The Business Bulletin Issue 25

By business owners, for business owners

Are you keen to see your business grow? Then you need to keep track of the gures…

Building a successful business takes determination, energy, focus, and know-how. But even the best business idea cannot ourish without one additional critical input; information. At Essendon Accounts & Tax, we love nothing more than helping a business thrive. In fact, it’s become our speciality.

Are you a Family Business?

We can act as your virtual Financial Director providing expert advice through a hands-on approach. Whatever accounting and tax support you need, we can help.

Want to make a prot?

Let us take on the grind of tracking what’s coming in and going out, so we can then model your cash ow and provide you with the information you need to make swift and critical business decisions.

Looking to outsource your payroll and bookkeeping?

Payroll and bookkeeping exist in ever-changing complex landscapes that require up to date knowledge and expertise. Would you prefer to spend your time working on your business? We can help.

Need assistance with a tax issue?

Whether you are a sole trader, in a partnership, a director of a limited company, or simply an individual with a regular income, expert knowledge that enables you to maximise the numerous tax allowances and reliefs that are available can save you a fortune. Speak to us.

Looking for support from a Financial Director?

All top athletes achieve the peak of their career by working with a coach, and we know that every business keen to reach the top needs a team of trusted advisors. We have the expertise you need.

At Essendon Accounts & Tax, not only do we believe that building a long-term relationship with our clients makes a difference, but we do it through taking a practical hands-on approach. Whilst you work on your business, we’ll pour over your paperwork, balance the books, provide you with the information you need, and tackle the tax man on your behalf. We will save you time and stress, so you can enjoy seeing your business grow.

Give us a call today on 01908 774320 or visit www.essendonaccounts.co.uk

3 Warren Yard, Warren Park, Stratford Road, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes, MK12 5NW

A magazine that works for everyone

Green

& Chief Editor

Welcome to The Business Bulletin - a monthly magazine - which now includes regular columnists, a business book review, as well as some audio and video content; not forgetting the great collection of articles.

So what makes this different to any other publication?

I’m glad you asked!

For the reader – no more advertorials. All the featured articles have been chosen for their valuable content, not because the author has paid to be published or taken out an advert to get their slot!

For the contributor – you can submit articles for inclusion without having to pay for the privilege or having to advertise. If your article is deemed suitable based on its merits – that it is relevant, good and engaging content and not promotional of your business, then it will be published.

For the advertiser – if a publication is more engaging due to the content, then it is more likely your adverts with be noticed. The number of full-page and half-page ads is limited for each edition and there will be a limit on the number of advertisers from a given industry sector. This means your advertisement is more likely to stand out from the crowd and not be lost in a sea of competitors.

Your feedback and thoughts on this magazine are welcome –let us know your experience.

Thanks,

you to consider if they will be useful for your business.

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When the going gets tough, the tough check their margins

2022 had its ups and downs. And with the inflationary waves that are rippling through the economy, it looks as though 2023 will present some challenges. Businesses across the UK are searching for ways to shore up their supply chains and manage their costs. As people tighten their belts further, the impact will be felt by everyone, regardless of whether you’re B2C, B2B, large, or small.

Of course, this perfect storm of world activity has many implications, but where businesses feel it most is in their profit margins. And it’s going to require some steadfast discipline to maintain a positive bottom line.

But what will this entail? Profit is something we’re all familiar with, but to protect your profits as a business owner you will need to clearly understand what your ‘profit margin’ is, so you can take the steps you need to take.

What is profit margin?

This may be obvious to a seasoned business owner but it’s worth clarifying.

Profit margins are a key measure of the financial health of your business. Where cashflow keeps your business running, profit margins are the slice of your output that make it all worthwhile. It is your profit margin that puts extra money in your bank, above what you spend to produce products and services and run your business.

There are three main types of profit margin – gross profit margin, operating profit margin, and net profit margin. Each one is expressed as a percentage and is calculated using different variables in your business.

The first, gross profit margin, is simply your overall gross revenue minus the cost of goods used to make your products. It does not include costs such as administration costs. The second, operating profit margin, looks at revenue and deducts the cost of goods, but it also deducts admin costs and sales expenses, plus it may also account for certain asset depreciation; it doesn’t include taxes and other non-operational costs. And the final one, net profit margin, gives you a proper indicator of your bottom line, for it also takes into account income from other sources and all your expenses, including taxes.

What do your profit margins actually tell you?

In their way, each one tells you how much of what you’re bringing in is actually adding to your bottom line. Let’s face it, it sounds a whole lot better to hear that 90% of your efforts are converting into additional cash rather than just 5%, eh? And that’s what a percentage profit margin tells you.

Different businesses naturally have different healthy profit margins. For example, a successful consulting business may easily be enjoying a profit

Brexit vs the economy

Roger Eddowes

As the government begins to show a restoration of stability, the focus now turns to two other major issues being faced by the British nation.

The increase in interest rates

The first issue is the rise in interest rates. The Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy committee made a decision to increase interest rates by 75 basis points in early November (echoing the Federal Reserve’s own 0.75 rise), which took the UK bank rate to 3 percent, which makes it the steepest increase in over 30 years. This has had, and will continue to have, a huge effect on the economy.

Brexit

6 years after the exit vote and still many issues are up in the air. Brexit is being blamed as one of the main routes of our economic problems. And as time moves on past the pandemic, we can also clearly see the impact this has had.

Brexiteers believe that the recovery of the UK trade figures implies promise for the future however, following the post-referendum dip, these figures have only returned to a previous level, which masks any potential growth which could have taken place without Brexit.

There has been a drop off in number of trade relationships between the UK and the EU and research from the LSE and the Resolution Foundation shows a sharp, real decline in trade openness (total trade as a share of GDP) since 2019. This is something that has not affected other countries which leads us to believe it is Brexit related and not a consequence of the pandemic.

So Brexit Vs the Economy – is Brexit to blame for our economic stagnation? It’s not a simple answer – pro-Brexit groups and anti-Brexit groups have different opinions. We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter…

Essendon Accounts & Tax

Roger trained at Edward Thomas Peirson & Sons in Market Harborough before working at Hartwell & Co, followed by Chancery, as a partner. He started Essendon Accounts & Tax with Helen Beaumont in 2014. Roger loves ‘getting his hands dirty’, working with emerging, small-to-medium and family businesses to ensure they receive the best possible accountancy advice. Using an extensive network of business contacts to leverage the best guidance and practical solutions, he has been called a Business Godparent due to his caring, hands-on approach.

07595 021376

roger.eddowes@essendonaccounts.co.uk essendonaccounts.co.uk

margin of 100% or more, whereas a booming restaurant might be as low as 10%. So, benchmarking for your industry is critical to understanding how well your business is doing in the scheme of things.

How can you improve your profit margin?

With the tough months ahead, planning to grow through increased sales volume may not be achievable for a while. Thus, what should an ambitious business owner do to maintain a healthy bottom line?

Putting your effort into increasing your profit margins rather than your revenue may be the answer.

To achieve this, you’re going to need to get disciplined on a few key areas of your business.

1. Make a point of tracking your expenses. If you don’t know where your money is going, it’s going to be hard to shave off some outgoings and cut costs.

2. It’s possible for your gross profit margin and your operating profit margins to be pretty healthy, even if your business is struggling on the bottom line. This means you need to keep an eye on your net profit margin. The influencing factor in this case could be nonessential overheads. However, if your operating profit margin is struggling, you’re going to need to get to grips with your operating costs. So, take a close look at everything from your monthly subscriptions to your coffee invoices… and cut back where you can.

3. Consider increasing your prices. In a time of inflation, it won’t be a surprise that you’re doing this. However, bear in mind that to increase your profit margin you’re going to need to increase your prices by more than your suppliers are increasing theirs. So, the final price tag you set may price you out of a very competitive market.

4. Take steps to re-negotiate some of your supplier contracts. They won’t be surprised and may be eager to keep you happy by offering you a better deal. Perhaps, if cashflow isn’t an issue, ordering more of a product to get a bulk discount may serve you well. Though you don’t want to be storing too much if you’re not sure you can move it through the business within a reasonable time.

5. Drill down on your marketing and advertising. Focus specifically on the channels that work well and stop worrying about trying to catch a few outliers here and there. Making your marketing more effective is a good habit to get into and will serve you very well once things pick up again.

All of this may seem a bit daunting if you’re not familiar with the jargon and maths, of course. And that’s understandable. If you were a whizz with figures you may well have chosen to build an accountancy business rather than set up in the industry you’re in.

Successful SMEs are good at what they do because they focus on their core strengths and bring in trusted advisers to deal with the necessary parts of running a business they know less about. We work with our clients behind the scenes, providing proactive advice and keeping track of the figures, which leaves them free to do what they’re best at… grow and thrive in their market.

So, with that said, let’s all look forward to what 2023 holds and support each other as the year unfolds. Good luck and don’t lose sight of your profit margins. You’ll be pleased with the results in months to come, we’re sure.

Roger Eddowes

What’s your money mindset?

They say that money makes the world go round and we certainly all need it. Some are great at saving it, others spending it and in the current climate your relationship to money is something important to consider.

So let’s explore how you view money in your life.

How much money do you earn, save, spend and invest daily, weekly, monthly and annually, and how do you feel about it?

You may wonder if you need more than the advice of business coaches and experts in financial areas to be enough for you to change. However, it is your internal dialogue that matters in resetting your money mindset. Check-in with yourself. What is your

resistance to change? Is it a physical impossibility or a fear-based response? Are you fearful of making it worse, not better? Are you scared to leave a comfortable job, uncertain about spending or investing money in case you need it in the future? As yourself,

what is stopping you from making changes to your money behaviours.

Has this money mindset stayed the same or changed over the years, and what do you think has created your reality?

Do you blame specific people, times and circumstances in your life for where you are now and whom you have become financially? People can blame redundancy or a relationship break-up for their ‘financial demise’. However, is the situation with unexplored and unreleased emotions the real problem? Many wealthy and famous talk of their back story and their financial breakdown being their breakthrough. What is the difference between them and everyone considering these life changes and setbacks? Their beliefs are different! In the modern world, we call this mindset.

How heavily linked is your sense of self-worth and value to the amount of money you do or do not have?

What is the primary success marker in your life? Is it money in the bank that matters? Conversely, when your money has dwindled, is the inability to provide for yourself or your family considered a failure to you? It can often feel that way. Society can measure success through wealth. What if you had no money but had the most beautiful life, love, family, freedom and joy every day – would that still be a failure? With that in mind, could you measure your success in life in a non-monetary way? Remember that your personal worth is more than money.

Notice all the things you say to yourself about money; investing, spending, earning, saving and writing them down; this shows some of your most prevalent current-day beliefs!

80% of the things you say to yourself daily are the same. Most are instructional, but some of it is demotivating and based on your fears, beliefs and past experiences in life. Get a better understanding of what your self-talk is doing. Recall all the things you say to yourself about money. Your most profound thoughts are instructing yourself daily! “I can’t afford it”, “We need to save for a rainy day”, “I’ll always have to struggle”. We tend to make our beliefs true. If you believe you could never earn a £100k salary, you will ensure you don’t.

Get curious about where or whom those sayings (old beliefs) came from; maybe your parents, their parents, friends, or partners?

