With venerable business secretary's long-awaited small business
rescue package finally unveiled today, the press has been full of
speculation as to whether or not putting an extra £20bn behind
small businesses is going to make the blindest bit of
difference.
David 'the bandwagon' Cameron has made an uncharacteristically
enthusiastic u-turn, veering in spectacular style from his
unwavering commitment to criticising Brown for investing too much
in the economy and instead slamming him for not spending enough to
prevent small businesses from going under.
Whether or not it helps save the 20% of small businesses expected
to slip into insolvency this year remains to be seen, but one thing
is bugging us - who exactly will the money go to? On this morning's
Today programme, Mandelson said the cash will go to 'credit-worthy
small businesses with a turnover of up to £25m'.
Eh? Last time we checked, 'small businesses' weren't turning over
£25m. Far from it. In fact, according to The Companies Act, a small
business needs to satisfy two of three criteria: a turnover below
£5m, a balance sheet total below £2.8m, or fewer than 50
employees.
There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the matter. In the
US, a small business is defined as under 100 employees, while in
Australia, it's under 19 employees, and the British Bankers'
Association says it's a business with a turnover of less than
£1m.
Twitter was equally unhelpful. "I would say less than 30
employees," suggested @beatpoll, while @Goodadvice thought 'a
solopreneur' (sole trader, we can only assume) best fits the
definition.
It seems Mandelson may have to reconsider his criteria before he
starts dishing out the cash - Smarta suggests he works it out using
measures such as loo to employee ratio, the number of people who
feel responsible when the kitchen gets dirty or perhaps how loudly
you need to shout to get the attention of the person on the other
side of the office. On the other hand, he could adopt a more
zen-like approach: perhaps being a small business is merely a state
of mind.
With venerable business secretary's long-awaited small business
rescue package finally unveiled today, the press has been full of
speculation as to whether or not putting an extra £20bn behind
small businesses is going to make the blindest bit of
difference.
David 'the bandwagon' Cameron has made an uncharacteristically
enthusiastic u-turn, veering in spectacular style from his
unwavering commitment to criticising Brown for investing too much
in the economy and instead slamming him for not spending enough to
prevent small businesses from going under.
Whether or not it helps save the 20% of small businesses
expected to slip into insolvency this year remains to be seen, but
one thing is bugging us - who exactly will the money go to? On this
morning's Today programme, Mandelson said the cash will go to
'credit-worthy small businesses with a turnover of up to £25m'.
Eh? Last time we checked, 'small businesses' weren't turning
over £25m. Far from it. In fact, according to The Companies Act, a
small business needs to satisfy two of three criteria: a turnover
below £5m, a balance sheet total below £2.8m, or fewer than 50
employees.
There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the matter. In
the US, a small business is defined as under 100 employees, while
in Australia, it's under 19 employees, and the British Bankers'
Association says it's a business with a turnover of less than
£1m.
Twitter was equally unhelpful. "I would say less than 30
employees," suggested @beatpoll, while @Goodadvice thought 'a
solopreneur' (sole trader, we can only assume) best fits the
definition.
It seems Mandelson may have to reconsider his criteria before he
starts dishing out the cash - Smarta suggests he works it out using
measures such as loo to employee ratio, the number of people who
feel responsible when the kitchen gets dirty or perhaps how loudly
you need to shout to get the attention of the person on the other
side of the office. On the other hand, he could adopt a more
zen-like approach: perhaps being a small business is merely a state
of mind.