Technologgie

Essentials for Effective Communications With Investors When Raising Funds

By John Auckland, TribeFirst

Let’s face it, raising funding for your business can be a tough process and there’s not a lot of advice to go on. How do you create an investment deck? What’s the most appropriate language and terminology? What are investors actually looking for?

There are some rules – thankfully – when it comes to developing an investor comms strategy. Based on my experience from involvement with over 30 fundraises, I’ve created a system that’s remarkably effective.

This article covers three essential topics for effective communication with investors and funders:

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Tagged as: Communication, Guest Post, Invest, John Auckland

What Does a Business Need From Accounting and Bookkeeping?

by Inna Kaushan, co-founder of Solna

When you’re running a business, you are most likely to be fully focused on delivering projects. There is always work demanding your time and attention. Then it is year end, you have tax returns to file, and you are scratching your head wondering where to begin.

You need two things to avoid getting muddled: accounting, and bookkeeping. These important financial processes will help you with financial control and end-of-year tax affairs. Let’s look at the differences between them and how to make the best of both in your business.

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Tagged as: Accounting, Bookkeeping, Guest Post, Inna Kaushan

How Will Technology Change for Business Telecoms in 2019?

By Mike Ianiri, Equinox

Change will be accelerating in business telecoms over the coming year. Here are some thoughts on how this will develop and the impact for business.

Our Increasing Data Needs

Data consumption is going to continue to climb. Stats from 2016 show 1.26Gb per user per month, increasing to 1.72Gb in 2017. Although we cannot find statistics to prove this, we believe business users are consuming more data than consumers. At the time of writing, I’ve consumed 7.1Gb of data per month, on average, over the last three months.

With the increasing cyber security threat, the use of mobile data, as opposed to Wifi, will increase dramatically. With mobile data becoming cheaper and cheaper, public Wifi is just not worth the risks it poses.

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Tagged as: Guest Post, Mike Ianiri, Phone, Technology

How E-Commerce Can Revitalise Your Bricks and Mortar Retail Business

By Dan Whytock

It has been a long and difficult few years for the UK high street. We’ve seen many shops closing and the loss of many big-name brands, and there may be more to come.

Struggling retailers, including Marks and Spencer and Debenhams, have reported disappointing sales figures over the 2018 Christmas period.

The Internet is often seen as the ‘problem’ – particularly as more customers order goods from the comfort of their own homes and the all important footfall decreases. But, this is due to a lack of understanding of how digital works in the retail environment.

Instead, we should be asking if the Internet can be used to breathe new life into high streets and save established brands, as well as champion smaller, independent retailers. This mix is the life-blood of the high street and every UK shopping street needs to contain both.

The failure of a previous government high street initiative spearheaded by Mary Portas was mainly down to the fact that it did not have a clear and significant digital plan. Understanding the reasons why customers have, and will continue, to choose to shop online, and how bricks and mortar still play a role in the shopping experience, is the key to creating a strategy that gives customers the best of all worlds.

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Tagged as: Business, Dan Whytock, eCommerce, Guest Post

6 Actions to Help Ensure Your Hotel Avoids Compromising Guest Data

By Mike Ianiri, Equinox

When you consider how much personal data is provided by guests and held by the hotel it is no surprise that the industry attracts cyber criminals – as was discovered in November 2018 when it was reported that “500 million customers of the hotel group Marriott International have been compromised by an unauthorised party.”

Hotel hold information before a guest arrives.  When they have checked in they have to submit more personal information when they connect to the hotel WiFi.

With GDPR in force now, the hospitality sector must be sure to have this at the forefront of their minds. A boutique hotel potentially would not survive a fine should a breach occur.

So, what can hotels, big and small, do to protect their guests and themselves from the unpleasant attentions of hackers and cybercriminals?

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Tagged as: Guest Post, Hotel, Marriott, Mike Ianiri, WiFi

Returning Unwanted or Faulty Products Post-Christmas. What Rights Does Your Customer Have?

By Amanda Hamilton, CEO of NALP

Well, Christmas may be behind us, but there is still a potential hangover if you offer goods or services to consumers that make a great Christmas gift. Although you should have done well in recent months, once the gifts have been given, there is always a chance that there is someone who doesn’t like it, or something turns out to be faulty?

So what rights do your customers have when it comes to returning items and getting a refund?

Without a receipt there is not a lot they can do but, if they’re not shy about asking for said receipt, or if the giver of your product has said they can change the item if so desired, then that’s different.

And what are your customers’ rights in relation to items that have been bought online? With many people choosing that route now, it’s not just a question of taking something back to the shop with a receipt.

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Tagged as: Amanda Hamilton, Consumer Rights, Guest Post, Legal

2019: The Year to Crowdfund Your Business

By John Auckland, Tribe First

After the fun of celebrating the start of another brand new year, we feel just enough optimism to make ambitious New Year’s resolutions. Experience tells us that, although we mean well, these are often abandoned by early February. I won’t tell you to give up your Netflix subscription and swap to a gym membership or to exchange your weekend drinks for the latest fashionable smoothies. What I will do is to share the key reasons why 2019 is the year you should crowdfund your business.

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Tagged as: Crowdfunding, Guest Post, John Auckland

How Automated Invoicing & Credit Scores Can Help Freelancers Avoid Late Payments

by Inna Kaushan, co-founder of Solna

Freelancers are significant to the UK economy, and in 2017 contributed £271 billion. In the last 12 months, almost three million people have been engaged as freelancers or under self-employed status. Why are more people seeking this type of work? Perhaps because freelancing has many benefits: you work for yourself, select projects which excite you, and in many instances earn more than you did when you were a permanent employee.

That said one of the major challenges freelancers face is fighting to get paid. Recent research reveals that only 19% of freelancers are paid on time, with related invoices being paid on average 18 days after their due date.

Being a freelancer also creates additional administration, requiring individuals to raise their own invoices and manage their own cash flow. This in itself can be quite stressful, creating uncertainty about not getting paid, alongside anxiety for some about having to manage and maintain their own admin and cash flow. This is an increasing problem, with recent data showing that 52% of SME owners blame poor cash flow for impacting their mental health negatively.

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Tagged as: Credit Scores, Guest Post, Inna Kaushan, Invoicing, Late Payments, Payments

Why Technology Is Key for the Nightclub Industry

By Marco Scotti, Figaroo

The nightclub industry is big: currently valued at $25bn around the world. However, particularly in Western nations the number of people going to nightclubs has been in decline since 2008.

Negative press, tighter noise restrictions, changing social attitudes new alcohol licensing laws etc. have all contributed to falling attendance rates and the closure of famous institutions such as London’s Turnmills and Fabric.

So, is it the end for nightclubs or can they evolve? I believe they will evolve and create a new golden age.

In this article, I aim to assess the deep roots of the nightclub business model, the technological solutions that have made – and are making – their way into the industry, and how they could bring clubs into a new golden age.

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Tagged as: CrowdCube, Figaroo, Guest Post, Marco Scotti, Nightclub

How to Avoid Losing Business Over the Christmas Period

By Mike Ianiri, Equinox

In many countries businesses will work on Christmas Eve but then close down until Wednesday, 2^nd January. However, not everyone stops working during this time, so how can you make sure you avoid losing out on business over the Christmas period?

Here are a few tips:

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Tagged as: Business, Christmas, Guest Post, Mike Ianiri