The Budget 2025 wishlist 💼 | How to save the High Street 🛍️ | 8 cash-free ways to start-up 💡

Good afternoon

If there’s one thing uniting small business owners right now, it’s the drive to make things better – for their companies, their customers, and the communities around them. That same spirit runs through this week’s stories.

It begins with government plans and promises. In this blog about the next Budget, I set out a wishlist built on the realities that today's firms are facing – from rising costs to the need for smarter investment in skills and innovation.

As we now have a decade of data to look back on, I've written about the 10 years of tracking UK entrepreneurs and what their journeys tell us about resilience and change.

From there, Marc Gardner explains how small businesses can win corporate clients by turning ambition into traction, while Aaron Asadi asks the tough question of how to save the high street. This comes after the Co-op's warning that 60,000 small shops could soon close.

And because striving for better often starts small, Marc returns with how starting a business can transform your life – and Chris Goodfellow rounds us off with eight smart ways to start a business with little (or no) money.

Here’s to progress – one improvement at a time.

Can the high street be saved? Here's what needs to change - by Aaron Asadi.

What small businesses want from the next budget - by Daniel Woolf.

A decade of data: What 10 years of tracking UK small businesses tell us - by Daniel Woolf.

From kitchen to 400 Tesco stores: How one Jamaican sauce brand went mainstream - by Chris Goodfellow.

How to win big clients: Selling your products and services to corporates - by Marc Gardner.

Why starting a business can transform your life, not just your career - by Marc Gardner.

Eight smart ways to start a business with little (or no) money - by Chris Goodfellow.

Meet Grammarly's new feature that's changing the game for freelancers - by adviser member Natalie Luckham.

Louise Hill, founder of GoHenry explains how she has built a mission-led brand that helps millions of kids understand money.

She shares her tips on areas including launching an app, raising millions in funding, getting big corporates as partners, growing a team and expanding overseas.

🌎 Subscribe to the Scale Stronger free email course to strengthen your financial processes - and earn the chance to win £1,000.

🛍️ Win £5,000 for your shop in the iconic Realising the Remarkable grant initiative from Vistaprint.

💷 Looking to save money or carbon? Book a free discovery call with EDF specialist Sophie Kingston.

💡 RE:Work early bird event tickets. A one day event designed for anyone ready to rethink, restart, or refresh their career. 50% off for a limited time only.

🗳️ Take part in the Small Business Barometer and be in for a chance to win a £/€300 Not On The High Street voucher.