Eurocrisis Impact on Small Businesses

The Eurocrisis continues to drag on, and it seems that things are getting worse by the week. As Greece edges closer and closer to exiting the single currency, there are genuine fears that Spain, Portugal and Italy may also follow suit at some point in the future. Greece leaving, which seems increasingly likely, will set a dangerous precedent which could have incredibly damaging consequences for the UK’s economy. Once again, small businesses are likely to take the hit for things completely out of their hands. But how exactly is the current crisis likely to affect your business? The obvious fear is that another financial catastrophe will follow. Considering we’re currently still in a recession, and are a long way from recovery, throwing another crisis on top of that will be the final straw for many. As the countries are all tied into the Euro, their economies are all deeply entwined. The demise of one country’s situation has knock on effects that primarily affect the other countries in the Eurozone. As the Eurozone has a large influence on global economics, it’s clear there is a lot at stake. Of course if your business deals with European clients directly, or exports goods to the continent, you will continue to face issues if the situation continues to deteriorate. Read more...

Turning Things Around

If you’re one of the many people struggling to get by running your business, you may be interested in this Guardian article by Simon Jenkins. In it, he argues that the country is being turned into a 'Detroit UK' by the current economic policies of George Osborne and David Cameron. Jenkins says the measures put in place by the Government only served to cut off growth, and worsen the impact of the 2008 credit crunch. In the aftermath of the crisis, the government made heavy cuts, while pouring money into the banks. Most businesses will still tell you that getting business loans from banks is nigh on impossible, so where did this money go? With Britain back in a recession - a possibility that many warned of as the austerity measures were announced - it would be hard to argue that Osborne's decisions have been successful. The article came a day before the Queen's speech, which promised that the battered government would get the country moving. Ed Miliband criticised the speech, saying, "for a young person out of work, this speech offers nothing.” The government will stick to its guns over the economy, so we can only hope it will pay off in the end. Read more...

Government to Focus on Economy

Following on from a battering at the polls last week, the government have said that they intend to focus 100% on the economy from this point onwards. The Daily Mail reports that the government is expected to announce that they have learned from their losses across the country. They intend to create more jobs and give business extra help to battle against the lingering tough economic conditions that are holding many companies back. Announcing voter pleasing policies, they are looking to crack down on reckless behaviour in the banking sector while also reducing the numbers of businesses facing bankruptcy measures. Meanwhile The Guardian raised some interesting points about how little the major banks seem to have learned from the crisis in 2008. We are now back in a recession and small and medium sized businesses are continuing to suffer because of the actions of the fat cat bankers who brought the country to its knees. We'd love to hear how you're dealing with the tough times and whether you're feeling sceptical or encouraged by the Tories decision to focus solely on economic recovery. Leave a comment below and let us know how you're coping. Read more...

A New Tool For Small Businesses

Here at the BusinessFinance.org blog, we’re always on the lookout for new tools to make the lives of small businesses owners that little bit easier. That’s why our ears pricked up when we saw Yahoo advertising their new marketing tool, aimed directly at small businesses. The new tool comes free of charge and analyses things such as website traffic and online reputation, as well as providing news from Yahoo’s small business service. The toolbar also comes with paid tools that business owners may consider investing in. This type of concise data can prove invaluable for new start ups and established companies alike. Being able to dissect whether the capital you are sinking into marketing strategies is getting results is a very useful service indeed. Marketing is likely to be part of any small business finance package. To get your brand out there and compete against the big boys, people need to know your name. We’ll be testing out the new tool from Yahoo to see how it works and whether it is likely to benefit small business users – so check back for an update at some point in the near future. Read more...

How Long Will The Recession Last?

After most experts predicted that the UK would avoid a double dip recession, last week brought the news that all business owners have been dreading. The UK’s economy is now officially back in recession. Not only that, the Prime Minister is warning us that things are likely to get worse. Spain has followed the UK’s slide into a double dip recession and the Eurozone crisis is now firmly back onto the agenda. Cameron today predicted that we have not even reached the midway point in the crisis, warning that we should be bracing for more bad news in the coming months and weeks. This paints a bleak picture for those who need to find business finance, but how long is the UK’s recession going to last? The silver lining on the cloud is that this recession is unlikely to be especially damaging. The economy shrank by 7% in 2008, and it should be nowhere near that bad this time. The likelihood is that we will exit as soon as the next figures are released. What is more alarming is that the economy is not expected to grow very much over the next 12 months. Hopefully the Olympics will give the boost that businesses desperately need. Read more...