Here at Liverpool Chamber, we understand the effects the current economic climate is having, especially on smaller businesses. That’s why we uncourage all our members to take full advantage of the various benefits and services we offer. These include:

• a busy and varied networking programme to help you find new business
• free HR, Health and Safety and Legal support
• expert advice and guidance on international trade
• online marketing opportunities via our directory, website, blog and newsletter
• help in winning new businesses with Tender Alert
• reducing your utility bills with our Utility Audit
• providing a value for money staff health scheme
• Plus a whole lot more

To further help you beat the credit crunch, we’ve enlisted the help of business coaching guru Bob Evans from Freedom Coaching to put together a series of articles to help protect your business. The articles cover a seven-step programme to create a lean, keen, fighting machine to weather the economic storm. Part one is below.

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Liverpool Chamber is happy to promote the work of its many charitable members. Here’s some info about Claire House.

Claire House Children’s Hospice opened its doors in 1999 to look after children with life-threatening, life-shortening conditions from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and the Isle of Man.

The hospice is named after Claire Cain who sadly passed away in July 1989 just before her 10th birthday - Claire’s parents then raised the funds to build the hospice. During Claire’s illness, her parents (Chris, a nurse and Bobby) faced the additional challenge of trying to maintain a stable family atmosphere for Claire’s two sisters and her brother. The hospital was supportive but there was little opportunity for the family who lived on the Wirral to be together, they could either stay at home with little or no support, or be at her hospital bedside.

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Work-Life Balance. That mysterious formula we are all seeking to make sure we get the job done but still have time for significant other / cats / football / taxidermy etc.

And yet so often it can all go wrong and we find ourselves with more work and not enough life to go round.

With this in mind, those kind folks over at Freelance Switch have published a handy little article on getting the balance right.

Their main message is to ensure you set guidelines about when you work and where, managing your communications and having a healthy attitude towards the flthy lucre.

Simple, common sense tips, I hear you cry. So why are we all still taking work home with us and checking our emails at the weekend?

Read the full article here, or give us your balancing act tips in the comments.