Rachel's Reflections on the week past - This week I consider three examples of how a business has lost it's connection with it's customers.

Why it is important to take a break when you are self-employed

It's coming up to that time of year when academic and public sector seems to come to a close. It's as if no decisions can be made, no meetings can be held and no one can be contacted but how true is this really and what could you be doing during this 'quiet' time of year. 

The more people I have spoken to about this over the last week or so, the more I am finding that actua...

Today saw another exceptional networking event at St Ives Business Lounge in Cambridgeshire and I wanted to share with you the reasons why this type of networking is (in my opinion) imperative for small business owners and freelancers.

Ed Goodman runs, for those of us that attend, a mastermind session where up to twelve individuals come together to support two of the group wi...

This is me 6 months ago...

It’s my first go at a co-working morning. I don’t get it. I don’t work with these other people. What business is it of theirs what I do? Is that guy looking at me? How dare he listen to me on the phone. I bet he can see my screen too. I bet he thinks I should be doing this differently. And what if he sees something he shouldn’t? I’m not liking this....

Outsourcing has many a negative connotation but its a great means of growth for small business and it is more and more available to all.

It’s now the time where we make our new year resolutions and look forward to the next 12 months. We look forward to what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. We must be positive and look forward. Move on. Put the past behind us. Live in the future. No regrets. Don’t look back……. I can’t think of any more clichés.

Hang on a minute. Why shouldn’t we look back? It a...

Money! The reason we all work (well most of us). For freelancers or self employed it is totally our bread and butter. And we need it to flow in based on when we complete work.

We invoice, we get paid - right?

Well actually for a lot of small businesses that is just not the case. We are at the mercy of the customer when it comes to our cash flow. If they are slow at paying, w...

Having given you my top Best Bit of Self Employment, it's time for one of the Worst Bits. 

The BIG BOYS!!!!

Yep, you know it, the big companies and names that know to pray on the new, naive and happy to talk to anyone who notices them because they haven't seen it coming yet. 

For me there have been a couple of particularly bad experiences and I will tell you about them to save...