The UK economy has been rocked by a number of large-scale problems in the past few years and the aftershock has rippled through many an industry, business and home. The jobs market has been unavoidably affected by the country’s economic woes, with the recession driving more people away from the labour market and into entrepreneurial territory.

Research from the University of Strathclyde recently revealed that the jump in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) in Scotland means the country now matches the average for 20 innovation-driven economies.

Small businesses: considerations to make

Starting a small business is becoming a popular option in a labour market that is increasingly difficult to break into and record numbers of new companies are being born countrywide.… Continue reading »

When the merger of Britvic and A.G. Barr was announced late last year it looked set to create one of the biggest drinks companies in Europe. However the deal seems to have run into some difficulties and has been referred to the anti-trust watchdog due to concerns over competition laws.

In the meantime Britvic has revealed the merger of their own British and Irish arms, which will result in a major reshuffling, loss of jobs and a projected saving of £30 million by 2016. Such a move has cast some doubt on the merger between Britvic and Barr. Great news for both parties, as their merger has provisionally cleared about a week ago.… Continue reading »

What are the main trends in web development and marketing in 2013? Write yourself a list, and then think about how many of them relate to mobile in some way, shape, or form. We would wager that almost all of them will relate to mobile devices in some manner.

Spending on mobile marketing initiatives has been on the increase ever since smartphones and tablets became dominant in the marketplace. That said there has been a marked increase in mobile marketing expenditure since 2010.

The figures above, from the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), represent the amount of money spent in total, by businesses in the United States alone, on mobile advertising in 2010.… Continue reading »

Online video success has been overwhelmingly increasing day by day, and small businesses are surely jumping on the bandwagon. As a small business owner you are aware of all the marketing tools, including social media that boosts the awareness of your company. What you may not know yet is the enormous amount of success associated with online video marketing – if you know how to it properly. Get ready to jump into the lucrative world of video marketing success with great video production.

Although social media is an incredible way to promote your business and will surely bring in positive revenue and statistics, it is not the only opportunity out there.… Continue reading »

What’s your favorite website/blog for practical business advice?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. Lifehacker

One of the best places to get both personal and business advice, suggestions, solutions, tips and hacks is Lifehacker. It’s one of the few places that always has practical advice daily.

- Eric Koester, Zaarly… Continue reading »

2.

With the obesity epidemic spreading across the western world, it seems that the weight loss and fitness industries are poised for growth in 2013. In a recent report from Finance.yahoo.com, results from the American Council on Exercise fitness trend survey “show fitness professionals are experiencing more career opportunities than ever before, and obesity epidemic concerns have led both individuals and employers to collaborate with fitness professionals in an effort to inspire healthier lifestyles.” With nearly 40% of customers citing weight loss as a goal, the desire for a healthier lifestyle was the popular goal.

ACE Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D.… Continue reading »

Outsourcing – especially crowdsourcing – is hot today, and there’s no better chance to learn about the industry right from the world’s largest outsourcing marketplace. Adam Byrnes, International Director of Freelancer.com, shares his insight on crowdsourcing from project owners’ and freelancers’ standpoints in an exclusive Q&A with Noobpreneur.com. Enjoy!

Hi Adam – many thanks for the rare opportunity to have a little Q&A session with you. Here’s the questions I am sure Noobpreneur.com readers are eager to know…

Question (Q): What do you think of today’s transformation in the way we work and do business? Will “brick-and-mortar workplace” be irrelevant in the near future?… Continue reading »

While recently statistics showed that the economy has grown by 0.6% in the first quarter, it doesn’t mean the economy is quite out of the recession yet. However, there’s no reason for SMEs to be optimistic. If the economy continues to recover, this year could be a good one for small businesses.

Since the economic crash of 2008, things have been difficult for businesses – especially those trying to get their foot on the ladder. Employment rates in the UK are still low, but there’s hope for the struggling retail sector thanks to the advent of ecommerce.

Online to outdoors

A great number of retailers, both large and small, have been enjoying the benefits of selling products online.… Continue reading »

There are few areas of the economy that have more potential than renewable energy. Entrepreneurial and engineering efforts to tap into solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and wind energy have all met with strong results, making it more likely for success than if established companies attempt to tackle energy problems. Some of the hottest new companies on the market are looking to reduce the impact of fossil fuels or completely achieve energy independence.

Energy in India

The Indian subcontinent has resisted renewable energy for many reasons, including the lack of infrastructure, refusal to change from the status quo, and the high level of input cost needed to get a steady market.… Continue reading »

Going green is more than just a trend in the suburbs. New start-up projects and companies are attempting to utilize renewable energy in order to power their operations. Some of these companies have launched engineering efforts to get their facilities off the fossil fuel grid, while others have partnered with organizations in order to deliver new technology. Some of these entrepreneurs have saved millions of dollars and countless gigawatts of energy by choosing solar, wind, hydroelectric, or geothermal power.

New Hampshire’s Green Initiative

Some of the money give out through the federal stimulus in the past few years has gone towards renewable energy operations.… Continue reading »

The UK is about to see an overhaul of its work-based pension scheme. The changes have already been made but are being implemented gradually across the space of five years. If you’re in work, you need to know the basics of how your pension is going to change.

What is Auto Enrolment?

