The number of smaller firms hiring experts in developing systems for selling online has jumped by nearly 20% in the opening months of 2013, according to a new survey.

Freelancer.co.uk looked at over 280,000 jobs being advertised online in the first three months of this year and identified a significant shift in roles towards those needed to build ecommerce sites.

David Harrison, VP of engineering at Freelancer.co.uk, is not surprised: “The underpinning tech that powers ecommerce is now mature, scalable, and cheap – you can set up a turn-key online store for as little as a couple of hundred dollars and have all the features of a massive retailer like Amazon.”

Selling online opens new markets and opportunities

With consumers and business buyers becoming ever more price sensitive and geographically local customers hard to find, firms are turning to ecommerce to discover growth.

The increasing popularity of social media makes it easier for firms to promote themselves cost-effectively online. This is reflected in the growth of social media roles on Freelancer.co.uk, with Twitter jobs up 18%. Email marketing remains a popular tool, with opportunities there growing by 21%.

Businesses are also seeking to develop apps to promote themselves, with jobs demanding Android skills up by over 20%. Roles for developers for apps using Apple products, such as the iPad and iPhone, were also up.

Investing in an online future

Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.co.uk, predicts that firms unable to keep up with the move to online selling will eventually go out of business.

Another aspect of becoming an internet-savvy business is the trend towards outsourcing those administrative functions that can be performed remotely. The number of roles in this area jumped by over 100% in the first quarter of the year, as small firms look to save money and become more competitive by hiring freelancers to work for them on an as-required basis.

By creating online sales channels, and outsourcing specific functions to remote workers, firms are adapting to the new opportunities available in the increasingly digitally-connected business environment.

We’ve escaped the threat of triple-dip recession, at least for now, and most firms are preparing themselves for the long, slow process of putting the UK economy back on a firmer footing.

Your attitude to recovery could be influenced by the sector you operate in. More than four out of five technology start-ups think 2013 is going to be a year of positive business conditions, according to research by Silicon Valley Bank.

90% of these start-ups plan to hire more staff this year. But their optimism is tarnished by worries about where the money will come from to fund their ambitions. More than half of  these startups want better access to government grants and government-backed funding mechanisms.

Manufacturers boosted by spring outlook

It was an increase in the services sector that helped keep the economy out of recession during the first three months of 2013, and the outlook for manufacturing seemed bleak. But the mood has changed, according to a survey by Cips/Markit in April.

Activity in the sector is picking up and, while growth hasn’t quite arrived, the decline has slowed. Many attribute the tough opening months of the year to a combination of poor weather and lack of access to finance, so the first issue is being addressed by the glimpses of spring sunshine now being enjoyed across the country.

Exports continue to be the fuel that’s keeping the manufacturing engine running. Sales into Europe are disappointing, but these are compensated for by stronger orders coming in from markets further afield.

Firms finding new ways of becoming competitive

Changing the way you run your business can bring huge advantages. The combination of technology and pressure on costs is forcing firms to rethink the way they run their administrative functions.

Research by Zipcar and Startup Britain shows that more than one in five (22%) start-up businesses are choosing to share their office space with other firms. More than half of start-ups are using shared core business resources, with 55% saying this approach is essential to their survival.

Many of these new firms know that their future success depends on flexibility and agility, which is easier to achieve with short-term commitments rather than being encumbered by the traditional, long-term arrangements.

Few businesses expect this year to be a highly successful one, but there’s a strong core of firms looking for the opportunities to grow.

If you’ve got a bright idea for a product that’s new or different from everything else on the market, you may want to protect it with a patent.

Patents aren’t just for big companies, like Apple or Google, who patent hundreds of ideas every year. Individual inventors regularly take out patents, staking their claim to an idea that they could turn into a marketable product.

This guide is an introduction to taking out a patent in the UK.

1. What does a patent do?

A patent is a way of recording the idea for a new product. It must be quite specific, showing how the product is made, what it is made of and how it works. The product must be a physical item capable of being made and used in some way.

Patents can’t be used to protect new techniques in computer programming, a piece of art, a new form of plant or a new way of thinking about or presenting ideas. Other mechanisms exist for protecting these.

2. What are the benefits of a patent?

By recording your idea in a patent, you’re declaring that you got there first. This makes it easier to prevent someone else profiting by copying your idea, as the patent acts as proof of your originality. Sometimes there is a race to patent an idea, as rival inventors work towards similar solutions.

Holding a patent also allows you to sell the rights to your idea. This can be valuable if you don’t have the resources to exploit it yourself.

3. Who can apply for a patent for an invention created by an employee?

Inventions often occur in the workplace, as employees have ideas for solutions to problems, and those solutions could benefit others. When this happens, the employer, not the employee, generally has the right to register the patent, but if there is any doubt or dispute, expert legal advice should be sought from a patent layer.

4. How long does a patent last?

A patent can expire after five years, but if you pay annual charges, it can last up to twenty years.

5. Buying or licencing patents

Once an idea has been captured in the form of a patent, it is a commodity that can be bought and sold. Alternatively it can be licenced, with the patent holder giving others the right to use their invention in their products.

6. How much does a patent cost?

The charges vary depending on the services you require from the Intellectual Property Office, who manage patents. The minimum for a taking out a patent is around £300. However, it’s important to note that applying for a patent usually takes around three to four years.

