Business Generation

The inventor behind a revolutionary idea has won thousands of pounds to bring it into the shops.

Stephen Britt, a technician at the University of Brighton, has designed a system which uses pedal power to transformcycles into electric bikes.

It enables riders to move quicker and easier up hills.

He built a prototype and entered it into Barclays’ Take One Small Step competition.

He has been handed £50,000 to develop his idea after winning a public vote.

The 40-year-old, who works at the School of Education at Falmer, has set up a company called Fast Forward and hopes to bring the product to the market by this time next year.

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My family and I used to drive across Canada every other year. We had family out in Ontario, and we lived in BC, so every second year we would pack up the car, or the van, or the trailer, and head up over the mountains and into the plains. I have both fond and traumatizing memories from those road trips, and those memories are ones I would like to someday instill in my children. However, with the cost of gas steadily rising and the price of flights dropping, going on a road trip hardly seems like the bargain it used to. Here are six ways you can save money on a road trip.

Bring a Cooler

One of the easiest ways to save money on a road trip, big or small, is to bring a cooler. Read more…

Do you own and operate a franchise? Many entrepreneurs and new small business owners go the route of owning a franchise to get a running start into an established business niche using a recognized name and operating paradigm. However, most often, these entrepreneurs depend too much on the franchisor to perform all search engine optimization tactics. Alas, that folly usually costs the entrepreneur valuable search engine ranking.

The fact is that even with a recognizable name, you need to announce your location, business hours, product or service offerings, special deals, etc. Your franchisor will not do that for you.

You, as a franchise owner, must take ownership of your own SEO efforts.

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Scores of construction jobs have been secured after a building firm won amultimillion-pound contract.

Adenstar, along with many others in the industry, has suffered badly from the economic downturn and laid off more than 80% of its staff.

The company, based in Portslade, which has worked on several major infrastructure projects including Brighton Marina, Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne and the NewEngland Quarter site in Brighton, saw the size of its workforce slump to just 25 people.

However, Adenstar is now looking to double in size after signing a deal worth £7 million with BA to improve facilities at Heathrowin preparation of the delivery of new aircraft.

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If you are in the market for business financing you may have noticed that the SBA is tentatively reporting a healthy increase in small business lending.

However, finding the right bank for your small business financing needs can still be a time-consuming challenge.

So just who is lending? And what is your best strategy for finding and approaching a bank? Here are five tips to help you find small business friendly banks.

1. Understand the Trending in Lending – Community Banks Favor Small Business

From city streets to Main Street, from suburbs to rural communities – big banks dominate the landscape. In f

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While Tom has pointed out that reverse mortgages are controversial, they are becoming increasingly popular in Canada. It’s a plan that gives older Canadians greater financial security. A reverse mortgage is a type of home loan that allows homeowners to convert a part of the equity in their home into cash. Through this mortgage, the homeowners in Canada can obtain cash, without having to sell their home. However, one can qualify for this loan if they are at least 60 years old and owns their home or condo.

Benefits of taking a reverse mortgage in Canada

1. No monthly payments: A reverse mortgage can provide a regular source of income to the seniors rich in home equity in Canada. R

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