Business Models

Hope and despair, signpost graphic

Hope never springs eternal — unless you’re a realist

DAVID KEAN reflects on ‘hopium’ addiction — and how to kick the habit I ONCE had a boss who said, “I think we got away...
Warehouse interior

Warehouse? There house! Sector thinks laterally

Commercial proptech is facing challenges and changing demands, writes PAULIUS KVEDARAS THE RECESSION is raising interest rates, causing property yields and prices to shrink. With...
Online banking

Online shift has banks shutting shop

HIGH street bank branches are shutting as people turn to online services and money management. Which? magazine reports that 5,355 bank and building society branches...
Rain, umbrella, money, insurance illustration

Support calls from SMEs in UK and US

UK firm Purbeck’s personal guarantee insurance has seen a sharp rise in small businesses contacting its mentoring and advice service for support. From January to...
Futurestate Design book

Design your business for ‘tomorrow’s customers’

By MARK WILSON BUSINESSES are facing tough times, with EU trade difficulties and inflation driving pessimism. So, now’s the time to reimagine things using creativity and...
Gas burner, euro sign, graph. Energy prices illustration

Rising energy prices worry SME owners — price-hikes coming

A SURVEY of 1,000 British SMEs indicates that rising fuel and energy costs are the greatest threats to survival in 2022. Half — 49 percent...
Businessman on tightrope. Business vulnerability illustration

Vulnerability: the heartbeat of creativity and innovation

By CHRIS PATON THE NUMBER of UK businesses forced to close in the last quarter was 137,210 — 23 percent up on the same period...
Couple at supermarket checkout. Loyalty fraud illustration

Loyalty fraud: it’s a thing

BUSINESSES are realising that a top-notch customer experience is the key to staying one step ahead — and fraud rings have begun to target...
Revlon Advert 1987

Makeup break-up as Revlon files for bankruptcy

AFTER 90 years in business, cosmetics giant Revlon is filing for bankruptcy in the US. The company had been brought down by a combination of...
Man working from home, video conference, Zoom

Gift from the pandemic: fresh ways of working and communicating

Flexibility contributes to gender equality in the workplace — without affecting your bottom line By RAE MORGAN STATISTICS brandished by companies as proof of progress in...