Bytestart Small Business Newsletter #13

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Latest Small Business Updates

1. No-nonsense guide to government rules & regs
2. Good SEO tool to help keep an eye on your competitors
3. "A-Day" - Many SME's unaware of pension rule changes
4. Family Businesses wanted for TV show!
5. No time for Congestion Charge increase says FPB
6. Web Accessibility: The Basics
7. More and more small businesses want to be by the sea
8. BT urges SME's not to let missellers off the hook
9. Designing your Web Site for ALL Browsers
10. Many small firms happy staying the same size
11. How to Submit Your Site to Directories
12. Web design image formats - an introduction
13. 20 tips on how to become a franchise millionaire!
14. Is Britain a nation of life makers, not risk takers?
15. 10 rules of internet marketing
16. British bees stung by Government cuts!

No-nonsense guide to government rules & regs

A new DTI guide has been released which should take the jargon out of the seemingly ever-growing list of government rules and regulations most small businesses are obliged to keep up with.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/no-nonsense-guide-to-gov.shtml

Good SEO tool to help keep an eye on your competitors

The Bytestart team recently had the chance to review a new search engine marketing software package - "SEO Administrator" which is an integrated suite of handy search engine monitoring tools to help keep your website ahead of the competition.

Having highlighted the key steps we recommend to getting the most out of search engines in our web marketing section, this tool is very easy to use and has our recommendation (we're not getting paid to say that either!)

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/promotion/7_8/good-seo-tool-to-help-kee.shtml

"A-Day" - Many SME's unaware of pension rule changes

Over a third (36 per cent) of the UK’s small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are unaware that pensions legislation is due to change in April 2006, known as ‘A-Day’, according to research released today by the Tenon Forum.

This upcoming change in pensions legislation will allow people to invest their pension scheme across a far wider range of investments, including residential property at home or abroad for the first time.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/aday-many-smes-unaware-of.shtml

Family Businesses wanted for TV show!

Channel 4 are looking for family run or small businesses for a brand new TV show pilot!

Do you feel your business has seen better days and could do with a helping hand?

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/family-businesses-wanted-.shtml

No time for Congestion Charge increase says FPB

An article written by Nick Goulding, Chief Executive of The Forum of Private Business...

"Back to work. Back to normal. Stand defiant. These are the messages we have been hearing loud and clear in the aftermath of the London bombings. Nowhere is this mindset more keenly expressed than among the capital's small firms, which are the engine room of the London economy."

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/no-time-for-congestion-ch.shtml

Web Accessibility: The Basics

Web accessibility is about making your website accessible to all Internet users (both disabled and non-disabled), regardless of what browsing technology they're using. In addition to complying with the law, an accessible website can reap huge benefits on to your website and your business.

Your website must be able to function with all different browsing technologies

The first and perhaps the most important rule of web accessibility. Not everyone is using the latest version of Internet Explorer, with all the plug-ins and programs that you may require them to have for your website.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/22/22_1/web-accessibility-the-bas.shtml

More and more small businesses want to be by the sea

According to the Mail on Sunday, entrepreneurs like to be beside the seaside . . . and not just for holidays. There is a growing trend among business owners towards setting up or relocating to coastal resorts.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/more-and-more-small-busin.shtml

BT urges SME's not to let missellers off the hook

BT has called for the telecoms industry to put a stop to misselling practices aimed at Britain’s small and medium-sized businesses.

More than three quarters (78 per cent) of SMEs say they have been on the receiving end of misselling of business services, with almost two thirds (59 per cent) of these believing they have been missold telephone services.

Of the 1,000 SMEs questioned, 82 per cent think that misselling is a growing problem for their business, 63 per cent believe that the problem of misselling has increased in the last couple of years and more than four fifths (81 per cent) find the practice irritating.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/bt-urges-smes-not-to-let-.shtml

Designing your Web Site for ALL Browsers

Let's face it. Building a web site that browses consistently on multiple platforms and multiple browsers is not always as easy as we would like.

It is safe to say that most designers spend most of their time building their sites on a given platform. Those with the highest standards should, upon completion, take a look at their creation in different browsers and different platforms.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/22/22_1/designing-your-web-site-f.shtml

Many small firms happy staying the same size

Over a third of Britain's small firms want their business to stay the same size, or at least do not want to recruit any more employees, according to the latest NatWest/SERTeam Quarterly Survey of Small Business. The proportion of older respondents wanting to remain at their current size is even higher (41%).

Half of Britain's small businesses prefer to measure business growth by the number of sales that they generate, 38% base it on profits and far fewer (2%) measure it in terms of market share, employment, number of sites or product range.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/many-small-firms-happy-st.shtml

How to Submit Your Site to Directories

Unlike submitting to search engines, submitting your site to directories and niche portals usually involves a lot more than simply typing in your URL. You often have to start by researching the various topic categories to find the most appropriate area to submit to. Then you generally have to provide some detailed information about your site, its’ content, your company and your contact details.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/promotion/7_5/submit-your-site-to-directories.shtml

Web design image formats - an introduction

When browsing the internet you are likely to come across many different image formats. However, the most common formats are: CompuServe GIF, JPEG, and Bitmaps.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/22/22_1/web-design-image-formats-.shtml

20 tips on how to become a franchise millionaire!

Franchising is booming in the UK, helping many individuals to realise their dreams of running their own business. With a lot of hard work and determination, entrepreneurs have a unique chance to start their own business with the support and backing of a tried and trusted brand.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/24/20-franchise-tips.shtml

Is Britain a nation of life makers, not risk takers?

New research has identified the key motivations behind a largely misunderstood breed of British worker: the alterpreneur.

Primarily driven by lifestyle over financial gain, it is estimated that alterpreneurs own and manage approximately two million – or roughly two-thirds - of the UK’s micro businesses (businesses with between 0 and 4 employees).

The discovery of the alterpreneur contradicts the perception that Britain’s small business sector is defined by the much vaunted enterprise culture – made up of ambitious, risk taking entrepreneurs; a perception regularly reinforced by Government rhetoric and policy.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/is-britain-a-nation-of-li.shtml

Yahoo introduces "Desktop Search" product

Following hot on the heels of Google's desktop search product, Yahoo! has not introduced a similar product of its own to enable you to search the Internet and your own PC simultaneously.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/15/yahoo-introduces-desktop-.shtml

British bees stung by Government cuts!

An unusual piece of small business news today - A leading business pressure group is backing a campaign to safeguard the British honeybee population whose future is threatened by Government cuts despite the huge contribution they make to the agriculture industry by spreading pollen.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/news/1_12/british-bees-stung-by-gov.shtml

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All the best,

The Bytestart Team