28 October 2007
Be your own PR
consulant :: BB member offer
We're really pleased
that Manchester University courses for the public are offering Barefoot
Business members 10% off their course Be your own PR Consultant.
With professional know-how from a practising journalist, Judi Goodwin,
learn how to achieve free editorial coverage to create more interest in
your organisation, product, or services. Discuss your publicity
requirements and how you can get your message across.
Saturday 26th January 2008 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
For
further details, download a PDF Flyer
here
To take
advantage of the offer, write "barefoot business" on the application form,
which you can download
here.
28 September 2007
Get out of that car!
Can you believe that
the average UK commuter travels the equivalent of two-and-a-half times
around the globe over a full working career. A study by the RAC foundation
has found that 71% of British workers travel to work by car and spend an
average of 54 minutes a day commuting. That's 10 days a year - what better
reason to pack it in and work from home! Read
more
here.
11 September 2007
Tribute to Anita
Roddick
We'd like to pay
tribute to Anita Roddick, who died last night from a brain haemorrage aged
64. She was a pioneer of ethically responsible business, starting the body
shop from a small shop in
Brighton in the 1970's. Prime Minister Gordon
Brown has said, "She will be remembered not only as a great campaigner but
also as a great entrepreneur." Read more about her
here.
4 August 2007
Green Queen!
Great feature here
about giving it all up to do something you love. Jill Barker, from
barefoot business
Green Baby,
describes making the leap from city banker to selling washable nappies,
how having a baby changed her priorities, and how she balances parenthood
with enterprise. Good stuff, read it
here.
23 July 2007
Starting out at home
The BBC have published this advice
guide about starting a business from home, with advice from
George Derbyshire, chief executive of the National Federation of
Enterprise Agencies. Check it out
here.
27 June 2007
Go eco-Cornwall!
Small Business in Cornwall is total
eco, according to a report by Cornwall Pure Business. In true barefoot
style, companies are embracing solar heat, wind turbines and ground source
heat pumps. 16% of the thousand companies polled by YouGov were investing
or planning to invest in solar heat, and 11% in wind turbines. Read more
about it
here. What are you guys doing to make our world that little bit
greener? Discuss it in the
forum.
04 June 2007
Tim Smit - a
barefoot icon?
Tim Smit was espousing some barefoot
ideals yesterday on Radio 4's In Business. He waxed lyrical about
the definition and role of social enterprise, what makes a happy
workplace, and what inspires him. His set of 'rules' for employees might
not be everyone's cup of tea, but an interesting listen. You can listen
again or download the podcast
here.
22 May 2007
Perfect person,
perfect job
We will be launching
our job listing service on Thursday 28th June.
The Barefoot Business job listing
service is specifically aimed at the lovely people out there who want to
get their hands dirty at the coalface of a small, creative business. As we
all know, small businesses are great places to work, pitching in all over
the place, learning about all aspects of the business, and of course,
working your little socks off. If you are hunting for a job or a person,
click
here to find out more.
16 April 2007
Massive bank charge
repayment to small business
An
anonymous Norfolk business has received a cheque for £35,988 from NatWest
after reclaiming
his bank charges. He ran up the charges in only 28 months between 2000 and
2002, when cash flow problems led to bouncing cheques and failed direct
debits, with a hefty charge for each. NatWest are not admitting liability
for the charges, but claim that they paid up as their legal fees would
have exceeded the claim. Is that the rustle of bank statements I can hear? Read more
here,
or discuss the issues on our
forum.
BBC News
28/02/07
28 February 2007
Discrimination at
work - mums lose out
A new report has
found that mothers with children under the age of 11 are the group most
likely to be discriminated against at work. Mums face more discrimination
than disabled people or those from ethnic minorities. The second most
discriminated against group are Pakistani and Bangladeshi women.
This report raises a
ton of issues regarding flexible working, access to childcare and respect
for the impact that working mothers can make in an organisation. Read more
here,
or discuss the issues on our
forum.
BBC News
28/02/07
11 February 2007
Were you born an
entrepreneur?
Check out this
article
that outlines the view of psychologist Adrian Atkinson, that only certain
types of people are cut out to be entrepreneur, and they are born that
way. Hmmm. With high scoring answers to the entrepreneur test including
"be willing to sell your house and car to start your business" and "be
willing to sacrifice family life to build the business" many of our
barefoot business owners might not make the grade. We'd love to hear from
some low scoring business owners who are still managing to earn a crust,
thank you very much!
The Sunday Times
11/02/07
30 January 2007
Spiralling childcare
costs
Pre-school childcare
costs continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation. The average
full-time nursery place costs £152 per week for a two-year old. Read
Rebecca Smithers report
here.
If your business has come up with any more affordable childcare solutions,
for you or your staff, keep us posted on the
forum.
The Guardian
30/01/07
29 January 2007
Nuns on the run - a
cautionary tale
It just goes to show
that business failures can hit the best of us. A convent of 55 nuns have
fled into hiding as their knitting business folded, leaving debts of
760,000 Euros. Read more about it on the
BBC website.
BBC 29/01/07
6 January 2007
Forget money, pay
with your skill
Paupers that we are, it
makes sense for small businesses to barter and swap skills as an
alternative to handing over any hard cash. Leone Taylor explores the
possibilities in
this article.
The Guardian
07/01/07
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