About

Ben Lobel was the editor of SmallBusiness.co.uk from 2010 to 2018. He specialises in writing for start-up and scale-up companies in the areas of finance, marketing and HR.

Business Ideas & Planning

Business plan creation advice and tips

Michael Lister, managing partner at MLP Solicitors, is often approached for advice by the owners of new and growing businesses seeking funding from their bank. Here are his top tips for creating the perfect business plan.

Blog

Get up to speed on HR procedure

It's pretty surprising to learn that 12 per cent of small companies fail to issue contracts of employment to their staff.

Small Business Banking

How the Business Bank will help small companies

Rory Earley, CEO of Capital for Enterprise, breaks down the concept of the Business Bank and what small businesses can expect from such an institution.

Legal advice

Balancing equality in the workplace during redundancy

Victoria Clark, associate in employment law at Clarion Solicitors, explains why it is sometimes difficult to follow a fair procedure when assessing candidates for redundancy.

Legal advice

Protecting your intellectual property

Ever wondered if it's worth protecting your product against copycats? Dr Stephen Blance, senior attorney at Avidity IP, discusses why it should be done.

Alternative finance

Struggling to raise £20,000

I am struggling to raise £20,000 for my start-up plumbing business. What options are there for me in regard to alternative finance?

Work life balance

Being a woman in the tech sector

Béatrice Piquer Durand, of Ipanema Technologies, discusses the challenges of being a female in the male-dominated world of IT.

Business management

Starting a green tech business

Green tech entrepreneur Peter Hopton founded data centre cooling company Iceotope in 2011 and talks to SmallBusiness.co.uk about investment, knowing your market, and caffeine.

Blog

Achieving happiness as a business owner

Author Simon J Benn continues his advocacy of positive thinking as an entrepreneur.

Government Grants

Grants available to Scottish businesses

Mike Newman, founder of Glasgow-based My1login, received an array of cash grants to develop his small business, which provides an encrypted vault service for logins, passwords and pins.

Government Grants

Getting a grant from an enterprise agency

Caroline Eccles, co-founder of Lancashire-based film company Huckleberry Films, received a business grant of £2,000 from enterprise agency Hyndburn Enterprise Trust.

Funding your small business

Will the Funding for Lending scheme take off?

The latest government inititative intends to prise money out of the banks' coffers and into small and medium-sized businesses, but will it succeed?

Ben Lobel

Follow me