ACPR Blog

FreelanceAdvisor.co.uk is a new advice and networking website for freelancers and contractors at a time when growing uncertainty forces people to look at their skillsets and consider working for themselves.

There are currently 1.4 million people freelancing in the UK, according to research  from the Professional Contractors Group (PCG). And last week Government figures showed that unemployment has reached an 11-year high - the number of people out of work in the UK in the three months to September rose by 140,000 to 1.82 million. Read the rest of this entry »

Hollie Smith is looking for parents who are happy to share brief comments, tips and anecdotes via email for a pregnancy book, to provide real-life perspective on subjects such as stretchmarks, scans, and swollen ankles.

If you’re pregnant, or you’ve had a baby recently, she would love to hear from you. She says, “How it will work is this: I will compile a big email group, and send out fairly regular (but not an inundation, I promise) emails, posing questions such as, ‘How big did your boobs get?’ and ‘When did you first feel it kick?’ etc. Read the rest of this entry »

New research from everywoman and NatWest, released today, national Women’s Enterprise Day has revealed women business owners have taken over their male counterparts for growth ambition, but lack of money knowledge could stop them achieving their aims:

• Female entrepreneurs predict £12 billion growth in turnover over next five years
• 88% of women predict business growth over next five years, compared with 74% of men
• Women’s lack of awareness around financial support could be their biggest barrier to future growth - 74% of men understand services available compared with 48% of women

Read the rest of this entry »

Operating an online magazine can be quite a daunting experience for someone who doesn’t have an idea on how to generate traffic (visitors) or keep them coming back for more – especially not when the portal is designed by designers and web developers who know nothing about search engine optimization.

 
Rima McDonald, publisher/ owner of Women’s Online Magazine, also an Internet Marketing expert among other women business owners in the United States, knows what it takes to run an online magazine successfully. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out Enterprise Nation for daily tips and interviews. And visit the Enterprise Week website to find out what is on in your area. Womens’ Enterprise Day is Wednesday 19th November.

Women’s Enterprise Day 2008 will galvanise budding female entrepreneurs and employees across the UK to think big and aim high, despite the difficult economic climate. On Women’s Enterprise Day, as part of the first ever Global Entrepreneurship Week, hundreds of events will be held worldwide. Read the rest of this entry »

There are some great tips here on SiteProNews about improving your eBay marketing from Vickie Sayce. If you sell on eBay, check them out.

Responding to the announcement that the number of people out of work in the UK has jumped by 140,000 to 1.82 million, the highest in 11 years, Karen Darby of SimplySwitch fame says it is not all ‘doom and gloom’ and gives her suggestions for beating unemployment and finding the right job.

Even though Karen sold SimplySwitch for £22m to the Daily Mail, she was also once in the same situation as many thousands of UK workers. Karen Darby, who is a highly successful and inspirational entrepreneur, had a classic ‘rags to riches’ story. One of five children, Karen grew up on a council estate and left school at 16 with one GCSE.  

Whilst still at school, Karen worked in a supermarket, a launderette and a fish and chip shop. In her determination to work she walked from Mitcham to Croydon knocking on the door of every shop on the way until she found a job.

Here Karen gives her top tips for finding the right job in today’s depressed employment market. Read the rest of this entry »

The nation’s leading women business owners are named as finalists in the NatWest everywoman awards. The awards, now in their sixth year, recognise and reward the nation’s most successful female entrepreneurs, across all ages and sectors. The finalists selected have all displayed great entrepreneurial flair. Each journey of success, often in the face of adversity, makes them compelling role models for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The finalists are as follows:
Read the rest of this entry »

Every small business will have a problem with an unpaid debt at some stage. Whether the debt is £20, £200 or £2000 it is annoying and, at worst, can cause serious cash flow problems for your business.

There is help out there, however, and it does not have to be expensive and difficult to deal with a debt.

Start by looking at The Better Payment Practice Campaign, http://www.payontime.co.uk. You can sign up and include their logo on your invoices. They also have a page of essential letters which will help you start the debt chasing process yourself. The information on the site will help you be clear about how you can charge interest and debt recovery costs on unpaid bills.

If you are looking for legal help in chasing a debt, you may be worried about the cost. In fact there are a number of ways to access free or low cost legal advice. I’ve had help from my union in the past over late payers. If you don’t have a union and run a small business think about joining the Federation of Small Businesses which offers legal advice as part of the benefits of membership. Thomas Higgins http://www.thomashiggins.com/ is a firm of a solicitors that offer an online debt chasing service which costs from about £2 for a simple solicitors letter which may be enough for some non payers.

Finally, you can take the debtor to court to reclaim your money. There is plenty of guidance here and information specifically for small businesses here from Her Majesty’s Court Services.

We all hope to avoid bad debts, but I hope that this article shows you that there are simple and affordable ways to deal with a debtor, and people who can help you.

One of my latest books is ”What to do when your child hates school”. I’m delighted that some tips from the book are featuring in the Times Schoolgate Blog this week. You can read the tips here. I’m working on a feature about what to do when your child hates school for a national parenting magazine too, but it will be a few months before that one comes out.