Biz Penguin

Banking Giant Claim Small Businesses in North West Cautiously Optimistic for 2013

A survey conducted by Lloyds TSB among smaller businesses in North West England suggests that confidence for the coming year could be on the rise. The banking group spoke to 110 companies in the region, and found that many of them believe that then situation in Europe and at home will improve.

42% of the businesses Lloyds spoke to said that they believe that orders over the first six months of 2013 will go up, while just 13% believe the opposite may be the most likely outcome.…

The Flat-Rate Pension Scheme and Your Business – are You Ready for It?

It looks like the UK pension is about to get a real shake-up.
There are plans for a new, flat-rate pension to make an appearance by April 2017 that could be beneficial to anybody retiring after that date.

What’s changing?
At present, the full state pension comes in at £107.45 a week, but with pension credit it can be increase to £142.70.
Under the new flat-rate pension proposal, the pension payment will be £144. There will also be inflation rises applied on top of that sum.…

4 Reasons Why a Pop Up Shop Can Help Your Small Business Stand Out

Are you a small business owner who is looking for a high impact way to advertise, promote and get out there without burning a hole in your pocket? Then setting up your own pop up shop or participating in a pop up event might be the best thing to do. Here’s why…

1. It’s Time Tested
Pop up stores have been around for a really long time now. However it is only recently that pop ups have started getting the thumbs up from small business owners all over.…

The Best Workplace in the World

No, this post is not about the geographical location of the best workplace in the world; instead, this post is about 5 of the best workplace types in the world. And yes, it’s worth reading

Today, technology enables us to be more mobile and productive. We are no longer need to setup an office on a business park to run our business. Instead, you can now run a reputable business without the costs of maintaining a full-fledged office.
Especially great for independent business owners, here are top locations for running your business – with or without employees.…

Business Intelligence Tool: SizeUp Your Business Against the Competitors

Want to gauge how well your business do in your industry? Well, there’s an app for that – a pretty powerful one. SizeUp – super-easy-to-use business intelligence tool that can help you analyze your competitors and industry; to find exactly where’s you in the comparison charts.

How SizeUp works
It’s easy to underestimate SizeUp: Entering the site, you are presented with a clean-looking layout with only 2 fields to fill out: Your niche and your location.
What you see is just the very tip of the iceberg: Once you’re in, you will get valuable insight about your niche and your competitors.…

Patients Put At Risk Due to Political Power Games

In a healthcare report recently published by Imperial College London, Dame Ruth Carnall suggests that the coalition’s first health secretary Andrew Lansley put patients at risk by scrapping a review of health care in London.
SME’s in the form of local, family doctors have also been angered by government proposals lead by a former Labour health minister Lord Darzi who wishes for a cast expansion of polyclinics, otherwise known as super surgeries, which would draw custom away from the local GPs.…

Black Sheep Branding: How to stand out from the flock

Most businesses give key information right in their names. Starbucks Coffee. Nationwide Insurance. Dunkin Donuts. Your brand isn’t about the service you provide, it’s about what makes your company the absolute best option. A fill-in-the-blanks website and mass produced logo will let potential customers know what your business does – but that’s about it. In an age where there are hundreds of choices available, your brand must be about what makes you different.

Be metaphorical
Many of the most successful brands have symbolic logos.…

Business Growth Tips from John Puckett, Caribou Coffee Founder and Punch Pizza Co-owner (Video Interview)

I discovered this interesting video while looking for small business inspiration. It’s a good finding. It’s Patch’s exclusive video interview with John Puckett, the founder of Caribou Coffee and co-owner of Punch Pizza.

John and his wife co-founded Caribou Coffee in 1992 with a big plan to establish 200 stores in 5 to 10 years. Things are looking good and going as planned…
John were successfully established 100 stores in 8 US states, but then he encountered a problem, which mainly related to work-life balance.…

Stop Your Rants – Please!

In my opinion, there is no other power as disruptive to your business as ranting. It’s tempting to rant, especially when you feel that you have every right to do so. “The economy sucks…” “the Gov’t sucks…” “the market sucks…” and so on… While there’s nothing wrong in opinions, rants will only impact you – and the people around you – in negative ways; it’s that obvious.

Before you know it, you are slowly being surrounded by those who think alike.…

Starting a Business: 5 Checklists You Might Have Missed

Are you ready to turn your ideas into real business? Well, hold your horses… first things first: You need to know how to start right. You need a plan; or better yet, you need a checklist and follow-the-dotted-line guide. While you are searching for resources, this blog post will enlighten you with 5 startup checklists you might have missed during your search.

Well, if you are doing business in the US I’m sure you know that the go-to site for startup advice is SBA.gov.…