2026 is set to be a big year for small businesses as they are still grappling with the effects of the latest government Budget, struggling high streets and ongoing cost of living challenges. Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp, has shared comments on three key trends he expects to emerge this year. Purpose-driven entrepreneurship becomes the norm “In 2026, we’ll see purpose-led start-ups become the norm rather than the exception. Purpose is no longer a “nice-to-have” or a marketing strategy, it’s proven to be a business growth driver. Since the pandemic we’ve seen a growing number of small businesses successfully embed…
Author: sme-admin
Why empathy, agility and AI readiness will separate the businesses that succeed or fail in 2026 2025 has seen AI transform business workflows, accelerating the pace of task execution and opening new opportunities for teams’ capabilities regardless of IT knowledge. For example, ‘Vibe coding’, which refers to the art of making an app or website without having to manually write a line of code became so popular that Collins dictionary declared it the word of the year. However, if 2025 has been the year in which businesses experimented with AI to transform their operations, 2026 will be the year business…
iStock, a leading ecommerce platform providing premium content to SMBs, SMEs, creatives, and students everywhere, has released its 2026 Marketing Trends, unpacking the visual and cultural trends that will guide how SMBs create, communicate, and compete in 2026. As generative AI tools accelerate content creation, brands of every size are under growing pressure to stand out—making visual strategy more essential than ever. According to iStock’s VisualGPS research, six out of ten people now say they distrust the advertising they see, largely because they believe it is AI-generated, manipulated, or inauthentic. For SMBs this trust gap creates both a challenge and an opportunity: audiences are consuming more content than ever, but they’re also demanding greater credibility, originality, and authenticity from the brands they engage with. “SMBs today operate in…
For businesses expanding across borders, language and cultural barriers often stand as some of the biggest obstacles to growth. Misinterpretations, lost nuance, and tone mismatches can derail partnerships, weaken customer trust, and slow international expansion. Sumit Sachdeva is tackling this challenge head-on through the development of emotii.ai: the world’s first emotionally aware AI communication platform, which is quickly redefining how global teams and organisations connect and communicate. From real-time multilingual voice and video translation to enterprise-ready integrations that bring global teams closer, emotii.ai is helping companies communicate with empathy and precision across 126+ languages. Here, Sumit shares how emotii works, what…
Workplace bullying has been a grey area in UK employment law for some time. While harassment linked to protected characteristics, such as age, disability, race, sexual orientation, and others, is covered under the Equality Act 2010, employees who experience workplace bullying that falls outside of discrimination currently have no legal standing to make a claim. However, the newly proposed Bullying and Respect at Work Bill aims to change this by introducing a statutory definition of bullying, creating a Respect at Work Code, and granting the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) greater enforcement powers. Rob Rees, Divisional Director of Markel Direct,…
As 2026 begins, HR leaders are bracing for a period of rapid transformation shaped by AI, evolving employment rights, and increasingly global ways of working. From the rise of AI-driven role redesign and real-time people analytics to borderless cultures and renewed focus on leadership and wellbeing, the coming year promises a fundamental shift in how work is organised and managed. Here, leading HR experts share their predictions on the workplace trends set to define 2026—and what businesses, particularly SMEs, need to prepare for now. Khyati Sundaram, CEO of debiased AI hiring experts, Applied, predicts that “2026 will be the year of…
Article by SME-focused law firm Harper James 2026 is set to be a busy year for UK SMEs, bringing some of the most significant legal and regulatory shifts in recent times – including tighter payment rules, new transparency standards and digital-first tax and reporting reforms. For many businesses, that means adjusting quickly to stay compliant and competitive. But it also offers a chance to refine how you work, strengthen your foundations, and build deeper trust with customers and partners. Change can be challenging, but it can also be the spark for progress. Below, we’ve rounded up the key changes every…
Blockchain rails are cutting out legacy intermediaries, accelerating cross-border transfers, and unlocking new levels of transparency The cross-border payments industry is undergoing its most significant infrastructure shift in decades, as blockchain-based settlement rapidly emerges as a faster, more transparent, and more capital-efficient alternative to traditional correspondent banking. Stablecoins and on-chain settlement rails are now processing trillions of dollars annually, prompting major financial institutions to reassess how value moves across borders. International transfers that once took 3-5 days and passed through multiple intermediary banks can now settle in seconds. Growing enterprise adoption, combined with new regulatory clarity across the U.S., E.U., and Global South,…
By Daljeet Kaur, Chief Operating Officer at Valda Energy One in seven UK businesses doesn’t fully understand what makes up their energy bills. That’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a direct risk to profitability. According to Ofgem’s 2025 research, more than half of UK businesses (53%) have low energy literacy, and these owners with less understanding of energy are much more likely to struggle with payments. When you’re already handling rising National Insurance contributions, inflation pressures, and tight margins, the last thing you need is to overpay for power because you couldn’t decode your contract. But that’s exactly what’s happening. More than a third (37%) of micro businesses believe business energy has the same terms and…
There has been a fair bit of uncertainty around the UK’s financial landscape of late, and UK businesses, especially SMEs, have had to navigate hikes in NI contributions, the national minimum wage, inflation, and volatile energy and supply chain costs. But amidst all this, this year’s autumn Budget has actually delivered something many business owners have been waiting a long time for, says Rory Crisp-Jones of Jones & Co Finance. After two years of economic hesitation, SMEs finally have a more predictable fiscal landscape and with it, a genuine incentive to invest. The combination of a steady corporation tax rate, improved…