Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United Kingdom and Ireland:

• United stand in support for small businesses: The Lancashire Evening Post has thrown its support behind the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) national Keep Trade Local campaign which is backing small businesses throughout the country.
• Lenovo debuts small-business servers worldwide: Lenovo is to enter the global server market for the first time, with the launch of its ThinkServer range of servers.
• Mail misery continues with soaring costs and more branches closing: Royal Mail’s decision to introduce a flat rate for fewer weekday collections, as part of its shake-up of the postal network, has left small businesses paying more for what many believe to be a reduced service. Until April 2008, business-owners could choose to take advantage of morning collections for an annual fee of £280. Now, there is just one collection per day, which is priced at £450. The price hike comes as businesses are bracing themselves for the impact of a cost-cutting exercise in which a total of 2,500 local Post Office branches are to close.
• Small business interest defies economic down-turn: INVESTOR interest in successful small businesses in Worcestershire is holding firm despite the credit crunch.
• Entrepreneurs getting sleepless nights over downturn worries: New research suggests that one in six small business owners suffer sleepless nights as a result of stress - roughly 750,000 people in total.
• Firms are held to ransom by late payments: Small businesses are being hit hard by customers who delay paying their bills for as long as possible
• One business just isn’t enough: Many small business owners are involved with three businesses at once but more than half are considering selling up
• It’s good to start up in a downturn: Setting up a business in an economic downturn may seem like an unnecessary gamble, but it could offer real rewards for those prepared to take the plunge
• City helps young entrepreneurs get on the ball: MANCHESTER City Football Club has kicked off the government’s new initiative to help budding entrepreneurs turn their `business dreams into reality’.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from India:

• Indian business frets on political climate: To the opposition parties and activists who had set up camp outside Tata Motors’ factory in Singur, West Bengal, the state government’s decision to award more land to farmers resisting the plant was a watershed. ‘This is a historical victory,’ said Dinesh Trivedi, a senior figure in opposition party Mamata Banerjee. ‘Mamata Banerjee will emerge as the leader of the farmers all across India. You cannot have industrialisation on the bloodstains of poor people.’
• The new ‘intrapreneurs‘: Staff with entrepreneurial spirit, dubbed intrapreneurs, are becoming ever more important to businesses…
• Entrepreneurship & Small Business Promotion Programmes by MEA: Entrepreneurship & Small Business Promotion commencing from Jan. 05 - Feb. 13, 2009 which is sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs Government of India under ITEC / SCAAP Programme and will be organized at EDI Campus.
• India SME Workforce Going Global: The country’s increasingly mobile workforce is becoming dependent on cell phones and laptop computers
• SMS 2.0 + Seasrch = Killer App!: If there is any doubt that SMS is the single most popular feature on a mobile phone then this post is not for you. If there isn’t any doubt then yes, SMS is the single most popular feature on the mobile phone. After mobile phone, SMS is the best thing to happen to India. It is called as texting in some countries.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from Australia and New Zealand:

• Small business gloomy about next 12 months: BUSINESS confidence in Western Australia has hit a seven-year low, with small businesses showing they have little faith that the resources boom will stop economic conditions from deteriorating in the next 12 months.
• Federal Government’s one-strike workplace policy is welcome relief: JUST when small business has been calling for the federal Government to show that it understands their challenges, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard surprised the sector by dropping the need to give poorly performing staff three warnings.
• Big business led up Birdsville track: BIG business is starting to pay for its long-standing opposition to sensible trade-practice reform. Its negativism has created a vacuum now being filled by many potentially painful measures, from predatory pricing and mergers to consumer policy and cartel conduct.
• One warning and you’re out, under new laws : ALL business operators will be able to sack workers after giving them just one verbal warning and complying with a short check-list, under new business-friendly employment rules to be introduced by the Government.
• Customer service vital in tough times: WITH tough times looming, customer service will become more important than ever for small businesses that want to survive, experts have warned.
• Baby boomers good customers: Australia’s ageing population will create enormous opportunities for small businesses involved in these areas, finds the inaugural Business & Population Monitor from business advisory firm PKF, with Access Economics.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from Canada:

