Business121 Small Business Newsletter #68

In this week's Business121:

1. Are entrepreneurs born or made?
2. Creating your customer fan base
3. How to restructure and reorganise your business
4. Business Plan Financials - What you should include in your plan
5. VAT - Cash Accounting Scheme extended from April 2007
6. CIPD and BCC to explore benefits of flexible working for small businesses
7. FSB warns of employers' liability insurance premium rises
8. UK business administrations jump by over 25%
9. Fuel and a Map for Business Expansion - Free Seminars
10. SME growth strong during last quarter of 2006

Are entrepreneurs born or made?

This was the question posed in an interesting article in last week's Sunday Times.

There are two schools of thought about what makes an entrepreneur. The first is that anyone can do it if they really want to, provided they put in the effort. The second is that you have to be a certain type of person and, if you are not that type, you are wasting your time.

Adrian Atkinson who runs a business psychology consultancy, is convinced that entrepreneurs are born and not made and feels that the theory that anyone can become an entrepreneur is "absolute nonsense".

He believes that people can be divided into two groups - those who are wealth creators and those who are not. The group of wealth creators can then be divided into four different types - experts, corporate-wealth creators, enterprisers and true entrepreneurs.

Atkinson has devised a test to try and identify the various types and the Sunday Times put it to the test with two successful entrepreneurs and their journalist answering the questions.

The results seem to confirm his theory. Both entrepreneurs scored 19 out of 20, making them "STRONGLY ENTREPRENEURIAL" with the journalist at the other end of the entrepreneurial scale.

Being the curious sort, I had to take the test myself. I came out with a score of 18. This, apparently makes me an 'ENTERPRISER' - which is described as someone, "who seeks excitement from making things happen. Finds personal risk-taking exciting but prefers to share risks and rewards with others. Focuses energy on achieving goals but maintains reasonable work/leisure balance. Dislikes routine and constantly seeks challenges."

It's pretty close to the mark!

If you're curious to see how you score, you can read the whole article and take the test for yourself here; http://snipurl.com/_Entrepreneur

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Creating your customer fan base
Customers who think you are great are the best. They buy your products and services, recommend you to their friends and colleagues and, like a trusty partner, continue to support you through the good times and the bad. So hands up all those who have customers like these – not everyone? Then read on...

How to restructure and reorganise your business
The principal reason for restructuring or reorganising your business is to make sure it is in the best position to achieve its objectives. As a business grows, it will face a number of influencing factors such as new markets, changes in demand, or the need to improve practices and processes.

Business Plan Financials - What you should include in your plan
Expert opinions may vary, but in general there are some standard analyses and financial figures that a business plan should include.

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SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
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VAT - Cash Accounting Scheme extended from April 2007
The Cash Accounting Scheme which helps cashflow in small firms by allowing eligible businesses to defer paying their VAT until they have received payment from their customers - will be extended from 1 April 2007.

CIPD and BCC to explore benefits of flexible working for small businesses
The benefits of flexible working to small firms is to be explored in a joint study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the British Chambers of Commerce.

FSB warns of employers' liability insurance premium rises
The Federation of Small Businesses has warned that employers’ liability insurance premiums could rise, following the introduction today of a new scheme that allows the NHS to recover the costs of treating patients that have been paid personal injury compensation.

UK business administrations jump by over 25%
Latest analysis of administration figures by Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has shown that UK businesses suffered in 2006 with the number of companies going into administration increasing by 26% over 2005.

Fuel and a Map for Business Expansion - Free Seminars
UK businesses aiming to "rediscover" entrepreneurial drive and fuel their expansion with creative ideas are being offered a free place at a series of breakfast seminars.

SME growth strong during last quarter of 2006
The robust performance of UK small and medium sized businesses in the third quarter of 2006 was almost replicated in the final quarter of the year with a broad based rise in SME activity, reports the PKF SME Index.

** For the latest Small Business News, visit Bytestart.co.uk **

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