Newsletter #103 - Pitching to investors, Finding a serviced office, What is a LAN?, Making staff redundant...

In this week's Business121:

1. Merry Christmas
2. Securing business funding - The Dragons' perspective
3. How to find a serviced office to suit your business
4. What is a Local Area Network (LAN)?
5. A legal guide to taking time off from work in emergencies
6. When it goes wrong - How to handle making staff redundant

Small Business News

7. Companies Act - final timetable for implementation
8. It's only £100. Should I really worry if my tax return is late?
9. Taxation tops list of small business concerns according to survey
10. Chancellor delays CGT taper relief decision until 2008

Merry Christmas

Welcome to the last issue of Business121 in 2007. Our final instalment of the year brings you our usual mix of new articles and advice to help you to run a successful small business.

We're always adding new articles and guides to Bytestart and if there are any topics that you'd like us to tackle for you in 2008 just drop us a line and we'll see what we can do for you.

Thanks for your reading and support in 2007, we'll be back with the first newsletter of 2008 on January 9th. In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas and a bountiful New Year.

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Securing business funding - The Dragons' perspective
Dragons' Den is now in its fifth series and while the show is obviously edited to entertain (more than anything else); it seems as if the current bunch of contestants has not watched any of the previous shows! Week after week they appear – often repeating the mistakes of previous contestants. This article highlights the key mistakes entrepreneurs make when pitching to investors and what you need to do to avoid making these mistakes.

How to find a serviced office to suit your business
Serviced offices are a great way for small businesses to get up and running quickly. They can give you far more flexibility than rented office space and reduce your long-term commitments. Here are some ideas to help you find the right office for your company.

What is a Local Area Network (LAN)?
An overview of how Local Area Networks work - and how they can help your employees share information, Internet connectivity, and applications at work.

A legal guide to taking time off from work in emergencies
This guide looks at the right of employees to time off work in order to deal with emergencies affecting their dependants.

When it goes wrong - How to handle making staff redundant
Every business owner who employs people has to face the horrifying possibility that at some point they may have to make someone redundant.
Sometimes it's inevitable. No matter how much you care about your team and want to look after them, if times are tight, you must reduce the cost base of the business or it will go under. And that would put your entire staff out of a job.

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SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Companies Act - final timetable for implementation
The final timetable for the implementation of the Companies Act has been announced by the Government. Some of the remaining provisions of the Act will come into place in October 2008 and others in October 2009.

It's only £100. Should I really worry if my tax return is late?
A £100 fine is due for submission of a self assessment tax return after the 31st January deadline, and a further £100 six months later if the return is still not filed. Submitting tax returns late is not to be advised - find out why.

Taxation tops list of small business concerns according to survey
Taxation has topped the list of concerns for UK small businesses according to specialist insurer Hiscox’s second annual SME Risk Barometer.

Chancellor delays CGT taper relief decision until 2008
Chancellor Alistair Darling told the recent CBI conference that he would deliver a decision on the abolition of CGT taper relief "within the next three weeks". However, Darling subsequently told the Commons that he would not announce any changes before Christmas, so small business owners will have to wait until the New Year to find out whether CGT taper relief will be abolished after all.

** For the latest Small Business News, visit http://www.Bytestart.co.uk **

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