Virtual PAs

An engaged tone doesn’t create the best first impression. Mike Smithson, founder of web development company The Property Jungle, uses a virtual PA service to field incoming calls. ‘For our business, the service is a must-have,’ he says. ‘Every call to the company is answered and an email is sent so I can prioritise who I want to get back to.’

At your service

When your business is expanding rapidly, a serviced or managed office can offer greater flexibility than a typical five- or ten-year lease. We look at the pros and cons.

Web analytics

Internet marketing is big business – search spending alone is expected to more than double to $18.5 billion (£9.25 billion) by 2012, according to Jupiter Research, and that’s just the money businesses are feeding into search engines to get prospects to glance at their sites.

Talking freely

Technology moves quickly and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is no longer tied to the desktop PC. It’s now possible to make VoIP calls on a handheld device such as a mobile, which saves lugging a laptop around as well as drastically cutting the cost of communication while travelling overseas.

Getting away from it all

There comes a point when you need to switch off from the world of work and have a little “me time”. Three owner-managers reveal how they kick back and relax.

Exploding laptops

Putting the expense and impact on productivity to one side, there are hefty compliance issues surrounding the loss of confidential data. We look at ways to protect business-critical information.

Car-sharing: the benefits

It may be the adult equivalent of the school bus, but there are practical benefits to car sharing that may make it an attractive prospect for your business.

Desktop virtualisation

One size rarely fits all when it comes to IT, and many businesses are finding they can reduce costs and improve flexibility by adopting desktop virtualisation to bring computing power to their employees.

Time for giving

Charity in the workplace shows that the bottom line isn’t everything - and it can give a big boost to team spirit.

Redefine your market

If you've hit a ceiling in terms of your rate of sales and number of customers, it may be time to seek pastures new. Three owner-managers including Richard Haddon, chief executive of AIM-listed facilities management company Fountains (pictured), explain how it can be done.

Trailer park stash

Data centres are considered the preserve of a large enterprise that has the scale to justify such a costly piece of high-tech real estate, with specialist power supplies, reinforced flooring, and air and temperature controls.

Find the right customer

An industry has sprung up that takes the old adage of ‘knowing your customer’ that stage further.

Sharing at the speed of light

WAN optimisation can make wide area networks feel more local

How we doubled revenue in a year

Three business leaders reveal how they supercharged their sales

Team building with a difference

Few business leaders will have considered circus training to incentivise staff or, for that matter, installed a “think-u-bator”, in which employees can ponder and have moments of greatness. Yet there are companies out there that are doing exactly these things.

High but not dry

When heavy rain began to fall across swathes of the UK in June and July 2007, few organisations envisaged the devastation that would immediately follow. Fewer still had prepared their business and IT infrastructure for such a disaster.

How to reduce your tax bill

Death and taxes may be the only certain things in life – but there are ways of minimising the impact of the latter.

Outsourced staff training

Keeping your employees up to speed with the latest training programmes can take up a lot of time you don't really have. Outsourcing may be the answer

Workplace management software

The world of business software can be mind-boggling – a fact not helped by the proliferation of acronyms and jargon that mean little to the outsider

Companies with character

Consumers increasingly want products that show imagination and creativity. This opens up unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs to exploit niche markets

Comfort versus cattle class

The offers from the air travel industry are as wide-ranging as the destinations they can carry you

Fit for work

Obesity is a killer, according to the latest furore in the press. So how can you bring health and happiness to your employees?

Protecting your identity

Online identity theft is big business for those of a criminal persuasion

Spread your wings

If you’re looking to expand internationally, franchising could be a sound choice

Work experience that works

Forget pimply youths doing the filing: the right work experience programme can give your business a real boost

Perfecting project management

If you’re taking on a new contract or have an ambitious plan for growth, it might be wise to heed the advice of project managers

Becoming a business master

A Masters degree in business administration (MBA) could help you see the big picture for your venture

Going to market

The saying goes that first impressions count and it’s never truer than when launching a product or service

Smile, you’re at work

A cynical workforce can devastate your business as surely as any economic downturn

Be sure you’re covered

As your business blossoms, don’t forget about the reams of red tape out there

Grow profits by going green

Appease the green brigade and put a smile on your FD’s face at the same time

Sensible employee benefits

Louise Hudland, HR director at law firm Shoosmiths, is wary of cash benefits. ‘If you start playing around with bonuses, in my experience you end up hacking people off,’ she says, pointing out that half of Shoosmith’s 1,400 employees are support staff.

Better business travel

Business travel accounts for 39p of every pound of employee expenses, according to research from expense management provider GlobalExpense – and if you include accommodation, the second-largest category, the figure rises to 58p.

Look! No wires

We are becoming a nation of workers on the move - or so media hype surrounding the so-called “wireless revolution” would have us believe. But more recently, this hype has begun to take on some substance.

Polishing the payroll process

When Lesley Jeffs, director and company secretary of electrical contractor Instalec, joined the company in 1995, she found that all financial functions, including payroll, were being done manually.

Why IT security is vital

The internet is providing rich pickings for the criminal underworld. Mark Dixon, an IT manager at EMS, which provides wireless alarms, says he used to spend two to three days a week cleaning infected PCs.

Effective viral marketing

If you want to exude cool and generate a buzz, then maybe you should
look at releasing a viral on the web

Attract the best graduates

While there are fears that the standard of graduates is in decline, a university degree remains mandatory for many employers.

Maximising business banking

A little relationship building can go a long way when it comes to you and your chosen bank.

The benefits of data recovery

Data loss can be catastrophic for businesses, causing costly downtime and the loss of valuable customer information.

Recruiting an HR manager

Far from being an unnecessary extra salary burden, a human resources manager can take staff matters off your hands and even bring in more revenue...

Hotdesking

Constantly moving your staff from desk to desk was a popular craze in the 90s, but advocates of the concept say it’s even more relevant now because mobile technology is changing work practices...

Publicity stunts

Celebrities are usually the ones grabbing headlines for their sometimes downright crazy attempts at generating positive publicity, but growing businesses are also getting in on the act with some innovative stunts...

Radio frequency identification (RFID)

Manufacturers, event organisers, airlines – even Government departments; everyone seems to be heralding the potential of radio frequency identification these days. But what exactly is RFID and why should growing businesses care about it?

The perils of corporate blogging

Venturing into the blogosphere may improve communication and offer new marketing inroads, but uncontrolled content could damage your business...

Navigate the employee pension scheme maze

How to offer your employees a scheme, now that pensions provision is shifting focus onto employers and away from the Government...

Small Firms' Loan Guarantee Scheme

There’s nothing more attractive than funding growth without giving away equity, as entrepreneurs who’ve used the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme can testify...

Psychometric testing

If you thought it was just amateur psycho-babble, think again. Meet the business folk that swear by this analytical approach to staff recruitment...