Many of your beliefs are not initially yours or even valid. Without evidence, you made them up, heard them, or learned them from a higher power of authority (e.g. parents, teachers or peers at school whom you believed more than yourself). You did this to feel safe and have a strategy around unknown things and situations. To be accepted, many people run a safety loop of staying the same as their family and friends – this is natural conditioning. Take the sibling that earns more – the perception of them in the unit changes, and so does how they get treated.

Reflect on how money has been for you in your childhood, teens, and adulthood – is there a pattern?

Take a moment to reflect on your life. Ask yourself some questions to get an idea of any repeating patterns in the past to create your now. Has your current financial reality always been your reality? When did it feel better? When did it feel worse? We often have ‘rose-tinted glasses’ about the past, our childhood, how we were raised around money and the beliefs of the higher powers of learning that

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we model or take to be our own. What we learn becomes our rule book and belief system.

How has this belief-based pattern affected your standard of life to date?

Take a moment to dream. What have you got to lose? Imagine a world where you don’t have some of your disempowering and disabling beliefs around your financial standing and destiny. Imagine you had no beliefs at all. You would not have negative self-talk and behave very differently in your career; think how worthy of a higher income you are. You would then feel differently about exchanging money for things you knew you liked and wanted. You would have no point of reference around needing a just-in-case emergency fund. You would be a financial blank canvas!

What would you like to believe about money right now?

With your blank canvas, you would

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start from scratch, having scrapped your money mindset rule book. What would you like to believe would enhance your life? You may be limitless, abundant, and able to earn as and when you wish. Your time, personality and skills in life are as valuable as millionaires. Imagine all the money you ever needed and wanted is waiting for you to collect. We call it manifesting, setting your internal guidance system with what you truly want, not through what you fear.

What difference would different beliefs and self-talk around money make to your everyday behaviours?

What if you could remove your programmed inner critic of negative self-talk dialogue and insert or load

a new one? If you could be your own cheerleader, what things would you spend most of your time saying to yourself so that you are smiling inside? Would you feel differently about yourself and all the people around you? That resentment you feel when people do well would be gone. Instead, you would be as happy for them as yourself. Everything that happens to you happens twice: Once in your imagination and then in real life. Spend time focused on this.

How could your life feel different with new earnings, spending, investing and saving beliefs, self-talk and behaviours?

Imagine your life with new empowering and enabling beliefs and self-talk around money. Where

Is Your Business Ready?

We live in changing times

New business practices

Ever changing technologies

New and changing markets

would you be waking up each morning? Who would be with you? What would you be looking for? How would you dress, and what would you think of yourself? What would your attitude to every day be like? Think about where you would live. What would you do as a career? Would joy and fulfilment become a priority now that money isn’t? Is this a life you prefer? How can you start to change to bring this to your reality? Remember, real change starts from within.

Is your business ready to face these and other challenges?

At QRB we offer a range of training and coaching services for you and your teams to adapt and adopt to your changing environment

We help your people plan, monitor and adapt changes to your business to help you achieve better, smarter and more structured ways of working

Put your teams through a real working simulation so they can practice their new skills in safe environments and embed their new knowledge and learning.

All our consultants are experienced practitioners in their field. Bringing real life examples to embellish the core material and facilitate the learning of the group.

In a time of recession, should my business be looking to borrow money?

There is an old banking saying that you should never ‘throw good money after bad’. Much in the same way that a gambler shouldn’t chase their losses, it’s a variation on the age-old adage that sometimes you need to know when to quit.

Many small businesses will be facing some tough decisions in the upcoming months.

With inflation in double figures, soaring energy costs and a more general cost of living crisis unfolding, it seems that many businesses are

likely to fail, especially in certain heavily affected industries such as hospitality and retail.

One of the survival methods businesses will (and should) consider is borrowing money to inject into their working capital to continue to

fund their outgoings. While this can prove to be a lifeline for any struggling business, this method does need serious thought before proceeding.

Before considering borrowing any finance, a business owner should ALWAYS look at the following options first

Review and reduce current outgoings

■ Ensure that all current direct debits and standing orders are relevant and there is no duplication

■ Review all variable bills to make sure you are on the best and most appropriate deal/ tariff. This especially applies regarding utility bills

Chase existing outstanding invoices

■ Make sure that any clients owing funds to your business are fully paid up or a plan is in place for repayment.

■ Review current payment terms to assist cashflow. This may involve a full review of terms and conditions and some tricky conversations with customers but is essential for a business to survive.

Consider injecting personal funds

■ Injecting personal funds into a business (usually via a

director’s loan) is more costeffective than traditional finance as no interest will be payable

■ There also won’t be a repayment term which will reduce pressure on cashflow

■ Clearly, if a business owner doesn’t have faith in their business surviving then this may not be such a sensible option

So, why should a business borrow money at present?

1. When your business is still profitable. Despite the current pending recession, many businesses are still profitable and thriving in the current economic climate. Many businesses start and grow in recessionary conditions, and it can be wonderful opportunity to acquire other businesses as well as their clients. In these circumstances, borrowing money to make these acquisitions or take on new contracts is an excellent option.

2. If after taking the steps detailed above, your business

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has bright prospects. While the current times may be tough, all businesses have their ups and downs. If a business owner feels that by taking on new contracts, staff and machines the business can turn to profitability in the next couple of years then the cost/benefit analysis may swing towards external investment.

3. If it’s part of wider strategy. If you are planning to exit your business in the upcoming years and investment is required now to get to this point, then it’s likely to be worth the risk to borrow. As long as the short-term investment is cheaper than the longer-term return then this would be a sound strategy.

4. If the business needs a new purchase and this purchase will benefit the business. When purchasing an asset such as a property, vehicle

If the future is bleak. Sometimes a business is simply beyond help and, in reality, won’t be able to overcome its challenges.

JB Commercial Finance

or piece of machinery, a loan facility is often required. As long as the purchase is of benefit to the business then it is likely that the outlay is worthwhile.

When should a business not borrow money at present?

1. If the future is bleak. Sometimes a business is simply beyond help and, in reality, won’t be able to overcome its challenges. In this case, borrowing more money is only likely to speed up the inevitable demise. In fact, bearing in mind that additional borrowing will lead to increased pressure on the Directors post liquidation as they are likely to have personally guaranteed any business debt.

2. If the business has historic losses which are likely to leave the business as a ‘zombie’. This is a situation where the business is insolvent to the extent where even multiple profitable years are unlikely to see progress made towards solvency.

3. If the directors have fallen out of love with the business. There may be a number of reasons why a business owner may have had enough of their previous passion. These include burnout from years of hard work, family pressure or simply being at their wit’s end. If this is the case, even if the business is looking to expand, it’s likely not a good idea to raise liabilities.

In times of uncertainty, it’s natural and understandable for a business owner to be cautious and think twice before taking on any new financial liabilities. While this is often the best strategy, many businesses thrive during economic downturns, and it can be a great opportunity to grow while others are retreating to safety.

Are you fluent in body language?

In face-to-face meetings, non-verbal communication is a widely overlooked aspect of successful sales. This article examines body language in the sales arena. Consciously using your own body in certain ways, as well as ‘listening’ to your client’s body language and responding appropriately all contribute to an increased success rate when selling. As with nearly every ‘sales technique’, it’s really just about connecting and building relationships, because when rapport is strong, sales are made!

Julie Futcher

The Sales Ace

Julie has nearly 25 years experience within a sales role and has successfully trained many individuals to sell by developing their own style but using tried and tested sales techniques. She understands how daunting it can be to have to pick up the telephone or meet with clients/customers face to face. Julie established The Sales Ace to support and train business owners to increase their revenue. She also provides a sales support service which provides telesales/ telemarketing, assisting in managing sales staff, help with setting and managing KPI’s and well as one to one coaching.

01604 532004 julie@thesalesace.co.uk

Non-verbal communication is an important aspect of business interactions. A famous report [Mehrabian] concluded that only 7% of communication is verbal – what you actually say – while 93% is made up of tone (38%) and body language (55%) – how you say it and what you do while saying it. These stats are enough to make anyone suddenly sit up a little straighter! How you present yourself in a selling environment can turn a client on or off you instantly. From the strength of your handshake to your posture, gestures and even how you use your eyebrows, if you don’t know how to send the right nonverbal messages, you’ll lose a client immediately.

So what does good body language look like in the sales arena? Well, you know how much I go on about the importance of listening. But listening with your eyes… there’s a whole new can of

worms! Effective body language has three key components:

■ listening or reading your client’s body language – what they are saying to you;

■ reacting to their body language – figuring out what will press their buttons; and ■ using your own behaviour sensitively to get them on board before making your offer.

If you can play all three of these cards skilfully when face-to-face with a client, you will get what you want from the meeting.

Here are four different body language and neurolinguistic programming (NLP) techniques to look out for and use:

1. Open vs. Closed

Sitting in a meeting with your arms crossed and eyebrows lowered is a surefire way to put a client off wanting to do business with you. This stance can look defensive, agitated and you can come across as bored. Contrastingly, sitting in a relaxed position, arms by your sides with an open facial expression shows that you are calm, in control and honest.

2. Forward vs. Backward

This is an interesting one! By leaning in toward you client you give off an air of confidence and exclusivity, you show that you are committed, engaged and paying attention. Be wary of leaning too close though. An uninvited invasion of personal space isn’t likely to get you very far!

LinkedIn –are you missing out?

Julie Futcher

LinkedIn is a powerful sales tool. More and more people were using the platform to sell their product and service. Some of this has been done in a consultative sell style, some of it, more frustratingly, has been with a harder sell approach. There’s no doubt about it, LinkedIn has become a vital tool for the sales professional. But what about the buyers? Some interesting stats:

■ 49% of buyers research sales professionals on LinkedIn

■ 50% of buyers avoid sales professionals with an incomplete sales profile

■ 92% of buyers will engage with sellers known as industry thought leaders

This highlights the importance of having your LinkedIn profile “sales ready” and below are my 5 top tips to help you achieve this

■ Have a branded banner at the top of your profile

■ A clear, professional “head shot” photo

■ Complete your “About” section – tell the reader how you can help resolve their needs, wants, issues and problems and write in a way that portrays your personality.

■ In the “Experience” section, include information that talks more about your company. Buyers will be looking for this.

■ The “Recommendation” section – reviews and testimonials will give a prospective buyer confidence about your product or service.

A well-constructed LinkedIn profile will establish credibility and generate leads. Spending time to get it right will pay dividends.

3. Anchoring

Everyone who’s ever shown an interest in psychology knows Pavlov’s Dogs and the theory of conditioning. Well, sales interactions can work in the same way. Use leaning forward and reclining, for example, when your client speaks positively or negatively of past experiences. This gives you a clear non-verbal indicator of positivity – leaning in – when it comes to closing the sale.

4. Mirroring

Finally, mirroring; an amazingly useful tool and exactly what it says on the tin. Reading a client’s body language and mirroring it puts them

at ease. It shows that you’re on the same page and is a great way to build a connection between you. Start your meeting by mirroring their mannerisms. Do they lean in to converse, use their hands while they talk or sit back, cool and calm? Gradually shift to your own way of presenting and if they follow, you’ve got them on board, if not, move back to mirroring them and keep listening!

