The Successful Founder Summer 2021 Issue

The Successful Founder CREATING AND LIVING THE LIFE YOU DESIRE

Your Guide To Building A Successful Business & Creating The Life You Desire

BEING AN 2021 INSPIRATIONAL & Ready Set SUCCESSFUL Go! LEADER

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40+ Success FEMALE Secrets Expert FOUNDER Articles 200 SPOTLIGHTS Pages

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30++

Is Your Mind Set for Success?

RCROWDFUNDING ADVICE ARTICLES Expert INSIDE Advice Articles Inside

MARKETING & PR SKILLS KNOW HOW

INVESTING

Enhancing MANAGING Staff Wellbeing REMOTE TEAMS

THE ART OF THE SUCCESS SECRETS CRISIS Luxury Lifestyle SUCCESSFUL TheMANAGEMENT bestPitching of Cars,to LAUNCH Yachts, Travel, Dining, Win + Building an Ethical Business with Heart

Luxury Lifestyle

MEDIA Spa SOCIAL & Gastro UK PR & MARKETING Breaks

Marketing, Leadership, Finances, Pitching, Covid-19 Recovery Luxury Lifestyle Section

LUXURY LIFESTYLE

Issue 13 | £7.95 www.entrepreneurandinvestor.com

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Cars, Travel, Dine & More

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EDITOR’S LETTER DEAR READER,

EDITOR & FOUNDER Lisa Curtiss

Welcome to this Summer 2021 edition of The Successful Founder Magazine.

This issue focuses on looking positively ahead and embracing the rest of the year, recovering from Covid 19, and thriving. You’ll find a wealth of useful and inspirational features on everything from buiding your social media presence, to keeping a positive mindset, and embracing new ways of working.

EDITORIAL COORDINATORS Natalie Carter Gemma Evans

In addition to reading our digital and print magazines, do also visit us online at www.thesuccessfulfounder.com for daily new articles, and join us on our socials – details below.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS

Finally if you’ve any suggestions or great stories to tell, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a note on team@thesuccessfulfounder.com.

Ashleigh Dooler Natalie Carter

Do also keep an eye out for our sister titles, Female Founders Guide, and Luxury Lifestyler too. www.femalefoundersguide.com and www.luxurylifestyler.com.

My very best wishes, LISA EDITOR Visit our website www.thesuccessfulfounder.com www.femalefoundersguide.com www.luxurylifestyler.com Find us on Issuu - issuu.com/thesuccessfulfounder Follow us on our socials @thesuccessfulfounder @femalefoundersguide @luxelifestyler Find us on Readly https://gb.readly.com/products/magazine/the-successful-founder?q=The%20succes Cover Image credit: Deposit Photos.

EDITORIAL TEAM Daisy Roach Gayle Penny Anna Clarke Luke Penny Gemma Evans

ADVERTISING, SPONSORSHIP, SUBSCRIPTIONS & DISTRIBUTION team@thesuccessfulfounder.com

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How can entrepreneurs bring their teams back together successful as lockdowns and furloughs finally end?

Like most businesses large and small start-ups will have team members who have struggled with remote working and being on furlough. And some will be feeling apprehensive about the return to your workplace.

In addition, some start-ups may be considering restructuring their teams by having fewer days in the office from now on, potentially creating a cultural shift. Clearly there are positives to this, but there are some negatives, for example a lack of connection and social interaction, both of which are important aspects of people’s work life.

Such potential downsides can be mitigated by the introduction of wellbeing initiatives which bring people together in a social environment.

Let’s look at three initiatives that entrepreneurs can implement to support their teams as everyone returns to work and reconnects: 1. A detailed wellbeing plan An effective wellbeing plan for any start-up should be a shared document of information, that everyone has read and has access to. It should reflect the ethos and culture of the practice.

The wellbeing plan details how the business looks after its employees in addition to the traditional benefits like gym memberships and holiday days.

For example, it could include a list of events funded by the practice that employees across the workplace can attend.

Choosing activities that focus on wellbeing can have a hugely positive effect. They build morale, embed the culture, help develop and strengthen relationships, and ensure that employees are looked after, as well as knowing how to look after themselves and each other. These events work especially well if the experiences / activities are engaging and fun – rather than always about work.

A good wellbeing plan will boost morale, create a more engaged workforce, increase productivity and improve company performance. The added bonus is retaining and attracting the best talent, saving on recruitment costs and reducing absenteeism, presenteeism, stress and anxiety especially after the impact of the pandemic.

Although wellbeing is very difficult to measure and some benefits are intangible, an effectively delivered wellbeing plan can improve many areas of the business. Start-up founder should make sure that a log of the improvements is kept; some will be measurable, some anecdotal. But success is a motivator, being back together after 15 months or so is something worth celebrating.

2. Arranging a ‘Welcome Back’ day A ‘Welcome Back’ day can help rebuild connections, introduce new people to the team, help smooth the transition to new ways of working, changed work schedules and being apart from colleagues.

By specifically organising a day with a wellbeing theme, you can address many of the remote working/return to work concerns that people may have in a safe, relaxed environment. An event or adventure away from the office, something that team members would happily choose to do themselves at the weekend is ideal.

Involve everyone in choosing the sort of day they want and the activities they’d like to take part in. This will demonstrate that the day is about them, not the business.

A really effective Away Day is the type that we’d be willing to book for ourselves at the weekend. So, if you can choose an event, that staff will willing give their time to, then you’re on to a winner. These events help to inspire and engage.

They create a collaborative and social atmosphere as the excitement starts to build in the office before the event.

Studies show 90% of people say a fun environment is a very or extremely motivating. (Source Psychology Today.)

Providing you choose activities that are fun, and not just ’let’s talk about work and how much more we can do’ then an Away Day can also be a great way to say thank you.

Perhaps you could round the day off with an evening dinner where spouses are also invited.

3. Creating regular wellbeing events for the next twelve months Bringing in regular, enjoyable, wellbeing-themed Away Days, perhaps on a monthly basis, that everyone can benefit from, can help keep communication alive, relationships fresh and engagement high. Over time, the boost to morale will have everyone on board and working towards the goals and visions of the business, making it not only more productive but an employer of choice.

The scheduled events can be worked to create crossselling and information sharing between teams, whilst strengthening those internal relations around the activities.

Mixing fun and work creates a relaxed, open environment where ideas and creativity are more likely to flow and where they can be easily shared by individuals.

For example, an Away Day could involve a cookery school where participants create and prepare a new dish that is then shared. Add a tasting competition at the end, with a reward for the winners. Perhaps the losers have to cook the

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meal when everyone sits down at the end of the day for some wine tasting and hearty dinner.

Perhaps combine this with a work-themed music creation or corporate video made with fun ideas from the Away Day, which will help to sell or promote a product or service, and can be used on your website. Make sure you include an additional videographer to film your team filming, to show new recruits and the whole company the fun you have with work.

Now is not the time for entrepreneurs to get complacent about the mental wellbeing of your team. It is a good idea to review the concerns you had at when the pandemics started, about keeping your team connected and how to maintain camaraderie. By focusing on the three initiatives discussed here your start-up will be stronger, with team members supporting each other and the business.

By Craig Bulow, Corporate Away Days.

About the Author Craig Bulow is the founder of the Away Days Group. Corporate Away Days are a corporate wellbeing events company delivering engaging, inspiring and exciting events focussed on Mindfulness / Wellbeing and Reward / Recognition activities.

Corporate Away Days also creates, designs and builds corporate wellbeing policies and provides leading experts for interactive workshops, seminars and talks on improving mental health and overall wellbeing.

Every Corporate Away Days event and activity is chosen with wellbeing as its focus, helping to encourage employee engagement, foster connections and build relationships within the business.

Web: www.corporate-away-days.co.uk

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Five Things You Need to Know About Equity Crowdfunding Equity crowdfunding, invented a decade ago, is more popular than ever with entrepreneurs and investors - professional and amateur alike.

By the end of last year, entrepreneurs had raised more than £1.4 billion for more than 1,700 businesses on Crowdcube and Seedrs, two of the most popular equity crowdfunding platforms. But as a successful founder and entrepreneur, what do you need to know about this important branch of Fintech?

How it works Equity crowdfunding leverages the power of our social networks to address the difficulties entrepreneurs and founders face in raising early-stage finance. Entrepreneurs pitch online to raise equity funds in return for shares in their company. If the target amount is reached, cash is exchanged for shares; otherwise, all bets are off.

It works a bit like an online version of Dragon’s Den, except that entrepreneurs pitch their ideas on an equity crowdfunding platform to a huge virtual network of potential investors.

Equity crowdfunding is often attractive to investors because they can put small amounts into a variety of businesses, with potentially high returns. It’s also appealing to entrepreneurs and founders because they have control over what they sell, how much and at what price.

The investors it attracts Equity crowdfunding has a diverse group of investors. Many are experienced venture capitalists, angel investors and entrepreneurs in the same sector as you.

Others are interested in a particular firm or product, while some are looking at the impact of an investment on a neighbourhood or the environment. Another set are simply looking to grow their savings at a time when interest rates are rock bottom. So the environmentally conscious can invest in promising new ideas for carbon capture, while enthusiasts can invest in their favourite micro-brewery.

The typical pitch receives the bulk of its funds from a few large investors, but also from many people who just like the product or want to support a company that is local to them or employs people they know.

