Small Business Pressures: An Overview. How much pressure is your small business under? Businesses can come under pressure from many different sources. Here are some examples and some tips for coping. Policy Obama’s stimulus plan: a flop for many small businesses. Most small business owners would not hire new employees just because of Obama’s stimulus plan despite a reduction in the payroll tax and a tax benefit allowing businesses to write off their expenses more quickly. CNN Money Small businesses already grapple with provisions of health care reform. Operations For entrepreneurs, experience is no guarantee of success. Tips for running a business on the side. Finance Banks to increase business lending. While lending increases, it’s bypassed small business. Sales & Branding Creating your sales team.
How to protect your brand. Entrepreneurship We need entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship still alive and well. Are EU SMEs recovering from the crisis? The effect of the credit crisis on UK SME finance. Financial Constraints and Company Investment. If the UK is to compete with China and India, we have to pick winners. Good Luck Competing Against Chinese Labor Costs.
Good Luck Competing Against Chinese Labor Costs Mfg. Job Growth In China Is Headed Up, Not Down; 109 Million Mfg. Workers In China Dwarfs Number In U.S. BY RICHARD McCORMACK richard@manufacturingnews.com Job growth in China's manufacturing sector is not declining, as was widely reported by the Conference Board last June. If manufacturing jobs were declining in China, where manufacturing is growing, then it would not be so bad if they were also declining in the United States, economists and policy people have repeatedly argued. "The renewed increase in China's manufacturing employment that began in 2002 or before is fueled by private corporations and businesses, both foreign funded and domestically own," writes Judith Banister. The number of people working in the manufacturing sector in China is also far higher than most analysts have estimated, according Banister, a consultant working with Javelin Investments in Beijing, China.
Medical costs are not included in the figures. Red Tape Challenge - Health and Safety. “Annual requirement for PAT testing of general electrical items in a low risk office environment is unnecessary and costly. I am a partner in a small services business employing 12 people. Can you please tell me why I have to spend more than £100 each year on PAT testing of my company’s electrical equipment?” RTC Respondent CASE STUDY – Complainant queried if law had been changed for Portable Appliance Testing in low risk environments Issue The complainant queried if the law had been changed for Portable Appliance Testing to be undertaken on double insulated items, such as kettles, in low risk environments such as offices.
Panel decision There is a widely held misconception that all portable equipment needs portable appliance testing, and often annually. The law has not changed. Update HSE has since revised guidance to pull the plug on this myth. Health and safety regulations provide protection to employees, employers and the public from harm arising from work activities. Major Reforms. "Employment legislation is strangling small businesses" Both Luke Johnson and Lord Young have called on government to reduce the legislative burden on small businesses this month. At the moment, the hot topic is employment law. New research shows that 88% of managing directors find the current legislation far too complex. Smarta spoke to three entrepreneurs and employment expert the "HR Headmistress" to get the latest from the front line of business.
The new research, commissioned by career management consultancy Right Management, surveyed 250 business owners on issues pertaining to employment law. The results showed that over three quarters of MDs find the legislation far too complex. In addition, 67 percent believe that pay and benefits legislation will cause problems over the next few years and 72 percent think they spend too much time on HR issues. Jayne Carrington, MD of Right Management, is using this body of evidence to petition government to reduce the legislative burden on SMEs.
Challenges facing small businesses. SMEs entering 2012 with mixed emotion. January 18th 2012. Posted in SME Insurance SMEs are entering 2012 with mixed emotions according to research by AXA Commercial Lines reported today. The survey of found that while hopes for an increase in turnover are strong, expectations of profitability and plans for recruitment are less positive and it's widely believed that downward price pressure will adversely affect success. In spite of the widespread concerns for economic growth, 43% of UK small and medium sized enterprises expect their turnover to grow and only one-in-six expect to see a decrease during the coming 12 months. There is however a sharp contrast in optimism depending on the size of the business. When it comes to sole traders, only 23% believe that turnover will improve in the coming year. This figure more than doubles when it comes to SMEs with 50-99 employees.
Legal Notes AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. In the UK AXA is focused on three key areas: wealth management, insurance and healthcare. European SME Capex Barometer 2014.