In a face-to-face meeting, pitching your sale in a way that matches the client’s way of thinking makes them want to say yes. Conversely, a lack of connection will turn them off, even if the offer you’re making is good. People buy people and, as I’ve said many times before, building strong

relationships with your clients is how you get them on board. Reading body language, matching it and being adaptable in your style of communication helps build the kind of rapport which leads to sales.

When pitching, verbal and nonverbal communication work together to build trust and rapport. Both are critical and learning to read and use body language effectively will vastly improve sales success.

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Business Bulletin

Decoding QR Codes

Is it time to embrace this tool in your marketing? What is a QR code?

A QR code is a square shaped barcode that can store information such as website URLs, text, or contact information. It is typically used to help people quickly access information online without manually typing in a long URL.

When scanned with a smartphone or other device, a QR code can be used to open a link quickly and easily.

They seem to be having a resurgence in popularity right now and it’s worth understanding how they can be used in your business.

Where to use QR codes?

QR codes can be used in a variety of ways, from marketing campaigns to inventory management and lots of other handy applications. For example, they can be used to track items and provide data about their

movement. And QR codes are often used for events like tickets and customer surveys.

For marketing purposes, you can add them to your business card, flyer, advert or any other printed material with a link that relates to your call to action or adds to the content or information shared.

You could even ditch your business card altogether. Instead, create a graphic in Canva or Word, that

includes a title of where you are sending them, add the QR code that takes them to where you want them to go and any other useful text. Make sure to use your branding colours and logo and then download it as an image file to your phone and save it to your favourites folder.

When you are networking you can open up the graphic for people to scan which allows them to easily connect with you on social media, skipping the searching and scrolling time on social media.

What can you link to?

■ Website home page or sales page.

■ Discount voucher (website or PDF on Dropbox)

■ Launch a video.

■ Appointment booking page.

■ Favourite social media account.

■ Event ticket.

■ Customer survey or quiz.

QR Codes versus Barcodes

QR codes are two-dimensional codes that can store much more data than traditional barcodes.

Barcodes, or linear codes, are one-dimensional and are limited to about 20 characters. QR codes can contain up to 7,089 numeric characters, 4,296 alphanumeric characters, or 2,953 bytes of binary data.

QR codes are best used when you need to store a lot of data, such as product information, links to websites, or contact information. However, barcodes are better suited for applications that do not require a large amount of data, such as product tracking in a retail setting.

Static and dynamic QR Codes

A static QR code contains a fixed URL, meaning it always directs to the same website or page. Static QR codes cannot be changed or updated, so they are best used when you want to direct people to a specific page on your website, and you will need a separate QR code for each link or purpose.

Unlike a static QR code, a dynamic QR code is editable, which means you can change the content of the QR code without having to create a new code. This makes it a useful tool for marketing campaigns

Stuck for ideas?

Christina Robinson

As a marketer, I often get asked, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’

I’ve been coming up with ideas and seemingly pulling them out of the air for the best part of 10 years, so for me these days…the ideas just come! If you’re a lone content wolf, here are the places that you can go to find content ideas:

ANSWERTHEPUBLIC.COM

You can use it for free, you just input your keyword or keyphrase, and it supplies you with a wheel of options that you can develop into content ideas, blog titles, email subject lines, themes for a video, and so on.

ALSOASKED.COM

Similar to Answer The Public, but it’s mapping questions out for you. To explain, you input your question (something a prospect might Google), and AlsoAsked shows you what that prospect might have also asked, then off of that question –what also may have been asked, and on and on!

DAYSOFTHEYEAR.COM

There is a day for everything, a month of awareness for all sorts of things! This site collates them all on a global level.

CONTENTIDEAS.IO

This is a content suggestion tool. You plug in a few themes, and it suggests all sorts of things to you based on the top-performing content it’s found online

GREEN UMBRELLA’S 75 IDEAS OF THINGS TO POST!

Well, it would have been wrong of me to leave this out, wouldn’t it? Go grab your download, print it out and go through it with a highlighter. Simply highlight the ideas you know will work for you and your business. Once you’ve done this, you should have a crib sheet of 20-30 ideas you can keep cycling through.

There are a bunch of other resources you can use – but I think those 5 give you a solid starting point. Let me know how you get on!

01604 726758

christina.robinson@green-umbrella.biz

and other activities that require a quick and easy way to update information.

and dynamic QR codes, it’s important to consider the purpose of the code and how often the content that it links to will change. If the content is likely to change frequently, such as a product link or promotion code, then a dynamic QR code is likely the best option as it can easily be updated without changing the code itself.

Dynamic QR Codes are also trackable, which means you can get data and analytics to measure and fine-tune all your QR code campaigns.

Pros

■ QR codes are cost-effective, as they are easy to generate and don’t require printing costs.

■ There are lots of apps available to create them.

■ They are convenient and easy to use since they can be scanned with a smartphone.

■ They help to increase engagement as they can provide an interactive experience for users.

■ They can be used to track customer behaviour and gain valuable insights into customer preferences.

Cons:

■ Users must have a smartphone and the necessary app installed or

photo feature to scan a QR code.

■ QR codes can be easily damaged or distorted, making them difficult to scan.

■ They can be replicated by cybercriminals and used to spread malicious links or content.

Using the QR Code generator in Canva

1. Find the QR code app

For a simple and straightforward code, try Canva’s easy to use generator.

Marie-Louise specialises in branding and Canva design for SMEs. She offers a range of logo and design services, Canva training and is an official Canva Creator. She’s approaching 20 years in the design industry with a degree in branding and packaging. She’s created everything from logo designs, social media templates and website design in the digital space, to printed brochures, adverts, banners and packaging. Her process focuses on collaboration, meeting on Zoom to bounce ideas and bring the designs to life before her clients’ eyes. She loves to work with entrepreneurs, coaches, marketing experts and virtual assistants to create consistent content that’s on brand but with the flexibility to evolve over time.

07736 234059

ml@lovelyevolution.co.uk lovelyevolution.co.uk

Open up a design in Canva and click on the Apps tab bottom left. Use the search tool to type in ‘QR code’ to quickly find the relevant apps.

Only the one by Canva keeps you in Canva. The other apps will take you out of Canva and on to their website. You will need to create an account with them to generate a QR code.

2. Generate your code

Use the one by Canva to easily type in your URL link, see a preview, customise the colours and generate your code. It automatically saves into your uploads folder so you can download it or add to your design.

Top tip: Make sure there is contrast between the background and

foreground colours for best results. If the colours are too pale or similar, it can cause issues when someone is trying to scan the code. Please note: Canva’s generator creates static QR codes that aren’t trackable.

Other QR Code Generators

Here’s a round up of other QR codes for you to check out, in no particular order.

■ QR Tiger offers dynamic and customisable QR codes with a free version and pricing plans.

■ ME-QR Generator allows you to generate, personalise and track. This one has more free options and less limitations, as well as a paid subscription for even more features.

■ QR Code Generator is powered by Bitly. Free and easy to use when creating static QR codes that can’t be edited or tracked. They have a Pro option and have different price plans based on the number of codes generated each month.

■ Kaywa has the flexibility to edit your codes and other benefits but has no free package, and is more expensive than the others listed. They do seem to have some big name clients though.

■ Free QR Code Generator by Shopify allows you to easily create static QR codes at a couple of clicks with no account required.

■ Visualead has a free option with ads and a wide selection of paid packages to choose from, with the prices based on the number of scans and other additional features.

■ QR Stuff allows you to create unlimited static codes and up to

10 dynamic codes. The paid plan gives you more features and customisation.

■ QR Code Monkey is free to use with a lot of customisation options, such as adding your logo, colours and patterns of the code. It is a static QR code and links to the QR Code Generator Pro to create trackable versions.

Conclusion

With the popularity in smartphones as the norm, it makes using QR codes more practical and useful these days. When I first saw them 15 years ago, they seemed gimmicky and clunky to use. They sort of fell out of favour but now they’re on the rise again, I’m excited to use them in my designs, for my own and my clients’ marketing.

The key points or questions for you to consider with QR codes are:

■ Where can you save time (typing a long URL or searching for someone or product)?

■ When is it important for a person to reach a specific website designation (sales page or offer)?

■ Can you add value to the experience (launch a video or quiz)?

And use those answers as your guide as to whether or not to include a QR code in your marketing material, when and where. Don’t just include one ‘just because’. Be intentional.

Marie-Louise O’Neill Lovely Evolution

Sturgeon, Scrooge and Electric Monks – why creatives should take A.I. with a pinch of salt

Apparently A.I. is rising up to destroy humanity and it’s going to start the coup by putting the creatives out of business.

The way some people are talking about it, you would think an army of cybernetic assassins is hiding on the roof just waiting to pick us off as soon as we pop out for lunch.

Quite what we all did to get what seems destined to be our artificial intelligence overlord so riled up is beyond me. If you listen to the doomsayers though it’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers out there, and everyone in the creative industries is being systematically replaced with a computer simulation.

A.I. is going to take us all down.

this, how many times did you have an outstanding breakfast last month? You probably can’t even remember most of them. In short, Sturgeon’s law is that ‘good’ is relatively rare.

A.I. is currently consistently producing work in the 90% area and often at the bottom end of it. It’s sort of splashing around in the shallow end of the talent pool.

Kevin Robinson Your-Copywriter.com

Kevin worked for over a decade in corporate marketing. During the late 90s, he trained as a video producer and television writer before moving into education where he taught screenwriting, film and video production for 20 years. He is a published author and has written 1000+ articles for a range of clients. Following the success of your-copywriter.com in 2021, new brand Walkround Media will launch in August 2022 focusing on product photography and information video.

01327 640060

kevin.robinson@your-copywriter.com your-copywriter.com

Is it though? I mean, really, when standing back and getting a little perspective, is it?

Sturgeon’s Law describes Artificial Intelligence

For those who are wondering what that sub-head means, it refers to something said by author Theodore Sturgeon. In the late 1950s he commented that “sure 90% of science fiction is crud, but 90% of everything is crud”. He makes a good point here. The truth is that 90% of most things in life are rather commonplace, forgettable, terrible or somewhere along that scale. If you want proof of

Artificial Intelligence based copywriting works. The problem is that what it produces is turgid, uninspired, mechanical crud that reads like a GCSE essay submitted by a student who probably cut and pasted most of it from Wikipedia. It’s readable, it’s about the subject matter, but it’s not good. Not always terrible just, as far as I have seen, never good.

“Ah, ha! You’ve been hoisted by your own petard there, mate” you may have just yelled but probably didn’t, “If it produces readable copy that isn’t terrible, why not use it”? Well, if you write out the core values for your business how often would you use a phrase like ‘we are not terrible all the time’ or ‘just about useable but not very good’ to

describe your product or service? Perhaps your mission statement would be ‘striving for consistent levels of mediocrity’? No? Well, then why would you accept that from a service provider human or otherwise?

As a further point to the above, the chances are that you are on Google and Google has a very simple rule about using A.I. copy. The rule can be paraphrased as ‘Don’t use A.I. copy’. Go look it up on Google if you like. They say they can detect it and they are very, very, clear about the consequences of using it.

So, to summarise: A.I. copy is pretty average and Google doesn’t want you to use it. That’s not a good combination.

