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During Enterprise Nation’s first live partner event in 15 months, the bumper audience were treated to an evening of wit, wisdom and insight, as five industry experts gave their views on how the UK can continue catering for small businesses.

We’ve become accustomed to many things since March 2020: masks, mandates, Microsoft Teams – so the launch of Enterprise Nation’s first live event since coronavirus came along felt like a throwback, but also the dawn of a new era.

As a country, we have adapted well to create a digitally focused business world, but the resumption of face-to-face interaction, peppered with healthy debate and disagreement, was a much-welcome return to normality for the diverse range of small business owners present.

Chaired by Enterprise Nation’s very own Emma Jones, flanked by five industry-leading experts, a key post-pandemic challenge was discussed with vigour: just how can the UK remain a great place to start and grow a business?

On the panel for this flagship event were the following experts:

With a range of expertise covering a staggering array of industries and sectors, our panel provided three key pieces of advice for small business owners as to how they can thrive in the UK:

As the world prepared to batten down the hatches in the face of COVID-19, it was clear business owners would have to digitise, and while this rather demanding venture was undertaken swiftly by businesses on the whole, Senior VP of Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Payal Dalal, argues this wasn’t done evenly, with institutions generally geared towards disadvantaging female and BAME entrepreneurs.

“There are lots of challenges but there is also room for optimism” she explained, as the conversation turned to how this can be rectified.

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, alongside Enterprise Nation, is therefore launching a programme called Strive: a network that provides support for small businesses through tailored feedback in the shape of events, content and expert advisers.

Richard Keelty, Head of Google Digital Garage, revealed that around 700 businesses every day have started selling online, which may potentially lead to skill shortages, with much of the labour market unable to retrain – particularly if they were placed on furlough during the pandemic.

Google have committed to retraining one million small businesses (through their Free Digital Skills Programme, for example), which is crucial for those who need to pivot their model in order to engage customers in this highly-digitised age.

The provision of free tools such as Google Analytics and Trends to small business and large corporations alike can help even the playing field, while the introduction of 5G could see productivity skyrocket.

An example of 5G’s power can be shown in full force if you try and download the new James Bond film. Using 3G it’ll take you a day, using 4G it’ll take you seven hours. With 5G? 4 seconds. A potential game-changer for small businesses.

Why are these schemes so crucial to small businesses?

Whether it’s in a benign business environment or slap-bang in the middle of a global pandemic, start-ups will find their first 12 months tough, as reiterated by former-Labour MP and Managing Director (Reputation & Influence) at ICAEW, Iain Wright.

When asked about the National Insurance hike and dividend & corporation tax rises, and whether we’ll have a good financial ecosystem for enterprise to thrive, Mr. Wright simply stated: “announcements over the last fortnight do give cause for concern.”

The impact these changes will have on small businesses remains to be seen, but with so much uncertainty on the horizon, having a well-rounded workforce, who are able to regularly pick up important skills at no extra cost to their employers, could pay dividends in the future.

3) Don’t be afraid to dispute, you DO have a voice

Not being paid on time, or in full, can be a common problem small businesses face.

“We need to get the payments in the hands of small businesses as soon as possible, because that’s where the working capital comes from” explained Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay.

However, many small businesses are unwilling to run disputes against larger businesses due to the perceived risk of jeopardising working relationships.

Ms. Barclay was keen to emphasise how small businesses are regularly the ones coming up with the business ideas, so receiving prompt payments—through disputes via the SBC or otherwise—should be top of all parties’ agenda.

A cause for optimism is that many large businesses (including a couple of major supermarket chains) have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code, a scheme designed to ensure small businesses are always paid on time, which negates the risk of serious reputational damage. 

The contribution that perhaps resonated loudest and longest among the audience came from Co-CEO and Co-Founder of The Office Group, Olly Olsen: “the biggest lessons I’ve had are from the biggest mistakes I’ve made.”

Speaking about his time washing dishes in a creperie, his willingness to do so-called ‘menial jobs’, his constant eagerness to challenge those in authority, he told a tale of how determination and persistence 

A born orator, whose experiences were conveyed in a way which would have been impossible over the confines of Zoom.

Since launching in 2005, the Enterprise Nation team has helped thousands of people start and grow their businesses. Led by founder Emma Jones MBE, Enterprise Nation continues to be the most active UK small business community and a leading campaigning voice for small business. Joining Enterprise Nation connects you with resources, community and connections you need to reach your business goals.

How do we ensure the UK remains a great place to start and grow a business?

Enterprise Nation is delighted to announce a partnership with Mastercard and Strive to deliver an online ‘One Stop Shop’ for entrepreneurs over the next three years.  

initiative of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth that will empower 650,000 British micro and small enterprises to thrive in the digital economy over the next three years and beyond. 

The programme aims to empower micro and small businesses around the country to succeed in the digital economy through free guidance, helpful tools, and personalised, one-to-one mentoring. 

