Issue #80 - Energy Support is Ending 🗓
Are you ready for the end of EBDS? | Is it cheaper to work from home or commute? | Join our community | Tasting success with the N2 Sweet Lab | Small business online courses | Words | Tunes | More
🦾 GO
Are you ready for the end of the EBDS? 💡
Welcome to Issue #80 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
It might just be us, but it feels like everything is kind of getting back to ‘normal’. Admittedly, things are still tough, but inflation is coming down (although it’s unlikely that prices will return to what they were), there are calls for interest rates to be cut (the Bank of England have resisted them and held rates at 5.25%), and energy prices continue to fall (as reported in Issue #79).
Energy prices have fallen enough since the 2022 peak for the government to end the Energy Bills Discount Scheme on March 31, as planned. If your business has been getting discounted rates as part of the scheme, you could see your rates increase again from April 1.
If your contract is up for renewal, now could be a good time to compare quotes and sort out your next fixed deal. To avoid paying more expensive out-of-contract rates, you need to line up your next contract before your current one ends. We explain why in the short video below 👇
But is there anything else you can do to try and cut your energy costs or save money?
💡 Being more energy efficient at your business always helps and quick fixes can have lasting effects if you stick to them. For some ideas, check out these quick energy-saving tips for SMEs.
💷 If you’ve never looked into what government grants your business is eligible for, you could be missing out on some much-needed cash or subsidies. To find out more, check out the government website and look at our guide to the best small grants for businesses in 2024.
✂ Cutting costs in other areas, especially service or stock providers, can help. As can increasing your prices. If things are really tight you may need to consider cutting your opening hours.
It might also help to flip things on their head and think about ways you can make more money to cover any extra outgoings. Ideas include upselling, cross-selling, subletting, or expanding your service. There are more ideas in our blog - 12 ways to increase small business revenue in 2024.
🗯 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 leave us your email address.
🗞 READ
How to prepare for the end of the EBDS 📆
As mentioned above, the government’s Energy Bills Discount Scheme ends on March 31. Regardless of whether you were one of the lucky (?) few who got discounted rates via the scheme, here are some ways to cut your bills when government support is pulled at the end of the month.
Is it cheaper to work from home or commute? 🚌
Greater opportunities for hybrid and remote working mean many have started to consider their work routines as a way to keep costs low. But does working from home really cut costs for employees?
We crunched the numbers on the costs of increased WiFi, electricity and energy usage to work out which is the most cost-effective option.
🗣 SHOUTOUT
#SmallBusinessStory - N2 Sweet Lab 🧪
Bionic spoke to Nedelcho Vichev - AKA Ned or the chocolate guy - who recently opened premises for his Kent-based business - N2 Sweet Lab in Maidstone. We find out how things are going, along with his proudest achievements, biggest struggles, and more.
Bionic: How did you start your business?
Nedelcho Vichev: I started the business with my girlfriend around the time of Covid It started as just making desserts at home, cakes and chocolates, that kind of thing, but slowly, people started asking for more. During the first couple of months, we weren’t even open to the public. We were selling on local markets and focusing on making our chocolates and products. But in September 2023, we decided to open to the public and seven months later, here we are!
B: What has been your proudest achievement so far?
NV: To see people coming back, you know, and asking for more. I think that's my main achievement. That's my main focus. I really appreciate the support from our locals. We made some chocolates for Maidstone United Football Club, that attracted journalists from the BBC and ITV, so they came to take photos of us. But my main achievement is to see people coming back, asking for more and giving me good feedback.
B: What has been your biggest struggle?
NV: My girlfriend and I have over 15 years’ experience working the food industry, in hospitality, restaurants, catering and hotels but the biggest struggle for me as a business owner, especially in the beginning, has been getting used to running my own business. I used to run busy kitchens, but this is completely different. I struggled, especially the first couple of months. I just have to keep myself motivated. Even if no one comes into the shop, I need to keep going and work out what might attract new customers.
B: Has the cost-of-living crisis affected how you run your business?
NV: So far, no, to be honest we try not to compromise on the high-quality ingredients we use for our chocolates because that’s what makes a difference to our products. That's what we want to serve our customers. So far, we haven’t made any changes to the products. We are more careful with electricity though. Because we make everything pretty much everything by hand, we’ve got a small commercial oven which is Class A, so it uses less electricity. We try to push our chocolate products too because making those products uses less energy, it’s more skill-based. We try to save energy by lowering our bills. Last month, the price of chocolate prices jumped a lot, but we still try to stay quite positive about it. You know, the price of pretty much everything is going up. I don’t want to sacrifice my quality for profit.
B: Why do you love being a small business owner?
NV: It’s much more personal. One of my friends who works with me started writing a book, she has a YouTube channel and people started asking for more recipes. So, I’m helping her write it, this is something she wants to achieve and I'm happy to help. At the moment, our team is friends and family. They love to make cakes and desserts, and even help with the classes and workshops. But then they have their own space too. They’ve got space to work on their passions and opportunities. If they want to do something, they can always come and ask me and I'm always happy to help them.
Head over to Bionic to read more of this small business story, or watch the full YouTube interview below 👇
📨 SUBSCRIBE
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📚 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 in the next month 👇
🙏 Grow Your Wellness Business in a way that Feels Good - March 25
🙌 How to get more attention and customers for your business - March 28
📝 Write a winning grant application - April 4
📈 Customer Growth Strategies For Small Businesses - April 24
🩺 Business Health Check - April 26
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 🦾
🔊 LISTEN
Playlist 🎵
This week’s playlist is This Is Fazil Say, an introductory playlist to the acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer. It’s been chosen by Laura, Small Business Editor at Bionic, who heard it in a local coffee shop. After commenting on how she liked the music, the owner showed her the playlist. Very calming, quite niche, we love it.
Podcast 🎙
The Rest is History is one of the best history podcasts around, and one we’ve featured before in these pages. So why are we including them again? Because they’ve just released a five-part series on The Titanic and it’s brilliant - touching on the race for speed and modernity at the turn of the century, the booming financial world, rising immigration, the ever-growing transatlantic rivalry between Britain and the US, the UK’s issues with Ireland, and more.
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🏡 HOUSEKEEPING
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🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
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