Scrooge and Artificial Intelligence

When Scrooge is presented with the vision of his own death by the Ghost of Christmas future it changes his outlook. Seeing the spectre of his own wretched demise gives him the will to change his ways. Scrooge decides not to be the mournful spirit wandering the land of the living, bemoaning its fate, and remembered fondly by no living soul.

A.I. is presenting us with a vision of our own fate. It is offering us a world where, in line with Sturgeon’s law, the 90% production of mediocre and grey copy that is lacking in creativity and skill, is produced by machine.

Creatives need to heed the A.I. ghost of Christmas future

Or to put it in less Dickensian terms If you don’t to be obsoleted, be part of the 10%. Until Artificial Intelligence can fully replace a talented creative, your skills will be in demand by those who don’t want to be subject to Sturgeon’s law. Which brings us to the question of Monks…

Electric Monks and Artificial Intelligence

Douglas Adams was a wildly creative writer who fountained wonderful ideas into the world. One of these was the labour-saving Electric Monk. It is the description of why it was invented though that is relevant here. Adams was also remarkably skilled at pointing out the reality of things, in the case of the Electric Monk, the purpose of technology.

‘The Electric Monk was a laboursaving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. Dishwashers washed tedious dishes for you, thus saving you the bother of washing them yourself, video recorders watched tedious television for you, thus saving you the bother of looking at it yourself; Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous

task, that of believing all the things the world expected you to believe.’

Douglas Adams – Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency Technology advances to save us from tasks we don’t want to do or does them better and faster, but that doesn’t mean it is capable of fully replacing the task. Remember when word processors came along and that meant that all the authors were instantly out of work because everyone had tools to write a book? Or how the microwave revolutionised the kitchen and everyone no longer cooked? Or when online learning

made all the lecturers and teachers… well, you probably get the point here. Technology is often a result of trying to free ourselves from tedious work or, in some cases, wanting to do a job better in less time. I mean, you can actually wash up faster than your dishwasher can, you just don’t want to.

For A.I. to decimate the creative industries as is being proposed by the Pronouncers of Doom (many of whom suspiciously tend to work for A.I. companies) it will need to be better than a good creative, easier to use than commissioning a creative professional and be cheaper in time and money than using a skilled producer. Right now, it simply isn’t. It’s hard to get it to produce anything good, it requires a learning curve to

use it, it’s time-consuming and then you need to re-write it and fact check it all. It’s still an Electric Monk.

The end of creative industries?

Artificial Intelligence is going to affect the creative space. For some writers, photographers, designers and so on, the challenge of competing with A.I. could be too much. That seems inevitable. Judging from the current output of A.I. copywriting and from what I have seen the design and artwork it produces, we are still some way from long lines of creatives at the job centre though.

Someone recently said to me that if they wrote a blog and got

A.I. to make one, I couldn’t tell the difference. I agreed but pointed out that they were not a copywriter. A decent writer will blow A.I. out of the water every time.

A.I. may well shake things up but because of Sturgeon, Scrooge and the Electric Monk, the good creatives will not only survive, but they will also be in more demand than ever when those businesses looking for difference vie for their services.

As a postscript to the above, I wanted to give you some comparisons from ChatGPT and my own writing… but it’s offline. Humans one, A.I. nil there then as well.

Five ways ‘stacking’ helps your PR start-up success

Do you know the media outlets that you would like to feature in? It could be publications in print or online, perhaps a favourite television or radio show. Having a PR strategy that only aims to get you featured in high-profile national and global media from the onset can lead to short-term disappointment and affect your relationship with PR long-term.

So, how do you know the best places for your start-up to be featured in the media? What can you do to maximise your visibility in a sea of sameness? How do you prepare yourself to ride the wave of your PR successes? And how can you plan your PR campaign so that you remain positive and motivated to continue? The simple answer to these questions is what I call “Stacking.” The process of carefully curating your potential media exposure based on realistic and aspirational media coverage or ‘stacking’ can help you to maximise the long-term effectiveness of your PR.

Here are five ways that ‘stacking’ can help you as a start-up:

Have you Googled yourself lately to see what appears on page one? Knowing what people can see about you online is vital to your credibility. If you and your business appear as an expert in online newspapers and magazines with a high domain authority (DA), you will see these

appear instantly. The good news is that big media have great coverage. The bad news is that when we feel rejected, sharing information with them that we will later regret can be tempting. Once that is online, it becomes impossible to shift and sticks to your reputation like ‘anticredibility glue’. ‘Stacking’ prevents you from this desperate PR measure because it involves being realistic and where we are most likely to be accepted in the early days.

Have you got what it takes to add value to the story?

‘Stacking’ relies on knowing who needs to hear your story or expert information rather than where your ego wants to place it. Good media coverage as a start-up needs to be delivered to the right people at the right time and place because that will have a credibility snowball effect. Once you gain traction, you can experiment with different readers and audiences. You may have new industry knowledge that challenges the mainstream to develop as a thought leader. To effectively be heard, it is essential to take steps into the media and ‘stack’ publications and experience in delivery so that you are ready when the time is right.

Are you drowning in doubt that creates a sea of sameness?

Confidence is crucial in PR because it affects every type of communication skill that you have. You may have yet to consider how your self-belief may affect the quality of the content you are offering to the media. In the early days of your business, your email pitches to busy journalists and producers may fail to make an impact and be lost in a raft of inbox messages. Feeling ignored can make you doubt yourself, affecting your ability to think outside the box. Panic can set in, and you begin to play safe and choose the obvious. For example:

If you have thought of the content for a pitch to the media immediately, it is likely that others will too. ‘Stacking’ means being objective about what you know and need to know. It is your ladder to climb.

Do you have the security to be with the high flyers?

If you receive a response to take part in media coverage when you are new to the business, you may need to be media-ready to deliver. Seeing yourself published for the first time as a start-up can be overwhelming, and you may be put off. The experience could also be a PR disaster of nervous misinformation that can affect how the journalist or producer perceives you at the time or as a source of commentary for the future. Honesty is the go-to policy when it comes to PR. Getting involved with niche publications and media outlets can help you practise your expertise and learn what to upskill before pitching to the big media. This also creates a safety net of connections you can rely on as you master the big media.

What else is there if you go to the moon on day one?

Every piece of media coverage has the potential to be around for your lifetime and beyond. Why rush sharing your stories and expertise? You will always have more to share if you think about your business’s future and share snippets relevant to your PR objectives. Your personal story is relevant to who you are in your industry.

However, it is crucial to be selective about what you share, who with and when. Step by step, you will be ‘stacking’ your private journey when it enhances your business. Your contributions need to speak for themselves, and it could be the tone of your voice, your perspective, or the depth of your understanding that will show others who you are and

give them insight into your private experiences. ‘Stacking’ your public profile along with your business PR is essential and needs to be beneficial.

Stacking is one of the most critical skills in PR, with so many media opportunities. Take it slow, consider the purpose of what you are doing, be honest with yourself about what you know, experiment in the ‘stacking’ process and create that safety net, and you will see your PR working for you and your business.

For more insights in Abbi’s upcoming book called CREDIBILITY CONFIDENCE: How to Leverage PR as a Start-up – take a look here: littleprrockmarketing.co.uk/ credibility-confidence-how-toleverage-pr-as-a-start-up

Abbi Head PR Rock Marketing

Abbi Head is a PR & communications strategist creating positive digital footprints and legacy media coverage for businesses that need to be seen as authorities and go-to experts. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) with a ten-year career as a charity Media Officer. At her core, she is a lover of communication and a purpose-driven academic learner who leads by example. She won 2nd place in the Media Relations category of the Public Relations Today Most Valuable Post (MVP) Awards 2022 for her article on media overexposure.

07966 712017

abbi@littleprrockmarketing.co.uk

littleprrockmarketing.co.uk

How to scale up your business with a CRM

Choosing the right CRM is much easier when you choose based on your current business need, not what you think you’ll need in 24 months

A small business scaling up typically does not have the time or desire to take on a new system. Of those that make the jump to systems like HubSpot, 72% usually give up because they are too complicated and too expensive, costing them, on average, £7,000 each month in lost sales and missed opportunities.

So, to me, it’s about keeping a CRM simple so that you can focus on what you do best, not making a system fit around you and your business. Here are my top six tips on how CRM can help a small business scale up.

Tip 1 – Keep it simple

There are loads of CRMs out there, and choosing the right one to suit your organisation is critical. To do this, write a list of all the features you want in it, then separate them into two lists – ‘Need’ and ‘Want’. Base your decision on the ‘Needs’; that way, it won’t become overloaded with features and complexity that prevent you and your team from using it.

Tip 2 – Everything in one place

Bring all your prospecting together in one place so you see the bigger picture. That means every single opportunity you get; whether that is a conversation in the pub, a discussion

on social media or an enquiry on your website, you should always put them into your CRM, along with simple notes and reminders to follow them up at the appropriate time.

Tip 3 – See the bigger picture

Add all your prospects to a visual pipeline that matches your sales process. That way, you or anyone on your team can see exactly where all your prospects are at a glance and why they are there. When creating your pipeline, keep it simple and ensure that it matches the practical steps in your sales process – this should include columns for when you need to do tasks or stages when you are waiting on the prospect. Doing this will ensure you never miss a sale or forget to follow up on an opportunity.

Tip 4 – Nurture

Not every prospect you speak to will be ready to buy from you now. We all know that stuff happens, and prospects can move forward and backwards in your sales process. Join up your CRM with marketing tools like Automation, Email Marketing and Website Tracking. Then, from your perspective, you can easily see a bigger prospecting picture by joining

up online behaviours and your team’s notes in one place. From your prospect’s perspective, you can target them with specific messages to nurture and educate them on what you can offer and your brand’s values; that way, when they are ready to buy, they will be prepared to engage with you faster.

Tip 5 – Convert faster

Now that you can see all your prospects in one place, you and your team will always know exactly what is happening with each person, where they are in your prospecting cycle, and when they need to be contacted. More importantly, if they start engaging with your marketing, they will be flagged up as a Hot Prospect so that you can convert them into customers faster.

Tip 6 – Don’t forget your customers

Often, a small business will put all its effort into winning new business and forget the opportunities that lie with existing customers. Try setting up an email marketing campaign to nurture them post-sale and ensure they initially get all the support from you and truly value the product/ service you provided. Then educate them to ensure they understand

Sound the retreat!

every service you offer – it is 60% easier to sell to an existing customer than a new one.

Bonus tip – Integrate

Integration of your CRM with your accountancy software makes it easy to manage business finances on the go, so transactions are recorded as they occur, and financial reports can be accessed anytime. That way, your accounts payment process can prevent invoices from getting lost or sent to the wrong person, speed up proposal sending, improve prospect response times, and improve cash flow. Having previous customers’ profiles and contact information makes communicating with them easier, which helps to sell more products and services. Simplifying the process means satisfied customers are more likely to become repeat buyers. Keeping sales teams organised by sharing financial information without an overloaded number of different CRM systems in place and giving them access to past transactions allows team members to review what pricing has been discussed or agreed upon earlier and respond quickly to customer queries.

If you choose and use your CRM based upon my six (and a bit) tips, you will develop a simple CRM that works for you and your team, increase your sales conversion rates, save loads of time and, more importantly – everyone will love using it.

