Cracking the whip - what makes a good boss?
Less than a third of British workers believe they have a good boss, even though more than 85% of bosses believe themselves to be good leaders. That's according to a report commissioned by the National Business Awards. Staff and bosses broadly agreed on the top five traits of a good leader – honesty, good communication skills, being hardworking and trustworthy, and intelligence. Meanwhile, the top five personality traits of a bad leader according to staff were untrustworthiness, a patronising attitude, poor communication, instilling fear, and overconfidence. The good news is that 93% of bosses said they would adapt their leadership style if it would improve business morale and or profitability.
Female entrepreneurs raise more than men in crowdfunding
In the world of crowdfunding, female entrepreneurs receive more backers per campaign and a higher average donation value, according to data from CrowdCube. It has found that women raise 10.75% more money than male-run campaigns. However, it also found that only 10% of entrepreneurs going for funding are women and that women represent just 5% of the angel network in the UK. Despite this, CrowdCube says that 41% of successful campaigns are led by women.
Job vacancies rise while pay falls
According to the Adzuna Jobs index, the number of job vacancies over the past six months has risen by over 4% and the average advertised wage has fallen by 4.4%. The total number of jobs available in the UK stands at 491,299 whilst the average wage advertised stands at £33,166. This means that the average job on the market now only has 3.22 people applicants, despite some anomalies in sectors such as catering. These findings are in accordance with official figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in February, showing that in the last quarter of 2012, UK unemployment fell by 14,000.
Small business owners fail to claim all their expenses
Only one in four small business owners claim back all of the expenses they incur personally for their business, according to research carried out by YouGov on behalf of FreeAgent. In a poll of over 500 small business owners with five or fewer employees, 21% admitted that they claimed back half of their expenses or less. 41% of respondents said some expenses weren't worth claiming and 35% cited lost receipts. Fears about getting expenses wrong in the eyes of HMRC were also a factor for 19%.
School for Startups teams up with Lloyds
Lloyds Banking Group is to provide coaching and support for young entrepreneurs that are enrolled on School for Startups' Launcher programme. Unveiled in January 2013, Launcher offers new business owners aged 18-30 a package of support that bundles the government's Startup Loan with free access to training and boot camps as well as the School for Startups' online community, online library and 24-hour support. Young entrepreneurs will now also benefit from the support of mentors who have been trained by Lloyds.
Are you Britain's best small business?
The fifth Nectar Business Small Business Awards, led by Karren Brady, have opened for entry. As well as receiving £2,000 cash and 50,000 Nectar points, entrants are competing for the opportunity to receive expert advice from Karren Brady and other industry experts at the Nectar Business Round Table event to be held later in the year. The awards close on 30 April and there are categories for best tradesperson, start up, entrepreneur and innovation as well as small business of the year.
Failure to affiliate means SMEs are not being heard
The voices of small firms in the UK are not being heard, as three-quarters of them are not affiliated to a professional organisation, according to a survey by Enterprise Nation. Just 9% of respondents are members of their local British Chamber of Commerce or the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Founder Emma Jones said: "Around 97% of businesses are classed as 'small' in the UK. And yet for a sector that employs more than 13 million people and generates £500bn for the British economy, its needs are under-represented to Government." Enterprise Nation has launched its own business membership club with access to quarterly enterprise reports and networking events for £20 a year.