Over 80% of those wanting to start their own business should consider taking up a franchise rather than starting a completely new business from scratch, says former TV Dragon Rachel Elnaugh.

Her advice comes following the latest analysis of her Entrepreneurial Profile Test which anyone thinking of going it alone can complete online at www.rachelelnaugh.com. Hundreds have completed the free Test since it was launched in April this year and can testify to its accuracy.

Ms Elnaugh has used her own TV observations of business owners during filming for Dragon’s Den as well as extensive research to create the Profiler, an online psychometric test which determines the person’s entrepreneurial type and from there the kind of business they are most suited to.

Click to read more ...

From the BBC: Ageism is still "endemic" in the UK workplace despite new laws coming into force last year, a study suggests.

Since the new laws came into force, more than 2,000 claims have been lodged with the Employment Tribunal Service, the Employers Forum on Age report said.

A poll by the group also found that 16 million people witnessed ageist practices at work last year.

Click here to read the full article.

When Paul Newman started a business selling salad dressings and giving the profits to charity, people laughed.

Now, everyone's at it, says BusinessWeek.

After Hopeless Records started bringing in cash, founder Louis Posen began spinning profits into charity and joined the new trend in "social entrepreneurship".

Click here to read the full article.

The uncertain future of the state pension is just one example of how the government is expecting individuals to bear more responsibility for their own financial security in the future.

This helps explain the increasing importance in the role of financial advisors – and particularly independent financial advisors (IFAs) – as guides through the minefield that is the investment market. According to the Association of Independent Financial Advisors (AIFA), IFAs “help people achieve their financial goals in the most efficient and suitable way”. It emphasises that this can apply to companies just as much as families and individuals.

Click to read more ...

From SmallBusiness.co.uk: Members of staff who spend most of their working time day-dreaming are likely to be the small business owners of the future, according to a new study.

Barclays Local Business, who compiled the figures, suggests that 44 per cent of today's business leaders were the dreamers of yesterday.

Commenting on the figures, John Davis, marketing director for Barclays Local Business says: "This survey highlights what many bosses have probably suspected for a long time - that for some employees, their current job is the last thing on their mind when they are at work.

Click to read more ...

Do you have to wear a suit to work? Continental Research polled 500 businesses to find out.

The White House recently made the headlines by banning flip-flops. 83 per cent of UK businesses agree, saying that these are not suitable work attire. 70 per cent of UK businesses would not allow shorts, and 88 per cent do not allow mini-skirts, so even in a more relaxed working environment there are still some boundaries.

Only a third said that they still have a dress code, and this tends to be “smart casual” rather than “formal”. However, 40 per cent of larger businesses still insist on formal wear at work.

Click to read more ...

From the Telegraph: For a taste of what small businesses really think of Labour's claims to be 'enterprise friendly', Jeff Randall visits Newmarket.

For 10 years as Chancellor and 100 days as Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has talked the talk about business. No senior Labour politician has ever done more to court and flatter company bosses. At British Chambers of Commerce breakfasts, CBI lunches and Institute of Directors dinners, he tirelessly spreads the word of his "enterprise-friendly" agenda.

Click here to read full article.

The price of gold reached a 27-year high on Friday.

At $737 an ounce, it surpassed the previous peak of $730, which was posted in May. However, it was still some way short of the all-time record of $850 per ounce, reached in December 1980.

Uncertainty in the global financial markets, precipitated by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, has been blamed for the rush to buy gold. The trigger was said to be the unexpected half point cut by the US federal reserve.

Click to read more ...

“Barreto has the passion, the experience, the know-how, and the know-who to help any small business succeed.” – Steve Strauss, USA Today.

Small business is the engine that drives America’s new economy. In The Engine of America, former administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Hector Barreto and veteran journalist Bob Wagman reveal the winning business strategies of CEOs from 50 companies. For all those starting or growing their own small business, the wisdom, experience, and counsel of these successful leaders provides inspirational and thoughtful advice on making it as an entrepreneur.

Click to read more ...

