Norfolk Voice 30

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norfolk Why it makes sense to seek out export markets

Looking forward to the big day – B2B

THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Committed to Business

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2015

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CONTENTS

Contents.

03

As much fun as the summer was, the Chamber is looking forward to getting down to business again. It is great when Norfolk business news starts to ramp up again and our website is bursting with stories about our members’ successes. With our monthly website visits regularly hitting 8,000 you can see business being done.

Covered in this issue are details of our Business2Business Exhibition at NCFC on 15th October, page 28. At the time of going to print we only have a few stands left and this is going to be our biggest success ever. Please do ensure that it is in your diary to visit as it really is a mustdo in the Norfolk business calendar. We have a great line up of workshop as well as zones.

Trading internationally remains a significant option as a way to grow your business. The internet has made it much easier to reach new markets but you still need to know who to speak to. The International Chamber network is strengthening all the time and the team here in Norfolk are available to help you find the right person or information you are seeking. Whether you are an experience exporter looking for new markets or have never traded internationally before do give us a call. Our main feature in this issue, page 26, illustrates how some of our most successful businesses are growing their bottom line through exporting.

The difficulty finding the right skilled workforce continues to be an issue as Norfolk businesses seek to grow with the strengthening economy.

One solution is to make Norfolk more visible as a dynamic business location to retain and attract quality staff. Another solution is to grow our own by bridging the gap between education and business. We need to help our young people at school understand the career options open to them here in Norfolk and what they need to do to secure a positive long term future. Chamber members are in a good position to make this happen and we will be working over the coming months to really make a difference.

Welcome/Contents

16 22

Conferences & Events

05 06

Members News

30 33

Business Support

08 09

Members News

36 39

Technology

10 11

Chamber Policy

44 46

12 13

Members News

Corporate Social Responsibilty

14 15

International Trade

24 25

The Big Interview

26 27

Cover Feature

32

Knowledge

33

Membership

38 43

8

Chamber Events

47

A Week in the Life of

48

New Members

50

The Last Word

24

42 Norfolk Voice is a Norfolk Chamber of Commerce publication.

ALL EDITORIAL AND GENERAL ENQUIRIES: info@norfolkchamber.co.uk NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Norwich Office: 9 Norwich Business Park, Whiting Road, Norwich NR4 6DJ Tel: 01603 625977 Fax: 01603 633032

PRODUCTION & DESIGN Distinctive Publishing, Unit 6b, Floor B, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1LE Tel: 0845 884 2384 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk ADVERTISING John Neilson, Commercial Director Distinctive Publishing, Unit 6b, Floor B, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1LE Tel: 0845 884 2343 email: john.neilson@distinctivegroup.co.uk FEATURE EDITORS John Dean & Francis Griss email:deangriss@btinternet.com

DISCLAIMER Distinctive Publishing or Norfolk Voice cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Norfolk Voice.

CHAMBER’S GOLD PATRONS

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

All good things come to an end.

A Telecoms and IT partnership for the future.

Breakwater IT, a leading IT support and technology solutions company, has announced the beginning of a new partnership with Swains Plc, one of the UK’s premier communications providers.

Business telecoms has always been one of the core solutions offered by Breakwater and, as the company expands, it continues to be a service that is being developed and invested in.

Ian Hacon President of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

I am a little bit sad to be writing my final President’s Column. They say all good things come to an end, and in October so does my Presidency. We have had an interesting and challenging couple of years, but I am so pleased we have come through it stronger than ever.

As Breakwater explores ways of further enriching its telecoms channel, the fundamental approach has to be to partner with a prominent regional provider with the capacity to provide excellent service to its customers.

Peter Davies, Chairman of Breakwater, said: ‘Strategically we want to align ourselves with companies that are strong in this region but also who have a national presence. This alliance means we can work together seamlessly, so that both IT and Telecoms can be dealt with as one. This is a significant decision for both companies and we look forward to working with Swains for many years to come.’

Swains represent all of the values Breakwater look to offer to their clients, including carrier grade telecoms coupled with high levels of customer service, support and flexibility. This is a partnership equally sought by both businesses, as Swains recognise the importance of joining forces with an IT Provider in a world where Telecoms and IT are converging and previously separate technologies now interact in a single network.

For exporters and those considering it, the Chamber’s International Trade Team is one of those strengths and are an invaluable resource. Not only can they handle your vital international documentation requirements, they can offer helpful advice, training, access to markets and even translation services.

An exciting development for the Chamber is the International Chambers, a number of overseas British Chambers meeting the same strict accreditation requirements as us. The network is growing by the day, and most are in emerging markets.

These Chambers know their home markets really well and can put you directly in touch potential buyers, suppliers or partners.

They can also help you in country with hot-desking, meetings and receptions.

If you want to get into markets like Brazil and China, you really need to speak to the Chamber International Team.

The

Peter Davies, Chairman of Breakwater IT.

The affiliation between Breakwater and Swains represents the resolve of both companies to develop the service and solutions they offer, and in turn, their relationship with customers; an undertaking which is paramount in this world of ever connecting digital technologies. Both companies value the need to offer the latest products and technologies, coupled with cost effective packages and quality of service. It is through a partnership such as this that telecoms and IT providers can continue to grow, whilst being committed to offering the best solutions for their clients.

Norfolk Chamber AGM. Notice has hereby been given that the 119th Annual General Meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce will be held at the Dunston Hall Hotel, Ipswich Road, Norwich on Friday 09 October 2015 with registration at 10am for commencement of the meeting at 10.15am. The agenda and all relevant documentation was posted on the Norfolk Chamber website 28 days prior to the date of the AGM.

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MEMBERS NEWS

Five-year export Garden plan unveiled at Great deal to India.

Yarmouth Community Hub. Plans for a sensory garden at Independence Matters’ Great Yarmouth Community Hub were unveiled recently at a special event attended by staff, customers and the local press.

The Hub provides support to vulnerable adults, including those with physical and learning disabilities and those with dementia. Development of the garden has been made possible thanks to Big Lottery funding secured through The People’s Millions public vote last November.

Work to build the garden at the Suffolk Road site has already begun and will provide planting and seating areas as well as activity zones, including a potting shed and greenhouse, designed to help and support people with dementia.

Britain’s last fire extinguisher manufacturer has signed a major export deal with India – as other fire companies import from there and China.

Britannia Fire is now exporting its pioneering service-free P50 – the first non-metal extinguisher made from the same material as bulletproof vests – to India’s leading fire safety company for distribution across India.

It has already shipped 4,000 units as part of a five-year deal worth more than £1million, giving New Delhi-based Aska International exclusive rights to the award-winning P50.

Britannia Fire general manager Andy Spence said: “When every other fire extinguisher manufacturer is importing from India and China, it feels good to be doing it the other way and flying the flag for quality British-made products and innovation in these countries.”

The organisers are now looking for volunteers who would like to help with the project, including ongoing maintenance of the garden once it is complete.

residents, community groups and businesses to share the outdoor space, helping to break down barriers to disability and increase understanding of dementia.

This is very much a community project and it is hoped the garden will bring together local

Anyone interested in finding out more should contact Jayne at the Hub on 07798 691342.

Abellio Greater Anglia improves information across the region.

Audley End, Battlebridge, Billericay, Bures, Burnham-on-Crouch, Chappel and Wakes Colne, Cheshunt, Cromer, Dovercourt, Great Bentley, Great Chesterford, Great Yarmouth, Halesworth, Harwich Town, Hatfield Peverel, Hoveton and Wroxham, Kelvedon, Lowestoft, Needham Market, Newmarket, Oulton Broad North, Reedham, Saxmundham, Shenfield, Sheringham, Stowmarket, St Margarets, Sudbury, Thetford, Thorpe Le Soken, Thurston, Ware, Wickford, and Witham stations are all benefiting from the investment.

India joins a list of more than ten other countries the Norfolk-based company has export deals with for its 100 per cent recyclable extinguisher, which has a 20-year lifespan and a 10-year guarantee.

Its export agreement with Dubai was signed at Britannia Fire’s House of Commons reception for blue chip companies and fire and rescue authorities in March.

Its portfolio of metal fire extinguishers, also made at its Ashwellthorpe factory, where more than 30 people are employed, are shipped all over the world, including Japan, Nigeria, Oman and Kuwait.

The project will see the old customer information screens replaced with the latest LED technology.

This will mean a real improvement in the provision of information for customers at the stations with brighter, clearer screens.

Aska Equipment, India’s largest manufacturer of fire extinguishing products and a pioneer in the field of specialised fire safety systems and disaster management products, was attracted to the P50 because of its innovation, Mr Spence said.

Customer information is being improved at rail stations across the Abellio Greater Anglia network with the installation of new Customer Information Screens.

Mr Spence met Aska, a market leader in Disaster Management, in Dubai in January 2014 at the Intersec exhibition.

A total of 159 new screens are being installed which will display train running information in a clear, easy to read format.

Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia’s Customer Service Director, said: “We have been focusing our efforts on improving information provision for our customers and these new screens demonstrate our commitment to providing up-to-date information, in a clear, user-friendly format.”

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NORFOLK VOICE

MEMBERS NEWS

BITC calls on employers to support project.

A pioneering joined-up approach to improving people’s lives and public services is to be expanded in Great Yarmouth.

Business in the Community (BITC) is one of a number of partners that will be working on the project over five years, which is supported by a £3m grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

themselves to further improve even more people’s lives. Traditionally, various areas of work which are actually inter-related have been funded and delivered in relative isolation because they are wrongly seen as separate, whereas Great Yarmouth is pioneering a broader joined-up approach to improving life chances for residents.”

The Neighbourhoods that Work project builds upon a successful integrated way of working with communities, developed over the last decade by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and partners, which has gained national recognition.

Business in the Community will play a critical role by engaging employers on the project.

Employers will help people gain and sustain jobs; assist with capacity building of communities and play a stronger role in creating local solutions for those in most need.

The £3m project is initially funded to run for five years: helping communities to develop their ideas for improving people’s quality of life, helping existing services to work better together to support vulnerable people, and helping people into training, volunteering and work.

Led by the borough council and delivered with the help of local partners, it is hoped that the model will provide a blueprint for similar initiatives

in other parts of the UK and in other areas of work. One aim of the project is to increase capacity in communities, enabling them to become more resilient in the face of changing social, economic and environmental conditions.

Cllr Penny Carpenter, the borough council’s cabinet member for communities, said: “The Neighbourhoods that Work Project will help the borough council, partners and communities

Computing company and EACH become fundraising ‘allies’. the nook will be built. As previous supporters of EACH, the Directors decided that they too wanted to play their part in supporting their soon to be neighbours.

The Framingham Pigot-based business has signed up to the nook business network scheme to raise at least £10,000 over the term of the appeal. The nook business network asks for companies small, medium and large throughout Norfolk to commit to raising either £10,000, £15,000 or £25,000 over the duration of the appeal in return for a number of benefits and support that the charity will provide.

A Norfolk technology company has become fundraising ‘allies’ with East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) and will offer support for the nook appeal which aims to raise £10 million to build a new purpose-built children’s hospice in the heart of Norfolk.

Allies Computing Ltd, the leading UK supplier of address data quality solutions, is based in Framingham Pigot; in the neighbourhood where

Sarah Nice, Finance Director of Allies, said: “EACH is a fantastic local charity that cares for and supports local families at an unimaginably difficult time and having previously supported the charity, we were only to happy to support them with their fantastic appeal for a new children’s hospice and we welcome them as new neighbours soon.”

Gary Cook, the nook appeal corporate fundraiser, said: “We’re delighted the team at Allies are continuing with their support for the charity to help make our vision of a new hospice for local life-threatened children and their families a reality.”

“We need the support of all sectors of the Norfolk community - individuals, schools, community groups and of course the business sector to achieve our fundraising target, so Allies support is fantastic and we very much look forward to working with them.”

THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Paul Winter, CEO Ipswich Building Society and Chair of the BITC Regional Advisory Board, said: “We’re delighted to be building on Business in the Community’s work in Great Yarmouth to further support people into employment and training. Employers who support the programme will not only benefit the local community but also their own business by gaining an insight to the local market.”

Norse adds £2.3m contracts.

Norse Commercial Services and its subsidiaries around the UK have added more than £2.3 million worth of new cleaning contracts.

The Norfolk based group won two major new contracts in Norwich and Cambridge, and three others through its joint venture companies in Enfield Medway and Devon.

The three-year agreements cover educational establishments and empty housing stock being prepared for new tenants.

“Premises cleaning is worth around £25m a year to Norse and we are seeing significant wins in competitive tenders around the country,” said Sales Director Geoff Tucker.

“We are providing employment for almost 10,000 people across the UK and over 6,500 within East Anglia.”

The company will be investing around £40k in new equipment to run the contracts, primarily using suppliers based in the area in line with its local supply chain support policy.

Auto enrolment capacity crunch.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The regulator has recently announced its latest statistics for fines against Auto Enrolment failures.

Over 400 fixed penalty notices and 5 escalating fines have been issued to employers in the year up to March 2015. On top of this 1682 compliance notices were issued with 22 unpaid notices and 6 statutory inspections, this demonstrates that the regulator has ramped up its action again non-compliance.

Also at the same time the regulator has underestimated the number of small firms to stage in the next 3 years. Their third annual commentary analysis revealed that the previous estimate of 1.3 million employers was incorrect and the figure is now 1.8 million.

In light of this the industry is now facing a provider capacity crunch, this year there are approximately 45,000 employers staging, this increases to over 500,000 next year and continues to rise towards the end date of April 2018, by which time all employers would have been through the process. n

Limited Resource Many providers are feeling the strain as resources are stretched, and are now starting to turn away business which they would deem unprofitable due to the contribution levels or number of employees. This in turn narrows the market for selecting a suitable solution which can provide a quality pension scheme with the right level of service, support and administration functionality.

