BUSINESS
December / January 2014-15
CONNECTED SUFFOLK
THE LEADING COUNTYWIDE B2B MAGAZINE
2015
WEDNESDAY 6th MAY
2016
Trinity Park Conference Centre Ipswich Suffolk
Leading B2B Magazine
WEDNESDAY 4th MAY
Business Networking
Featured Local News
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BUSINESS
December / January 2014-15
CONNECTED SUFFOLK
THE LEADING COUNTYWIDE B2B MAGAZINE
2015
2016
Trinity Park Conference Centre Ipswich Suffolk
WEDNESDAY 4th MAY
Business Networking
Welcome to the latest edition of Business Connected Suffolk, the premier countywide business to business magazine, written by businesses for businesses. As you can see from the cover of the magazine the Anglian Business Exhibition is back this year at Trinity Park, Ipswich and Business Connected is excited to be part of this fantastic event. Not only are we supporting the team on the build up but we are also sponsoring the networking / breakout zone which is going to be an area you will want to stay, recharge your batteries and get back to the arena. If you cant wait until May to meet a variety of Suffolk businesses then you might be interested in some of our upcoming events, more details on the following page. Also in this edition we have a variety of regular and new features, including a full round up of business news from around the county on pages 26-27.
WEDNESDAY 6th MAY
Leading B2B Magazine
Welcome...
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
For more Suffolk news, events and all things business related please visit www.businessconnected.co.uk/suffolk where our site is updated daily. If you would like to submit a press release then please email us at pressreleases@businessconnected.co.uk. You might have seen the press coverage lately about our Premier Partner Scheme, if you would like to know how to be involved with this then please turn to page 5 for full details. Lastly, I would just like to thank all of our readers and advertisers who we have worked with and interacted with in the past year and look forward to working with you all in 2015.
Richard Pond Managing Director
Contents 06 Lead Feature 07 Anglia Business Exhibition 2015
@Connected_Essex
08 12 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.
16 17
Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions.
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Printed in the UK by Printwize www.printwize.co.uk
22
H&S Update First-Aid and Accident & Investigations and RIDDOR
Business Advice Energy - Are The Lights Staying On This Winter?
Suffolk Networking Events Recommended by Business Connected
Charity News Heart Health
Business Coach What Is My Business Worth?
26 Suffolk Round Up 27 News From Around The County www.businessconnected.co.uk
03
BUSINESS
CONNECTED SUFFOLK
To book tickets for any Business Connected event please visit: www.businessconnected.co.uk/our-events or call 01702 513113
About us Business Connected helps businesses across Suffolk and Essex to be seen on a variety of platforms. Our aim is to bring local businesses together via our unique countywide b2b magazine which is printed and distributed to over 6000 businesses in each county as well as our online version which can be found on our website and is emailed to over 50,000 businesses. Our website www.businessconnected.co.uk gets 1000s of visits daily from companies and individuals who want to stay abreast of all the business news from around the county. Our news stories are updated daily and sit comfortably next to our business directory, our events page and our online magazine. If you are like us and still like to see potential customers 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.
the social media platforms but couldn’t find a company that could cater for everything. That’s until they came across Business Connected. Why not give us a call today and maybe we can help you too. Call us today for a chat on 01702 513113.
As social media becomes more popular Business Connected leads the way with our social media service, we can set up, run and plan your social media campaign, so if you haven’t got that Twitter account set up yet or your LinkedIn company page isn’t showing the sorts of returns you had hoped for, then why not let Business Connected take a look. We will even throw in a free review. We handle many email campaigns and our technical guys love nothing more than playing with data and arranging amazing looking monthly newsletters. Many of our loyal customers came to us in the first place as they wanted to be seen in print, online, at events and across Business Connected
Business Connected
Business Connected
Business Connected
@Ipswich Town FC
@Essex Cricket Club
@Southend Airport
@Colchester United
3rd Friday
1st Friday
2nd Friday
4th Friday
of the month
of the month
of the month
of the month
To book your tickets, please visit www.businessconnected.co.uk
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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. From monthly newsletters, your logos and links on our email campaigns or simply a help with data.
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? Being a Premier Partner of Business Connected gives you tickets and access to all of our events from Ipswich to Southend and everywhere in between.
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. We are offering our premier partners prime advertising space throughout the site.
Account Manager – Probably the most important feature of the partnership scheme. Our account managers are working around the clock to find our partners leads, from the many networking events we attend and run to the list of leads. Our staff are introducing and passing referrals on a daily basis.
To find out how to become a Premier Partner and to see if your business category is still available then give us a call today and we can pop in for a chat and run you through the many features of becoming a Business Connected Premier Partner. 01702 513113.