Don’t forget that the social network aspect of equity crowdfunding could be an important source of new ideas and feedback that could help your business for years to come. use the shareholding register, and the wider pitch process, as a foundation for a loyal and wise client base.

There’s no immediate impact on your cash flow When a founder or entrepreneur raises funds through equity crowdfunding, the funds they raise create a liability in the

form of equity, rather than debt. The business owner is exchanging a share of their future profits for capital right away. This means that, unlike if you had raised money from a bank or via online peer-to-peer lending, there is no immediate impact on your cash flow because interest is not paid on debt.

This gives you an extra advantage - raising capital in this way doesn’t expose you to the threat of bankruptcy if you’re not able to meet your debt obligations. Of course, the new equity holders will have rights to the agreed share of your future profits, once you begin to earn them.

It’s not a time-consuming process Entrepreneurs and founders know all too well that the process to raise funds can be a long and torturous one.

Equity crowdfunding platforms have well established processes. Entrepreneurs and founders must capture the imagination of the ‘crowd’ on their chosen platform. Success is far from guaranteed, but there are numerous examples of what works and what doesn’t.

At a most basic level, entrepreneurs must provide business plans and information about their team and products for all potential investors to see and take part in online conversations about their business. The video from the entrepreneur explaining the business model and why she or he is the right person to implement it is often key.The process, as far as entrepreneurs and founders are concerned, is triedand-tested and not too time-consuming.

Be aware of how much information you’ll need to make public Despite the many advantages of equity crowdfunding for entrepreneurs and founders, it’s not an ideal way of raising funds for all new businesses.

If yours is a firm which relies heavily on a unique technology or business model, you’ll need to post quite a lot of detailed information about this on the platform. You may prefer a less information intensive and open-source way of raising funds.

About the author: Saul Estrin is an Emeritus Professor of Managerial Economics and Strategy and the founding Head of the Department of Management. He was formerly Adecco Professor of Business and Society at London Business School where he was the Director of the CIS Middle Europe Centre and Research Director of the Centre for New and Emerging Markets. At LSE he is affiliated with the Centre for Economic Performance and was the Research Director of the Entrepreneurship Institute. www.lse.ac.uk/management/people/emeriti-visiting-staff/ sestrin

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Creating a Smoother Road to Founding a Business Lysa Campbell is an experienced agency leader with a successful background in creating business growth and diversification. Lysa is now leading Retail Marketing Group as CEO for the UK. Here, she shares what she has learned throughout her career journey, what founding a business has taught her and offers advice to those looking to follow the same or similar paths.

Embrace the university of life My experience: Looking back at where my career started, I see myself as being educated in the university of life. Coming from a small town and leaving school with just one O-Level, I had to decide the path that I wanted to take. At the time I didn’t know the world outside of my tiny bubble and would describe myself as being quite insular, so when I joined a world-leading film and entertainment studio in my early 20s, I was thrown into a completely alien environment.

The studio had an incredibly male-centric, ‘work hard, play hard’ environment. I benefited from having some brilliant role models and learned so much that still stays with me today.

Yet, I also saw things that I knew I didn’t want to take forward into my own businesses, from bullying to sexism. Being passed over for a promotion in favour of a less experienced and qualified man - because I had just started my own family - was a turning point, and I left shortly after.

Moving from corporate to agency side, I had a much more senior role and enjoyed helping the company grow significantly to an £11 million turnover in the five years I worked there.

However, with the company increasingly investing less back into the business - compromising my integrity with my team and clients - as well as difficult changes in my personal life, I saw an opportunity to have a fresh start. So, in 2008 I decided to start my own business.

Advice for you:

Be a brave leader My experience: I have experienced my fair share of imposter syndrome throughout my career, and I know that this is a common feeling for many women in particular. Moving into the technology sector, I doubted my abilities to lead my team when I had such a limited knowledge on the subject. Yet, I quickly learned that as a leader, it wasn’t necessary for me to have an in-depth, comprehensive understanding of all the technology in order to be successful; my team are the experts and my primary role is separate to that.

As a leader, one of the best things I can offer my team is bravery: showing my team that I am prepared to make difficult decisions, show my vulnerability and confront reality head-on. I had to prove this trait to my team early on in my career, when I had to make the choice to fire a client because they weren’t the right fit. My team had raised their concerns with me and it was my responsibility to listen, understand and act in order to show my loyalty to the team. At that stage, our agency was dependent on the revenue, however I was grateful to recognise the potential long term impact my inaction would have, including a negative work culture or losing the trust of my team.

Advice for you: ● Trust in your team: each person around you has their own set of skills and passion, and a leader is not required to be the perfect example of all members combined. A truly great leader helps each team member to become their best at what they do, in turn benefiting the group as a whole. ● Be brave and don’t be afraid to make the hard decisions: By showing your team that you have the courage to make difficult decisions, you will allow them to feel confident that you have their backs and open the team up to a positive working culture.

● Stick to your principles: My experiences have taught me to stick to my principles regardless of how difficult the decision is. No matter what, you must believe in yourself and trust that the principles that have carried you so far will continue to help you make the right decisions.

● Show vulnerability: Being vulnerable, open and honest with your team goes a long way to earning their trust and respect.

Doing so, as I have seen myself, will earn people’s loyalty for many years to come.

● Make time for reflection: The eight years I spent building and growing my first business were not easy. Through many mistakes and moments of doubt, I learnt that the most important thing that I could do was to make time for reflection. We can only learn in hindsight, so understanding how what you did yesterday will impact today and tomorrow, is an important evaluation for any leader.

Embrace the ‘work-life balance’ cliché In recent years, the advice that you should find a perfect work-life balance has become incredibly overused and clichéd. Most people know that it’s so much easier said than done, particularly when it’s your own business that’s at stake.

However, I have learnt to remind myself that working all

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Developing your career, starting your own business and achieving your goals is never going to be straightforward. But, by surrounding yourself with great people and embracing the mistakes whilst leading your team with integrity and bravery, you will be rewarded with loyalty and support: something that any business owner cannot do without.

About the Author Lysa Campbell is an experienced agency leader, with a successful background in creating business growth and diversification. When Lysa left school, she had little opportunity for further education but was driven by the passion and desire to do more and realise her own potential. In 2008, Lysa started her own agency with only two staff; seven years later, the agency had a turnover of £9 million with over 2,000 staff. Now, Lysa is leading RMG as CEO for the UK, delivering a sustainable business plan whilst constantly innovating and transforming its offering. www.retailmarketing.com

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How to Create an Online Course With years of experience, friends and business partners Gina Brocker and Angie Bonin combined their expertise to create an online photography course. Creating any new business has been a difficult feat due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Brocker and Bonin saw it as no better time. Taking the opportunity to understand each other’s strengths, the photography duo went to work creating a 9 module course to help others invest in themselves, and their future. Now, they’re taking the next step and sharing how they built this course so that others may one day be inspired to do it too.

you made it for! If they don’t know about it, they can’t buy it, and they’ll spend years struggling with the thing that your course could help walk them through in weeks. Create a plan that implements email marketing, partnerships, a strong social media presence that offers information and support, and a PR campaign to consistently get your expertise and the course itself out there in front of prospective students so that they are able to learn about it and sign up to take it.

Creating a course from scratch is not easy, and takes a fair amount of time and effort, but if you have the expertise and have years of experience building a business in a specific field, you can absolutely teach other people how to build a successful business in it too. Here are some of the main steps Gina and Angie took to create their online course, Revealing The Narrative for wedding photographers.

Have fun with it! Think about the experiences you have learned the most from-- usually they are enjoyable and even fun to a certain extent, even if you’re learning about something technical or professional.

Determine the most useful information. Gina and Angie spent a lot of time thinking about the most helpful aspects when it comes to photography and also business, and came up with the ultimate list of topics to focus on that will lead students through building their photography business step by step. The information modules are the foundation of a strong course, because if you overlook one piece, people may struggle and not get the results you want for them. Being really thoughtful about what to include was key for this duo, and they also were strategic in determining which one of them was the ideal instructor to prepare the information on each section, based on their personal strengths and who loved talking about that specific topic most.

Once you’ve outlined the topics and information you need to include, you have to actually create the material. Draft what you want to say for each section, and film videos talking through it.

You’ll also want to develop downloadable or printable material to go along with certain topics, if not all, that people can use to document or work through the specifics of the information for their own business. It can be helpful to have someone you trust go through the information at this stage, to make sure it all makes sense to an outsider and that you haven’t overlooked anything that is key to understanding the material at any step of the course.

Next, you have to find a place to host the course online, and upload all the information to your teaching platform. There are many choices out there and you can use whichever seems to work best for you. You likely also want to create a website to go along with the course, or to build out a page on your existing website to provide information on the course and direct people to sign up!

Don’t forget about creating a plan for marketing the course. You want to make sure to get the course in front of the people who

A few other tips to keep in mind:

Think about what you’d want to get out of this type of course.

Approach it as a student, not the expert that you are. It can be easy to overlook seemingly small details or bits of info that may seem obvious to you as the expert, but would actually create a huge block in learning for a student who doesn’t yet have the knowledge.

Start telling people about it before it launches! You don’t want to finish the course and then launch to crickets. Start talking about it before it’s ready and get people excited in advance. Have a way to keep track of email addresses for people who may be interested, and email them as soon as it’s ready.

