|
Business121 No.177
======================================================================
Business121 is the newsletter for small business owners and start-ups.
Please forward Business121 to friends and colleagues. They can sign up for their own copy at http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/about/subscribe.shtml
You'll also find 2000+ articles at Bytestart, our acclaimed website for business owners and start-ups - http://www.bytestart.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/bytestart
===========================================================================
In this week's Business121 Newsletter:
1. Website copying on the increase
2. Pitching - how to position yourself against your competitors
3. Six steps to better sales results
4. How to improve your direct marketing campaigns
5. A guide to social media for small businesses
6. 10 business email mistakes you should avoid
7. Seven leasehold property pitfalls for commercial tenants
8. Employee sickness absence - A complete guide for employers
Small Business News
9. New online accounting system for freelancers and small companies
10. Doug Richard zero-budget marketing seminar - London 18th July
11. Still no news from Government on £750 million innovation fund
12. Late payments affecting over half businesses in the UK
13. The new Apple iPhone 3GS - a review for business owners
** Read this issue online: http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/index.shtml **
Website copying on the increase
-------------------------------
With it being easy to copy content from websites with just a few clicks of a mouse, more and more firms are finding that their intellectual property has been stolen.
Web hosting provider, Fasthosts, has revealed an 89% increase in the number of content disputes reported to its in-house Abuse Department in the past year, as unscrupulous operators copy and plagiarise content from other websites.
The firm also revealed that one in ten businesses had at least one item of their website copied during the past year, suggesting that the challenging economy and increasingly competitive online marketplace is driving an increase in the theft of online content.
To help protect your website content there are tools that can help you to find out if another website has copied your content. And, if your content has been stolen you can learn more about the steps you can take to rectify the situation in our article on the copying of website content here;
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/35_1/copying-web-content.shtml
To stay up to date with all our latest articles you can follow us on Twitter here - http://www.twitter.com/bytestart
************************** Advertisement ************************
WHY YOUR BUSINESS IS BETTER OFF INSURED WITH HISCOX
.................................................................
As a leading specialist insurer we provide the most comprehensive business insurance available online.
You can tailor your policy with industry specific professional indemnity cover (£25K up to £2M), 'all-risks' contents and computers cover, portable equipment, public liability, employers'
liability, legal expenses, business interruption & buildings.
Why not get a quote now? Hiscox allows you to buy online in minutes and download your policy documents immediately. Click here to find out more - http://snipurl.com/_Hiscox_Insurance
****************************************************************
Pitching - how to position yourself against your competitors
-------------------------------------------------------------
It's all very well having a competitive edge, but are your prospective clients aware? A key question when you are pitching for business is "how do you show your audience how you compare to your competitors?".
Should you just tell your audience how good you are and let them do the rest, should you draw direct comparisons with your anonymous competitors, or should you name them directly?
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/businessplans/30_1/pitching-competitors.shtml
Six steps to better sales results
-----------------------------------------
How you can improve your sales and marketing by looking at a set of core issues including; finding your market, identifying your USP, getting your message across, and making sure you have the right tools for the job.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/marketing/articles/improve-sales-results.shtml
How to improve your direct marketing campaigns
-----------------------------------------
Direct marketing can produce results in terms of raised awareness, sales leads and enquiries, if done properly. Here are the golden rules you should follow to make sure your direct marketing campaigns get results.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/marketing/marketing-guides/direct-marketing-success.shtml
A guide to social media for small businesses
-----------------------------------------
Social media relates to the use of the Internet in a number of different ways to interact with other people through content and conversation. Small businesses that incorporate social media into their marketing strategy can find a very cost-effective way to gain visibility, demonstrate credibility, and attract advocates, customers, suppliers and partners.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/marketing/online-marketing/social-media-guide.shtml
10 business email mistakes you should avoid
-----------------------------------------
Every week at Bytestart, we receive several hundred emails from other businesses keen on working with us, wanting to publicise their services, exchange information and links, or write articles. Over the years we've seen a massive variety of writing and presentation styles, and as a result we've compiled 10 mistakes you should try to avoid when composing email correspondence.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/24/24_6/business-email-tips.shtml
Seven leasehold property pitfalls for commercial tenants
-------------------------------------------------------------
Companies can often be faced with a nasty shock and a big bill when moving out of leasehold premises. In this article, we explore some common and costly mistakes often made by unwary commercial tenants.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/35_2/leasehold-property-pitfalls.shtml
Employee sickness absence - A complete guide for employers - Part 1
-------------------------------------------------------------
A comprehensive employers' guide to dealing with employee sickness absence. In this introductory piece, we look at sickness absence policies, and the most common situations that employers are faced with.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/people/sickness-absence-guide.shtml
Employee sickness absence - a complete guide for employers - Part 2
-------------------------------------------------------------
In the second part of our series on dealing with employee sickness absence, we look at Sick pay, Statutory sick pay (SSP), notification of absence, evidence of incapacity, contractual sick pay, discretionary sick pay and holiday during sickness absence.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/people/sickness-absence-guide-2.shtml
Employee sickness absence - a complete guide for employers - Part 3
-------------------------------------------------------------
In this final part of our series on dealing with sickness absence we cover; how to handle an employee returning to work following sickness, disagreements, dismissal of an employee, and give you an outline of the relevant disability discrimination rules.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/people/sickness-absence-guide-3.shtml
************************* Advertisement *************************
TURN YOUR UNPAID INVOICES INTO CASH
.................................................................