H&S Update
First-Aid and Accident & Investigations and RIDDOR
Y
ou need to assess your first-aid requirements to help you decide what equipment and facilities you need, and how many first-aid personnel you should provide. The minimum first-aid provision in any workplace is:
• dangerous occurrence: one of a number of specific, reportable adverse events, as defined in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
• a suitably stocked first-aid box
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) require employers, or in certain circumstances others who control or manage the premises, to report to the relevant enforcing authority and keep records of:
• an appointed arrangements
person
to
take
charge
of
first-aid
You also need to put up notices telling your employees where they can find:
• work-related deaths
• the first-aiders or appointed persons • the first-aid box Your assessment may also indicate that you should provide a first-aid room, particularly where your work involves certain hazards, including some of those found in chemical industries and on large construction sites.
Accidents and investigations Monitor the effectiveness of the measures you put in place to control the risks in your workplace. As part of your monitoring, you should investigate incidents to ensure that corrective action is taken, learning is shared and any necessary improvements are put in place. Investigations will help you to: • identify why your existing control measures failed and what improvements or additional measures are needed • plan to prevent the incident from happening again • point to areas where your risk assessment needs reviewing • improve risk control in your workplace in the future • Reporting incidents should not stop you from carrying out your own investigation to ensure risks in your workplace are controlled efficiently. An investigation is not an end in itself, but the first step in preventing future adverse events that includes: • accident: an event that results in injury or ill health • incident: • near miss: an event not causing harm, but has the potential to cause injury or ill health (in this guidance, the term near miss will include dangerous occurrences) • undesired circumstance: a set of conditions or circumstances that have the potential to cause injury or ill health, e.g. untrained nurses handling heavy patients
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• work-related accidents which cause certain specified serious injuries to workers, or which result in a worker being incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days (see the RIDDOR site) • cases of those industrial diseases listed in RIDDOR • certain ‘dangerous occurrences’ (near-miss accidents) • injuries to a person who is not at work, such as a member of the public, which are caused by an accident at work and which result in the person being taken to hospital from the site for treatment Reports to the enforcing authority of all of the above categories, except over-seven-day injuries, must be made immediately by the quickest practicable means and followed up by a written notification within 10 days. Reports of over-seven-day injuries must be sent to the enforcing authority within 15 days. In addition, records must be kept of all of ‘over-three-day injuries’, which are those where a person who is injured at work is incapacitated for more than three consecutive days. Over-three-day injuries do not, however, have to be reported to the enforcing authority. If you are an employer who must keep an accident book under the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, an entry about an over-three-day injury is a sufficient record for the purposes of RIDDOR. A person is incapacitated if they are unable to carry out the activities they would reasonably be expected to do as part of their normal work. The period of time for an over-threeday injury or an over-seven-day injury does not include the day of the accident, but it does include any weekends or rest days. *HSE
Paul Goodchild CMIOSH, SVC Group
Health & Safety The SVC Group provide health and safety support, in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and across the UK.
Fully Qualified Practitioners Our SVC health and safety team are fully qualified, experienced
Health & Safety Support Services
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printwize.co.uk Printers of Business Connected
Business Advice
Energy – Are The Lights Staying On This Winter?
I
t is over 40 years since the 3-day weeks of the 1970’s and the regular blackouts of the “winter of discontent”, but it appears that the winter of 2014 could see us returning to these desperate times. The winter outlook energy report published by National Grid in October 2014 predicted that the expected margin between generating capacity and peak demand could be as low as 2.8% if severe weather hits the UK during the season. So what has caused this position?
Climate Change There are two main factors driving the worsening of the UK energy supply position. The first is the UK government’s climate change policy. As part of it’s commitment to climate change targets on a global basis, the Government has set the UK the following targets: • To produce 30% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020; • To cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% on 1990 levels by 2025; • To cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. This has led to the mothballing of older less efficient power stations and a need for a huge investment, some say as much as £330bn, in new infrastructure to help meet these targets. The second factor is our continued and increased reliance on foreign imports of energy. As our own supplies of gas and oil decline so we are forced to look further afield for supplies to meet our shortfall. Threats such as Russia turning off its energy exports would have a significant impact on the UK. An event such as this would lead to the UK seeking imports from even further afield resulting in greater cost.
Energy Efficiency However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Whilst a business can do nothing about the overall UK position there are actions that can be taken, and as the saying goes, “every little helps”. Energy efficiency should be high on a list of a company’s priorities. A business can’t affect the price it is paying for a product, but it can certainly affect the amount of use. Some businesses will have no choice but to adopt energy efficient measures. As part of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive the UK has introduced the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme or ESOS for short. Although this only applies to large undertakings, those with turnover greater
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than €50 million or a balance sheet greater than €43million, it also applies to companies with more than 250 employees. It is this last criterion that may mean certain organisations that may not consider themselves large fall foul of the legislation. Nursery Groups are a prime example, as the numbers of staff are added together across all sites of the business, so it will not need many sites for a large national nursery group to exceed the employee criteria. What does this all mean however? In essence it forces the companies who meet the criteria to measure total energy consumption, conduct energy audits to identify cost effective efficiency recommendations and report compliance of these obligations to the Environment Agency. It also provides smaller businesses with incentives to early adopt and provides a great opportunity to look at what they can do to improve the efficiency of their usage.
