Funding bought us speed. It could not buy the skill that makes a niche business work.
Charlotte Staerck
Oct 29 '26
Charlotte Staerck, co-founder and CEO of The Handbag Clinic, on the lesson she learned after cutting her marketing budget by two-thirds – and why the rules that apply to scaling a mass-market business do not apply to a niche one
Has the Chancellor got our backs?
Andrea Reynolds
Oct 28 '26
John Healey, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has a golden opportunity to show Britain’s SMEs that he’s on our side. Will he fumble the ball?
If growth is the goal, are policymakers listening to what business is saying?
Andrew Harding
Oct 27 '26
As the Chancellor prepares to deliver the Autumn Budget, CIMA’s Building a Better Business report reveals a significant gap between the challenges policymakers focus on and those businesses actually face – and sets out what needs to change
UK SMEs are cautiously back. The Budget must not knock them off course
Glenn Collins
Oct 26 '26
Glenn Collins, Head of Technical and Strategic Engagement at ACCA UK, argues that SME confidence is recovering from a low base, and sets out three tests the Chancellor’s Budget must pass to protect that fragile momentum
Identity verification roll-out shows compliance is overcomplicated for micro-businesses
Callum Sommerton
Oct 22 '26
While well executed in parts, Companies House’s identity verification roll-out has exposed a problem: blanket rules are overcomplicating compliance for solo-founders and micro-businesses
The £868 billion small business economy that is being critically overlooked
Kate Hayward
Oct 22 '26
Millions of the small businesses Britain relies on every day are operating with less visibility, support and recognition than they deserve. Kate Hayward, UK Managing Director of Xero, argues that changing that starts with a conversation
Britain cannot grow if nobody trains the next generation
Charlie Mullins
Oct 21 '26
Charlie Mullins OBE, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, argues that decades of prioritising university over apprenticeships have left businesses short of skilled people and young people short of practical opportunity – and that the solution is straightforward if ministers are willing to act on it
Your best people should make your business valuable, not vulnerable
Pavlo Phitidis
Oct 20 '26
Exceptional people build great businesses. Turning their expertise into lasting capability builds real value
Blinkers on when communicating at work?
Fiona Talbot
Oct 19 '26
Better to look at the whole picture and see everyone as customers
No-Risk Side Hustle by Jimmy Cockerton
Matt Davidson
Oct 16 '26
Sometimes the biggest barrier to starting a business is not a lack of ideas or ambition, but finding the time, confidence and resources to take the first step
Measuring business’s force for good
Liz Barclay
Oct 14 '26
How do we know that business is genuinely a force for good? We must gather the evidence
From audits to advice: the risk and governance expert helping founders find success
John Bowen
Oct 13 '26
Global Head of Audit. Non-Executive Director. Board Advisor. Trustee. The wealth of roles James Walker has undertaken as part of his career and long-standing volunteering commitments have given him a unique perspective on risk, auditing and business management challenges which transcend organisational size and sector