By Richard Port, head of employment law at Clarion Solicitors: Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, who is about to open his first restaurant in Yorkshire, recently warned his rivals that if they continue to use their “macho” kitchen ways and do not stop bullying staff, they could face legal action.

The issue that Blanc raises is one familiar to many, particularly those working in the hospitality industry, where a certain amount of shouting and swearing may be expected. You might be forgiven for thinking “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”, but this bullying behaviour is not confined to the catering industry. In fact, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, bullying and harassment affects one in five UK employees. With National Ban Bullying at Work Day taking place on 7 November 2007, it is the perfect opportunity for employers to address any bullying in their offices, and to consider the legal consequences if they choose to ignore it.

Click to read more ...

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.

Estée Lauder imposed herself on the cosmetics world despite being rebuffed repeatedly when she tried to get her own counter at Saks Fifth Avenue department store.

Click to read more ...

This is how to sell a business now.

The internet has changed pretty much everything.  Could Al Gore’s invention now be changing how America’s business wealth transitions from retiring business owners?

The search engine became a part of every day speech when Yahoo and iGoogle rewrote the rules for finding stuff. And finding the best deal, no matter what we are shopping for, also happens on the internet. Thanks Hotwire, Ebay and Amazon.com.

Click to read more ...

An article in Small Business Trends says generation Y (25 and under) has grown up watching their parents go off to work every day, 40 - 60 hours per week, with fierce loyalty only to be downsized, outsourced, or laid off in their 40’s and 50’s.

This reality has the 20-somethings with a different mindset from previous generations. We do not want to merely work our time away, but to live a life of significance and fulfillment. That means being and doing more than just having, and starting businesses rather than working for someone else.

Click here to read the full article.

From The Times: Debenhams increased the gloom about the prospects for the retail market yesterday when it revealed that it had been forced to discount heavily in the summer to clear stocks.

Shares in the company fell 3.8 per cent to 101½p as the retailer said that gross margins slid 0.9 percentage points in the six months to September 1, worse than expected, after poor summer weather and disappointing ranges forced it to discount heavily to clear stock.

Click here to read full article.

Ubops.com The Business Opportunities Marketplace

Lycetts, the UK’s premier countryside insurance broker, and The Field magazine have today announced the five short-listed candidates still in the running to be named as the Young Rural Entrepreneur of 2007. 

The competition, launched in May, has ignited interest and generated entries from a broad range of rural entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs do, however, all have one thing in common - they are all committed to making a sustainable contribution to the economy and communities of the UK’s countryside.

Click to read more ...

Originally Premier Soccer, Premier Sport now coaches youngsters in a wide range of different sports and physical activities, including football, rugby, cricket, gymnastics and basketball, to name a few.

Apart from the increasing willingness of schools to outsource PE lessons to third parties, Premier Sport, which also holds holiday camps and after-school clubs, also benefits from a growing demand for safe, fun, physical activities for children amid concerns about rising obesity levels.

CEO David Batch told BOB about this franchise opportunity.

Click to read more ...

Sun-Sentinel.com says small business owners who think they work harder than everyone else, are probably right.

On the up side, owners of SMEs also feel more in control of their lives according to the latest index from the Discover Small Business Watch. Another plus is small business owners get more support from their spouses when they check their email on their days off compared to those who work for other people.

Click here to read the full article.

Orange Business Services and The Times Online have teamed up to give budding entrepreneurs the chance to win £10,000 when they enter the Fantasy CEO challenge.

The game involves a series of business tasks and online activities, pitting entrants against each other in competition to see who will be ranked number one and win the prize.
 
Registration closes on Wednesday 19th September, so don’t miss your chance to become the next number one CEO!

Click to read more ...

Nearly a fifth of employees do not pay in to their pension, but almost a third of employers contribute over 6 per cent of a salary.

A study by Barclays Financial Planning (BFP) of 200 UK small to medium sized companies today revealed over half (51 per cent) of these employers are concerned their employees are making insufficient contributions to their pensions and are actively encouraging their staff to increase them.

Particularly worrying are the figures highlighting that a substantial number (19 per cent) of the employees working in these companies do not make any contribution at all to their pension. 

Click to read more ...