Accountancy firm Haines Watts Swindon are recruiting for new team members as the company enjoys a period of substantial growth.

Swindon will have one of the UK’s fastest-growing local economies by the end of this year as a result of changing lifestyle preferences caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

Every now and then people ask me what my thoughts are on starting and working on building a (small) business.

My answer is based not only on things I have come to realise over the last few years, due to having done or not done certain things, but it is also informed by listening to others and reading up on what has worked for others.

When it comes to life, there are two types of people – those who have everything mapped out right down to the last detail and those who don’t set any goals and see where life takes them. Neither outlook is wrong of course, and we are all different.

When it comes to business, however, just turning up every day with the mindset of ‘whatever happens, happens’ will mean you have little or no chance of growing.

As Britain gets closer to leaving the EU, it is worth looking again at that thorny issue of poor productivity amongst British firms and the fact that many foreign-owned firms in the UK are more productive.

In the summer, the Office for National Statistics said they make up one in four large businesses in the UK.