How well is your business prepared for the future? We offer some advice for how to anticipate the trends, as well as what your business might look like in 2030. We’ll also look at the top stories which include information about how Bank of England rules may be blocking business loans.

Top news stories

Vince Cable hits out at Bank of England blocking reforms to increase business loans

He said that banks had warned that business lending was unlikely to increase while capital requirement rules treat business customers as a higher risk than mortgage borrowers.

UK sales slow despite the World Cup

British retail sales fell last month for the first time since January. Retail sales volumes dropped 0.5% on the month to show worse-than-expected growth of 3.9% year on year.

Infographic: the UK small business landscape

Here’s the lowdown on UK small businesses, from growth rates and turnover to patents and export.

Five-year-olds encouraged to set up businesses

Yes, really. New government plans hope to inject entrepreneurship into UK schools.

What might your business look like in 2030?

From cloud and automation to social connections and human-curation, here’s a look at where it might all be headed. (No hoverboards though!)

Key dates for your diary

It’s just a regular week this week, with no important dates.

Future-proofing your business

With some interesting suggestions about where your business could be in 2030, how should you take the ideas and plan for your businesses future?

Whatever your role, future gazing can be tricky. Lets just look a quick timeline of what people have predicted.

But while some predictions have yet to come true, there’s also been a lot that have happened, from IVF and remote surgery to touchscreen computers and mobile phones.

So how should your business predict what might change and how it could affect your company?

Take a look at the trends

When the Back to the Future team came to envisage the future in 2015, they started by looking at the trends that were growing at the time. This lead them to decide that:

• Japanese culture would be more influential
• We’d be watching 3D movies
• Video conferencing would be a key method of communication
• We’d have wall-mounted widescreen TVs in our homes

Some pretty accurate predictions in there.

Thinking about what’s currently happening and how the markets and technology may develop can be a good way to anticipate what might change.

Keep up to date with new technology

Technology changes incredibly quickly, so you need to be on the ball to see what’s happening and then think about how you could apply it to your business.

From social media to mobile, the changing landscape has affected businesses. Think about how new technology could help you communicate with your customers, offer your goods or services differently or adapt your products.

Ask customers what their frustrations are

Understanding what your customers need is the best way to drive your business forward. Take time to speak to them about the challenges they face and think about how your business could help to solve them.

Don’t just follow your competitors

Keeping an eye on other types companies can help you spot gaps before your competitors. Many ideas can be applied in a different way in a different sector to reach a new audience.

Just think about how online DVD rental has morphed into snack and coffee delivery - same technology, different audience and product.

Offer a range of services and keep investing

Relying on a single product or service can spell the death knell for businesses if the market changes. Yes Blockbuster, we’re looking at you.

And be sure to allocate some of your budget to new developments. Kodak were the first company to invent the digital camera (in 1975) but company executives failed to see the potential and stuck to film. The rest is history...