LED Lighting The use of LED lamps has often been one of the key measures that companies have undertaken to improve their energy efficiency, and in October 2014, the inventors of these devices were honoured with the Nobel Prize for Physics. The Department for Energy and Climate Change estimate that in service industries, 75% of energy consumption is in 3 areas: heating, lighting and hot water. So, if a business can make reductions in one area such as lighting then the potential financial benefits can be significant. In the early days LED lamps received a lot of bad press, poor quality products manufactured in countries with poor quality control meant that many organisations were put off. However, the landscape has now changed. Manufacturing techniques have improved, and many of the UK’s lead suppliers now own their own manufacturing facilities. With better quality products comes better efficiency. Usage from an LED bulb can be 70% less than its equivalent halogen or incandescent bulb. Not only does the bulb use significantly less energy but also there are additional benefits such as reduced heat output. It now means that an LED lamping project can deliver payback in as little as two years, with little disruption to the business.
Tel: 01279 722167 Mobile: 07803 246737 Email: lee.freeman@auditel.co.uk Lee Freeman, Auditel
Ipswich Town Football Club Portman Road Suffolk’s Number One Venue
Meet At The Number One Venue! Are you planning an event, conference or meeting? If so, then why not hold it at ITFC? Ipswich Town Football Club is a unique venue, with excellent facilities and an award winning hospitality and catering team. The venue provides an inspirational backdrop for any meeting or occasion With easy access and on-site parking facilities, our venue is in a prime location for your next meeting, evening event or exhibition.
Contact our experienced Conference & Events team on 01473 400580 to find out more or visit: www.numberonevenue.co.uk
Matchday Hospitality 2014/15 Seasonal Hospitality and Advertising now available. Contact the sales team on 01473 400594 or email sales@itfc.co.uk
www.numberonevenue.co.uk
Ipswich Town Football Club, Portman Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DA Tel: (01473) 400594
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Suffolk Networking Events Recommended by Business Connected
Dec
For more
Dec
Dec
01 09 09
information on any of these events please call us today on 01702 513113
Office Drinks Ipswich
Expert Circles Ipswich
4N Bury St Edmunds
Mizu, 10 Cornhill,
The Cameo Hotel,
Bury St Edmunds
Ipswich, IP1 1DB
Copdock, IP8 3JD
Golf Club, IP28 6LG
6.30pm to 9.00pm
7.00am
8.00am to 10.00am
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
10 10 10 16 Expert Circles Sudbury
Felixstowe
Office Drinks
4N Ipswich
Newton Green
Business Lunch
Bury St Edmunds
The Oyster Reach,
Golf Club, CO10 0QN
The Brook Hotel,
The Farmers Club,
Ipswich, IP2 8ND
7.00am
Felixstowe, IP11 7PF
10 Northgate Street,
8.00am to 10.00am
1.00pm to 2.00pm
IP33 1HQ 6.30pm to 9.00pm
Flexible, productive net You can network at any 4Networking breakfast. With over 5000 4Network Our meetings are relaxed, friendly and open to anyone, so pleas 16
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Jan
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If you would like
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Expert Circles Ipswich
4N Bury St Edmunds
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4N Ipswich
The Cameo Hotel,
Bury St Edmunds
Newton Green
The Oyster Reach,
Copdock, IP8 3JD
Golf Club, IP28 6LG
Golf Club, CO10 0QN
Ipswich, IP2 8ND
7.00am
8.00am to 10.00am
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Jan
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Richard on 01702 513113
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Felixstowe
Business Connected
Ipswich
CoastalNet
Ipswich
Business Lunch
@Ipswich Town FC
Entrepreneurs’ Lunch
Ufford Park,
Professionals Lunch
The Brook Hotel,
Ipswich, IP1 2DA
The Cameo Hotel,
Melton, IP12 1QW
K Bar & Grill,
Felixstowe, IP11 7PF
7.30am to 9.30am
Copdock, IP8 3JD
9.30am to 11.30am
Ipswich, IP1 1TW
1.00pm to 2.00pm
11.45am to 2.00pm
12.30pm to 2.00pm
tworking across Suffolk king meetings a year across the UK, you can network anywhere, anytime. se book into one today. For full details visit www.4networking.biz www.businessconnected.co.uk
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Charity News
Heart Health
T
he medical term “cardiovascular disease” (CVD) covers heart disease, strokes and diseases of blood vessels, principally arteries, damage to which most problems can be traced. Heart disease is the single biggest cause of death in the UK causing about 146,000 heart attacks each year and 94,000 deaths of whom a third never even get to hospital. Adult CVD affecting the heart usually presents as disturbances of heart rhythm, angina, a heart attack or heart failure.
