http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk Support for sole traders and micro businesses Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:39:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en by Stephen C Campbell Structure and strategy are the main things which are missing from most small and home businesses. The majority of businesses do things according to industry norms and never seek to set themselves apart from the competition. Failure to develop a structured approach to your business strategy ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/12/23/how-to-develop-category-marketing-strategies-for-your-small-business/ by Stephen C Campbell Every company exists for the sole purpose of providing a product or service to the end user. No matter how fantastic a product or service is, you will never be able to sell and generate revenue unless the end user knows that it exists. Also if you ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/12/01/how-to-develop-sales-and-marketing-strategies/ by David Faulkner of Advertising Gift Consultancy Promotional merchandise is one of the most cost effective of all promotional media. The goodwill created far exceeds the actual cost of the merchandise itself, plus your brand/message gets promoted time and again whenever the products are seen or used. Case Study 1 Many years ago ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/11/28/advertising-gifts/ From Jo Partington at the Sandler Sales Institute A good pool of prospects is one of the keys to a successful selling career. Knowing how to prospect effectively keeps a career vital, and is truly the lifeblood of sales. Yet, so many sales professionals overlook the crucial element of having a ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/06/03/prospecting-with-a-plan/ Article written by Alastair Swanwick, Proprietor of Innovate Design. Innovate Design: Patent and Invention Help Many people who have come up with a great new idea find themselves presenting their idea either to a potential investor to raise capital or to a company in order to get a licensing agreement. It is ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/05/23/the-importance-of-presentation-and-prototypes-at-the-marketing-stage/ Another sporting year is well underway and the earnings of leading sports stars continue to soar into the multi-million pound bracket, putting them on a par with stars from the world of film and music. Lewis Hamilton, for example, is carrying on where he left off in his quest to become ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/05/06/building-and-protecting-wealth/ by Johnny McGowan Hayes of the St. James’s Place Partnership, tel: 01598 710655. It’s a leap year, and a centuries old tradition has it that a woman may ask a man to marry her. What is more, tradition says that an honourable man may not turn her down! With marriages on the ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/04/01/popping-a-few-financial-questions/ Defeat fear! An article by Jim Connolly To defeat fear you need to understand how fear works. If fear is getting in the way of your success and happiness and you want to defeat it for ever – this article will show you! * * IMPORTANT * * This article is from my ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2008/02/29/how-to-achieve-the-life-you-want/ article by Elaine Clark of Cheap Accounting If you are planning a major investment in plant and equipment for your business in the next few months, you may be better of doing it after 6 April 2008. The reason for this is that the current rules governing the tax relief that ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2007/12/06/spending-money-maybe-you-should-put-it-off-to-next-year/ Article by Robert Lovett of The Business Handle All organisations have a resource which can significantly influence how well they perform a range of managerial activities, including delegation and time management. However, though this resource is, quite simply, quality operational information (QOI) – i.e. good, reliable information about business operations – ... http://www.soletradersunited.co.uk/2007/11/22/mind-your-business/