Payroll providers are also starting to see an increase in activity with higher levels of calls to their help and support lines.

With this in mind many employers are starting to act now in advance of their staging date to reserve provider resource and in many cases bringing their staging date forward to avoid the rush as we head in to the next phase of the project.

At Alan Boswell Group we can support you on Auto Enrolment, we have a team of experts on hand to help you design and implement a quality pension scheme to ensure you comply with you duties ahead of time, we can also offer bespoke packages to assist in communicating changes to your employees and deal with the ongoing compliance beyond staging.

Planning is key.

Advance planning for Auto Enrolment is one of the most important parts of the whole project.

The first part is to understand when your staging date is. Once you have this we recommend starting the process at least 6-9 months in advance of this date. Taking this approach will ensure you have plenty of time to adhere to the legislation, get payroll systems and processes in place, and establish a pension to suit your needs.

The implementation of Auto Enrolment can also be a good time to review your employee benefits package whether that be to enhance what you offer or introduce additional products.

For an informal chat about your auto enrolment requirements please call David Perry on 01603 218388 or Dee Smout on 01603 218027

Call Alan Boswell Group today on 01603 218066

We can help you avoid the various pitfalls; saving you time, and therefore cost, to ensure that auto-enrolment is integrated within your business with the minimum of upheaval.

Alan Boswell & Company (London) Ltd is an appointed representative of Alan Boswell & Company Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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NORFOLK VOICE

Energy industry opportunities showcased to female students. and Beth Roestenburg Vice Chair of WEN plan and organise these events to demonstrate to female students the breadth of opportunities for careers across the whole spectrum of the industry – from engineering and technician roles, in research, logistics and servicing those roles in administration. By meeting females in the maledominated industry, they can see the possibilities.

Hello, we are the Nor–Folk.

“We hope the young women we work with use these events as the fantastic networking and fact-finding opportunities they are and discover how that they can enter interesting, challenging and rewarding careers. We also aim to show how transferable skills are in the industry.”

Young women at Great Yarmouth College were shown the wide range of career opportunities in the energy industry on behind-the-scenes visits to companies working in oil & gas and renewables.

Roles from engineering and data processing to human resources and administration were showcased at the event organised by Women in Energy Networking Group (WEN) for Great Yarmouth College students and staff.

Megan Platten, who is studying a level 3 BTEC in IT at Great Yarmouth College, said meeting women working in IT at Gardline had opened her eyes to opportunities she had never considered. I have seen so much which is possible that I didn’t know existed.”

The Women’s Energy Networking Group (WEN) was set up to support, nurture and develop females in an industry where 96.3% of offshore workers are men.

In the Introduction to the Energy Industry for college students, they met successful female industry professionals when they visited AID Rope Access (Part of the 3Sun Group), Gardline Geo Services and 3Sun with WEN members.

In its first year it has organised events, worked with colleges and schools to show female students opportunities across the oil & gas, renewables and nuclear sectors and extensively promoted its work across the industry.

The companies gave presentations took the students and staff on tours of their businesses.

WEN will be running more of these events. To be involved and support, or are at school or college and would like to attend, please contact us through www.wenuk.com or tweet us @womeninenergyuk

Emma Bishop, chair of the Great Yarmouth-based WEN, said: “Kim Dexter Steering Group Member

Traded Network have launched three new sites.

Traded Network has announced that its three online lead generating directories have a fresh new look, making it easy for our businesses, charities, clubs and schools, as well as visitors to navigate around the sites.

The new look websites is the first part of a development plan that delivers an improved level of service. The next stage is to automate our administration portal to provide our customers with additional reporting.

Take a look at all three of our new websites today by visiting Traded.org.uk, Chariti.org.uk and Supportus.org.uk.

The

Nor–Folk is a graphic design led lifestyle brand, founded by husband and wife team Fiona and Bobby Burrage of The Click Design Consultants. Launched earlier this year, Nor–Folk has enjoyed rapid growth in sales and serves a global customer base.

Nor–Folk was merely a side project when it started – part of The Click’s ten year anniversary celebrations (as featured in Creative Review), although, six months on, it has made the rapid transition from being an extra-curricular self-initiated ‘project’ to fully-fledged ‘proper business’.

Headed up (on a day-to-day basis)

by Fiona, Nor–Folk now sells to circa 50 stockists worldwide and has a growing social media presence, including 30k+ followers on Instagram.

Nor–Folk continues to add to the product range, which includes apparel for adults and children, as well as homewares.

In addition, they curate a Journal with content from the fellow Nor–Folk team, including posts on fashion, food, visual stories and more.

You can shop Nor–Folk here and follow on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

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TaxAssist accountants wins award.

CEO makes ‘Power List’.

on multiple challenges in the last 12 months and met all of them successfully. The strength of the relationship that TaxAssist Accountants has with its franchisees has instilled a deep trust and honesty between all parties, critical to the exceptional performance of the business and duly recognised with this award.”

The winners were announced at a blacktie dinner held at the ICC in Birmingham.

Group CEO Karl Sandall and Group Business Development Director Sarah Robertson of The TaxAssist Group picked up the award on behalf of the company.

TaxAssist Accountants, the successful small business tax and accountancy franchise, won a bronze award at the 2015 ‘Franchisor of the Year’ awards.

This is on the back of winning the Gold award in 2010 and being a finalist in 2014 and means that TaxAssist has now won the award in every available colour.

Judge Cathryn Hayes head of business support at the bfa, said: “This is a business that has taken

Karlsaid “Winning the bronze award in this, our 20th Anniversary year and on the back of being a finalist in 2014 is a brilliant result and is testament to the hard working Support Centre staff and our fantastic network of franchisees.

We know our business model works, but to hear such positive comments from the judges on our achievements and way of working is a great endorsement of TaxAssist.”

TaxAssist Accountants has moved up to number 24 in the 2015 Accountancy Age Top 50+50 survey, up one place from 2014 and up an impressive ten places since first entering the survey back in 2010. TaxAssist is the only accountancy franchise in the Top 50.

Xero users keep on growing.

So many Xero users and Xero Accountants on the front cover of the XU Magazine in May 2015 - including us.

Karl is listed alongside his Executive Management colleagues Sarah Robertson and Phil Sullivan and TaxAssist franchisees, who make up the UK’s largest network of small business specialist accountants.

This cover shouts about the rapid uptake of Xero - small business accounting software - and the strong community feel amongst it’s users and advocates.

This is only issue 3 and it’s still a subscription only mag but it’s making a big impact. This issue

Karl finds himself in illustrious company with George Osborne taking the number one slot with other notable entrants following on, including heavyweights in the business, finance and entertainment world such as Margaret Hodge Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Hollywood actor Ben Affleck and Lin Homer, Chief Executive, HM Revenue & Customs.

Accountancy Age is one of the leading resources for finance, business and accountancy news, features, advice and resources for accountants and other UK finance professionals.

By Shaper Accountants in Norwich

There, amongst all those Twitter images sits Shaper Accountants, the Go To Xero Accountants in Norwich. If you’re new to Xero or an experienced convert, this fresh magazine is a absolute winner.

It’s packed full of articles and ideas, that help small businesses. With some excellent articles about the 400 plus Xero Add-On business apps, it’s a knowledge bank of how to scale up a business, whilst keeping hold of the costs.

Accountancy Age has published its Financial Power List 2015 with CEO of The TaxAssist Direct Group Ltd. Karl Sandall making it to number 50 in the movers and shakers of the finance world.

has some great articles, for example, 5 reasons to ditch Excel as your work scheduling tool, in favour of affordable, cloud based tools.

If you are interested in getting a copy of XU magazine get in touch with us. If you just want to admire our little logo pic on the front cover, that’s been seen all over the world, have a really good look!

In 2014 a ground breaking Franchisee Assisted Management Buyout (FAMBO) took place with a tranche of franchisees breaking new ground in their ownership of the company. Franchisees currently own a 32% stake in the business, with the Directors of the company including Karl owning 53% and 15% by long-standing external business partners.

Karl said: “2014 was an exciting and trailblazing year for TaxAssist and proved how happy and satisfied our franchisees are in being part the success of our business.

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NORFOLK VOICE

Norfolk Chamber strengthens its Board.

Norfolk Chamber has now recruited additional members to its Board of Directors. Seven new Board members have been appointed, which takes the Board to a total of sixteen members. Ian Hacon, President of Norfolk Chamber said: “Our new Board members will help give Norfolk Chamber stronger representation geographically, by size of company and by sector and will allow us to truly be the voice of our membership. I am looking forward to working with them all to support and promote issues affecting the business community in Norfolk.”

Hear from our newest Board members about why they are passionate to join Norfolk Chamber’s Board and what they hope to achieve during their tenure:

James Mason

Lynsey Sweales

Esther Evans

Commercial Director - Norfolk Training Services

Chief Executive - SocialB Ltd

Managing Director - STM Packaging Group Ltd

“Norfolk Training Services, at nearly 50 years old is a long-standing component of the business life of Norfolk and a large number of Norfolk businesses are our customers.

“Norfolk, a place where if asked where you live you get one of two responses ‘I’ve been there on holiday as a child, loved it’ or the enviable Delia Smith or Alan Partridge joke. What is less forthcoming, and sometimes less obvious is the fantastic businesses we have in this county that are doing great things locally, nationally and internationally.

“I hope to be able to bring some assistance to the team in developing strategies for helping small manufacturing companies thrive in the county. Manufacturing is at the heart of wealth creation in the economy and as such is vital for the continuation of the economic recovery that we are experiencing, as well as offering job creation and skills development for our area.

As a business owner who has remained in Norfolk, I am often asked why I chose to remain here due to travel, business etc. – the answer is simple – I don’t need to. I’m passionate about helping the Chamber and its members wave its flag high and say ‘Norfolk is a great place to do business’. Our location perhaps isn’t quite as easily accessible as other key cities in the UK; this doesn’t however mean that to set up a business or locate a business here is going to prevent success.

Manufacturing SME’s also support a wide network of other businesses in Norfolk from engineering and electrical to cleaning and catering - so the greater the success of our sector, the faster the local economy will grow.

Consequently, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the business life of the county being in a position to both represent businesses in Norfolk and to offer my help and support to employers and businesses as they make the most of the skills development and training that is available.

I believe that businesses succeed best when those who work in them are skilled and motivated and nothing motivates like knowing that you have the skills and ability to do a good job.

I also believe strongly that for businesses to have a future we must look to the next generation, those young people at school and just leaving school. Business needs to inform and enthuse the young and I would like to play my part in achieving that objective by bridging the gap between employers and young people.”

The

I also hope to extend the great work already done by the Chamber of Commerce to try to encourage our young people to be enthusiastic about business in general and manufacturing in particular and help them see that it offers a great range of opportunities and careers.”

Norfolk has great talent and we need to harness our business owners of tomorrow to consider staying in the county rather than being dazzled by the perceived brighter lights of London.”

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CHAMBER POLICY

Alastair MacFarlane

Simon Watson

Fiona Ryder

Port Manager - East Anglia, Associated British Ports

Partner, Corporate Services - Lovewell Blake

Managing Director - Mustard TV

“I first moved to East Anglia in 1992 and was very quickly struck by Norfolk’s unique mix of rural agricultural land and modern technology based industry.

“I am delighted to be returning to the role of Honorary Treasurer of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, a post I last held in 2009. The progress the Chamber has made in the few years since I was last involved has encouraged me to return and help with the great work Chamber does. Going forward I am keen to support the Chamber with its engagement with Members and play an active role how Chamber actively influences regional policy for the business community.”

“Norfolk has a fantastic economic heritage and it’s a real privilege to be given the opportunity to serve on the Norfolk Chamber Board. As media habits change, communication and dissemination of information has never been more important. I look forward to working with the board to help amplify our collective ‘Norfolk’ voice to raise issues and celebrate successes.”

While offering a unique and pleasant quality of life, still within reach of the capital, the county also has its challenges relating to its diverse rural/ urban mix of locations and connectivity.

I look forward to playing a positive role in Chamber business and bringing my ports, shipping and transport experience to the Chamber Board.

I have a broad interest in the offshore renewables, agriculture and construction sectors and hope to engage and assist in decisions important to business in Norfolk.”

Andrew Sherwood John Longworth, Director General of British Chambers of Commerce meets Norfolk Chamber Board members

For full details of all Norfolk Chamber Board Members visit the Policy Section on the Chamber website www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

HR Director - Bernard Matthews “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the Board of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, which plays such an important role in representing the interests of business across Norfolk. The Norfolk Chamber does a great job in terms of providing a voice for business and I look forward to doing what I can to support the Chamber, with a particular focus for me on the harnessing the young talent of the county.”

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Reflection PR launches new division on sixth birthday.

A Norwich PR agency is celebrating six years’ in business, marking the milestone with the launch of a new division, thought to be the first of its kind in East Anglia.

Pensthorpe Natural Park, Holkham Country Fair and the relaunch of Goldsmiths jewellers Norwich showroom. While the company’s turnover is on track to increase by 35 per cent on last year.

Award-winning Reflection PR, founded in 2009, has unveiled a new award writing division, www. awardsagency.co.uk, capitalising on a gap in the market in the region. The new content writing shop is aimed at businesses looking to enter awards.

The team has recently grown too. New recruits Daniella Carter and Sam Bird have joined as digital executives, boosting the agency’s online skills. And the business is also currently recruiting for an experienced account director.

From researching and recommending the best awards to enter, copywriting a strong entry and offering design skills to help it stand out, an expert team takes care of the whole process.

Based in offices close to Norwich train station, Reflection PR works with local and national brands and continues to thrive in the food, drink, leisure and tourism sectors. Its services have also expanded to offer website design, video and social media management in-house.

