It’s almost budget time 🧰 | How to get investment 💸 | Small businesses on Channel 4 📺

Only 12 shopping days to the Budget 🧰 

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Only 12 shopping days until the Budget! But don't panic, it lands in the same week as Black Friday so there will be distractions. 

While Black Friday often means small businesses miss out to larger companies with hype machines and the money to fund loss-leaders, there are things you can do to get customers camping out to buy your products. We asked Christhl Scharing, Enterprise Nation adviser and former head of sales at Liberty Art Fabrics and Diesel Kids in New York, to share some of her best sales tips.  

Back to the BBC, whoops... I mean Channel 4, where you can watch the Small Business Big Break competition’s prime-time adverts for the rest of the month. Chill out and see three incredible female founders go head-to-head with big budget ads!  

We’ve taken a closer look at one of our key Budget priorities – an end to the VAT loophole on marketplaces that undercut genuine UK businesses. If that happened, could we all be offering Black Friday discounts? Do you agree? 

Our latest research has shown that just under half (47%) of small businesses will seek investment in the next 12 months, slightly higher than last year but still 11 percentage points lower than in 2022. 

Many tell us they can’t find what they’re looking for, or don’t know what’s the best sort of deal for them. Chris Goodfellow has spoken to the legendary Roger Wade, the man behind the brilliant BoxPark, about his new investment arm – BoxFund. You can read about how to get investment for your brand here. 

Closing the VAT loophole on marketplaces, by Daniel Woolf 

Don’t panic! Why Black Friday’s not just for the big guys, by Liz Slee  

How Spice Kitchen is winning sales through QVC and TikTok LIVE, by Chris Goodfellow 

An investor explains how consumer brands can raise money, by Chris Goodfellow  

The late payment consultation has closed, here’s what we said, by Daniel Woolf 

10 signs your finance team is overwhelmed by managing expenses, by Dave Beach at Airwallex  

The Black Friday Playbook, by Kyllie Knight  

Does your charity's website keep to new accessibility laws? by Martin Wilde  

From passion to profit: 10 lessons from the Small Business Retail Sessions podcast, by Sophie Kingston at EDF  

A trio of female-founded brands are hitting prime-time TV screens this month with their very own professionally produced commercial, thanks to an initiative by digital marketing platform Constant Contact, Enterprise Nation and Channel 4.

🏠 Airbnb is launching the £1 million Best of British fund, to help support the stays, experiences and attractions that make Britain great.

🎧 Tune in to the latest episode of Founder Fails featuring Anisah Osman Britton MBE - a powerful conversation about identity, purpose, and the courage to start again.

💰 Don't miss the chance to win £1,000 for your business and learn how to strengthen your financial processes.

🎙️Julianne Ponan shares her top tips for success with Creative Nature on the podcast.

🤖 Free GPT prompts to help your small business grow.