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Completely right, it

As much as I don't condone bankers getting paid gazillions for nothing more than turning up to work i do think that the Barclay's case is a bit different to RBS. Unlike RBS Barclay's is an independent company that didn't take any bail out money from the government in the 2008 crisis. Its an independent company out purely to make money for its shareholders. The Barclay's shareholders are more than entitled to have an opinion on Bob Diamonds bonus pot as they own the company; however, I really don't feel the UK public have a right to have a say in every private company directors pay packet. If Barclay's was a public run company having taken loads of bailout money then pass judgement but it hasn't so its non of anybodies concern what they pay themselves - leave it to the shareholders...

I think the most important thing is to get a content management system rather than a coded site made by a web developer. A content management system is effectively a website/online store that you can edit in easy by using pre built editors that make writing and managing content just like using Microsoft Word. Simply, it lets you do everything you need to do on your website without having any html code knowledge at all. I certainly would stay away from using a website developer that charges you for man hours. You are going to want to change your site regularly to keep up with trends in the market and you dont want to be charged for every change you make to your site. This could get very expensive.

You can go and buy a site that is bepoke built for your company needs that has a good content management system for a few thousand but as I say the advantage is you can easily manage the site content yourself with no extra costs after your site is built.

Have a look at www.kontrolit.net. That will give you an idea of what a content management system will cost and the benefits they provide

All the best!

Its certainly not as black and white as being the only way to survive - that said, its is vitally important to have an online presense. Almost every industry sector has experienced a significant uplift in the proportion of business bought online. Its simply where most people now go to research and find information. I personally cant think of the last time I actually went to the high street to buy a product - unless I want to see a product before ordering for cheaper online! As above, being successfull depends on many factors ie competition and quality of site etc; however, more people now look online for their products so makes sense to have a shop online.

These are some great tools. We are an internet business and I am finding it a real struggle to get any real traction on organic search due to our stiff competition. This article acted as a great reminder of what is required to be successful. Thanks for taking the time to post!

This is really interesting because we haven't got much benefit from Facebook as our company is more business to business. I think Facebook can work effectively in a business to consumer world but haven't ever cracked how it can be useful in a BtoB marketplace. I have got some effective use out of twitter but again I dont find this 100% brilliant either as many of our followers and site visitors tend to be American. I think twitter is still far more popular in the US than it is in the UK. I would be very interested if any businesses have driven good levels of new enquiry in a business to business environment via facebook.

I dont really believe that this was Stephen Hester's decision to be honest. I think the government have given him no choice. As I said earlier, I do feel for him as he has been wrongly singled out in what is an industry wide problem. That said, it was the right decision. I bet Bob Diamond is now getting nervous about his no doubt whopping bonus coming up in the coming weeks!

I work from home as our business is an internet business and frankly the lower the overheads the better! I havent found it a struggle as I have my own office with filing cabinets, printers etc. But then again I dont have kids! I think if our business came to the point of needing space and we were entertaining various business meetings I would probably investigate the option of an office location. Not at the moment though.

Whilst I am not solely a Stephen Hester basher I do think that again the government are failing to act on what is clearly a completely inbalanced industry when it comes to renumeration. There is no other industry that pays that size of salary and bonus of the banking sector. The whole sector is completely out of alignment with the rest of the business world and they use the fact that all other bankers are getting paid highly as a justicfication for their own pay. The press should stop bashing Stephen Hester individually and focus on the much bigger issue - that the banking industry bonus culture needs addressing. I find it too ironic for words that although the bankers risk and greed caused the international financial crash of 2008 they still crave and award themselves multimillion pound bonuses when everyday people are having to make cut backs everywhere - not right!

I would say the biggest consideration is always finance. You need to carry on living as you start you new business. You don't want to get into a position whereby you are causing stress within your family life due to finances being too streched. This will only distract you from what already is a difficult period when starting a new business. You need to be 100% focussed on making the business a success in the early days and therefore you need to ensure that finances are well planned and prepared before you start the business.