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The importance of family
Most British entrepreneurs may have returned to the office this week after a long holiday but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t stay in touch with their families. In fact, doing so can help reignite their motivation if the burden of running a business becomes too heavy.
A new study from Haines Watts, the accountancy firm, has found that 35% of company owners completely lose their enterprising enthusiasm once a year. And that’s why close relationships are so important. Having surveyed 500 British business owners, the report revealed that having a supportive family network could be the key to reigniting a dimming entrepreneurial flame.
Of the business leaders surveyed, 52% said their family has helped them re-discover their motivation while 40% said the same thing about their employees and 39% cited reminding themselves why they started the business in the first place as a key motivator.
So why not switch on Sister Sledge’s hit We Are Family, gather your loved ones and future-proof your motivation for 2017.
The Facebook CEO’s potential political push
If you’ve pledged to improve yourself this year, then you’re in good company: Mark Zuckerberg is probably one of the world’s biggest believers in New Year’s resolutions, having previously devoted himself to creating a Jarvis-from-Iron-Man-like home assistant in 2016. But this year his pledge to meet people from all 50 US states has sparked rumours that the Facebook’s CEO may be considering a political career.
And this is just one of the latest of moves that have sent the rumour mill into overdrive. In December, unsealed court documents revealed that Zuckerberg and two board members had discussed how the CEO might pursue a political career while still retaining control of the social media giant, hinting his potential political ambitions. He’s also received advice from a prominent venture capitalist on how to go into government service without scaring shareholders, according to the Guardian.
Adding to the intrigue, the entrepreneur ended 2016 by revealing that he’s no longer an atheist and now believes that “religion is very important”, thus removing one of the biggest liabilities an American presidential candidate can have, according to research by the Pew Research Center.
Only time will tell if the Zuck is truly aiming to take on the Donald.
Funding for Funding Circle
Funding Circle, the peer-to-peer lending marketplace, couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off 2017. The fintech startup has just announced that it’s secured £40m from the British Business Bank.
The government-led bank has previously lent Funding Circle £60m, which has been channeled into more than 10,000 businesses across the UK – resulting in a £5m yield on investment and the creation of an estimated 30,000 new jobs in the process.
This comes as the Brexit vote may make European investments trickier to come by, according to previous statements by Funding Circle. While the European Investment Bank has previously lent £100m through the fintech, agreements like this could become more scarce as negotiations for the UK to leave the EU continue.
It’s certainly safe to say that the government’s investment is a welcome contribution to the British startup ecosystem.
Finance app Trigger tracks Trump’s tweets about your stocks
Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States of America is only weeks away. Winning the election hasn’t stopped the former star of The Apprentice from expressing his opinions on Twitter, so it’s unlikely that becoming the most powerful man in the world will change his behaviour.
Given that Trump has previously urged his supporters to boycott Apple and blasted Boeing for the cost of the new Air Force One – causing the company’s stock to plummet by nearly 2% – keeping an eye on the president-elect’s Twitter feed seems like a smart move for shareholders.
That’s why Trigger, the finance app, has introduced a new feature that sends users a notification every time Trump tweets about companies they may own stock in so they can react quickly.
Keeping in mind the businessman’s penchant for sharing his thoughts in 140-character bursts – often in the middle of the night – this feature will certainly prove useful in the four years to come. 