Heart Rhythm The heart rate is controlled by its own internal “pacemaker” which responds to exertion and rest by speeding up or slowing down respectively. Abnormalities may cause the heart to beat too fast (“tachycardia”), too slowly (“bradycardia”) or irregularly, causing palpitations – usually harmless – or if permanent, “atrial fibrillation”. This is dangerous and a common cause of strokes. It therefore requires treatment and any persistent rhythm abnormality should be reported to your GP.
Heart Muscle Disease The heart’s own blood supply flows through two main coronary arteries, 3-4mm in diameter. If they become narrowed by atherosclerosis due to deposition of cholesterol in the wall of the artery, insufficient blood is supplied to the heart muscle, especially when the heart rate quickens due to exertion or stress, and a “vice-like” chest pain called “angina” results. Typically angina disappears with rest or is relieved quickly by drugs. If an angina-like pain persists, is accompanied by pain going down the inside of the left arm and shortness of breath or fainting, suspect a heart attack and call 999. Don’t delay. Rapid treatment may be life-saving and may prevent permanent damage weakening the heart muscle and leading to “heart failure”. “Heart failure” due to muscle damage and circulatory problems leaves the heart unable to cope with everyday tasks and the sufferer becomes tired, breathless and develops swollen ankles.
Arteriosclerosis is a thickening and hardening of the arteries often due to atherosclerosis in which plaques of fat and cholesterol build up. Both narrow the arteries leading to high blood pressure and blockages, causing pain in leg muscles on exertion (“claudication”) or angina as described above. Sudden blockage of brain arteries causes strokes. Alternatively weakening of arterial walls can cause leakage of blood in the brain, similarly causing strokes. A potentially catastrophic weakening may occur in the abdominal aorta, the largest artery in the body carrying blood to the torso and limbs. Silent expansion then rupture of the aorta kills 6,000 UK men each year. There is now a simple NHS ultrasound screening scan available for men aged 65 and over to detect the problem, allowing surgical correction before a fatal rupture can occur. Strokes occur when a brain artery narrowed by atherosclerosis blocks up suddenly causing death of the area of brain supplied by the artery. Alternatively an artery weakened by disease or subject to too high a blood pressure may leak or burst, similarly resulting in irreparable damage to the brain affected or, of course, death.
Impotence – A Warning Sign Because the arteries supplying blood to the penis are tiny, their blockage manifesting as impotence may be the first sign of generalised arterial disease, especially coronary artery disease, and warrants a full check and heart risk assessment by a GP.
Prevention is Better than Cure Although you can’t alter some things such as a family history of heart disease or your age, there are some key heart protection steps you can take: 1. Don’t smoke or use tobacco products. 2. Get active! Regular exercise is vital. 3. Eat a heart healthy diet. 4. Maintain a healthy weight and check your blood pressure regularly – “know your numbers”. 5. Make full use of company medicals or the NHS cardiovascular checks offered by GP surgeries for men age 40-75.
Circulation Problems High blood pressure (BP) – “hypertension” – is defined as a pressure persistently above 140/90mmHg. It is frequently silent until it causes heart failure, a stroke, kidney disease and sometimes dementia. Though its causes are often unclear, its detection early is important to avoid the above complications. So, get your BP checked regularly and “know your numbers”.
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Tel: 01206 321253 Email: chris.booth@chaps.uk.com Chris Booth, FRCS, CHAPS Clinical Director
Call 07876 688996 or email mark.reynolds@grouptrader.com to see how Grouptrader can deliver for you and your business.
V I S U A L I S AT I O N A N D A N I M AT I O N FOR ARCHITECTURE, MARINE AND PRODUCT DESIGN
Introducing
Rise offers a unique mobile Augmented Reality solution for iOS and Android. Augmented Reality gives your customers the power to view 3d models in 360ยบ glory on their mobile phone or tablet, against the backdrop of the real world! In the next edition of Business Connected we will have a live demo page in the magazine. We will also be showcasing our amazing app at Business Connected @ Colchester United on 27th February. For further information on this and how to get the app, please call us on 01787 223674.
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David Lloyd Leisure The Havens, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 9SJ 01473 717600 | www.davidlloyd.co.uk
SPECIAL OFFER
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David Lloyd Leisure clubs are fantastic, friendly places for all the family. Your family might come to relax and chat together in DL Cafébar at the end of the work day and school day, or better still, to join in our great range of family activities.
Activities for kids are supervised by our qualified and well-trained staff. So at David Lloyd Leisure, activities for children mean your family can learn and have fun in a safe environment.
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With that in mind we want to give all readers of Business Connected Suffolk a free Family pass worth £50. One pass per family. Please call us to book your pass in advance on 01473 325971.
Business Coach
What Is My Business Worth?
W
hat is my business worth? There is no more important question as a business owner that you can ask yourself.
Except perhaps: What is my business worth now? How much can it be worth tomorrow?
As Warren Buffett, that most prolific investor commented: “If business schools could offer just one course, it would not be on stock trading, the efficient market hypothesis or modern portfolio theory. Rather, Business schools should be encouraging students to learn the boring, but critically important, discipline of business valuation.”
Why? Because if you don’t know its current worth and its potential value how do you know if what you’re doing today is literally going to pay off tomorrow?
Now as the business owner, leader, chief cook and bottle washer it’s unlikely you’ll be settling in to become a student of valuation methodologies and techniques.
Typically owners only seriously considered the value of the business when something unexpected happened. The effect of some of these things on retirement plans/exit strategy, legacy, quality of life, relationships and sense of achievement could be devastating.
So how do you get the information you need in a format that’s easy to digest? It is now possible to get your own BusinessVALUATION with a full year’s access to the first and leading online business valuation system. A cloud-based service that helps you determine the value of your business and provides a dynamically driven Valuation Report, including multiple value scenarios and comparative market data.
Planned & unexpected factors that may drive you to consider changes in ownership and business value include: • • • •
Gift and estate tax planning Death or disability of the primary owner – yes you The unexpected loss of a key employee Unsuitable succession plans or no family members to take over the business • You “burn out” or crave something new • A prospective buyer approaches you with an unsolicited offer • Your business or personal relationships dissolve • The business is underperforming and possibly heading towards bankruptcy The market is now starting to move towards a more proactive requirement where owners increasingly want to be working on their business to add real value as part of their longer term plans. A proactive valuation can give you the data for how your business is performing. Especially in those key areas that impact the fair market values of your most important asset… your business. When you know how much your business is worth you are better equipped to weigh risks and rewards and to make informed decisions. Big picture risk and reward factors are: The cash flow or amount of “discretionary earnings” available to you, the owner The risk profile of your past and projected cash flows and their stability Market factors such as demographic trends, economic forecasts and business specific transaction activity Your potential for growth taking into account the above three factors
The output, customized to your business provides: Four different valuation estimates representing a range of scenarios Financial summary & assessment relative to industry data Comparative analysis of Income, Cash Flow, Assets, plus other metrics & critical success factors Financial, business and growth characteristics to calculate your business’ value This information can help you to focus on those key areas that really add value to your business. What are they and how can you measure them? Use the definition that the value of your business depends on the future expected, risk-adjusted, net cash flows generated for your benefit. For example, as the keystone of your business if, for whatever reason, you’re not part of the business then the cash flows are at risk. What is the effect of cash flow being less dependent on you making to the worth of your business in real terms? How can you quantify it? What tools do you have to review progress against? An effective business strategy requires careful planning and involves a clear understanding of the current and expected value of your business. Whatever course of action you choose, plan a strategy that gives you options irrespective of the ideal timeline for executing your plan and make sure you know the value of your actions. If you would like to know more about how BusinessVALUATION can help your growth, then please contact Kevin Clark.
In short the value of your business depends on the future expected risk-adjusted, net cash flows generated for your benefit. That dependency means that anything that you can do to increase cash flows and/or lower their risk will enhance your business value. So monitoring the value of your business should become a regularised part of your planning and actions rather than a reactive one-off.
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Tel: 01799 513264 Mobile: 07435 964224 Email: kevinclark@actioncoach.com Kevin Clark, Business Coach
Start growing your business today The Fleximize Refer-a-Friend Scheme If you know of a business that may benefit from our flexible financing solutions then let us know. We’ll contact the owner and if a loan is approved we’ll pay you £300 or give you an iPad Mini* (*December 2014 only). For more information, email hello@fleximize.com or call us on 020 7100 0110. You can also sign up as an introducer at www.fleximize.com/ introducers This is a limited time offer the reward is subject to change following 31/12/2014
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020 7100 0110 | hello@fleximize.com www.fleximize.com
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Wine this Xmas? Why not! It’s that time of year again when we are wondering what to give for Christmas. So wine is a great choice for corporate gifts, family & friends alike. And here at Bill Warry’s World of Wine, there is a select range of choice. Whether you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary, or a rare gem, find some really special wines people will find amazing. Give something you do not tend to experience in everyday life. And it need not break the bank either. Take for example our Anama Commandaria gift pack. This Cyprus dessert wine is made to age. Even back in the 16th century Italian writer Thomasso Parrocchi said of Commandaria:
Of all the island’s products, Commandaria is the best. It is an exceptional wine. I have drunk wine that is more than 30 years old here and it has a very pleasant taste, exquisite colour, and it was so thick that it stuck to the walls of the glass. Have a look at the website for more if you can. We are sure you will find it an Aladdin’s Cave of wine ideas, information and inspiration!
TODAY, ANAMA COMES NEATLY PACKAGED IN TWO BOTTLES: ONE LARGE FOR AGING, ONE SMALL TO DRINK NOW. COST IS £147 DELIVERED DIRECT TO THE DOOR.
Why not give some superior quality everyday wines? We have a few cases of 3 top French bottles including Gold & Silver medal winners: - Cotes de Bourg Chateau Relais de la Poste - Cotes de Blaye Chateau Vieux Valentin - Rosé de Bessan Wow! Just £48.49 for the set* Warry Warble: on the web site you can also write a message to accompany your gift.
Struggling for ideas? How about a gift voucher: £10, £25, £50 and £100 are all available.
* We charge a standard £6.00 per delivery, waived on orders of 24 bottles or more to one address.
www.billwarrywine.co.uk
Suffolk Round Up
News From Around The County Notcutts and Crafted win national Retail Marketing Award for UK’s first Santa’s Grotto street view Garden centre chain Notcutts and digital agency Crafted have every reason to celebrate after scooping a national retail marketing award for their innovative Christmas campaign. The retailer, which has 18 garden centres across Britain, and its long-term online marketing partner picked-up the award for Best Use of Search – Retail at the coveted UK Search Awards. The accolade recognised work to enhance the visibility of Notcutts’ website over the 2013 festive period with a creative search marketing campaign to create the UK’s first Santa’s Grotto Street View. Crafted, which specialises in web and software development, search marketing, Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) and User Experience (UX), used the seasonal display at the Notcutts Norwich store to create the virtual tour, enabling Christmas shoppers to explore Santa’s hide-out on Google Maps.
Double win for East Anglia law firm Ashton KCJ at LawNet Awards East Anglian law firm Ashton KCJ has scored a double win at the 2014 LawNet Awards. The Ipswich-based firm, which also has offices in Cambridge, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Felixstowe and Thetford, won the Best Digital Presence category, for its use of social media, digital branding and content marketing, and clinical negligence specialist Ben Ward, who joined the firm as a trainee in 2008, claimed the Young Lawyer of the Year title. Ed O’Rourke, chief executive, said: “I am hugely proud of both these wins and of all who have contributed to them.”
Ipswich systems integration firm Smart421 wins next generation rail ticketing contract Ipswich-based IT services company Smart421 has won a new contract to help deliver a next generation “smart ticketing” system for the UK rail industry. The contract for a Transaction Management System (TMS) for South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) has been awarded by the Rail Settlement Plan Limited, the commercial arm of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), and comes after a rigorous competitive tender process. The SEFT programme will deliver ITSO smart ticketing – the nationallyagreed specification for transport tickets on smart media – to the rail network in the South East region surrounding London. The system will make it easier to buy tickets online and to collect them at stations, and will also offer security benefits as tickets can be blocked and replaced if lost or stolen.
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Coes and Fred. Olsen Travel team up to launch in-store agency Department store company Coes and Fred. Olsen Travel have teamed up to launch a travel agency within the retailer’s flagship store in Norwich Road, Ipswich. The new agency, due to open on Saturday, November 22, will be located on the ground floor and will offer customers a wide range of travel services and the opportunity to book their next holiday in-store. William Coe, managing director at Coes, which also has stores in Felixstowe, Lowestoft and Maldon, said: “We are delighted to welcome Fred. Olsen Travel to Coes as both our organisations have a strong independent, family business background and high standards of customer service. Good retail is increasingly about the retail environment and customer’s experience rather than just producing product. By offering this service within our shop we believe we are further enhancing the package we can offer our customers when they visit our store”. Steve Williams, managing director of Fred. Olsen Travel, added: “We are extremely excited about this collaboration and the opportunity to grow our ever expanding travel portfolio. Coes is an iconic brand within the region and renowned for delivering exceptional customer service.”
Suffolk pet feed centre wins Retailer of the Year award A pet feed and equipment centre in Great Yeldham has been named Pet Industry Retailer of the Year by a national industry federation. Poole Farm Feed Centre impressed a panel of industry professionals to win the award from the Pet Industry Federation. The independent retail outlet is owned by Stephen and Joanne Williams, who moved to the area from Bishop’s Stortford in 2009. Mr Williams, who used to work for Walt Disney as a finance and operations director, said they beat off some tough competition to win the award. “Being named UK Retailer of the Year is fantastic,” he said. “It makes all the hard work and drive we have injected into the business worth it. To beat the competition on a national level feels like a remarkable achievement.” Poole Farm sells a large range of pet, horse and animal feeds, together with a selection of accessories both online and in store. The annual awards recognise entrepreneurial talent, commercial acumen and quality of customer service.