With these tools and info, you can get started building a business course of your own. Find your passion and share it with the world. Not only can you benefit from starting an online course, but you can inspire so many people in your field. So, take the next step, gather your expertise, and build the online course you wish you had when you were first starting in your career.

About the Authors Gina Brocker and Angie Bonin are Boston-based wedding photographers and the Co-Founders of Revealing The Narrative, a comprehensive wedding photography course that walks students through creating and building a profitable photography business. They are also the founders of Gina Brocker Photography and Angelina Rose Photography, respectively. www.instagram.com/revealingthenarrative

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How to Set a Marketing Budget If you are looking to carry out a marketing campaign it is important to have a clear budget, which is realistic and affordable. Often budgets assigned to marketing are either a complete guess with no thought behind the amount allocated or are optimistically low, where someone believes or hopes they can achieve great things for very little investment. Here, Suzie Farrell, Account Director at marketing agency PMW, answers some common marketing budget questions.

1) How much should I spend on marketing?

When a client comes to us looking for assistance with their marketing, one of the first things we ask is what their budget is. Occasionally, the response is, “We don’t know”.

Cutting marketing in times of austerity is the worst thing you should do. When times are tough, competition is rife. Why would you want to become less visible in tough times and risk losing out to competitors? It may seem counter-intuitive, but marketing budgets as a percentage of income should for this reason actually increase, not decrease, in times of economic difficulty.

3) How will I know where to spend my marketing budget?

Choosing how to spend your marketing budget depends on: Your audience – who are they, where are they and how can you best reach them?

This is never a good place to start. Marketing is never-ending.

When done well, the more you put in, the more you get out.

That doesn’t mean you need an endless pot of money in order to achieve anything worthwhile – that’s where experience, knowing your audience and creativity come in – but what it does mean is you need a clear idea of how much you are prepared to spend before commencing marketing. Being aware of what you can afford is critical.

Your objectives – what do you want to achieve, e.g. sell tickets, raise awareness?

Marketing textbooks may tell you that earmarking 10% of your profit for marketing is the norm, but there is no definitive right or wrong. What’s most important is assigning a budget that you can realistically afford, because no form of marketing comes with a guarantee. Be prepared for a period of trial and error before you find what works best for your company.

Consider this example:

Switch your mindset from thinking results are guaranteed to accepting that some things will work better than others.

While you are unlikely to see a positive return from every part of your investment, you may well see a very healthy return from some. The knack is to do more of what gets you good results. Of course, you won’t know before you start what that is – prepare yourself for some successes and some failures – great marketing doesn’t happen overnight.

2) Why should I bother with marketing if my company’s doing okay?

Marketing for some can be somewhat of an afterthought, especially if a company is performing respectably already. It can also be one of the first things to be cut when times get tough.

If your company is doing well without marketing and you’re content with that, then great. But don’t you want it to perform even better? If it’s doing well without marketing, just think how well it could do with it! Plus, if you allow things to coast for too long, it’s inevitable that a competitor who is investing in marketing will come along and gobble up all the business, just by being on people’s radars.

Your investment levels – how can you achieve the above affordably and over what period?

Only when you have the answers to the above points, are you then ready to make your choices.

You have identified your audience as consisting mainly of women in the UK aged 25-45.

You want this audience to sign up for a paid subscription of your online book club.

You have £5,000 to spend over two months to achieve this.

First, consider the potential platforms through which you can reach your identified audience. This may include TV, radio, social media, print magazines, blogs and live events.

Next, think about what you’re prepared to invest. £5,000 isn’t going to be enough for a decent radio or TV ad campaign, so they’re not the best bets here. It might enable you to produce a radio ad, but you could then only afford to play it once or twice – effective marketing relies on repetition and reiteration. You may consider national magazine advertising, but then find that’s also cost prohibitive.

Our motto is Do it well or not at all– a useful rule to remember when choosing how to spend your marketing budget.

4) Should I do my own marketing or pay someone?

To answer this question, you need to consider where your expertise lies. If, for example, you are brilliant at social media, have the time to do it on top of your job, can reach your target audience this way and achieve your objectives, then go for it!

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Beware though, of making the wrong choice. You shouldn’t be deciding how to spend your money based on your expertise alone. If you believe a PR campaign is the best and most costeffective way for you to reach your audience and achieve your objectives, but don’t have the faintest clue where to start with a PR campaign, your money would be better spent hiring a PR expert than choosing the wrong platform, just because you can manage the other platform yourself – many companies have made this mistake and paid handsomely for the consequences.

5) How do I monitor my spend and the results?

At the outset of any marketing campaign, it is important to have metrics outlined to enable you to measure the success of your marketing campaign. Here are a few examples: Enquiries Sales Traffic to website Link clicks Subscribers Newsletter sign ups Regularly look at the data you’re achieving from your marketing efforts to check if you’re hitting your targets. These could include:

Social media data (likes, follows, shares, clicks) Media coverage achieved (which publications, how many cuttings, positive or negative) Google Analytics (clicks, traffic, dwell time, bounce rate) Newsletter subscribers (new subscribers, unsubscribes, read rate, click throughs) Purchases (units sold, average spend, lifetime value of customer) Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. Remember though that things can change – buying habits, trends, platform popularity – so what works one year might not work so well the next.

The Roundup 1) Allocate a comfortable budget 2) Choose channels based on audience, objectives and affordability 3) Monitor often 4) Tweak where necessary If you remember these four rules, you should be reaping the rewards of an effective marketing campaign in no time! https://pmwcom.co.uk/

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Managing Your Online Reputation An Entrepreneurs Guide

By Simon Wadsworth. Online reputation management is vital to your success in today’s ultra-connected world. When I launched online reputation management agency Igniyte back in 2009, the writing was on the wall. And over the years, the importance of maintaining a curated and careful professional and personal online presence has grown in importance.

From online reviews to social media profiles, and from comments you left on an article 10 years ago to news stories about your company… our online footprints are extensive, wide ranging and significant.

You need be sure, that as an entrepreneur, that nothing negative is lurking online that could impact your future success and that you have a consistent, detailed strategy on how to grow a positive online reputation.

Our interconnected world makes online reputation your number one concern. Google makes it the work of milliseconds for anyone to search your name or your company name. A few more minutes and people will probably be able to find where you live, your political persuasion and which football team you support.

While people are generally more aware of the need for privacy when it comes to private social media channels, ensuring your online presence is completely clear takes time, effort and careful management. But it really matters.

Executives say that almost half of the reputation of the company they work rests on that of the CEO. And on the other side, social recruiting is growing fast. Pretty much every company will search potential candidates online before inviting to interview. Google and other search engines do not care how your reputation comes across. Results are simply filtered by what’s popular and relevant.

Do you need to make changes to boost your online reputation?

So, what can you do? First, Google your own name, job, past roles and anything else remotely connected with you. Have a look at the first page and see what comes up. Depending on your position and personal use of social media, results will be mixed. Even if you don’t immediately see anything that concerns you, the breadth of information you can see about yourself shows just how risky an un-curated internet presence can be.

Whether you’re fronting a company, leading a brand or considering a career move, there are plenty of reasons people might search your name. And it’s possible that negativity online could impact your chances of success.

Assuming there is no outright negativity linked with your name, what else do you see when you Google it? Do the search results portray you and your ideas? Would it instil confidence in potential clients, or in your peers, customers or the media? It’s a good way to see what kind of first impression people might get about you, and to help you figure out what needs to change. After all, having a strong, believable personal brand can really impact the amount of custom your business experiences. If you feel you need to have a more concentrated strategy, there are steps you can take.

Steps to take to improve your online reputation: 1. Actively suppress negative content Most of us never look beyond page one of any Google search. And that’s why the front page of Google is all important when it comes to people finding out anything about you, whether professionally or on a personal level.

Even if there are positive links to be found a few pages down, these become essentially useless as most people simply won’t scroll that far.

This is where content strategies should come in. By creating high-quality, relevant and requested content that people want to read, negative links will be pushed further down the page. Content creation is a deceptively difficult path to take, and it should only be undertaken through extremely high-quality blogs, articles and thought leadership content. The idea is to create the persona that best reflects you in an honest and accessible way. When this is achieved, the front page of Google searches of your name will naturally be full of positive links.

2. Challenge Google to remove content.

This should be the first step (if there is negative content out there about you) if you want to alter the online impression people have of you. If there is something that comes up on Google searches that could feasibly damage either your personal or professional relationships, then you can request that it is removed.

3. Initiate your right to be forgotten.

The legal right to be forgotten was introduced as part of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It means that it’s possible to formally request that unwanted, dated, irrelevant or incorrect online information about you be removed. This includes image, videos or text.

When you make an application to remove any content,

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Google will make a judgement. Your right to privacy is measured against the interests of the public in having access to this information. This means to successfully remove Google content, you need to know exactly what to do, how to proceed, and to ensure that total accuracy is maintained throughout the process. You will need to speak to expert on this one.

4. Implement a coherent and strong social media plan.

Managing social media is a 24/7 job. The Internet never sleeps and nor do the channels that now effectively control the conversation. People never stop posting and, if you are an entrepreneur with a start-up, or a business leader, then at any time someone could be posting about you.

How you come across on every relevant platform matters.

That includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Medium, Snapchat, Reddit… And most people by middle age have posted on various channels through the years.

