Brighter Business
Bringing help and support to business owners who believe in using sustainability to drive growth and success.
Check out our latest articles below, and if you're an Opus Energy customer, look out for our monthly newsletter in your inbox.
Not a customer but want business success that doesn't cost the earth? Click below and we'll send you our monthly business newsletter.
Send me monthly ideas for sustainability success
A beginner’s guide to carbon reporting
Carbon emissions reporting helps businesses to record their sustainability efforts and forms a key part of any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Environmental &...
Why small businesses are essential in the UK’s fight against climate change
The fight against climate change has always been a collective effort. It can sometimes feel like too big a job for a small business....
Direct debits and data: 6 simple switches to save carbon in your business
As we head into the final stretch of the year, many businesses will be planning for the 12 months ahead. Sustainability will continue to...
Making your return to work sustainable
2020 has posed unprecedented challenges. COVID-19 has forced businesses to adapt to constantly changing circumstances. While some businesses have temporarily shuttered, others have adapted...
How to measure sustainability within your business
Every decision you take to make your business more sustainable is a step in the right direction. Targeted changes allow smaller businesses to build...
The barriers to sustainability… and how to overcome them
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, small and medium-sized businesses across the country have faced significant challenges, making tough decisions they may otherwise would have avoided....
How your business can benefit from the smart energy revolution
The last decade has seen significant interest in sustainability, from governments and businesses down to individuals. Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough in particular have...
What’s the Climate Change Levy (CCL) doing on your business energy bill?
The fight against the climate crisis is being tackled in more ways than one. And if you’ve not looked at an energy bill breakdown...
Here’s why a recession won’t stop your business from being sustainable
The news that the UK entered its first recession in 11 years was no surprise for many businesses. With economic upturn comes an expectation...
How sustainability can boost your bottom line
Recent research carried out by Opus Energy shows that sustainability matters more to businesses than before the coronavirus pandemic. More and more companies are...
3 successful businesses that started small and stayed sustainable
Sustainability has taken on a whole new meaning for businesses. Annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports are behind us, and customers and stakeholders are...
How to guide: Be successful with sustainability after COVID-19
We surveyed over 1,250 business owners and created a free guide to help put businesses on the path to success through sustainability. Read on...
The benefits of an authentic sustainability policy
Sustainability is a major factor for consumers when it comes to doing business. Brands with a genuine commitment to sustainable practice can attract those...
6 ways small businesses are going green while saving money
For business owners, managing your energy consumption is no longer just about keeping tabs on your outgoings – it’s a prerequisite for doing business....
Why your business should consider generating its own renewable electricity
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard, and while the rapid changes to everyday life have caused upheaval and uncertainty, there’s one silver...
How can businesses be more sustainable after the coronavirus pandemic?
When faced with change and challenges, we can lose sight of any opportunities that may also arise. Despite the recent widespread disruption caused by...
Mental Health Awareness: 5 resources for your business
According to research carried out by mental health charity, Mind, at least one in six workers experiences common mental health problems including anxiety and...
Coronavirus: 6 inspiring businesses that transformed during the pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread disruption to the UK economy and has turned our daily lives upside down. Many small and medium businesses...
Coronavirus: Accessing financial and business support during the pandemic
The restrictions in place to protect the UK from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic are putting considerable pressure on businesses of all sizes....
Coronavirus: How to keep your customers engaged during lockdown
The phrase ‘unprecedented times’ has practically become the tagline of the lockdown period, but it hasn’t lost its meaning. With only essential workers leaving...
Sustainability dictionary: The ultimate jargon buster for businesses
Sustainability was high on the agenda in 2019, and the trend has continued strongly this year. Thanks to increasing consumer awareness around sustainability, businesses...
The best New Year’s resolutions for growing businesses
The dawn of a new year is one of those natural milestones in the calendar when it makes sense to reflect on the year...
2019: A rollercoaster year for business
2019 has gone by in the blink of an eye, and it’s been a whirlwind year. At the start of the year, we predicted...
Why and how you should be offering electric vehicle (EV) charging at your business
The rise in popularity – and sales – of electric vehicles has grown exponentially in the last number of years. As the number of...
Four amazing welcome pack ideas for new starters
Similarly, the induction or onboarding process can be hard work. With so much information to absorb, it can be a bit overwhelming. One way...
Keeping your energy costs down
According to figures from the FSB, almost 60% of small businesses see energy as a significant cost to their business. That’s a substantial number...
Diversify and conquer: 7 steps to making money with renewable energy
For business owners concerned about the environment, making the switch to renewable energy can reduce your personal environmental impact while contributing to the wider...
How is renewable energy good for business?
Can a small business benefit from investing in renewable energy? From getting supplied, through to generating your own green energy, find out if it...
WATCH: Check out what happened when we opened the Kinetic Café pop-up
Opening a shop – how hard can it be? We all know the answer to that question: very. If you didn’t know, the Brighter...
Download: The retail start-up checklist (turns out setting up a café is a complicated job)
Launching a retail business is a huge job, whether it be a shop, café or restaurant. Chatting to our customers, many of whom are...
