 4.Growing a Business, 9.Biz News
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Do You Have an "Office Hero" on Board?
Printing giant Epson has launched a unique search to scour the nation for employees who unofficially handle everyday ‘mini IT crises’ within companies.
The Epson Office Hero Awards celebrate the thousands of employees across the country who take time out of their daily work duties to help their colleagues with a myriad of “IT problems”.
From fixing the photocopier, to retrieving lost documents on the PC, these “office heroes” often go unrecognised and their contribution to their business is mostly underestimated.
Are your workers iTuning Out Their Jobs?
22% of office workers in the UK are tuning out their workplace with MP3 players, according to a recent survey.
The survey was conducted by workplace interiors experts, Woods Bagot of London, polling a cross section of 100 UK companies in a variety of sectors.
“UK Workers are spending an average of three hours per day listening to music and podcasts,” says Simon Pole, head of corporate interiors at Woods Bagot London.
Take Five Inspirational Quotes
Plato (pictured left)
Wise men talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
Thomas Carlyle
Men do less than they ought, unless they do all they can.
Henry Miller
The real leader has no need to lead –
he is content to point the way.
George Patton
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
Vidal Sassoon
The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary.
Don't Dream it. Do it. BusinessesForSale.com
10 Tips to Starting and Growing a Successful Business
Everyone needs a little help and advice every now and then, especially when starting a new business venture.
Bill Kirkwood, a seriel entrepreneur, has established his business Site Confidence as the UK's leading website performance monitoring company.
He provides his essential top 10 tips to all aspiring business men and women for how to start and run your own successful business.
Jo Dalton
in 3.Starting a Business, 4.Growing a Business
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Free Intellectual Property Awareness Seminars
The Patent Office is giving free Intellectual Property awareness seminars.
A wealth of intellectual property advice and practical help will be on offer to small and medium sized enterprises at a number of events to be held in Oxford, Glasgow, London and Reading in the coming months.
Free information on a wide range of intellectual property matters - from patents, trade marks, new designs legislation, commercial and mediation services will be available at the events.
Get Connected and Network Your Way to Business Growth
For a ‘born socialiser’ networking - making the most of meeting people, expanding our circle of contacts and building on those relationships - is effortless.
But not all of us are quite as confident at ‘working a room’. However, networking is a vital part of business success and thankfully a skill that can be developed.
The Rise of the Lesser-Spotted Temp
Hiring temporary staff has its pros and cons - but it really can be a blessing in disguise for those of us who have staffing budgets of the smaller variety.
As summer draws to a close and autumn defers to the on-rushing winter, even the keen temp-watcher would be forgiven for thinking that as the Common Office Temp migrates back to university, the spotting season is over until next year.
The Common Office Temp [Receptiona loiterus] is of course easily distinguishable by its distinctive black and white plumage, with the male frequently sporting a necktie. They are generally found in the office environment, more often than not behind the reception desk or at the photocopier, although it can also be found nesting in amongst the filing cabinets. Traditionally, this genus has overshadowed other variants in the species. However, the Common Office Temp’s dominance is on the wane.
Jo Dalton
in 3.Starting a Business, 4.Growing a Business
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Karma Capitalism
BusinessWeek says times have chilled out since Gordon Gekko quoted Sun Tzu in the 1987 movie Wall Street.
Has the Bhagavad Gita replaced The Art of War as the hip new ancient Eastern management text?
Signs of worldly success abounded as members of the Young Presidents' Organization met at a mansion in a tony New Jersey suburb. BMWs, Lexuses, and Mercedes-Benzes lined the manicured lawn. Waiters in starched shirts and bow ties passed out vegetarian canapés.
Jo Dalton
in 8.Inspiration
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Virtual House for Sale
A virtual house is helping an Irish student realise his dream of owning a real-life property.
Shane Murphy, 20, has created an online house at www.Iwantafreehome.com, and is selling building blocks to advertisers that are emblazoned with ads or logos that link back to advertisers’ websites.
Tired of spending so much of his money on rent, he decided he could actually make money out of property – albeit virtual property.
Adam Bannister
in 8.Inspiration, 9.Biz News
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A Rose by any Other Name
Intellectual property advice for start-ups, from Sara Ludlam, Head of Intellectual Property at Yorkshire-based solicitors, Keeble Hawson.
Naming your business
Start-up businesses can save a lot of time and trouble – not to mention money – if they do some basic checks on their proposed trading name and/or their product and service names before they put them into use.
Wanted: 200 Boffins Seek Backers
From the BBC: How many inventors do you know?