Simon Washbrook Popcorn Lead Management

Simon Washbrook is the founder of Popcorn and the official CRM partner of choice for FreeAgent accountancy software. Popcorn

CRM is a lead management platform created specifically for small businesses. It offers everything needed to manage, nurture, and convert more sales without overcomplicating workflow. CRM, reminders, sales pipelines, email marketing, lead generation, landing pages, call tracking, and automation are monitored all in one spot—easily connected and ready to go. No bells, no whistles – Popcorn gives clients the essential tools a small business needs to track, manage and convert more prospects, faster – so sales simply take off!

0121 318 8318

hello@popcornmail.co.uk

popcorncrm.co.uk

Russell Parker

To the sound of blaring bugles, shouting voices and clattering armour, the army halts and starts to move backwards. Its advance on the battlefield was halted by a far superior enemy and before it is destroyed completely its commanders sounded a retreat.

Whenever I hear the word ‘retreat’, my default thought is of failure.

However, the act of moving backwards from something or somewhere is not always about losing a fight.

One of the best things I did this year was attend a business retreat in Malta. I took a step backwards from working in my business to look at things without the usual noise cluttering up my thoughts.

My accommodation was comfortable with plenty of food and drink available. I felt safe and the people I was with were friendly and welcoming. My opinions were valued and I genuinely felt like I helped the others in the group. I naturally started to be creative in my thinking, new and interesting ideas came to mind about how I could improve myself and my business. It was one of the most valuable things I’ve ever done.

Writing this on the run-up to Christmas, I’m mindful that lots of us will find ourselves in retreat. We will spend time in our homes with our loved ones and maybe reflect on our achievements this year. The noise of our everyday subsides a little and allows our quieter thoughts a little more space to be heard. The new ideas, the improvements we can make and maybe some new targets for the coming year.

Always have a notebook to hand just in case this happens to you. At Christmas, Easter, Diwali or whenever you retreat from your business.

Be prepared for that spark of inspiration.

01327 630355

Spotlight on Richard Osborne

Richard Osborne is the founder of Business Data Group and UK Business Forums. Business Data Group is a platform that provides reports and analysis into what's going on in the economy for small business. And UK Business Forums is an online support community for small business owners that's been going for 20 years.

How did you get to where you are today?

My business journey started in 1999. Probably not the most orthodox way of getting into a business, but I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown and in a depression, and things were collapsing around me really due to issues I’d had growing up. I was in a situation where the job I had at the time, things were falling apart with me, I couldn’t keep on top of the projects I was running. Things that happen when you have

a breakdown, I couldn’t face getting a job. I didn’t even know how to get a job. I knew I had to get a job, but I couldn’t face applying for and doing it. So, I left my job I had and started doing website design at home, that literally was my first step into running my own business. Within a couple of months, I also got married as well, because starting a business isn’t stressful enough!

The web design company, I say sold, was actually lost to somebody in a dodgy business deal that didn't really go to plan. A couple of years later after I’d spent a year working for this other company, I started another business, which I ended up selling and then another business I end up selling. Then Business Data Group started life as a company called E-filing in 2007, funded out of the money that I'd made from originally selling UK Business Forums. And it has grown and evolved from there.

What had you decide to buy back UK Business Forums?

I’ll cover what UKBF stands for, because that gives some idea as to part of the reason why I sold it. In 2003, I was in a situation where I was trying to build up a business, but I was on my own. I was married and had a young daughter at the time. But what I found to be the case with so many people when you run your own business and you are on your own, you don’t have a board of directors or co-founders or other people to bounce ideas around. Not even a management team around you. You literally are on your own. You have nobody to speak to really, you have nobody to sound out or nobody who appears to be going through what you’re going through who understands the worries you’re having. In that situation, back in those days when social media didn’t exist as it does today, putting up a website with a forum, as it was at the time, was

the done thing. And UKBF was born. As it turned out, just by putting the word out there, spreading on a few news groups, emailing a few people, eventually what happened is it turns out there were 1000s upon 1000s of people who were all in the same boat. UKBF grew to the point where I think it was about 50,000 members, all communicating online on these forums, all supporting each other.

By the time I was approached by a media company in 2007, and sold it to them, UKBF continued to grow under that media company to a point where about 50,000 people a day were accessing the community for help and peer support from each other.

During the COVID pandemic, two things came to light. One was, like so many businesses during the pandemic, we were exposed to a vulnerability in the business - a lot of our revenue was generated from particular sources and those sources dried up. We needed to find another way of building a business case. The other aspect was the people who I sold it to had already approached me saying we want you to buy it back, because we're going down a different tangent.

Through other work that I'm involved in, through networking, my involvement with the Chamber and things that have happened

I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown and in a depression, and things were collapsing around me…

over recent years, you see people still face the same challenges and same issues they do today as they were 20 years ago. There's lots of advice and support out there, but it's very scattered across many different sources. UKBF was already an established brand, a high traffic site, high membership, and hundreds of 1000s of members within. So, let's put all those free resources and information available on that platform for people, whether it's ranging from a business plan template, a cash flow forecast template, business guides, there’s a community on there, that we can just give it away to. And then from the business ourselves, Business Data Group has the technology we've built, where we can monetise that basically through advertising. It just all made sense to buy it back. And there is a sort of a sentiment there how UKBF helped me when I was in a pretty dark time trying to start on my own.

What is it you don’t like about the word “entrepreneur”?

It’s an awkward one to answer that one, because I’m going to contradict myself. The problem with the word entrepreneur and in my personal opinion, and there will be people that disagree with that, it’s become commoditised. Anybody, if they are in a leadership position for a business, in government or marketing, everybody calls everybody an entrepreneur. The problem is there are so many different definitions of it. My personal definition of it is more along the lines of somebody who overcomes adversity to create something greater than themselves, that they can pass on and bring people along with them on that journey. The reason why I contradict myself, even though I don’t like the term because it’s just overused, is I can appreciate why some people turn around and call me an entrepreneur. But it’s not my

place and not my right to call myself an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a title that somebody else will give you.

What is your “why”? What motivates you?

With anybody who runs their own business and has done for a while, I would suggest that their why or their drive changes over time as they go through different stages of their life. The reason I started my very first business was out of desperation! I felt there was no other choice not, there were no other options open to me. That was all I could do. At that point, it was just hand to mouth, day to day.

Then when my daughter, our first child was born, that why changed overnight. It was like, “holy shit, I got a life to support”. That took me back to some of the experiences I've had in my past. I've had time where I've lived in a women's hostel. Before my wife's parents took me in, before we were married, I was sleeping on some mattress on somebody's floor with my worldly possessions in a small pile next to the mattress. When you think of that and various aspects of what I experienced, I thought I don't want my children to go through that. A switch just went inside and my determination that I need to create

something more than just putting food on the table. Now my daughter is 20 years old, my “whys” have evolved somewhat significantly now. I want this organisation to outlive me and to create an environment where I have members of a team here, who can take over the reins and give them a platform or something they can takeover, that's not me.

Personally, I'm looking at my own life gradually over the years to step aside, and what's more important to me is supporting other business. Where I can help others achieve what they want to achieve. The business now is a vehicle to create jobs and wealth for others.

What had you decide to become involved in charities?

So as many people will see, there are a lot of charities out there, and you can walk through the town and there are so many good causes that anybody can support. Some advice that was given to me many years ago, was pick the causes you want to stick to and stick to them, because you can’t help everybody. The two causes that I support personally, are related to young people with special needs or learning difficulties, and disengaged youth or disenfranchised youth.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EVl4n1ppFI

The latter one is a charity that used to be called Youth at Risk (now called Grit). They haven't done anything in this region lately, so I've ended up doing some of that personally, where people have known me or approached me directly saying, “There's a young person here, would you support them or mentor coach them”. It is young people who often are identified by social services, local authority, or the schools or maybe out of school, who are at risk of exclusion, or maybe have been excluded from school and getting in with the wrong crowds.

What I hope to do whenever I'm working with young people is to inspire him. Help them to focus on a path ahead of them, that takes them down a legitimate, potentially business route. My thinking there is the people who think differently, who challenge the norm - and often these children might be considered the troublesome ones in schoolthey're the people I would argue are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow who really do shake up industries, create great businesses, by just breaking the mould around it. Quite often these young people have never had an adult that they can rely upon, never have an adult who's actually going to listen to them, let them have their voice be heard, and talk through

whatever it is with them. The sort of coaching work that we do within Grit, or I do independently, is sitting down with these young people. Two ears, one mouth - listen to them. What I love about that kind of work is there's no wrong. It's just what you want, where do you want to take yourself, let's work through those different options in front of you. Just get them to think differently about their lives their future. The reality is you could speak to ten of them, and you may only break through with three or four of them, but you still keep chipping away at that. I was one of those kids. My life was turned around by a number of things. A big part was played by a small business owner who invested in me.

The other aspect, the learning difficulties and special needs - that came around because I was asked by the Local Enterprise Partnership, who were looking at piloting a project that might roll out nationally, with connecting businesses with schools. There was a special needs school that had applied. Based on my experience of working with young people, they wanted me to work with that school. I was quite unnerved by that because I had these preconceived ideas of what special needs actually meant. As it happens, jump forward a couple of years from there and my

son ended up being diagnosed with dyslexia and high functioning autism. We went through a whole load of heartache there fighting for support, he ended up going to the school for a couple of years where I was volunteering as an enterprise advisor.

Now I'm actually Vice Chair of Governance at that school. I've got very involved in there. As soon as I started getting involved, I actually got to see how difficult it is for young people with learning difficulties to get into any form of meaningful work. Employment opportunities statistics are heart wrenching. This is a wrong and I just got more and more involved in it. As an individual and as a company, we support organisations like Track for support supporting autistic people into work. As an employer, I would welcome anybody with any particular learning difficulties or special needs into employing them here. My ambition is to improve the employability and career opportunities for people with learning difficulties. And the work at Northgate School, where I’m a governor, is fantastic. I've become connected with a number of schools and people within the local community who do such great work.

… you see people still face the same challenges and same issues they do today as they were 20 years ago. The problem with the word entrepreneur…. it’s become commoditised.

Bye-bye your business

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. It got me thinking about why business owners seek to exit businesses, and perhaps more importantly, what are the options available to you.

I’ve dealt with many business owners looking to exit their business, and there’s always an interesting story behind things – to be fair, the stories are far more interesting than the legal work required.

Reasons for exiting a business could be:

1. Retirement – the business has done well and you want to reap the benefits and enjoy them

2. Ill Health – you cannot continue running the business

3. Growth – someone else can come in and take your and grow it

4. Success – or lack of it. The idea didn’t work, you ran out of cash, etc

5. Cashflow – similar to 4, but often the business is good but the cash flow isn’t there for a surprise bill

6. New challenge – you’re the type that gets bored and wants a new challenge

7. Owner issues – a dispute between shareholders, a divorce, etc.

Sometimes I’ve come across clients that didn’t think they were selling and then received interest randomly and then, when an offer was made, was just the right figure to get them selling. Unusual, but possible.

