The Bottom Line

Every year has its business highs and lows which we don't often get an opportunity to chew over on The Bottom Line.

This year is different.

To mark our end of term, we thought we’d reflect on the business year and look at some of the highs and lows across the business landscape, creating our very own (and very unofficial) Bottom Line Business Awards.

Three panellists, three categories, three nominations.

Joining Evan are:

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Private schools in the UK are mostly registered as charities – but they are also businesses – businesses in the sense that they sell a service to paying customers.

They’ve recently been in the news because the new government has said it will remove their exemption from VAT.

In this episode we take a look at the business of private education: how it works, how much money is made and what will happen when exemption from VAT is removed from school fees.

Evan Davis is joined by:

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All eyes have been on the new prime minister as he, and his team of ministers, settle into their jobs running the country.

In this episode we consider the management challenge of taking over and starting a new role, maybe changing the direction of an organisation.

Three leaders from the world of business and the charity sector share their experience of coming in as a new broom, reflecting on the mistakes they made and advice they'd offer to the new Prime Minister.

Evan Davis is joined by:

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Managing the rituals of a loved one's death can be both bewildering and expensive.

And although no-one wants to think about it being like buying a holiday or car, it is a business with a supply chain involving funerals, burials and cremation.

A couple of years ago the Competition and Markets Authority - which protects people from unfair trading practices - carried out an in-depth investigation into the funeral market because of the “surprise” people experienced at the final cost of that farewell.

On average people spend about £4,000, so what do you get for that and how is the industry changing?

Evan Davis is joined by:

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Copyright law has been around since 1710. Back then it only applied to books. Now, it covers music, sport, film, television, video games, anything really.

It was also much easier to enforce in the days when people couldn't reproduce things all the time. That all started to change with the introduction of the humble music cassette tape. Now, we can all copy things and publish them to social media whenever we like.

Devices which can circumvent geographical barriers have meant that streaming services have had to rethink their business models. And no-one knows quite yet the potential AI has to change things.

So is it time that copyright law had a reboot?

Evan Davis is joined by:

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Millions of employees in the UK are now able to work flexibly – fitting their job around their home life. Many in office jobs, can finish early on a Friday, and are allowed, even encouraged, to routinely work from home.

But, at the same time, we’re told that the levels of overwork, stress, and burnout in this country are on the rise. More than 17 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression and anxiety in the last year for which we have data. So what’s going on?

Evan Davis and guests discuss whether work is really making employees feel burnt out and what's the best way to tackle it.

Evan is joined by:

Jane Gratton: Head of People Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce

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Producers: Simon Tulett, Drew Hyndman and Miriam Quayyum

Every brand wants attention, to be seen as a must-have, but how do some manage stratospheric levels of popularity? It might happen organically, perhaps even by accident, but it’s also true that many brands engineer it.

Evan Davis and guest discuss the tricks of the trade, from social media influencers to artificial scarcity, and the potential pitfalls when a product is so popular that it's almost impossible to get hold of.

Plus, what is it that compels people to queue several hours for a sandwich, or pay ten times the usual price for a bottle of energy drink - we explore the consumer psychology behind the hype.

Evan is joined by:

Ellis Gilbert, founder of Soho Yacht Club and Talk Nice Studios;

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Producer: Simon Tulett

(Picture: A customer jumps in the air as he leaves an iPhone store in London, after being the first person to buy the brand's latest phone. Credit: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images)

China produces more than half the world's electric vehicles and is scaling up exports, but there are concerns its manufacturers would have an unfair advantage in the UK, which could spell disaster for domestic firms.

Evan Davis and guests discuss the UK's dilemma around Chinese EVs - do we open our doors to the competition, which might mean cheaper electric cars for consumers and a quicker transition to net zero, or should the government follow the USA and EU in considering import restrictions to protect domestic car-makers?

Plus, do buyers really care where their EV is made, and will 100% of new car sales be electric by 2035?

Evan is joined by:

Ginny Buckley, editor-in-chief and founder, electrifying.com;

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Producer: Simon Tulett

With the entrepreneur, philanthropist and author.

Krisi Smith started Bird and Blend Tea company with business partner Mike knowing very little about tea or running a business. She drew up their mission statement in the pub whilst working as a ski instructor in Canada.

They started up working in her mums back bedroom to now running 20 retail stores across the UK.

Before starting the company she had more than 30 jobs and that’s just by the age of 24. For her, putting people are the forefront is what business is about.

Krisi talks about the challenges of opening a business with your partner in life as well as business. ‘Got married, got divorced, and we're now just business partners.’

Evan asks about the key personal and business-related decisions that got her to where she is today.

The Decisions That Made Me A Leader is a mini-series from The Bottom Line. It features one-on-one interviews with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Duncan Bannatyne, Martha Lane Fox, and the boss of Depop, Simon Beckerman. All of these episodes are available on BBC Sounds and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader. You can also watch the series on BBC iPlayer. To find the series, just search: The Decisions That Made Me A Leader.

Host: Evan Davis

A BBC News Long Form Audio production.