UK small business confidence is increasing

Discover Financial Services reports that UK small business owners’ economic confidence rose in August, improving from a 22 month low in June.

The Discover® Small Business WatchSM reached 86.9 in August, up 2.3 points from July and more than 15 points higher than June.

The number of small business proprietors who think the economy is getting worse dropped to 60 percent from 71 percent in July.

23% of small business owners feel the USA economy is getting better, which is the highest rating since August 2007.

51% rate the economy as poor, a decrease from 54% in July; while 15% ranked it as good, up from 11% in July.

However, 42% say they have experienced cash flow issues over the last 90 days, a significant increase from 33% in July 2008.

30% of owners say economic conditions for their business are getting better, up slightly from 28% in July, while 44% say conditions are getting worse, up just a point from 43% in July.

So the darkest part of the economic gloom may have passed. Small businesses are a very good indicator of changes in the state of UK business, since they experience variations quickly and clearly.

Our UK Business Directory, with 1.6 million businesses listed, most of which are small businesses, connects prospects to those businesses with no cost for the business.

UK small businesses need to improve their cash flow management skills

HSBC Commercial Bank reports that 18% of small businesses said that suppliers are billing quicker and an additional 20% said that fewer companies are paying within agreed payment terms.

The survey of 596 small and medium-sized companies, found that they rely on their savings and overdraft to fund both cash flow and purchases.

40% use savings and 24% rely on overdrafts to manage their everyday finances.

18% use their overdraft to fund big purchases, such as business vehicles and equipment.

11% use their credit card for business investment.

10% are using invoice finance to actively manage their cash flow.

9% use leasing finance to help capitalise on their assets.

At the same time, the Federation of Small Businesses reports that large companies are delaying invoice payments to smaller firms.

So cash flow is tight for small businesses at this time. We are assisting by providing the 1.6 million businesses listed in our UK Business Directory, with prospects, with no cost for the business.

UK small business confidence is increasing

Discover Financial Services reports that UK small business owners’ economic confidence rose in August, improving from a 22 month low in June.

The Discover® Small Business WatchSM reached 86.9 in August, up 2.3 points from July and more than 15 points higher than June.

The number of small business proprietors who think the economy is getting worse dropped to 60 percent from 71 percent in July.

23% of small business owners feel the USA economy is getting better, which is the highest rating since August 2007.

51% rate the economy as poor, a decrease from 54% in July; while 15% ranked it as good, up from 11% in July.

However, 42% say they have experienced cash flow issues over the last 90 days, a significant increase from 33% in July 2008.

30% of owners say economic conditions for their business are getting better, up slightly from 28% in July, while 44% say conditions are getting worse, up just a point from 43% in July.

So the darkest part of the economic gloom may have passed. Small businesses are a very good indicator of changes in the state of UK business, since they experience variations quickly and clearly.

Our UK Business Directory, with 1.6 million businesses listed, most of which are small businesses, connects prospects to those businesses with no cost for the business.

Online retail sales in the UK increased by 11.3% in July

Online clothing and electrical sales increased to make July online retail sales figures 11.3% higher than June.

The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reports that UK consumers spent £4.8 billion online in July, which is an amount of 79 pounds for every person in the UK.

However the British Retail Consortium, reports that July physical store sales were .9% less than June.

Clothing sales online increased by 23% during July and sales of electrical items online during July were up 7.5% on June.

Capgemini has forecast that between 30 percent and 50 percent of all UK retail sales will be online in the next five years.

So even in the current depressed economic circumstances online sales continue to grow.

This is good news for the 1.6 million businesses listed in our UK Business Directory, particularly since the qualified prospects are provided at no cost to the businesses.

Small UK business employees are more likely to help reduce carbon emissions than employees at larger firms

E.ON surveyed 1,200 UK workers and found that in small firms employees are significantly more likely to help curb energy use and carbon emissions by turning off lights and computers and recycling, than employees at larger companies, who say bureaucracy hampers their efforts.

More than a third of the workers from small firms said they had significantly changed their behaviour to cut carbon emissions, and 90 percent claimed they changed their behaviour at least a little.

Less than a fifth of the employees at larger firms said they had changed their behaviour significantly. And more than two-thirds of the respondents from larger firms said they do not feel they are in control of efforts to reduce energy use, that they have no influence over the facilities department at their firms.

So employees of smaller businesses have greater sway over energy consumption and carbon emissions because of the longer chain of command in larger firms.

The vast majority of the 1.6 million businesses listed in our UK Business Directory are small businesses, and we support them by sending them qualified prospects from the 2.24 million directory pages currently indexed on Google, at no cost to the business.

UK small businesses are not claiming the available rate relief

The Local Government Association said that about 392,000 businesses were getting the rate relief that was available, out of 870,000 that could apply.

Communities and Local Government, the department responsible for the rate relief scheme, said that the proportion of businesses that get rate relief varies across the country. Not all small properties are occupied by small businesses, and a business may not qualify for relief if it occupies more than one property.

The Forum of Private Business, which represents about 25,000 UK companies said that £200m in small business rate relief goes unclaimed each year, just in England.

The rate relief, which is also available in Scotland and Wales, enables businesses with rateable values of up to £5,000 to reduce their bill by half. This relief decreases on a sliding scale by 1 per cent for every £100 of rateable value over £5,000, up to £10,000.

During the current difficult trading conditions for small businesses, the rate relief assists. Our UK Local Search Business Directory with over 1.6 million business listed, most of which are small businesses, also assists, since the qualified prospects we provide are 100% free of cost.

UK consumers are spending more time and money online

IOfcom reports that in 2007, UK consumers spent four times as much time on their computer, an average of 24 minutes a day, and twice as much time on their mobile phone, as they did in 2002.

Online advertising spending exceeded advertising on mainstream TV in the UK in 2007, increasing by 40 percent to $5.3 billion, 19 percent of all advertising.

Online paid search accounted for $2.9 billion, with the balance divided between display and classified ads.

TV advertising was flat at $6.5 billion, with mainstream channels accounting for $4.4 billion.

In online households, 32 percent watched video clips from sites such as YouTube, which was up from 21 percent in 2006.

Broadband connection reached 58 percent of UK households, up from 52 percent the previous year.

So the movement from old to new media continues at a fast pace.

Our UK Business Directory, which has over 1.6 million businesses listed, continues to be popular in helping consumers find the business they’re seeking, with no cost at all for the businesses listed.