May was the busiest month on record for the agency, following a string of client wins including

Managing director, Suzy Pettican said: “Over the past six years we’ve seen a real appetite for our award writing services, as well as social media and online work so we’re excited to be expanding in these areas.

“Awards can raise a company’s profile and it’s also been proven that winning an award can boost profits, so it makes sense to make them part of any marketing strategy.

“Social media has to be part of that strategy too.

Since I launched the company, social media has become an integral part of communication and brands now simply have to tell their story

Supporting Norwich’s Tech City status.

Peterborough-based telecommunication and IP experts Businesscoms have joined forces with MLL Telecom, a leading provider of Carrier Class network solutions, in an exclusive deal to bring superfast business class solutions to Norwich.

Following on from their success in turning Peterborough into a Gigabit City, Businesscoms is working to provide the same level of secure, reliable and stable fibre services to SMEs in Norwich.

Rob Baldacci, Businesscoms director, said, “Now is an exciting time for businesses throughout the UK and in particular the Norwich area. The ever changing world of technology is allowing them to do more and reach more however we have always been held back by the infrastructure built.

“It is like having a Ferrari but a dirt track to drive it down. That is all changing and in the Norwich area we see an exciting opportunity for businesses to embrace an independent quality infrastructure, similar to that which has been enjoyed by the public sector for a while.

The

This will allow both savings and efficiency improvements.”

The new network will see businesses in Norwich having access to services that are purely focused on individual business needs, offering contention ratios as little as 10:1, a vast difference from the average 50:1 service that most are suffering with currently.

The Connection Vouchers of up to £3,000 that were made available in Norwich on the 1st April, can be used to help businesses take advantage of the new infrastructure.

MLL Telecom are bringing their wealth of experience and knowledge, acquired over 23 years providing a resilient and reliable service to the public sector, to businesses in Norwich, ensuring that they are provided an innovative business service that is proactively monitored 24/7/365.

Rob said: “If you had ten people in a business, each losing five minutes an hour waiting for pages to load or files to upload, that totals to 6.7 hours a day and 33.5 hours per week. How much could this be costing your business?”

online to succeed. It’s our job to help clients keep apace and measure the results of their digital activity. From launching Twitter workshops to offering video production and web design in-house, I’m really proud of how we’ve adapted our services to offer clients the full digital PR package.”

Bigfork create campaign for Tootega.

Digital marketing agency, Bigfork, carried out a successful automated marketing campaign for kayak manufacturer, Tootega.

The main goal of the campaign was to turn one-time visitors to the website into long term customers.

The new case study shows how the company turned new kayak online registrations into a successful automated and personalised email marketing campaign and can be seen on the company’s website.

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MEMBERS NEWS

Norse pledges support for East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Norse Commercial Services has pledged the company’s support to the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA).

Paul Bonham, Commercial Director at Norse said: “We are delighted to be supporting the East Anglian Air Ambulance, a vital local service that over the last 15 years has helped over 16,000 people in a wide variety of life-threatening situations. As a company we have exciting plans to involve a number of our different divisions in helping to promote and raise money for the service, and I know our staff will be equally keen to show their support. We are really looking forward to working with the dedicated staff and volunteers at EAAA and to helping them to continue providing their often crucial emergency response.”

maintenance vehicles, helping to raise funding and awareness of the work of for the EAAA. The company’s catering division will also be looking at opportunities to help promote ‘Tea@1500’, events the EAAA is running to celebrate its 15th anniversary year.

The company will be placing ‘Proud to Support East Anglian Air Ambulance’ stickers on Norse vehicles minibuses, school buses and

Aston Shaw appoints two new directors.

Lee and Adam joined Aston Shaw in 2005 and 2006 respectively and both qualified as Chartered Certified accountants in 2011. They both manage their own varied portfolio of clients, with Lee specialising in the construction industry and Adam the agricultural sector. Both directors will retain their current portfolio and will continue to have day to day interaction with their clients, alongside their new responsibilities.

Aston Shaw, the fastest growing accountancy firm in East Anglia, has appointed two new directors to the firm’s board, in order to create a long-term structure that addresses the company’s ongoing expansion.

The current directors of the firm, Mark Noakes and Dominic Shaw, are keen to promote senior positions from within and long-serving Client Managers Lee Stratton, 28 and Adam Hook, 34 will take a Directorship role within the business as of August 2015.

The ethos at Aston Shaw has always been to accelerate the growth and experience of younger employees, going against the accepted industry trend and this is now being reflected from the top down.

Lee said: “I’m extremely proud to be a director of the company. After 10 years and knowing Aston Shaw inside out, I felt ready to take on the new role and help Mark Noakes and Dominic Shaw drive the business forward onto bigger and better things.

Adam and I are looking forward to continuing our work with our current client portfolios, and we are both excited to be a part of the key decision making process in the company”.

Adam added: “Lee and I have been part of Aston Shaw for a very long time and we both feel the time is right to make the step up. The company has grown significantly in the last few years and the structure being put in place will mean we can help grow it even further, which is something I can’t wait to drive forward”.

EAAA Norfolk Fundraising Manager, Holly Lambert, said: ‘We are enormously grateful for Norse’s support of EAAA and are very much looking forward to working with them on a number of campaigns and initiatives. The EAAA does not receive regular direct government funding and so is dependent on our generous supporters to help raise the £8.6 million needed every year to keep our life-saving service flying’.

Local Shredding company wins award.

Citrus sharp security shredding has achieved national recognition from The Green Apple environmental organisation for managing office recycling projects in Norfolk & Suffolk.

MD Jules Shorrock said: “Winning the Award has really motivated all of the team to challenge all of our client’s to remove all under desk office bins.

There are commercial & environmental benefits in doing so, including improved Data security, more materials recycled & less waste to landfill”.

Martin Lake, Chairman of Buy Local Norfolk joined Citrus to celebrate, emphasising the service benefits & value of growing the local supply chain within Norfolk. “By adopting a local purchasing policy wherever possible, all companies in the supply chain can generate a very positive effect for the local economy.”

Aston Shaw has gone from strength to strength since their merger with Morgan Woods in 2014, and their recent takeover of Roger Hopkins in 2015. Since 2014 the company’s staff numbers have grown by 50% and the number of clients has also grown by upwards of 15%.

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NORFOLK VOICE

Tobar Group Trading Ltd - proof that if you’re to export successfully you can’t toy with it!

We talked with Joanne Beales, who is responsible for export sales at leading toy and gadget wholesaler Tobar Group Trading Ltd, about how the Chamber has helped them in the drive to export.

Tobar have over 40 years experience as wholesalers of gifts, toys, gadgets ‘Pocket Money Toys’ and much more besides. They provide everything from product innovation, sourcing packaging, storage and logistics. It’s the complete supply chain solution and it’s delivered by an experienced senior management team with extensive market knowledge.

In the UK they have blue chip customers including Hamleys and Harrods, as well as the major supermarkets.

When it comes to exporting they have distributors around Europe and a second office, in France, who work with a major buying group, Ludendo. Tobar sell into 67 countries, supplying customers worldwide and have a dedicated team for export. They make a point of meeting customers face to face, and attend numerous trade fairs in the UK and Europe.

We asked Joanne about their first experience of exporting, how they chose their first market and what research they did ‘on the ground’ before making the commitment.

“We didn’t have a policy at first. We had a customer in Sweden who approached us about twenty five years ago. They saw the potential, as did we. They became our agent and the business expanded throughout Scandinavia.”

wealth of experience and knowledge to be accessed through The Chamber. We’ve built up a great relationship and The Chamber have always been keen to understand our business and help us.”

What have been the most difficult problems you’ve encountered in exporting, and how do you deal with them?

“There are three answers to that. Overall the main problems we’ve had to address are learning the restrictions and requirements that apply to each country, and then learning the buying trends for each country. We have to gather a lot of information to identify which countries represent the next, good, opportunity for us.”

“Specifically we needed to appoint a distributor in Germany - it’s our next biggest market after France and we wanted to increase our footprint in Europe.”

“As to dealing with those issues we’ve gained real help and support by attending The Chamber’s International Trade Courses, and indeed having recommendations from The Chamber on which Government Department is best suited to our individual needs.”

“Over time our export experience has grown on business relationships. We’ve developed trust with our customers, which has allowed us to pursue bigger opportunities.”

“The International Trade Training Courses are definitely one of the things we value most as a service from The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. I’d recommend them to anyone considering, or involved in, exporting.”

What’s been the most useful source of information for you when it comes to researching export markets? And the most valuable source of support, helping you to succeed?

How does Tobar distribute in export markets?

Do you export direct or use an agent or distributor? Do you export online? What other distribution options did you consider and why did you choose your current methods?

“Oh, definitely becoming a member of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. There’s a great

“Let me try to answer all of those. We do have agents and distributors in Europe. We decided

The

on that because in certain countries where business had grown, the distributor would be able to communicate and reach our customers a lot quicker and drive business forward. They have their own showrooms and attend trade fairs based in their own country. Our customers have easier access to attend fairs in their own country and can view our products with ease.

Delivery is within their own country too, cutting down on the customer’s costs and time.”

“Our customer database is large and we ship all over the world. So we have a catalogue and our product range is accessible online, internationally, through our website.”

What’s the most important lesson you have learned about exporting? If you had one piece of advice for companies considering exporting for the first time, what would it be?

“I think I can answer both questions at the same time!”

“Consider all the legal exporting documentation that’s required for entering the country, and learn the product restrictions for individual countries.”

“Use an accredited courier who is familiar with Incoterms. Research your shipping costs.”

Thanks Joanne.

“A pleasure. It’s a two way street, so we’re happy to share our experience with other Chamber members. We now have considerable experience in Europe, and in ‘rest of world’ our biggest customers are in the UAE.” Thanks again, for a really useful insight into exporting.

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Translation and Interpreter Service.

International Trade Training Courses.

Here at Norfolk Chamber we know how difficult it can be to keep-up-to-date with the world of International Trade and so to help you achieve success in this field we put on a variety of specialised training courses.

Whether you’re just getting started or feel you need a refresher, these sessions will help to boost your understanding of the subjects.

Forthcoming dates and topics: September 2015 29th

Surviving a Customs Audit (afternoon)

October 2015 7th

Incoterms® 2010* (full day)

8th

Creating an Export Strategy (full day)

November 2015 4th

Import Procedures* (full day)

12th

e-zCert Workshop (morning)

19th

Agents and Distributors * (morning)

19th

Inwards and Outward Processing Relief* (afternoon)

Research has shown that language differences are a significant barrier to International Trade but with the Norfolk Chamber Translation and Interpreter Service, they don’t need to be.

Our translation service can help you communicate effectively with your overseas clients in their native languages to help your business flourish. Whatever your translation needs, from introductory letters through to product manuals, we can meet your requirements and take a load off your mind.

Our translators are highly qualified linguists, translating into their mother tongue and are specialised in different sectors or disciplines such as automotive, aerospace, information technology, legal, software or medical technology.

For overseas communications, whether by way of face to face meetings or conference calls, we can arrange for an interpreter to assist.

It’s all part of a service designed to give you the confidence and credibility to make your business a success abroad. And that sounds good in anybody’s language.

For more information on this service, please contact Jack Bailey on Tel: 01603 729712 or by email at: export@norfolkchamber.co.uk

Quotes from our customers: “The Norfolk Chamber provide an excellent service and are always happy to go the extra mile to ensure the accuracy of the translations we receive.”

Charlotte Ludkin, Permastore Ltd “Wow – so quick. What a great service.”

Fiona Walker, Steeles Law

“We have used Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Translation facilities and find them prompt, very helpful and accurate. Our Company would certainly use them again.”

Patricia Marcus, KSG Limited

They put their trust in us – why don’t you?

Stand proud - be a case study.

Courses marked with * form part of the British Chambers of Commerce Accredited Courses, which can result in a Foundation Award Certificate.

Norfolk Chamber is currently putting together it’s next series of International Trade Events.

We are looking for local members who would like to share their export experiences.

If you would like further details such as the content of these courses or to book a place, please take a look at www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

Case studies provide the audience with first hand knowledge of how easy/hard it is to

open up in a particular market, as well as advice and tips on what to look out for.

If you are interested in profiling your Company in this way please contact Julie Austin at julie.austin@norfolkchamber.co.uk

If anyone is interested in sponsoring our next series of International Trade Events please call Julie on 01603 729706

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17/06/2015 17:10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY/AUGUST 2011 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

Face-to-face contact the key in the world of conferences.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The conferences and event sector is booming at the moment, creating jobs and bringing investment to a wide range of venues.

An industry which employs more than 550,000 people, the UK events sector is estimated to contribute more than £36 billion to the UK economy each year with the Business Visits and Events Partnership having forecast that the figure will grow to £48.4 billion by 2020.

The main reason for the sector’s success, according to industry experts, is its ability to constantly try out new things while never losing touch with the needs of its clients.

Those clients say that, amid all the innovation and clever technology, the main reason they like conferences is their ability to provide face-toface contacts.

Anyone in business will tell you that, despite the rapid advances in communications technology, face-to-face contact remains the best way of bringing in new contracts and retaining existing ones; humans still have a fundamental need to

look each other in the eye when communicating despite the rapid growth of the Internet.

The key to making such events a success is spending a little time choosing the right venue and making sure that you get the right support from its staff.

Even if that may mean paying a little extra, it is money well spent because it does not make sense to cut corners when such an approach could make your event less than effective.

When assessing the venue, be it a specialist conference centre or the likes of hotels, you are looking for a number of important factors.

Can the venue cope with the numbers expected to attend, has it got a good meeting room, will it provide equipment like projectors and Internet access, are the staff friendly and flexible in helping you meet your needs? If the answers to those questions are yes then the event is likely to be a success.

Unrivalled facilities to suit every occasion.

