Business121 Small Business Newsletter #76

In this week's Business121:

1. Staff in smaller firms suffer less sickness
2. To Franchise or Not to Franchise?
3. Managed Service Companies - Ordinary limited companies not affected
4. Show me the money - financing a start-up business
5. How to boost investor interest in your startup business
6. How to secure business funding for start-ups
7. Raising Money - What lenders look for before handing out cash
8. Small Business Loans - An Overview
9. 'Sickies' cost UK economy £1.6 billion but small firms suffer less
10. 54% of businesses have no written business plan
11. Chip and PIN and robberies: Employers risk negligence for failing to protect staff

Staff in smaller firms suffer less sickness

If you've seen any news or had the radio tuned in over the past 24 hours you'll no doubt have heard the results of a CBI/AXA survey on employee absence (see News below).

The survey revealed that employers believed that 12% of all absence was down to staff "pulling a sickie". When totted up this amounts to a total of 21 million days lost and a cost to the UK economy of £1.6 billion.

This was the headline that most news focused on but one detail that many failed to report was that small businesses suffer significantly less problems with staff sickness.

Firms with fewer than 50 employees lose, on average just 4 days a year through employee absence, whereas organisations with over 5,000 staff suffer twice as much absence, with an average of 8 days/year.

So why is this the case? I suspect that people working in small businesses are given more responsibility, autonomy and recognition. When you're an integral part of a small team you're more likely to find fulfilment in your work than if you're a small and faceless cog in an enormous corporate machine.

A little mental arithmetic, tells me that if the UK was purged of all big companies, staff sickness would be reduced to the small business average of 4 days/year and the UK economy would gain an extra 75 million working days at a value of £5.7 billion.

So surely the Chancellor should be incentivising smaller firms instead of punishing us by raising the smaller companies tax rate and lowering the corporation tax rate for larger firms!

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To Franchise or Not to Franchise?
Andy Preston highlights the dangers of entering into a franchise opportunity without thoroughly investigating the vital element that will determine whether the business will be success – or a failure.

Managed Service Companies - Ordinary limited companies not affected
The Professional Contractors Group has assured the freelance marketplace that ordinary limited companies are unaffected by the new tax rules on Managed Service Companies.

Show me the money - financing a start-up business
What happens when you reach a point where extra financing is required to take your business on to its next level of success.

If you're looking to raise finance you'll find a range of useful articles and advice on the site including;

How to boost investor interest in your startup business
Start-up businesses can increase their chances of funding by taking early steps to structure their business to take advantage of the tax incentives available to potential investors.

How to secure business funding for start-ups
Finding the cash to develop a business idea can appear a daunting prospect but in recent years a huge range of resources have been made available to budding entrepreneurs.

Raising Money - What lenders look for before handing out cash
You seek to borrow funds from banks, business angels or government agencies. While they make money by lending it, they also want to know that it is safe in your hands.

Small Business Loans - An Overview
Small business loans can provide a very flexible solution to any type of funding requirement. Here's a high level overview of startup loans and what to look out for.

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SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
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'Sickies' cost UK economy £1.6 billion but small firms suffer less than big organisations
Absence increased in 2006 as workers took an average of seven days off sick, losing 175 million working days and costing the economy £13.4bn, according to the latest CBI/AXA survey.

54% of businesses have no written business plan
The majority of Britain's small and medium-sized businesses are operating without a written business plan endangering their future prosperity and survival, according to new research.

Chip and PIN and robberies: Employers risk negligence for failing to protect staff
A leading law firm is warning retailers and hospitality businesses that they face costly and time consuming claims of negligence if they fail to protect their staff from a robbery.

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HOW TO AVOID A COSTLY HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS TAX INVESTIGATION
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(c) Business121.co.uk 2007