Free Tips & Advice

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  How to know when to get outside help with business strategy

  From experience people often leave it quite late to seek outside help. We wanted to provide you with a summary of the key themes and patterns we have witnessed over the last 6 years at ABP.

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  How Do I Sell More? Ten Top Tips From Daryl Woodhouse

  Sales are crucial in any business. And to grow a business, you have to increase sales. This includes both winning and keeping customers. It’s not just those with ‘sales’ in their job title who need to think about this. After all, there’s more to sales than simply selling products or services. The way we influence, […]

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  Is Brexit a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

  Cast your mind back a year and you will remember claims and counter claims regarding the consequences of either staying within or leaving the EU. A year later and we have not seen the doomsday scenario of predicted by the stayers, but neither have we seen the Brave New World of the leavers.  Many will […]

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  Thoughts on the Paris Trade Mission: Optimism and a Warm Welcome

    Last month I was part of a two-day trip to Paris from London, representing ABP as part of the Mayor of London’s trade mission into Europe with fellow members of the ‘Go To Grow’ International Business Programme. The Mayor’s International Business Programme alongside the London & Partners Go To Grow team arranged a very […]

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  Software Development… Where Do You Even Start?

  Kicking off a new software development project can be challenging. There are lots of options to consider and often many obstacles to overcome. With years of experience delivering successful projects under our belts, we asked our developers what steps they believe people should be taking before they start a project. They had all sorts of […]

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  How’s It Going, My Old China?

  All the talk about the Hinkley Point negotiations has made me reflect on my experiences of doing business in China, and how business and technology have developed in that country in such a short space of time. I first went to China in the 1990s to negotiate the sale of a manufacturing line and the […]

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  The New Apprenticeship Levy: What Do You Need To Know?

  Are you prepared for the new apprenticeship levy? We’ve gathered together the key points you need to know. What is it and when does it come into force? The government are introducing an apprenticeship levy which requires all employers operating in the UK, with a pay bill of more than £3 million each year, to […]

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  The Top 5 Positive Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

  Having worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and met well over a thousand of them in the last 15 years, I’ve noticed several trends which separate the good from the not so good. I’ve met very few entrepreneurs who are both respected by those around them and deemed successful.  Success can mean many things, so for […]

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  5 Steps To Transform Time Management For Your Team

  Along with cash, property or people, time is surely one of the most important business assets you have. But do you manage it as well as you could? Here I’d like to share my first five steps to better time management, for business owners and those employed by them. But first, ask yourself: do any of […]

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  Business Leaders – How Should We Respond to Brexit?

  What will be the outcomes for business of the Brexit vote? Let’s face it, no one knows. The dust has not yet settled – far from it. So how should we be responding to what has happened, when we don’t yet know what the consequences will be? First and foremost, before the Brexit negotiations have […]

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  To Brexit or Not to Brexit – That is the Question

  Apparently, there’s a debate going on as to whether Britain should stay in or exit the European Union.  I have to say that this is news to me. A debate, from my point of view, would be welcome but, in the main, all I witness is Animal Farm-type slogans being written on the barn wall: […]

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  5 Ways to Buff Up Your Brand

  Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business – yet it is very often badly done. Brands like Apple and Burberry seem to be masters in the image game, yet once upon a time this was not the case. During the late nineties, Apple almost went bankrupt – but with some smart […]

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  Why All Successful Business Owners Have One Eye On The Exit

  You’re a business owner who has fought off the voodoo and misfortune which has plagued many startups over the past five years or so. You’re turning over a generous profit and you’re looking to expand in the next twelve months. So why on Earth should you be planning your exit strategy? The truth is that […]

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  The 4 Key Skills Needed to be a Business Leader

  The question of nature or nurture is one that is almost as old as time itself, yet it is still an incredibly relevant one when you place it in a business context. Can you learn to become a great business leader or manager, or is it something that is innately encoded into your genes from […]

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  Creating Business Advantage – 12 Tips to Setting Up and Running a Successful Business (pt2)

  ABP’s first book was released this month, and to celebrate it’s publication, authors Daryl Woodhouse and Garry Smith have come up with some more of their most helpful tips in an info graphic to give you a sneak peak of what you can expect from ‘Creating Business Advantage – Setting Up and Running a Successful Business’. Part […]

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  Q and A with Creating Business Advantage Co-Author Daryl Woodhouse

  Published earlier this month through Amazon and already scoring some fantastic customer reviews, Creating Business Advantage – Setting Up and Running a Successful Business is the first book to be published by Advantage Business Partnerships. Its mission: to get businesses thinking about those simple steps to business success that can be so easily forgotten. Here, co-author […]

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  Start-Up Survival 101

  The survival statistics for startups has never been overly positive, but that hasn’t stopped many budding entrepreneurs from setting up their own businesses and attempting to go it alone. How can they ensure that they will go the distance? Well, strictly speaking, they can’t. The markets can be highly volatile and with things like poor […]

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  Creating Business Advantage – 12 Tips to Setting Up and Running a Successful Business (pt1)

  Booker Prize candidates, be afraid – ABP’s first book was released yesterday, and to celebrate it’s publication, authors Daryl Woodhouse and Garry Smith have come up with some of their most helpful tips to give you a sneak peak of what you can expect from ‘Creating Business Advantage – Setting Up and Running a Successful Business’.  1. Do […]

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  Funding Agreements… What’s the real deal?