Infographic: Choosing the perfect premises for a retail business
Opus Energy – the team and powering force behind Brighter Business – has been working with small businesses for the last 16 years, and...
Kinetic Cafe - “We’re going to walk a mile in your shoes”
Running a small business takes energy. Not just electricity to power the business, but physical and mental energy; to get you out of bed...
The importance of customer experience in retail
If you’ve ever been on a website with the intent to buy something but abandoned that purchase at the last minute because something about...
Business clusters – what are they and how can they help small businesses?
Small businesses may be missing a trick by not choosing to start their empires in business clusters, so says brand new research from Opus...
What you should know about employee tracking laws
Nowadays more and more businesses are becoming mobile, with many businesses predicting growth. With high competition, it means that every business is attempting to...
Grow by diversifying: The Ansoff Matrix
‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ is a well-known proverb, but what does this mean in the business world? Diversification. Businesses shift...
Inductions: How to offer your new starter the perfect start
Interview passed with flying colours, job offer made and accepted, big first day at the office pencilled into the calendar – so how do...
The businesses most likely to be affected by GDPR, and how to minimise risk
General Data Protection Regulations, or GDPR: it’s a big deal. In short, they are legal guidelines replacing the data protection act, introducing new requirements...
A beginner’s guide to tracking business leads
Lead generation is the process of capturing interest in your product or service, converting somebody from prospective buyer to customer, and in doing so,...
How to start an apprenticeship programme
Helping to get the next generation of workers on the path to a career that they can enjoy is an important.
Costs are one of the biggest struggles for businesses, says research by Opus Energy
Small businesses face many struggles in their early days, but costs are the biggest one, according to research conducted by Opus Energy.
What are “business records”? (And why you should be keeping them)
As a business owner, you may feel that keeping up with administration is one of the largest parts of your job – and we...
Sole trader, partnership or PLC? Get to grips with business legal structure
Choosing the right legal structure for your business is an important aspect of future-proofing your company. There are multiple legal business structures to choose...
Leaders Leaving Loudly: what is it?
The emergence of the gig economy in recent years has put the benefits of flexibility in the limelight once again. This has raised important...
Four ways to decarbonise your workplace
Decarbonisation means to reduce the carbon intensity of the economy. This is primarily done through the decarbonisation of electricity, and the growing popularity of...
Guaranteed growth: 5 steps for improving the bottom line
Growing a business is never easy, and there are unique challenges at every step of the way. There are two main challenges: firstly, improving...
Disruptive innovation: Why changing the game leads to success
‘Disruptive’ is probably the biggest business buzzword of the moment. But what does it mean? It’s used to describe almost any business which takes...
The psychology behind good office design
Workspace interior design isn’t always associated with the words ‘interesting’ or ‘engaging’. At best, it might be neutral. At worst, dull and dreary. But...
Non-disclosure agreements: The basics of protecting business-sensitive information
Businesses are built on information – financial figures, customer data, intellectual property and so on. Sometimes, this information is business-sensitive, and that can be...
Surviving an HMRC compliance check
This is a guest post written by Mike Smith, experienced HMRC mediator and senior director at Company Debt, business debt advisers. Statistics show that...
How an Executive Assistant can help your small business flourish
There comes a time in the growth of your business when you need to become more efficient in your day to day tasks, in...
6 inventive rewards to incentivise your Sales team
Sales positions are stressful by their nature, and while many sales teams thrive under pressure, they also need rewarding for all their hard work....
Learn how to become a customer retention specialist
Making your business stand out from the crowd and giving your customers a compelling reason not to leave you for a competitor is one...
A beginner’s guide to invoicing in 3 steps
As a contractor, chasing your client for money is often the hardest part of the job. And, if you’re at the stage when you’re...
The secrets behind the Dale Carnegie sales technique
Dale Carnegie is a name that anyone who’s ever been in sales should know. His books, lectures, and courses have been in the canon...
Employee engagement according to Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs
What in your life is absolutely essential? It’s a question that Maslow has been answering for decades. The 1940s psychologist created his conceptual pyramid...
13 rules to make your cash handling policy watertight
If your business uses cash to get by – whether you’re in retail or just prefer to operate with tangible money – you need...
How to tell when you have an exceptional employee on your hands
It’s no secret that it’s far more cost efficient to hold onto an employee than replace one. We’re not talking about a minor saving,...
How your business needs to be handling cash
This is a guest post written by Andy Margison, founder of ZZap, the cash handling retailer. Despite advances in card technology, individuals still choose...
8 surprising expenses you can claim when working from home
Business expenses can be a foggy area, especially if you’re self-employed and the lines between ‘home’ and ‘work’ are starting to blur. You know...
The new National Living Wage: pros and cons for SMEs
2016 announced the introduction of the new National Living Wage, which is expected to have both positive and negative effects on SMEs throughout the...
10 tried-and-tested customer service mantras
In a digital world where all consumers have a voice, good customer service has never been such a valuable commodity. Customer service that’s anything...
Business continuity plan & power failures
In the lead-up to winter and the arrival of cold weather, the possibilities for blackouts are always at the top of the list for...