Whatever the reason, there are a few ways in which an exit can be achieved:

1. Sale of the Business – either to an existing shareholder or to a third party – sale of shares or sale of assets

2. Management Buy Out – Sale of the business to someone working in the business

3. Administration/Liquidation – a winding up of the business by an insolvency practitioner

4. Members Voluntary Liquidation –liquidation where there are no debts

5. Simple closure of the business

Why take my business to the cloud?

Ashish Kumar

You’ve probably heard the expression “On cloud nine”, but what about “On cloud computing”. While it does not roll off the tongue quite as easily, cloud computing can most certainly take your company’s cloud software application to the next level and make you feel – on cloud nine.

Joking aside, cloud computing is slowly becoming the norm these days with several household names using remote servers and networks to store and access data from wherever. In fact, if you use tablets, smartphones, Gmail or drop box alike, you’ll already be connected to the cloud.

Cloud computing is the sharing of IT resources and services such as mobile apps, storage, data centres and servers are delivered to an organisation through the internet. Cloud services can be spread across multiple countries and time zones making it easier for global companies to communicate and work together efficiently. Sharing cloud services also eliminates the need to pay for hardware that slowly becomes outdated and needs replacing.

Furthermore, the increase in cloud computing will see your business have fewer human errors, lower labour costs, and greater productivity. In essence, local servers and personal devices are no longer needed as they are all shared on the cloud.

For many, there’s a lot of planning that ought to be carried out prior to an exit – sometimes it’s not possible, but if it is done, then one can often maximise value obtained – particularly on a sale.

As you can see, when it comes to exiting a business, owners have a variety of options to choose from. Each option has its own set of pros and cons, and the best choice will depend on the individual circumstances of the business and the owner.

Selling the business to a third party is often the most financially lucrative option for business owners. This can include selling to a competitor, a customer/supplier, or a strategic buyer. The process of finding and negotiating with a buyer can be lengthy, and owners will need to prepare the business for sale by cleaning up financial records, improving operations and generally getting their house in order. However, once the sale is complete, the owner can walk away (hopefully with a substantial payout!) and move on to their next chapter.

Another option is passing the business on to a family member or key employee. This can be a great way to ensure the legacy of the business continues, and it can also provide a smooth transition for employees and customers. There are ways to do this on a reasonably tax-efficient basis where the business has sufficient cash in the bank or distributable reserves.

For some business owners, shutting down the business may be the best option. This can be the case if the business is no longer profitable or if the owner is ready to retire. When shutting down a business, owners will need to notify employees and customers, pay off any outstanding debts, and dispose of any assets. While this may not be the most financially lucrative option, it can provide a sense of closure for the owner and allow them to move on to their next chapter.

On a business closure, there are three options:

1. administration/liquidation

– for where you have debts that cannot be repaid.

2. a solvent liquidation – where everyone is paid up fully

3. cease trading

In a solvent liquidation, known as a members’ voluntary winding up, the directors have to make a declaration that all creditors will be repaid in full. An insolvency practitioner needs to be involved and there’s a cost attached to it. It is the proper way of closing a limited company business.

The alternative is simply to ensure everyone is paid, cease trading, and eventually the company will be struck off by Companies House for failing to file relevant information. It’s not the best way, but it is cheaper and

Steven Mather is a Consultant Solicitor and specialist in advising SMEs on all legal issues affecting their business – from contracts, employees, intellectual property or disputes. He qualified as a lawyer in 2008 and in January 2020 set up on his own in order to deliver extremely high quality & efficient services to SMEs.

0116 3667 900

steven@stevenmather.co.uk stevenmather.co.uk

therefore lots of small business let this happen.

If you’re not trading through a limited company, then you can still exit the business and the above still applies. But instead of a share sale, you might sell the assets of the business. And instead of a closure of the business, you just stop trading and you don’t need to follow any process.

Steven Mather Steven Mather Solicitor

Probationary periods –should I scrap them?

Probationary periods are used by employers of all sizes for new recruits, usually for either three or six months. They can be extremely valuable if used well, bringing structure to the early days of a new hire’s employment, and prompting decisions about whether there is a good fit.

But there is a growing movement in favour of ditching probationary periods altogether, and it is worth giving some thought to whether it would be sensible to do the same in your business.

Whilst probationary periods can be a useful management tool, there are negative connotations. The whole sense of taking part in a three or six month ‘test’ doesn’t feel a very positive experience, being under scrutiny and having your employment almost held over your head, while someone assesses whether you might pass or fail. Even the “pass or fail” terminology makes the whole thing feel more stressful than it needs to be.

The early period of employment should be about building a relationship and

encouraging and developing good performance, rather than treating it as an extension of the job interview.

What are the implications of scrapping probationary periods?

Probationary periods have no legal standing at all. They are purely contractual between the employer and employee. There are no additional legal rights granted to the employee upon passing a probationary period, and ordinarily, the main, or only, difference between being in a probationary period and having passed it, is that a longer contractual notice period often applies. Some employers also withhold some contractual benefits until probation has been passed.

This means that in the event the employer decides not to continue with the employment, it is no easier to terminate whether there is a probationary period or not. The advantages of a probationary period can therefore potentially be replicated without a

probationary period in place. Notice periods can be scheduled to change at, say, the six month mark, and benefits can be withheld if desired.

A good structure can be developed to manage and encourage performance in the early period of employment, without calling it “probation”, and with a more positivefeeling focus and energy.

What is absolutely essential is that, if you choose to scrap the probationary period, you don’t replace it with nothing. It’s vital to have some structure in place for managing the early months of employment, to ensure everything possible is done to support the employee achieving the standard of performance you need. You need managers who are well-trained and proactive in supporting and developing team members, and a system of regular meetings and a tailored induction programme.

Some managers might be more inclined to actually do the important stuff if it is framed as a probationary period, and that’s ok. In short, it’s the substance and essence of a good initial few months of the employment relationship that matter, and those are the same whether you call it probation and operate a pass or fail

system, or whether you ditch that terminology altogether.

What elements of a contract change after probation and how do you manage the transition from a contractual perspective?

Employment rights

Employees who are serving a probationary period have the same statutory rights as any other employee. Statutory employment rights either apply from day one or are dependent on length of service –probation status makes no difference. This means dismissing someone within their probationary period is no easier than once they’ve passed it, although often a longer notice period will apply.

Contractual benefits

Other than things like holiday entitlement and pension, contractual benefits are purely between the employer and employee, therefore many employers choose to withhold certain contractual benefits until probation has been passed. As long as this is clear in the contract of employment, that is perfectly fine to do. There is often an administrative burden involved in contractual benefits, and some are not things you can easily cancel, such as gym membership or private healthcare, so some employers prefer to wait until there’s more certainty before offering these.

Pension

Pension is slightly different in that employees are entitled to be autoenrolled into a pension scheme, and probation can’t be relevant. What you can do is postpone auto-enrolment

for up to three months, which obviously coincides at least partially with a probationary period.

Notice periods

It’s really common for contractual notice periods to increase once probation has been passed, so that employers (and, in fact, employees) can terminate the contract with relative ease and at low expense if it becomes clear things aren’t working out.

Extending probation

Obviously ideally you’ll be sure enough by the time probation is approaching its end whether the employee is a good fit. But sometimes for whatever reason, a longer period is needed. Perhaps there has been illness or other absence during the period, a disruption to training or other support, or performance concerns that are being addressed but not enough time has been given yet to assess whether improvement is sufficient.

If you don’t have provision to extend probation in the employee’s contract, doing so may be a breach of contract, so it’s important to include that. Extensions should not be for too long, and extending multiple times is not advisable or particularly fair on either party. Make sure you confirm the extension in writing, as the probationary period (and relevant terms and conditions) is part of the contract, and is something you’re varying through the extension.

End of probation issues

A common contractual issue with probationary periods is actually lack of clarity about whether the period has ended or not. It’s really common for busy managers to let things ‘drift’ and suddenly the end date for probation has been and gone before a review has been conducted or anything done about extension, if that is what is required.

Sue Pardy Face2FaceHR

Sue is a highly competent and knowledgeable HR consultant with over 20 years’ experience gained in both public and private sectors across a wide range of industries including retail, insurance, financial services, professional services, education and charities. She now works with SMEs across all industries providing practical and affordable HR support. Her ethos is to ensure that all support is tailored to each business as one size does definitely not fit all.

07936 663314

sue.pardy@face2facehr.com face2facehr.com

In many cases, the simple fact of the time passing will mean the probationary period has been passed by default. It’s not possible to extend probation once it has been passed, and, whilst this doesn’t represent a problem in terms of dismissal, as statutory rights aren’t increased, obviously any other terms that change on passing probation will now be in effect, with a longer notice period being particularly relevant.

You can address this to some extent through wording the contract so as to make clear that probation is not deemed to have been passed until specifically confirmed as such, but clearly a much better solution is to make absolutely sure that reviews are conducted in plenty of time, so that the situation doesn’t occur.

Resolve to be a ‘better’ business

What do I mean by ‘better’? I mean one that considers the impact of its operations on all its stakeholders – employees, the environment, local community, customers, suppliers and shareholders. Rather like resolving to join a gym and working on different muscle groups to achieve a better body, take a look at your company’s stakeholders in turn and resolve to impact them more positively, or less negatively, and as a result achieve a better allround business.

Why? We need more good businesses. The conventional way of doing business values financial performance over societal

and planetary well-being. The primary purpose of the majority of companies is to maximise profits for its shareholders through continuous

economic growth. This has left us with vast social and economic inequalities. The UK is one of the most imbalanced countries in the

developed world with the gap between rich and poor among the worst in Europe. The average FTSE 100 CEO package in 2019 was 119 times the average pay of a UK FTE. Alongside the social and economic inequalities, we are witnessing the degradation of our living world. Today in the UK we need about 2.5 planets to provide the resources for our consumption and absorb our waste annually. By resolving to be a better business; reducing negative impacts on and generating positive impacts for your key stakeholders you have an opportunity to be a force for good.

Resolution 1 – Focus on your employees. View them as the heart muscle of your organisation, the centre of your circulation system, pumping blood around your body. Given their importance, ensure that all employees are paid a real Living Wage. This is a voluntary rate that meets living costs, not just the government minimum. Currently the statutory minimum wage (for under 23s) is £9.18, the statutory National Living Wage (for over 23s) is £9.50 and the Real Living Wage (for over 18s) is £10.90 across the UK and £11.95 in London. Living Wage employers find that paying the real Living Wage, as well as being the right thing to do, has real business benefits; staff feel more valued and this has a positive knock-on effect.

To be or not to be an entrepreneur…

Paul Green

The definition of entrepreneur is “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit”. So, in essence, any small business owner who takes that brave step to set up their own business is an “entrepreneur”.

However, I tend to disagree with that and think any small business owner is entrepreneurial but there is more to whether they can be labelled as an entrepreneur.

For me, there has to be more substance to the term being applied to someone who has set up their own business – there needs to be elements of success and a proven track record in establishing the business (or multiple businesses). Don’t get me wrong, failure is likely to be part of the process, as not every venture will be successful (as the stats indicate). There will be numerous “war stories” for those people that have gone down this path and eventually reached the level of success where being described as an entrepreneur is appropriate.

As Richard Osborne states in this month’s “spotlight on” interview, “entrepreneur” has become commoditised and is used far too frequently that you could argue it no longer has the kudos associated with it that it may have done historically.

