Sikh entrepreneurs head to Downing Street 🪯 Why going viral isn’t a strategy 💯

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If you've ever wondered why running a business means filling in so many forms, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds might be about to make life a little easier. He's proposed simplifying corporate reporting rules and exempting some SMEs from certain form-filling exercises altogether, a move the government reckons could save businesses across the UK £450m. The heaviest burden falls on medium-sized firms currently required to produce full statutory reports, some of which now run to 98,000 words, longer than The Hobbit, but the ambition is to cut pen-pushing paperwork across the board so businesses can focus on their day-to-day trade instead.

Meanwhile, small business minister Lord Leong has been drawing a similar conclusion from his first 100 days in office, the problem isn't a lack of support, it's that nobody knows it exists. Awareness, not paperwork or policy, is actually doing the damage.

Speaking of joining the dots between government and small business, our own COO, Polly Dhaliwal, was asked by No.10 to organise its first faith roundtable series, bringing Sikh business, creative and community leaders directly into Downing Street to shape policy from the ground up.

Paperwork isn't disappearing everywhere though. For sustainability reporting specifically, Donal Quinn built ENSO to help companies easily document their great community work so it doesn't get lost, misused or turned into another 40-page document nobody reads.

Fancy testing physical retail without the financial risk? EDF and Enterprise Nation are bringing another free pop-up shop back, this time to Notting Hill for the Christmas run-up, after Brighton's version sent sales and confidence through the roof for four small retail businesses.

And if it's not the forms consuming your afternoon, it's probably your socials. Here's why chasing a viral moment still isn't a marketing strategy.

Spotting the sustainability gap: Donal Quinn’s journey with ENSO

Small business minister's first 100 days: A listening project

No.10's new faith roundtable series begins with Sikh business leaders

From Brighton to Notting Hill: Why we're giving small businesses another chance to test retail

Why going viral isn't a marketing strategy for small businesses

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