Biz Penguin - Small Business Ideas, Tips and Tools

Business 101: Starting Out as a Commercial Interior Designer

While the media may be swamped with news of economic and private sector growth, this does not mean that the UK can look forward to long-term success with any great degree of certainty. More specifically, a teetering real estate market and lack of permanent job opportunities is continuing to undermine the green shoots of economic recovery, so there is reason for small business owners in particular to remain cautious. It is also important to understand the fact that not all industries thrive and prosper, even during periods of wider growth.…

Why Should You Allocate Budget to Marketing?

Marketing is absolutely essential for any business, large or small. Even if it weren’t the case originally, we now live in an age which is so saturated by marketing that it’s become increasingly difficult for individual companies to stand out. But marketing, whilst often maligned in the media and by consumers, acts as the mouthpiece of a company. In fact, the best marketing is so subtle that consumers don’t even notice it at all. Investing for Success Some marketing will inevitably happen of its own accord.…

3 Ways the Summer Heat Affects Your Business

For many of us, summer is a time for relaxation and fun. With BBQs aplenty and bustling beer gardens, when Britain gets its weather right, there’s nowhere else better on earth. However, as brilliant as the glorious sunshine may be for the weekends and down time, it causes numerous problems for businesses up and down the country. From problems with refrigeration in restaurants to the decreasing of staff efficiency, the heat causes problems no matter what the nature of your business.…

Improving Disabled Access in the Workplace

Access for older and disabled people is increasingly important in tourism, recreation and the workplace. All businesses are expected, by law, to make ‘reasonable’ adjustments to their premises in order to make their services, facilities and work environment accessible to disabled people. Additionally, it is against the law for an employer of any size or standing to discriminate against disabled people in areas such as recruitment, training, promotion, dismissal or redundancy. The key word in the legislation is ‘reasonable’. What is deemed reasonable will depend upon your business’ resources, the cost and practicality of adaptations and the potential benefits to customers and employees.…

7 Characteristics of Insanely Successful Entrepreneurs

I am a firm believer that entrepreneurship can be taught. With that being said, I do believe that some people are born with entrepreneurship genes, which make the pursuit of opportunities seems natural. For some others, however, they need to do more in order to be successful: They need to personally and professionally develop themselves in such a way that they have what it takes to start a business – and actually guide it to success. In the end, it’s about mindset, really.…

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Project Management

Here’s a case for you: Today seems like a normal working day for you. Suddenly, one of your bosses handed out the responsibility for you to manage a marketing project. Or, here’s another case for you: You are a small business owner who needs to work on your first major project from an important client. Whichever your case is, whenever you are facing similar challenge, you might feel in doubt; you might be not sure whether you can take on such responsibility.…

The Changing Role of the HR Department

Today’s HR directors are operating in an environment of change and interesting opportunities. The role of these teams are changing, particularly within in-house organisations. Originally, personnel teams were focused heavily on the administrative requirements of managing staff according to processes and legal requirements, dealing with pay and benefits, sickness and absence reporting, development and training opportunities, issues resolution, hiring and firing and other ‘business as usual’ activities, often at large volumes and with high manual administration requirements. A changing remit Today however, the human resources management world focuses on people as a resource – or an asset – for the company to use and get the most from.…

Running a More Effective Small Business Website

Most businesses today have and need a website. However, the process of ensuring that the website runs smoothly and delivers effective results is still new to a lot of smaller businesses. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may invest in a new website but then find that they are unsure how best to use it. There are a number of steps that smaller businesses can take to ensure that their website works effectively and is easy and efficient to maintain. Get to know Sharepoint Microsoft Sharepoint is one of the most complete, effective tools on the market today for maintaining websites.…

What Should Be Your Small Business Marketing Strategy in 2014?

Small business strategies require a good deal of adjustment and assurance. It becomes all the more important to adjust your goals in order to ensure that you manage to stay on target. We must admit that the small business strategies have taken on an altogether new meaning. With the advancement of technology, business environments are being affected. Such strategies are essential for the success of your organization as the size of the small businesses do require strategies that are not only capable of simplifying efforts but also do it’s best in saving time and preserving limited resources.…

Roller Banner Printing for Every Budget

If you are on the lookout for a new way to promote your business then you will no doubt be aware of the rise of the roller banner. UK businesses have been using these nifty marketing tools to great effect everywhere from the high street to the exhibition halls. Roller banner printing is a huge business in its own right and with this level of competition roller banner pricing has become affordable for even the smallest businesses. Generally, when searching for roller banners UK companies will be presented with four grades of roller banner.…