When we are not racing the Prince of Wales Stand at Fakenham Racecourse (264 sq.m) provides unrivalled facilities for your Meeting, Seminar, Exhibition or Conference in North Norfolk.

The First Floor can seat from 10 to 160 people and the Ground Floor up to 100 people in a Theatre Style configuration. The Private Boxes, all with balconies and spectacular views overlooking the Racecourse and Grounds, are ideally suited for Training Courses and Workshops. Exciting new partnership with The Crown Inn at East Rudham providing the catering and bar at the Fakenham Racecourse, will offer your business lunches to be tailored to your individual needs. Whether you are planning a small meeting or a large conference the Prince of Wales Stand provides excellent facilities with ample free parking, FREE broadband and great views.

For more details please contact Rita Gibbs by calling 01328 862388 or email rita@fakenhamracecourse.co.uk

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Business meetings at a unique venue.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Norfolk Snowsports Club is proud to introduce their upgraded conference facilities with opportunities to hold meetings and seminars and options to get involved with team building ski and tube activities.

extensive expansion of the Club house and a recent upgrade means the conference facility is now much improved.

Already attracting a broad range of clients, the large airy room overlooking the slopes can seat up to 100 with a flexible layout options. A delicious menu of breakfast, lunch and teas is available and produced on the premises. WiFi, Projectors, screens and sound system are all available. The room has a private entrance if required with an option of a break out area in the spacious Club bar.

The Club was started in 1972 by a group of ski enthusiasts. Over the years it has grown to be a national hub site for skiing and boarding with opportunities to “have a try”, learn and practise on a large main slope, nursery slope, fun park, mogul slope and intermediate slope. The Club is member owned and is dedicated to developing snowsports in Norfolk.

To find out what Norfolk Snowsports can offer your organisation please contact Andrea or Fin on 01603 662781 or 01603 620851 or reception@norfolksnowpsorts.com

The Club is situated in Trowse, south of Norwich and just off the ring road. The facility can be easily accessed from the Norwich bypass and avoids the trials of negotiating the city centre.

Set in a woodland area the Club offers free parking, for members and visitors, for over 200 vehicles. A lottery grant in 2006 enabled

With over 4000 members, a successful race team and vibrant freestyle scene Norfolk Snowsports has a lot to shout about from facilitating high level race events to laid back freestyle festivals. Introducing children and adults to Snowsports, catering for party tubing sessions and running adaptive ski sessions for those who need some extra help, this friendly Club offers something for everyone.

Welcome to Norwich’s most unique Conference Facility…

Convenient location - just off Southern bypass

n n

Free parking for all Unique optional team-building opportunities

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Versatile packages Caterers available for a range of options

Call now to set up a free tour and conversation regarding our cost-effective bundles

t: 01603 662781

e: reception@norfolksnowsports.com

www.norfolksnowsports.com

Norfolk Snowsports Club, Whitlingham Lane, Trowse, Norwich, NR14 8TW

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY/AUGUST 2011 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

Superb Conference Facilities

at the nightingale centre Just 4 miles from the City Centre and very close to the A47, ideally located for businesses in Norwich and throughout Norfolk and East Anglia.

Easy to find, free onsite parking, free Wi-Fi, full accessibility and delicious food.

Flexible room layouts create the ideal venue for meetings, training, away days and interviews.

1 The Street, Framingham Earl Norwich, Norfolk NR14 7QY

The Nightingale Centre

t: 01508 495784 e: info@thenightingalecentre.co.uk

@best4meetings

www.thenightingalecentre.co.uk

THE FRITTON ARMS Set in the serene woodland surroundings of Fritton Lake.

Nine comfortable bedrooms available all with Free secure WIFI. Special corporate rates available for regular users with discounts of up to 45% on rack rates.

Treat yourself to dinner by one of our open log fires‌featuring a daily changing menu using estate and responsibly sourced produce or just relax by the bar with one of over 100 artisan spirits.

We also can now offer full conference facilities for up to 100 people.

We look forward to your arrival!

Further information and booking contact:

Tel: 01493 484008

frittonarms

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frittonarms

Email: info@frittonarms.co.uk

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Christmas at Unique Christmas Party Experience

BOOK YOUR CHRISTMAS EVENT

Celebrate in style in the magnificent splendour of our Banking Hall

AT SPROWSTON MANOR MARRIOTT HOTEL & COUNTRY CLUB

FROM JUST £25 PER PERSON

Saturday 12th December

Christmas party nights and our New Years Eve Spectacular here at Sprowston Manor offers something for everyone!

Whether you are looking to hold an intimate corporate dinner or a large festive feast for you and your co-workers, we have a variety of options for you!

8.00pm - Midnight Table of 8 £375 + VAT

For full details on this and other Christmas events taking place at OPEN please visit www.opennorwich.org.uk/christmas

Private function space is available as well as join in party nights.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL CLAIRE ON 01603 254293

20 Bank Plain, Norwich, NR2 4SF Telephone 01603 763111

Facebook.com/SprowstonManor

www.opennnorwich.org.uk | info@opennorwich.org.uk twitter @OPENNorwich | facebook.com/OPENNorwich Providing opportunities that make a positive difference to the lives of young people in Norfolk

Christmas Advert for Your Voicev2.indd 1

@SprowstonManor

Sprowston Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club | Wroxham Road (P)+441603410871 (W) MarriottSprowstonManor.co.uk

23/07/2015 12:21

Conference and Meeting Venue

Thetford, Norfolk

Conf mee

• Meeting facilities for 2 to 72 delegates

Meeting facilities for 2 to 72 delegates

• On site catering

l

• Ideally situated between Norwich, Cambridge, Kings Lynn and Bury

On site catering

l

• Good road and rail links, On site parkin

Thetford is ideally situated between Norwich, Cambridge, Kings Lynn and Bury

l

Telephone: 01842 768300

Email: bookings@keystonetrust.org.uk Website: www.keystonetrust.org.uk/business

Good road and rail links

Keystone Innovation Centre, Croxton Road,

l

On site parking

l

Office space available to rent 20-450sqm

l

Telephone: 01842 768300 Email: bookings@keystonetrust.org.uk Website: www.keystonetrust.org.uk/business Keystone Innovation Centre, Croxton Road, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 1JD

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY/AUGUST 2011 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Celebrating anniversary and showcasing our key achievements.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, Steve Visscher, David Harvey and Anthony Habgood

Karen Newson

Norwich Research Park is celebrating the formation of the Norwich Research Partners LLP and the first anniversary of its prestigious business venue, Centrum, with an installation showcasing the world-renowned institutes, the Park’s history and its key achievements.

The installation – a combination of a 13 metre visual timeline, presentations and a series of colourful photograph pillars – features research breakthroughs at the Park, which is a leading centre for research in Food, Health and Environment.

The £11.5m Centrum building, a hub for networking meetings for business people from on and off the Park, is part of a £26m award by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to support new innovation, business and research.

“Norwich Research Park is a networked community of business and research organisations with world-leading science credentials,” said Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, chief executive officer of Norwich Research Park. “This installation celebrates the history of the Park, its breadth of expertise and its many collaborative successes which provide the foundation for the

first-class research and business environment. By bringing these groups together we are able to speed the translation of world-leading science into innovative products for the world market”.

Centrum has been designed to deliver innovation from research base to business as well as generating economic growth and job creation in the region. The building is set in 230 hectares of parkland in the heart of Norwich Research Park. It also boasts excellent transport links and plenty of free parking immediately outside the iconic venue.

The ground floor at Centrum has six hi-tech meeting rooms benefiting from the latest AV and video conferencing technology, with seating for up to sixty people. The venue also hosts a diverse range of events including breakfast meetings and evening seminars. The café bistro with its free Wi-Fi provides a vibrant, professional setting for meeting fellow business people for informal sessions and networking.

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The upper floors are dedicated to state-of-theart offices and laboratories that are available on flexible terms. The space is well-suited to growing and established science based companies looking to enjoy the benefits of being located alongside innovative businesses and cutting-edge research institutes already at the Park.

“With more than 40 businesses, and 12,000 people on site including 3,000 researchers, and clinicians, we are committed to driving innovation, enterprise and promoting economic growth in the region,” said Dr Forsyth.

To find out more about the business and meeting facilities at Centrum, including hire of the exhibition space or conference rooms, contact Karen Newson, operations and hospitality assistant at Norwich Research Park on 01603 674 602 or visit www.norwichresearchpark.com

Join us at Where research, innovation & business meet

The ideal location for your next meeting or event.

For more information call 01603 673 601 or visit www.norwichresearchpark.com

NORFOLK VOICE

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Early success for Norwich based firm.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

A Norwich-based business advisory and insolvency firm are showing great signs of promise since opening its doors for business in April this year.

Leading Business Services has experienced a high demand from clients in both the corporate recovery and personal debt divisions and has made the decision to expand into larger premises at the newly-refurbished premises at The Gateway, Pottergate, in Norwich.

Jo Pyman, Director, said “After a very successful start, we are delighted to be building the foundations for our continued growth plans. Our new city centre premises will allow us to support more individuals and businesses who are looking to start or grow their business, as well as those who are experiencing financial difficulties or cash flow issues.”

One division of the business, Leading Strategies, which works with start-up businesses and also established companies which require support during growth, has already won a number of clients.

Director Jamie Playford, a licensed insolvency practitioner with over 15 years of experience in the business rescue sector, said: “We are really excited about our unique offering in East Anglia.

Using our experience gained from working with clients in financial difficulties, we are looking to share that valuable knowledge with businesses to help avoid the common mistakes that can often be a cause of failure later on.”

The company says it is working with clients producing comprehensive business plans and helping to put in place good business practices to monitor and support those plans, and that this helps clients identify and achieve their goals and gives banks the confidence to support expansion plans. In addition, the company confirmed that number of clients engaging the corporate recovery division has been higher than envisaged at this stage and recruitment plans have been accelerated as a result.

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“We are conscious that many clients think that they either do not need or cannot afford professional business support such as this” added Mr Playford. “We would invite those people to get in touch to discuss their business, as getting to know and understand our clients and exploring new opportunities is where we really add value and excel.”

Jo Pyman added: “The feedback we have from our market research, including professional contacts and former clients, is that there is a need for more professional, hands-on support for businesses. Having the experience in business rescue to prevent failure combined with the skills required to drive a business forward and support growth, means our clients benefit from an overall approach that doesn’t exist elsewhere”.

Will Budget changes reduce the number of buy-to-let properties?

There are always winners and losers from every Budget and, in my opinion, landlords definitely fall into the latter category with the recent Summer Budget.

From April 2017, landlords will be restricted on the amount of tax relief they receive for paying loan (or mortgage) interest.The restriction will be staggered over four years so that by 2020/21 relief can only be claimed at the basic rate of tax.

Why the change? George Osborne said in his speech that he was going to “address unfairness in our taxation of property, and put the security of home ownership first.” He also said,“Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest,” and indicated that there was a need to address the growth in buy-to-let properties.

Will the change reduce the number of buy-to-let properties? Only time will tell, but in my experience, many landlords buy a property as a long-term investment or as a form of pension planning for the future.

Those who could be most affected are landlords trying to establish a property rental business.The increase in tax will make renting less

profitable and could tip the scales in the wrong direction for some.We also can’t ignore recent reports suggesting that interest rates may soon begin to rise.

One possible solution could be to run the property rental business through a company. Companies are not affected Michael Morter, Tax Manager by the change to loan interest relief in most circumstances, and with corporation tax rates at 20 percent (and going down soon) paying off lending with net profits can be both quicker and cheaper. Care must be taken, however, as there are many tax pitfalls to setting up a company that must be considered first.

Another solution is to consider how the property is owned, particularly within a family unit, bearing in mind that HMRC will tax a married couple on rental profits at a 50 percent share each, until they can prove the property is owned otherwise.

For more information contact Michael Morter at Larking Gowen on 01603 723630 or at michael.morter@larking-gowen.co.uk This article is designed for the information of readers. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, information contained in this article may not be comprehensive and recipients should not act upon it without seeking professional advice. ©Larking Gowen.

Do you employ staff who drive for work?

Did you know that employers are legally responsible for employees’ safety whilst driving for work?* Norfolk County Council can help you meet your legal responsibilities. We offer cost effective road safety training which can be tailored to your business needs. l Occupational road risk seminar l Friendly, interactive workshops for employees l Driving for work policy writing consultancy To find out more, visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/drivingforwork email roadsafety@norfolk.gov.uk or call 0344 800 8020 * The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY/AUGUST 2011 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

THE BIG INTERVIEW Attention to detail the key to export success.

Few Norfolk companies are as adept at tapping into export opportunities as Foster Refrigerator, which has been steadily increasing its international presence under the leadership of its Managing Director Paul Veried for the past 15 years.

Paul, who initially came to work for the King’s Lynn company as a marketing specialist before being appointed Marketing Director, became Managing Director in 2001 with a remit to improve profitability.

To do that, he has not only placed an increasing focus on developing domestic markets but also on growing exports which now account for 35 per cent of the company’s sales, the success driven by a relentless attention to detail.

The company has always had an international flavour and is able to trace its history back to 1946 when entrepreneur Larry H Foster launched the Foster Refrigerator Corporation in New York.

Foster’s opened its UK plant in King’s Lynn in 1968 and since then the business has continued to grow, becoming Europe’s leading commercial refrigeration manufacturer, specialising in refrigeration solutions for the food industry.

Paul said: “When I became Managing Director, the company had been doing OK for a number

of years, it was seen as quite successful, but it was felt at the time that we needed to improve our profitability. One of the ways we set out to do that was by increasing our export trade.”

Key to that initially was a strong focus on European markets, something that continues today. Paul said: “We are already strong in France where we are seeking to grow further and our other major targets at the moment are Germany and Holland, where we also have a strong presence, and we are also looking to develop our sales in the Middle East, where we see potential.”