Richard also agrees with me that the “honour” of being deemed an entrepreneur is something that should be bestowed on you, not self-claimed. That peers looking from the outside can assess your success and in so doing, give you that label.

07949 703137 paul@buscomm.co.uk

It also positively impacts your employees’ families, often forgotten stakeholders in your business. To underline your commitment to your employees, consider getting Living Wage Accreditation and join the community of 11,000 UK businesses resolved to positively impacting their employees.

Resolution 2 – Focus on the environment, as from the environment you get the nutrition required to fuel your gym session. Without respecting its importance it may no longer be able to provide you with what you need to operate. Start simple and think about the impact of your company’s operations on the environment. Next step would be to start measuring your carbon footprint. Consider setting up an environmental management system. It has become more usual for governments and the public and private sector to require this of their contractors and suppliers.

It may also save you money through cost savings. There are many easy ways to successfully reduce resource use, energy use and waste and many organisations and online tools available to support UK businesses do this. There is a Northamptonshirebased environmental charity called Investors in the Environment who will provide you with guidance and advice.

Resolution 3 – Focus on your community, both local to where you operate and your larger community of customers and suppliers. View these as your biceps and triceps muscles as they play a huge role in your day-to-day activities. Support exercises that enhance and serve these communities.

Consider sourcing goods from independent local businesses or purchasing fair trade goods and materials to improve the livelihoods of underserved groups in your supply chain. You could partner with a charitable or community organisation to address social issues in your area. Incentivise your employees to volunteer.

Research suggests a link between volunteering and employee perception of positive corporate culture and participating in these sorts of activities builds teamwork and enriches the lives of your employees. A final exercise in your biceps and triceps routine could be to support climate projects and direct a % of your profits annually to organisations such as 1% for the Planet or Ecologi as a simple and impactful way to become a better business.

Resolution 4 – Focus on your shareholders and investors. View them as your quadriceps muscles. As some of the most powerful muscles in the body, they are responsible for keeping the body upright and enabling movement. The key word here is ‘share’. Share your vision to be a better business. Share your ambition to make a positive impact on your key stakeholders. Share your determination to reduce your negative environmental impacts and increase your positive environmental impacts. Consider introducing at board level, an annual review of your businesses’ social and environmental performance. This could lead to the adoption of an ESG strategy or a resolution to become certified as a B Corporation. Through open communication, you may not find universal acceptance, but you will

Alexina Cassidy Presidio Consulting

Alexina set up Presidio Consulting, a sustainability and environmental consultancy, in April 2022 with the purpose of encouraging, informing and facilitating businesses to work towards improving their impact on their employees, communities and the environment. Her role is to identify key actions that businesses can take whilst taking into account the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. She is keen to bring together a network of forward-thinking, sustainable businesses in the local area, all contributing to making business a force for good. Alexina has a CFA qualification in ESG Investing and is a qualified B Corp Consultant.

07983 616660

alexina@presidioconsulting.co.uk linkedin.com/in/alexina-cassidy

find common ground, a willingness to build a more resilient business with opportunities for growth and innovation and a shared desire to be a force for good

Making the transition from freelancer to business owner

Some time ago you left employment to set up on your own. Whether it was your own choice or one forced on you by redundancy you’ve made a success of turning your specialist skills into a service others want to buy. You’re now looking at how you can grow further.

That can be for many reasons. Maybe you’ve hit your ceiling and run out of hours to do the work or got more ambitious as you realise there are considerably more people you can help and more money to be made if you scale up the business. And you’re probably right.

If you think this might be a risky venture as you don’t want to jeopardise your current success. You’re probably right about that too!

So what are the three most usual hazards that can trip you up if you haven’t planned for them as your business grows to be bigger than just you? If they are not what you expected to see then that’s great, I may have saved you a lot of grief down the road.

The Peter Principle has been around for a long time. Laurence

Peter and Raymond Hull popularised

Peter’s theory in their 1969 book of the same name. The theory is that people in a hierarchy tend to get promoted to their level of

incompetence.

Well, hey, here you are introducing a hierarchy to your business and the only one getting promoted is you. Now you’re more than a technical expert you’re the leader and these other people are looking to you for their direction.

The chances are that in the beginning you may have a mix of outsourced specialists as well as employed. Whilst financially this may be the best solution it does add its own challenges in getting the right mix of people and bringing them together as a team.

Then there’s the translation of all that stuff in your head about how you like things to be done. How much latitude do you give people to find their own way and how much needs to be standardised? How do you mentor and teach your people to deliver for you? How to you tackle poor performance as well as rewarding the good? How do you stay true to your values that made you set up your own business in the

first place?

As well as your leadership skills, other more technical tasks become more complex. With a team come additional costs and understanding the numbers and making predictions becomes imperative. As does an effective and sustainable approach to sales and marketing.

You can take comfort that you know what works, the evidence is in your success. As soon as you start to scale up the business just gets more complex. Use the competency exercise in the box (see figure 1) to assess for yourself how proficient you are at some of the new tasks you find yourself doing and equally notice the new problems that keep emerging.

Imposter Syndrome

An exercise like this is also useful to stop you tripping yourself up through a degree of Imposter Syndrome. This term also has a long pedigree since it was introduced by Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes in a 1978 study

looking at high-achieving women who experienced what Clance and Imes described as “an internal experience of intellectual phoniness”. It has now been recognised as a phenomenon for many men and women who are used to performing well but suffer feelings of insecurity and loss of confidence when put in a new position. That sense that they don’t deserve to be there and that one day they will get caught out. Now it’s important to say at this time that the degree to which this applies can differ considerably. Whilst not classified as a mental illness, if this does affect you deeply I recommend seeking the appropriate professional help.

Here I’m simply raising the issue of how the syndrome can affect you as you make the transition to business leader. The change of role and the image of how a successful leader should look and behave like can compel you to overperform and set very high goals to justify to yourself that you deserve this success. All the time that little voice in your head doesn’t believe it and justifies it as luck so you have to aim higher to live up to the new expectation of you.

Equally though, some leaders react the other way, eschewing the limelight and playing down or fudging their new role, taking every opportunity to drift back into the comfort of the technical role

Another sign that the new leader is not comfortable with owning their role is a reluctance to change their job title from a technical descriptor to director even though their role changed. I have had three such clients in the last year all with a similar rationale that it makes them feel self-important as they haven’t earned it yet. One of which was seeking my advice as she had just had a resignation from a member of staff who cited lack of leadership from my client as the reason for leaving.

Responding not reacting

Judith Hanson

Did your Mum ever tell you to count to 10 before you said something angry or unkind? Well, guess what – she was right (us Mums usually are)? It is so easy to react in a negative way. Maybe the person you are talking to has just said something that you totally disagree with or know for certain is untrue…but is your immediate reaction appropriate or helpful? Would it be better to think before you speak?

It will depend on the circumstances and the relationship between you and the “offending” person but, in my view, it’s always better to pause. A few seconds of thought allows you the freedom to choose how you respond. Maybe the person you are talking to is an idiot (and you’ll probably never see them again) but what’s the value of telling them exactly what you think of them? Generally, when we react we are serving our own ego and may end up in a confrontational situation that will impact others.

When it comes to interactions with our customers, employees and colleagues I think it is always better to respond thoughtfully. Yes you may need to tell them that they are wrong but it will need to be done carefully so that you get the end result you need while preserving the relationship. In my experience the relationship is paramount. For instance, when you have to give a customer bad news, they will normally work with you to resolve the problem if you have built up a good relationship.

So take a deep breath (count to ten if it helps) and proceed carefully…then when you are alone you can scream, swear or otherwise get rid of your negative reaction!

The others

Ahh number three in the trip hazards is about actively managing the other stakeholders in your business. You need to take into account how it affects them if you want them to support and assist you in making the change. Here I thought I’d give you some further examples drawn from either my experience or in conversation with others who have made the change. I hope you noticed the recurring theme that they all want more access to you.

Clients. It would seem that clients should really not have any issues with you developing your business. However many an accountant has told me tales of obtaining new clients

because they no longer had direct access to their existing accountant and disliked speaking to a different person every time they phoned.

■ Tip 1. Add your own personal development to your business plan. Use the competency guide to help you

Jacky Sherman The Consultants’ Consultant

In 2003 Jacky left as the CEO of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and set up her own coaching company. Realising she knew little about marketing she found the support and help she needed from two main sources. First she undertook formal training with Asentiv, and the other source was the willingness of other business owners she met networking, to share their knowledge and contacts with someone who was not a natural networker. Now semi-retired she pays forward that generosity by mentoring others who have come out of employment as experts in their field but find that running a business at times is uncomfortable territory. She finds a way of helping the most unnatural entrepreneur build a business in a way that is natural to them.

07970 638 857

jackysherman@jackysherman.com

jackysherman.com

Staff. The introduction of a management structure meant the staff no longer had easy access to the leader. This led them to ganging up on the new manager on the Friday of their first week and would not return to work the following Monday. As a result the leader had been through four managers in four months.

Family. In a coaching session the client recognised that they were self-sabotaging the business development work they had done. Her very successful father had never had time attend her sports day or school plays or birthday parties. To her success meant working long hours and neglecting her children. Then in one of those “aha” moments coaching is famous for, she recognised that right now she was working long hours and neglecting her children to be unsuccessful.

Like most trip hazards once you’re aware of them you can often devise your own avoidance tactics. However, I’ll add my three tips to avoid three trip hazards on your road to making a successful transition to be the business leader you want to be.

■ Tip 2. Be clear on what your new role will be. How you see yourself as this successful leader and how you present yourself to all your stakeholders

■ Tip 3. Take your stakeholders with you on your journey they will give you the reality check you need when you have those moments of selfdoubt. They’ll also be there to celebrate your success and make sure you do too!

Figure 1

Can we count on you?

One of the biggest challenges in today’s world is the lack of accountability. We see world leaders not being held accountable on issues of equality and diversity or climate change, we see celebrities and politicians acting as though they are above the law and it has an impact. We are struggling to know who or how to trust people. And accountability plays a huge part in that.

The constantly changing world and our drive to understand our place in it means understanding that we all have a role to play and we can no longer expect

What is it?

Accountability – the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable. In a business setting, this means making sure that what is required to be actioned is actioned and, if not, then those who have responsibility for those actions can and do answer for them.

Why is it important?

Part of me feels I shouldn’t have to write this section but we all need a reminder right?

Without accountability why would you do anything? For me, a lack of accountability is like saying “I don’t care” and in a work setting that is very harmful.

This becomes even more of an issue for smaller business owners who care so deeply about their business and

every element of it, they struggle to understand why other people don’t share that.

How do I develop it in others?

I have created eight points to help you to build greater accountability within your team or your business.

Set clear expectations

One of my favourite expressions is “clarity is kindness” and often we do not set out expectations clearly because;

■ We have an expectation that the person already knows what we want

■ We can’t be bothered

■ We do not wish to offend them by being too prescriptive or micromanaging

I understand the above and have been guilty of them all but if you want to foster greater accountability in your business you are going to have to make some changes.

One of the best ways to gain clarity is to discuss things with your team or the person concerned and ask them to confirm their understanding of the expectations

and make sure deadlines are mutually agreed upon and realistic.