It’s always a plan to check back through your profiles and shut down any that are no longer relevant.

This might sound like a lot of work, particularly if you’re not hugely active in the social media space. But these days it’s essential, particularly for start-up owners, entrepreneurs and innovators. Developing a strong social media presence will do a lot to boost other companies and individual’s opinions of you and your business.

About the Author Simon Wadsworth is a reputation management expert and the Managing Director of Igniyte, a leading expert online reputation management and digital PR company.

Igniyte are experts in online reputation management and they help companies, brands and individuals in building a strong online presence through SEO, PR, content, social media and best practice online reputation management tools and techniques. Based in the UK, in Leeds and London, Igniyte has global reach with clients in the UK, Europe, US, Africa, UAE and Hong Kong. www.igniyte.co.uk

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Raising Brand Awareness Through PR If you’re an entrepreneur or business founder looking to boost your brand, one of the first ports of call should be a PR agency.After all, while you may be an expert in what you do, a carefully-crafted PR campaign can work wonders for spreading the word and exposing you to a wider audience.

Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s first go back to some branding basics…

What is a brand?

The term ‘brand’ is Germanic in origin and originally meant burning wood. In Middle English, the meaning shifted to mean permanently marking with hot metal.

In the 17th century, the phrase brand became a mark of ownership in any form and in the industrial revolution it really took off with the meaning as we understand it today.But what is it? Some people may say a brand is a name, logo or symbol – but at Harvey & Hugo we strongly believe that a brand is a feeling. That’s why it is important to tell your brand story and use the correct PR services to spark emotion in your audience.

For as social psychologist and professor Jonathan Haidt says: “The human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor.”

So, what can you do to make your brand stand out in today’s fierce battle for attention?

Getting to know you

If this is done well, in time you and your brand will become recognised as leaders in your field – which brings us to our next point.

A person of influence If you like the idea of becoming an influencer in your industry, then it’s time for some profile building.

At the end of the day, people buy from people, which is why it’s so important to boost your own personal brand as well as your company’s.

Therefore, positioning you as a key person of influence is a win-win situation, building trust and respect for not only you personally, but also your brand.

There’s plenty you can do to raise your personal profile, starting with improving your personal social media accounts, and you may also want to look for interview and speaking opportunities.

Using a combination of the above can, in time, make you famous for the products and services you offer.

A winning plan

Firstly, you need to make sure you really know your brand – after all, if you don’t, how can you expect anyone else to?

Awards can be an often be overlooked when it comes to brand-building, but really, is there any better way to show off your expertise than have other people do it for you?

Hone in on your ‘why’, know your purpose, develop clear values, brand statements and key messaging and find your USP - don’t be afraid to be different!

Simply being nominated for an award can improve your brand awareness and put your business in front of new customers – and think of all that amazing PR if you win.

Once you’re clear on your message, you need a strategy to target the right people at the right time.

However, it’s important to be strategic when it comes to awards; don’t just enter any and all. Think carefully about which you have a realistic chance of winning, and which will be of most relevance to your target audience.

Planning ahead can help you to structure your ideas for how you’ll tell and share your story, and will keep you consistent and on track.

Forging links

Your strategy is also where you can set out your key performance indicators, develop campaign ideas and themes and establish your target market.

The online realm has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for building your brand – but it’s not all as straightforward as it seems.

Read all about it

Yes, we’re talking link-building, a way of boosting your credibility by getting someone equally (or, ideally, even more) credible to share your content.

An oldie but goodie, press releases are a simple but effective way of raising awareness and creating brand perceptions.

They are also seen as more credible and trustworthy than adverts and, being free, are much more cost-effective.

However, sometimes you need more than a press release to get your thoughts and opinions across, and that’s where article-writing comes into play. Strong written work that is shared across different publications is a great way to get your brand recognised.

You can do this by sending stories out to websites to increase backlinks (an incoming hyperlink from one webpage to another website) to your website.

To further boost your online game, it’s worth making sure any online content you put in your website is full of relevant keywords for your industry, to further push you up the Google rankings.

ENTREPRENEUR Staying social Social media is another great (and largely free) way to promote your brand, but, as always, you need to have a plan in place first.

You’ll need to start with deciding what platforms work best for your business before choosing what type of content to share and how often to post.

Remember, it’s not all about selling; social media is perfect for a more informal look at your business and why you do what you do. Behind-the-scenes, staff profiles and how-to guides are all ideally suited to this medium.

Thanks to the digital revolution, it’s never been easier to spread the word about your brand – but that also means the landscape has become more crowded.

Taking the time to create a rounded PR strategy means you can hit the ground running, keeping your eye on the prize and ensuring your hard work pays off.

About the Author Charlotte Nichols has over 15 years of experience in the PR and marketing sector and established her company Harvey & Hugo during that time. Charlotte’s mission is to use PR, social media and marketing techniques to make brands lovable and memorable. The flexible offering of Harvey & Hugo makes PR and marketing accessible to all. www.harveyandhugo.com

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How To Optimise Your Mobile Website Design Mobile users will account for the bulk of website traffic in 2021. With this in mind, it’s important to make sure your company’s website is mobile-friendly. When developing your mobile site, there are a few things to keep in mind that will enhance the user experience: Navigation. When designing your mobile site, navigation is one of the most critical things to consider because it defines the overall usability of your site - and it’s best to build with the idea that many users don’t know how to locate what they’re looking for on a mobile website. The navigation is more critical the more visible the material is. Overcrowding a page with large images is a common mistake, and it may actually distract the user from the main content. You should also avoid using any colours or patterns that are distracting.

To make a website that is easy to use, keep it neutral.

Content Structure. The material you put on your website has a big impact on the user experience. Your users would most likely become frustrated if your content does not flow smoothly. You want to make sure the content flows well and allows people to interact with it. The layout of your content should be simple to follow. You should also make certain that the content is optimized for mobile devices.

Hyperlinks. These links enable users to easily navigate through the content, and they’re particularly useful for providing quick access to your site’s content.

Avoid Complicated Design Elements. Since the aim of mobile search is to get answers from brands as easily and efficiently as possible, it’s best to avoid over cluttering while developing your mobile-friendly website. For example, neither IOS nor Android support Flash animations, so it’s critical to think about your design’s compatibility.

Include A Viewpoint Meta Tag. The viewport code gives search engines the information they need to display content correctly depending on the size and scale of the computer an internet searcher is using.

Select a Compatible Theme. If you’re building a mobile site for your blog or using Wordpress as your website host, you’ll be able to choose a theme from which to design your site. In this scenario, the majority of templates would already be mobilefriendly. However, you can double-check the responsiveness of the theme by reading the summary and checking the demo URL. Keep Things Simple. You may have found that mobile pages have far less content than most desktop versions. To have the best possible user experience, prioritise the most relevant details and exclude any elements that aren’t essential to a mobile browsing experience.

Ensure To Compress Images and CSS. Images and CSS take up a lot of server space, which means they take longer to load. Nevertheless, you don’t want to remove visual design elements that improve the mobile user experience. To prevent this, compress these files first, as they will load faster without compromising the quality of your website.

By Guy Holmes, MD of Bristol Marketing Agency www.bristolmarketingagency.co.uk

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How Start-Ups Can Improve Their Core Web Vitals From June 2021, Google started judging a website based on a new set of performance metrics called Core Web Vitals. This initiative is focused around user experience and has become part of Google’s ranking algorithm.

Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics used to measure the user experience stages of a web page, which includes loading, interactivity, and visual stability. They apply to all web pages and a website needs to pass each of the signals to provide a good experience for users. Google helps users find the most relevant and high-quality sites on the web and website owners need to pass their Core Web Vitals to avoid being punished by their algorithm. Only 23% of businesses currently pass these tests consistently, so organic SEO will be negatively impacted for the large majority of companies. This also represents a great opportunity for start-ups looking to capitalise on the changes, as monitoring your scores and fixing problems could result in a major SEO boost above your competitors, no matter how much longer they have been in business.

If you are in a competitive market, we would advise founders to take action on their scores to be able to compete. Metrics will differ across desktop and mobile, therefore it is vital to measure Core Web Vitals on both platforms. This will help gain a true understanding of how customers experience a website. For each of the Core Web Vitals, it’s important to attain the ‘Good’ target at the 75th percentile of page loads across mobile and desktop. There are lots of ways website owners can find out their Core Web Vitals scores, including PageSpeed Insights, Search Console, Lighthouse, Chrome DevTools, Chrome UX Report, and the Web Vitals Extension.

The most common causes for poor scores Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Take a look at the largest image you have on your site. It’s the cornerstone of your website as it can have a huge impact on your site load time. Some of the causes of a poor LCP are lack of pre-loading, slow server response times or slow resource load times. It’s best to look at how your images, videos, and other large files are affecting your load time. You can do this by issuing a Webpage Test where you can view a waterfall of elements and their load times, and view which resources are taking the most time to load. Third-party software and widgets can also be one of the main culprits for slowing down your website, so doing some housekeeping on them and removing anything you no longer need will make a positive impact on your score.

