Juicy Info

The recession may have dented business confidence, but activity from small businesses (including micro-businesses, home-workers and freelancers) has gained momentum in the UK. Rising unemployment has undoubtedly been a major factor in culling some, but others are seeking out new opportunities. This is accelerating an underlying trend toward a more discerning workforce who favour flexibility and independence over job security.

Traditionally there has not been a great selection of resources to support the small guy, but this is now changing with an expansion in long-tail content. The selection of knowledge, advice and business solutions has gradually been expanding, offering businesses and individuals in the freelance trade an ever growing amount of support.

Here I’ve brought together a list of UK resources available. By no means exhaustive, but it does reveal the diversity of support now available. So if you’re a small business or individual contemplating taking the leap, you may find these resources a useful starting place. Or for those looking to target the small business audience, you may find this useful as a source of industry intelligence or competitor analysis.

1. Government/public sector: One of the most popular starting places providing entry-level and ongoing support.

Business Link: is a Nationwide government-backed service covering all subject fields and offering online, phone and face-to-face guidance. Their website presents step by step information on setting up and building a business with over 600 guides and utilities, such as the Business Start-up Organiser. Offline, business experts providing free business consultations, giving the small entity a chance to get guidance on overall business strategy.

England’s nine regional development agencies (RDA’s) support the growth of businesses within their region. In alliance with the national brand, they each operate Business Link support within their region.

2. Associations: Organisations like the Federation of Small Business (FSB) and the Professional Contractors Group offer membership schemes that give access to much needed essentials like legal support, whilst acting as organisations that lobby for support at government level.

Federation of Small Businesses: FSB charges between £150-£900 (depending on size) for free business banking, legal and tax advice and independent financial support. It publishes two magazines: Business Network and First Voice, sent out to members.

Professional Contractors Group (PCG): PGC represents freelancers, consultants and contractors in the UK. The rise of home-based working, business outsourcing and hot desking has expanded the pool of freelancers, raising demand for resources and support. PCG has a range of different membership solutions available. Online forums and information meetings add to range of general advice and content available, which extends to include accountancy, tax, legal and insurance products.

3. Small business portals: There are no shortage of publishers targeting the small business, either looking at general start-ups, taking a more entrepreneurial edge or focusing on specialist fields.

A simple search on Google will reveal an array of content providers. Some of these include: SmallBusiness.co.uk; Businesszone.co.uk; Cobwebinfo.com

In 2009, this area has become more sophisticated with the arrival of new players such as The Marketing Donut, which brings fresh together insights from editorial experts as well as small businesses themselves. These newer platforms also have the benefit of being built with social media at the heart, enabling a two way dialogue between writers and readers. The Donut range has recently been expanded to include separate web platforms for start-ups (The Start Up Donut) and one for law (The Law Donut), providing a suite of content solutions for businesses. (You can find me listed on the expert list for the Marketing Donut here).

Smarta was created by leading entreprenuers to offer a place for businesses to connect, learn, share and ‘do’ business. Although not exclusively targeted at the small companies, it offers a good range of content and inspiration for new start-ups.

Enterprise Nation targets the growing breed of individuals starting a business from home with specialist advice.

Smallbizpod: This service provides a twist on content, specializing in podcasts to give an insight into what business owners are up to.

4. Branded content (custom publishing): Advertisers have traditionally played more of an arms length role in small business content, with sponsorship or affiliate strategies taking centre-stage. Financial services companies have been one of the main creators of advice for small companies, used as a means to sell in financial products.

Sponsoring small business portals is a popular way to link with small businesses. RBS backs the new Smarta web, still in beta, but with aspirations to go global. The Financial Times produces its own ‘FT Guide to Business Start Up’ priced at £18.99.

In recent years, with the rising popularity of digital media, branded content has taken brands deeper into publishing terrain. American Express runs its Open Forum portal bringing small businesses together to share ideas, connect and gain insights from each other as well as industry experts.

BT Tradespace was set up in 2007 and offers small companies the chance to set up their own tradespace, a low-cost option to showcase and promote a business to potential customers. Customers  use the portal as a shopping marketplace to find the products and services they need.

5. Social networks: Although by no means exclusively targeting the small business, power networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn are prime breeding grounds for business connectivity. Both of these mainstream tools are havens for savvy small companies. They are one of the most powerful ways to connect with suppliers, customers and other third parties.

Twitter recently launched its own guide – Twitter 101 - to help businesses understand how to embrace the tool to positive effect. Well worth a read!

There are also a wide variety of regional business communities. Some such as ecademy have been running for a number of years. Communities supported by brands (HSBC) and media companies are also gaining ground.

6. Networking events: Online tools may be where the edge is, but events and offline networking also provide a vital role. Again these aren’t always exclusively for the small biz.

There are quite a few running in local and regional areas. A couple of national-based operations are Networking for Business and Speed networking run by the British Chamber of Commerce.

7. Shared workspaces: A couple of months back, Wired reported on the development of shared freelance hubs, areas where freelancers and small businesses can work and use space to hold meetings, workshops etc… It provides a welcome alternative to working from home, or finding space in the local coffee shop.

Such areas are particularly prominent in the creative industries, where a high number of freelance talent and small businesses are a natural part of the ecosystem. Open plan desk rentals are now available in London at affordable prices. As the web matures, we’re almost certain to see continued fragmentation of resources guiding this growing band of entrepreneurs.

Here are a few different business solutions you might like to try:
Creative space agency
The Hub
Livework homes
Rentadesk
FunkBunk
Lemon Studios London
Lebu

8. Business Clubs: To be honest it’s probably hard to differentiate these with social networks in general. One difference can be that you have to sign up and register to be able to read the content they send round.

I find the Telegraph Business Club content really insightful. Another site, Everywoman is aimed at all women in business and they have some really great forums online where you can read and share stories from like-minded female business owners.

9. International content: Small businesses may set up within a set location or geography, but increasingly that their customers may be anywhere. The ability to trade across borders is easier than it has ever been, with the web as gateway. Similarly, businesses can now learn from and share ideas with businesses in other geographies.

Fast Company, Entrepreneur.com and Inc.com may originate in the US, but their content appeals to a business mindset that transcends cultural barriers.

10. Blogs/misc services: As you would expect, the small biz content blogosphere is also pretty impressive, with many businesses themselves having their own blogs. Far too many to go in to here, but you’ll come across them on your travels.

Hope you find this useful. Feel free to add your comments and any links you recommend.

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