Business121 Small Business Newsletter #69

In this week's Business121:

1. eBay sellers - are you liable for tax?
2. E-Commerce Regulations for Small Businesses
3. Top tips for email marketing success
4. DIY PR Tips – How to get your company in the news
5. Networking – how to make your ideas happen
6. Worker lateness costs businesses £66m per year
7. Need finance? Pitch to the Midas Touch panel
8. Speed networking: business at the double
9. National Business Awards – Regional Programme

eBay sellers - are you liable for tax?
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Just when you thought no-one would ever know about the few quid you make each month selling Crimean-style china soldiers on eBay… Now, it seems, HMRC have taken note of the exponential growth in popularity of online auction sites.

eBay has made life a lot easier for small traders to conduct business with minimal overheads, and as a result, the Revenue have published a guide for “e-traders” in an attempt to stamp our tax evasion.

Essentially, HMRC say that if you are "trading", this means that you provide goods or services to customers on a regular basis via an online site and they pay you in return.

So, if you are running an enterprise on eBay, making regular sales for profit, you should be paying tax on the proceeds (it would appear than many sellers are not doing so!)

You can read more about this story here

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E-Commerce Regulations for Small Businesses
Overview of the basic legal requirements of the E-Commerce Regulations that businesses selling and advertising on line must be aware of and complied with - including what information you are obliged to include on your website.

Top tips for email marketing success
Most marketers measure their email newsletters in terms of the amount of opens & clicks they can generate. These stats tells us how well our email newsletters might be performing, so here are some suggestions to brush up on your email marketing efforts if things aren't going as planned…

DIY PR Tips – How to get your company in the news
Shrouded in mystery, PR is often considered an unknown science, untouchable by small businesses and best left to the experts and bigger players. But getting good media coverage needn’t be scary or complex. Here are some simple tips for dealing with the media, writing press releases and getting your business in the news.

Networking – how to make your ideas happen
Networking is the best and most cost-effective way to turn your ideas into reality. However, networking is an art. It can be done badly or it can be done well. At its worst, networking involves standing around and making awkward small talk. At its best it can be inspiring, fun and useful.

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SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
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Worker lateness costs businesses £66m per year
Monday is the day when most of us are late for work; and 7 in 10 of us will lie and blame public transport. Lateness appears to have become a national epidemic, and bosses need to act sooner rather than later to minimise it.

Need finance? Pitch to the Midas Touch panel
If you're looking for investors to back your business come and pitch at The Midas Touch. If you convince the millionaire panel, which includes Dragons Den's Peter Jones, you could get the cash investment you need in just 5 minutes.

Speed networking: business at the double
Free speed networking event at the Business Startup show, NEC 23-24 February. Make new contacts and expand your network. Includes, tips for successful speed networking.

National Business Awards – Regional Programme
Companies from across the country are now being invited to take part in five regional heats - closing date for entries is 22nd March.

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

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