Media Auditing – can your small business benefit from it?

Media generally takes up most of the marketing budget for a company, as they pay to have their adverts on the TV, radio, internet ads, as well as sponsored posts on social media. In some cases, this is one of the biggest spending areas a company will make. Apple, for example, increased its ad spend by a massive 50 per cent in 2015, to a record breaking $1.8 billion.

A media audit allows companies to check the adverts and media they’ve paid for have appeared in the right places, at a competitive price. For example, it’s not worth having an advert for dentures play in the middle of a children’s TV programme, regardless of how cheap the airtime is.…

Continue reading

Commercial Auto Insurance: What Business Owners Need to Know Before an Accident Happens

If you run a business that has even just one vehicle, then you should look into getting commercial auto insurance. This will help you avoid large payments when an accident occurs and can give you peace of mind every time the vehicle is on the road.

Classic company van

Chances are that you were already required to purchase coverage for bodily harm and property damage when you purchased the vehicle for your business, but policies like that do not cover damage to the vehicle itself. This can leave you high and dry after an accident in the company van, car or truck, even if it wasn’t your employee’s fault.…

Continue reading

Defined Direction – What Skills You Should Look to Develop When Entering the Business Landscape

When you started university, you didn’t necessarily know what exactly you wanted to accomplish. With so many roads from which to choose, a clear path is not necessarily visible right away. After a time, however, you concluded that you wanted to get into business after uni. Now that you’re closing in on a graduate diploma of applied finance, or a master’s degree in marketing, or whichever business path you’ve chosen, it’s time to consider the outside world a little more.

Happy businessman

If you do plan on owning and operating your own business after you leave our institution, there are a few different skills that you should look to develop.…

Continue reading

How to Get an Instant Loan of up to £2,000 for Your Business

Getting a loan nowadays has become a common practice because of all the expenses one needs to cover in a single income. Especially in the UK, it is inevitable to apply for a loan whether you have a good credit rating or a not-so-perfect score.

Instant loan

These loans are required for debt consolidation, to pay for a new car, college fees, emergency and unforeseen hospital bills, business expenses or capital, and so on. But at times getting a loan becomes difficult because banks typically look at your credit score and if it is less than perfect, they usually decline your application.

The same goes for credit unions and other organisations out there because they need some guarantee that you would be able to repay the loan amount without defaulting.

Continue reading

Why Millennials Need to Think About Buying Gold

If you are a millennial, you are probably still trying to launch a career, secure a job position, and perhaps make enough money to get married and settle down. Things like gold are probably the farthest from your mind, unless you are an investor or a trust fund owner. If you are, or ever have, thought about buying gold, then great. That means you are on your way to securing your future finances. If you have not, then you really should think about buying gold, along with saving and investing, to be better off financially in the coming decades.

Gold bar

Read below to find out why, as a millennial, you should consider buying gold.…

Continue reading

Saving Money on Your Startup: 5 Cost-cutting Measures That Will Help Your Bottom Line

Starting your own business is a dream for many business people. After years of making money for someone else, many of us look around and say, “It’s my turn. I want to be in the driver’s seat,” and a new small business is born.

Startup action

The gestation of that business, however, can be a long and difficult road to travel. Starting and running your own business is not for the faint-hearted. It is perfect for over-achievers who believe that sleep is optional, coffee is a basic food group and who have a vision that they can trust no one else to make true.…

Continue reading

Need to Get Cash Flow Back on Track? Here Are Some Tips to Help

With so many funds going out of a business bank account to pay for procurement and other costs, it is easy (and very common) for organizations to often struggle with cash flow as a result. However, cash flow is the life blood of all ventures, and needs to be kept track of closely if a business is to steer clear of financial woes, staff layoffs and even closure. If you need to find ways to get your organization’s cash levels more even, read on for some tips you can follow today.

Stressed out business leader

Track Cash Flow Closely

The first step to take if you want to get on top of cash flow is to consistently track it.…

Continue reading

Funding Your SME from the Start: Here’s How

Starting an SME is both exciting and challenging, and careful thought and consideration is essential if you wish to be successful. It is no wonder that many businesses go bust before they have even got started, with some figures suggesting that 40% of SMEs do not last more than five years. Here is a short guide on how to properly funding your SME.

Business funding

Plan/Budget

Any business owner must have a business plan which they can follow, which will set out their long and short term business objectives. This will provide a structure for your budget, and detail exactly how much funding you need to successfully run the business.…

Continue reading

5 Tips About Budgeting For Freelancers You Can’t Afford To Miss

The rewards offered through contracting are both personal as well as financial. Despite this, challenges arise; a crucial one being working without a guaranteed income. Below are some simple budgeting tips to help your cash flow.

Freelancing

1. Predict your earnings and set your rate

By already having a contract for the coming six months to a year secured, you should find it far easier to figure out what you will be earning taking into account savings, bills and living expenses. Nonetheless, if you are working on shorter contracts during the year or in between roles, a strategy for you to take is to evaluate what you need to earn to live comfortably.…

Continue reading

3 Alternatives to Bankruptcy for Small Businesses

Small businesses go bankrupt. The Small Business Administration states that 50% of businesses survive past the five-year mark. This means half of the entrepreneurs that follow their dreams and start their own businesses will see their dreams go up in flames.

Bankruptcy

Business is a risk, and one late shipment or one lost contract can mean the difference between a business thriving or boarding up their windows.

There are options outside of bankruptcy that can stop a business from dissolving.

1. Direct Negotiating Outside of Court

Lenders will negotiate with a business outside of court. When negotiations take place away from the stringent requirements of the court, there are a plethora of benefits, such as:

  • Avoiding court proceedings, which allows a business to save money
  • Direct negotiations take far less time to complete
  • A plan to get back on a financial track will be drafted, and will work for all involved parties.
Continue reading