Auto enrolment is the newly-applied change to the law regarding your pension. The legislation sees employees being automatically enrolled onto workplace pension schemes on employment, without application by the employee themselves.

What does this mean for me?

If you’re an employee and not already on a workplace pension scheme, the law will state that you must be enrolled onto it automatically.… Continue reading »

It seems that just about the whole world and his dog is going to have something to say about corporation tax and whether it is the best way to get companies, particularly multinationals, to contribute their fair share of government tax revenues. Right now, we have everyone from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) all looking at ways of taxing the likes of Google and Starbucks who can apparently shift profits from one country to the next until they find the lowest rate of corporate tax.

However, while they are busy deliberating about how they can close loopholes or invent new business taxes which provide more fool proof ways of skimming off revenues for the government, the UK’s ruling coalition is aggressively pursuing its own agenda of reducing corporate tax rates to such a low level that companies are hopefully not going to be too bothered about tax avoidance with all the adverse publicity that goes with it.… Continue reading »

On any given day, criminal justice and law enforcement professionals are in the local and national news. They are our heroes and protectors. They might be cops on horseback in New York City, DEA and ATF agents working in tandem to make an arrest in an urban hotspot, or your local deputy sheriff on patrol. No matter where we find these professionals in our world, there are many others working behind the scenes in computer forensics, psychological profiling, crime scene investigation, and other less visible roles.

Growth in Criminal Justice Careers

Criminal justice careers within law enforcement are expected to grow at least 10% by 2018, as estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.… Continue reading »

The engineering skills that allow someone to design dams, highways, space shuttles, oil rigs, and computers also allow an individual to create their own profitable business and seek out a niche in the market. This is because many of the strength of a quality engineer, such as intelligence and persistence, will help an individual to understand customer demand, market share, and how to become a successful start-up.

Many engineers have turned away from graphs and charts in order to turn their attention to starting their own business. Five of the most successful entrepreneurial efforts proved the switch from hard hat to business hat is capable of being achieved.… Continue reading »

When you go to start a new business, simply being able to provide a customer with a product may not be enough to keep your company in the black. There are five particular skills that any entrepreneur should hone if they want to compete in a crowded market. Some of these skills may seem simplistic, but will be extremely valuable as a company grows in size and scope.

Analytical Risk and Reward

Any entrepreneur is automatically a risk-taker, since they are investing a likely significant amount of their own capital and savings into the idea that they are capable of turning a profit from the effort.… Continue reading »

Noobpreneur.com is privileged to have a rare Q&A with Michelle Van Slyke, Vice President of Marketing and Small Business Solutions for The UPS Store, one of the leading business service center franchises.

The Q&A is mainly on The UPS Store’s latest program, Main Street franchise model, allowing qualified franchisees to save up to $80,000 in initial capital requirement opening a store in rural area vs. franchisees with location in urban area. Here is the Q&A – enjoy!

Hi Michelle – many thanks for the rare opportunity to have a little Q&A session with you.

I am intrigued in your Main Street franchise model, and I wish I had access to the same model when I was entering franchising back in 2004 (I was a franchisee of a business service center and established my store in a sub-urban area.)

Please kindly answer the following questions so that Noobpreneur.com readers can learn more about The UPS Store’s new program:

Question (Q): I think your Main Street franchise model is brilliant.… Continue reading »

As the voluminous and still misunderstood “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (hereafter “Affordable Care Act” or ACA) is being implemented slowly but surely, the costs and benefits and winners and losers are slowly being recognized and digested. Among these probable outcomes are the diverse affects of the new law on the probable value of the solo and other small medical and dental practices across the nation. While chiropractors and pediatric dentists stand to gain from the new law, it is the primary care physicians who appear to be suffering the most from the advent of Obamacare.

Family and Primary Care Practices Suffer Most

The combination of declining reimbursement rates and mandated operating costs appear to be the “perfect storm” for private medical practice profits and value with a corresponding decline in the number of practitioners making “perfect sense” to many pundits.… Continue reading »

Now that Google’s retiring Reader, what tool/app would you recommend that other entrepreneurs use in its stead?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. NewsBlur

NewsBlur is an entirely open-source app, so there is no worry about it going away. There is one developer, and he has a business model in place, so it should be supported indefinitely.… Continue reading »

Not going to college is now a very viable option. College is overrated anyway. A lot of people go to college looking for an education when in fact, college is not the best education for entrepreneurs. Just ask Richard Branson, Pete Cashmore, Seth Godin, the list goes on and on.

So let me ask you this: Are you really going to waste time in an institution that’s not known to produce world-class entrepreneurs? In addition, college is expensive. Are you really going to waste money when you’re better off investing in a business venture or even stocks?

I Don’t Have Student Loans to Pay

I know the importance of building credit and equity, but getting a loan for school is not a viable option to do so.… Continue reading »

Third place workplaces are becoming a widely used form of workspace for entrepreneurs in the Capital. Keen to minimise overheads and premises commitments, small business owners are beginning to shy away from stifling long term rental contracts and towards more flexible, creative alternatives.

The essence of a “third place” space is something located away from the office or home where a person can work independently. This could, in practise, be a coffee shop, library or hotel conference facility.

Creative commercialisation of this concept, however, now allows business owners to share, swap or reserve workspace space from specialist providers like our own fast-growing co-working business community, Club Workspace.… Continue reading »