As the year comes to a close, eCommerce stores will experience a surge in business thanks to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas rush. While this does present an opportunity for impressive revenue, it can also bring many challenges for online retailers. With fierce competition, businesses need to ensure their online stores are in top top shape to make the most out of the busiest trading time of the year. So here are a few things you can do to ensure you’re ready for peak shopping season. Prioritise Technical Foundations Site speed and stability are crucial and they’re particularly…
Author: Greg Robinson
Award-winning allergen-free brand Creative Nature is taking to the skies this November with a new exclusive product for Austrian Airlines. Passengers on long-haul flights will be able to enjoy Creative Nature’s Lightly Salted, Light & Crunchy Thins, a top 14 allergen-free mini corn cracker, available only on Austrian Airlines. Julianne Ponan MBE, Creative Nature’s CEO and founder, knows first-hand how stressful travel can be when you have allergies. “I’ve flown a lot and never really known if the food onboard is safe. To now have our Light & Crunchy Thins on Austrian Airlines long-haul flights means people can relax and enjoy their journey without…
Finance expert and founder of The FD Consultant, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, shares practical advice for growing businesses. Managing cash flow is one of the hardest parts of running a growing business, and one of the biggest reasons scale-ups stall or fail. With a career spanning global finance, start-ups, and FTSE 100 corporations, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, founder of The FD Consultant, draws on his experience running his own business over the past five years. He has spent years helping start-ups and scale-ups across the UK navigate the financial pressures of growth. Romesh was recently interviewed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England…
Julianne Ponan MBE, CEO of Surrey-based Creative Nature, was among an exclusive group of guests invited to 10 Downing Street for the annual switching on of the Christmas lights at the home of the UK Prime Minister. The entrepreneur is well known for her advocacy for the small business community and for those who live with allergies, and also sits on the government’s Small Business Council, advising ministers on the SME sector. She said: “Running an SME and being the girl who started from her kitchen table creating top 14 allergen-free recipes, I have to pinch myself to think we are…
As retailers head into peak season, one thing is clear: Christmas 2025 will be defined by value. According to new BHN research, eight in ten UK shoppers (82%) say they plan to use promotions such as BOGOF deals to make their festive budgets go further. For retailers, this signals a decisive shift – promotions are no longer just a conversion tool, but a crucial lever of customer acquisition, loyalty, and channel choice. The Rise of the Promotion-First Shopper Almost half of shoppers (47%) plan to use buy now, pay later services or earn-a-gift-card incentives, demonstrating that consumers increasingly expect value…
The way we do business has changed dramatically in the last decade. Traditionally, companies would have their own HQ, in which every employee would work from each day. Now, business models are much more flexible. Working from home and hybrid working have become the norm. Because of this, many businesses are choosing not to purchase or rent out their own office space, and instead are opting for coworking spaces. So, let’s take a look at why this might be. Benefits of Coworking Spaces Here are just some of the reasons why businesses are choosing to use coworking spaces. Lower Overheads …
HSBC UK has teamed up with Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes and rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll to boost visibility for Britain’s smallest businesses. Small businesses are the beating heart of the UK economy: creating jobs, energising high streets and boosting communities. But while they’re vital to growth, new research from HSBC UK shows many entrepreneurs are struggling to promote themselves and attract new customers. According to the findings, just one in five (19%) SME leaders feel their business is promoted enough, while four out of 10 (38%) say they lack the time or resources to reach new customers. More than half…
In today’s job market, businesses are confronted with an uncomfortable truth; while employers believe they’re prioritising employee wellbeing, many staff feel overlooked and underserved. Mike Hay, Chief People Officer at Benenden Health, provides SMETodays readers with some insight into this issue. Across most sectors, health and wellbeing provision is a core enabler of employee engagement. It’s fact that health and wellbeing provision needs to be employee-led, and HR teams’ job is to take that direction and turn it into an accessible, multi-generational offering. It can’t be the other way around. Our new report, Preventative Health in the Workplace, highlights a stark…
BERKSHIRE-based document management specialists, Filestream Ltd, are celebrating winning at this year’s Document Management Awards, taking home the trophy for the best Low Code/No Code Product of the Year. The award recognises Filestream Ltd’s innovative, user-friendly approach to managing documents, making it simpler and more efficient for businesses of all sizes. Filestream Ltd, led by Paul Day, Managing Director, and Layla Cockburn, Operations Director, were nominated in two categories this year and were crowned the winners of the Low Code/No Code Product of the Year – an award they’ve won three times before. The Document Management (DM) Awards, now in…
A successful exit is often the ultimate ambition for founder-led businesses – but achieving it can be tough. Charlotte Hinchcliffe, managing director of Harold Sharp accountancy, provides insight on the fabled SME-owner exit and five key factors that can impact the chances of reaching it. Achieving a successful exit is a common end-goal for a founder, but there are pitfalls to navigate and treating it as a distant milestone is a mistake. Preparing for an exit isn’t a project you start when you decide to sell, it’s a mindset that must run through your business – particularly your finance function…