Badger Blog

Small business crowned overall winner at National Council for Work Experience Awards!...

Over 300 people packed the seats to hear business entrepreneur and former The Apprentice star Ruth Badger, when she visited Somerset College in Taunton this week....

I often get bored with ongoing TV series but after 5 years The Apprentice still excites me and I am looking forward to its return tonight. I'm not sure if it's the cringe worthy moments or the wannabes that make this show addictive but I honestly believe that as a TV show it has changed the way the country views business....

The best Apprentice contestant that ever was or ever will be. A supernaturally talented hustler, the Wolverhampton management exec could clear a car park of its cars - she did, just about, flogging six secondhand motors during a task midway through series two. The tragedy was that Badger didn't win the show that year, pipped by dreary Michelle after a final task that involved staging a corporate jolly inside Tower Bridge. It was the first of many inexplicable final boardroom decisions by Sir Alan (Lee over Claire in series four, Yasmina over Kate in five) but remains the one that rankles the most....

Ms Badger, who runs a successful SME consultancy business, told delegates at the annual event that by following a number of simple rules they could grow their businesses....

Star of television series the Apprentice and one of the UK's most famous female entrepreneurs, Ruth Badger, visited Salford Business School on April 15th 2010 to speak and share the secrets of successful selling to delegates one of the Business school's most successful small business leadership management programmes....

To celebrate its launch, East Cheshire Business School has hosted its inaugural Learner of the Year and Apprentice of the Year Awards, handing the titles to outstanding candidates from local businesses at a prestigious ceremony, hosted by Ruth Badger....

Regardless of when your financial year starts, the start of the year should be treated as a fresh start and businesses should take a different approach on the way that they are working.

All small companies must use the first quarter of the year to spring-clean their firm, this is an absolute business fundamental. I have found that it's often the smaller businesses that hide behind their figures. On a quarterly basis I review all my costs, fixed and variable, to see if I can negotiate a better deal because I'm always looking to reduce cost and increase profit within the business....

A new grant for employers has been announced to make it easier for employers to take on young apprentices. Over the next 10 weeks the National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 5,000 Apprenticeship Grants for Employers of 16 and 17 year olds (AGE 16 and 17). The grant of £2,500 is to enable employers to offer 5,000 new Apprenticeship places and take on an unemployed 16 or 17 year old apprentice immediately. The £2,500 grant is in addition to the costs of training which are already met by the National Apprenticeship Service. ...

Recession depressed retailers are open to offers a new study shows high street haggling can reap rewards for UK consumers....

If small businesses make sure their budgets are accurate and take on the right deals they can prosper thanks to their greater flexibility

The recession has taught small company owners many vital business lessons, such as the need to diversify, the importance of an accurate budget and that the quality of a deal is more important than the volume....

Fantastic night at Tatton Park, organised by JD Parties.... the start of many fantastic christmas parties to come!...

It might only have just turned October but Christmas is here already. Well that is if you're going shopping anyway....

It is hard to believe that somewhere right now, behind closed doors in an ordinary house, on an ordinary street, dogs are being fought to the death. Punters will be standing around as the specially trained animals are let loose from baying for each other's blood just as their masters have taught them to do. After the fight is over the unlucky dog will get dumped in a canal or abandoned at a roadside while this disgusting practice begins all over again. This "sport" can involve tens of thousands of pounds being gambled in just one match.  The RSPCA has said dog-fighting has increased by 400 per cent in the past three years and it believes there are many more unreported cases. With authorities finding it difficult to penetrate these gangs the country needs to drag these thugs from underground by supplying all the information it can about who is responsible.  ...

The Sun's decision to switch its allegiance from Labour to the Tories will make little difference to voters come the next election. It has delivered knockout blows to the parties in the past, with Neil Kinnock's head stuck in a light bulb in 1992 the most memorable of them. The headline instructed the country if he was to win will the last person to leave "please turn out the lights". But this time around voters live in a world where politicians put themselves on YouTube or tweet their latest sound bites.  The paper will continue to set an agenda with its news coverage but people are not stupid and will not be told who to vote for.  ...

Instead you see someone on the other side of the desk who takes their time, barely
looks up to make eye contact and has no interest in you or the dozens of others
standing behind.
...