Striving to Thrive: The state of play for UK micro and small businesses

 Centre for Business & Economic Research 

exposes a significant risk that the UK’s small and micro businesses will miss out on an estimated £827 billion growth opportunity over the next five years if they are not supported to digitise.

Technology has already played a critical role in supporting small businesses through the pandemic, with 

41% of small business owners saying their company would not have survived without digital tools.

Kelly Devine, President, UK & Ireland, Mastercard, said:  

“Small businesses are the beating heart of the British economy. The past 18 months have proved almost unendurably tough for many, and data shows that small businesses are in urgent need of support if they are to survive and grow post-pandemic.  

Strive UK has been set up to act as a free resource for small business owners across the country, helping them to navigate the digital economy, build relationships and communities, and ultimately realise their growth ambitions.” 

Alongside Enterprise Nation, Strive will also be delivered in partnership with 

Emma Jones CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, said:  

“Millions of people are currently starting or growing a business in the UK, and they know that access to support will help their business ambitions. But founders can be put off from getting help due to the volume of support programmes in the market and not knowing the part of the business that needs help.  

The solution we are building as part of Strive UK will address this by taking the business owner through a basic diagnostic and then connecting them, in one simple journey, to all the support programmes and resource on offer. In short, it will make the business support market much more efficient.” 

As from today on Enterprise Nation, small business owners can use the 

Simply take a quick questionnaire about your business and we'll recommend the best resources to take your business to the next level.  

An additional part of this programme, together with Mastercard, is the launch of Thrive Street - a physical pop-up event taking place in the Metrocentre in Gateshead in November. 

Small businesses will have the opportunity to showcase their businesses, meet customers and make sales. 

Launching today: Make a Plan, in partnership with Strive

Create a personal action plan for your small business.

It may seem too early to start planning your social output for Christmas, but preparation is the key to social success.

I hate to be the first person to mention the C-word, but if Christmas is one of your peak times for business, now’s the time to get your marketing act together.

Remember that old adage: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail? Well that is 100% the case when it comes to marketing and PR, whether online or traditional. You need a SMART marketing plan to deliver business results. Especially if you want a bumper Christmas.

However, I’m willing to wager 95% of my festive bonus that businesses are still winging it on social media. Hoping that “this post will make the difference” to the bottom line.

The problem is, winging it isn’t a plan. Neither is hope. 

Neither is relying on the intern, the receptionist or Uncle Bob’s cousin’s niece.

If we don’t have our PR and marketing plans in place by mid-September, we’ll have totally missed the boat for those magazine and trade journal deadlines that are usually three months in advance. If you want to 

Guesting on podcasts? Pitching to conferences? Applying for awards? They are all three months in advance too. 

Or how about planning the social media posts from now until Christmas? It would save a lot of heartache to map out a SMART digital and 

 that actually delivers. That means being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

Timing your festive content appropriately is vital. Too early and no one is interested, too late and you’ve missed the boat. Not only that, if you don’t flesh out the type of content you want to post in advance, you’ll be creating it in a rush with no clear understanding of why it’s relevant.

A lot of businesses get confused with how to measure a successful post on social media. Essentially, there are two types of marketing posts and they both have completely different DNA. 

First are the ones that get published to tick a box, leading to a pattern of posting more just for the sake of it. Then there are those that actually get in front of the target consumer and crave a reaction.

Here’s how to distinguish between the two:

The PR post scorns engagement. In fact, it elicits an internal ‘that’s nice’ type of reaction without anyone lifting a single digit to like, comment or share.

Whereas the social media post desires engagement. It craves engagement, which is in the very DNA of the social media post. It’s the lifeforce from which it draws the energy to grow and multiply into a sale.

If there’s no engagement from a post that you put up on social media, it’s because you did a PR post. Not only did you raise no more than a “meh” from your target consumers, but when the algorithms see it, they’re primed to suffocate the post because of the damage it does in the newsfeed.

Don’t believe me? Check your analytics. The posts that get seen by the most people are the ones that elicit the most engagement. If all you’re doing online is publishing online, you won’t get any marketing or sales results.

We’ve all seen what a mess happens when businesses wade into Facebook and LinkedIn groups with endless ‘pick-me’ requests. It’s the online equivalent of those people at networking events who have a wodge of business cards they’re determined to hand out like free cookies. 

When it comes to building an online marketing plan in the run up to Christmas, make sure the business has the right strategy and benchmarks that lead to actual sales. Unless the business has a detailed plan, it's not a strategy, it’s just a dream.

Get more business advice from experts like Fin by 

Followed by Barack Obama on Twitter, the Bank of England on her newsletter list and a whole host of celebrities, organisations and ambitious startups, Fin walks the walk of social media and digital marketing.

An accredited Facebook Marketing Partner and Lead Trainer and a regular expert speaker on the BBC, Fin works with FTSE 100 and startup businesses to accelerate learning and take advantage of all the opportunities online.

