Startups to be exempt from employment red tape

Startups with fewer than ten employees will be exempt from new employment regulations for the next three years, Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk is set to announce.

Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk will deliver a major speech at the Federation of Small Business’s annual conference, in which he is due to announce that regulatory demands emanating from Whitehall will be eased.

Prisk is expected to announce that startups with fewer than ten employees will be exempt from new employment regulations for the next three years, and that the government will repeal laws allowing parents with children below the age of 17 the right to request flexible working hours.

Additionally, firms employing fewer than 250 people will not be requried to provide training outside work.

Read more: http://realbusiness.co.uk/hr/startups_to_be_exempt_from_employment_red_tape

And the five worse countries in which to set up shop are…

1. Yemen
2. Cameroon
3. Mali
4. Ethiopia
5. Zimbabwe

Source: http://realbusiness.co.uk/jason_hesse/ten_best_countries_to_be_an_entrepreneur

Ten best countries to be an entrepreneur

Researchers at the Legatum Institute, a London think tank, have recently published their 2010 Prosperity Index, which ranks 110 countries’ happiness. As part of their research, Legatum also looked at other subsections, including entrepreneurship.

Here are the top ten best countries to become an entrepreneur:

1. Denmark (happiness rank: 2)
2. Sweden (6)
3. United States (10)
4. Finland (3)
5. United Kingdom (13)
6. Norway (1)
7. Ireland (11)
8. Singapore (17)
9. Iceland (12)
10. Canada (7)

Source: http://realbusiness.co.uk/jason_hesse/ten_best_countries_to_be_an_entrepreneur

Great Time For Start-Ups, Says Playfish Founder

Entrepreneurs should brush aside economic doom and gloom because now is a great time to start a company or sell a young business, according to leading European entrepreneur Kristian Segerstrale.

UK-based Segerstrale, who sold social gaming company Playfish to Electronic Arts for an initial $275 million (£173 million) last November, says that those running start-ups in Europe should stop being ‘shy’ and not be afraid to take on big business.

Adds Segerstrale, ‘Almost any business today can go out and be a dinosaur slayer. That’s what we decided to do with Playfish, take a $50 billion [games] industry and turn it on its head.’

Read full article: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/news/business-news/1294148/great-time-for-startups-says-playfish-founder.thtml

Company Formations On The Rise Again

Source: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/news/business-news/1268778/company-formations-on-the-rise-again.thtml

YouTube channel provides business guidance videos

Number of start-ups falls 10% in recession

The number of new businesses being established around the world has declined due to the global recession, according to data released by the annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).

There were 10% fewer new start-ups last year in the 20 richest countries in the world. The decline was the most severe in America, where it fell 24%. By contrast, the UK only saw a 6% drop.

“Throughout the world, would-be entrepreneurs reported greater difficulty in obtaining financial backing for their start-up activities, especially from informal investors – families, friends, and strangers,” said Professor Bill Bygrave of Babson College, one of the founders of GEM.

Dragon tells startups to stay put

Theo Paphitis says entrepreneurs should wait until after the general election before starting a business.

Speaking on BBC2′s Working Lunch programme, he said that uncertainty about Labour and Tory economic policies is making it impossible for businesses to take calculated risks.

View video here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/8442167.stm

Source: BBC

Lloyds pledge support to 30,000 start-ups

Lloyds Banking Group has pledged to offer support to 30,000 start-up businesses over the next three years.

The bank – of which taxpayers own 43% – said its plans would help ‘viable’ businesses gain access to credit as the UK recovers from recession and give “clearer and fairer” prices under a small business charter.

Under the charter the bank said it would run a programme of 200 seminars to advise small firms, meet ‘reasonable’ requests for finance and help viable businesses through temporary difficulties.

The bank has also promised small business borrowing will not be switched from base rate to LIBOR and the bank will not change the terms of overdrafts as long as firms keep within agreed limits.

“Anything that increases that transparency and understanding is welcome because small and medium-sized enterprises can then work more closely with banks to change or further enhance their business and address any concerns,” said Russel Griggs, chairman of the CBI business group’s small business council.

via Lloyds pledge support to 30,000 start-ups – Banking & Finance, business advice or business startups and starting a business, with free business e-newsletter.