BUSINESS
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For more from around the county and to find the sources to all of these and many more Suffolk news stories please visit www.businessconnected.co.uk Business news stories are updated every day.
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Wanted: people with passion ActionCOACH is growing so fast, it has started a recruitment drive to find suitable candidates and launched a new business model option to appeal to more investors. Passion is a word that has particular meaning for ActionCOACH UK co-founder Ian Christelow, being both the quality he seeks in individuals for the ActionCOACH business network and the word that caught his eye 13 years ago in the advertisement that led to his subsequent career in business coaching. Ian Christelow: ActionCOACH UK co-founder
“People who are passionate about turning collective business knowledge into business success and who enjoy learning could find ActionCOACH the perfect opportunity to shine,” Ian explains. Christelow has recently made some changes to the structure of the UK franchising model (see panel), which he believes will create more opportunities for potential coaches to join the network. “This opens it up to a younger audience and for those who are wanting a lower investment,” he explains. “With banks willing to lend £30,000 unsecured, people who can raise £10,000 themselves can now become part of the team.” Since Ian became a partner in 2001, ActionCOACH has gone from strength to strength. Thanks to the talent and teamwork behind the franchise network over the last 13 years, it has become the best known business coaching company in the world, while the UK network has won a string of awards, including the coveted Best Business Opportunity award in 2013. Christelow’s vision is to eventually have 6,000 coaches delivering the ActionCOACH service to 100,000 businesses across the UK. It only takes a few minutes talking to the man, driven by a passion to create business success, to feel he may well achieve that goal.
Ellis Bardsley, 45, Franchise Partner in Oxfordshire since September 2013 Ellis Bardsley had 25 years of corporate experience behind him when he heard about ActionCOACH. “Although I had corporate experience, it was never with blue chip companies, but time-poor, cash-poor businesses working hard with limited resources to succeed,” he says. Bardsley signed up his first client
in October 2013, within a month of joining the ActionCOACH network. “I was very attracted by the ActionCOACH approach,” he says. “I saw the franchise as an opportunity to take my practical business experience and Ellis Bardsley with his family apply it to a proven system to create a concept that was equally useful to a large company as to a small or medium-sized enterprise,” he says. “It’s been just over a year since I invested in the business and already I’m ahead of my initial target of 12 clients in 12 months. In fact, I just signed up my 17th client, so technically I’m 42 per cent ahead of my expectations. The support I’ve received has been outstanding and that’s priceless with a new business venture and challenge. As an ActionCOACH, what I’m building is a business that delivers value to business owners, to people with genuine challenges who need some guidance. The coming years will be about constantly restructuring the business to allow me to deal with an everincreasing number of clients - and to help people achieve their goals. Only today, we’ve just helped our first client win a contract worth £500,000 - the biggest contract he has ever won. My family has got the bug too, with my wife Ali joining me in the business and my eldest son, Josh, getting involved wherever possible in between study and social at Swansea University. Josh’s latest venture is to take a busload of students down to Bristol to see the ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars live, so already we’re contributing to the next generation of British entrepreneurs.” ActionPRIMARY
ActionPRACTICE
ActionPREMIUM
Franchise including training
£21k
£41k
£61k
10 day residential training
No
Yes
Yes
£2,000
£3,500
£5,000
5 additional revenue streams
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Yes
Yes
2 additional fee earners
No
No
Yes
£2,100 or 25%
£1,800
£1,500
5%
5%
5%
£25k
£25k
£0
Marketing paid for you
Royalty from month 4 Marketing fund Upgrade investment
Rob Pickering, 51, Franchise Partner in Oxfordshire since July 2010 Rob Pickering calls his entry into the ActionCOACH network a happy accident. “I literally stumbled on it when a client I was doing management consultancy for asked if I did business coaching,” he explains. “Although I wasn’t Rob Pickering with his looking to invest in a franchise, soon wife Anne after dealing with ActionCOACH I realised I loved it and in 2010 I invested in the company. Four years later and here I am with 12 clients and a turnover of £200,000. The biggest challenge is getting prospects over the line to becoming clients, although usually it becomes clear to people after a couple of months how business coaching can benefit their business. My biggest win was my first client, whose question about business coaching made me switch from consultancy into being a coach. It was a small company called Academia, which was turning over £3.5 million. The company is now in The Sunday Times’ top 100 fastest growing tech companies, with a turnover of £44 million. Behind every top sports star there’s always a coach and that’s the person they thank for their success. It’s like that for us - we’re not looking for stardom, but there’s a huge satisfaction in being part of a company’s success and that’s why we do it.”
Mandy Hildred, 58, Franchise Partner in Yorkshire since February 2006 Working as business manager for a local charity in 2005, Mandy Hildred had called in ActionCOACH to inject some dynamism into an organisation that was stagnating. She found the experience so enjoyable that when her contract was up with the Mandy Hildred is building newly successful charity she joined a team of coaches the team. Eight years on as an ActionCOACH in her own right, Mandy has never looked back. “Within the first few months I had half a dozen clients and by the end of the first year I’d more than exceeded my income expectations,” she says. “Like any company owner, the biggest challenge is about building the business and delivering at the same time. I’ve had the support to be able to do that and with a business partner who shares my vision I’m now building a team of coaches, working with strategic partnerships such as accountants and banks with the aim of expanding the one-to-one and group coaching programmes and branching out into north and east Yorkshire. I say to anyone thinking of joining a business franchise such as this, if you spend a couple of days talking to an ActionCOACH you’ll be better able to make the right decision - for both your head and your heart.”
New Entry Level Business Opportunity: A. ActionCOACH Primary: £21,000. Includes five days’ basic initial training and two months’ online training. Monthly royalty of £2,100 or 25 per cent of turnover. You get access to all the ActionCOACH business coaching and training products and award winning support. Opportunity to upgrade to: B. ActionCOACH Practice: £41,000. Gets you the 10 days’ residential training, a lower monthly royalty of £1,800 and the new bolt-on revenue streams below. Opportunity to upgrade to: C: ActionCOACH Premium: £61,000. Comes with the added bonuses of an even lower monthly royalty of £1,500 and the right to employ two additional fee-earning coaches. Five new bolt-on revenue streams will be gifted to existing Practice and Premium franchise partners as they grow their business.
Five additional new revenue streams: 1. Profit Plus. Providing clients with essential bookkeeping services, business valuation, business planning, cash flow analysis, profitability analysis and financial monitoring services. 2. I love marketing. Delivering online services, including content marketing, search engine optimisation, pay per click, social media and reputation management to help businesses grow. 3. Corporate Business Coaching. Brad Sugars, the world’s number one business coach, has teamed up with Marshall Goldsmith, the top ranked executive coach, to help midsized companies grow their businesses. Two of the most influential business thinkers in the world will co-author their next book with ActionCOACH business and executive coach, Heather Christie. Their full suite of tools to tackle this massive market will be ready by October 2015. 4. Empire Business Brokerage. The fourth largest business brokers stateside has piled its experience and know-how into a brand new system and toolkit to successfully sell a business. 5. Rights to build your personal brand in association with ActionCOACH worldwide through public speaking, authorship and helping businesses grow internationally. The additional services will all be white labelled ActionCOACH and make ActionCOACH indispensable to any business owner looking to grow. For anyone investing in the ActionCOACH franchise, it’s an opportunity to develop a team of employees to deliver the new services and build a business turning over in excess of £1 million per year, coupled with the satisfaction of being a major and integral part of your client’s success.
For more information: Call Rainy or Sam on 01284 701648 or email: ukevents@actioncoach.com You can watch a six-minute overview video at: www.actioncoach-franchise.co.uk/overview
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BUSINESS CONNECTED IS LOOKING TO WORK WITH YOU
Designed to support companies who need to introduce a co-hesive and co-ordinated marketing strategy or a company who wishes to enhance an existing marketing strategy. We provide companies with an effective, structured marketing solution at an affordable price.
WERE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR LEVEL OF BUSINESS IN 2014? How often do you promise yourself that you’ll invest more in social media, run regular email and print campaigns but simply don’t have the time or expertise to do it?
Our fantastic marketing offer could be the answer! Our package includes: Exclusivity We only work with one company of any type within the county. Business Connected Magazine A full page advert in every bi monthly magazine which reaches over 6,000 businesses. We will even design the advert for you. Social Media Running social media campaigns for you. This includes Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. If you already have a presence we can enhance your existing programme through retweeting, mentioning, liking and so much more.
Networking Events Regular Networking events in your area. Invites to all our events which gives you the opportunity to distribute your promotional materials and a platform for you to be a speaker if required. Account Manager Provide you with a dedicated Account Manager. Working with them will help you devise a personalised marketing strategy which is right for you and your business. Bottom Line – What will it cost you? Representing great value at only £495 per month for 6 months (monthly standing order). However if you want to cut your costs our annual package paid in advance works out at just £350 per month.
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Email Campaigns Creating email campaigns including supplying data, set up, running the programme and monitoring the outcome on a monthly basis.
Business Connected Ltd - www.businessconnected.co.uk - 01702 513113
Do you have a LinkedIn account but need a helping hand to make it work for you? Our bespoke training course will help, this includes: • How to download your contacts to Excel including their email addresses • What to post and when • What groups to join and how to set up a company page • Privacy settings to see who is following you or to hide your profile Plus much more… We can offer 1-2-1 training or group training to suit your requirements Offer price £99.99 for 2 hours at your offices or our training suite Call today for more details 01702 513113 BUSINESS
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