“One of the ways that we expand our exports is by working to develop our existing relationship with global chains like McDonald’s and KFC.” “We already supply a lot of units to them so, as they expand into new markets in different countries, we look to take advantage of that and go with them.”

“A good example of that is the coffee shop chain Starbucks, which we already support and which is expanding rapidly. We hope to take advantage of their increasing international presence.”

“Not all our export business comes that way, though, and we also have to break into new markets ourselves.”

“We have found that the only way to do that effectively is by putting feet on the ground and doing the hard work, learning how local markets operate and understanding the cultural differences.”

“The key to export success is what we call our Trade Focus. Before we decide to move into a country, we do extensive research into the new

market to make sure that we fully understand the opportunities and the challenges.”

“You might complete the research but decide not to focus on a particular market at a particular time. Take India as an example.

We already do work in India but there a lot of strong local suppliers, there are import duties to consider and shipping is expensive, all things that you need to take into account.”

“It might be that, once you have completed the Trade Focus and assessed the results, you decide that it is not a major priority at the moment and instead concentrate on other opportunities that present less difficulty.”

Understanding such potential pitfalls is vital for any company seeking to export, according to Paul who also points to challenges presented by currency rates, including the struggling Euro, as an example.

There are also technical considerations; different countries have different specifications for equipment and, adding to the challenge, will be the introduction next year of the European Union’s Energy Related Products Directive, mandatory legislation that sets minimum requirements for products to reduce carbon emissions and improve efficiencies.

Paul said: “There are always challenges when it comes to exporting. Although there are similarities between countries, each one is different in some way and you have to understand the implications for your business.”

“Nevertheless, trading internationally offers great opportunities and our exports have been growing steadily in recent years. We are confident that we can continue to grow our international presence at our historic rate of ten per cent a year.”

The key to export success is what we call our Trade Focus. Before we decide to move into a country, we do extensive research into the new market to make sure that we fully understand the opportunities and the challenges.

The

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Innovation has always been at the heart of the company’s operation – here are a few Foster Firsts. n First manufacturer to produce a commercial refrigerator in the UK n First pioneer of blast chilling and blast freezing in commercial catering n First to promote aluminium and stainless steel refrigerators n First ISO9001 manufacturer in the commercial refrigeration industry n First ISO14001 manufacturer in the commercial refrigeration industry n First fully CFC-free manufacturer of commercial refrigeration n First and only refrigeration manufacturer to hold The Royal Warrant of Appointment n First commercial refrigeration company to introduce Hydrocarbon technology and first and only commercial refrigeration company to attain the Carbon Trust Standard

Paul Veried Managing Director, Foster Refrigerator

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NORFOLK VOICE

Why it makes sense to seek out export markets.

The export market has never been more important for the UK economy as it recovers from recession, and Norfolk Chamber is on hand to assist.

The latest Quarterly International Trade Outlook from DHL and the British Chambers of Commerce revealed how important the sector has become.

Although the volume of trade documents issued

by Accredited Chambers of Commerce in Q2 declined by 0.3% on the previous quarter, this was still 1.5% higher than for the same quarter in 2014, and the second highest on record. Export documents are required for goods exported outside of the EU and the Norfolk Chamber helps many companies to secure them.

According to the survey, firms are increasingly confident that turnover and profitability will rise in the coming months, leading to a third of firms (36%) expecting to take on additional staff in the next three months as a result.

There is also a growing expectation of export sales increasing over the coming months.

The balance of those expecting exports to rise stood at +24 for service firms and +12 for manufacturing firms.

While the volume of UK exports remains high, and confidence among both services firms and manufacturers is increasing, more than two thirds of exporters (68%) reported difficulties hiring staff during Q2 2015 - the highest level since Q4 2013.

The greatest area of recruitment difficulty reported was in finding skilled and professional staff.

John Longworth, the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “We need to make sure that the skills young people develop in schools equip them for the world of work. Businesses and schools need to work together to ensure students have a better understanding of the business world, the opportunities it presents to them and the skills that will help them to get ahead, including foreign languages.”

The

Many Norfolk companies already see the benefits of exporting, including HiBreeds International Ltd, an exporter of fertile British hatching eggs based in Norwich.

The company was set up in 1998 by Nick Chandler, initially to export unwanted surplus hatching eggs during periods of overproduction in the UK and this surplus was matched up with demand overseas.

Capital and profit from those early exports was reinvested into longer term production agreements with UK farmers creating a larger output of hatching eggs for the increasing demand in the developing world.

In 2008, Nick’s daughter Laura joined the company. Laura, a Director, said: “As our reputation for quality and efficiency has developed, HiBreeds has tapped into a demand for more regular volumes and regularly exports seven days a week.”

“In 2014, we exported in excess of 50 million hatching eggs, representing 3,336,000kgs of air freight from London Heathrow in 2014.”

“This business was created without initial capital, from surplus that nobody wanted in the UK and has converted into £20million annual export revenue and total exports of nearly 350 million eggs since incorporation.”

Even though the company is a success, trading internationally still represents many challenges.

Laura said: “Exporting such high volumes of very delicate cargo represents huge challenges, logistically, financially and from a production stance.”

“Exchange rates have a huge effect on demand and supply. We are able to switch between trading currencies with relative ease to fit the market and exchange rate conditions. Another huge challenge is access to new markets.”

“Africa provides a great opportunity for expansion. We have tried on many occasions to export to Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe but have been limited by restrictive freight options and high freight costs. Another crucial challenge is the setting up of health export licences which need to be done for new markets.”

“Each country could potentially have different import requirements and each new licence needs to be tailor made to those needs.”

“Above all, this business required tenacity and perseverance. Our business is 100% export. There are times when we are incredibly busy, and there are times when the market conditions are against us or demand is low and this can have a knock-on effect on our output. It is at times like these when we can really concentrate on tapping into new markets and making contact with potential future customers.”

The company is appreciative of the help it has received from the Chamber. Laura said: “Over the past few years we have relied heavily on Norfolk Chamber’s International Trade department for the certification of all our export documents. The Chamber have a great team and provide many useful training days and courses, some of which we have attended.”

Laura’s big tip for would-be exporters is to do with mindset. She said: “My advice to new exporters is to persevere. Not everything will go in your favour. We always try to trade our way out of any difficult patches we may face.”

“Our business may periodically face reduced turnover, but it only takes a few tentative exports with new customers and soon your reputation for reliability and efficiency will be established and this will provide the building blocks for a great exporting future.”

Another company which is committed to international trade is Floranova, a flower and vegetable seed distributor based near Dereham.

Floranova relies on the Norfolk Chamber to provide Certificates of Origin and EUR1 movement certificates.

Kate Monaghan, Supply Chain Director, said: “I don’t think there was any option for us but to export. We sell seed to flower seed distributors globally and our home market is very limited we couldn’t sustain the business if we sold only into our home market.”

“Having a significant proportion of sales as exports is very valuable as a risk management tool. This leaves us less exposed to fluctuations in the UK economy, and importantly to our

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company, less vulnerable to poor weather that can significantly affect plant sales.”

“The phytosanitary requirements for shipping seed around the world present ongoing challenges. We work closely with government agencies and industry bodies to try to resolve any issues. At times this can be frustrating when competitors in mainland Europe are subjected to less red tape than we are in the UK.” Her key tip for those considering exports is to develop strong partnerships. Kate said: “Breaking into new markets can be challenging. It can make life much easier to partner with companies in the destination country. Work with people who have good local knowledge and nurture those relationships.”

Over the past few years we have relied heavily on Norfolk Chamber’s International Trade department for the certification of all our export documents.

The Chamber have a great team and provide many useful training days and courses, some of which we have attended.

Laura Chandler, HiBreeds International

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NORFOLK VOICE

Business Strategy – who needs it.

ADVERTISING FEATURE Is your current business strategy working?

Your results are good, margins are hitting the mark, customers are happy, so the strategy must be working – yes? Well, maybe!

How is the competition doing? Has the market moved? What was your plan a year ago?

Look at your chosen performance indicators are they still in line with your commercial needs?

Do they reflect market trends? Those answers will tell you much about the value of your current strategy.

Do you have time to plan?

When all resources are focussed on managing day to day issues, it can be difficult to stand back and look at where the company is going.

You might only appreciate what you missed when you see your competitors racing past you.

It is vital to create some space to anticipate the future while keeping your eye on the present.

We could do this…or this...or…

Often the opportunities are there; the decision rests on which to focus on.

With many new and small businesses there are several possibilities or potential markets. Products and services initially designed for one sector

“Customers do not want quarter inch drills, they want quarter inch holes!”

Theodore Levitt may have applications elsewhere. Choosing the options that fit your strategy is key.

Overall performance will ultimately depend on the company profile the market perceives.

Is that the profile you want to project?

ECL Marketing delivers strategic advice and support to SME’s and Start-Up companies, providing an outside perspective to help you clarify and formulate your plans.

We believe there are 4 key questions that offer a starting point to assessing your strategic position: n What do you want to know? – Defining the best performance indicators for your business. n Why are we here? – How to review your current market position and decide where to aim for. n How do we get there? – Formulating the plan. n Strategy or tactics? - What’s the difference and what is needed.

By Chris Liggett, Business Strategy Advisor

For your FREE copy of ‘Business Strategy in 4 Easy Stages’ giving an insight into these 4 questions and how to use them in your business planning, email info@eclmarketing.com

TUNE UP WITH AUDITEL Pioneers of Strategic Cost Management Set up in 1994, Auditel provides strategic cost management solutions to over 3,000 organisations throughout the UK and Ireland.

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If you would like to find out how Auditel can tune up your essential business costs, then please call me on:

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THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Andy Clark Before joining Auditel and moving to Norwich, I held various senior financial positions within the media sector in Europe and Australasia; the most recent being with EMI Music in the Benelux.

This industry has undergone tremendous change, driven by constant new technologies and the ongoing pressure to manage costs and efficiency. Therefore, cost management solutions have had to be strategic and long term, to meet the rapidly changing industry landscape.

I have been able to combine this experience, with my training as a chartered accountant, to achieve sustainable cost improvements that have allowed reinvestment in new areas of business, to further improve profits.

BUSINESS SUPPOR T

ConsultEast celebrates ten years of business.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

ConsultEast recently celebrated ten years of business with associates, clients (past, present and prospective) and friends. The event provided everyone with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on their own personal successes and experiences of ConsultEast.

Many of their client relationships have come about through personal recommendations and unexpected connections. This was never more evident than on the night in question.

Guests were invited to consider their connection to ConsultEast, their chosen words were a wonderful reflection of the ConsultEast values and beliefs and included; Inspirational, Growth, Challenge, Support and of course Fun!

ConsultEast specialise in coaching and believe in the powerful difference it makes. They work with clients to create bespoke learning interventions building individual and organisational capability with a high challenge, high support approach.

The team felt privileged to be hosting the celebration alongside the fantastic Francis

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Funding event to launch Norfolk’s first crowdfunding platform.

Ever thought if grants and funding could help?

Are you investing in your business?

Bacon collection at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. There were some wonderful parallels to be drawn from his approach; as coaches we draw from a wide range of philosophical and psychological models and theories to inform our practice, while our coachees search for their own meaning.

Funding-Gap.co.uk will be the UK’s first regional crowdfunding platform to match local investors with local businesses and charities in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

With the support of the Business Shaper Group, Funding-Gap will be launching a series of workshops designed to highlight how to ‘Bridge the Funding Gap’ through accessing crowdfunding, business grants and nontraditional finance.

These FREE events across the region are aimed at innovation start-ups, established businesses and charities that have a funding need to support a significant growth in their organization. Potential investors are also welcome to attend.

Crowdfunding is one of the worlds fastest growing markets for impact investing, expected to hit $34bn. Come and meet the East Anglia team behind the Funding-Gap and get ready for funding.

Register at www.funding-gap.co.uk

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY/AUGUST 2011 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

A practical alternative to going to university.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Emily’s Story After taking my GCSEs, I went to sixth form, during which I lost a lot of confidence in myself and my ability. After a very unhappy year and a half, I left and got a job working as a trainee accountant for a small firm and started an AAT Apprenticeship with Norfolk Adult Education.

The AAT Apprenticeship was a financially practical alternative to going to university as it allowed me to work alongside my studies. It has also allowed me to gain 3 years of practical experience, which has been invaluable.

It has also helped restore my faith in education.

Without the constant support of Norfolk Adult Education staff and their faith in me, I would not have been able to pass as quickly as I did.

It is refreshing to have a team who care so much about their students and also have the flexibility to allow them to work at their own pace. During my level three I explained that I was frustrated with the pace my level two took and I was allowed to take my learning into my own hands.

I worked extremely closely with my tutor who was never more than a phone call away. The belief in their students, their flexibility and support is something that I think is an asset to the AAT Adult Education team.

I am very pleased with how my studying has turned out, and would encourage anyone to consider an Apprenticeship.

Norfolk Adult Education Take on a new Apprentice or train your existing employees through an Apprenticeship We offer flexible, tailored Apprenticeship Training Programmes to support your specific organisational needs.

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Our crowdfunding campaign goes live on 14th september.

Our aim? To raise £15,000 to support young homeless people into jobs to complete their journey to independence. We’d love to hear from you if you can donate, circulate or be one of our special employers.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 2015

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NORFOLK VOICE

KNOWLEDGE

Everything you need to know about securing business finance in Norfolk for your company.

Take a fresh look at the way you interview potential employees.

When it comes to securing business finance in Norfolk, you do have several different options at your disposal. This includes your savings, business grants, borrowing from friends and family, business finance from the bank and lending money from finance companies. If you have landed on this page, then it is highly likely that you have already exhausted a couple of these options.

