Small business secrets...

Working as a sole trader can be heavy-handed at best and isolating at worst, you're responsible for every aspect of your business from customer service to sales to business admin. It's important to be able to switch off every now and then to preserve your mental health.

Here are some tips on how to create a work-life balance as a sole trader.

When the phone rings at your small business what happens? There are a number of scenarios that can happen such as the call is answered immediately, there is an auto attendant that directs the caller or hold music. All this is vital to the caller experience that your customers or stakeholders experience. It's important to know which one your small business is projecting day to day.

For small business owners starting out, it's common to want to use your personal mobile phone for work. It may seem convenient but the setbacks will become obvious in the future such as not being able to switch off, wondering whether every call is a personal or business and can damage your professional reputation.

Here are more reasons why using a personal mobile phone number isn't something you should be doing.

As a small business owner, you may not consider missed business calls as an issue. Given today’s emphasis on digital communication such as social media and email, it’s easy to forget that phone calls also play an important role.

Unanswered calls are more important than we may think. Here’s the real impact of missed calls on your small business.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of businesses either resorted to remote working or have unfortunately shut down during lockdown. Many businesses, especially small businesses, have greatly felt the impacts of this economic crisis.

As the world is preparing to bounce back from this devastation with help of the vaccine, many small businesses will need to reface and begin a new build-up for their company and look to see how they can rebuild what was lost and continue growing with in the future.

As the owner of a business, you've got to maintain a flawless line of communication to reach everyone who matters to your business - even if that’s just you at the start.

Imagine customers, suppliers or stakeholders not being able to reach your business at all, that's essentially the consequence of not having a stable and reliable, digital business landline telephone line.

Whilst this is of utmost importance there are other reasons why a landline number is preferable for small businesses, even if you’re answering it on your mobile phone.

2020 has brought a new expectation for work which many are getting used to. Due to Covid-19 40% of the workforce is working remotely. While remote work has always existed it was never required in the way that it is now.

Employees have had to completely change how they are communicating and working together. The main concern for businesses is the security of important information. Here are tips on how to make your small business and overall organisation secure while working remotely.

Any business owner can tell you, it is impossible to run a business without any outside assistance. No matter what type of business you own, you will need other employees, online resources, and business tools to help you keep your business successful.

Marketing can be expensive especially for small businesses that have limited start-up funds. Small businesses need to put themselves on the map using marketing tactics to stand out from a competitive environment. Good news is that some marketing tips are inexpensive and sometimes free.

Here are ways you can market your small business that doesn't break the bank.

Once you’ve established yourself as a sole trader and making consistent profit, it’s a good idea to plan for growth. To business owners, growth often means increasing sales, however, you also need to focus on how to maintain or improve your profitability and learn how to maximize your time while scaling.

Here are five things to consider when growing into a small business: