Business Connected Essex Edition 8 by Business Connected

BUSINESS

August / September 2014

CONNECTED ESSEX

THE LEADING COUNTYWIDE B2B MAGAZINE T H I S M O N T H F E AT U R I N G :

business loans

Start growing today

www.fleximize.com Leading B2B Magazine

Business Networking

Featured Local News

C-Class Business Connected July14(version 3.1).pdf 1 04/07/2014 17:28:17

The all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Born to Drive. Introducing the sensational new Mercedes-Benz C-Class - available to order from Lancaster Mercedes-Benz Corporate now. The new saloon is designed from the ground up to give class-leading performance, cutting edge style and pioneering technology - not to mention just 104 g/km^ and up to 70.6 mpg combined*.

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From just £339 a month** ORDER TODAY FROM LANCASTER MERCEDES-BENZ CORPORATE

@lancastermb

Lancaster Mercedes-Benz Corporate Whatever your business needs, you can trust our Essex and Suffolk expert teams to help you every step of the way. Let us know what you’re looking for - and we’ll take care of the rest. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FLEET SPECIALIST

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*Business Users Only. Advance payment and fee applies. All payments subject to VAT: Finance based on Contract Hire agreement, 10,000 miles per annum. Excess mileage charges may apply. Rental includes Road Fund License for the contract duration. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. Orders/credit approved on selected new C-Class models between 1 July - 30 September 2014, registered by 31 December 2014. Subject to availability. Offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Credit approved subject to status by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited, MK15 8BA. Prices correct at time of print 07/14 - subject to change at any time. Model pictured is representative only and may not reflect the actual specification featured.

und ct to

BUSINESS

August / September 2014

CONNECTED ESSEX

THE LEADING COUNTYWIDE B2B MAGAZINE T H I S M O N T H F E AT U R I N G :

business loans

Start growing today

www.fleximize.com Leading B2B Magazine

Business Networking

Featured Local News

Get In Touch Tel: 01702 513113

Email: info@businessconnected.co.uk

Or Visit: www.businessconnected.co.uk Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ BusinessConnected Follow us on Twitter

Welcome... Welcome to the August/September edition of Business Connected Essex magazine. We are delighted to welcome our new Business Connected Premier Partners and we very much look forward to working with you. We still have Premier Partner categories available and on page 5 you will find further information on the scheme. In this issue, we cover the latest HR updates from SVC, a Team Development article from Kevin Clark of ActionCOACH and the local news round-up. Please turn to page 18 where you will find details of our brand new social media one day course. The course is designed to be approached from a business point of view and is taught by qualified Business Connected staff at our offices. We know what works and are here to pass that real life social media experience on to you. Also, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to visit our news based website: www.businessconnected.co.uk which is updated several times a day with local business news stories. Please feel free to send us your press releases; we are usually able to upload those that are relevant within 24 hours. Our email address for press releases is: pressreleases@businessconnected.co.uk. Our ever popular networking events have now moved from bi-monthly to monthly and in order to help you plan your diary, each event falls on the same Friday every month, please see full details on page 4. I hope you enjoy reading Business Connected and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Richard Pond Managing Director

Contents 06 Lead Feature 07 Fleximize 08

HR Update Appraisals in the Workplace

@Connected_Essex

12 16 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any way without prior written permission of Business Connected Ltd. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Printed in the UK by Printwize www.printwize.co.uk

Essex Round Up News From Around The County

Movers & Shakers A New Driving Force at Lancaster Mercedes Benz

20 Essex Networking Events 21 Recommended by Business Connected 22 24 28 34

Workplace Feature Work Life Balance

Business Advice Lowering the Cost of Doing Business

Business Coach Developing a Winning Team

Charity News CHAPS - The Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Charity www.businessconnected.co.uk

BUSINESS

CONNECTED ESSEX

To book tickets for any Business Connected event please visit: www.businessconnected.co.uk/our-events or call 01702 513113

About us Business Connected is proud to be operating the countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier b2b magazine, networking events and online portal that focus on the business community of Essex. We bring local businesses together via the many platforms that we operate. Our magazine is distributed across the whole county in print and online. The business connected website which receives over half a million hits a month is dedicated to up to date business news, a business directory and the number one place to find out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on in Essex. You may have heard about the Business Connected Premier Partner scheme which helps businesses be seen not just in print but also online and through our fantastic social media

To advertise in any of our forthcoming publications or

offering, please see full details opposite.

for any information on anything Business Connected related please call us today on 01702 513113 or email

If you are like us and still like to see potential customers

info@businessconnected.co.uk

regularly face to face then our networking events might be just the answer. We hold four quality business networking events. Details of our upcoming events below. At all events we follow the same proven formula, we send delegate lists out in advance, have plenty of time to network, listen to one or two short but informative talks and get fed well. We always make sure there is a real focus on networking. Still not convinced? Then have a look at the videos of our events at www.businessconnected.co.uk, you can also book your tickets here. Business Connected

Business Connected

@Essex Cricket Club

@Southend Airport

@Ipswich Town FC

@Colchester United

Next event 5th September

Next event 12th September

Next event 19th September

Next event 26th September

and then the 1st Friday of

and then the 2nd Friday of

and then the 3rd Friday

and then the 4th Friday of

every month

of every month

every month

www.businessconnected.co.uk

The Business Connected

Premier Partner Scheme Exclusivity – We only work with one company of any type within the county.

Business Connected Magazine – A full page advertisement in every edition of this magazine, we print and distribute 6000 copies, email 50,000 copies as well as uploading to the Business Connected website and social media sites.

Social Media – Yes you may have a Twitter / LinkedIn / Facebook account but how about a helping hand, we can set up and run your account, interact as a “raving fan” or simply come over and give you regular training to all your staff.

Email Campaigns – Need to get the message out to the masses? we have a number of options which we can tailor to suit the needs of your business.

Networking Events – Many people know Business Connected from our countywide events and we want you to be part of them, fancy being a speaker or displaying your banner at all our events?

Website – Our Business Connected website gets thousands of visitors a day, being a countywide news based website we are the number one place to find business news.

Save locally

Account Manager – Probably the most important feature of the partnership scheme.

At Shawbrook, we believe your bank should be a pleasure to deal with and that your savings should

ER *

1.25%

always achieve a good return.

AER *

www.cbhc.uk.com

Our best-buy business accounts have friendly, experienced support from our team in Brentwood and a

100 DAY BUSINESS NOTICE ACCOUNT

Moneyfacts award to support our ethos.

Lending

You don’t need to change your bank to save with us, just save with a new kind of bank - Shawbrook Bank.

Recruitment Accountants Passion energy commitment Our aim is to support you to achieve Auditel style guide your goals

Printers

Radio

Car Leasing

Printers & Copiers

Logo usage

5 S H AW B RO O K

Zone 1 About Geerings

Straplines Colours Fonts

TEAM

Zone 2 Print Management, Mobile Printing & Data Security

Straplines

LICATION FORM ONLINE

K . C O. U K

Zone 3 Document Management

Lowering the cost of doing business

There are two approved straplines that can be combined with the Auditel logo.

IS AUTHORISED BY THE PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY AND REGULATED BY THE FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY AND THE PRUDENTIAL

Y. REGISTERED OFFICE, LUTEA HOUSE, WARLEY HILL BUSINESS PARK, THE DRIVE, GREAT WARLEY, BRENTWOOD, ESSEX, CM13 3BE. REGISTERED IN

The logo may also be combined with the web address.

UMBER 388466. SHAWBROOK BANK LIMITED IS A MEMBER OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME. * AER STANDS FOR ANNUAL

Banking

Augmented Reality

LEFT A SUM OF MONEY IN YOUR ACCOUNT ALL YEAR, THE AER WOULD BE THE INTEREST RATE YOU’D GET IF WE PAID YOU INTEREST DURING THE

HE YEAR AND YOUR SUBSEQUENTLY HIGHER BALANCE THEN EARNED MORE INTEREST (THIS IS KNOWN AS COMPOUND INTEREST).

.indd 1

The preferred position of the logo is bottom right of

the page, but this may vary depending on the content

Cost Management

Insurance

Property Marketing

Car Dealer

Zone 5 Equipment Demonstrations

and space available. 19/05/2014 11:10

Zone 4 Managed Print Services

Vocal Coach

Taking cost and purchase management to a new level

Zone 6 3D Print

01277 230347 | nicole@antonybatty.com | www.antonybatty.com

www.auditel.co.uk

Help when you need it most

0127701277 230347 | nicole@antonybatty.com | www.antonybatty.com 230347 | nicole@antonybatty.com | www.antonybatty.com

Training, Coaching and White Collar Franchise

Help Helpwhen whenyou youneed needit itmost most IT Support Insolvency & Consultancy Practitioners

Founded in 1997, Antony Batty & Co LLP is an established and well

Human Resources

respected Insolvency Practice with offices in London and Brentwood.

Specialising in Business Recovery and Turnaround, Corporate Insolvency Founded in 1997, Antony BattyBatty & Co&LLP is anisestablished and and well well Founded in 1997, Antony Co LLP an established and Financial Restructuring, the Brentwood office is headed up respected Insolvency Practice withwith offices in London and and Brentwood. respected Insolvency Practice offices in London Brentwood. by Nicole Southwell who has over 22 yearsNicole experience in helping Southwell Nicole Southwell Specialising in Business Recovery and and Turnaround, Corporate Insolvency Specialising in Business Recovery Turnaround, Corporate Insolvency Head Head of ABC of Brentwood ABC Brentwood businesses across Essex and the UK. and and Financial Restructuring, the Brentwood office is headed up up Financial Restructuring, the Brentwood office is headed by Nicole Southwell whowho has over 22 years experience in helping by Nicole Southwell has over 22 years experience in helping We pride ourselves on giving Companies and Directors professional, businesses across Essex and and the UK. businesses across Essex the UK. honest advice, and our initial ‘no obligation’ meeting is confidential and free of charge. Our aim is to guide our clients through the available We pride ourselves on giving Companies and and Directors professional, We pride ourselves on giving Companies Directors professional, options, treat them with courtesy and respect, make Garyand Waskett Gary Waskettthe process honest advice, and and our initial ‘no obligation’ meeting is confidential honest advice, our initial ‘no obligation’ meeting is confidential Business Development Manager Business Development Manager as straightforward as possible. We have extensive experience in ABC Brentwood ABC Brentwood and and free free of charge. Our Our aim aim is toisguide our clients through the available of charge. to guide our clients through the available most areas of business, with Construction, Travel, Transport and options, treattreat themthem withwith courtesy and and respect, and and make the process options, courtesy respect, make the process Retail being particular specialties. Our Firm has over 150 years as straightforward as possible. We have extensive experience in as straightforward as possible. We have extensive experience in combined experience. mostmost areasareas of business, withwith Construction, Travel, Transport and and of business, Construction, Travel, Transport Retail being particular specialties. Our Our FirmFirm has over 150 years Retail being particular specialties. has over 150 years Please visit our website for client testimonials, combined experience. combined experience. and examples of how we have successfully helped businesses in financial difficulty. Please visit visit our website for client testimonials, Please our website for client testimonials, and and examples of how we have successfully helped examples of how we have successfully helped Contact our team in Brentwood to get some businesses in financial difficulty. businesses in financial difficulty. impartial and confidential advice on 01277 230347 or email Nicole Southwell nicole@antonybatty.com

Nicole Southwell Head of ABC Brentwood

Gary Waskett Business Development Manager ABC Brentwood

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Asset Finance & Water Coolers

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Fleximize is a UK-based direct funding company and web platform launched in January 2014. Our mission is to help small and medium British businesses grow by providing them with flexible financing solutions tailored to their unique needs and preferences. We are striving to provide our clients with experience and service traditionally available only to larger corporates. Your dedicated relationship manager will guide and support you from the moment you apply - no bouncing from person to person or waiting for hours on hold.

WE PROVIDE DEDICATED RELATIONSHIP MANAGERS

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Your revenue in the last twelve months

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Repa yments are flexible

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0207 100 0110

Grow Your Business With A Trusted Lender The Fleximize Guarantee We’re Personal When you apply for a loan with us you will receive a dedicated relationship manager who will guide you through your application and manage your account. No call centres, no switching, just one friendly point of contact.

We Promise Fast, Flexible Cash Borrow up to £50,000 with us and choose from our flexible repayment options. We can fund your business in as little as 24 hours.

We’re Refreshingly Different At Fleximize, we have created a unique product which provides you with flexible funding that you repay at the pace of your business. There are no fixed interest or capital repayments every month, you simply pay us a percentage of your revenue until an agreed amount is repaid. Alternatively, we also have a more traditional fixed term product.

We Reward Trust Once our customers make 3 successful loan repayments we’re happy to review for a top-up on the original loan amount.

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If only the mainstream banks were as understanding as Fleximize ! “Great service received from Fleximize but what was most important to me was their understanding of my business. They provide a great combination of quick and easy to apply for loans whilst also ensuring they are being responsible lenders. Far more approachable than our bank!” - Kirstin Read all our customer reviews on

HR Update

Appraisals in the Workplace

VC is committed to 100% customer service at all times. We offer new ideas and ways of working that are tailor-made to our client’s requirements.

Working in partnership with our clients to build long-lasting relationships, we offer professional, commercial advice to our clients to provide them with practical solutions to everyday HR related issues. Providing exceptional customer service is key to our organisations success and our company mission of putting people first is the core of our activity for our clients. The department is led by the HR Director, who has worked at SVC for over 11 years and has built a strong team of fully qualified professional HR Advisors, who have a combined total 50 years HR experience within various industries. Everyday is different for the team with each phone call received bringing its own challenges with a variety of enquiries, situations and questions to answer, however, on the whole there are common themes. One of the most common areas we are asked for advice on is related to Appraisals; Most companies acknowledge that their greatest asset is their people. Certainly as managers we know if our people know what is expected of them, receive the right training to enable them to do their job and are given regular feedback on their performance then performance is enhanced, however, implementing this in our place of work can sometimes be daunting and leave Managers feeling uncomfortable. All too often appraisals are based only on opinion because managers lack the time to define performance measures and monitor these on a regular basis, whilst providing feedback so when they use the annual performance to deliver a raft of issues they have collated over the past year and the conversation is all about what has not worked in the past 12 months people become very disengaged with the process and rather than enhancing their performance can have a detrimental effect on the performance of individuals. But it’s the organisations that achieve changes in performance and productivity that survive; no one (including us!) has a complete answer, but here are some solutions to consider: Setting standards: Start the process focusing on the positive by highlighting what the appraisals should achieve and the benefits to your employees of having effective appraisal systems. Empower your managers to deliver those standards however they wish, enable them to manage and own the process. Standards with clear objectives offer changes that strengthen performance and deliver outcomes. Try to avoid complicating the process which is often a tendency by implementing more structure, more processes and more paperwork, it’s meant to be helpful, but often appraisals that ask about competencies, evidence, objectives and so on actually baffle and alienate managers and employees.

08 10

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Feedback: Managers who conduct the appraisals rarely get feedback on the appraisals they conduct. That’s why bad appraisers believe they are OK, and why they continue to be bad. It’s not easy for employees to give honest feedback, but it can be made easier. To assist with this process you can use anonymous online or paper questionnaires, which enables employees to give honest and open feedback on their recent appraisals. This information can then be fed back to their appraising manager. In our experience most of the feedback offers simple, practical improvements that can then be implemented. Tailor made: One size definitely does not fit all! A vital part of this process is tailoring the appraisal to suit your organisation’s aims, culture, people and resources. Isolated, stand-alone appraisal projects will always tend to fail, no matter how big – or expensive – they are. The only thing that will really make an impact is a bundle of mutually supportive projects and processes. So, to improve your appraisal process, get managers involved by starting small, and enlist their help to improve things and make the most of supporting the processes, before trying bigger, riskier things. Demonstrate leadership: Managers need to be focused and motivated as a result of their own appraisals, to establish a process that is accepted by others. However, if there are skill and performance issues with a manager that is left unmanaged it will damage the credibility of appraisals. Managers need to lead by example and Senior managers need to ensure the process includes them. Continuity: The most successful appraisals incorporate a process of continuous feedback and effective performance coaching throughout the year. This enables Managers to address concerns and give their employees the opportunity to change what needs to change and contribute to the success of the team. It also enables managers to deal with “what” people are there to achieve and “how” including the attitudes, behaviours and approach required for success. It also enables Managers to place the emphasis on setting objectives for the future and their development rather than the annual end of year assessment. Training & Development: One of the outcomes of a successful appraisal is that training needs are identified for individuals. By investing in your employee’s personal development you are demonstrating to them that they are valued by you and you in turn benefit from a more highly skilled workforce. Training comes in variety of mediums and you need to evaluate what works best for you as a company and your employees. If you would like to speak to us about how we can support your business to design and implement an effective appraisals system, conduct a training needs analysis, deliver training or any other HR related project please contact us on 01206 262117.

* Written by Claire Linton, SVC Group

Human Resources SVC Human Resource provide a professional, cost-effective way to manage Human Resources. From offices in Colchester, we serve the whole of East Anglia and the UK beyond.

Human Resources Support REWARD MANAGEMENT

Outsourcing to SVC can save you time and money, providing advice from

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qualified personnel, when you need it most. You pay for what you want getting the exact support you require at an agreed price. Whether a

EMPLOYMENT LAW COMPLIANCE WITH CURRENT LEGISLATION

“one off” service project or a regular monthly HR service, SVC can help.

MANPOWER PLANNING

YOU CAN IF YOU

THINK YOU CAN 01206 262117 | www.svcgroup.co.uk

The most effective ways to increase profitability As finance directors for a number of SME we so often get involved in helping clients to increase their profits. There

www.cbhc.uk.com

of time and energy that can go into internal and external

Passion energy commitmen meetings can be considerable and think of your time as an www.cbhc.uk.com

is no “one size fits all” to this of course and what works in

aim is and to divide support you to opportunity cost per hour. Take Our your gross profit

one company does not necessarily work in others. We see

by the number of truly productive hours you work. I bet for

so many examples of successful, and sometimes not so successful businesses and therefore present a summary of the key areas to implement that we feel have the maximum impact on any business’ bottom line, regardless of its size.

1. Get rid of loss making products or clients –

your goals most businesses these are manyPassion hundreds ofenergy pounds percommitment Our aim hour so be really selective with meeting time.is to support you to your goals

4. Use Social Media and Networking – marketing can be

costly and the results can be hard to measure, use your contacts to generate leads and sales and always ask for referrals. Social

concentrate on high margin products and services. We all

media is relatively free and can be extremely productive,

tend to grab new business enthusiastically when it arrives but

reaching channels and markets you could have only dreamed

is it profitable business or just turnover? Does our brand and

of 10 years ago. Linkedin is a pot of gold if you use it regularly

marketing attract the right companies, while also repelling

and properly. Contact me if you want some training.

those we should not really be working for or selling to?

2. Reduce direct employment costs – use freelancers

5. Increase productivity – eliminate wasteful and unnecessary processes. Analyse every aspect of your

instead of permanent employees where appropriate where

business and find out what everyone does and why. In many

you are expanding. Having wages and salaries as a fixed

cases things get done out of habit or because “that’s how

cost can be a burden and inefficiencies can soon creep in.

we’ve always done it”. Once again technology unlocks the

Outsource non-core activities wherever possible and drive

door here to some massive time savings.

home those efficiencies. Technology nowadays makes this very possible. Pay direct labour based on productivity and not just for turning up. Remember, everyone has that extra 20% in them, including you!

3. Use Virtual Communication Technology – meetings

6. Negotiate with suppliers – always look at ways to reduce cost including using alternative suppliers. Use an online purchase order system and make sure no costs can be incurred without an authorised purchase order. That way you get a historical summary of everything ordered and the

can be held over the internet with Skype or other systems; it

price paid. It also means that no expenditure can be incurred

will cut traveling time, costs and energy levels. The amount

without your prior approval. You probably normally only find out now when the cost has already been incurred. That alone will generate savings.

7. Understand your customer’s needs – the client knows what he wants and what represents value, if you deliver value and not just the basics, you will get more business. Products are sold but services are experienced and with the latter, the little things are much more important than you think. Fast and efficient response times are critical and all businesses should be structured around the needs of customers and not those of management or staff. Put the customer at the forefront of your business and you will not go far wrong.

8. Seek add on sales – what other products or services might be useful to your existing clients. We all spend a lot of time seeking new customers but have we sold all we can do to existing customers? Very unlikely so. Why not set up

outsource@cbhc.uk.com www.cbhc.uk.com a customer sales matrix so you can plot easily which upsell

14. Invest in Technology – automate processes

opportunities exist and where sales activity needs to be

with ERP systems and make sure you have a good CRM

focused. Remember, it costs 7 times as much to sell to a

system so you can track all interactions with customers,

new client as it does to an existing one.

segment the database and maximise all up selling or

9. Keep an eye on your competitors – competitor analysis will enable you to understand differences in price,

cross-serving opportunities.

15. Use Key Performance Indicators – KPI’s help you

distribution, market and demand. You can easily gain access

achieve your goals. Establish the 5 key items within your

to their published financial information from Companies

business that really make you money and measure these

House or using more advanced systems such as Market IQ,

weekly. These could be things like proposal success rates,

all available to provide information immediately online.

number of client interactions, number of weekly product defaults, weekly client complaints, sales per employee etc.

10. Find New Markets – use market research to expand into new areas. Business agility is becoming ever more important and the ability to change and evolve is essential for all companies. Managing risk in these situations is vitally important also as many companies go into new markets and make substantial losses they never recoup. Be sure when you do this you prepare a business plan, analyse the key risks versus rewards and be sure you can fund the working capital inevitably required.

11. Decrease Overheads – analyse all of your overheads including Rent, Rates, Utilities – could you sub-let part of your premises or reduce waste? Don’t just budget based on the previous years’ actuals plus a bit for inflation. Analyse and justify every cost item from a zero based, bottom up approach. Once again, the Internet is a mine of information for getting comparative prices. Think of DOA: Delegate, Outsource, and Automate when it comes to overheads and keep these at a minimum.

12. Reduce Stock Levels – can you turn over your stock more quickly or buy to order wherever possible and let someone else have that burden. Invest in a good MRP system which tracks all movements through the factory and warehouse.

13. Improve your Cash Cycle – reduce slow payment by debtors, invoice promptly and settle disputes quickly. Use an online accounting system like Xero and email all invoices and statements. Set up PayPal and other merchant accounts and make it as easy as possible for customers to pay their bills. Consider unlocking working capital tied up in your balance sheet by looking at confidential invoice discounting. Fees are often recouped many times over in time savings.

Even if only 2 or 3 of the foregoing apply to your business, believe me, if you implement them thoroughly you will increase your profitability. A good finance director can advise and implement all of these practices and this sets apart an FD from an accountant who may be geared more towards annual financial accounting and tax issues. If you would like more information or help on implementing any of these strategies, please contact Gary White on 07595 650690 or email gary.white@cbhc.uk.com

Essex Round Up

Care Home Fees Seminar - Nov 2013.pdf

01/10/2013

17:08:15

News From Around The County International logistics firm opens new depot at Stansted Airport Colchester’s Systematic Logistics International has launched its new depot facility at Stansted Airport following increased business from both local and international customers. The Palletways network member has opened the doors to its bespoke 12,500 sq ft warehouse, boasting modern design and technology for increased efficiency, as well as taking receipt of 10 new collection and delivery vehicles to support the business’ growth. C

CMY

Latest news from Birkett Long £50 Challenge The Birkett Long £50 Challenge in aid of St Helena Hospice is now in full swing. CHALLENGE NEWS Team Pushbike completed their ‘Epic Pushbike Ride’; a 1,035 mile bike ride challenge from Lands End to John O’Groats. Team BT Bandits have so far raised £432.92. They organised a bacon and sausage rolls sale, ‘Kelvins Kar wash’ and two car boot sales.

2014 in aid of St Helena Hospice

The cost of care

Are you concerned about planning for your own future or that of a relative?

6 November 2013 - 9.30am to 11.30am Prested Hall, Feering, Colchester CO5 9EE On Friday 4th July Feathers Hair Salon team organised an event which involved a charity bag swap and head 7 November 2013 - 9.30am to 11.30am Ivory Rooms, 66-68 Laindon Road, Billericay CM12 9LD massages.

Natwest Bank had a charity auction that ran on Friday 18th July. The event was a great success and the public bid on a variety of items; for example, a children’s VIP match experience day at Colchester United Stadium.

Tour de France in Essex a “historic day” The Tour de France in Essex has been hailed as a “historic day” after the world’s best cyclists raced through the county. Officials have estimated over 1 million people turned up in Cambridge, Essex and London to watch the biggest annual sporting event in the world. Thousands of people lined the route in Uttlesford, Braintree, Chelmsford and Epping Forest as the county’s beautiful countryside grabbed the world’s attention.

Flights to Switzerland from Southend Airport An airline has announced plans to move its flights from London City to Southend Airport. Swiss-owned SkyWork Airlines says it will be switching its twice-daily flights from the Swiss capital, Bern, to the UK from London City Airport to Southend in October. Announcing its winter schedule, the airline described Southend as “customer-friendly”, citing its peak-time eight train connections an hour to the centre of London as a ma jor reason it is moving.

Palmers shortlisted for customer care award Essex law firm Palmers Solicitors has been shortlisted in the Customer Care and Service category of the Essex Business Excellence Awards. Taking place on Friday 26th September at Boreham House in Chelmsford, the awards, which are now in their seventeenth year, reward firms across ten categories.

BUSINESS

CONNECTED ESSEX

www.businessconnected.co.uk

For more from around the county and to find the sources to all of these and many more Essex news stories please visit www.businessconnected.co.uk Business news stories are updated every day.

Set to revolutionise the Essex property market

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Call 07876 688996 or email mark.reynolds@grouptrader.com to see how Grouptrader can deliver for you and your business.

Movers & Shakers

A New Driving Force at Lancaster Mercedes Benz

ocal man Mark Buzer has recently joined the team at Lancaster Mercedes Benz Southend taking up the challenging role of Local Business Development Manager. Having worked in a predominantly commercial fleet background on a multi-franchise level for the ma jority of his working life, Mark is well equipped to take on the challenge that the role offers. Mark’s aim is to develop relationships with as many local businesses as possible as well as providing the best possible service to existing clients.

Why choose Mercedes Benz? Around the world, Mercedes-Benz is synonymous with automotive excellence. Their award winning vehicles combine exemplary performance and class-leading luxury with impeccable safety standards and outstanding environmental credentials. What’s more they offer low whole life costs and exceptional write-down values, making them the perfect solution to any company car driver’s needs.

Key benefits: • Extensive range of vehicles from the dynamic and highly efficient A-Class to the luxurious and spacious E-Class or S-Class, Mercedes offers a wide range of vehicles to suit you and your budget. • Offering high levels of specification as standard and exceptional WLC, all vehicles deliver outstanding costefficiency across the board. Many now offer remarkably low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, reducing running costs and Benefit in Kind taxation. • Class leading safety – All vehicles undergo extensive tests that exceed the demands of consumer safety organisation and of European, US and Japanese legislation. So you and your company enjoy maximum peace of mind. • Strong residual values – In addition to their dynamic looks and performance, vehicles are noted for their excellent build quality and reliability and this contributes to consistently strong residual values. • Mercedes combines extensive expertise in fleet management with flexible finance offers across the range to accommodate specific requirements on every level.

www.businessconnected.co.uk

Mark Buzer For more information contact: Mark Buzer Local Business Development Manager Lancaster Mercedes Benz of Southend 15 Stephenson Road, Leigh on Sea, Essex SS9 5LY

Tel: 01702 311311 Mobile: 07741 242426 Email: mark.buzer@jardinemotors.co.uk Mark Buzer, Local Business Development Manager

We return to Castle Park in 2014 for the 100th anniversary of the Colchester Cricket Festival.

Essex Cricket Christmas Lunch

Once again, we will provide an action packed festival programme with hospitality packages to suit both corporate and family diners.

Hosted by Graham Gooch OBE Sponsored Very withby celebrity guest speaker Paul Merson Li

mite d pack T20 ages left for gam all es

Thursday 11 December

Saturday 12th July - Wednesday 16th July

Emirates Stadium, London

Colchester T20 Beer & BBQ Package The First Class Package Saturday 12th July (Monday-Tuesday) Supporting £155 +VAT per person

Sponsored by

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September

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Friends of

Business Connected

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The Burstead Golf Club, @Southend United

Brentwood CM14 4NR

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Southend United,

9.15am to 11.00am

CM7 3RD

Chelmsford

7.00am to 9.00am

SS2 6NQ

Cost: Free

4.30pm to 6.30am

CM2 0PG

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7.30am to 9.30am

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7.30am to 9.30am

Membership Required:

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September

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September

Office Drinks Colchester EBOC (Essex Business

September

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Business Connected

Professionals Lunch

@Colchester United

Brewers Fayre,

Mussi’s,

Owners Club)

Thurrock

Museum Street,

Best Western,

Missoula,

Colchester United,

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Colchester

Ivy Hill Hotel,

Springfield Road,

CO4 5UP

9.15am to 11.00am

6.30am to 9.00pm

Margaretting

Chelmsford CM2 6JE

7.30am to 9.30am

Cost: Free

Cost: £18.00

7.30am to 9.30am

1.00pm to 3.00pm

Cost: £20.00

Membership Required:

Cost: £18.00

Cost: Free

Membership Required:

o ensure that you get the best group experience.

t like this is a hot bed of ideas and inspiration. www.businessconnected.co.uk

Workplace Feature

Work Life Balance

ow good is your work-life balance? The idea of worklife balance will mean different things to different people but it is generally agreed that it is important to keep a good balance between work, rest and play.

but ask yourself; is it better to spend 15 minutes away from your work resting and 45 minutes working with full focus or to spend a full hour in the office struggling for inspiration and drinking coffee? Working long hours may seem like the only solution but it may lead to problems in other areas of your life and you may find yourself spending a long time being inefficient rather than a short time being efficient.

Are you taking enough rest? As a business owner it is likely that the demands of your business mean you will work long hours and dedicate the ma jority of your time, even away “I have so much to do today, from the office, to working. Our Ensuring we have a good workI had better meditate twice as long” life balance starts with us taking businesses are tremendously important to us, they are our responsibility for it and does The Dalai Lama passion as well as our livelihood not mean we cannot work hard. and in many cases form part of our identity too, but are we It involves us working smarter, prioritising our work and doing enough to switch off from work and ensure we take giving ourselves tight timescales in order to ensure we do proper rest? not waste work time. We have all been in a 2 hour meeting that could have taken 30 A survey from the Mental minutes and this is the Health Foundation found type of scenario we must that more than 40% of us avoid if we are trying are neglecting other areas to address our work-life of our lives in favour of balance. work. Social Media plays an increasingly important Similarly we must not part of our day to day lives waste recreation time; we and while it is undoubtedly need to trust our teams essential for business to take responsibility in purposes many of us have our absence and spend allowed it to pervade our our holidays and days rest and family time. How off taking genuine rest. many times a day do you It is easy to be tempted find yourself checking to ‘check-in’ but if we emails, Twitter or Linked-in are doing this we are not when you are at home? resting and instead are allowing our work to encroach on our rest or family time. Spending a disproportionate time working in itself is not necessarily a problem as many of us love what we do Short breaks are considered a very efficient use of time as and get genuine satisfaction from driving our businesses they allow our minds to recharge and we can come back forward. However, our concentration spans are not limitless re-focused on the task at hand. The importance of good and there is always a point when a lack of rest and recreation rest cannot be understated; it helps us concentrate, keeps affects our health and ability to function fully. us healthy, allows us to spend time with our families and keeps our mood even, just don’t neglect your work! When our minds are not fully rested we will find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time and are more likely If your business needs any staff to help you maintain or to make mistakes, which in turn leads to us having to work improve your own work-life balance Success Recruit would longer hours to achieve the same goals. This leads to a be delighted to help with any temporary or permanent negative spiral in which we work harder and harder until positions you are recruiting for. our bodies tell us that enough is enough and shut down. The same Mental Health Foundation survey estimates that nearly two thirds of us have experienced a negative effect on family life or health as a result of us having a poor worklife balance. When we spend too much time working it can place stress on many other aspects of our lives and in extreme cases increases the risk of developing depression. When you are very busy a rest may seem counter-productive

www.businessconnected.co.uk

Tel: 01245 409839 Email: vicki.edwards@successrecruitltd.co.uk Vicki Edwards, Success Recruit

ESSEX COUNTYWIDE WINNERS 2014 – SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

A Unique Recruitment Consultancy Success Recruit are an award winning consultancy

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Business Advice

Lowering the Cost of Doing Business

fter the recent recession many companies are looking for ways to boost sales and increase profits; the most efficient way of funding these growth strategies is to free-up costs and capital and re-invest these funds into the most promising opportunities. Wrigleys, the chewing gum manufacturers are a prime example of this. By improving gross margins and operating efficiencies they have redirected the savings achieved towards increased marketing spend and innovation to drive growth and have been able to outperform their competitors. The key is to ensure that any cost management programme is an integral part of a company’s growth strategy. Cost cutting programmes have been commonplace since the 1980’s as organisations strive towards enhanced profit performance, but do they really lead to improved competitive positioning and long-term superior performance? Often not, for the following reasons: • Their main aim is often to increase the profit line only, meaning any benefits either go straight to the bottom line or are passed onto customers in the form of lower prices; • They often have a single aim that is applied across all divisions of the business, irrespective unique divisional needs; • They are often treated as finite projects. Once they are finished, the benefits they delivered are often forgotten and costs start to creep back up. Aligning a company’s cost management strategy with its overall growth and profit strategy ensures these problems do not occur. Auditel recently undertook an independent survey to examine how company’s viewed the strategic importance of cost management and its results make interesting reading. The survey revealed the following: • 70% of organisations do not have a cost management strategy in place;

• Two thirds of respondents recognise that cost management can accelerate performance, improve efficiency and gain competitive advantage. So does this mean that if you are one of the 70% of organisations who do not have a cost management strategy in place you are losing competitive advantage? The answer is probably. A further worrying result was the fact that 73% of the companies surveyed said they were undertaking cost management measures in house. Attempting these projects in-house is costing companies time and money. It often means that scarce human resources are being diverted from their strategic goals to deal with such exercises, and result in a failure to deliver the long-term benefits the company requires. Outsourcing to specialist consultants can bring many benefits. For example: • Providing a thorough understanding of the true cost of products and services; • Providing up to date knowledge of the supplier market; • Providing expertise across all business areas. I liken the use of experts in this area to the employment of a specialist tax accountant to deal with an unexpected tax bill. Most management teams would not think twice about spending money on experts to help deal with the tax issue, but are less likely to outsource when the area of cost management is discussed. Over the past 20 years Auditel has worked with more than 5,000 firms and we can say with some certainty that strategic cost management driven by the right people, with the right tools and knowledge can deliver much greater returns than in-house resource alone. With the right tools and knowledge cost management can lead to improved efficiencies, accelerated performance and help companies gain a competitive advantage.

• Lack of understanding is the greatest obstacle to cost management; • The topic of cost management is on the boardroom agenda for 82% of respondents; • 73% of organisations, cost management measures are undertaken in-house;

www.businessconnected.co.uk

Tel: 01279 722167 Mobile: 07803 246737 Email: lee.freeman@auditel.co.uk Lee Freeman, Auditel

Does your organisation have the in-house resources and a strategy in place to manage your business costs effectively? If the answer is no, you may be paying over the odds for products and services that don’t match your needs.

WHO MANAGES YOUR BUSINESS COSTS?

Auditel is the country’s leading provider of strategic cost management services and delivers solutions proven to lower the cost of doing business. Our strategic cost management solutions are designed to help organisations accelerate performance, improve efficiency and gain a competitive advantage. So even if you think all your business costs are under control, it wouldn’t hurt to book an Auditel Business Health Check today. Just to make sure. “I’ve been genuinely surprised and impressed by the savings Auditel has found as I really thought we were in a good position in terms of our existing contracts.”

Contact Lee Freeman today to book an Auditel Business Health Check and find out how much better off you could be T: 01279 722167 M: 07803 246737 lee.freeman@auditel.co.uk www.auditel.co.uk/leefreeman

Fully equipped to manage all your business costs

CHEVINGTON

CFL

FINANCE & LEASING LTD

01787 312 817 www.chevingtongroup.co.uk

TA I L O R E D S O L U T I O N S T O S U I T Y O U R B U S I N E S S N E E D S

Leasing and Finance for Companies in Essex, East Anglia and the UK We are an independent finance and leasing company who underwrite all of our financial solutions. We are not a broker and as such you will be dealing directly with the decision maker. Finance packages are available from as little as £500 to £100,000. Whatever industry you are in, we can help you fund your growth: • Catering • Shop Fitting • Restaurants • Hotels • Printers • Property Developing • Publicans

Securing funding takes time and effort no matter how experienced you are. The good news is we’re here to get the finance you need, and to make the process as straightforward and stress free as possible. Chevington Finance and Leasing is a family run business that specialises in bespoke finance and leasing packages to companies within the UK. We pride ourselves on outstanding customer service and can tailor a package to your business needs.

N oN iN

E s e X sH U d fA E cA C r

aL Ne Every day 25 people in Essex hear the news that they have cancer. We need businesses like yours to help us ensure that no one in Essex faces cancer alone. Contact your local Macmillan fundraising manager, Amy MacGregor, on 07595 242833 to find out how your company can get involved.

Macmillan Cancer Support, a registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). MAC15104

Business Coach

Developing a Winning Team

ave you ever thought to yourself “I’ve got good people in my team, how do I keep them and how do I find more like them?”

You have? You know it’s a good team yet have a nagging feeling it’s not quite at the level it could be? If so, then now is the time to develop the greatest asset in your business, your Team. Developing a great Team and terrific asset sounds disarmingly simple. You recruit the right people into your team You retain, develop, motivate and grow an even better team You get everyone working towards a common goal as a committed team and they look after the clients and the business You then live your dream of taking timeout from running your business without jeopardising your profitability

Remember when you skimped on being really clear about the role and the type of person you actually needed? When you compromised just a little on their attitude because their qualifications looked great and you needed someone quick? The time and effort it took you to calm ruffled feathers! Oh, and don’t mention regular reviews! Tom Peters, author & speaker had a great comment on teams “Most employees are motivated, energetic, committed, enthusiastic and loyal… Except for the 8 hours they work for you!” The good news is that there are ways to build the same level of commitment in your teams and take the performance of a good team to the next level. Building a great team comes from working on and implementing the 6 Keys to a winning team. Strong Leadership Common Goal Rules of the Game

Straightforward, isn’t it?

Action Plan

Yet things go wrong because although it is easy to do the right things, it’s also just as easy not to do them.

Support Risk taking 100% Involvement/Inclusion What sometimes happens, although not in your business I’m sure, is that owners forget to make sure everybody knows what they are playing for. People are so keen to build the winning team that they forget how important it is to make sure that the culture, vision, mission & attitude of the business is clear. Without that clarity and a consistency of purpose that’s a living breathing part of the business it’s difficult to keep teams performing at their best. So to discuss how to develop the greatest asset in your business get in touch with Kevin at Actioncoach and talk about: The 6 Keys to a winning team How to build a supportive, respectful and productive culture The various working styles of your team How to effectively communicate with each other How to deal with internal conflict

Tel: 01799 513264 Mobile: 07435 964224 Email: kevinclark@actioncoach.com Kevin Clark, Business Coach

www.businessconnected.co.uk

Personal Biography

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken”

Kevin Clark Kevin runs the Business Coaching firm that helps you grow the business and profits you’ve always wanted so that you can have the lifestyle you’ve often dreamed of and most importantly the time to enjoy it. Based just South of Cambridge, serving clients in Cambridge, Essex and Suffolk, Kevin helps you plan the outcomes you want and mentors you through the process to achieve them. You’ll choose to work with Kevin because you want to increase your profits, develop your team or prioritise your time by working on your business rather than just in it. Kevin holds you accountable to your goals so that you can focus on the vital activities that make the difference for you. To explore what’s important for you, contact Kevin directly today for a confidential discussion at kevinclark@actioncoach.com. Whether you’re a well-established, successful business or starting a new enterprise, relevant input is essential from someone you can trust.

What people have said about Kevin: “Kevin Clark added great value to our strategic planning and by helping us to step away from operational matters we were able to plan with greater focus. With good humour and subtle persuasion Kevin challenged our thinking and introduced us to new tools and methods that helped steer our own way. We arrived at important decisions ourselves but Kevin certainly improved the navigation.” DM, Director, Third Sector Organisation “By changing our attitude to the traditional ‘slow’ period in our

Warren Buffett

Part of the great value Kevin’s coaching provides is he tells it how it is, not necessarily how you would like it to be. It’s critical to know the reality of your situation and to check that your decisions and direction are based on facts not feelings. People have achieved terrific growth with less stress and real enjoyment by combining his experience with startups and international corporations with the focused resources available through ActionCOACH. This means that you develop your business in the way you want with a proven, scalable framework to grow a commercial profitable enterprise that works without you. Kevin has achieved success in many organisations from Professional services to trades, from IT, financial services and retail, to medical supplies and manufacturing. In a career spanning over 33 years Kevin has started businesses, developed and overseen sales & marketing and product development teams in established organisations in 3 different economic cycles. During those 33 years he’s combined a successful career with being a single parent and simultaneously continuing to learn by studying for a degree. So if you want to maximise your use of that rare commodity, time, you know who to speak to!

industry and being pro-active we had more scheduled projects through the winter months than previous years. I am currently on target to grow my business by 42% during this 12 month period” TE, Owner, Services “My brief to Kevin was that I wanted to step back from the business. This was to increase my free time and concentrate more on the development and future of the business. Kevin has made me look at the business from a different perspective.” BP, MD, Manufacturing

Kevin Clark ActionCOACH Business Coach T 01799 513264 M 07435 964224 E kevinclark@actioncoach.com W www.actioncoach.com/kevinclark A PO Box 226, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 9BS

0844 800 7371 www.chevingtongroup.co.uk

Suppliers of Professional Workplace Solutions

We’re built around servicing your business with the very best and the best prices Chevington Services specialises in making your workplace better. Not just with great products, but with great services delivered by great people ! Friendly, well trained, knowledgable personnel delivering efficient, reliable services are the reasons why our customers choose Chevington.

We now operate in three main areas which each have their own appeal and use to business:

Waste Processing • Chevington Services can supply equipment that you can use to make money from your waste, waste compaction is an easy way to turn your waste paper and cardboard into £££’s, so you benefit and not the refuse company.

Vending • Modern and stylish vending machines now available, which can supply freshly ground coffee, snacks and cold drinks.

Water • Water dispensers available in a variety of styles and capabilities. • Bottled water in branded glasses. A business chooses from a selection of bottle style which is branded in their way to provide freshly filtered water to its customers, as an alternative to the more expensive ‘branded’ water. Very popular to offer this to customers, and is a cheaper alternative for business, but also more environmentally friendly as it does not require lorries travelling up and down the country refilling and collecting.

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A one day course focusing on public speaking and presentation skills for business. This will include the chance for each delegate to create and practise their own presentation or communications task. Date:

19th September 2014

Time:

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Do you feel anxious when giving a presentation or speaking in public? Can never quite grab your audience? Maybe nerves make you speak too quickly? Does being in the spotlight make you tongue tied? TE Voice Academy can help. Using our theatrical background we take an alternative approach to coaching groups and individuals in public speaking and communication skills. TE Voice Academy will help you achieve the inspiration and confidence you need to speak on any platform. Topics Covered: • Vocal projection • Clarity & diction • Variety in the speaking voice • Resonance & tone • How to plan a speech/presentation • Body language • Stage fright/nerves! • Responding to questions * If 5 or more employees book from the same company a 10% discount applies.

About Tricia Etherton

To book your place visit: www.tevoiceacademy.co.uk or for further information please call: 07551 337879 or email: enquiries@tevoiceacademy.co.uk

Tricia Etherton is a prolific speech and vocal coach with over 30 years experience, as a Theatre Director, Tutor and Examiner. Having worked on shows such as ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Miss Saigon’, she has also directed many fringe productions, run a variety of drama schools, is an examiner for Trinity Guildhall and moderates for various other exam boards.

Show your business in the best light

printwize.co.uk Printers of Business Connected

Charity News

CHAPS – The Men’s Health Charity

n the June/July issue of Business Connected I introduced CHAPS Men’s Health Charity’s aims and future events. This article starts to deal specifically with the causes of men’s ill health, the size of the problem we face and how CHAPS is making a difference.

atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries. About 12% of men with impotence who have no symptoms of heart disease have severe coronary artery disease and a high proportion of men having a first heart attack have been impotent for 2 to 3 years before.

In the UK men of working age, 15-64, die prematurely at one and a half times the rate of women. As our population ages, an increasingly smaller proportion of fit men will have to provide for a growing number of the unfit and elderly. CHAPS is leading a fundamentally different approach to men’s health based on prevention and early diagnosis.

Impotence & Benign Prostatic Disease - By age 60 half of all men have one or more urinary symptoms due to benign, noncancerous enlargement of the prostate. This is not related to prostate cancer, but it is linked to a higher risk of impotence.

When the causes of premature death are analysed, men are more at risk than women across the whole disease spectrum – mental problems and suicide, cancers, heart attacks, strokes, obesity and diabetes. Further analysis suggests many of these problems are due to social attitudes and social deprivation and are not a genetic consequence of being male. Fortunately now public health in England has received a mandate from the government to increase efforts in prevention and early diagnosis to rectify this. Hopefully consideration of men’s health will be at the forefront but we must help ourselves. For instance, only half of the NHS health checks offered by GPs to men aged 4075 are taken up resulting, it is estimated, in thousands of missed opportunities to prevent heart attacks and strokes and detect diabetes at an early, correctable stage. Because so many common problems are linked, we will show how awareness coupled to early detection can really make a difference and has already saved many lives:

Diabetes & Testosterone Testosterone is essential for good health in males. It is commonly low in diabetics but is often not measured. Low testosterone may cause impotence, loss of libido, loss of muscle bulk and strength, tiredness, depression, weak bones and obesity. Cardiovascular Disease & Blood Pressure - Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the number one cause of death in British males through strokes and heart attacks. These are commonly linked to high blood pressure so it is vital for men to check their blood pressure regularly. High blood pressure causes hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) which is often associated with high cholesterol levels, poor diet, diabetes and obesity. We have now come full circle and future articles will deal with these problems in detail. Although a healthy lifestyle should start in and be maintained from childhood, it is never too late to stop smoking and excessive drinking, start to eat better and exercise more. So, get “connected” and get checked!

Obesity & Diabetes - Lack of exercise plus too much food cause adult Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes is related to impotence. Impotence & Depression - This is a common association but depression is often not addressed during treatment of impotence. Impotence & Heart Disease - Impotence may be a warning sign of severe underlying heart disease due to

Tel: 01206 321253 Email: chris.booth@chaps.uk.com Chris Booth, FRCS, CHAPS Clinical Director

www.businessconnected.co.uk

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• antia is•Exantia one ofisthe UK's leading manufacturers of display stands an Modular displays • Outdoor displays • Dibond panels • ELPING YOU CREATE A LASTING IMPRESSION one of the UK's leading manufacturers of display stands •HELPING Pop up stands • furniture Portable furniture •LASTING Correxdisplays panels IMPRESSION ••Posters • Portable • Modular Shell Scheme up stands YOU CREATE A d works with a number of clients across a wide variety of indust •Accessories graphics and isworks with number of clients across variety of ind xantia of the UK'sa leading manufacturers display standsaand equipment, • one Modular displays • Outdoor displays •of Dibond panels •wide Exantia is one of the UK's leading manufacturers of display stands and equipment,

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SPECIALISTS IN DISPLAY SYSTEMS

SPECIALISTS IN DISPLAY SYSTEMS & DESIGN

SPECIALISTS IN DISPLAY SYSTEMS • Flags

• Pop up stands

• Board printing

• Audio visual

• Shell schemes

• PVC banners

• Accessories

• Modular displays

• Outdoor displays

• Portable furniture • Posters

SPECIALISTS IN DISPLAY SYST

• Banner stands

• Literature holders

• iPad stands

CMY

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SYSTEMS & DESIGN

THE SEAT LEON 5DR SE Technology to enjoy

ENJOYNEERING Sleek and eye-catching, the SEAT Leon 5dr SE 1.6 TDI 105PS is beautiful and practical. Redesigned from the ground up, it’s dynamic, confident and full of technology you can enjoy. Every feature and product detail – including the cutting-edge chassis, advanced infotainment system and EASY CONNECT system – has been designed to improve driving pleasure every time the company car driver gets behind the wheel. With CO2 emissions of 99g/km, BIK rating of 15% (tax year 2014/15) and fuel consumption of up to 74.3 mpg (combined), form and function work together brilliantly in the SEAT Leon.

The Leon 5dr SE 1.6 TDI 105PS with Technology Pack specification includes†: / EASY CONNECT system / Bluetooth® hands free and audio streaming / Electronic stability control and brake assist

/ Traction control / 16” alloy wheels / Air conditioning

/ Cruise control / Tyre pressure monitoring

Business Solutions from Essex Auto Group

Vehicle Solutions That Mean Business Official fuel consumption for the SEAT Leon 5dr SE 1.6 TDI 105PS in mpg (litres per 100km): urban 61.4 (4.6); extra-urban 85.6 (3.3); combined 74.3 (3.8). CO2 emissions 99g/km. Standard EU Test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results. Model shown is Leon 5dr SE 1.6 TDI 105PS from P11D £18,615 with the following options: LED headlights at £995 RRP, 17” alloy wheels at £375 RRP and electric sunroof at £695 RRP. Available at participating dealers.

(01268 952404

*solutions@essexautogroup.com

@EAGbusiness

Essex-Auto-Group