If you are seeking financial help, you probably do not have the savings available to assist your business, and it is likely that there are no friends or family members that are in a position to help you. There are also a lot of people who do not feel comfortable lending such huge sums of money from people close to them, and thus this idea may not appeal to you anyway.

Fran Brown - Credo Asset Finance

Better business blogging – avoid annoying your readers.

How often do you click on a tempting headline only to be disappointed by what you read? How often do you find yourself thinking “so what” at the end of a blog? Or, worse still, “it’s just another sales pitch” when you get to the artless plug* for the product or service?

If that’s your experience of business blogs, you are not alone. ‘Clickbait’ might not be in the Oxford dictionary (yet) but it still annoys millions of web users. Too many companies churn out low grade content that

fails to deliver interesting, useful or relevant information for the reader – but why?

Many do it in the futile hope of converting some hapless reader into a loyal customer.

Others perhaps think they’ll become blogging superstars with millions of followers and invitations to glamorous parties, if they only “produce enough stuff.” Most are simply wasting people’s time, damaging their brand and burning a valuable chunk of their marketing budget.

Huw Sayer - Business Writers Limited

QR codes might just be the secret marketing code you are looking for!

These quirky little patterned squares, seemed to be found on everything these days from tubes of toothpaste to the pages of glossy magazines.

On some products these little black and white pieces of modern art seem almost microscopic and yet with the right tools can unveil a powerful marketing secret. With the right app installed on your mobile device you can scan these little patterns known as QR codes and you will then be transported to another destination on the Internet.

This destination might be a website but one of the best uses of QR codes is to direct people to a video.

The

These QR codes act like a portal and transport the viewer to video that can perform a myriad of uses for you the marketeer or business owner.

That video can be a promotional, profiling video or it can be a how-to or explanation video. Whatever you need to explain, show or described to your customers the simple QR code can transport your potential customers to exactly the destination where you provide that vital information.

Michael Brook - About My Business Video Company

Interviews will always be a two-way street, at the same time an employer is interviewing a candidate, the candidate is also assessing whether they would like to work for the organisation in the first place. Therefore it’s important to get the balance right between putting interviewees at ease and still finding ways to challenge them.

Employers shouldn’t take an overly soft approach in order to avoid scaring off potential employees.

In fact, good interviewers achieve a balance between helping candidates to overcome any nerves, and giving an honest impression of the company, whilst still really digging deep to ensure they hire the best person for the job.

Joseph O’Sullivan – Pure Resourcing Solutions Ltd

Tax Strategies – worth shouting about?

A recent piece of independent research conducted for HMRC found that businesses with a greater tendency to take risks tended not to have written or published strategies. Those business that do articulate their strategies can be separated into two groups; those striving to be compliant and legal only (higher risk), and those committed to operating within the spirit as well as the letter of the law.

It is not surprising, therefore, that HMRC is keen for large businesses to make their tax strategies visible. Tax strategies that are terse or focus on ensuring that the business pays no more tax than is legally required might indicate higher risk organisations, which would be subject to increased scrutiny by HMRC. But it is not just HMRC that will have an interest in a business’ tax strategy. In the current “tax climate” customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders will wish to know where the business stands in relation to its tax obligations.

Andrew Robinson - BDO LLP

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NORFOLK VOICE

TECHNOLOGY

Business Strategy – who needs it.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The world is changing. The graphical user interface, the flat screen, the digital display board and electronic magazines are driving the way we see our world.

It’s no longer enough to have a website to say we are in touch with our digital self, it is just the start. How and where will our site be seen? On a big screen, a hand held device, tablet, watch or at point of sale?

Quick linking through NFC tag advertising, QR codes and music recognition gives businesses the ability to deliver detailed content from the same previously fixed amount of space.

The possibilities are endless, with the ability to display a wealth of content at our finger tips, we can level the playing field in our global economy through better design. Graphically it must be stunning to catch the eye, but ergonomically it must be slick and efficient so the user doesn’t get irritated. With so many options to choose

from right from the comfort of your armchair, the consumer is becoming lazier as content pushes in front of their nose. If we can’t make it easy and obvious the next person will.

Embrace social media, an opportunity? Either destroy with just a few quick words or rise above the humdrum and shine? It’s up to you. Everyone

has problems, it’s how we handle them that defines us and our brand.

So technology and digital media is essential to survive today, and if we don’t embrace we will die as our competitors push themselves into the living rooms and lives of our customers through their beloved tech.

Tactile S lutions Applying technology and digital media to your business

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NORFOLK VOICE

It’s Time To Embrace Digital Marketing.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Back in the early days of the internet, many of my clients boldly said that this new digital media would never work for their businesses.

Where are they now?

Many have changed their business models or have simply disappeared. Digital marketing offers so many opportunities to SMEs but far too many have not embraced it and they risk being left out in the cold by their competitors.

So what can they do?

It’s the mobile age and there has been a massive increase in website traffic from smartphone users.

A priority for every business is to make sure their website is mobile friendly. This may mean a new website or adapting an existing one but it’s a vital issue to address. If your website isn’t mobile friendly then you risk not appearing in Google searches on mobile devices.

and leads, not just the aesthetics. This requires more strategic planning in the design stage but it’s worth spending the extra time.

Social media is maturing and most businesses finally understand how to use it. However many still ignore other more effective digital marketing tactics such as email marketing which, if used properly, can be a powerful sales and customer service tool. Automated email campaigns can be used in many different ways to remind existing and potential customers of your company’s offering. This technology really can save time and money.

Finally it may be the digital age but oldfashioned customer service and understanding their behaviour is now more important than ever. Businesses need to understand what their customers want from them and how to communicate with them effectively online, if they are to be successful in the digital arena.

Written by Mark Ellaway, Bigfork Ltd, www.bigfork.co.uk Tel: 01603 513080

Website design itself has also changed over the past few years. Businesses need to focus on what return their website produces in terms of sales

THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Mark Ellaway

TECHNOLOGY

Success Judged by Deeds

SJD Judge for Yourself 01603 870645 sjenkinsdesign.co.uk

SJD links Germany, the USA and Reepham.

SJD has recently been appointed the UK Marketing Agency for Schäffer, the leading German manufacturer of Agricultural machinery, providing advertising, print and exhibition services.

At the same time we will be helping Twin City Fans, an American manufacturer of Industrial Fans, to establish a global brand with brochure and website design.

An innovative and arresting graphic approach is combined with a realistic and practical understanding of clients’ needs (and budgets) and a sound marketing and strategic input involving specialist associates where appropriate.

We have found that this allows us to mirror the capability of a full service agency without the attendant additional costs and lack of agility.

From corporate branding, through advertising, print, websites, exhibitions and promotional material, SJD delivers results for organisations large and small. At SJD we believe in – Success Judged by Deeds.

Special offer to fellow members of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and readers of NV magazine only.

20% reduction on:

Fixed wire testing, Emergency light testing, Thermographic surveys.

Also, Portable Appliance testing from only 60p per appliance for orders received before 31st December 2015.

Also, a completely FREE no obligation site survey.

This is a very big reduction on our normal prices which represents excellent value for money. We are also available for FREE site surveys, electrical testing advice and guidance.

Although we are Norfolk based we serve most of the UK via our regional offices.

We are a family run company that prides itself on giving full value for money. Most of our engineers and all senior management have a military background covering the British Army, Navy & Air Force. We pride ourselves on our military ethos and training.

We mention this as we know that sound advanced planning is essential before undertaking any commission.

Every job, no matter how big or small is important to us and we are well aware that attention to detail is essential in any successful campaign.

As Approved Contractors with Constructionline and Safecontractor plus members of the NICEIC and Exor high standards are expected and delivered.

Telephone 01603 821035 www.eisukltd.com E-mail admin@eisukltd.com

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Looking forward to the big day.

Thursday October 15 is one of the major dates in this year’s Norfolk business diary because it sees the staging of the Chamber’s B2B exhibition at the home of Norwich City Football Club.

Throughout the day, visitors will have the chance to sample free training Chamber Sessions, usually exclusive to Chamber members only, presented by industry experts, giving practical hints in key business areas and take-away notes.

For many businesses, the event is an ideal way of getting their name known and starting conversations that may lead to contracts.

Andrew Randall, Managing Director of Norwich-based Howarth Engineering, is one businessman who sees the benefits: He said: “We exhibit at the B2B show as it is a fantastic way to get our name out there and meet local businesses face to face.”

“Our company trades solely on a business-tobusiness basis and it is invaluable to be able to meet other businesses to distinguish ourselves from the crowd in a way that email and telephone marketing can never do. The show opens up new possibilities to us and we are able to make connections with companies that are not in the engineering sector.”

“This creates new business that would not have ordinarily come our way and creates opportunities for us to introduce ourselves to businesses who may have otherwise been unaware that we can work together.”

“We took the decision to book a stand at the B2B show again this year as the 2014 show was such a positive experience for us. We made some good connections from varied range of industries.”

“We were also introduced to some fantastic companies with innovative ideas and a range of products. We also met with companies whose services we had not used before and who have since become new supplies to our business.”

The

Affinity’s General Manager Louis Clabburn agrees, saying: “The B2B event is a great place to network with local businesses. More businesses need to know how Affinity can help them save money.”

“We always plan our stand to make sure it is interesting and have friendly staff that can talk to people about what we do. It works well for us because people are so interested in how the charity and the Business Centre work together.”

“At this event we find businesses who are serious about cost saving and who register with us. We look forward to attending again this year.”

And the event is adding new names every year, companies such as Norfolk printers Printbox UK.

For Lyndon Green, the exhibition is a key part of raising awareness of the Henderson Trust and Business Centre, the charity based in West Norwich with which he works.

All the profits made from renting the offices, meeting rooms and industrial units go towards local community groups and activities that benefit local people and the exhibition allows the team to reach out to potential users.

Lyndon said: “The profits make a real and positive difference to the lives of people who live in the Earlham, Larkman and Marlpit estates in Norwich.”

“Over the years, the Business Centre has donated many hundreds of thousands of pounds towards local projects to improve people’s health, education, job prospects and the local environment and the Henderson Trust exhibits at the Chamber B2B event most years to raise the profile of the charity and make sure that businesses that are looking to rent premises or book a meeting room think of the Henderson Business Centre.”

Paul Youngs, who runs the company, said: “This is the first year that Printbox UK will have exhibited at the Norfolk B2B Exhibition. We are now in our fifth year of business and have ambitious growth plans for the next two years and believe exhibiting at the exhibition to be a good way to get in front of potential new clients.”

“We recently exhibited at a similar exhibition in Birmingham and this proved to be very successful. Our sole purpose for exhibiting was to increase the size of our ‘list’ so we ensured we had an offer that would attract the potential clients we were looking to do business with. To be eligible to claim the offer we were running, visitors had to leave their contact details for marketing to ‘post’ exhibition.”

Another supporter of the exhibition is Holly Stibbon, Director of Website Design & Email Marketing 101Smart Ltd, who said: “We love to build long-lasting relationships with our customers and the B2B provides us with an opportunity to catch up with existing customers and contacts and also to meet new people.”

“We have exhibited at the B2B for as long as I can remember. It is the best event of its kind in the region.”

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L CLUB, 10A Y FOOTBAL IT C H IC W R NO

AM –5PM

CHAMBER EVENTS

B2B Exhibition 2015.

Chamber Sessions @ B2B Throughout the day you will have the chance to sample our free training ‘Chamber Sessions’ usually exclusive to Chamber members only.

Attend 20 minute bite-size sessions presented by industry experts, giving you practical hints and tips in key business areas.

It’s back for 2015! With over 90 exhibitors across two floors of Norwich City Football Club and a record attendance in 2014, the region’s premier business to business exhibition is back and bigger than ever!

The best in the business will be there for you to meet – face to face. Discover the latest products and services that could benefit your business and take advantage of exclusive on-stand promotions, competitions and goodies.

B2B is FREE to enter for visitors from 10am – 5pm on 15th October and features clearly defined exhibitor zones to help you plan your visit. With excellent networking opportunities available throughout the day and free expert bite-size sessions, you won’t want to miss this.

11:30am

Be Better at Creative Marketing Carole Osborne, Osbornenash Carole will look at tools and processes for effective creative marketing.

12:15pm

Be Better at Pitching Ermine Amies, Sandler Training Ermine will look at pitching perfectly to potential customers.

1:45pm

Be Better at Networking Ian Hacon, Yellow Brick Road Solutions Ian will look at the most effective ways to network from start to finish.

14:30pm

Go to www.norfolkchamber.co.uk/b2b to book your FREE ticket today and avoid any queues on the day. You will also be entered into a prize draw to win a £25 Jarrold gift card.

Be Better at LinkedIn John Davy, Dojo Media Consulting John will look at how LinkedIn can benefit you and your business.

’S PREMIER N THE REGIONO BUSINESS EXHIBITIO TO ATTEND! BUSINESS T TICKET TODAY – FREE r.co.uk rfolkchambe BOOK YOUR ber www.no cham 15 @norfolk #NorfolkB2B

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B2B is FREE to visit.

B2B is FREE to enter and worth every minute you’re there. If you’re serious about your business you’ll commit some time to B2B 2015.

Discover the latest products and services that could benefit your business.

Face to face networking – opportunities to network with businesses both large and small.

Exclusive on-stand promotion, competitions and goodies to take away.

Expert bitesize sessions – throughout the day you can attend FREE 20 minute ‘Chamber Sessions’ delivered by industry experts. Get practical advice, hints and top tips on key topics essential for your business.

Clearly defined exhibitor zones to help you plan your visit:

PROMOTION & MARKETING:

ADVICE & FINANCE:

PR and Marketing, Communication, Websites, Media and Gifts

Legal, Finance, Business Planning and Advice

HOSPITALITY & LEISURE:

HR & TRAINING:

Corporate Hospitality, Conferencing and Entertainment

Recruitment, HR, Further and Higher Education and Training

TECHNOLOGY:

ENTERPRISE & INNOVATION:

Software, Technical Solutions and Next Generation Networks

Innovation and Enterprising Business Solutions

The region’s best business will be there for you to meet, face to face.

