Be your own boss/Business Planning Sell: Do you have what it takes? Do you know how to identify your strengths and weaknesses and whether there's a niche for your product or service? MICHELLE FORMBY has the answers. We've all dreamed of breaking free of the corporate shackles and going it alone but before you actually turn the dream into a reality ask yourself: have you really got what it takes to be your o ...

Buying a business is one way of striking out alone but you still need dedication, determination and money. A knowledge of what is going through the seller's mind also helps. For some people, the idea of being their own boss is very attractive – the only problem is that they haven't had the flashbulb moment of inspiration that makes them want to start from scratch. Instead they opt to buy a business th ...

PEOPLE all over the UK are increasingly thinking 'green' when it comes to running the home and disposing of household waste and there's no reason why that environmentally friendly attitude shouldn't continue into the workplace. With many of us spending more time at work than we do in our homes it's vital that we ensure our businesses contribute to conserving valuable energy resources and protecting the envi ...

Food for thought Sell: Turning a passion for a particular food into a business is the perfect way to combine work with pleasure, as these three couples discovered. 'We genuinely love the food we make'Giles Henschel, 43, and his wife Annie, 42, set up Olives Et Al after they returned from travelling. Today they employ 27 people from their premises in Sturminster Newton, Dorset. 'We got married and went ...

Knowing how to solve a business dispute and who to approach for help with trademarks, patents and copyright is vital when you’re running your own company. Whether you’re running a business or contemplating dipping a toe into entrepreneurial waters, it is very tempting to consign any thoughts of business compliance to the filing cabinet drawer marked ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ and get o ...

Make your business family friendly Sell: If you help your employees to balance work and home, you'll attract the best staff and keep them loyal and motivated. Mark has just returned from six weeks' parental leave, which he spent with his wife and young children in Australia, and since returning to his job in sales his enthusiasm has increased and he has been the company's top salesman for the past four week ...

The day I realised The Body Shop was moving away from just being a livelihood to a business, with all that that implies, I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to make it bold and brave and different. Not just big, but brave. I have come across an expressionrecently – 'Small Giants' – and that says it all. Small is the new big! When you are hell-bent on maximising growth, or wh ...

Anyone who imagines the world differently and who has the ability to make things happen is on the way to becoming an entrepreneur, says the greatest alchemist of them all, ANITA RODDICK Two experiences helped me discover myself as an entrepreneur, both back inthe days when my parents ran the Clifton Café in Littlehampton. Like all entrepreneurial projects, sooner or later the café had to change and my fathe ...

Some of Britain's most successful businessmen and women admitto ANITA RODDICK the best – and worst – mistakes they made while setting up their companies. It is a myth that entrepreneurs never make mistakes. The ability to make mistakes and learn from them too, of course, is what marks out the most successful entrepreneurs in business. I asked a handful of my friends who have set up successful bu ...

There’s nothing like a touch of class to kick off your business trip or even – as an extra special treat – your holiday. But how are you going to get the best deal for your money? NICKY HOLFORD looks at the ins and outs of flying business class. Concorde put the class into business travel. It may not have had the maximum legroom some business class services offer these days but flying supe ...