is4profit

  • A few weeks ago I wrote a post entitled “Startups Acquires is4profit” but then everything on my blog went quiet. Well, the story behind the headline goes a little something like this… Read more

  • Texas Joe Reigns in Dragons

    “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

  • “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… Read more

  • “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

  • 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

  • “A SMART Business is a SMARTER Business” was first published in the business advice section of www.is4profit.com When looking for ways to improve your business one method of working is by using SMART objectives. First coined in a 1981 edition of Management Review, S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym/mnemonic for: S – Specific M – Measurable A –… Read more

  • “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. Read more

  • 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” 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?

    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