The

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CHAMBER EVENTS

Grow through Chamber Sessions.

Blast from the past!

Covering a wide range of topics, our expert members are here to deliver you free, weekly training to help your business and yourself grow through their top tips.

Over 70 delegates attended the Norwich Business Breakfast at Sprowston Manor in July.

Guests heard from keynote speaker, Steve Miller, Head of Norfolk Museums Service on ‘How History Impacts Your Business’

Learn direct from those who live and breathe their topics daily through their work. Available at both breakfast and lunch to suit your diary, held in the Norfolk Chamber Norwich office, don’t miss out on these free opportunities to better your business.

THE CHAMBER SESSIONS WINTER SERIES Tuesday 3rd November, 08:30 – 10:00

Be Better at Networking This session aims to give you top tips and techniques to get the best from networking events and help them overcome any fear and anxiety they may have about them. Ian Hacon, Yellow Brick Road Solutions will take you through the whole journey from selecting the right events through to attending and following up.

Tuesday 10th November, 08:30 – 10:00

Be Better at Business Blogging An interactive session focusing the ways blogging can benefit your business. Huw Sayer of Business Writers Limited will look at why leaders need to ‘be social’, and how to achieve a thought leadership position.

Huw will also focus on how business blogging could fit with your sales, marketing and social media strategy.

This session will also cover some practical tips for aspiring bloggers or those tasked with sourcing and managing external blog writers.

Tuesday 17th November, 08:10 – 10:00

Be Better at Facebook for Business In this session Jonathan White of Traded Network will teach each attendee how to set up different Facebook advertising campaigns specifically aimed at targeted audiences. In addition each business will learn how to engage smarter using Facebook.

Tuesday 24th November, 08:30 – 10:00

Be Better at Change Management Change is constant in business due to internal and external pressures. Successful change is about taking people with you.

So why do so many change programmes fail? Emma Bishop of Optem Limited will take you through the steps of managing those all important changes in the right way. After all, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

It provided an opportunity for people to network whilst learning about the history of Norfolk and what Norfolk Museums Service is doing to keep the cultural heritage alive. n Join us for the next Norwich Business Breakfast focussing on Economics on 9 October 2015. Full details www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

Thursday 26th November, 12:30 – 14:00

Be Better at Excel for Business: Secrets and Shortcuts Michael Holness of Us2U Consulting will start by looking at data and formulas, but focus on avoiding the timeconsuming mistakes people often make. He will look in depth at the features of Excel that could give you the edge in business, including automating spreadsheets using macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The session will finish with questions and answers.

Hog roast.

Thursday 3rd December, 12:30 – 14:00

Be Better at LinkedIn Social media is expanding all the time and getting the message through the noise can be hard. That’s where LinkedIn can cut through and offer some real gains, learn how in this session with John Davy of Dojo Media Consulting.

On a sunny July evening, Norfolk Chamber delegates joined Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce at Elgood’s and Sons Brewery, Wisbech for a Hog Roast, quiz and some cross county networking. There was a great atmosphere where delegates could relax and while competing with each other, the quiz winner was declared as a mixed team including Rosemary Green, Jane Snape, Suzy Willett and Jean McNeil.

For more information on FREE training for members and to book your place please visit: www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

n Join us for the next event, ‘West Norfolk Business Breakfast’, on the 2 October at King’s Lynn Art Centre, King’s Lynn. Full details www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

’S PREMIER N THE REGIONO BUSINESS EXHIBITIO TO ATTEND! BUSINESS T TICKET TODAY – FREE co.uk olkchamber. rf o .n w w w BOOK YOUR r ambe ch 15 @norfolk #NorfolkB2B

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Diary Dates.

NETWORKING EVENTS

Economic Breakfast.

SPECIAL EVENTS THE FUTURE IS HERE

Putting technology to work WHERE: The Space, Norwich WHEN: Wednesday 23rd September, 08:30 – 13:00 WHAT: Join Norfolk Chamber and an incredible line up of industry experts to discover how they have adapted to the ever changing world of technology and their visions for the future. This is an interactive half day technology event on how the digital revolution and technology is shaping the future of business. The morning will feature key note speakers, networking and an exhibition. Open to all businesses. Read more on page 41

The B2B Exhibition Branding in the Modern World: A Great Yarmouth Business Breakfast WHERE: Great Yarmouth Masonic Lodge, Great Yarmouth WHEN: Thursday 10th September, 07:30 – 09:30 WHAT: As if establishing a strong brand identity both on and offline wasn’t challenge enough!

Today’s businesses now need to ensure that their trademarks and logos are protected across all the platforms. Learn 7 key steps to creating a killer brand from Alex Tosh, Creative Sponge and how you can protect your brand in social media from Bill Jones, ip21, plus network with a roomful of like-minded businesses and enjoy a delicious breakfast. Members only.

Soaring Developments for RAF Marham: A West Norfolk Business Breakfast WHERE: King’s Lynn Art Centre, King’s Lynn WHEN: Friday 2nd October, 08:00 – 10:00 WHAT: Following the £300m investment in RAF Marham, learn first-hand, from new Station Commander, about the future plans and opportunities at Marham and the benefits of this to the local community. Plus don’t miss the opportunity to network with a room full of like-minded businesses and some cross-county networking with Cambridgeshire Chamber.

Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Chamber members only.

WHERE: Norwich City Football Club, Norwich WHEN: Thursday 15th October, 10:00 – 17:00 WHAT: It’s back for 2015! The region’s premier business to business exhibition. With a record attendance in 2014 of both visitors and exhibitors, we have even more planned this year, making B2B bigger than ever! Visit B2B and discover the latest products and services that could benefit your business. Free to attend and open to all businesses. Read more on page 42

HR FORUMS

Join us for an exclusive breakfast taking place behind closed doors under Chatham House rules with HM Treasury on Thursday 9 October at Dunston Hall, Norwich.

Hear how the recent boost in the economy has helped businesses and how we can maintain this growth at a steady and sustainable increase.

With the opportunity to hear from high profile speakers and the chance to network with a number of influential Norfolk companies and business leaders, this networking breakfast is not to be missed.

In vogue.

The mysteries of TUPE and outsourcing revealed WHERE: Holiday Inn, Ipswich Road, Norwich WHEN: Wednesday 11th November, 14:00 – 17:00 WHAT: The trend for out-sourcing of services and functions in both the public and private sector looks to continue unabated. The tendering of large contracts for services means that the HR professional needs to have a good understanding of TUPE and where the potential liabilities might arise which would cause problems for an organisation.

CHAMBER SESSIONS Free training delivered by members for our members at the Norfolk Chamber office in Norwich. See page 43 for full details

On Thursday 20 August over 60 delegates joined us for an evening of fashion, networking and a lot of fun! This year’s ‘Look the Business’ was held at Jarrold in Benji’s Cafe on their newly refurbished shopping floor. Delegates got to learn all the latest trends in beauty and fashion for the coming season. n For details of our next After Hours event on 4 October, visit our website: www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

For more information and to see a full list of events visit: www.norfolkchamber.co.uk

The

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CHAMBER EVENTS

THE FUTURE IS HERE.

Putting technology to work

Local & National Headline Speakers

Huw Sayer Business Writers

Ian Massingham Amazon Web Services

Paul Kemp Zing Insights

The last few years have seen a number of technologies come together to create the perfect opportunity for companies to embrace the new world of business This can range from anything such as using the Cloud; using social media and Google analytics as a tool to discover what our customers really want; to the most advanced technologies in products and software shifting us towards the world of artificial intelligence.

This is why after four year’s success Norfolk Chamber brings you an unmissable opportunity, on Wednesday 23 September, 8:30am – 1pm at The Space Norwich, to experience first-hand how digital technology is impacting on your business today. And tomorrow.

With an action packed programme you’ll have the chance to learn, collaborate, and share

thoughts and ideas with professionals leading the way in their field.

We’ve assembled a top team of national and local expert speakers including Amazon, TechCity UK, Naked Element, Zing Insights, Proxama and Rainbird. These experts will bring you up to speed on how digital technology is shaping the future of business and how you can maximise its potential and guide you through key issues including:

Sean Clarke Sean Clarke

Neil Garner Proxama

The ‘Power of the Cloud’ Master Data Management Mobile Ready

Matthew Wells Naked Element

Connecting with the future PLUS! Develop practical skills and take away top tips from four 30 minute invaluable ‘Be Better’ workshops, take advantage of a fantastic networking lunch and look around an exhibition featuring some of the region’s best businesses.

THE FUTURE IS HERE - and it’s unmissable!

Open to all businesses, book your tickets today!

Full details www.norfolkchamber.co.uk/thefutureishere

James Duez Rainbird

Emma Swift TechCityUK

’S PREMIER N THE REGIONO BUSINESS EXHIBITIO TO ATTEND! BUSINESS T TICKET TODAY – FREE co.uk olkchamber. rf o .n w w w BOOK YOUR r ambe ch 15 @norfolk #NorfolkB2B

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Companies speak out on corporate benefits of supporting Norfolk’s Cancer Charity.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

No longer solely undertaken

by FTSE Top 100s and the likes of Unilever, Pepsico, M&S and Microsoft, Corporate and Social Responsibility is an integral part of the corporate agenda, whatever your size of business.

It contributes to profit and also measurably influences employee, customer and stakeholder behaviour. The UK Small Business Consortium says 88per cent of customers were more likely to buy from a company that supports and engages in activities to improve society. Employees derive health, wellbeing and community benefits and are motivated, customers are engaged and the brand gains from increased exposure.

There are plenty of other reasons, and Norfolk’s Cancer Charity, the Big C, is already benefitting from company’s engaging in CSR practises, each in a different ways according to the needs of their business.

Big C as its sole chosen charity for the year, having previously backed several other charities in previous years. “For us it has a different focus and is good to pour all our energy into one concern in order to produce a really worthwhile amount. It creates a good feeling for everyone who gets involved.”

The company has a charity committee that suggests fund-raising ideas and devises activities that promote fun in the business. Activities have ranged from paying £1 for dressing down, to a directors and senior staff car wash. “Our forecourts certainly looked better and staff enjoyed seeing the managers get their hands dirty,” said Carla.

One dedicated supporter for the past 20 years is insurance giant the Alan Boswell Group that has raised more than £50,000, mainly through its annual sponsored Gents’ Golf Day at Weston Park. During the year that Big C was its nominated charity many employees were involved in various sporting events including the Gas Hill Gasp cycle race (pictured) where a team of four raced solely for the cancer charity.

There is also the social aspect that plays a key part - a new summer fete with food, stalls, games and live music held last month was a highly successful family and public event (pictured). Stephen Fenby, the MD, is a keen runner and set a Beat the Boss Challenge to beat his running distance. Now employees have caught the bug and are signing up for fund raising marathons which are leading to increased welfare and health benefits. “It’s about

Executive Chairman Alan Boswell said:” Everyone knows someone affected by cancer. It is indiscriminate and hits family and friends from young to old. Big C is helping those impacted by this terrible disease across Norfolk and Waveney and working tirelessly to find a cure. Supporting this wonderful charity means that by association we are hopefully making a difference.”

Carla Shipp is Group HR Manager of the Midwich Group, an established Norfolk based family of trade-only distribution technology specialists who this year plan to raise more than £10,000 for Big C. Their support came through staff nominating

THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

mixing it all up so everyone is having fun while contributing,” she said.

In addition, Midwich also supports Big C by donating technology based products for raffle and competition prizes.

The CT Baker Group of Holt CSR for Big C focusses around in-store and employee fund-raising, encouraging team building and a sense of fun and well-being. Caroline Baker said: ”The C T Baker Group are committed to raising funds and awareness of local charity causes, undertaking a range of imaginative and rewarding fundraising activities to achieve their aim. One of the most spectacular events has been a sponsored skydive, a fantastic experience for all team members involved (pictured with MD Mr Michael Baker) with over £15,000 raised. This is a charity close to many of our hearts and we know that our team will approach future fundraising activities with enthusiasm and a desire to make a difference.”

If you would like to discover how corporate sponsorship can benefit your business contact Rachel Francis, Big C Fundraiser on 01603 619900 or email rachel.francis@big-c.co.uk For more details on how Big C is active throughout Norfolk and Waveney, details of its 35 anniversary later this year and for how you can get involved visit www.big-c.co.uk

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY

£1.9 billion per annum is the cost to employers as a result of Domestic Abuse (NSPCC).

1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience Domestic Abuse in their lifetime (NICE 2014) Can you afford not to have an understanding of this issue?

Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services delivers training for HR and line managers, workplace champions and staff representatives to ensure that employees of all levels receive the support they need and, in some cases, what the law demands. The training focuses on: Domestic Violence

n Understanding “Domestic Abuse”

HELPLINE

n Why businesses need to address this issue and implement a workplace policy

0300 561 0077 Call now!

n Recognising the signs of abuse and eliciting disclosures from staff n Initial responses to disclosures n Referring to support agencies Leeway has over 40 years of experience supporting adults and children fleeing abuse and supports 9,000 services users a year. Every member of our employed and voluntary staff are trained to the highest level to impart a professional response to each victim we encounter. Our services include: n Refuges across Norfolk where women and children can flee to safety

n 24 hour Advice and Support line n Outreach Services for women and children n Independent Domestic Violence Advisors for adults assessed at a High Risk of further harm or homicide

For more information about our training, services or how you can raise much needed funding to allow us to continue to deliver support please contact us on: 0300 561 0077 or admin@leewaynwa.org.uk Or visit our website: www.leewaysupport.org.uk

e: vicky.sewell@shaw-trust.org.uk t: 0300 303 3111 m: 07973 134262 f: 01603 611352 Shaw Trust, 11 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, NR1 1BD

Shaw Trust is the UK’s largest third sector provider of employment services for disabled and disadvantaged people Locally we provide the ‘Work Choice’ programme enabling people with disabilities to find and retain work through implementing the necessary support to the individual and the employer HOW WE CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS ACHIEVE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY l Free Recruitment Service – We support motivated individuals

from your local community. We complete screening and selection to ensure that we match the right person for the right job. We offer funding towards the up-skilling of clients. l In Work Support – A dedicated team will continue to support

the clients and our employers with one-to-one on-the-job training for your new employee if required, support for you and your existing staff, offer advice and guidance and access to available funding for any work-related adaptations or equipment that your new employee may need

l Free Staff Retention Service – To support with the health and

wellbeing of your current staff, we offer a service for individuals that may have an existing disability or a newly diagnosed disability who may be struggling to cope in the work place. We support both the individual and the employer to manage their health and make reasonable adjustments in order to maintain their employment.

Misconceptions of employing a person with a disability People with disabilities are always sick and in constant pain – Not every disability has pain as a symptom and for those that do often an individual is managing their condition to the best of their ability and using all of the available resources around them in order to support them to lead a full and active life.

Work is sometimes the only missing link in a person’s journey to meeting their aspirations allowing inclusion and independence.

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY

Connecting Norfolk businesses with local communities – Corporate Social Responsibility made easy

the business fund and invite applications for projects from community groups and your staff can select which to support.

As a small business, how can we make a difference?

What is Norfolk Community Foundation?

What causes should our business support?

Established in 2005, we are a registered charity created by Bishop Graham to support the many smaller charities and community groups that do so much good work across Norfolk.

Our work connects donors with local need to tackle disadvantage and help create thriving communities in Norfolk.

If you are unsure about which causes to support, our research can help – in particular, our Norfolk Strategic Needs Report highlights areas of local need. We can help you align your giving with your corporate aspirations, linking you to local community projects and the issues important to your business.

Many organisations want to make a difference in their community but don’t have the time, resource or expertise to manage the charitable appeals they receive. We offer a structured approach to corporate giving, advising on how companies can channel their contributions.

How do we get involved?

Some businesses choose to establish a charitable fund and others choose us as their ‘Charity of the Year’. A fund can be a contribution from the business or a fundraising challenge for employees (or both). We promote

Join us in transforming young lives

You can also make an impact through ‘collective giving’. The Norfolk 100 and Norfolk Future Fund schemes offer ways of giving as part of a group depending on the size of your business and how much you are able to give. You can also make a difference by offering time and skills.

CSR has a positive effect on a business, its employees and the community. Our aim is to make CSR easy and giving fun and we would be happy to support you if you are reviewing your CSR programme or seeking to engage with the local community.

To find out more, contact Graham Tuttle or Anna Douglas on 01603 623958.

“ I’ve met some amazing people, had the best support, always had someone there for me and I’m finally back on my feet.”

Every night we provide a safe home for over 260 homeless young people in Norfolk.

Many of the young people we meet feel trapped, isolated and abandoned.

We give young people a safe, warm place to stay, as well as support to help them towards a brighter future.

We are committed to making a huge difference to the lives of homeless young people in Norfolk.

We hope you will join us in our quest to ensure every young person has a safe place to stay and can fulfil their potential.

How we can partner together  Event sponsorship Project partnerships   Charity of the year  Donate an hour  Enter a team into an event For more information please visit ymcanorfolk.org or contact stefanie.pearson@ymcanorfolk.org 01603 621263

THE MAGAZINE OF NORFOLK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF

A week in the Life of...

Julie Austin – International Trade Manager

Monday First day back from holiday. Weekly staff meeting to find out what might impact during the coming week. Catch up with the Team and then the next job is to catch up on e-mails which takes most of the day and a number of cups of coffee! Whilst also checking international trade documents throughout the day.

Tuesday Today I will be checking International Trade documents throughout the day. I also begin actioning some of the e-mails and tasks that have come in over the last 2 weeks. Set out a timescale for the ChamberFX e-mail campaign which will be going out shortly to members who use our services. Finally today I have caught up on some HR paperwork that needed to be done.

Wednesday Attended the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting. Catch up meeting with CEO on International Trade, HR and Accreditations.

Results from East of England Survey received for Norfolk and analysis to commence especially to see how we can help our clients and also to look at potential countries/areas to be focused on with regard to events.

Thursday Nearly the end of the week! Today as well as processing International documents I have looked at the British Chambers of Commerce International Trade Accreditation which needs to be input by mid August ready for our assessment at the end of August. Finally today I have a 1:1 with International Trade Co-ordinator.

Friday First thing, and most importantly, I have to pay the deposit for the Staff BBQ which is taking place mid August. This is followed by our monthly Staff Meeting where we discuss the previous month and brainstorm future developments. The afternoon is taken up checking International documents and making sure everything for the week is finished – ready to start afresh next week.

Then home for a relaxing weekend!

Julie Austin

Chance to back Conservation Film Festival.

The Festival is a symposium where film-makers, conservation experts and web/broadcasters can explore and innovate production techniques to help them reach the widest possible audience.

It is also a celebration of those films that have made a difference.

Stephen Fry and Bill Bailey have joined a glittering group of patrons for Norwich’s first Conservation Film Festival. Now, you can join them.

The first purely conservation-focused film festival to be held in the UK will take place from the 28th to the 31st of July 2016, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Local wildlife film expert, Piers Warren, is a Director of the Festival and there’s an impressive line-up of celebrities offering their support of this

The

The Festival is a local event that the organisers hope will become a firm fixture on the calendar of international film festivals. Local businesses will benefit from the trade brought in by delegates from all over the world.

amazing event by way of patronage, including Michaela Strachan and Joanna Lumley, with Bill Bailey and Stephen Fry recently added. See the full list including several world-renowned conservationists here: http://wildeyefestival.org/ patrons/

There is the opportunity for individuals, businesses and organisations to sponsor this event, to show how they value conservation and the importance of the natural world to the wider public. Supporting the event also gives you the opportunity to improve your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by backing a local initiative that’s tackling important global issues.

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NEW MEMBERS

New Members.

A P (East Anglia) Ltd 01953 882930 www.apea.co.uk Food (Fruit/Veg Distributors/Suppliers)

Anglian Financial & Investment Planning Ltd 01603 895350 www.afip.co.uk Financial Adviser

Anglian Plant Limited 01692 536 997 www.anglianplanthire.co.uk Plant Hire, Equipment and Tools

Auditel 01603 513331 www.auditel.co.uk/consultants/andyclark/ Consultants (Business/Management)

Conservation Media Ltd 01603 396916 www.wildeyefestival.org Media

Dalmark Grain Ltd 01733 222391 www.dalmark.co.uk Agricultural (Goods/Services)

Elite Recruitment Agency Ltd 01603 251 715 www.eliterecruitmentagency.co.uk Recruitment

Fengrain Ltd 01354 740691 www.fengrain.co.uk Agricultural (Goods/Services)

Holiday Inn Norwich 0871 9429060 www.holidayinn.co.uk/Norwich Hotels

Indigo Swan 0333 320 0475 www.indigoswan.co.uk Energy Suppliers

Jenex Ltd 01493 602211 www.jenex.co.uk Oil & Gas

John Campbell 01603 629726 Consultants (Business/Management)

Kings and Barnhams East Anglia Anchorage Trust 07944 274995 www.anchoragetrust.org Social Enterprise

The

01328 862080 www.kingsandbarnhams.co.uk Electrical Installation

Law Fertilisers Ltd 01354 740740 www.lawfertilisers.co.uk Agricultural (Goods/Services)

Leading Business Services Limited 01603 522028 www.leadingbusinessservices.co.uk Business Services

MedSec7 Ltd 01603 865487 www.medsec7.com Training Providers/Services

MOA Marketing 01603 439143 www.moa-marketing.co.uk Marketing

Norfolk Workplace Mediation 07981 320374 www.workplace-mediation-norfolk.co.uk Consultants (Business/Management)

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk 01953 425599 www.norfolk-pcc.gov.uk Public Services

One Future Renewables 01328 829007 www.onefuturerenewables.com Renewable Energy

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MEMBERS NEWS

Investing in local young talent.

Openfield

Riverside Business Centre

01379 688600 www.openfield.co.uk Agricultural (Goods/Services)

Out of Office Events 0773 4216222 www.outofofficeevents.co.uk Events Management

PMP Recruitment 01553 818650 www.pmprecruitment.co.uk Recruitment

Portakabin Ltd 01603 615299 www.portakabin.co.uk Property Agents/Management

Precision Design Services Limited 01603 426700 www.pdshygiene.com Engineering

Property Briefing Ltd 01603 858312 www.property-briefing.com Surveyors

01603 665239 www.riverside-bc.co.uk Property Agents/Management

SeeMySlides 0781 2986876 www.seemyslides.com Technology

Service Service Employment Agency Ltd 01603 622667 www.serviceservice.co.uk Recruitment

Norwich and Diss based law firm Steeles Law has announced the appointment of its first apprentice, together with the promotion of a former office junior to a trainee legal role.

Georgina Harris, who recently completed her A Levels at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, has joined Steeles as Marketing Apprentice, supporting the firm’s marketing and business development function. Georgina will complete her apprenticeship with training support from Norwich City College.

SGS Legal Ltd 0759 5943050 www.sgslegal.com Legal Services

Alison Beales joined Steeles Law’s central administrative team in 2012, having previously studied for her A Levels, including Law, at Wymondham College. Alison has been promoted to the role of Paralegal in Steeles Law’s conveyancing team and is looking forward to undertaking further training in the law.

Swarm Futures 01953 609756 www.swarmfutures.org.uk Education

Stephen Drake, Managing Director at Steeles Law, said: “At Steeles, we have a long history of encouraging staff from non-traditional backgrounds into the legal profession. For example, Denise Traube, a Chartered Legal Executive in our dispute resolution team, was recently named Newly Qualified Lawyer of the Year in the Norfolk & Norwich Law Society’s Excellence Awards. Denise joined us in 2002 in a junior administrative role and has steadily risen through the ranks, whilst undertaking her legal studies. I am confident that Alison and other candidates alike will follow in her footsteps.”

Thunderbrook Equestrian Limited 01953 797050 www.thunderbrook.co.uk Animal/Pet Services

Red Shed Media 01789 269262 www.redshed-media.com Media

Two Seas Therapeutic Business Coaching 01603 502802 www.twoseasbusinesscoaching.co.uk Coaching & Mentoring

“We are delighted to welcome Georgina as our first apprentice, supporting our busy and growing marketing and business development team.

We are committed to supporting more young people looking to enter the legal and other business professions through this increasingly popular route.”

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The last word.

Name: Mark A Gaskins BA (Hons) Company: Business Development Director Job title: Lawtronic Ltd With an engineering career spanning 27 years, Mark started out as an apprenticed engineer then graduated though a design department settling for many years as a control systems engineer and project manager.

In 2010 Lawtronic Ltd was subject to a change in ownership and in 2011 Mark accepted a directorship. Under the new ownership Lawtronic Ltd has increased turnover by approximately 60% and continues to grow in a sustainable manner and strives to surpass customer expectation

What was your first job and what was the pay packet?

After completing my high school exams and prior to heading off college I worked in a distribution warehouse for the summer. The pay packet was £65 per week and I was soon riding my first motorcycle.

What do you always carry with you to work?

Primarily my briefcase, but secondary to that is a travel bag in my car with fresh business and casual wear. My passport is always with me too, one occasion while working in Scotland I flew out of Edinburgh to Hamburg that same day.

My boss had promised me there in two days, I was onsite early next morning and saw first-hand the positive impact that proactivity had with the customer.

What is the biggest challenge facing your business?

The relentless fast paced development in technology, innovation and change in the automation industry. We are under constant scrutiny for cost and performance improvement.

We rise to that challenge by working openly and as integrated partners with our clients.

If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change to help business?

I would be delighted to see business studies as a compulsory subject in schools. Exposure to business functions and career possibilities is

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critical in my view. Some sound guidance early on may inspire our young folks into making more informed and better choices. We operate in a global and competitive world, they need to be well equipped for the challenges ahead thereby gaining that competitive advantage.

What can you see from your office window?

I guess I have two windows, my office and car. My office window allows a view of our manufacturing facility while my car allows me to view our numerous customers and suppliers.

Visiting customers and suppliers allows me the opportunity to benchmark good practice back into our organisation, we pride ourselves on being agile, open to change and facilitating continuous improvement.

If you could do another job, what would it be?

If I had not been in the controls and automation industry I would have liked a career with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. I simply love to travel, meet new people and understand different cultures. Combining all that in a diplomatic career and representing GB PLC would be absolutely terrific!

What was your biggest mistake in business?

A few years ago I was determined to win a large contract that when scaled up became extremely difficult for my colleagues to service.

The operations team and production team were under a little too much pressure, this inhibited my

scope to develop new business too as I’d taken all the available production capacity. Horizon analysis is a key discussion area in our weekly management meetings.

As a business person, what are your three main qualities?

1. An advocate for the customer.

2. Tenacity.

3. The desire to learn.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Creativity and recognising opportunity are of course the key components of entrepreneurs.

However discipline and organisation are equally essential attributes to possess. Structure, systems and procedures keep the business under firm control. Finally, accurate measurement is critical. Measure your performance and above all measure yourself against your salient competitors.

Who do you admire most in business?

Sir Richard Branson, for his brand awareness and leadership in developing Virgin. I admire his spirit of adventure that permeates through his persona into his business culture.

I simply love his quote: “train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to” “People are your Business” – Mark Gaskins

N !

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