First Input Delay (FID) Heavy Javascript execution is the main cause of a poor first input delay. By optimising how JavaScript parses, compiles, and executes on your web page you can directly reduce FID and improve the experience your customers have on your website.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

As daunting as some of these terms can sound, they are easy to action if we explain what you need to look for. Some of the most common causes of a poor CLS are images, adverts, embeds and iframes without dimensions. SA quick fix would be to always include width and height size attributes on your images and video elements. Adverts are one of the largest contributors to layout shifts on the web, so be sure to only run critical third-parties. Avoid inserting new content above existing content, so any layout shifts that occur are expected.

Be careful when you are downloading and rendering web fonts as these can cause layout shifts.

Keeping track Tracking Core Web Vitals should be something on your longterm to-do list as a startup founder. It is much easier to spot issues before they escalate and cause more issues in years to come. Single tests won’t always pick up every issue you need to address, and you should always have a benchmark to be your ‘single source of truth’. This gives a common benchmark which you agree on within the organisation, and something which you can use to test fixes against and get immediate feedback. It is not recommended to rely on PageSpeed Insights for this, as the ChromeUX report is 28 days behind.

There are some further issues that may not be immediately obvious if you do have problems, that could also impact your Core Web Vitals. Intermittent errors can cause slow loading, and timing issues at high volume cause page slowdown under load and during peak traffic which will impact Core Web Vitals. Other measurements, such as Speed Index, DOM and Render times, server DNS and connection speeds all need tracking. It’s important to remember that Web Vitals aren’t the complete picture, there is always more to improve.

Improved scores mean improved customer experiences Customer experience gains are proven to impact your bottom line, so you shouldn’t only aim for the 75th percentile, or mostly ‘good’, when a higher rating can rovemore lucrative. Founders need to measure their Core Web Vitals continuously and consistently to avoid being punished. Core Web Vitals are important for search rankings but are also important for user experience and website performance.

The time to act is now to ensure your website is not left behind.

About the Author Gav Winter, CEO of cyber security and website performance firm www.RapidSpike.com. Having founded award-winning IT consultancy, The Test People in 2006 and then Ten10 in 2015, Gav sold the businesses and joined RapidSpike in 2018. Focused on growing the firm Gav has secured a funding package worth £1m for RapidSpike in 2020 and led its 550% growth in two years.

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How to Allocate Your Ad Apend Across Social Media Platforms

By Tim Hyde. It has never been more critical for your business to understand how to get the most out of your advertising budget. But advertising on social media platforms can feel like a minefield and getting your strategy wrong can be very damaging to your business. Getting expert agency advice will show you where you should be spending your money and how that will convert to sales.

How does ad spend work and where do you start?

This really depends on what you have done before. Some businesses will have a really clear idea in mind, typically when you have previously worked with an agency as you will have more insight into how things work and the best way to do things. Others are starting from scratch and have no idea and no experience, either with an agency or attempting it for yourself. Either way, phase one is key – this is setting objectives or the ‘digital plumbing’, making sure everything is tracking and set up correctly.

From an advertising perspective, an agency will usually look at the low hanging fruit and make small improvements that have a big impact, largely based on whatever you have been doing previously. A balanced and effective retargeting funnel can get them going with a couple of easy wins. From here, and once you’ve got a bit of a platform, an agency will be able to start to compare and contrast.

Diversification of spend Diversification of spend is going to be one of the dominating topics throughout the decade. Facebook + Instagram and Google’s ad network have dominated and, in the future, will be challenged as there will be spend going to other platforms such as TikTok, SnapChat and Pinterest. It is highly likely that we will also see Apple ads, and this could be one of the reasons why they made the iOS 14 changes, in preparation for launching their own ad platform. This means they will be able to target the iPhone or iOS users and it’s going to be incredibly valuable. Watch this space.

Spread your budget across a number of channels A competent agency will understand how to do this effectively, but it can be risky if you don’t have an innate understanding of each channel. Done well, it can be highly successful. One aspect of your diversification of spend is about mitigating risk; you don’t want to be solely reliant on one channel, even if it is your best performer. It is also really important to understand where and how those channels work together.

For example, Google is very much an intent based platform.

It is phenomenal for remarketing and really effective if you have already generated brand awareness and someone searches a specific term or your brand name. For this aspect, it is arguably the best marketing tool available. But it is very limited when it comes to scaling. One of the ways you can scale that channel is to increase your budget elsewhere, to make that pool of people or potential customers much bigger.

Maximise your impact with the right approach Rather than you approach being different for each channel, it’s more about your approach being appropriate. You need to hone your style and your language to each platform as diversification of spend optimises the other ad platforms. If you use TikTok, your creative will need to be more tongue in cheek and have a ‘native’ editing style or it will stick out like a sore thumb. Facebook & Instagram can be considered more premium and even more so for YouTube as your creative has to be longer and of a certain calibre. Google is mainly copy based so allows you to hit people in lots of different, creative ways on different platforms. This is really one of the keys to diversification of spend Identifying or quantifying the value of your sales when using multiple channels Understanding how each platform attributes sales will play a big part in identifying or quantifying the value of your sales. The big change with iOS 14 is that Facebook has gone from, at its highest, a 28-day view down to only a one-day view and seven day click. This means that if someone clicks on an ad and then purchases within seven days, you’ll have an attributed sale. However on TikTok and even Pinterest, the attribution windows are much shorter, so if your return on ad spend on Facebook is 3.5 but on TikTok is 1.5, then within the same attribution window, TikTok might be outperforming Facebook because on that last click basis, that performance is quite strong. Understanding the parameters of what success is on different platforms is really important.

Influencer marketing Whilst this is a big topic, ad spend can be extremely effective on influencer marketing if it’s used as part of an upper funnel awareness strategy and its success isn’t measured solely by an uplift in sales. The use of ambassadors or other channels distributing your media can be hugely powerful and definitely needs to be considered as part of your online marketing mix and incorporated within your paid spend.

Getting ad spend right and utilising social media platforms to maximum effect is an art, and to ensure you maximise your success, finding an agency to steer you through could be your most effective use of budget.

About the Author Tim Hyde, Founder and Director of Social Media Marketing Agency, TWH Media Having commenced his career in leading the Facebook strategy for Lad Bible, Tim Hyde boasts an impressive track record of helping businesses and brands scale online through effective social media marketing strategies. One of the industry’s leading social media gurus, Tim founded TWH Media in September 2017 and now works with large brands globally ranging from Adidas to Apple Music. www.twhmedia.com

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3 Simple Steps to Attract a Wider Audience on

Instagram

When you put a lot of time, effort and energy into making your social media page the best it can be by creating ‘scroll stopping’ content, it can be disheartening when you don’t see results because you aren’t getting the reach you deserve.

Below are 3 top tips that you can regularly action to ensure you’re boosting your reach & channelling all of that energy in the right direction to attract a wider audience on Instagram and give your page a superboost!

1) Reach with your existing audience (your followers): Interactive stories - Give your audience reason to tap that screen!

Polls, question boxes, countdowns, quizzes; you’ve got all the tools you need to create more than just a story view, but a story interaction. So valuable for your account!

2) Reach to attract a new audience (new followers): Reels - Once again, the sweet success from reels on your account is just a video edit away. Reels are ESSENTIAL for reaching a new, much wider audience. Accounts that are seeing major success now have so many reels for their audience to watch & enjoy, how many do you currently have?

3) Reach to attract a warm audience (friends of friends): Memes - Scroll through your DMs & I bet you can’t get far without a meme sent from one of your besties, followed by a string of laughing emojis. One of the most relatable content styles you can share, make sure you are posting them regularly. Your followers will share and it wont be before long THEIR audience become YOUR audience. It’s all about the relatability!

Eyes on the prize... Everything you post should be you making the conscious effort to grow your audience. From a poll on a story right the way through to reels created from a high paced photo shoot day, it’s ALL important.

About the Author Anna Khanna, 36 is the Director of social media management business Socialista Media. Over the last few years, the business has gone from strength to strength. With 100 client’s and a tribe of staff working for her, Anna is the ultimate social media guru. Anna offers online training and live masterclasses to businesses of all sizes, helping them meet their business goals. www.socialistamedia.co.uk

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Tax Considerations When Paying Yourself From Company Profits

By Sharon Bonfield, Propositions Manager, St James’s Place Wealth Management. As a busy, growing business, you may now be thinking about how to take a salary from the fruits of your labour; your company profits. But what are the tax implications of paying yourself in this way?

Firstly, there are three main options available to you: Take more salary Pay extra pension contributions Pay a dividend

The same is true of dividends, although you may also have access to the dividend allowance of £2,000 depending on other dividends received. In the example below, we have assumed that this payment is in addition to dividends already taken, which has used the allowance. The higher rate tax on dividends is less than on salary at only 32.5%.

Inheritance Tax (IHT)

Depending on the option you choose, there are several considerations to make which are summarised below in this article:

Although not an immediate tax, payments made to pensions should remain outside your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. If your estate is already above the IHT nil rate band any further drawing, such as dividend or salary, that are not spent will just increase the estate and therefore the amount of IHT payable.

NI contributions

Annual allowance issues

National Insurance (NI) contributions are paid on an employee’s salary, at a rate of 13.8% employer NI and a further 2% employee NI, or 12% if their salary is below the upper earnings limit. This is the biggest hit that payments could receive.

For many, the tapered annual allowance won’t be an issue, but for those who it affects - including those that have already used their standard annual allowance - this will need to be considered.

For example, £20,000 would suffer £2,425 employer NI. The residual would then suffer a further £2,109, if below the upper earnings limit, and that is even without Income Tax. If above the upper earnings limit however, the employee NI would be only £351.50.