• Niche Marketing Keys: Niche marketing is a common path to small business success. No large retailer can be all things to all people, and there are always going to be segments of the population whose needs for particular products and/or services are going unmet. Learn how your small business can capitalize on these unmet needs and find and master your own niche market.
• Business plan contest features two new categories: Small businesses in B.C. have a chance to win cash in a business plan contest launched Tuesday by Small Business BC
• Small business dispirited by idea of NSP rate increase : NO MATTER how satisfied some may be with the electricity rate settlement of 9.4 per cent filed with the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board on Monday, there wasn’t a chance the Canadian Federation of Independent Business could be happy with the proposed result.
• Scotiabank On the Move With Small Business Cross-Country Tour : Scotiabank has taken to the highway with its Small Business Banking initiative and will visit the Greater Toronto Area, (GTA), September 17, 18, and 19, 2008 as part of a five month cross-country tour to deliver Scotiabank’s Small Business Banking tools, experts and services to small businesses who want to ‘Get Growing’. It’s all part of the Bank’s ‘Get Growing to a Million’ campaign to help small business owners identify strategies to grow their businesses.
• Private Lender: Where can entrepreneurs go when the bank says, “No”? One small business financing alternative is the private lender. This interview with one private lender tells what private lenders look for before investing and one way to find one.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United States:

• NMSBA honors minority businesses: As part of the 2008 Minority Enterprise Development Week, the New Mexico district office of the Small Business Administration recognized small business owners for their achievements Wednesday.
• Small businesses favor McCain over Obama as race evens up: A new national poll shows Arizona Sen. John McCain besting Democratic Barack Obama among small business owners as general election surveys show the presidential rivals deadlocked.
• Silver Skelos: Reform Empire Zone program: Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a downstate Republican, unveiled a plan today that would cut taxes, create tax credits for small businesses and manufacturers and revamp the state’s Empire Zone program.
• Small Business win on unfair dismissal: SMALL business operators will be in a position to sack workers after giving them just one verbal warning and complying with a short check-list, under new business-friendly employment rules to be intro
• As Financial Markets Collapse, Small Business Faces Funding Challenges: The collapse of the stock market, particularly shares in large financial companies, will have immediate effects on small businesses. Now that it is clear the the government will not help large brokers and banks, they are more likely than ever to hoard the capital that they can get from emergency Fed loans or from the sale of their operations being done to raise money.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United Kingdom and Ireland:

• British Support SImplification Program Is A Mess: Government plans to simplify it’s business support system in the UK by reducing the number of separate schemes that are currently in operation from 3000 to ‘less than 100′, is on course for introduction in October.
• UK SME Wins Dell European Award: The European sector of the Dell Small Business Excellence Award has been won by a UK business that specialises in the design and creation of environmentally friendly and sustainable gardens
• Barclays Predict A Brighter Future For SMEs: In the midst of the doom and gloom of recession it is refreshing to hear that Barclays Bank are predicting a brighter short term future for SMEs in the UK.
• Parcel2Go to deliver profits of £1m-plus: A FAMILY-RUN parcel delivery business looks set to wrap up record annual profits of at least £1m as the number of people making a living through internet trading soars.
• Decline in new startups expected to be over by year end: The decline in startup business numbers is expected to ease by the end of 2008, according to Barclays estimates. The bank’s figures expect 380,000 new businesses to start up this year, compared to 430,000 in 2007.
• Desperate companies turn to ‘usurious’ hedge funds: Smaller companies on the junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM) are being forced to borrow cash from hedge funds at “usury rates” in order to survive, Square Mile insiders have warned.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from India:

• Why no Indian startup were seen at TC50?: In last few days most of us have seen some or the other startup presentation, thanks to TC50 and Demo conferences held in US. More than 1000 startups applied for TC50 and around 52 were shortlisted and showcased.
• Doing Business in India is even tougher than in Pakistan, SriLanka or Nepal: Now that does not sound very positive, is it?India touted as the next world super power is unfriendly to entrepreneurs who want to setup shop in India, so much so that war ravaged, terrorism prone, unsettled political economylike Pakistan ranks much above India. Doing business in India is tough…really tough !
• Make and receive calls over internet free using TringMe!: Just a few days back TRAI announced that it will soon allow internet calls to be terminated on fixed and mobile networks and vice-versa, and we are immediately seeing companies taking advantage of it.
• Azingo To Offer Adobe Flash Lite on Linux Mobile Phones: Mobile Linux company Azingo continues to deliver on its promise of providing a complete Internet experience on mobile devices with its announcement today of Adobe® Flash Lite™ 3.1 support on Azingo Mobile. Azingo has integrated Adobe Flash Lite into its advanced mobile browser enabling the display of animated web content and videos and making Adobe Flash available on a Linux mobile platform. Azingo also announced integrated support for rich mobile applications based on Adobe Flash Lite.
• Tasmac Sets Up ‘Tasmac London - School Of Business’: TASMAC (Training and Advanced Studies in Management and Communications Ltd.) today announced the opening of Tasmac London - School of Business, the first ever Indian institution to have set up a full fledged campus in London-UK.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from Australia and New Zealand:

