Last Friday, I had the privilege to listen to a presentation by Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic . I was particularly interested to hear how Virgin could be planning to develop a space travel business, whilst simultaneously building on it’s green credentials. After the presentation, I was...

I frequently speak to small business owners who feel overworked but can’t afford to hire additional full-time employees to share the burden. One option many have overlooked is the possibility of hiring a student intern. Internships or placements are a common way for students to gain solid work experience...

So, did everybody work from home on 18 May? What? You didn’t know it was Work From Home Day? OK, a little secret – these things are usually a gimmick thought up by someone with a marketing budget for a home working widget, you know it and I know it. Father’s Day is soon, and that was an American invention...

";" galleryimg="no"> Having started belly dancing ten years ago as a hobby, it has since become a passion for Claire Novis and she has eventually also turned it into a job. Claire now spends many evenings and weekends teaching classes, running workshops and performing around the UK. She does...

As I write we’ve just had yet another bank holiday in the UK (any American readers might note that’s what we call public holidays over here). There were two last month but sadly none for my birthday a couple of weeks back, which isn’t yet a matter for public jubilation (and the DVD I was given wasn’t...

Microsoft has recently released a white paper entitled “ Survive and Thrive – How Technology Can Help Small Businesses Compete ”. It’s a little US-centric but has some good pointers for Startups and Small Businesses, such as : Reduce time spent on paperwork Manage customer relationships to maximise...

On first seeing last Wednesday’s budget, I was tempted to think that most people have got off fairly lightly. However, now I’ve had more time to think about it, I’m not sure this is the case. For a start, we’re going to be paying the 2p/litre increase in fuel duty, 2% increase in alcohol duty (and cigarettes...

Over the years I’ve met some very talented people through work. Some great managers, inspirational leaders, passionate evangelists and enlightened marketers to name but a few. However, just when you think you know someone, they can surprise you with a ‘second life’ outside of their day job (and I’m not...

Customer service should be a given unless you’re a bank, in which case everyone knows you can’t afford it but will charge anyway. The customer is king and other clichés – you know this stuff. Thing is, the customer isn’t always in front of you. This is particularly galling when you’re supposed to keep...

If you’re an Office Live customer who has been using the adManager service, you’ll have been disappointed to have received notification that it’s to be discontinued . However, you can still very easily promote your website with Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising (also sometimes called search marketing)...

The news this week that customers are deserting small businesses online for established brands is grim but unsurprising. It was obviously going to happen for two reasons. First the findings are from research commissioned by online aggregator eDeals, so you might find there’s some vested interest in there...

Readers might have noticed there’s been a certain flurry of interest just lately about online music. Essentially YouTube is taking all of its professionally-produced music videos down because it says the music industry wants too much money. You can have the debate about the rights and wrongs amongst...

First of all, Office Live WorkSpace has added language support for Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Serbia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Latvia, and Slovenia to use the localised service. WorkSpaces also get long-awaited FOLDERS, full cut/copy/paste and file storage is being increased to a very respectable 5GB...