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For a successful business, you need a viable business idea, the skills to make it work and the funding. Discover whether your idea has what it takes.

Forming your business correctly is essential to ensure you are protected and you comply with the rules. Learn how to set up your business.

Advice on protecting your wellbeing, self-confidence and mental health from the pressures of starting and running a business.

Learn why business planning is an essential exercise if your business is to start and grow successfully, attract funding or target new markets.

It is likely you will need funding to start your business unless you have your own money. Discover some of the main sources of start up funding.

Businesses and individuals must account for and pay various taxes. Understand your tax obligations and how to file, account and pay any taxes you owe.

Businesses are required to comply with a wide range of business laws. We introduce the main rules and regulations you must comply with.

Marketing matters. It drives sales and helps promote your brand and products. Discover how to market your business and reach your target customers.

Some businesses need a high street location whilst others can be run from home. Understand the key factors from cost to location, size to security.

Your employees can your biggest asset. They can also be your biggest challenge. We explain how to recruitment and manage staff successfully.

It is likely your business could not function without some form of IT. Learn how to specify, buy, maintain and secure your business IT.

Few businesses manage the leap from start up to high-growth business. Learn what it takes to scale up and take your business to the next level.

News

August 2015

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New research into the psychology of recruitment has found that many managers are influenced by unconscious biases and often recruit candidates that they can directly relate to.

Women working in equivalent full-time roles earn 22% less than men according to new research.

Independence, improved job satisfaction and a better work-life balance - these are the key drivers for self-employed people according to new research.

Matt Hancock, minister for the Cabinet Office, has unveiled a new target to get more small businesses working on central Government contracts.

Our round-up of other small business stories making the headlines this week...

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has described recent employment and wage statistics as a "new stage of the recovery", with the headline rate of unemployment steady at 5.6%, the number of people in work falling slightly and wages growing at a rate of 2.4%.

Although the latest Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs shows permanent placements rose again in July (albeit at a slower pace), skills shortages continue to blight many UK sectors.

New market research by consultants Citrus HR suggests UK employment laws could be damaging small business and preventing them from taking on more staff.

Poor professional advice has meant one in six small and micro-businesses in the UK has lost money in the last year, according to new research by Direct Line for Business.

Our round-up of other small business stories making the headlines this week...

Research by employment law consultancy Peninsula suggests just how hard many small-business owners and managers find it to fully switch off while on holiday.

UK businesses that employ people from overseas have been warned by immigration minister, James Brokenshire, that they will be "hit from all angles" if those workers have no legal right to work in the UK.