Issue #60 - SME SOS 🆘
Help with soaring energy bills? | How does being a micro business affect your energy contract? | 5 businesses, 1 question | Level up your small business | Tunes | Words | More
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What is a blend and extend energy contract? ♻
Welcome to Issue #60 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
Although energy prices have been falling recently, thousands of small businesses face price hikes following government support cuts.
Back in Issue #55, we explained how funding for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme has been capped at £5.5 billion over the next 12 months.
That’s a significant cut from the £18 billion that was spent in six months of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
This cut in funding is causing problems for thousands of small businesses that have seen their bills increase dramatically since the new scheme started in April.
The Federation of Small Businesses has estimated that around 370,000 small businesses could be forced to downsize, radically restructure, or even close down.
Some suppliers are starting to offer 'blend and extend' contracts as a possible solution.
This will extend your current contract on rates that are somewhere between the high rates you’ve been paying and today's lower market rates.
Although you’ll immediately start paying these blended rates, they won’t be as low as current market rates. This means you'll probably pay more over the lifetime of your contract.
It seems like a reasonable compromise, but it might not be the best option for all businesses.
For some, it could be worth sticking with your current contract and lining up a new one at today’s lower market rates.
This could save you more money overall but will mean you’ll need to carry on paying the higher rate until your current contract ends and your new one starts.
You need to weigh up your options and do what you think is best for your business.
The energy team at Bionic are busy working with our panel of suppliers to find the right solutions for our customers. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.
In the meantime, let’s crack on with Issue #60, starting with something we should really have included in the last one 👇
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🗞 READ
What are the different types of energy tariffs? ⚡
If your energy contract is up for renewal, it’s important to make sure you arrange a new one that’s exactly right for your business. Remember, commercial energy switches don’t offer a cooling-off period and there are very few situations when you can end your contract early.
When it’s time to switch, tech-enabled experts at Bionic will be able to guide you through the process to make sure you pick the contract that’s right for your business. But it always helps to have a bit of background knowledge.
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.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#BionicBusinessStory - 5 businesses, 1 question 🤔
Small businesses are usually an integral part of the community. Anyone who has regular customers knows just how important a part you play in their lives. For this week’s 5 businesses, 1 question, we thought we’d find out how those special connections are made…
Bionic - How do you create a special connection with your customers?
"I think about what I look for when I’m shopping. I always like quick delivery, so The Social Club’s postage is really fast, usually reaching the customer within 48 hours. The service is very personable too. I want to give the customer the wow factor at every touchpoint.” Jo Tiller - Social Club Clothing 🙂
“Our (fictional serial killer) character Jack really enjoys messaging the customers in character rather than just replying to emails in a standard way. It’s the little details. When people come through and appreciate those things, that makes us feel like we’re achieving what we want.” Gary Stocker - Screamworks 😱
“It’s important to make it an experience to remember, you know? Some horror fans will do a ‘scare tour’; they’ll go around the county to do all the scare parks in the UK. ‘FEAR’ is unique and we’re always trying to come up with new ideas for our attractions.” Lizzie Arkley - AtmosFEAR 💀
“By helping them. People come to me with questions they want answers to and often feel they are in a place where they need help of some kind but have no one to turn to.” Untapped Potential Tarot Readings 🃏
“By creating personal art. A large part of my business is creating family portraits. Many times, the artwork is formed from multiple images of different people in the family, some of whom have passed on. Unlike typical portraits, I aim to create ones that look like they would be found in a family album taken when the subjects weren’t aware their photo was taken, creating an authentic moment.” Jillian Kelshaw - Jillian Kelshaw Art 🎨
Want to read more small business stories? Head over to Bionic 🦾
🤳 SOCIAL
The 2050 Net Zero target might seem like a far-off date, but the Big Zero Show is just two weeks away. And the journey to net zero starts with the right strategy now!
The Big Zero Show takes place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Tuesday, June 20. You can learn from business and public sector leaders as they share their experiences and insights on improving their companies' carbon footprints. There’ll be tips you can put into practice no matter how big or small your business is.
For more information and updates, check out The Big Zero Show website, as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
And register for free by clicking the button below 👇
📚 FACTS
Did you know…there are loads of free online training courses that can help you with all aspects of running your business? From well-being and diversity training to getting creative on TikTok and finding a space for your small business.
We rounded up six of the best coming up this month 👇
🤳 TikTok and your business - June 13
🤝 Diversity and inclusion - June 14
🤖 Automation - Doing more with limited staff - June 20
💷 Finance and bookkeeping for your small business - June 20
💻 Wellbeing for hybrid workers - June 21
🏪 Finding a retail space for your small business - June 26
📊 BUSINESS
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 🦾
Looks like it’s Hatts off from Jole for Bionic’s Digital Renewal service 🥳
Check out more ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Trustpilot reviews
🎧 LISTEN
Playlist 🎶
What’s your favourite cover version? Everyone’s got one. And there’s a good chance that it could feature on this Covers playlist from Les, Senior Content Manager, at Bionic. Featuring everything from Supergrass to Sugababes and Beverly Knight to Black Sabbath, it’s seven hours with something for everyone (including Madness covering Tchaikovsky, if that’s your thing).
Podcast 🎙
We featured Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO a couple of issues ago. But we reckon there’s a particular episode that everyone should listen to - the one about the dangers of AI. This conversation with Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, feels a bit hysterical at times but gives a good overview of how we need to be careful with AI to limit the dangers it could pose (if it’s not already too late)
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🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
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