The book provides the first definitive, scholarly, and systematic history of the Chambers of Commerce (local organizations of business people) from their origins in the 18th century, through their historical development up to the present date. Based on new and previously inaccessible archive information, it covers the UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada.
This report indicates broad support for the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships as a way of addressing local growth. In particular the potential of LEPs to offer a greater focus on local economic needs, and build on the affinity between business, local government and other partners at a local level is recognised. Whilst it is right that LEPs should compete at certain levels it is equally important for them to collaborate, particularly with the Regional Development Agencies, where it makes economic sense. Local Enterprise Partnerships are being introduced quickly and at a time of greatly constrained public funding. There is concern that in the short term LEPs will need know how and powers and in some cases financial resources to make a positive difference. Government will need to be willing to devolve power to LEPs and in certain cases be willing to support LEPs at inception. If LEPs are to be a success, the Department's transition team will need to focus in three areas: retain RDA know-how, realising the full potential of RDA assets, and leveraging potential EU funding
The Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Small Firms (the Bolton Committee Report) was produced at a time of significant political change. The 1970s in the UK saw the beginning of the end for interventionism and ‘big government’ and the emergence of a new free market, economic liberalism. However, the same period also saw the creation of what became a substantial agenda to intervene in the economy through an extensive range of government initiatives aimed at encouraging and enabling small firms and entrepreneurship. Marking the 50th Anniversary of the publication of the Bolton Committee’s report this book provides researchers with new insights into the tensions between these potentially contradictory political agendas that would come to shape our modern economy. It provides the first in-depth analysis of the origins, operation and outcomes of the Bolton Committee, which is widely seen as responsible for the small firm agenda in the UK. In doing so, new insights are generated not only into the birth of enterprise policy in the UK but into the wider changes in political economy that saw powerful tensions between free market rhetoric and new forms of interventionism in practice. The book will be of interest to scholars and PhD students working in the fields of entrepreneurship, small business management and business history.
Be a success on your own terms with what Library Journal has called "The best of the genre," and "A remarkable step-by-step manual." Thoroughly updated to reflect recent changes in tax law and other government regulations, the book covers acquiring permits and licenses; creating a business plan; buying a franchise; dealing with the IRS; and handling insurance, contracts, pricing, trademarks, and more.
This book explains the concepts of Ethical Business Practice (EBP) and Ethical Business Regulation (EBR), a new paradigm in compliance and enforcement based on behavioural science and ethics. EBR provides the basis for an effective relationship between a business and its regulators, resulting in better outcomes for both. EBR is attracting extensive attention from regulators and businesses around the world. The UK Government's 2017 Regulatory Futures Review draws on EBR as the foundation for its policy of 'regulatory self-assurance'. EBR draws on findings from behavioural science, responsive regulation, safety and business and integrity management to create a practical and holistic approach. Examples include the open culture that is essential for civil aviation safety, the Primary Authority agreements between regulators and national businesses, and feedback mechanisms provided by market vigilance systems and sectoral consumer ombudsmen. This book provides an essential blueprint for sustainable business and effective future regulation.
The book draws upon new theoretical perspectives and approaches as a means of illustrating the inherently social and contextualized nature of entrepreneurial practice, and advance the manner in which we critically think about and engage with various aspects of entrepreneurial practice and development.
Small Business, Big Credit: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Business Credit. This is a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs and business owners seeking to establish and maintain a healthy credit profile for their company. This book is dedicated to entrepreneurs and business owners with a valuable resource directory that offers unlimited funding opportunities. This directory is a treasure trove of information, providing access to a vast array of funding sources that are often overlooked or unknown. With this resource at their fingertips, readers can unlock the financial potential of their businesses and take them to new heights. Whether you're just starting out or looking to grow your existing business, Small Business, Big Credit is an indispensable guide that will help you navigate the complex world of business credit. With its practical advice, expert insights, and powerful resource directory, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to achieve financial success and build a thriving business. So why wait? Get your copy today and start building your business credit and funding your dreams!