The benefit of tax relief will be lost on anything over the value of your available annual allowance and carry forward, which may mean that a pension contribution is less favourable. The annual allowance can’t be ignored, but it shouldn’t be the sole driver for dismissing pension contributions as an option.

Corporation Tax

Look at what you need right now

Salary and pension contributions would generally be classed as “allowable business expenses”, and therefore would reduce the amount of corporation tax payable. This means that the whole amount can be used as the starting point for the payment. On the other hand, dividends are not a business expense and will be subject to corporation tax. With corporation tax at 19%, this would reduce the payment made by £3,800.

We shouldn’t forget that pensions are a long-term investment that won’t help your day-to-day situation – you can’t buy groceries with a pension contribution. So, although it can be relatively easy to justify a pension contribution on the numbers alone, holistic planning requires you to have a good understanding of your own circumstances.

Income Tax Pension contributions are not taxed immediately but will eventually be subject to Income Tax at your marginal rate, although in most cases 25% will be paid tax-free. Growth is also generated tax-efficiently within the pension, which could increase the eventual tax paid or even subject the payment to a lifetime allowance charge.

The salary will be subject to your marginal rates of Income Tax. If you are earning at or near £100,000, you will need to be careful, as the loss of the personal allowance could make this option less attractive. In the example below, it is assumed that the whole amount will be within the higher rate band, so it is subject to 40% tax.

Maximise use of allowances There are many moving parts to extracting funds from a company. In reality, some if not all the three routes will be used each year to maximise the use of allowances and provide a useable income and protection for the future.

*The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time and are generally dependent on individual circumstances.

Website: www.sjp.co.uk

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Solving the Payments Conundrum is Key to Striking Out on Your Own

By Noam Nevo, CEO and Co-Founder of Osu. It’s often claimed that there’s never a better time to start a business than in a crisis. The adage ‘from crisis comes opportunity’ has been rolled out constantly over the past year, replayed in countless articles from the New York Times to the BBC.

to professional services, aren’t designed to cater to the solo self-employed.

Optimise payments from the outset

And yet, while it’s true that General Motors, Burger King, CNN, Uber and Airbnb were formed during economic downturns, it’s fair to say that the odds are stacked against any of the UK’s five million unemployed building the next Uber.

Addressing these challenges and making it easier for solo selfemployed professionals to achieve a good living will involve a range of measures – from more effective Government protections to the post-Covid reopening (and rebuilding) of UK community life.

What the adage really means in today’s society is that if you’re a London-based software developer from a comfortable background, this may well be a great time to start a business.

But in most parts of the UK, striking out on your own is not as easy as it’s made out to be.

But if you’re starting your own business today, you can’t afford to wait for these things to happen. So it’s vitally important that you take a good look at how you’re operating and consider where you can make marginal gains – to reduce your costs, increase your earnings or free up more of your time.

A reality check on entrepreneurialism

And one great place to start is by addressing the often thorny issue of how you get paid. After all, we’re living in an increasingly cashless society, and unfortunately, solo selfemployed people are often disproportionately affected by the shortcomings of non-cash payment options.

When we talk about starting a business, we must distinguish between the tiny number of ‘entrepreneurs’ aiming to become the next tech unicorn versus the vast majority of solo self-employed. Whether you’re a tutor, therapist, personal trainer or physio, most people simply want to earn a good living, support their loved ones, and positively impact their local community.

And, with a quarter of newly solo self-employed workers registering this status after being unemployed, it’s clear that many are striking out on their own because there simply aren’t enough decent job opportunities in the market right now.

The challenges of going it alone in the digitally-driven economy The pandemic has hurt businesses of all shapes and sizes, but if you’re solo self-employed, there are deeper-rooted challenges to bear in mind.

It is becoming difficult for many professionals, especially those who rely on local, community-driven custom, to thrive in an increasingly digital economy. This is an economy where customers prioritise ease and convenience – the next available cleaner or gardener, or the cheapest option on the aggregation site – rather than a trusted, personal contact.

If you join the aggregators, you’ll be forgoing part of every fee and accepting that the aggregator will ‘own’ the relationship with your customers. The alternative is to spend more on Google and social media advertising, even though the chances are you’re not an expert in search engine optimisation or programmatic advertising placement.

Then there’s the issue that many of the support services you’ll need to establish yourself, from supply chain services

For example, cards and digital payments platforms offer slow settlement times and require you to invest in additional devices and technology. They also command fees that typically range from 1.5% to 3% on every single transaction.

Then there are invoicing solutions that allow you to send digital invoices with payment buttons and links after the work is completed – basic accountancy software is a good example of this. But again, these tools still require connecting to a payment provider and incurring those 1.5% to 3% fees.

And by requesting the payment after you’ve left the customer (or vice versa), you run the risk of the invoice being missed, ignored or put off.

The other alternative is to ask your customers to make manual bank transfers, which are fee-free but fiddly, as well as being prone to errors, late payment issues and security concerns.

Choosing the right approach So the best possible advice for anyone starting out on their own is to do your homework on the different payment providers available to you, rather than accepting the first solution you come across.

Firstly, shop around for a provider that will offer you minimal – or even fee-free – transactions, and make sure that the provider can boast appropriate security credentials so that the transactions between you and your customers are always secure. You don’t need to be an expert in security accreditation to determine this. Just look for evidence of regulator-backed credentials, and remember that if a payment provider isn’t

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providing this evidence or talking about security, that’s usually a bad sign.

Secondly, give careful thought to how and when you’re going to ask your customers to pay you. Ideally, you want the money to be transferred there and then, while the customer is still in the room or on the Zoom call with you. Can your chosen payment provider support this type of instant payment?

Thirdly, make sure that whichever provider you use offers the ability to follow up unpaid invoices automatically. Late payments can easily cause cash flow problems for selfemployed professionals, not to mention provoking a vast amount of stress as you go about chasing your customers. A payment provider that will automate this activity and nudge the customers until they settle up is an excellent way to free up time and lower those anxiety levels.

Finally, make sure that any financial admin software – e.g. accountancy, business management tools etc. – is designed with self-employed professionals in mind. You need technology that will eliminate the hassle of payments administration, not technology that ends up adding to your workload because it’s so complicated to operate. A good indicator is the type of packages/cost options on offer. If the basic package already supports multiple users, or talks about features likes payroll, then the likelihood is that the software is actually designed for small businesses rather than the selfemployed.

Go it alone, but be realistic about your goals There are plenty of opportunities out there for skilled professionals looking to strike out on their own in the coming months, particularly as the UK economy (and society at large) reopens.

But it’s important to be realistic about what is achievable and not get sucked in by the London-centric entrepreneurial myth-making that’s become so pervasive in our culture.

Setting up your own business as a self-employed professional requires a lot of hard work and a recognition that many of the services you’ll need to rely on were not designed with you in mind. So you need to use all of your savvy about which tools, software and services you’ll run with, particularly when it comes to payments. Remember, all self-employed professionals deserve to get paid, in full and on time, and if you are getting partially paid with delays, maybe it’s time to rethink your payments strategy.

About the Author Noam Nevo is Founder & CEO of Osu - an all-in-one payment app that allows self-employed professionals to invoice and get fully paid, fast. A serial entrepreneur, Noam is a graduate in Computer Science and a former Tech Lead at PayPal. www.payosu.com

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Importance & Benefits of Building a Nurturing Work Environment We live in a world where mental health is no longer a taboo subject and discussing the topic openly and confidently has come on leaps and bounds over the years. So, with that in mind, people – both consumers and employees – are opening up about their struggles, recognising them and, as a result, are actively trying to deal with them.

Brands and businesses need to acknowledge that mental health is just as important as physical health and now, they need to do much more than understand, but more so than ever before must address mental health within their marketing messaging, too.

Fran Prince, head of communications at Midlands-based brand agency Champions (UK) plc explains the amplified importance of a positive, supporting, and nurturing working environment as we work to break down the barriers and ensure staff are the first edition of brand advocates.

Gone are the days of brushing mental health under the carpet and now, the previously taboo topic is more or less front and centre, both online and offline.

Because people have worked so hard to break the stigma surrounding mental health, we are inundated with mental health campaigns across social media and terrestrial TV. And whilst this is great and incredibly crucial when it comes to raising awareness, we also need to turn our words into actions, and that begins in the workplace.

Creating a nurturing working environment Brands and businesses are doing a fine job at discussing mental health with their consumers, but they also need to be focusing on their employees, as without them, they wouldn’t exist. So, it is crucial to actively take care of and look after the mental health of all members of staff.

And now, given the effects of the coronavirus pandemic throughout the last year or so, it is no surprise that people’s mental health has continued to suffer, particularly within the workplace.

For many, it has been a year of uncertainty surrounding their jobs. From furlough to fear of redundancy, it has been a difficult year for almost everyone, leaving many with anxiety and deeper feelings of worry.

Remove work from the equation entirely, and it has still been a rather terrifying year or so. People have been kept apart from loved ones, gone through times of loss and loneliness and have experienced ill-health, so it is only natural for people to experience difficulties with their mental health.

Even those that don’t typically suffer from mental health, will

find themselves feeling one way or another about returning to work and resuming normal life. It’s a lot to deal with and will take some readjusting.

