Issue #22 - Masks back on 😷

How That Tea Room is getting festive | Tips to avoid HMRC scams | How to cut the risk of catching and spreading Covid-19 (Omicron edition) | News | Podcasts | Festive playlist | More

Dec 02, 2021

Omicron and on and on

It looks like coronavirus is going to impact yet another festive period. The initial signs are that the Omicron variant could be more transmissible than previous types, which means we all need to be extra vigilant once again.

That’s why we’ve got a quick recap on how to cut the risk of catching and spreading Covid-19. And because the online tax return deadline is looming once more (joy!) we’ll also explain how you can avoid HMRC tax return scams.

But enough of the doom and gloom, Christmas is on the way. We’ve got a festive #BionicBusinessStory, news of this year’s #BionicSantaDash, and a Christmas playlist.

Let’s get a little bit festive with Issue #22 of The Backbone…

🗣 S H O U T O U T

#BionicBusinessStory - That Tea Room ☕

Bionic had a chat with Jo Hunter who runs the popular That Tea Room in Howden, with her business partner Sam. Jo told us how the team are preparing for Christmas.

Bionic: What’s been the biggest challenge this year?

Jo Hunter: It’s hard work. It’s probably harder now than it was during the Covid lockdowns as now we’re having to build ourselves back up. But we’re getting more and more customers and we have a big takeaway base now whereas we didn’t have many people coming in for takeaways before.

B: Do you use tech for business?

JH: We do use social media to promote ourselves. I personally hate social media, I wouldn’t even have a Facebook account if it wasn’t attached to our company page, but it is great for business.

B: How are you preparing for Christmas?

JH: People have been asking about our Christmas menu since August. I've just finished finalising our Christmas menu and had a conversation with our chef about our range of mince pies. We have festive specials throughout December. We serve Sunday lunch anyway but during the festive season, we’ll be serving Christmas dinners on Wednesdays as well as Sundays.

B: What is the best thing about the tea room this Christmas?

JH: It’s just so nice compared to last year. To hear people in the tea room laughing and enjoying themselves, that’s the best thing for me. Last year it was just us rattling around the place but now it’s full up. It’s lovely to see our regulars come back too.

Check out the That Tea Room website to find out more about what’s on offer this Christmas. And click the Santa and warming menu below to read more from this #BionicBusinessStory

📩 J O I N

We want to hear about you and your business 🗣

💡 How did you end up running your own business?

😟 As a business owner, what keeps you awake at night?

🤩 What’s your proudest achievement as a business owner?

🤔 What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?

Leave a comment to get involved 👇

🤝🏻 T I P S

Watch out for HMRC scams 👀

The January 31 self-assessment tax deadline is on the horizon, which means you’ll need to start getting your receipts in order if you’ve not already done so.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be sending out more than four million emails and SMS text messages to business owners across the UK ahead of the deadline.

But it’s warning people to watch out for fraudulent tax rebate emails and texts as nearly 800,000 tax-related scams have been reported in the last 12 months. Nearly 360,000 of these scams were bogus tax rebate referrals.

To help you avoid falling foul of such scams, HMRC has issued the following advice:

Take a moment to think before parting with your money or information
If a phone call, text or email is unexpected, don't give out private information or reply, and don't download attachments or click on links before checking on GOV.UK that the contact is genuine
Do not trust caller ID on phones. Numbers can be spoofed
It's ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests - only criminals will try to rush or panic you
Go to GOV.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact and how to avoid and report scams

If you think something doesn’t feel right, hang up the call and get in touch with HMRC directly. You can report suspicious phone calls, emails and texts at the government website.

If you think you've fallen victim to a scam, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud.

🙏 W E L L N E S S

How to cut the risk of catching and spreading Covid-19 😷

The cold snap has hit and we’re no longer in lockdown, which means all those annual colds and sniffles are set to return. The last thing we needed was a new strain of coronavirus, but that’s what we got with the Omicron variant.

It seems that we’re going to be stuck with some sort of coronavirus variant for the foreseeable future, so now seems as good a time as any to run through the ways to cut the risk of catching and spreading Covid-19.

Get vaccinated - everyone aged 12 and over can book vaccination appointments now
Meet people outside, if possible
If meeting people indoors, open doors and windows to let in fresh air
Limit the number of people you meet and avoid crowded places
Wear a face covering when it's hard to stay away from other people – particularly indoors or in crowded places
Wash your hands with soap and water, or use hand sanitiser regularly throughout the day
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
If you sneeze or cough, catch it in a tissue and dispose of it. If you don’t have a tissue to hand, try to sneeze or cough into the crook of your elbow instead of your hands
Fist bump instead of shaking hands

For more information, go to NHS.UK

You should get a PCR test and isolate until you get a negative result if you have any of the following symptoms:

a high temperature
a new, continuous cough
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

If your test comes back positive, you should self-isolate for 10 full days. If you've been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, you may have to self-isolate for 10 full days.

For more information, go to NHS.UK

🗞 R E A D

Christmas is usually the busiest time of year for shops, pubs and restaurants. With uncertainty over a new Covid variant, we asked businesses how they will cope if more restrictions are introduced over the next few weeks.

Can businesses survive another lost Christmas?

Away from the hype of COP26, Britain's small and medium enterprises are quietly carrying out a green revolution of their own.

A green revolution from small business owners

🎧 L I S T E N

Playlist

Christmas Stuff is a playlist from Les (Bionic’s Content Manager) in which he’s basically just thrown every Christmas song you can think of into one place. But for every Slade there’s a Beck, for every Mariah Carey there’s a Curtis Blow, and for every Wham! there’s a CMAT. There’s also arguably the greatest Christmas song ever - All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit.

Podcast

Don’t Take Out Your Phone! includes conversations about the major topics people want to talk about from business to science and technology - a step away from the daily onslaught of grim news and the idea that our phones stop us from having meaningful conversations. Ironically, you’ll most likely need to take out your phone to listen, but still…

📊 B U S I N E S S

Get your business costs sorted 💷

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 🦾

Get business utilities sorted

Check out more ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Trustpilot reviews

🔥 H A S H T A G

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Get involved by using the hashtags #BeABionicBusiness and #BionicBusinessStory.

🏡 H O U S E K E E P I N G

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🚫 S T O P

Þakka þér fyrir*

Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic bulletin 🤝🏻

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