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The Knowledge - The Resource - Business advice

Action Business Development and Coaching
It has a variety of free tools on its website including Six Steps to Massive Results and a Business that Runs Without You, 24 Key Attitudes to Bring Success Beyond Your Wildest Dreams and Business Score Card to help you assess the 10 fundamental areas of competence in your business.
W: www.actionbusinessdevelopment.com
BDO Stoy Hayward
Advisers to growing and family businesses. BDO Stoy Hayward specialises in helping businesses, whether start-ups or multinationals, to grow.
T: 0870 567 5678
W: www.bdo.co.uk
Benchmark Index
Research shows that firms which use benchmarking have seen their profits rise by an average £70,000. The Benchmark Index offers a warts and all picture of your company's strengths and weaknesses based on best-practice examples.
T: 0870 0111 143
W: www.benchmarkindex.com
British Library Business Information Service
It can help you find focused information, to your deadline and budget, to help you build your business. Their researchers are experts in finding information in sources typically unavailable through web search engines. Areas they cover include:
  • All fields of science and technology and medicine
  • Market, company and product information
  • Patents, trade marks and designs
  • Legal and regulatory requirements
  • Social sciences, arts and humanities
How we source the information
  • Online searching of over 800 specialist electronic sources not available through conventional web search engines
  • Desk research using the largest collection of research literature in the world as held by the British Library
  • Expert searching of the Public Web
96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK
T: 0870 444 1500
W: www.bl.uk
Business Link and national equivalents
These one-stop shops support new and existing businesses. They will put you in touch with your local business support agencies.

England: Business Link
T: 0845 600 9 006
W: www.businesslink.gov.uk

Wales: Business Eye
T: 08457 96 97 98
W: www.businesseye.org.uk

Scotland: Scottish Enterprise
T: 0845 607 8787
W: www.scottish-enterprise.com

Northern Ireland: Invest Northern Ireland
T: 028 9023 9090
W: www.investni.com
Business Strategy
Information on becoming a business owner.
W: www.strategian.co.uk
Business Times Online
Strategies for success.
W: www.timesonline.co.uk
Buying or selling a business
There are several online orgzanisations to help you buy or sell a business.

Businesses for sale
An Internet site listing over 12,000 businesses for sale. Their goal is simple: to provide a comprehensive range of services to facilitate the buying and selling of a business in the most effective manner possible. They offer professional intermediaries and business owners/buyers a cost-effective channel to advertise their details to an ever-expanding audience.
Customer Enquiries, Scriptor Court, 155 Farrington Road, London EC1R 3AD, UK
T: 0906 619 1069
F: 020 7713 8661
E: info@businessesforsale.com
W: www.businessesforsale.com

Busineses for sale in Ireland
W: www.bizsales.ie

Internet Businesses for sale
W: www.internetbusinessesforsale.co.uk

Magazine businesses for sale
W: www.matrixmergers.co.uk

Right Biz Buy
W: www.rightbizbuy.com
Chambers of Commerce
The national voice of local business providing a range of services including international trade, information, training, and cost-effective commercial services.
The British Chambers of Commerce, 65 Petty France, London SW1H 9EH
T: 020 7654 5800
E: info@britishchambers.org.uk
W: www.chamberonline.co.uk
Croner
For news on issues affecting small businesses visit Croner's dedicated small business web centre.
145 London Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6SR
T: 020 8547 3333
E: customer.services@cch.co.uk
W: www.croner.co.uk
Design Wales
Design Wales provides design support for individual Welsh businesses and undertakes a wide range of activities to encourage and develop the use of design in Welsh industry and education.
PO Box 383, Cardiff, CF5 2WZ, UK
T: 0845 303 1400
F: 0845 303 1342
E: enquiries@designwales.org
W: www.designwales.org
Directgov
Your local authority can provide help and advice on a range of local concerns, including local bylaws, planning requirements and public services.
W: www.direct.gov.uk
DTI
Up-to-date aspects of regulations affecting small businesses.
T: 020 7215 5000
W: www.dti.gov.uk
Entrepreneur Action
For free business support in England and Wales. Entrepreneur Action provides a specialist business support service for individuals or groups starting a new growth or high growth business or expanding an established business. In Wales, some of this support is available free of charge or subsidised for eligible businesses.
T: 0800 731 6313
E: enquiries@entrepreneuraction.co.uk
W: www.entrepreneuraction.co.uk
Environment Agency (NetRegs)
The Environment Agency has launched a website to give sector-specific guidelines to help SMEs comply with environmental legislation.
W: www.netregs.gov.uk
European SME Forum
An SME forum - an independent organization that brings together IT and business leaders dedicated to creating simple and complete business solutions that meet the needs of SME customers. Forum members are HP, Microsoft, Intel, EUROCHAMBRES (The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry), American Express, Alcatel and Symantec. The Forum's goal is to provide SMEs with access to highly-integrated, simplified and packaged IT solutions that cover the whole range from hardware and software to services and financing.
W: www.smeforum.org
Firesmart
The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 as amended in 1999 require all UK business to conduct a fire risk assessment on their workplace. As an employer you are responsible for ensuring that you comply with the legislation.

