The internet is a great way of reaching out to customers 24hrs a day, 7 days a week as people can log on to your online websites and advertisements at any time, even out of working hours. This is also a good way of attracting customers from other areas in the country, or even abroad and so you have the potential to increase your customer base significantly.

If you are thinking of branching out online remember that your website will be many of your customers first introduction to your business, so it will need to be professional, easily to navigate and informative. When you first set up a website it is easiest to register with a web hosting company, as they will provide all the software you need to design and run your website.

They will also provide secure encryption technology if you need to process online payments, or you can buy this software separately and install it into your system yourself. There are also many website design companies who can help you to create a unique and professional website with all the necessary software and functions, and this is a good idea for those larger businesses, or those people who do not have the time or the skills to design their own websites.

SERPs

Once you have set up your website it is important that you optimise your chances of appearing in the top search engine rankings (SERs). Returned results from a search online is really just a big advertising platform for your business, so if you are running an online pet store for example, then as soon as someone searches for ‘dog beds’ or ‘pet food’ you want your website to appear as high up in the results as possible, to increase the amount of visitors to your website. It is important that you set up good keyword density and titles throughout your website, as search engine categorise your site this way and the better this is organised, the better your SER will be.

Online presence

Also get online and set up as many links as you can back to your site. A good online presence is essential for attracting new customers, so go to other relevant websites and online blogs and leave a link back to your online business. For example for that online pet store you could go to pet blogs and forums and leave comments about how good your website is, or what products you sell, and include a link so that people can click straight through if they are interested.

Websites are an ongoing investment for your business, so make sure you keep them up to date and informative, and also provide a way for your customers to get in contact with you in case they have any problems.

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In the UK most workers have the legal right to a National Minimum level of pay, which is set out by the government each year. This means that employers must ensure that all qualifying employees are receiving on, or above this minimum wage level, to avoid any legal disputes. In cases of suspected wage under payment, National Minimum Wage Officers will investigate the case and can take legal action to force employers to pay the right hourly wage, and also pay any backdated wages.

If you have employed workers for a long time under the wrong wage levels this could be a significant amount of money. For example if you had underpaid two employees by just £2 an hour for a year (on a 37hr week), then this could cost you over £7,000 to repay, plus any legal charges in the process of sorting out your case.

There is a National Minimum Wage Helpline on 0845 6000 678 if you are unsure exactly who qualifies for minimum wage, but basically, with a few exceptions, most UK citizens over the age of 16 are legally entitled to the following rates:

• Adults (aged 22 and over) – £5.73 an hour
• Young Adults (aged 18-21) – £4.77 an hour
• School leavers (aged 16-18) – £3.53 an hour

The main exceptions include:

1. Self employed workers
2. Agricultural workers, as they have their own payment system set up by the Agricultural Wages Board
3. Certain apprentices under the age of 19 years old
4. Voluntary workers

You will need to consider the costs of the National Minimum Wage when you are employing new workers. At £5.73 an hour even a basic worker on a standard 37hr week is earning just over £10,000 a year, which is a lot of money to a small business. Think about the type of business you own, and whether you can minimise the number of staff you employ without compromising overall efficiency. Utilise every member of staff to their full potential, and make sure the workload is spread evenly.

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Sick leave can have a significant impact on small businesses, as the loss of even one employee from a small staff rota can cause major problems. There are rules and regulations for dealing with employee sickness, and it is important that you follow these carefully, as if you mismanage sickness you could be left vulnerable to legal procedures through employment tribunals.

Sick Leave Entitlements

It is advisable that you inform your staff of their sick leave entitlements by including it in their contract, (preferably written), when they join your company. You should include details about what sick pay they can expect to receive, either SSP (statutory sick pay) or a company ‘sick pay scheme’ and for how long. Company schemes are normally put in place after a probationary period (for example 3 months), and will set out how many weeks full pay will continue into sick leave, what time half pay occurs and when pay will cease all together. SSP is a national scheme, which employees can only receive if they qualify, and the current rate is £75.40 per week, which starts on the fourth day of sickness (so you may not get anything else for the first three days).

The standard amount of time staff can self certificate themselves is 8 days, and then after that they will need a medical certificate from their doctor. If a medical certificate is not produced, then the employee can be classed as ‘absent without leave’, and it is usual for them to no longer be entitled to either SSP or full pay under the company sick scheme.

Holiday

Employers must remember that normally staff should continue to accrue holiday whilst on sick leave. It is advisable for them to return to work for at least one day before taking any holiday directly following a period of sick leave, so that you can assess their health and ensure that they are not taking holiday when they are still unwell. If the employee is off for over a year then they would normally lose that whole years’ sick leave, apart from the limited amount that they are allowed to carry forward into the new leave year.

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• lori alf

Hello Business world. I have made a resolution to make a top business blog this year 2008. And as the first step, here is the first introduction post about our business blog Biz-Online.com

You can consider this post as a start up for online business.

I would like some comments and suggestions regarding the blog topics, site theme, extras and so on. Don’t forget to subscribe the blog to get updates in your mail box.

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