How to turn a market stall into a small business

First Pitch, which started last year, was set up by the National Market Traders Federation to give budding entrepreneurs the chance to test their business ideas by setting up a market stall.

Could you turn something you love into a money-making small business?

Could you start one of Britain's flourishing micro-businesses? In our regular series Andy Yates explores the weird and wonderful world of business life.

How small businesses can prepare for auto enrolment pensions

This is Money has compiled a checklist for the UK's smallest employers so they can make a smooth transition into auto-enrolment.

Business banking: Growing your business through employment

How expanding your staff can help grow your business, boost revenue and profits and how your bank can help.

Business banking: Doing business overseas and your bank account

Whether you are starting doing business overseas, or expanding your existing operation, we take a look at the banking essentials you need and the important points to remember.

Business banking: How to expand your business with your banks help and get funding

If you run a small business the questions of when and how to expand can be daunting ones. This guide runs through the options.

Accountant's complex advice after I lent my ex 600 from company account

An accountant's advice to a client who lent 605 to his ex-girlfriend from his company account is needlessly bureaucratic, with experts suggesting a simple record of the transaction all that is required.

Female boss construction firm said building not for girls

Julie White took over D-Drill in a management buyout from her father. 'My father didn’t think women should work in construction,' she says.

Entrepreneur who lived on baked beans for three years now set for 5m windfall

Menswear entrepreneur Nick Wheeler has sewn up a bonus of more than 5million after his retail chain, Charles Tyrwhitt, made record profits.

ENTERPRISE ZONE: A loan decision in ten minutes for firms left out in the cold

EZbob was set up in September to provide short-term funding of up to 40,000 to small online retailers operating on sites such as eBay, Amazon and Etsy.

How small businesses can prepare for auto enrolment pensions

This is Money has compiled a checklist for the UK's smallest employers so they can make a smooth transition into auto-enrolment.

Middleport Victorian pottery booms after Prince stepped in

Two years ago Britain’s last working Victorian pottery was at risk of closure, threatening 50 jobs and the sad end of a proud British industry - but today it is thriving.

VINCE CABLE INTERVIEW: 'Help small and medium firms and act on rising London house prices'

Helen Loveless speaks to the Business Secretary as he argues that anything that can be done to help smaller firms, must be done, and why he backs a Mansion tax.

Ebac's John Elliot to make washing machines in the UK

An entrepreneur aged 69 is aiming to become the only British manufacturer of washing machines.

Taxman admits policy of fining firms for inadequate record keeping is open to legal challenge

The Chartered Institute of Taxation said the Revenue had no power to fine people simply for poor record-keeping, rather than for an incorrect tax return.

'Hedging has saved us thousands of pounds': Importers told to protect themselves against further sterling falls

The downgrade of the UK’s credit rating and ongoing economic uncertainty has seen sterling fall again with worrying implications for importers.

HMRC snoops on Facebook. Are tax spies watching you?

Using a combination of new technology and old-fashioned snooping, HMRC has stepped up its targeting of the small firms and the self-employed. Its whistleblower hotline received 74,000 calls last year.

Ofgem urged to speed up pace of energy reforms

Changes that business groups are calling for include a ban on rollover contracts, used by suppliers to move firms on to costly deals if they fail to cancel in time.

PayPals pocket PIN gets green light from Green Tomato drivers

It is rolling out a pocket-sized chip and PIN device aimed at making it easier and cheaper for small businesses to accept card payments.

Swag & Stare lets Facebook friends help you choose new pair of specs

Designer spectacles typically cost hundreds of pounds, but fledgling online business is offering alternatives at more affordable prices.

Threat to name and shame leads slow-paying FTSE 350 firms to act

Figures suggest that small businesses are owed more than 36 billion as a result of late payments.

Red tape blocks small banks from Funding for Lending

Bureaucracy of signing up for and bias to mortgage lending puts small banks at a disadvantage against the high street giants, says SecureTrust boss.

Could you turn something you love into a money-making small business?

Could you start one of Britain's flourishing micro-businesses? In our regular series Andy Yates explores the weird and wonderful world of business life.

Battle against cancer is driving rapid growth of biotechnology sector

One of the leading figures is Dr Julie Barnes, co-founder of London-based Abcodia, which she set up two years ago with Ian Jacobs, a surgeon and professor at University College London.

Are the tax spies watching you?

Using a combination of new technology and old-fashioned snooping, HMRC has stepped up its targeting of the small firms and the self-employed. Its whistleblower hotline received 74,000 calls last year.

How to turn a market stall into a small business

First Pitch, which started last year, was set up by the National Market Traders Federation to give budding entrepreneurs the chance to test their business ideas by setting up a market stall.

British firm that dates back to 1783 launches a Chinese brand to cash in on snooker craze

A company that supplied cloth for the Duke of Wellington’s troops at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 is launching a Chinese brand to cash in on a craze for snooker.

Banks could be hit by further 1.5billion after FSA finds they mis-sold 90% of rate swaps to SMEs

Rate swaps were complicated derivatives sold as protection against a rise in interest rates. But customers including B&Bs and takeaways, did not grasp the risks.

MADE IN BRITAIN: Winner has lightbulb moment after redundancy

The winner of Financial Mail’s inaugural Made In Britain awards is proof that the shock of redundancy can be turned into triumph.

MADE IN BRITAIN: Financial Mail wins praise for fantastic fantastic awards

Business Secretary Vince Cable praised Financial Mail last week for putting together a celebration of small firms and British manufacturing with our first Made in Britain awards.