7. Who protects patents?

This is entirely the responsibility of the patent holder. The patent is a tool for protecting your idea but no one else is going to keep an eye open for others copying it.

Many well-known products and brands began as a good idea that took years to convert into a saleable product. Patents often played an important part in their story, allowing an inventor to protect their idea while they went through the process of turning into a commercial success.

Having the confidence to address a group of people and get your message across is a vital business skill, and one that’s continually promoted by training and support organisations.

But equally important is the ability to really listen to what others are saying. Every day we hear words from customers, colleagues and suppliers, but so often we fail to truly listen to the message that’s coming across.

As a result of our poor listening skills, mistakes are made, time and money are wasted, and sometimes relationships within the workplace become damaged.

This short guide on listening skills could help you improve your ability to understand the messages that are coming your way.

1. Listening involves focusing on the speaker

When someone talks to you, give them your full attention, and let them know you’re doing this by looking at them. Don’t be distracted by a computer screen, a phone or a document. Your body language says a lot about how interested you are in what someone is saying.

If you always give your staff the impression that you’re too busy to listen to them, perhaps by always glancing at your computer when they talk with you, they’ll be less likely to want to communicate in the future.

2. Don’t predict what the speaker is going to say

Often you can tell what’s coming, or you think you can. If you’re in a hurry and the speaker is a little hesitant, you may help them along by finishing their sentences, or responding before they’ve finished talking.

While you think you’re being helpful, these actions can unsettle or annoy the person speaking to you, leading to a poor quality of communication.

3. Don’t make assumptions

It’s easy to hear what you think is being said, rather than what’s actually being spoken to you. This is perhaps because you’re distracted, or because you’ve heard similar messages before. However, the danger of assumptions is that you give a wrong response.

In a sales situation, when you’re continually listening to customers with similar issues, it’s easy to develop stock answers which, although they may be right most of the time, can occasionally lead to the customer becoming dissatisfied because you haven’t listened effectively.

4. Learn to summarise what you’ve heard

Not everyone says what they really mean. A really effective way of clarifying the message you’re being given is to repeat it back to the speaker, in summary form.

An employee might come to you with a problem and, before rushing to tell them how to fix it, reply to them with your understanding of what you think they just said. If you misunderstood them, it’s a chance for the message to be clarified.

5. Ask questions

Effective listening includes asking questions to get more information or confirm understanding. Again, avoid making assumptions by seeking clarification on specific points.

A potential business partner might be explaining how your firms could work together more effectively, and the mutual benefits of cooperation. Asking questions could confirm details which, if not discussed, could lead to misunderstandings later.

Active and effective listening may mean it takes a little longer to have a conversation, but it can save huge amounts of time later, because the message came through clearly first time.

6. More business advice

Running a business requires both expertise in your subject and understanding how to deal with people and issues. Here are some useful guides to help you:

Dealing with criticism

Choosing the right communication channel

Dealing with workplace stress

Whether it’s borrowing to increase working capital and improve cash flow or to invest in resources needed to move the business forward, factoring is an alternative finance solution that’s been around for decades, and yet is only just being discovered by many.

Whether your business is a start-up or has been trading for a few years, plans to expand or needs credit to improve cash flow, don’t ignore the potential offered by invoice factoring.

Invoice factoring explained

A factoring arrangement, often called a facility, is an agreement between your business and a funding organisation. The funder could be a well-known bank, but you may well get a better deal from a specialist lender, who focuses on a more limited range of firms.

Once a factoring facility is in place, the funder will advance you cash for the sales invoices outstanding on your books. This means that when the arrangement starts, you could receive the equivalent of two months’ turnover in a lump sum, giving a welcome cash boost. Funders usually pay around 80-90% of the value of the invoices.

When customers settle their invoices, the funder takes their share, to cover the amount they advanced, plus an agreed fee.

At the same time as payments from customers come in, you raise new sales invoices and the funder continues to advance you cash against these, allowing you to maintain the benefit of receiving early payment for your invoices.

As part of the arrangement, the funder also takes over credit control tasks, helping to bring in payments on time, freeing you from the worry and giving you time to focus on business growth.

Invoice factoring is a finance solution which is ideal for firms that sell on credit to other businesses, with a turnover of £25k plus VAT or more.

How factoring helps small businesses

The immediate benefit of factoring is improved cash flow. It injects fresh funding, helping cure difficulties due to late payment by customers, and it offers a credit control solution that allows you to focus on running the business.

Factoring can remove much of the worry and stress that comes with managing cash flow, while at the same time strengthening relationships with both customers and suppliers.

The long-term benefit of factoring is the capability to grow with your business, ensuring you always have the right level of working capital, rather than struggling with loans or overdrafts based on much lower levels of turnover.

Who benefits from factoring?

Your business secures a cash injection that can be invested into the resources needed to grow sales, along with a more secure cash flow and release from many of the stresses associated with credit control.

Your customers benefit through a strong, ongoing commercial relationship that allows them to focus on their own success.

Your suppliers enjoy the benefit of being paid on time, and you may even be able to negotiate additional discounts for prompt payment.

Finally, you, as the business owner, benefit from being released from immediate concerns over cash flow and credit control. You can also take advantage of advice from the wide commercial expertise of the funder, who wants to see you succeed.