Be the Business

An opportunity to boost that Friday feeling! Finishing today⏰ Sage is offering a game-changing £5,000 grant and a 12-month Sage subscription to ten lucky #smallbusinesses🏆. A cash injection could provide your small business with the boost it needs to invest in marketing, upgrade equipment, or expand inventory, driving growth and increasing profitability. 🏏 But that's not all! These deserving businesses will each win four tickets to The Hundred Final at Lord's along with a £400 travel allowance. All they ask is that you have under 50 employees and have been trading in the UK for over 2 years. Go for it! Applications close at 5pm today. https://lnkd.in/exQk8Xwf #competition #businessboost #businesssupport #grant

Ready to gain expert advice? ⬇️ Join our online interactive session featuring Jean Stevens (Duprez) MBE FCIOB from Be the Business and Damini Sharma, Founder & CEO of The OM Group, a trailblazing female leader in the construction industry. Discover how apprenticeships can be the key to accessing a wider talent pool and building a diverse, high-performing team. In this session, you'll learn how you can:  🔹 Expand Your Talent Pool: Learn how offering fully-funded professional training can help you reach a broad spectrum of candidates to fill your vacancies.  🔹 Foster Creativity and Innovation: Explore how embracing diverse perspectives through apprenticeships can lead to fresh solutions and innovative approaches to business challenges.  🔹 Enrich Your Workforce: Discover how apprenticeships can attract a wider range of talent, enhancing inclusion and enriching your team.  🔹 Cost-Effective Skill Development: Understand how apprenticeships provide an affordable way to cultivate the essential skills your business needs to thrive. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from industry experts and unlock the potential of apprenticeships to transform your workforce. 🔔 Register now to secure your spot!

Are we overlooking a real process-changing skill? 🤔 A recent survey by the Association for Project Management reveals that 82% of #smallbusinesses in the financial services industry need more support with project management upskilling. This statistic potentially underscores a vital opportunity for improvement and growth in the sector and across the small business community. How can we work towards a solution:  🌐 Opt for easy-to-use modern platforms that allow better project tracking, communication, and collaboration.  🎓 Expand recruitment efforts to attract professionals and recent graduates with relevant qualifications.  🤝 Consider extra opportunities for on-the-job training for your team to ensure everyone is committing to a better way of working, sometimes tools are only as good as how well we use them! Why it matters:  Improved project skills for all parts of an organisation can be a game-changer at such a critical time with net zero, technology and global events disrupting business activity. Addressing these gaps can ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest standards. ✅ ⭐Project management platforms that come highly recommended in our small business community: monday.com, Asana and Trello. Check out the story behind the statistics here: https://lnkd.in/eEtv3cfR #Projectmanagement #Skillsgap #Professionaldevelopment

Today is the day, let's make productivity a national priority 🌟 It's time to spotlight the untapped potential of our businesses in the UK. At Be the Business, we've seen firsthand how productivity can transform businesses. 💪 Some of our key policy recommendations include: 💰 Improve access to affordable financing 📈 Offer tax incentives for investment ⏳ Tackle late payments to enhance cash flow 🎓 Upskill the workforce through targeted training 🏗️ Invest in digital infrastructure 🗣️ Give SMEs a voice in policy-making 🤖 Support AI adoption One of our close partners The Productivity Institute have released a comprehensive guide on the 2024 elections. 📘 Check out the guide here: https://lnkd.in/ejg5mzua #SMEproductivity #UKeconomy #GeneralElection2024

Celebrate World #MSMEDay not only on the 27th June, but everyday... We celebrate the powerhouses of our economy - micro, small, and medium enterprises! 🏭🏪🏢 Small businesses make up 99.9% of the UK’s 5.6m businesses and employ two-thirds of those working today. At Be the Business, we're proud to drive productivity and growth for the UK's small and medium-sized businesses. Our impact speaks volumes: 📈 16,000+ business leaders supported 💰 £501 million+ productivity boost 🏆 44% of participants saw increased turnover 🔧 80% implemented significant changes Here's how we're making a difference: ✨ Expert-led programs 💡 Personalised mentoring 📊 Tailored advice from industry leaders Remember, small changes lead to big results. A 1% annual improvement in every small business could add £94 billion to the UK economy over 5 years! 💪 Together, we can make a big impact from small changes. Find out more about Be the Business: https://lnkd.in/ei2ri5iE #BeTheBusiness #SMEsuccess #Productivity #UKbusiness #Entrepreneurship