The chances are the answer is more than you think, although you - and they - probably don't realise it.
"There's an invention inside all of us," says Trevor Baylis, the man who developed the wind-up radio, an invention that has changed the lives of millions of people in some of the world's poorest countries.
Over the coming three days, more than 200 inventors, including Mr Baylis, are gathering in London for this year's British Invention Show.
Click here for full article.
Are you a manufacturer looking for a distributor? Are you starting a new business and looking for partners? Are you a talented individual looking for a break? If so, put an advert on Ubops.com for free.
BusinessesForSale.com Featured in BusinessWeek
BusinessesForSale.com makes it into the pages of BusinessWeek!
From BusinessWeek: A Bustling Bazaar - How to sell your business online
Thirteen years running an adventure travel business was enough for Robert Fliegel. "I loved the field but was ready for a change," he says. In January he posted a listing for his Tucson company, Discovery Treks, on BusinessesforSale.com. By July he had closed a deal to sell the business to an Arizona couple for $265,000. And by selling the business himself online, he avoided having to pay a broker the usual 10% to 20% commission.
Click here to read full article
Are you a manufacturer looking for a distributor? Are you starting a new business and looking for partners? Are you a talented individual looking for a break? If so, put an advert on Ubops.com for free.
How I Bought a Day Nursery
Name: Albert Watson 
Age: 44
Business bought: Children's day nursery
When: March 2006
Total spent: £100k
Business experience: 16 years working in the family and legal sector.
Key advice: "Find out all you can about the nature of the business. Seek legal and professional advice in relation to funding, registration etc before making any committment to buy, and finally, speak to people who have been involved in running the type of business you are interested in."
Adam Bannister
in 1.Buying a Business
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UK Business at Risk From Identity Fraud
New research reveals that UK businesses are putting themselves and their customers at risk from identity fraud.
On the third day of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week 2006, new research has been published showing that businesses are failing to protect themselves and their customers from identity fraud.
Master the 3 Ps – People, Planet and Profit
Striding Out are to host the Masterclass in Social and Ethical Entrepreneurship during National Enterprise Week.
Striding Out are the award winning business support network for 18-30 year olds and it is staging the main event for this year’s National Social Enterprise Day on Thursday 16th November at the London Business School, Regents Park.
The Masterclass in Social and Ethical Entrepreneurship will run from 13.30 – 17.30 and is open to anyone interested in starting a business with a conscience or turning an existing business towards ethical trading.
Building the Inclusive Workplace
Today, employers are using tools for recruitment and retention that would have sounded unimaginable only twenty years ago, writes Simon Pole, of Woods Bagot, Corporate Interiors.
Armies of recruitment consultants, the latest psychometrics and lavish perks are all used to identify and attract the right talent.
Then, when company cars and futuristic PDAs have lost their novelty, more consultants, bonuses and luxury are piled on to workers to slow the turnover rate.
With all these sophisticated tools and big budget bribes at their disposal, most employers still fail to take advantage of their biggest asset.
Jo Dalton
in 3.Starting a Business, 4.Growing a Business
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How I Started...a Publishing Company
When the publishing company Glyn Wilmshurst worked for went under, he decided to set up his own.
BOB: What kind of things do you publish?
Glyn: Touchline’s a contract publisher – that means we produce other companies’ publications, their magazines, reports, newsletters, etc.
Our clients include the IOC – the organisation that runs the Olympic Games – the airline GB Airways (a British Airways franchise) and Saatchi & Saatchi. We’re also doing some work for a charity called Sparks at the moment.
Adam Bannister
in 3.Starting a Business, 8.Inspiration, 7.Interviews
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Raising a Green Standard
From The Guardian: The one in three companies that don't have plans to become more environmentally friendly are missing out on the chance to improve their bottom lines.
One day each year, the 19 employees at Aberdeen Fluid Systems Technologies have an "environmental fun day", clearing up rubbish from the woods near their workplace. If this seems like a strange way for a firm to deploy its workers, that's not how Alasdair MacNeil, the company's business development manager, sees it.
Click here to read full article
Small Business Owners Working 70-hour Weeks
One in 10 small business owners in the UK clock up 70 hours a week, according to a survey.
The study, conducted by the Bank of Scotland, revealed that owners of small enterprises put in around 50% more hours than people in employment.
The UK’s 1.4 million small business owners work about an extra 33 million weeks per year, according to the bank.
“The survey results show just how dedicated Britain's owner-managers are to making a success of their businesses," says the head of business banking at Bank of Scotland.