As the Internet revolution continues to unfold and transform telecommunications, pressure is building for faster, less expensive, and more widely accessible broadband service. Such a development would facilitate improved and less expensive traditional applications such as voice telephony and web browsing. It would also enable new and useful applications such as Internet-based television, videoconferencing, and software distribution. Broadband has great potential to improve efficiency and productivity, even to improve national security in some cases. Broadband service and affordability, however, have consistently lagged well behind demand and progress in information technology, with damaging results. The Internet revolution remains incomplete and threatens to stagnate if the situation continues. In The Broadband Problem, economist and technology entrepreneur Charles H. Ferguson explains the causes and ramifications of this damaging bottleneck, and he offers suggestions on improving the current state of affairs. He asserts that current telecommunications law and policy have not provided sufficient levels of new entry, competition, and innovation in the local telecom market. The continuing dominance of ILECs (incumbent local exchange carriers) in that market impedes the healthy, and much-needed, development of an efficient broadband market. The result of these policy and market failures is inadequate technological progress, innovation, and productivity in advanced Internet services and telecommunication services generally. The broadband problem is holding us back, and thus must be addressed and solved. With this important volume, Charles Ferguson has contributed mightily to that mission.
Find out how to reap the benefits of motivating and engaging the new, direct customer voice The Customer's New Voice shows businesses how to motivate and transform directly volunteered consumer knowledge into profitable insights, enabling a new echelon of marketing relevancy, customer experience, and personalization. With a deep look at the inner workings of how a modern generation of business innovators are tapping into the fresh opportunities with the customer's new voice, this book describes how businesses are transforming "inference-based" predictions of purchase intent with direct consumer knowledge of their actual intentions and buying context. The result: An untouchable/unprecedented level of offer relevancy, experience, and personalized service levels. Those offers range from the most basic app model of "Give me your physical location, we'll find the best Thai restaurant near you, and give you an instant coupon" to a more complex model such as an Electric utility value proposition: "We'll give you discounts to charge your Prius during certain times to help us optimize our grid efficiency while allowing Toyota to monitor and optimize your battery to enable Toyota's R&D and customer experience enhancement." Forty case studies detail proven approaches for directly engaging the new consumer, showing companies how to take advantage of rapidly evolving personal technology—smart phones, homes, vehicles, wearable technology, and Internet of Things—and the new sharing culture to collect the higher value "intentionally/ discretionarily" shared information. Readers gain access to a robust tool set including templates, checklists, tables, flow diagrams, process maps, and technical data schematics to streamline these new capabilities and accelerate implementation of these transformational techniques. Ninety percent of the data that businesses use to determine what they sell or how to personalize a customer experience results from consumers unintentionally volunteering "indirect" data; however, this type of data has less than 10 percent accuracy. This low effectiveness also necessitates up to 70 percent of a business's cost infrastructure. Direct consumer knowledge is now available and boasts up to 20-50 percent accuracy, yet businesses remain anchored in the old "indirect" competencies. This book helps companies integrate compelling sharing motivators and controls for consumers to feel motivated and safe about directly sharing their product and experience desires, providing the ultimate market advantage. Learn how to catch up to the new digitalized consumer Leverage direct consumer information from current megatrends Navigate privacy's current and future metamorphosis Unlock the untapped value of Big Data's true enabler—Little Data Parsing "incidentally" volunteered data has been stagnant for decades due to the capabilities and expectations of a new generation of enabled consumers The timeless reality is that any level of investment in computing power, data, and analytics will never approach their full ROI potential without interfusing the direct, intentional insights from the consumer. If today's forward-thinking companies want to profitably engage the new consumers, they must learn the secrets of motivating and safeguarding this new potential of customer transparency. The risks of not engaging these new consumer voices? Irrelevancy and Silence. The Customer's New Voice shows businesses how to fulfill the promise and caveat of the new consumer: "If you make my life easier, reward me, and respect my shared information: I will tell you my secrets."