And with that in mind, brands and businesses must be working hard to ensure that they are supportive of their employees, providing them with a safe and nurturing environment to return to.

It can be as simple as regularly communicating with your team, encouraging them to check in with one another, developing a strong workplace culture and creating opportunities for discussion.

As the theme for Mental Health Week is nature, it is only right to mention that the surroundings of a workplace is also something for business owners to consider.

With many people seeking to be close by to rural views and greenery, providing the opportunity to get some muchneeded fresh air during the day, the location of an office space is also of importance.

Brands doing it well There are several high-profile brands and businesses that actively support mental health, both internally and externally.

More businesses are understanding the importance of taking care of employees, and in ways that may not have been done before. And so they should.

Brands and businesses must continue to focus on employee and consumer full-body health, and that includes mental health and wellbeing.

Gymshark is a great example of promoting employee health and wellbeing. And just recently, the gym wear brand cancelled all meetings, encouraging employees to take the day to focus on themselves and their wellbeing, creating a virtual reality world event.

Taking their support a step further, the brand also launched Gymshark Deload, a mental health initiative in partnership with The Mix charity. Encouraging young people to focus on their mental wellbeing, Deload provides content, stories and advice from experts and professionals.

Similarly, innocent drinks are renowned for much more than their incredibly witty marketing campaigns, but for taking good care of their staff, too. Paying special attention to their employee’s mental health, the brand has a number of things in place to ease stress and promote a positive mental head space, including a free gym membership, yoga club and a 24/7 confidential assistance programme.

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ITV have also followed suit with their latest campaign Britain Get Talking, which is described as a mental wellness initiative to help Britain stay connected. With a podcast and TV’s biggest stars also getting involved, ITV’s campaign is aimed at both its employees and its audience, and is a true reflection of how they address mental health in both the workplace and its marketing messaging.

The future of mental health in the workplace Now more than ever before, it is pivotal for brands and businesses to place the mental health and wellbeing of both employees and consumers at the forefront of their work.

And the first step in doing so, is to create a supportive and nurturing working environment, particularly after the effects of the last year.

It will take some time for people to readjust to life postpandemic, so it is important for brands and businesses to accept that.

I believe this will be the very beginning of a change within the workplace, and a much needed one at that.

championsukplc.com

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How to Overcome Your Fears of Returning to Life After Lockdown Do you have post-lockdown nerves? It’s totally normal to feel a certain amount of nerves or anxiety when faced with the return to ‘normality’. Just as it took us some time to find ways of coping during lockdown, we should also expect that it may take a while to find our way back and to reconnect with life - especially when being an entrepreneur. Our situations are unique to us, so it’s really important to try not to judge ourselves harshly based on what other people are doing.

H – Hooked Feelings of anxiety can be overwhelming and you can find yourself hooked into the thoughts of your fears. So, it’s a good idea to evaluate the reasons behind this hook. What are the reasons why you can’t or shouldn’t take action to return to ‘normal’?

A – Avoiding Discomfort Our feelings play out in our actions. Anxiety and fear are uncomfortable feelings. When you feel this way, the easiest way to avoid these feelings is to avoid actions that trigger them. Ask yourself, what am I doing or avoiding doing to stop these feelings of discomfort?

R – Realistic Goals When shifting into a different pattern of action, whether you’ve done it before or not, ask yourself: “Am I trying to do too much, too quickly?”. For example, you might be anxious about returning to work and the commute that comes with it.

In order to avoid fear and anxiety becoming overwhelming, think - what is the smallest step you can take that feels manageable? If you are worried about travelling on the bus, start just by standing at the bus stop for a few days and get used to the feeling. When it feels comfortable, get on just for one stop to practice until you can do more. You can then continue to layer these actions. Whilst the fear of a long journey to work can result in avoidance, breaking this down into micro-changes can help to keep you moving forward.

D – Distanced from Values Change is hard when what you’re doing is not lined up with what is important to you. Fear can be a threatening emotion which means we hide, but fear can also remind you of what to do in terms of caring for yourself or others. Focus on who and what matters to you. If returning to normal feels hard, think about why you need to do what you’re afraid of doing.

Focusing on your values will give your actions a sense of purpose and will provide the ignition you need to overcome your anxiety.

By Dr. Alka Patel - GP, Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Coach, and Founder of the Lifestyle First Method. https://dralkapatel. com/lifestyle-first/

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How Entrepreneurs Can Avoid Burnout Launching a start-up can be both exciting and exhausting in equal measures – but sometimes the long hours, heavy work load and uncertainty of it all can cause us to burnout and feel physically and mentally exhausted, promoting conditions such as chronic migraines and exhaustion.

Here, Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and online doctor for Prescription Doctor reveals his tips for preventing burnout when launching a new business venture.

4. Hire help There is no shame in hiring help for your start up – perhaps ask a friend if they can help you with some admin bits? Or if you really do feel you need help, why not hire someone to take the load off. You may lose a bit of money through paying them, but your health and wellbeing takes priority.

5. Stay healthy and hydrated 1. Set yourself work boundaries When launching a start-up, it can be easy to get into the habit of working all hours of the day, this is your business and your passion so of course your going to want to work on it as much as possible, however this is one of the main ways you will cause yourself to burnout and it will be counterproductive.

Set yourself boundaries, so ensuring you don’t work past 9pm at night or before 8am in the mornings. Ensure you allow time for yourself to think and have a time out from the work, this will also help to keep the creative juices flowing so going for a walk or getting outside will help.

2. Have a good routine In a normal job you have a routine, a 9-5 and you take the evenings and weekends for yourself, this should be the same for your start up. Ensure you get into a good routine of having at least 7/8 hours sleep a night, have a good breakfast and start work at 9. Take an hour’s lunch break and make sure you take time away from your screen, whether that be getting out the house or making yourself a nice lunch. Ensure you switch off in the evenings and spend these precious hours unwinding with a good TV show or something that will completely take you away from work.

3. Take regular breaks Taking regular breaks away from your work will allow you to breathe and stay calm and preventing you to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. Taking an hour lunch break as well as regular 10-minute breaks throughout the day will help to allow you to not feel too consumed by the work.

Whilst working its super important to ensure you are keeping yourself well hydrated and drinking regularly throughout the day. Try and keep a bottle near you so you can keep drinking and filling it up each time. Eating healthily should also be a priority, eating lots of fresh fruit and veg will not only keep you feeling good but should boost brain power to ensure you are working to the best of your ability.

6. Take time for yourself The most important thing of all when launching a start-up is ensuring you take time for yourself away from your work.

Whether that’s exercise, meeting a friend for lunch, going to a spa or shopping. Having your weekends for you and away from the laptop will help you to feel sane and you will feel refreshed come Monday as you’ve had a good two day break away from it all. www.prescriptiondoctor.com

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How to Inspire Positivity & Profitability During Difficult Times “In the midst of every crisis lies opportunity.”

Albert Einstein Life puts us all through unplanned change. However, sometimes the unthinkable can occur. The COVID-19 pandemic is a sound example of this. Many of us thought a pandemic could happen, however, many of us never thought it would happen. Unfortunately, rapid unplanned change can also bring with it prolonged uncertainty. When this occurs it is normal to have difficulty seeing the upside of things and a way forward.

Successful business owners understand that in order to help your business thrive, make your company profitable, and keep your customers happy, you need to be mindful of what is happening now. Prosperous entrepreneurs understand if you were to sell your product or service the same way for weeks, months, or years that you would be behind, not ahead of the curve. In other words, successful business leaders embrace change and see the benefits and necessity of doing so. The question then becomes, how does an entrepreneur embrace change and make cents of it all when change can change its mind anytime?

Acceptance

Be Mindful A business can consume an entrepreneur’s time and energy at the best of times, and especially during uncertain times.

Consequently, just like we take care of our bodies, we need to take care of our minds too.

Mindfulness is another strategy business owners can use to achieve balance and successfully navigate change. This is because staying in the present helps us reduce anxiety about the future and depression about the past. Try taking time out each day to calm your mind, even for five minutes.

Calming your brain can help you focus and set your compass for the day, move you towards a more optimistic attitude, and improve your ability to handle the unexpected.

Practice Gratitude Begin each day with intention and gratitude. There is always something to be thankful for, even if it is as simple as the sun is shining, and you are healthy. Research has shown people with a more grateful disposition are more likely to bounce back after times of great adversity. While we cannot control what happens during times of prolonged uncertainty, we can control our response to events. Our intention creates our reality and gratitude illuminates the path by helping us stay positive.

Acceptance is the first step towards navigating change of any kind—especially rapid, unexpected change. Accepting change is occurring in your marketplace does not mean that you have to like what is happening. Rather, it is the willingness to accept change is happening, not resist or deny it, that helps shift your perspective towards more positive, opportunistic thinking. In turn, a more optimistic outlook can promote adaptability and help you switch gears when you need to.

While it is not realistic to expect you can be positive all the time, positive thinking does give us an extreme advantage during times of extreme stress. It helps us respond to the ups and downs of life, rather than react to them, and can support us to move ourselves and our businesses forward, not backward, while upheaval plays out.

Think Outside-In

Jane Enright is an ordinary person who has survived some extraordinary things. An inspiring and humorous positivity and change expert from Canada, Jane speaks to audiences seeking answers for their grief, stress, loss, depression, anxiety, stagnation, indecision, sadness, and more. From top executives to stay-at-home moms, she is helping people around the globe to land “butter side up” after unplanned change.