If late payment is hurting your business cashflow, or your overdraft limit is restricting you, LLOYDS TSB COMMERCIAL FINANCE can help you.
Our factoring and invoice finance products can give you a 90% cash advance on the invoice value, which means you can instantly turn your unpaid invoices into cash.
Click here to get and Instant Quote and find out how we can help you to quickly raise cash for your business -
https://www.ltsbcf.co.uk/main?__action=dorfq&vid=72&ref_id=5112
*****************************************************************
===================
SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
===================
New online accounting system for freelancers and small companies
-------------------------------------------------------------
A new online accounting system has been launched, which enables freelancers and other small companies to manage their entire accounts, invoicing and expenses online.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/crunch-online-accounting.shtml
Doug Richard zero-budget marketing seminar - London 18th July
-------------------------------------------------------------
One of the original 'Dragons' is hosting a one-day seminar for entrepreneurs on how to market your business on zero-budget.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/events/doug-richard-seminar.shtml
Still no news from Government on £750 million innovation fund
-------------------------------------------------------------
In April's Budget the Chancellor announced a £750 million fund for innovation to "stimulate growth in the UK's industries of the future". Some two months there are no details about what the fund will cover or who can apply for it.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/750-million-innovation-fund.shtml
Late payments affecting over half businesses in the UK
-------------------------------------------------------------
Late payments could be causing a ripple effect on over half the businesses in the UK, according to new figures. The total cost of delayed settlement could be costing businesses up to £2bn per year.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/finance/43_1/late-payment-ripple.shtml
The new Apple iPhone 3GS - a review for business owners
-------------------------------------------------------------
Last week, Apple launched its new iPhone 3GS in the UK. Within a week, it had sold over one million handsets. Our editor signed up for a new iPhone and looks at how this stylish product could help small business owners save time.
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/15/23_5/apple-iphone-review.shtml
** For the latest Small Business News, visit http://www.Bytestart.co.uk **
===========
CLASSIFIEDS
===========
FREE DAY-TO-DAY BUSINESS BANKING FOREVER
.................................................................
With Abbey you can enjoy free day-to-day business banking forever. Call us today on 0800 085 3099 and we'll help you enjoy free banking.
FINDING INVOICING A BURDEN?
.................................................................
Take the pain out of invoicing with a quick and simple application that saves you time and brings in the money. Free sign up:
http://snipurl.com/_invoicing
LOOKING FOR A FRIENDLY AND FAIRLY-PRICED ACCOUNTANT?
.................................................................
We at HfM pride ourselves on friendly, fairly-priced, professional tax and accounting services for small businesses. Contact us today and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Call Ian Marlow on
020 8690 7444, email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or: http://www.HfMTax.co.uk
SEE YOUR AD HERE
.................................................................
Business121 is read by over 10,000 small business owners every week. Advertise in our newsletter from just £60+vat per issue.
Please email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for details
==========
CONTACT US
==========
Business121 is your newsletter. Let us know what you want to read about, the problems you want to overcome and the issues that are holding you back and we'll do our best to help.
Just email us.
If you've missed an issue you can find them all here:
http://snipurl.com/_121_issues
(c) Bytestart Ltd 2009
|