  So, as an Angel you have found a potential investment that really excites you. What happens next? Nothing much? Sometimes deals are just done on the basis of a stock transfer form or a share certificate in exchange for a payment. Even wealthy angels are sometimes far more casual about the terms of their investments […]

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  Networking the Right Way – PART 2

  Networking can play a key part in your business growth strategy. In Part 2 we cover how to tackle the actual event and the all important follow-up. You can read PART 1 here Networking and Interaction DURING THE EVENT Having made an effort to prepare for an event will make it a better experience for […]

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  Women in Management – the bosses who can boost every business

  They’re the bosses who juggle demanding budgets, take control of supplies and are responsible for the management of everyone under their wing. These are the people your business, indeed every business, needs. They know how to control fifty things at once and are still grounded enough to tell you the price of a pint of […]

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  Networking The Right Way – PART 1

  WHY BOTHER TO NETWORK? Whether you work for an established company or a start-up, the world is fast paced and keeps on changing – therefore we need to keep adapting. With so much social media activity online, deeper relationships and strong networks matter. As part of any business growth strategy, people need to know who […]

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  What is a share and what’s my share? – Guest Blog

  Whether you are looking to establish a new company with business partners, raise finance by way of offering shares in your company or invest in an existing company, people often talk about having a “share” or “shares” in a company – what does this mean? What is a share? A company is an independent legal […]

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  Public Speaking – How It Can Win You Work

  Whatever industry you’re in, you or your company will be doing some kind of marketing to raise awareness of your service or product as part of your business growth strategy. That’s just it though – raising awareness alone doesn’t necessarily convert to sales. Why would a prospective customer buy from you when another company down […]

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  Start-Up – Does Yours Have the Right DNA?

  ‘Start-Up’ is a very broad term covering so many different types of business that it seems to encompass all SMEs at some point in their early years. Everyone brings something different to their own Start-Up. You have a business idea; you’ve seen a gap in the market and know just what would fit there. You […]

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  Small Business Owners Have No Fear of Failure with a Business Mentor

  A US company has revealed that the economic climate and the current, incredibly high failure rate for SMEs and startups, is not putting entrepreneurs off when it comes to founding their own companies and setting up on their own. 86% of those interviewed by Deluxe Corp, a small business marketing firm, said that they felt […]

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  Doing More for the Causes That Really Matter

  Recently I was invited to attend an event at the The House Of Lords. We were hosted by a charity called Carousel and their collaborative partner firms. The objective was to raise awareness of their not for profit initiative: the Oska Bright Film Festival. Oska Bright is the first and only festival of short films […]

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  The 3 Leading Business Management Mistakes: Are You At Fault?

  In 2014, StatisticBrain released the list of leading business management mistakes among business owners; mistakes so big that they often caused the business to fail entirely. We want to combat these type of mistakes; we know that management is tough, but we are here to give those taking the plunge every chance at success. Take a look at the […]

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  GUEST BLOG | How to Accelerate Growth Through Blended Training

  Make your people fit for the leadership and growth challenge In today’s fast-flowing world, where we are bombarded with innovations at all levels, our training systems and methods need to keep up the pace. Fast Growth needs exceptional leaders with new skills. That doesn’t happen over night and not with traditional training programmes, which are […]

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  The Art & Science of Recruitment (as seen through a sales pair of binoculars)

  Recruitment can be a daunting challenge for any growing business; one bad move can spell disaster. Fortunately, ABP Growth Partner Steve Jessop has been dealing with the recruitment side of business for over 30 years… Background I’ve worked at all levels of the sales discipline – mostly in business services – for well in excess of […]

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  The Top 5 Rules of Effective Communication in Business

  We all know that communication is key in any business, but in practice what does it actually mean? What ways should we be communicating with each other and what are the main traps we might fall into but need to avoid? Communication is key at all levels of our business. Every day we spend our […]

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  The Importance of Maximising Profits and Mitigating Risk Using Currency-Buying Strategies

  Senior Smart Currency Consultant, Si Cong Ma, writes about the vital role currency exchange plays when expanding your business internationally. Trading overseas can be a lucrative way to diversify your market share and grow your business. Businesses that are trading abroad or planning to do so need to understand the crucial role that currency exchange […]

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  Are There Pitfalls in Your Business Landscape? 9 Traps to Avoid

  With a wide and varied landscape of activities to maintain, many are likely to fall outside the expertise of those running the business. Then of course there’s always that classic danger of not seeing the wood for the trees! We’ve benchmarked over 400 small and medium businesses against best business practice and for the first […]

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  Startup Failures Higher Than Ever | 3 Tips to Avoid One-Year Disaster

  The figures relating to startup failures are enough to send a shiver down any executive’s spine. 50% of startups fail entirely in their first year of operations, and the top reasons for failure don’t exactly make for pleasant reading. Incompetence, lack of managerial experience and neglect are named as the top three factors in startup […]

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  What Will Business Coaching Do For Me?

  Many SMEs and startups are investing in business coaching and mentors in order to propel them to new heights and ensure they reach their goals. But with all the buzz and hubbub surrounding business coaches, it can be tempting for those running a business to wonder: “What’s in it for me?” Here we explain exactly […]

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  Coaching in Business – The Top Five Reasons to Hire A Business Mentor

  Business mentors are fast becoming a crucial thing for startups and SMEs to have access to, but what are the advantages of hiring one? Should young entrepreneurs figure things out themselves, or should they channel their resources into a mentor that will guide them? Find out with our top five reasons to hire a business […]

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  Teamwork: Building your STAR Team

  Building a team that is passionate about your business, is proud to work for you, and shares your core values is absolutely integral to your success, and as a leader, it is your responsibility to create an environment in which such a team can be built. Ricky Williams, a retired American football player said of […]

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  The Potential of the Crowd

  SMEs across the UK have seen their funding options widened enormously in the last three years with the re-purposing of invoice financing, the growth of equity-based crowd funding and the unstoppable rise of peer-to-peer lending. The exact impact of the debt-based sector is hard to measure, but businesses in the UK have borrowed well over […]