Social Media and Digital Marketing Consultant

Planning your marketing and social media strategy for Christmas season success

Now is the time to get your marketing act together.

Festival of Female Entrepreneurs Ireland

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Lunch and Learn: Lessons learnt a year into running a food business

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Lunch and Learn: Reach people who are likely to be customers

Boost Your Affiliate Programme with Webgains’ Publisher Recruitment service

50% discount for Enterprise Nation members for the Webgains Edge Publisher Recruitment A La Carte service.

GS1 UK: 20% off membership

Enterprise Nation members can benefit from a special offer of 20% off their first year of membership with GS1 UK.&nbsp;Just follow the link, select your membership plan and join. Use promo code&nbsp;EN20&nbsp;at checkout to claim.&nbsp;

Zellar: Sustainability made simple

Everything a small business needs to become sustainable - all in one place

&lt;p&gt;Get free one-to-one digital support from a business adviser on Vodafone's V-Hub, covering a range of topics from how to build an online presence to managing online security risks.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Call 0808 005 7400 or Live Chat for free &lt;a href="https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/small-business-advice/personal-advice?cid=en-ent/vhub/vhub-adviser-offer/prch/10.2/ntst"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
These Business Advisers are available to discuss an array of digital topics including getting your business online, digitalmarketing , digital security and remote working.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That means that they’ll be able to provide you with support and guidance on the following topics:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Getting online and marketing digitally:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Building a digital presence&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;​- Creating a website&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- How to track who has visited your website&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- How to get your products online or on your existing website&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Where to start with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Social media advertising for business&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Digital Security:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Common security threats&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;​- How to approach security for multiple devices&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Ransomware and what you can do to prevent it&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Protecting company data when employees are working remotely&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Remote Working:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Keeping your team productive when working from home&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;​- How to give staff remote access to work files&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), and whether you need one&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;- Your options on online collaboration tools for your team&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Want to access free insight, guidance and support for small and medium-sized businesses – all in one place? Visit the knowledge centre on V-Hub &lt;a href="https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/sme-business?cid=en-ent/vhub/vhub-meet-up/prch/10.2/ntst"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Live chat with a Digital expert

&lt;p&gt;Got a burning question on how to create your own website, improve your SEO, or which collaboration tools your business should be using? Click here to Live Chat now with a Vodafone Digital Adviser, for free&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#000119"&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/small-business-advice/personal-advice?cid=en-ent/vhub/vhub-adviser-offer/prch/10.2/ntst"&gt;https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/small-business-advice/personal-advice?cid=en-ent/vhub/vhub-adviser-offer/prch/10.2/ntst&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Request a call back from a Digital expert

&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;d like a call with a digital adviser but now is not a good time to chat, use the button above to request a call back from an expert adviser who can help on all things digital.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/sme-business/small-business-advice/request-callback"&gt;https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/sme-business/small-business-advice/request-callback&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Start up business support

&lt;p&gt;Our start up business support package covers up to 3 computers, 1 device with the following features,&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;Unlimited Remote Support for you and your staff&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;24/7 Remote Monitoring &amp;amp; Managed Antivirus Monitoring&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;Monthly Patch Managment&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;Support on desktops, servers, peripherals, networking and a wide variety of applications&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;Immediate access to an experienced engineer, no waiting no fuss.&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;Fixed monthly fee, your prices wont increase or decrease, so you know what you are paying for.&lt;/li&gt;
	&lt;li&gt;Single point of contact, call us and we will liaise with third party applications and hardware vendors. If we can&amp;rsquo;t fix it, we will work out who can and get in touch on your behalf.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

Find the right support to start and grow your business today.

Not sure where to start? Make a Plan today.

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We help people start and grow great businesses

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Latest member stories

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The Enterprise Nation community by numbers

500,000+

Businesses supported over the last year

4,000

Event attendees every month

12,000

Active and trusted advisers

Our partners

We work with brands that champion small businesses to deliver tailored support packages.

Join the community today!

Take the first step to successfully starting and growing your business.

Find the right support to start and grow your business today.

Not sure where to start? Make a Plan today.

Why join Enterprise Nation?

We help people start and grow great businesses

Expert advice

Events

Community

Personalised dashboard

Facebook #SheMeans Business

Free 1-to-1 Mentoring with Google

Amazon Small Business Accelerator

business.connected digital skills training

School of Sales

Facebook #SheMeans Business

Free 1-to-1 Mentoring with Google

Latest member stories

Edmund Wood

Enterprise Nation members share their small wins

Ted Gibson

Get The StartUp Kit for free

The Enterprise Nation community by numbers

500,000+

Businesses supported over the last year

4,000

Event attendees every month

12,000

Active and trusted advisers

Our partners

We work with brands that champion small businesses to deliver tailored support packages.

Join the community today!

Take the first step to successfully starting and growing your business.

Facebook
#SheMeans Business

Facebook
#SheMeans Business