Are you thinking about crowdfunding as a way to take your business to the next level? Here is how you nail it. 🔨 We're bringing you our next edition of The Lunchtime Listen, featuring Lauren O'Donnell, founder of Oatsu. Lauren left a career in banking to launch Oatsu after struggling to find any delicious plant-based breakfasts near her office. Overnight oats were skyrocketing in popularity, and were the only breakfast that kept Lauren full and energised all morning.     Since then, Oatsu has delivered 30,000+ breakfasts to 3,000+ customers. Their breakfasts have been featured in The Sun, The Guardian, Metro and The Grocer, and have been endorsed by BBC Dragon Steven Bartlett known widely from Diary of a CEO #DOAC. Oatsu secured its first high street listing with Holland & Barrett last year.    💸 Surpassing their initial crowdfunding target by 250% Oatsu recently raised £250,000 from 279 investors on Seedrs.    The knowledge you can expect to GAIN: 🌟 Crowdfunding & Fundraising: Discover the secrets behind Oatsu's phenomenal #crowdfunding success, achieving an incredible 250% of their target.   📣 PR & LinkedIn: Learn firsthand about Lauren's effective use of PR and LinkedIn to drive sales and build a strong online presence.   🤝 Mentorship & Support: Hear about the transformative impact of Lauren's experience so far in our Mastercard Strive Mentoring programme. Plus, we'll have a live Q&A session where you can directly ask Lauren questions and gain even more insights. Don't miss out on this one! ⭐ Ioana Jago Eilidh McDade Angela Veljanoska Maarja Toomsalu Shazana M.

Tomorrow is the day! 📣 Lauren O'Donnell, our #crowdfunding expert and Founder of Oatsu will tell you the essential first steps for launching a successful crowdfunding campaign! We will be building on how to get started:  ️🎯 How to define clear and achievable goals  🤝 Building a supportive community before launch  📣 Effective strategies for promoting your campaign  👥 The importance of transparency and regular updates Lauren’s firsthand experience will provide actionable tips and inspiration to kickstart your funding campaign. There will be time for live Q&A too 👏👏 Brought to you by Be the Business, Powered by Mastercard Strive Ricardo Williams Ioana Axinte Maarja Toomsalu Eilidh McDade

💡Transforming Customer Experiences with AI agents. 📞 Answer the phone 💬 Send a WhatsApp 📸 Receive and analyse a photo 📈 Recommmed products & solutions Piers Linney demonstrating the power of multimodal AI agents at the Be the Business & Microsoft workshop at Canary Wharf Group Implement AI Anthony Impey MBE Ioana Jago Katie Booth

AI demystified live from Canary Wharf Level39 🏢📣 It has been an incredible morning so far at "Beyond the Hype: Making AI Work for Your Small Business", a game-changer for small business leaders looking to embrace the power of AI. 💻   Key Highlights: 🐉 Anthony Impey MBE, CEO of Be the Business was joined by the one and only Piers Linney, former Dragons' Den and AI expert, who shared mind-blowing insights on the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI into small businesses. ⭐ Fireside chat with Tristan Shortland, Chief Innovation Officer from Infinity Group UK and Alison Wright, SMB Director from Microsoft discussing his experience with Microsoft 365 Copilot and its effectiveness on uplifting business-wide productivity. 🧩 Through interactive breakout sessions, attendees are sharing challenges, exchanging ideas and developing their own AI integration strategies.   Brought to you by Be the Business and Microsoft, an absolute game-changer for the attendees who secured their spots. 🙌 Ioana Jago Fiona Krasniqi Joshua Sheppard Eilidh McDade

Piers Linney kicking off today's Beyond the Hype London Event with Microsoft & Be the Business 🙌🚀 Standing room only!