“Texas Joe Reigns in Dragons” was originally written by Paul Mackenzie Ross for the is4profit small business blog Last night’s episode of Dragons’ Den on BBC was a corker. We saw a pitch for an “umbrella” for a rotary dryer, an exercise mat that you can wear around your waist and yet another bid for • Read More »
Archives: business blog
StartUp Loans: Why Raising the Age Limit is So Desperately Needed
May 13, 2013 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business, finance.“StartUp Loans: Why Raising the Age Limit is So Desperately Needed” first appeared in the is4profit small business blog The first small business news story of the day today is that Lord Young, David Cameron’s Enterprise Adviser, wants to raise the age limit on StartUp Loans. This is a great idea and I’ll explain why…
Should SMEs Be Worried About the Demise of HMV?
January 15, 2013 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business.“Should SMEs Be Worried About the Demise of HMV?” was written by Paul Mackenzie Ross and first appeared in the is4profit small business blog The news this weekend has been filled with stories about the demise of HMV. That’s not to say that the store, founded in 1921, will totally disappear, but it has been • Read More »
Computer Games and Small Business Strategy
November 16, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business, games, philosophy.Are SMEs Being Encouraged to Level Up too Quickly? I’ll admit it; I’m not particularly good at computer games. When I played Halo on the original Xbox against one of my younger brothers I got shot. Lots. On the Nintendo Wii versus my junior-school daughter, her wrist-flicks fired off aces without a single “proper” serve. • Read More »
The Business Benefits of Marginal Gains
September 20, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business, creativity, philosophy.“The Business Benefits of Marginal Gains”, written by Paul Mackenzie Ross, first appeared in the small business blog section of www.is4profit.com My Managing Director and I were discussing the subject of business performance and commercial efficiency the other day when he mentioned the recent story of the British Olympic Cycling team boss, Dave Brailsford.
How Do Small Businesses Capitalise on the Olympic Spirit?
September 5, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business, philosophy.This article was first published on the is4profit small business blog in September 2012 Cast your mind back to just a few weeks ago and recall the London Olympics 2012. Look at the current buzz surrounding the Paralympics 2012. From the spectacle of the opening ceremony to the Olympic venues, the crowds, the medal table • Read More »
Cash Mobbing Lifts Local Business
August 10, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: Books, business, philosophy, random.Cash Mobbing Lifts Local Business” was first written by Paul Mackenzie Ross for the is4profit small business blog The flash mob is a public gathering where people use social media or other communications to organise and congregate on a public place and perform some usually pointless act and then disperse again. Now, after the flash • Read More »
The Rise of Localism?
August 3, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business.A couple of days ago I read an interesting piece over on the BBC News website about Totnes in Devon; the town is soon to be home to a new branch of the national chain Costa Coffee. Now Costa Coffee is a brand that is well known in the UK with some 1,375 shops in this country, • Read More »
You Can Bank on Dave!
July 20, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business, finance.“You Can Bank on Dave” first appeared on the is4profit small business blog. So what happened in “Bank of Dave”, episode 2 last night? Burnley Savings and Loans has been lending a LOT of money. The problem is that they still don’t have their savings licence and cannot take deposits. But, on the bright side, • Read More »
The Bank of Dave
July 13, 2012 | By Paul Mackenzie Ross | No Comments | Filed in: business, finance.“The Bank of Dave” first appeared on the is4profit small business blog. A man in a pin-striped suit, asking for your money. Oh, no, not another banker…! Wrong. It’s Dave Fishwick, who made his millions as an entrepreneur with his own small business, and now he wants to hand some of that cash back to • Read More »