Issue #54 - Spring Budget! How was it for you? 💸
Vote in our 2023 Spring Budget poll | What is the 2025 digital switchover? | When is the right time to sell your business? | Snuggling up with Sleeping Beauty Salons | Tunes | Words | More
🦾 G O
Are energy prices still an issue? 🔥
Welcome to Issue #54 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
Energy prices are definitely still an issue (it was a rhetorical question, but we thought we should clear that up straight away).
The only reason we ask is that energy prices didn’t feature much in the Spring Budget, despite being a key part of rising inflation and government spending over the last 12 months.
Households were given a bit of good news with the extension of the Energy Price Guarantee and long-overdue changes to prepayment meter charges. But it looks like businesses are just going to have to make do with what the Energy Bills Discount Scheme has to offer - which, unfortunately, isn’t very much.
We explain it all in our Energy Bills Discount Scheme guide, but here are some figures for you to consider…
Let’s say your business uses 10,000 kWh of electricity a year and is paying 36.1p per unit. This would give you an annual bill of £3,610*. Your discounted rate would be 34.1p, which would bring your annual bill down to £3,410. That’s a saving of £200 a year (or £16 a month off your £300 monthly bill).
If you’re using 10,000 kWh of gas a year, at a rate of 12.2p per unit, your annual bill will be £1,220*. Your discounted rate will 11.5p, which would bring your annual bill down to £1,150. That’s a saving of £70 a year (or £6 a month off your £101 monthly bill).
Better than nothing, but not brilliant. That’s why it still makes sense to compare quotes to see if you can save money with a fixed-rate deal.
The 2023 Spring Budget also had funding for leisure centres and local charities, full capital expenses, a Brexit Pub Guarantee, and a bit more.
But we want to know how it will affect your business. Let us know by voting in the poll below 👇
And where would we be without our fortnightly bad business pun…?
*we’ve left off the standing charge to keep things as simple as possible.
📨 S U B S C R I B E
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🗞 R E A D
What is the 2025 digital switchover? ☎
The analogue, copper wire phone network is being retired, meaning you’ll no longer be able to use your landline phone. And if you have other systems connected to your phone line, like alarms, telecare systems, CCTV, or even some half-hourly electricity meters, then they’ll stop working too.
But what does that mean? And why is the old system getting switched off anyway? Our guide explains everything you need to know.
When is the right time to sell your business? 🤔
There can be any number of reasons why you might decide to sell your business - you want a bigger challenge, things aren’t going well financially, or you’ve taken it as far as you possibly can. Or, it might simply be time to move on to something different. Whatever the reason, if you’re looking to sell up, this guide could have some invaluable information.
🗣 S H O U T O U T
#BionicBusinessStory - Sleeping Beauty Salons 💤
Bionic had a natter with Lilac Miller, who runs the popular Sleeping Beauty Salons in Scotland. We got the low down on this pampering SME and its future goals.
Bionic: How did you start the salon?
Lilac Miller: We started as a small two-room salon and have now grown to a team of 55. I trained as a therapist when I was 16 before going to university to complete a management degree. Then I worked in finance for a short time before returning to the beauty industry and have now spent the last 18 years building Sleeping Beauty Salons.
B: How was your experience with Bionic?
LM: The Bionic service has worked well for us, it saves us from having to track renewal dates ourselves. By locking in before the surge in pricing we have benefited this year massively. We will continue to use the service in the future.
B: What are your plans for the future?
LM: We are focusing on growing our existing sites at present and are relocating one of our larger premises to Edinburgh, doubling capacity. We also plan to expand our own product range and training provision. We are an SQA Centre offering apprenticeships and accredited training for our own team, but we plan to start offering this privately to other companies and individuals in the near future.
B: What other brands inspire you?
LM: Anyone who has grown a brand inspires me. It’s sometimes easier to set up a business copying other people but when you have developed a brand with its own brand loyalty, it creates such an opportunity to build on. I appreciate any brand that focuses on quality & service rather than price, so companies like Hotel Chocolat, Lulu Lemon and Apple.
Click on the Sleeping Beauty Salon shop front below to read more from Lilac, and head over to Bionic to check out more small business stories.
📩 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.
📊 B U S I N E S S
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 🦾
Our tech-enabled experts put the sheen on Sharon’s switch ✨
🎧 L I S T E N
Playlist 🎶
We all love a feeling of accomplishment. And it comes in all forms, from landing a huge contract to getting the foam just right on a cappuccino (I could never quite manage the coffee art though). Someone who’s no stranger to feeling accomplished is Steph, Digital Marketing Manager at Bionic. Probably why she chose this playlist…
Podcast 🎙
When we asked for podcast and playlist suggestions, Steph came charging in with one of each. After offering up an accomplished playlist, our digital marketing manager, told us she loves listening to No Such Things As A Fish - a podcast from the people behind the game show QI. Each presenter pops up wit a favourite fact that they have come across that week, and the other presenters add extra facts and information connecting to it. Perfect for anyone looking to sharpen up before a pub quiz.
👩🤝👩🏾 S H A R E
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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’.
Correction ❌
In our last issue, the 2023 Budget Special, we said the following about the (strangely titled) Brexit Pub Guarantee:
“Beer and other draught products in pubs will be 11p cheaper than in supermarkets.”
This isn’t accurate. What we should have said was “duty on draught products in pubs will be 11p cheaper than the duty in supermarkets.”
A subtle but important difference.
🚫 S T O P
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
Please leave a comment and let us know if there’s anything else we should be featuring.
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