Issue #38 - Cap it off 💡

The price cap is back in the news | Some good news for energy switching | How to price properly | Pet care tips for busy business owners | 5 businesses, 1 question! | Tunes | Podcasts | More

🦾 G O

Is it good or bad news on the price cap? 🎭

Welcome to Issue #36 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.

The energy price cap is back in the news, but this time it’s potentially good news. Or absolutely awful news, depending upon your optimism levels.

After months of speculation, Ofgem has finally announced the energy price cap will be reviewed every three months from January next year. This means that households will either…

• see cuts to the cost of their bills when energy prices fall

• see more regular price hikes when energy prices increase

Of course, both scenarios could play out in the first six months of 2023 - we’ll just have to wait and see. But remember, the energy price cap doesn’t affect commercial energy contracts, so the news won’t have any direct impact on your business energy bills.

There is some good news if you run a microbusiness though.

What’s a microbusiness?

There are a few definitions floating around, so we’ll go with the EU and Ofgem definitions, that a microbusiness is one that has ten employees or less, an annual turnover of no more than €2 million (EU) and uses no more than 100,000 kWh of electricity per year or no more than 293,000 kWh of gas per year (Ofgem).

What’s the good news?

Changes are coming in later this year that will make switching simpler for microbusiness owners, including:

• Greater transparency on energy contracts

• A change to the contract termination rules

• Better information on the market and your rights

• A more robust complaints procedure

We’ll go into more detail in the next issue, but there’s also good news for all businesses where energy contracts are concerned as Ofgem’s Faster Switching rules have now kicked in. The new rules have been designed to make switching energy suppliers faster, easier and more cost-effective. Energy suppliers will be offering customers the opportunity to switch within five working days.

You can read more about this in our guide to switching energy suppliers.

And now it’s time for a couple more good news stories from the last two weeks…

⚽ WSL clubs see ticket demand surge after Lionesses’ Euro 2022 win

🏠 Glastonbury founder digs deep to build affordable homes

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📨 S U B S C R I B E

Subscribe to The Backbone to get each fortnightly edition into your inbox at 7 am every other Friday. Perfect for a quick read at breakfast or on the commute.

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🗞 R E A D

How to price your product - the ultimate guide to easy product pricing

As a small business owner, getting your pricing right can be tricky at the best of times, never mind in the middle of a cost of living crisis. The amount you charge for your products or services can ultimately make or break your turnover and success.

Whether you sell a wide range of products or your small business fills a niche, this guide will walk you through the product pricing process.

6 pet care tips for busy business owners

The school holidays are in full swing, which means you could have a house full of children and pets to manage as well as a busy business. While we can’t do much about the kids, we do have some top tips to help keep your furry friends out of mischief when running your small business or working from home.

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🗣  S H O U T O U T

#BionicBusinessStory - 5 businesses, 1 question 🤔

We love hearing all about how small business owners got to where they are. The stories of how they’ve built their business, the things that keep them awake at night, their biggest achievements, and how they cope when life feels like it’s going at 60 miles an hour. We asked five business owners one simple question, and here’s how they answered…

Bionic: How did you originally set up your business?

😻 “I’d decided when I turned 55 I’d have a career change as my job was very stressful. I was going on holiday to the Lake District and spent some time with friends on the way. Unbeknown to me they’d booked a slot at a local cat café. It was a concept I hadn’t heard of before and the seed was sown! As a cat lover with a love of baking, I thought this was a dream venture for me.” Kay Allen - Whiskers and Cream

👩‍🎨 “I was encouraged and inspired by my family to push myself and make my artwork into a living. It’s because of my family that I started painting in the first place.” Siana Thomas - Shimbodoesart

🐩 “When a member of the family got a Min Pin puppy back in 2002, I started making her blankets and outfits to wear. I couldn’t find anything that was good quality and well designed. She was such a character, so it was impossible to turn up without a gift for her! Shortly after, the LISH brand was born!” Lilly Shahravesh - LISH

☕ “My wife and I love going to different coffee shops, there’s something about a café that’s comforting, we’d get coffee frequently and I became interested in different blends, I thought ‘we could actually do this at home and try roasting our own’, so we did and then the idea grew.” Mark Hepworth - Flat Cap Coffee

🍽 “It all happened quickly. I think sometimes you just have to do something, if you think about it too much then you’ll never try it. I discussed an idea for a horsebox conversion with my husband Paul one evening, I came up with some ideas for food I'd like to sell, and I think we’d found and bought the horsebox a few days later!” Melanie Martin - The Hinny Bake Box

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📩 J O I N

Get involved with our business community 🔊

Share your thoughts and tips to give other busy business owners a helping hand. Or ask a question to see if anyone can help you out.

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🤳 S O C I A L

The word monkeys at Bionic pride themselves on being able to break down complex issues into easy-to-read blogs and guides, like our pieces on the energy price crisis and the cost of living crisis.

But there are times when a Twitter thread does it better than anything else. Like this one on how complicated the current energy crisis is, and what the government should do, could do, and can’t do.

Andrew Sissons @ACJSissons

What is causing the energy crisis? Why can’t the government just make it go away? It’s complicated, so let me try and explain. Including what the government should do, could do and can’t do. 🧵

Elizabeth Ammon @legsidelizzy

Can someone explain to me why the Government can’t just say “no energy companies. You can’t increase your prices that much. We’re going to legislate so you don’t”. Something has to be done.

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Get your business costs sorted 💷

Bionic - the business price comparison experts - 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 🦾

Bionic had Canopy Pro Ltd covered when they needed a new energy deal.

Check out more ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Trustpilot reviews

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🎧 L I S T E N

Playlist

Remember when the BBC was going to pull the plug on 6Music? Thankfully, sense prevailed and generations of indie kids breathed a huge sigh of relief that Steve Lamacq would remain in gainful employment a while longer. If you can’t get your alternative fix during the day, then Dan - Senior Marketing Operations Manager here at Bionic - has found a playlist of songs that are currently on rotation at 6Music. If you’ve heard of more than three of the bands listed, you’re way cooler than we are.

Podcast

As loads of us wrestle with the world of hybrid working, here’s a podcast that brings inspiration, imagination, and conversation on workplace culture, psychology and life in general. Can we make work better? Why do we behave as we do? Eat Sleep Work Repeat tries to find the answers.

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👩‍🤝‍👩🏾 S H A R E

If you love The Backbone (or even if you just quite like it) share it with someone who has equally great taste in email newsletters.

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🏡 H O U S E K E E P I N G

Check your folders 📁

If The Backbone isn’t landing in your inbox every other Friday, please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If it isn’t in your spam folder, it may have been moved to another folder, like ‘Promotions’ or ‘Social’.

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🚫 S T O P

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

Did you spot all the New Order references in the last issue? Here they are…

• Movement

• Get ready

• Technique

• New Order

• Krafty

• Mr Disco

• Fine time

• Sooner than you think

• Round and round

• 60 miles an hour

Please leave a comment and let us know if there’s anything else we should be featuring.

And don’t forget to send this link to all your friends and get them to subscribe ✌🏻