BizHelp24 News 205 - Small Business News

As part of a small business you know how important it is to look after your customers, and new research demonstrates that keeping a good reputation can have significant benefit on your sales.

The CBI has found that well over half of consumers will pay a premium to the company they believe has the best reputation, even if they can buy the same product or service cheaper elsewhere...

Online social networks are fast becoming an important part of business, but new results show they are still not a replacement for the traditional skills of talking to clients on the phone or face to face meetings.

One in five managing directors would not do business with anyone they hadn’t met face to face, over a quarter would refuse business to anyone they hadn’t at least spoken to over the phone and only a third have successfully managed to secure business using email alone...

As part of a small business, you understand how complicated the process of hiring new employees can be; but are you making sure that you are meeting legislation on hiring workers legally?

The new measures to increase fines and checkups on business that employ workers illegally come into force in February 2008. Employers who hire an illegal worker could be fined £10,000 or face even a prison sentence.

As part of a small business you will be aware that during the Christmas season your staff are regularly away on holidays. This means you need to be well prepared for booking them and ensuring cover for your business.

However, after recent changes to the holiday pay legislation; many businesses are still struggling to find out whether their holiday calculations are correct and how many days of holiday their staff have remaining.