The British are European leaders in working long hours but how do we manage it? There are many factors but here are some examples you may recognize from an office near you.

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The British are European leaders in working long hours but how can we avoid it? There are many factors but here are some ways to improve.

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Passionate about ideas, enthusiastic and very ambitious, many more young people than ever before want to go it alone and set up their own companies, according to new research. They often face formidable difficulties, but more help is now at hand. Initiatives such as Enterprise Week with its emphasis on helping the under thirties launch themselves into business, may encourage and inspire people and contribute to a boom in business start-ups.

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No, I’m not talking conserving your physical, or even mental energy, even though sitting in an office all day may sometimes warrant it; what I’m saying is conserving the energy that you use without a switch of an eye each day at work. From the lights being left on unnecessarily all day in the ladies loos, to filling the kettle full when, much to the disgust of your colleagues, you’re only making a cuppa for yourself.

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Cutting it in the world of hairdressing is just like any business - it takes determination and lots of hard work, but have you got what it takes to build your vision into the reality that is a successful salon?

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Dentists will be allowed to ditch their sole practitioner or partnership status and own their own companies for the first time in fifty years if, as widely expected, new regulations come into force on the 31st July.

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Designer pet-wear has become something of a national pastime of late with pampered pets seen clad in anything from a padded combat-style coat to a pink fleece, and why not?

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Drinking is a big thing in offices up and down the country; and I’m not just talking about the social side of it, I’m talking about the thirst-quenching, H2O-guzzling side of it.

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Environmental issues affect all of us but with the hot summer we have been experiencing in the UK lately it is easy to forget what the long-term implications are of climate change.

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Healthy family life and a fulfilling career. Seem like a dream that is too good to be true? Well, maybe not because by running a diet and fitness club franchise you might just gain the work/life balance you dream of.

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Words are everywhere… from books to magazines to the advertising copy that adorns the pages of catalogues, flyers and newsletters. There are also the sumptuous selection neatly sprinkled upon menus in restaurants, and not forgetting the endless stream that fill the vast World Wide Web.

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Beans don’t always have to mean an internationally recognised brand name – of the baked, or coffee variety - and when it comes to the latter there are plenty of independent people who have decided to take the plunge to coffee cups everywhere, but do you have what it takes?

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International Women’s Day was celebrated around the world recently to acknowledge the economic, social, cultural and political achievements of women and to inspire females everywhere to achieve their full potential and this acknowledgement is especially poignant within the business world where women still struggle to achieve equal rights and recognition.

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George Orwell’s book, “Nineteen Eighty Four”, predicted a world where a tyrant called “Big Brother” invaded the privacy of every citizen. He was being optimistic. The truth 20 years after the doomsday date is that everyone invades our privacy. If someone wants to know where you live, who you are related to, or even how much you are worth they can find out online from their own home. No wonder we all feel exposed.

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Retail is a world that relies on customers buying your goods and this means that for all the items a customer is unable to buy – you as the owner or manager, becomes the customer.

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Passionate about business? Committed enough to put your personal partnerships on hold? Well, when it comes to starting out in your own venture a new survey highlights that a back seat could be just the place for your private life.

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Your business is responsible for any waste it creates. The law has changed significantly in the last two years and you can be fined if you dispose of waste wrongly.

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The people who work for an organisation provide its competitive edge, so managers should aim to create an environment where their staff feel motivated to continually improve their own and the organisation’s performance.

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Slumped over a keyboard, slouched in a badly designed chair and expected to work long hours… is it really any wonder that more and more office workers are complaining about aches and pains and holding you, the employer, responsible.

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When it comes to recycling most of us know the relevance of a pink sack or a blue box as opposed to a black sack … or at the very least, where to put your smelly rubbish and where to put your cardboard and plastic and if you don’t, then you really are way behind the times.

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Burst pipe, broken boiler, leaking radiator… at this time of year especially, everyone needs a plumber however, as we all know, a trusted one is hard to come by. Could you bring warmth to homes that are freezing and water to those that are dry? Well, if you’re not trained, then the answer would be no, so the first thing you need to do is look into your options.

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Ignorance is not always bliss because while you may have no idea how much your business is literally wasting away, you can be guaranteed that somewhere along the line there will be paper wasting away in your pocket – but it’s the type that will eventually make more of a noticeable and instant impact.

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Retirement age could be set to rise and according to some studies, by 2050 with life expectancy on the increase, we could be working for much longer. With this in mind it’s even more important that you find yourself in the right job enjoying what you do, but with so many of us unfulfilled and unmotivated, the prospect of working ourselves to death is not a nice one.

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The number of people setting up their own business has fallen 20% in the first half of the year, the largest fall for a decade, according to recent research.
Yorkshire and the northeast saw the largest falls, 26% and 28% respectively, while smaller declines were seen in London, Wales and the North West.

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Kids seem to have got it right with their incessant text sending because apparently more and more businesses are now turning their attentions to this fast and direct way of communicating with customers.

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… go round and round, or do they? It would seem not. Even though we live in a world where being environmentally friendly is recommended, most of us still choose to be part of a two car family when we could probably manage with one, and baulk at the idea of public transport.

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If you missed the January 31st tax deadline and were one of almost a million people to receive an automatic £100 late fine, you should consider starting your next tax return very early indeed.

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Christmas is upon us and for small business owners the working environment over the festive period can cause more of a headache than the morning after, without the over-the-counter hangover cure.

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Valentine’s Day is the deadline when all Chip and PIN card users will have to use their pin number instead of a signature. If you accept credit cards and have not yet converted to the new system you need to act quickly.

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Look around and it won’t take long to realise that women are making their mark in business; from The Apprentice and Dragons Den to heading multi-national companies, women all over the world are making us sit up and take notice.

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The structure of the labour market in the UK has changed dramatically over the past few years, and employers have to think of innovative ways to retain, motivate and reward their staff.

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Once again the World Cup is upon us and offices everywhere are buzzing with the excitement of past, present and future games. But in this haze of activity employers are in danger of falling foul to reduced productivity and small businesses could lose out in more ways than one when it comes to this national obsession.

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