It can be lonely at the top when you're running your own business. As the owner manager, the buck stops with you and that can result in all the pressures of financial management, people management, strategy and business performance ending on your shoulders.  To ease this pressure, it's helpful to have a business coach. A coach can look at your business objectively as an outsider, will act as a professional shoulder to lean on, and can help you to focus on and enhance your business ideas, strategy and longer-term tactics as an owner.

Keeping on top of the financial management of your business can be hard work. It's possible to have a profitable business that is struggling to find the cash flow to pay expenses and fund growth. Likewise, you could have positive cash flow but are not turning a profit, particularly if you are scaling. Turning a profit is at the heart of running any successful company But without an even and predictable flow of cash into the company, you can't cover your overheads, you can't pay your employees and you can't run your day-to-day operations – let alone think about expanding and growing the business. In the end, you need both. But if you’re going to be in control of your financial destiny, it’s important to get your head around the important process of cash flow management.

A solopreneur running a complete and viable one-person business is no longer a pipedream. Sam Altman, the co-founder of Open AI, was recently quoted as saying that a one-person, billion-dollar business could be possible by 2026-2028, using tools like GPT-5 and the other generative AI tools that allow individuals to create and manage AI agents. The idea that one person, a solo CEO and entrepreneur, could generate that kind of capital on their own, would have seemed crazy less than a decade ago. But with the power of AI and the accessibility of flexible coding tools and AI agents, it’s actually a real possibility. Let’s look at how a one-person business could work, and how the basic business model differs from the traditional tech start-up model that we’ve known for so many decades.

Projecting your cashflow pipeline forwards is vital. To be able to navigate the future path of your cashflow, you need to start forecasting – so you can map out your financial position over the coming months and can take the appropriate action to safeguard your cash position. Plus, when you have access to detailed forecasts you can scenario-plan, search for cost-savings and look for strategies that will preserve your cashflow position. Forecasting your future cash pipeline Remaining in control of the cash coming into (and going out of) the business is the real focus, so you can accurately predict your financial position and can resolve any issues.

Digital systems and cloud technology have revolutionised the running of the average small business. But with software systems comes the ever present issue of cybersecurity. And it’s not just the big league, like Boots and Marks & Spencers, that have to worry about getting hacked. A recent BBC News article highlighted how one cracked password is all it took for a ransomware gang to destroy a 158-year-old transport company – putting 700 people out of work. So, what can you do to increase your cybersecurity and keep your business, customer and finance information safe from hackers and malicious software?

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act became law in 2023. But as the goals of the Act progress, it’s bringing about a number of different changes to accounts filing.  The aim of the Act was to strengthen the role of Companies House and the UK business environment, support national security and disrupt economic crime. At the same time, the Act helps to deliver a more reliable companies register to underpin UK business activity. These are all excellent aims. But one outcome of these changes to Companies House procedure is a major change to the way small and micro businesses file their accounts. Let’s look in more detail at what this could mean for your accounts.

There are certain items of equipment, machinery and hardware that are essential to the operation of your business – whether it’s the delivery van you use to run your home-delivery food service, or the high-end digital printer to run your print business. But when a critical business asset is required, should you buy this item outright, or should you lease the item and pay for it in handy monthly instalments?

At the last general election, the Labour party pledged to not raise taxes for ‘working people’,with assurances that there will be no changes to income tax, national insurance (NI) and VAT. While this pledge may appeal to UK workers, it does limit what the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, can do when it comes to raising taxes and reducing the UK’s current economic deficit. With individual taxes protected, some commentators have argued that it’s UK businesses that will bear the brunt of any hikes in taxation. But what tax changes are most likely? And could any changes impact you and your business?

Whatever stage you’re at in the business journey, having an injection of additional working capital is always welcome. Being able to borrow money and take on managed debt in the business is what allows you to fund the next stage in your growth. But how does your credit profile affect your ability to borrow as a business? And what types of debt financing will help you expand, grow and scale up the company? Let’s explore the impact of your risk rating and the types of finance that may be available  Your credit profile: and how it impacts your ability to borrow Your credit profile is a measurement of your risk as a borrower. It’s how banks and specialist business lenders assess whether you’re a good business to lend to. Lenders want to know you have the revenue and cashflow needed to repay a loan. This will generally be assessed based on your business credit score and your overall financial health and forecasted business performance. With a good business credit score, your application for a loan is more likely to be accepted. With a poor credit profile, those doors to potential lending are more likely to be closed.