Issue #100 - Subscribed? It could be you 🫵
Issue #100 £100 giveaway | Micro business energy | Workplace accidents | The 2027 digital switchover | Selling a business | 3 Businesses, 1 Question | Words | Tunes | More
🦾 GO
3 years, 11 months, and 24 days in the life of…
Welcome to Issue #100 of The Backbone. The free fortnightly newsletter from Bionic
We’ve all come a long way since February 5, 2021, haven’t we!?
Issue #1 of The Backbone was launched almost a year into Covid restrictions, during one of the many lockdowns. The idea behind the newsletter was to bring business owners the latest news (which almost exclusively turned out to be Covid updates for the first 12 months) along with some tips and advice from our business essentials experts.
And here we are 3 years, 11 months, and 24 days later with Issue #100.
We’re eternally grateful for all the support we’ve been shown over that time. Whether you’ve subscribed, shared, contributed stories, podcast, playlists, or anything, we want to say a massive thank you - the newsletter couldn’t have grown the way it has without you.
And we couldn’t let our centenary issue pass without a celebration, so we’re doing a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher. It’s going to be an open draw of all our subscribers - so make sure your email address is up to date.
All existing subscribers and anyone who subscribes before February 5, 2025, will be entered into the draw, so tell your colleagues, employees, friends, and family to sign up before then. You can read all the T&Cs here.
This issue will be packed with the usual stuff, business owner interviews, podcasts, playlists, a word of the week, you know the drill. And we thought it would be fitting for our 🗞 READ section to feature our most popular pieces from the last (nearly) four years.
But before we get going, let’s get the year’s first small business joke out of the way…
🤝 COMMUNITY
Join our community of small business superheroes 🦸♀️
Small business owners are the superheroes of the high street. But small business owners rarely get their voices heard. Now there’s a place where they can chat, share advice and help each other through the lows and highs of running a business. To get involved, scan or click the QR code above or click the button below to sign up.
🗞 READ
🔥 Energy - How does being a micro business affect your energy contract?
There are 5.3 million micro businesses in the UK – that’s 95% of all UK businesses – but do you know if your business is one of them?
Let’s take a look at what makes a micro business and how some big changes to the energy market will help make sure micro business owners get a fairer deal from brokers and suppliers.
🔒 Insurance - How to handle a workplace accident
Employee injuries are distressing. They can also lead to some tricky challenges for you and your business. As an employer, you must take all the necessary steps to ensure you’re providing a safe working environment and safe conditions for all your staff.
But accidents can still happen. Would you know what to do in the event of a workplace accident?
🌐 Connectivity- What is the 2027 digital switchover?
The digital switchover will see all traditional landlines in the UK will be switched off by 2027, when the analogue, copper wire phone network (also known as public switch telephone network - or PSTN) is being retired.
If you’re one of the 62.1% of business owners still using a landline in 2024, here’s everything you need to know.
🤝 Essentials - Employees’ rights when selling a business
All things eventually come to an end. If it’s time to sell your business,it can be tough to keep track of everything you need to get sorted. From finding a suitable buyer to marketing your business to make sure you get the best price, the to-do list can seem endless.
Then you have your employees to consider – this could be a big upheaval for them too, so you need to treat them fairly throughout the selling process and consider their employment rights. Here’s all you need to know.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#BionicBusinessStory - 3 businesses, 1 question 🤔
We asked three more business owners about their hopes for 2025. Here’s what they said…
Bionic - What are your aspirations for 2025?
🌷 “This is a tough one because I feel like people who own businesses are constantly looking for the next steps to make, constantly evolving and chasing after new developments for the business. So - one of my big ambitions for 2025 is actually to look at how far I have come, and to allow myself to feel really proud of that! Concretely though - I want to work internationally more (we just booked our first international job the other week!), continue to refine and hone my practice and I also want to run some kind of access day to provide free training and resources to people who face barriers to the flower industry.” Rosy Sida - Filth Florist.
🍭 “My main ambition for 2025 is to expand N2 Sweet Lab further, both locally and beyond. I aim to collaborate with more independent retailers, participate in more artisan markets, and develop unique product offerings, like our new chocolate Easter eggs. I’m also keen to grow our online presence and connect with more customers through engaging workshops and tastings.” Ned Vichev N2 Sweet Lab
🍧 “I would like to grow my social media presence throughout 2025. I laid the foundations last year and employed a photographer and social media manager. This year I would like to see an increase in followers and engagement across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.” Corrie Hill - Mrs Chill’s Ice Cream Parlour
📊 BUSINESS
Get your business costs sorted 💷
Bionic is the comparison site for your small business. We compare a range of business essentials to help you save time, money, and hassle.
Our tech-enabled team will answer all your questions in simple terms, and help you find the best deal on business energy, insurance, phone, broadband, or finance. No jargon. No-fuss. #BeABionicBusiness 🦾
🎧 LISTEN
Playlist 🎶
Issue 100 needs a monster playlist - and have we found one or what? The Guardian: Top 100 Albums lists the top 100 albums, as featured in The Guardian newspaper on September 19th 1997. OK, it was nearly 30 years ago and too soon for loads of subsequent classic albums, but it’s still got 100 stone-cold classics in full for more than 24 hours of listening!
Podcast 🎙
If you haven’t already guessed, we love words here at The Backbone. Word of Mouth is a podcast that explores the world of words and the ways in which we use them. Hosted by Michael Rosen, recent episodes have looked at the language of genetics, where words come from, the language of social media, and how animals talk. Something for everyone, whether you’re a word nerd or not.
👩🤝👩🏾 SHARE
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🏡 HOUSEKEEPING
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🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
Carry on the conversation at our Bionic socials 🤳
Please leave a comment and let us know if there’s anything else we should be featuring.
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