The UK needs alternative solutions for SME funding
The previous few years have been a rocky road for the UK’s banks. UK SMEs have felt the effects of the stumbles in the banking industry more than most, with bank lending to the SME sector becoming especially restrained in an economic environment that has heightened the need for working capital to support day to day business operations.
However, although generally failing to meet the credit needs of SMEs the big 4 UK banks (Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC still manage to retain nearly 80% of all SME accounts.
For some innovative funding solutions, take a look at the following:
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Millions of pounds lost to Britain’s fear of failure
Research by the newly-relaunched Business Link shows that a quarter of the working population believes there are good opportunities to start up new businesses – but a fear of failure is holding them back.
If only one per cent of UK workers overcame their fear and started up a new business, the UK economy would receive a boost of over £33m, if each individual made a profit of just £1,000. If five per cent overcame their fear and took a leap into entrepreneurialism, then the injection would be £163m – while, if all of them took the leap, the benefit would be £3.25bn.
If you’re looking to start a business, before you do, take a look at our start up page and also consider downloading the free e-book: 50 Essential Business Advice Tips To Prevent Your Business From Failing.
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New partnership to help SMEs seize global opportunities
The European Commission (EC) has launched a new partnership to help SMEs to profit from fast-growing markets such as China, India, Russia and regions like South East Asia and Latin America.
Currently only 13 per cent of SMEs are internationally active outside the EU through trade, investment or other forms of cooperation with foreign partners.
The EC sees promoting and supporting SMEs’ economic activities outside the EU as an important part of the Union’s overall competitiveness strategy and has, therefore, launched the Small Business, Big World partnership to help them penetrate new markets and find the right local partners.
The new strategy sets out six fields of action:
- Strengthening and mapping the existing supply of support services;
- Creating a single virtual gateway to information for SMEs;
- Making support schemes at EU level more consistent;
- Promoting clusters and networks for SME internationalisation;
- Rationalising new activities in priority markets;
- Leveraging existing EU external policies.
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£95M Bank Fund For Business via Regional Growth Fund
Hundreds of small businesses will be given £95 million as part of a bank fund to “boost growth” and “rebalance the economy”.
David Cameron said the funding was expected to create 4,000 jobs and “unlock” around £500 million of new investment by small and medium businesses (SMEs).
According to Mr Cameron’s announcement, RBS, NatWest and HSBC have agreed to facilitate the distribution of the £95 million – which is part of the government’s Regional Growth Fund. RBS and NatWest will facilitate £70 million and HSBC will facilitate £25 million.
Read more: http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=134935
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Late payment problem worsens for small businesses
Small and medium-sized businesses are now owed a record £33.6 billion in late payments according to the latest late payment survey by Bacs.
The total owed in late payments has increased by 10% in the last year, with the average small business now owed £39,000. To compound the problem, businesses are also having to wait even longer to be paid.
The scale of the problem is illustrated by the fact that half of all UK SMEs (861,000 businesses) are currently suffering from late paying customers. Business owners say they are currently being paid, on average, 28 days later than the invoice terms.
Another survey finds large companies are slowest payers
The research reveals the worst late payment culprits are large companies, with these corporates being responsible for 48% of all late payments. These findings concur with other surveys and reports on the issue of late payments, which consistently show large firms are the slowest payers.
On the other hand, the Government and not-for-profit organisations are the fastest payers, with just 9% of small businesses finding late payment an issue with these customers.
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Top 20 Habits That Hold You Back
“We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.” Peter Drucker
There are 20 common flaws in interpersonal transactions which are frequently found in the behaviour of leaders and senior managers:
1. Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations – when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point.
2. Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
3. Passing Judgement: The need to rate others and pass our judgements on them.
4. Making destructive comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
5. Starting with “No”, “But” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone “I’m right and you’re wrong”.
6. Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people that we’re smarter than they think we are.
7. Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
8. Negativity or, “Let me explain why that won’t work”: The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked.
9. Withholding information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
10. Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
12. Making Excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behaviour as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
13. Clinging to that past: The need to deflect blame from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming someone else.
14. Playing favourites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
15. Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we’re wrong, or recognise how our actions affect others.
16. Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
17. Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
18. Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent who are usually only trying to help us.
19. Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
20. An excessive need to be “me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are.
contact Jacqui Elmore – Business Coach
Tel: 01327 844174
Email: jacquielmore@ologycoaching.com
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Free advertising in the press
Small businesses around the UK have been told that the new Local Business Accelerator Scheme represents their best chance of success.
The new programme, which is fronted by the Newspaper Society, aims to make £15 million worth of free advertising available to the UK’s smaller businesses.
Well-known entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, who helped launch the programme after noticing the difficulty that small firms have in identifying and accessing relevant assistance, claimed the scheme will help business owners shape their future.
Read full article: http://www.taxassist.co.uk/News/Small-Business/Business-Accelerator-scheme-will-give-firms-the-best-chance-of-success-12409.html
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Apprenticeship figures are not what they seem – good news
Just weeks ago, aircraft manufacturer BAE Systems announced 3,000 job losses. A couple of months earlier, train manufacturer Bombardier admitted 1,400 of its jobs were to go.
So it was, to many, a surprise to read that the number of people starting apprenticeships in manufacturing and engineering had grown by almost a quarter in the academic year.
In all, some 422,700 people started apprenticeships of all kinds in the academic year just gone – a rise of more than half on the year before when the figure was 279,700.
Read full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/oct/28/apprenticeships-vince-cable-figures?newsfeed=true
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Loan application successes down to 65%
The Treasury has come under renewed pressure to persuade British banks to lend to small businesses after official data revealed a sharp drop in companies’ access to finance.
There was a steep fall in the number of businesses that were successful in their attempts to get loans last year, to 65% from 90% in 2007, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The data also showed the number of fast-growing businesses that felt banks were now less willing to lend was 15 times higher than those that thought the situation had improved.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/28/small-businesses-failing-loans?newsfeed=true
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