• Regulators ‘poor communicators’: POOR communication with regulators is adding to the burden on business, and can prevent small business from entering markets, the Productivity Commission said.
• Start-up funding: Investments groups Sparkbox and K1W1 have launched a start-up fund for entrepreneurs from business incubator The Icehouse. Icehouse chief executive Andrew Hamilton says the fund will help start-up entrepreneurs with promising ideas..
• Buzz builds for local start-ups:While something like 85 per cent of all venture capital in the United States is now being funnelled into cleantech, there is plenty else going on in New Zealand to get investors excited. Cleantech makes up only a small percentage…
• 13 online trends from the Smart50: Many of the fastest-growing entrepreneurs on the Smart50 are using their websites to grow revenue, reduce costs and improve productivity. AMANDA GOME reveals the 13 trends, tricks and hints from these web-savvy businesses.
• Small business boss steps down: AN external appointment is expected to be made to replace the departing chief executive of Council of Small Business of Australia, Tony Steven, who is stepping down.
• Pay-outs may hurt small business:SMALL business will be hit hard if they are required to pay redundancies under proposed new awards, the federal government says.
• Redundancy dilemma for Labor: TONY EASTLEY: The Federal Government has a battle on its hands to keep its promise that small business would be exempt from paying workers’ redundancies.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from Canada:

• Small Business Tax Strategies: Operate a small business in Canada and think you’re paying too much income tax? Reduce your income tax with these eight small business tax strategies.
• Small business accuses VISA MASTERCARD and BANKS of hitting merchants with huge cash grab: Toronto - Major credit card companies and the banks are about to inflict a huge cash grab on merchants throughout this country, warns Catherine Swift, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
• Keeping the business in Canada: With their modern factories and tens of millions of skilled workers, China and India look like bargain alternatives to manufacturing here. For example, garment workers in those countries earn between 50 cents and $1.10 an hour. But the massive gap in costs is gradually closing. “In the short term, [offshore] costs may seem to be lower, but you really have to look at the long-term view,” says Mario Fallico, a Toronto-based partner at Deloitte & Touche who leads the firm’s GTA Private Company Services Manufacturing team. “When you’re dealing with setting up equipment and plants, the horizon is a lot longer. What may seem cheaper today is going to be a lot more expensive in the future.”
• Certainty and opportunity for small business: Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced new measures to increase certainty and opportunity for Canadian small businesses.
• Seminar offers employment help for small business: The Small Business Club of Niagara is offering a seminar designed to help owners understand their responsibilities under the Employment Standards Act.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United States:

• Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business index up slightly in August: >The Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index for Colorado registered 87.6 in August, up from a revised 87.3 in July, according to data released Thursday.
• New AT&T virtual help desk targets small businesses: AT&T Inc. has created a round-the-clock technology help desk targeting small businesses. (T)
• Vaxin wins nearly $1M grant for flu vaccine research: Biotech firm Vaxin Inc. has been awarded a $955,357 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health to support the ongoing development of its avian influenza vaccine.
• TW Telecom Feels The Disconnect (TWTC): TW Telecom Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTC), the former Time Warner Telecom, is having a rough morning. Last night the company submitted an SEC filing showing that it was going to warn of slower revenue trends at an investor conference. The company said that it is still experiencing revenue pressure from disconnects from homeowners behind in their mortgages and from very small customers.
• As Credit Lines Fade, Credit Cards Step In: Banks are increasingly offering small businesses credit cards rather than lines of credit, but the cost to business owners can be substantial.
• In The Hunt: Small Businesses Seek Clarity From Presidential Candidates: Small-business owners, usually reliably Republican, are nonetheless frustrated by what they see as the lack of specifics in both presidential candidates’ positions on issues they care about.
• Small businesses, nonprofits qualify for electric bill relief: Small businesses and nonprofits struggling with the higher cost of electricity have until Sept. 26 to apply for electric rate relief assistance of up to $5,000, Ameren Illinois Utilities said Wednesday. (AEE)

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.