Business Growth Strategies | Business expansion | Human resources

Leadership & Management

Small but perfectly formed

The past year saw a strong rally for small-cap companies, but some were singled out for particular distinction in the Quoted Company Awards. GrowthBusiness meets the winners.

Inside Gordon Ramsay's business

The business empire of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay reported a pre-tax loss of £4.3 million for the year to August 2008.

From director to CEO

Steering a business can be a stressful experience, especially when you're doing it for the first time.

Marketing & Sales

Defining a PR strategy

PR is not the impenetrable science that many agencies would have you believe. It is possible to do your own PR, but first you need to be clear what you want to achieve.

Building a brand: Hotel Chocolat

The story of Hotel Chocolat demonstrates that sometimes you need to ignore all the advice you get. Angus Thirlwell, the company's founder, reveals his recipe for branding success.

How to grow your market share

Even when you can't grow your turnover or profits, you can still aim to take a larger slice of a shrinking market. We look at tactics to win business from powerful competitors.

Companies opening their first office in the UK are likely to be warmly welcomed by government agencies, but there may be cultural differences to navigate. We hear from five companies which have made the move.

Enterprising county

The gutsy get-up-and-go spirit of Yorkshire and the Humber is helping to see the region through recessionary gloom. GB reports on the attractions of the area for the growing business.

Doing business with Argentina

Argentina has experienced unparalleled growth of late, but a lack of understanding has scared off UK businesses.

Human Resources

Driving change

Better driving habits can save businesses money and reduce accidents.

The right fit

Unemployment in the UK may be creeping upwards, but that doesn’t mean all businesses are wielding the axe.

HR outsourcing: the basics

Using external providers to do the job of a personnel or HR department might save money, but the process is not without its pitfalls. GrowthBusiness weighs up the benefits and the risks.

Technology in Business

Web-conferencing and telepresence

Oliver Thompson, MD of training firm Transphorm, claims to have saved around £5,000 a year through using video-conferencing.

The Blackberry Presenter

It's hard to remember when laptops were thought of as revolutionary devices, enabling executives to throw their computer in a bag, hop on the train and deliver a winning presentation at the other end.

The new cybercriminals

From Twitter to cloud computing, internet innovation is presenting new opportunities to the devious, and they are exploiting them to the full. We outline the main dangers and find out what is being done about them.

Legal Advice

Purchasing from a liquidator

While pricing can be attractive, buying a distressed company has its pitfalls. Here are the traps to watch out for when you're bargain-hunting, writes Teri Hunter, a partner at corporate law firm Moorcrofts.

Corruption in corporate Britain

The UK has slipped to an all-time low of 17th in a global corruption index. GB assesses the scale of the problem.

Changing consumer legislation

The EU is set to standardise and extend consumer legislation. Jennifer Edwards, an associate at law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore, looks at what that means for UK businesses.

Out with the old, in with affordable.

Bring in IBM System x3650 M2 Express servers powered by Intel® Xeon® and dramatically lower IT operating expenses. Use IBM’s online evaluation tool to see ROI in as little as three months. Find out more

Promote your business for FREE with Yellow Pages

You could have your business details listed for FREE in the Yellow Pages directory. Find out more here. Terms and conditions apply

Get started with Barclays Business Banking

Choose from 3 great Start-up packages offering a range of business and banking solutions, from cashflow management software (QuickBooks or Sage) to VAT management solution. Plus, up to 2 years FREE banking (conditions apply). Apply online.

Research

Creative businesses face ‘analysis gap’

From video games developers to firms of architects, creative businesses of all kinds struggle to get adequate financing due to a misconception that they cannot be analysed systematically, claims a new report. The study comes from the Centre for Creative Business (CCB), a joint venture between London Business School and University of the Arts London.

Directors' Pay AIM 2009

What should an AIM company pay its CEO or FD?
What should a non-executive director or chairman expect to be paid?
What benchmarks should AIM remuneration committee members be using when
setting pay?

VCT Special Report 2009

This reports principle aim is to provide business owners seeking funding with information about the amount of funds that VCTs have to invest.

12 Key Points to Consider When Selecting a Network Scanning Solution

Discover the 12 key points your company should consider before you evaluate and select a vulnerability assessment solution.

1Z0-040 Oracle Database 10G New Features for Administrators Practice Exam

Oracle 9i administrators can certify on Oracle 10G by passing this exam. The ExamForce 1Z0-040 Oracle Database 10G New Features for Administrators practice exam provides their unique triple testing mode to instantly set a baseline of your knowledge and focus your study where you need it most.

4 Ways to Unlock Your Employees' Performance Potential

Discover four proven ways you can tap into the full potential of every employee.

Google Business Apps

Google Apps lets your business save time and money by outsourcing email, calendar and office applications to Google. Just tell us a couple key stats about your business, and we'll estimate how much a basic Microsoft Exchange 2007 deployment would cost and what you could save with Google Apps.View Google Business Apps.

Save time and money with Outsourcery

Discover how streamlining and automating your sales processes can help ensure a shorter sales cycle and improved customer retention. Microsoft Dynamics CRM business software provides fast access to useful data in the office, at home or out at meetings. Download this free whitepaper to understand the business benefits

Free Whitepaper - Accelerating the nerve centre of the SOA

A free white paper from Intel, discussing how SOA Expressway will continue to evolve, providing new capabilities to further support Cloud computing and other hosted delivery models. Download this free whitepaper.

Enterprise-class e-commerce for mid-sized businesses

Online shopping has become ubiquitous and has changed customers' expectations. But how can mid-sized companies tackle e-commerce?

View now the ATG webinar with Forrester Research to find out how enterprise-class e-commerce can work for you. Click here to find out more

iPhone 3GS is now on Vodafone

iPhone is full of great features to help you do more, and do it faster. With easy set-up, instant email, first-class web browsing and thousands of business applications, the iPhone 3GS is ready to go to work. Discover the ultimate tool for business today.

Selecting the right IT strategy in 2010

Owner managers and CEOs of fast-growing companies want IT-applications that accelerate competitive advantage and improve operational efficiency. This free whitepaper helps you plan and choose the right IT strategy for your business in 2010. Download ‘Selecting The Right Software Vendor’.