Meetings are everyone’s responsibility

This is an easy win and a good first step. When you meet with people in your business make it clear that you are all responsible for making those meetings happen. Time is very precious and so meetings should be prioritised by all parties.

Once you are in the meeting make sure everyone contributes. Ask each member to take responsibility for the agenda, and give yourself the opportunity to observe and coach rather than lead and dominate.

If you always lead then you are creating an expectation that they should always follow – let that sink in!

To encourage greater accountability, you have to hand over the reins.

The team assign tasks to individuals

If you make a decision as a team, it is still best to give key responsibility to one person. It is then clear to the whole team and yourself who is accountable for that deliverable or task. Encourage people within the team to step forward and take on the responsibility or suggestions from others rather than you assigning a person.

Follow up

Setting expectations and assigning responsibility will have little or no impact if you do not follow up.

Schedule reviews and make sure they happen. Do not leave it until the deadline, check in to make sure progress is being made or if any additional support is required.

There is no point being angry or disappointed in someone failing to meet a deadline if you haven’t held them to that deadline. “I thought I asked for that to be done by last Tuesday” holds no water here. If you didn’t care why should they?

This is one of the single most important things you can do as a leader. There is no need to be harsh or critical but you must be clear.

All feedback is valuable

Otherwise known as owning up to our mistakes. For true accountability and ultimately a productive culture people have to feel comfortable with admitting their mistakes and highlighting any issues they see.

Ask who was responsible for the task/action and why it has not been successful, then work with the team to find ways to prevent that from happening again.

Encourage open and honest feedback within the team or company and make sure you focus on what you are trying to achieve rather than what went wrong.

Consequences

It would be easy to fall into the trap of a more toxic leadership style here but that is not what we are aiming for. You should be able to say that if this doesn’t happen the consequence will be something not nothing. If there are no consequences, was it that important in the first place?

Reward wins

This is a no-brainer and again a great activity for teams. Recognition is highly motivating for many. As well as business wins remember to make sure that you reward and celebrate the behaviours that you value as a business too.

Lead by example

Again, this is a big one and you have to admit to your own mistakes and be open to feedback. Actively encourage feedback to yourself on areas where you feel you could do better or ask where the team feel you could improve. How you handle the feedback will set the bar for how feedback is received within the team.

I’m not going to lie to you, it takes time to develop a culture of accountability but it will improve morale, productivity, effectiveness and ultimately the business.

It is another one of those things that are certainly worth the effort… Good luck!

Mhairi Richardson Tomrom Team Coaching

Mhairi specialises in coaching teams to help them achieve more and improve their wellbeing. Her focus is on building trust within the team and a combination of coaching, mentoring and facilitation and she can tailor the program to the needs of your business. She enjoys working with newly formed teams, established team or teams who just feel they should be achieving more.

Mhairi is also a coach with a strong SME background, a focus on the detail, a high level of emotional intelligence and a strong desire to develop talent and grow high performing teams.

07970 002129

mhairi.richardson@tomrom.co.uk

tomrom.co.uk

Are you a good listener?

As a business owner, being a good listener is critical to your success. You have to keep your ear to the ground with regard to customers and competitors. Both impact on how your brand can thrive, and it is through your ability to hear the messages they’re transmitting that you can position your brand in exactly the right way.

But what does that mean? Aren’t branding and positioning the same thing? The answer is no, they’re not. However, they are intimately connected.

Branding vs positioning

Your brand is the image you’ve created for your business or product.

You build it through various strategies using collaterals such as a logo, tag line, colour scheme, tone of voice, and language. Positioning, on the other hand, is about ‘owning’ a space in the minds of your customers, which is carefully positioned against your competitors in the marketplace.

So, whilst your brand is something you define, create, and fix, your

positioning is something that is closely connected to what’s going on elsewhere and, therefore, is relative. Thus, once you have defined and built your brand, positioning is what gives it strength by embedding it in the minds of your customers and giving it a particular space relative to your competitors in their heads. In the real world, this means that branding makes you stand out, whilst positioning puts your brand at the forefront of a customer’s mind when they next need your product or services.

Positioning doesn’t happen by accident

The car industry provides great examples to illustrate this. Ford and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) occupy different marketing spaces and pursue very different messaging in their campaigns.

This is because their target audiences are not the same. In broad brush terms, where JLR sits proudly in the luxury car space, Ford is much more on the practical end. If you’re just starting a family and a career, it’s unlikely you’ll be looking to buy a Range Rover; your budget and needs will point you in the direction of a Focus. However, if you’re blessed with a high income or large bank account and like to big up your status, a Range

Rover will do the trick nicely; even if you never plan to take it off road.

How do you create that space in your customers’ minds?

This is where listening, looking, and empathising come in. Whilst you’re using your eyes and your ears, you need to be searching for the answers to various questions. Who is your target audience and what space do they inhabit? How can you differentiate yourself from other players in the market? What is your USP and how does that tap into your target audience’s needs? That’s quite a few questions already, but there are more. How are your competitors positioned? What does your target audience think of them and where do they excel and where do they fail?

Take Coca Cola for example. See their logo or mention their name and you know the brand instantly. You also have a sense of what it represents too; a tasty and refreshing drink. However, from the standpoint of positioning, where does it sit? It’s not the cheapest on the market, in fact it’s the opposite, so they’re not selling on price. Instead, what the marketing strategies have achieved over time is to position the brand on the basis of quality that you pay for… because you love the flavour and know what you’ll get each time

Roger trained at Edward Thomas Peirson & Sons in Market Harborough before working at Hartwell & Co, followed by Chancery, as a partner. He started Essendon Accounts & Tax with Helen Beaumont in 2014. Roger loves ‘getting his hands dirty’, working with emerging, small-to-medium and family businesses to ensure they receive the best possible accountancy advice. Using an extensive network of business contacts to leverage the best guidance and practical solutions, he has been called a Business Godparent due to his caring, hands-on approach.

07595 021376 roger.eddowes@essendonaccounts.co.uk essendonaccounts.co.uk

you order it. So, thinking about your business, where does your brand sit in the minds of your target audience? Or… more importantly… where do you want it to sit and what can you do about it?

Analyse your competition

Taking a deep breath and really reviewing what your competitors are up to will help you to fine-tune your positioning. You’ll need to analyse their messaging and products closely, and then ask yourself a few questions.

1. What is your value proposition?

Why should a potential customer come to you instead of your competitors? How do you solve their problem and make it a no-brainer that you’re the right choice?

It’s critical that your value proposition is prominent in every message you send out. You need to highlight how your product will meet

their specific needs by differentiating it from other products. Don’t be afraid to face up to the strengths of your competition; you can learn from them. And don’t forget, they will have weaknesses too, and you will be able to exploit some of those with your strengths.

2. How can you highlight your expertise in your marketing?

Make sure your target audience know what you bring to the table. You want them to think of you first when next they need your product or service.

3. Can you tap into a niche?

Don’t fear being in a niche, own it, and don’t worry about excluding sections of your market. Once you have positioned your brand properly, you will realise that those people aren’t actually your target market in the first place. Instead, you’re connecting with people who know how your products solve their problems.

Really get to know your customers

You don’t need to be all things to all people to make a few sales. If you’re targeted, you’ll connect directly with the people who have the tastes and needs you’re looking for. So, ask yourself, what do they value? And how can you tap into that knowledge and own that space in their heads?

One of the best ways to glean this knowledge is to trawl the customer reviews of your competition. See what they’re moaning about, as well as what they love. Check out the five-star, one-star, and three-star ratings. Each level has a story to tell that will help you to position your brand correctly.

Protect your reputation

Your brand and your position in your market hinge on the reputation that you develop. If you make positioning promises that you don’t keep, you

won’t maintain that space in their heads for long. In fact, worse still… they’ll talk negatively to their contacts and spread the word. So, once you’ve positioned your brand, take your messages seriously and ensure that everything your business does supports them authentically.

Make good use of your business connections

As the long-in-the-tooth accountants that we are, we’ve seen businesses succeed and fail based on how they’ve positioned their brand in the market. And nothing threatens a brand more than tough times. The shortterm economic forecast is certainly turbulent at the moment, but positioning your brand and products correctly will help you to stand out in the right crowd.

One thing to do is work with trusted experts who can help you to anticipate the hurdles ahead

Most business owners understand the kind of focus that is needed. However, when you’re in the thick of it day in, day out, it’s easy to lose sight of how to leverage the theory. So take a few moments to think about that now. Who can you turn to, to get some guidance? If you’re an Essendon client, you’ll know that our network of connections is invaluable. But even if you’re not a client, we’d always be happy to put you in touch with someone who has the specialist skills you need. Because, as small businesses, we believe we’re all in this together.

And did you see what we did there? We’ve started to position our experience as accountants and our helpfulness as supportive experts in your mind… which is exactly what we represent. And it’s a space we’re thriving in.

Roger Eddowes Essendon Accounts & Tax

Book Review:

Have you got what it takes to be “Self-made”?

and Byron

By Bianca Miller

Cole

The blurb says “This authoritative, focused guide by two of the UK’s brightest young entrepreneurs – The Apprentice runner-up, Bianca Miller and serial entrepreneur, Byron Cole –is a comprehensive toolkit for anyone who wants to make a success of running their own business.”

We thought we would see how our group of self-made entrepreneurs and employed leaders would reflect on the book.

We all agreed that it was well written in a style that made it easy to read and to follow. And I think it is fair to say that the book is not designed to read as a book but to be used as a reference point for the various stages of the business life cycle.

For those already a significant way into their journey I think it is a good reminder of what is good practice especially from a marketing perspective.

The book is conveniently divided into four sections;

■ The Vision – really understanding the market you are entering and what it is you will be adding to that. How to create a strong brand that works well in that market place. This contains lots of tips on how to do things cheaply when you are starting out.

■ The Action – Advertising, marketing, networking and the power of social media. Where to go to get funding and the many ways you can sell to your clients.

■ The Reaction – This is very much about growth both of your business but also yourself. This offers advice on self-development and heavily advocates for the use of mentors – not necessarily a paid mentor or someone famous but someone you can talk things through with.

■ The Evolution – I liked this section as I work with or am connected to a lot of people for whom this section is relevant. This also covers asking yourself if the business is giving you what you wanted it to, the other people within the business and making sure you take time enjoy some of the good generated by the business. Then finally it deals with creating and exit plan, being prepared and understanding what your business is worth.

I personally felt that the first two sections had a great deal of content and practical tips but the two final sections could have had more depth and detail. It is also worth noting that the detailed help for social media may very quickly become outdated.

While I would say that it wasn’t enjoyed by everyone, we did all agree that it was a useful tool for people who are thinking about starting a business or at an early stage.

Or perhaps young people still at school who want to understand the world of business a little better.

Get the book on Amazon

Mhairi Richardson Tomrom Team Coaching

Mhairi specialises in coaching teams to help them achieve more and improve their wellbeing. Her focus is on building trust within the team and a combination of coaching, mentoring and facilitation and she can tailor the program to the needs of your business. She enjoys working with newly formed teams, established team or teams who just feel they should be achieving more.

Mhairi is also a coach with a strong SME background, a focus on the detail, a high level of emotional intelligence and a strong desire to develop talent and grow high performing teams.

07970 002129

mhairi.richardson@tomrom.co.uk tomrom.co.uk