Enterprise news and opinion from Cobweb

Last week, EnterQuest publisher Cobweb exhibited at the Business Start Up Show at the Excel Centre in London. It had been four years since we last took a stand at the event, and in many respects not much had changed in terms of the aspiring start up visitors, their profile, needs and questions. But what [...]

Just about every week, you read, see or hear something in the media or online about the importance of entrepreneurship, small business development and starting up your own enterprise. Which is no bad thing, provided it’s done in a responsible way. But the problem is that it isn’t always done that way. In fact, there’s [...]

Most small business owners start their new venture, or plan to start it, with a business idea or more likely a product idea. Often, but not always, this can be a very good idea. But even these good ideas are worth little or nothing if there isn’t a market, or the potential to find a [...]

There are many different reasons to explain why some people succeed with their small business venture, and the degree to which it happens for them. A combination of hard work, luck, plenty of planning, good timing and getting decent advice all play their part, but don’t tell the whole story. When it comes to the [...]

This week we’re going to focus your attention on six genuine priorities which every new business owner in any sector simply can’t ignore. Of course you will have other priorities, depending on the nature of your business and the stage you’re at in your business’ life cycle, but these ones are common to just about [...]

Do you know the difference between front-end and back-end sales in business? Have you heard of these terms but were unsure about what they really mean, or have you even heard of them at all? A lot of new and existing small business owners haven’t come across these terms or just don’t recognise the importance [...]

Despite the dismal statistics about the number of new businesses that fail within their first months and weeks of starting up, almost half a million people still give setting up a small business a go every year. This figure is likely to steadily increase as more people lose their jobs in both the public and [...]

The quality and standard of your customer service, no matter what type of small business you run, is critical to your success – that goes without saying. But the standard of that service as experienced or perceived by your customers is also the cornerstone on which you will build a valuable, ongoing stream of new [...]

Most small business owners will have a ‘to-do’ list in one form or another, and for a select few it is all they need as they instinctively trade their way through their current business day, week or month. They manage to regularly achieve what they set out to do, set new goals and targets and [...]

As the March 23 Budget looms, David Cameron has attempted to steer attention away from cuts, and towards an “unashamedly pro growth” economic strategy. In a speech at the Conservative spring conference in Cardiff, the Prime Minister vowed to take measures to improve conditions for smaller firms across the country in a bid to take [...]