There’s no doubt about it: 2020 was stressful. STRESS-FUL. Even those of us who secretly quite enjoyed lockdown – hi! – will have felt the effects of working flat out to mitigate a financial disaster, separated from our colleagues. Oh, and the pandemic bit as well. Resilience is a key skill any small business needs […]
Earlier this year Facebook, the owner of Instagram, announced changes it was making in line with the outbreak of Coronavirus. Facebook’s plan had always been to deploy a new way of shopping – both through Facebook and Instagram shops. But with the onset of COVID-19, they launched several months early to enable shoppers to buy […]
In a lot of ways, 2020 has sucked for all kinds of businesses. I’m not here to Mary Poppins a terrible situation. But in amongst all the bad news, some rays of light have strayed across my screens. The small and mid-sized businesses that have turned lemons into limoncello and provided valuable services during a […]
With the country coming out of COVID-19 lockdown, now is the time to implement whatever office changes we’ve been mulling over – time to make our workplaces work for us. A sustainable workplace has maybe seemed a bit too much effort previously. You try to sort the recycling and you worry over how many plastic […]
While COVID-19 forced many businesses to temporarily close, it’s important to be thinking positively about the easing of lockdown and return to work. As I write this, some industries such as retail have already been given the green light and resumed trading from 15th June. For others, particularly within the hospitality and leisure industries, there […]
The Coronavirus pandemic has created a topsy-turvy world and an unstable economic environment. When an outside force creates untold damage to every person’s way of life, especially in the way we are affected at the moment, then we have to rise to the challenge and seek new solutions. Yesterday’s problems are irrelevant as lives are […]
Facebook has brought forward the introduction of Facebook Shops, its own shopping platform within Facebook and Instagram platforms – a direct result of COVID-19. Businesses can now sell their products within the social media environments their customers are used to. Potentially, this is a huge opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of. What is […]
If anything could make us all remember the true value of staying in touch, a deadly virus forcing many of us to remain in our homes for weeks on end could. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 we’ve found ourselves video-chatting to people more regularly than we’d ever normally speak to them, and not just for something to do; we’ve suddenly become very aware of […]
Even under normal circumstances, being a manager can be challenging. However, the sudden transition to working from home – during a pandemic no less – is proving difficult for those up and down the chain of command. When you’ve got a whole team of workers to worry about – along with their quality of work, […]
This isn’t one I thought I’d be writing. Internal brand is always important but I’m only now seeing just how important when it’s put to the test. Usually, internal brand is about keeping everyone in a business connected to shared values. It helps us all create documents or communications that look right, talk to customers […]