Small Business and the Winter

If ever there was a case for modernising your business model then it is this winter. Here I am as I write about twentyfive miles away from where I am supposed to be and all because it snowed heavily last night. Well, to be honest it has been snowing for the last couple of nights, but I had expected the people in charge to have done something about it over the weekend.

I, though am obviously some kind of optimist, for after getting up at some strange hour this morning, I did as always do and headed off to the train station at about seven, only to find there seemed to be no trains but the staff were locked out of the station because the chap with the keys could make it to the station. After a while it was stated that there would be no trains so I webt home.

Luckily, I can still work to a certain degree of competence at home so here I am. but not all employers will allow this level of flexibility. And it is surely better to get some level of work from your employees when the elements have conspired against them. This is especially so with small companies, in fact the smaller the company the more important it becomes. After all every one employee is a larger percentage of the whole than in larger corporations, and this affects the business in proportion.

This is a problem that also affects small businesses with absences through illness both short term and long term. There is not much you can do about the short term last minute absences, but with longer term absences then at least there is an option, with some employee health insurance plans this gives you the ability to cover your staff shortages with part-timers until your regular employee comes back. This is a modern world and there are always ways to get around problems like these.

SME Web Presence to grow

Strangely enough of all the businesses in the UK about one and a half million of them have absolutely no presence on the world wide web, this is especially so in the case of Small Business, many of whom think that they are either too small or it is just an unnecessary expense when everything else is tight, so just forego it.

But this is surely a huge mistake for all those concerned, although it may cost a little to set up and you might need a somebody with the correct skill set to run the operation, the simple fact is that if you can run part [or all] of your organisation online, it will cut out many of the other cost that might be accrued.

But this, it seems is set to change, as companies like BT & Google have been getting together to allow companies to have their very own website for free, all care of Getting British Business Online, as long as the name you wish has not already been taken, then everything is in place to start right away, what are you waiting for?

Growth to Continue in Europe

Several large health insurance companies have stated that they are now looking toward Europe and not Asia for the next big growth in sales of business health insurance to take place. This comes as a bit of a surprise to many people given the relative economic climate in Europe, and the strength of so much of Asia backed by China & India.

However it has more to do with the political stability across the whole of Europe, and difficulties gain access to certain Asian markest which has led this change of emphasis. There is also a feeling in some places that the absolute worst of the financial 'stormy seas' have been sailed already and that Europe should be looking forward to a period of continued growth.

Whichever way it goes, the future seems to be looking good for health insurance companies in the western hemisphere, and the competition to offer competitive business insurance plans will be good for all those small companies who've made it through the recession.

Business Backs Osbourne

In a letter in today's Daily Telegraph, undersigned by many of the CEOs of the largest businesses in the UK, British business has come out in favour of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's impending cuts to spending in the public sector.

The impetus behind this backing is that the British economy is in a sound enough footing [the green shoots etc.] to take up the strain of any natural wastage caused by government savings. This is a very fine statement by these businessmen except for one point, and that is that they are all on the board of a very large businesses.

It has long been a fact that most of the job creation in the UK has been done at the hand of the nation's small businesses, not the large, and these have not been consulted in the formulation of the letter. It is not so easy as signing a letter when you have to run a smaller business, banks are not quite so willing to extend credit, cover month to month expences: business health insurance policies; salaries; rent; insurance.

Small to medium businesses must never be confused, they have widely differing challenges, and need much different skillsets in management, it is almost impossible for large business leaders to make this claim, Mr Osborne needs, instead, to listen to the world of small business.

Conservative Party Conference 2010

This is the week of the conservative party's conference, this year being held in Birmingham at the ICC, this, of course, should be attracting the attention of businessmen all across the country. The Conservatives being the party most affiliated with business have often maintained that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the best way to give any economy the impetus that is needed to keep the country on a sound economic footing.

To this end it is important that the Conservative party reiterates it's support to the little people who were not to blame for the disastrous state of the economy, and give a little git of leeway for those who are trying to get the country back on the right tracks. To this end it may not be necessary to raise taxes across the board, and the possibility of some form of tax relief, perhaps on some of the benefits awarded to good staff such as small business health insurance or maternity leave.

Consumer Confidence

An unexpected rise in public consumer confidence for August is set to be announced by GfKNOP the market research and consumer agency. This is will be the first rise in the index in over six months and shows that even though the country is undergoing a particularly serious bout of austerity, this has not caused people to stop going out and buying things.

So what does this tell us about the state of play? I'm not really sure if it means that people have their head in the sand or whether the gloomy news is overexaggerated and the people are showing the true nature of the economy. In any case it certainly is good news for business in the UK as spending is set to at least stay level if not rise in the months up to Christmas.

Again this will help alleviate any possible worries felt by both employers and employees alike, as with a potential rise in spending brings added to the overall economy at a time when it is most needed. This is what was needed to keep overheads at bay, in a time when everything seems to be rising, from health insurance costs to the price of stationery going up in price. At a time when wages are remaining largely static.

If things remain like this the projected doom & gloom of the feared "double dip" may just never come to fruition [fingers crossed].

NHS Cutbacks

Findings of the Royal College of Nursing, reported in the other week's Telegraph, seem to point to nearly 10,000 NHS jobs being cut in the near future. And although these cuts will not come as a result of people actually losing their jobs, it still does represent a drastic reduction in staffing levels at a time when the UK population continues to grow.

Most of the cuts will come from not replacing staff when they retire and by retiring positions when people transfer internally. I know that the economy is in a dire situation, but if we are going to cut back on NHS staffing then this will drive people into the private sphere, especially when self employed medical insurance can be found so cheap if you hunt around for a deal.

It might be for the best though, it certainly can be argued that parts of the public sector are grossly overstaffed, I guess we are about to find out if this is the correct way to go. Fingers crossed.