Business

I’ve been looking into international trade for the UK and collected a few useful resources along the way. Nothing original, just links that might help someone starting out. Training and courses Think Sandwell – International Trade – A Typeform questionnaire from the Think Sandwell programme. Seems aimed at businesses in the West Midlands looking to get into export. Black Country Chamber – International Trade Training – Structured courses on the mechanics of trading internationally. Covers things like documentation, shipping, and compliance. ...

I’ve been looking into property auctions in the UK recently, and one thing that struck me is how fragmented the market is. You’ve got the big national names, then regional specialists, and somewhere in between a whole bunch of firms that have been doing this for decades without much publicity. Here’s a list of companies I came across. Some are household names, others you’d only know if you’ve actually sat in an auction room or bid online at 11pm on a Tuesday. ...

Architecture is helpful in guarding the essentials of the business, while still allowing for maximal flexibility and adaptability.

I prebooked an Aakash Ubislate tablet on its first day of availability. Two months later, I’m still waiting, and the email chain with Datawind’s support team tells the whole story. The booking confirmation Dear Shafiq, Your Booking ID is : xxxxxxxxx Someone from our sales team would get in touch with you and provide you with the payment and delivery options. The commercial version of the UbiSlate would be launched in early weeks of December. ...

I’ve written enough project proposals over the years to know that the hardest part is usually the first page. You sit down with a blank document, a client’s RFP, and a deadline that’s already too tight, and you wonder where to start. So I made a template. Not because it’s brilliant, but because it stops me from spinning my wheels every time. You can grab the Word file here: proposal-template.doc ...

I’ve seen too many teams treat proposals and contracts as paperwork – something you rush through on the way to the “real work”. That attitude costs money. I’ve watched deals fall apart because someone skipped a step, or signed something they didn’t understand, or assumed the other side was on the same page. So we wrote a procedure. Not because we’re a big company with a compliance department, but because we kept making the same mistakes. ...

I’ve been thinking about what to ask when someone offers you a job at a startup. The usual questions about salary and benefits matter, but there are deeper ones that tell you whether the place is actually going to survive long enough for you to care about that stock option package. Here are some questions I’d ask. How much cash do you have in the bank? Not how much you’re hoping to raise. Not how much you could borrow if things get tight. Actual cash, right now, in an account. ...