The Business Ladder Blog

Congratulations to Stone & Co. of Stourbridge, West Midlands who trained through The Business Ladder via our Letting4Success and Property Agency Training channels.

The letting and property management agents were assessed for accreditation and, fulfilling our assessment criteria, we were thrilled to award them both our ‘Building Better Business’ and ‘Accredited Property Agency’ certificates.

To read a full interview with John Stone and Jill Smith of Stone & Co. please click here.

To visit their website please click here.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is set to increase from October 2010, which could mean big savings for small businesses. In England, small businesses are entitled to SBRR if the rateable value of their premises is more than £2,600 but less than £18,000 (or £25,500 in London).

Secondly, as well as reversing the previous government’s plans to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) by 1% in the June Budget, the Conservative-LibDem coalition government has also announced a new scheme through which new businesses being established outside London and the Southeast of England receive  a significant reduction in their employer NICs.

Find out more here and here at the website of small business organisation the Forum for Private Business.

An interesting article discussing the effects of sometimes bizarre (and sometimes malicious) restrictions in the USA on honest grass-roots enterprise… the same grass-roots enterprise the ‘powers that be’ always say they want to encourage and foster…

Have a read here.

There are certainly lessons to be extracted from such considerations, as across the globe entrepreneurs of all stripes are called upon to rebuild economies and generate wealth again.

Enterprise is absolutely fundamental, and each government should certainly put its money where its mouth is by supporting, and dismantling senseless obstacles to, new innovative and productive businesses. If not, then at least drop the rhetoric and stop taking advantage of cheap PR soundbites about enterprise.

Another encouraging development as business skills and enterprise continue to go mainstream, especially for young people. This time it’s the 100+ year-old movement commonly known as the Scouts who are taking steps to encourage members into the field of enterprise.

“The Scout Association will today launch an entrepreneur badge, adding an enjoyment of commerce and figures to more traditional pursuits like camping, collecting stamps and engaging in campfire singalongs.” See here for the full article.

Here’s a look at five key qualities that make an outstanding entrepreneur. See here at the BBC News site.

Another interesting new interview is up on the resources part of the site. We chat to Lonneke Kwantes, founder of Inspirational Speakers 4 Schools. IS4S sources and organises inspirational speakers for educational establishments around the UK to inspire young people to learn and succeed. The interview can be found here.

To find out more about Inspirational Speakers 4 Schools, visit www.inspirationalspeakers4schools.com.

Entrepreneur Rory James MacLaren-Jackson successfully completed the 6.5km Crisis Square Mile Run 2010 last Thursday in a time of 35mins 40 secs (and he’s got the T-shirt and blisters to prove it!)

Thank you to everyone who sponsored Rory and helped him get well over the £100 target that Crisis were aiming for from each runner. By doing this Crisis can give Changing Lives Awards to 250 people, giving them the chance to study or train for a new job or giving them the skills and tools to become self employed. The money raised really does transform lives.

To find out more about Crisis please visit: http://www.crisis.org.uk/

The Business Ladder co-founder Fabio Del Piero is participating in a feature called ‘An Oxford Education’ on the Oxford University website. He shares his experiences and gives his opinions about the role Oxford played in helping to develop analytical skills and a successful mental approach for business and life.

Have a read of it here.

Consumer group Which? has published the top 10 most useless financial products that essentially sucker consumers – from mobile phone insurance, to store cards, to loans.

A general caveat should be that not all such items will be useless in themselves, but poor value is often the problem.

Have a browse here at the Guardian.

Here’s some good advice from lovemoney.com on how to manage your money.

A fool and his money are soon parted… so be smart!