Small businesses get helping hand next week

On Monday, a group of independent, government and commercial organisations will launch a week-long initiative, dubbed Small Business Week 2007, designed to offer technology advice and support to small businesses.

Focusing on start-ups, home-based businesses or established, growing small-to-midsized enterprises (SMEs), BT Business is partnering with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Royal Bank of Scotland, online resource for businesswomen Everywoman and the government-funded SME website, Business Link to deliver a week of events aimed at helping them maximise the benefits technology can offer.

David Frost, BCC director general and Stephen Timms, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) minister will join Bill Murphy, BT Business' managing director, in leading a discussion on the triggers and barriers to long-term success for the UK's SME community at a launch event at the BT Tower on Monday 29 October.

BT Business' Murphy said: "The campaign this year is about championing the cause of the sector, which is the lifeblood of the British economy."

And recent research by the BERR has found there were an estimated 4.5 million SMEs in the UK at the start of 2006, accounting for more than half of the employment (58.9 per cent) and turnover (51.9 per cent) in the UK.

The highlight of the week's proceedings will be the release of the 'State of the Small Business Nation' report on Monday, which will reveal the findings of a survey of 1,650 SMEs and start-ups about their attitudes to the business and technology challenges they face today.

The rest of the week will focus on how technology, communications and networking can facilitate flexible working, encourage energy efficiency and harness the potential of the web to compete effectively regardless of size of location.

The final day of Small Business Week 2007 will examine how women are thriving in business, looking specifically at their emergence in home-based businesses and their unique needs.

The initiative will also be supported by podcasts, webinars and other events offering tips to help start-ups cut through red tape and help to achieve success as a small business. BT has launched a new, SME-dedicated website, BT Business Insight, to provide ongoing SME-focused advice.

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