Skip to main content
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, where business belongs.

Search

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

December 2015

Displaying 1 - 12 of 15
12 results shown

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

Employment is up; unemployment is down and the youth unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level for more than ten years.

Britain's start-up revolution is being undermined by a skills shortage and continued difficulties obtaining finance, according to a new poll of entrepreneurs by the Institute of Directors.

HM Revenue and Customs has officially launched online Personal Tax Accounts and all SMEs will have their own accounts by April 2016.

New research suggests that the majority of businesses have got a long way to go before they take full advantage of digital opportunities that could transform their fortunes.

Small firms are paying too much for their energy because they find it hard to shop around for deals and almost half have never switched suppliers.

A new process intended to make it easier for small firms to apply for R&D Tax Credits is too complex, a tax specialist has warned.

The Government is advising businesses to prepare for the National Living Wage well in advance of its introduction in 2016.

A new online marketplace for public sector contracts is just one of the initiatives the Government is to launch in order to make it easier and fairer for SMEs to do business in the UK.

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

Small businesses are lagging behind residential homes when it come to access to superfast broadband, according to new data from Ofcom.

Almost half of small business owners are aged over 55, and yet few have made plans to cover serious illness or physical or mental incapacity.