On October 1st 2006, fire safety law changed as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety order) came into force. This is a major change in legislation and fire certificates are longer be in force. As an employer, or as someone who has control of a workplace you must take steps to ensure that you have what is known as a 'suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment' in place.

Information about fire regulations read on. (They do not sell fire equipment so they say they offer unbiased advice.)
7 Titmore Court, Hitchin, Herts, SG4 7JT, UK
T: 01438 791 300
E: sales@firesmart.co.uk
W: www.firesmart.co.uk
Growing Business
News and advice to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses quickly and efficiently.
W: www.growingbusiness.co.uk
Is 4 profit
Free small business information and advice (guides, plans, factsheets), plus products and services and a business directory.
W: www.is4profit.com
Knowledge Board
Information exchange and sharing for SME business growth. This is a portal funded by the European Commission under the Information Society Technologies Programme. It is a growing community of over 7,000 KM professionals throughout Europe and the world.
W: www.knowledgeboard.com
M4 Business Resource
For information about companies, products, market, legislation, etc. Used by business start-ups to inform their planning, by businesses large and small to broaden their client base, source goods and servies. (The organisation is a partnership venture between the University of Bath in Swindon and Swindon Borough Council.)
T: 01793 328 832
E: info@m4br.org.uk
W: www.m4br.org.uk
Manuacturing Advice Service
The DTI Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS). This site helps UK manufacturers, large and small, identify sources of manufacturing related support.
W: www.mas.dti.gov.uk/
Manufacturing Advisory Service Cymru
Manufacturers face a variety of challenges from solving production problems to meeting tighter delivery schedules. Increasing external competition and pressures to reduce costs and improve quality add to the burden on managing directors.

MAS-Cymru's team has experience of manufacturing best-practice in areas such as lean manufacturing, design for manufacture, environmental impact reduction, productivity improvements, process development and new technology introduction.
MAS Wales, Waterton Technology Centre, Waterton Industrial Estate, Bridgend CF31 3WT
T: 01656 750 691
F: 01656 750 687
E: info@maswales.org.uk
W: www.maswales.org.uk
Market Strategy Information
Information on creating an effective marketing strategy.
W: www.MarketingStrategyInfo.co.uk
Need an Advisor
A network of alternative accountants and business growth specialists who are not your normal grey-suited, number-crunching accountants. 16 sites combined into 1 with over 5,000 pages of finance.
W: www.needanadviser.com
NEFA
NFEA, the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies, is a network of independent, not for profit, Local Enterprise Agencies and similar organisations committed to responding to the needs of small and growing businesses by providing a range of appropriate quality services. Advice for start-up businesses on key areas of setting up and running a business, including business planning and training.
T: 01234 831 623
W: www.nfea.com
Penny Business Directory
Penny Business Directory online web provide links to advice, small office home office (SOHO), managing growth, business plans, softwares, startup financial services, finance, insurance, credit card and more.
W: www.pennybusiness.comere
Portobello Business Centre
Provide a business support service to the growing number of people involved in self-employment, starting-up and growing businesses in the UK.
T: 0207 460 5050
W: www.pbc.co.uk
Prime
Prime is the only national organisation dedicated to helping people over 50 to set up in business. They provide start-up support and loans through a network of partners supporting the over-50s.
Astral House, 1268 London Rd, London. SW16 4ER, UK
T: 020 8765 7833
E: prime@ace.org.uk
W: www.primeinitiative.org.uk
Prowess
Prowess is a UK-wide membership organisation providing training, consultancy, networking and information on women's enterprise support.
Lion House, 20-28 Muspole Street, Norwich NR3 1DJ
T: 01603 762 355
E: admin@prowess.org.uk
W: www.prowess.org.uk
Risk assessment products
Fire Safety, Risk Assessment and Health and Safety Software products, designed to assist you to form your own company policies, procedures and training. Fire risk assessment software, health and safety software, fire extinguisher training, dse software, asbestos register, workplace risk assessment, security risk assessment, vdu, workstation welfare.
W: www.risk-assessment-products.co.uk
Small Business Advice Service
The site provides a free and independent source of information and advice for entrepreneurs, owner managers and the self-employed who are starting or running a business with fewer than 10 staff and based in England.
W: www.smallbusinessadvice.org.uk/sbas.asp Small business advice and finance - helping you to grow and succeed in small to medium-sized enterprises.
W: www.smallbusiness.co.uk
Strategy Consulting Limited
Strategic planning and implementation. Free strategy consultation.
W: www.strategy.nildram.co.uk/most.html
Trade Association Forum
They provide industry-specific information and training covering areas such as production techniques, legal requirements and industry-wide standards.
T: 020 7395 8283
W: www.taforum.org
Website Marketing Plan
Sample marketing plan and 'how-tos'.
W: www.websitemarketingplan.com

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