Outside-in thinking is looking at your business as an observer rather than as a participant. Looking outside-in helps us take the emotionality out of situations (fear, sadness, etc.), so we can look at the big picture, find clarity of thought, and uncover solutions when we need them.

An environmental scan or SWOT is a staple in the business world when developing a strategic plan. It is also a tool business owners can use to look at change more objectively. A SWOT is a review of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a given scenario. Completing a SWOT can be a useful exercise to obtain fact-based analysis. It can also help you become more flexible of mind so you can look at your business in new ways and from new directions.

About the Author

Butter Side Up: How I Survived My Most Terrible Year & Created My Super Awesome Life is published by Friesen Press and is available in paperback (£13.99) and eBook (£7.99) at all good bookshops and online retailers.

Visit: www.janeenrightauthor.com

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The Opportunities Presented by Angel Investing

By Gavin Heys, Envestors Private Investment Club. Many of us have watched Dragons’ Den avidly over fifteen years but how many of us have seriously considered the questions ‘Could I be an angel investor?’ or ‘Is this type of investing just for these well-known businesspeople?’

Not enough of us have asked these questions.

Angel investing for many feels inaccessible, an option for industry bigwigs and multi-millionaires. And so, instead of exploring this exciting asset class, we put our investments into more traditional and safer options like stocks and mutual funds.

But the reality is that if you have capital to invest, angel investing is an option you should consider. Like all investments it does carry risks, but it also offers potentially exciting rewards.

So, to help you look at this let’s start by reviewing the basics and then examine how angel investing can offer potentially higher returns than many more familiar investment options.

What does an angel investor look like?

Angel investors invest their personal capital into unlisted businesses in exchange for shares in that business. More than just cash, angels typically offer wider benefits to investee companies in the way of mentorship, advice, acting as a non-executive director or making vital introductions to their network of contacts.

Most angel investors are classed as ‘High Net Worth Individuals’ (HNWI). It is this terminology that likely conjures up the images of three-piece suits, designer watches and luxury cars – making angel investing feel inaccessible. The reality is that to be considered a HNWI, you need an annual salary of at least £100,000 or net assets, excluding property and pensions, worth £250,000. That’s more people, than you’d think – at least half a million in the UK according to Statista.

The other common type of angel investors is termed ‘Sophisticated Investors.’ To be classed as sophisticated, you must either be a member of an angel network, have invested in another unlisted company in the last two years, have worked in a professional capacity in the private equity sector or be a director of a company with an annual turnover of £1M+.

Business angels will usually put in between £5,000 and £500,000 in a single venture and will aim to build a portfolio of investments over time.

Angel investors average returns While angel investing is riskier than other asset classes, and is

less liquid, it does have the potential to offer greater returns.

Data collected in the US in a 2017 Willamette University study on angel investment returns calculated that the average return for angel investors is 2.5X, which alongside an average investment time span of 4.5 years indicates a gross internal rate of return of 22%.

This compares very favourably with more traditional investment vehicles: 1. Mutual funds - Not even the best performing mutual funds of all time will break 20% average annual return, and most of them will not go over 15%; 2. Index funds - Industry favorite, the S&P 500 has provided an average annual return of 13.6% since its inception; 3. Bonds - During the pandemic, UK interest rates on bonds have been cut to 0.1%; 4. Stocks - The average return on a Stocks and Shares ISA in the UK is 5.14% (April 1999 to April 2020).

A more recent study by FounderCatalyst published in January 2021 showed that angel investments yielded an average 2.77 X return. Furthermore, with the additional benefit of EIS tax relief that grows to an average 3.19 X return.

Under the HMRC’s Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), angel investors receive income tax relief of 30-50% on funds invested in startups and early-stage businesses. This fantastic scheme has helped to raise £1.929 Billion for 3,920 companies yet is still surprisingly unknown to many potential investors who could benefit.

It is worth pointing out here again that averages are averages.

Any experienced angel will tell you that many companies take much longer than 4.5 years to mature and exit, and more fail than have home runs. But, on average, angel investing appears to perform well in the long run versus other asset classes.

Why should you consider becoming an angel investor?

Yes, it makes financial sense to invest in early-stage companies, as they can provide an unparalleled rate of return on your investment, and you can take advantage of generous tax relief schemes.

But many do it for more altruistic reasons. As an angel investor you offer value to a young company not just in the form of hard cash, but also in the form of advice and a

ENTREPRENEUR strategic direction stemming from your experience. Typically, angels are evangelists for the businesses they support - be it the use of big data in medicine, the implementation of AI in charity/corporate matching, or the development of energy saving computers. And everybody loves to hear about the little business you invested in which is about to be merged into a billion-dollar Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

About the Author

An angel portfolio

Envestors’ Private Investment Club and digital investment platform bring together entrepreneurs and investors across geographies, communities and sectors – creating the single marketplace for early-stage investment in the UK.

According to the Willamette University study, angel investors get positive returns less than half the time they invest in a company. In fact, they register losses on around 70% of investments, and just 10% of their exits generate 85% of all returns. Diversifying your portfolio is key when trying to improve your return rates.

Looking at the rate of return on original investment of 300 exits from 2018/19, the data shows that angels’ odds of significant returns increase with the number of investments. The FounderCatalyst report states that a portfolio of investments in three companies is likely to yield, on average, worse returns than a portfolio of investments in 10 companies.

However, unless you are Dragons Den’s Peter Jones, opportunities may not always come to you. In fact, having enough deal flow to increase and diversify your portfolio can be a challenge.

One solution is to join an angel network. Well-established and properly regulated networks have investment specialists pre-screening deals, ensuring information is clearly and fairly presented and curating opportunities based on your interests. A good network will be listed on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register and will follow FCA guidance which is all intended to help minimise risk.

Investors that join a network: 1. Gain access to deal flow; 2. Lower their risk by receiving support in the due diligence phase; 3. Diversify their portfolio; 4. Join a community of like-minded investors; 5. Can make a more meaningful and more sizable investment through syndication.

According to research firm Beauhurst, the most active angel networks in the UK right now are: In most cases, there is no need for a recommendation in order to gain access to investment networks. Angel investing is available to you from the comfort of your own home, as the most active networks, like Envestors, will use digital platforms to share their opportunities.

I hope this has provided food for thought and you can see that angel investing is something to consider getting involved with. Along with the tax benefits and the potential rewards with this type of investing, you can also enjoy helping young businesses to grow from an entrepreneurial idea to exit.

Gavin Heys is director of Envestors Private Investment Club where he works closely with investors to help them find the right opportunities for their portfolio. He has raised over £15m for companies including Draper and Dash, Censornet and F45 among many others.

Founded in 2004, Envestors has helped more than 200 high growth businesses raise more than £100m through its own private investment club.

Envestors is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. www.envestors.co.uk

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How to Make The Journey From Start-Up to Stock Exchange

By Chris Jeffries, CEO and founder of Launch Your Career and Dev Clever. If your business made it through the hardships and volatility of 2020 and is tentatively coming out the other side, you may well be considering whether now is the right time to take it to the next level. And you wouldn’t be alone.

This year has seen a record-breaking number of international initial public offerings (IPOs). With an 85% increase on last year, it’s the highest figure in twenty years.

With many investments put on hold during the first year of the pandemic, an IPO frenzy is currently underway. If you are looking to secure financing, you may also be ruminating on the possibility of floating your business. But as a founder, what are the pros and cons of going public?

In 2019, I floated my company, DevClever, on the London Stock Exchange. My journey from start-up to stock exchange was full of highs and lows. There were challenges and a great deal of personal risk throughout. But it was the right path for me and my business and I’d like to share some insight from that process.

IPO advantages and disadvantages The main reason for going public is to help entrepreneurs raise capital and expand their business at a rapid pace. The injection of funds is a game changer and can be used to reduce debt, finance research, develop or buy new technology and hire the best staff.

However, it’s worth noting that the IPO process itself is a costly one. Lawyers, investment bankers and accountants are all required and they’re not cheap.

On top of that, you need to factor in the time required to prepare for an IPO. Months that could be spent developing and promoting your product or negotiating deals.

An IPO can also lead to more publicity as analysts and news agencies report on the business. This can attract new clients as well as help the company to build strategic business relationships.

When I was considering whether to float my business on the London Stock Exchange, it came down to two things: credibility and international reach.

Fundraising was not my main goal as I had already invested heavily in the company to give it the initial impetus.

I’d parted ways with my former business partner who wasn’t keen on investing and sold my house and my cars to put £1.5 million of my own money in the business. This took my initial small-scale careers advice product and transformed it into an end-to-end careers guidance platform.

My next step was to make the shift from a local Midlandsbased company to an international one. To do this I needed to show I was a credible and committed business ready to play on a global scale. And that meant getting listed.

The process of going public on the London Exchange took a whole year ending in January 2019. Floating the company did improve my credibility and indeed paved the way for global partnerships with technology company Lenovo and NISA, the independent schools alliance in India that represents over 70,00 schools.

It also enabled us to acquire technology and skills which led to rapid development. We can take advantage of changes in the market more quickly than if we were backed by private investment. Further investment funds have been easier to access too and this has meant I have been able to realise my vision of changing the way careers advice is offered in schools.

So for that reason it has all definitely been worth it.

Business owners on the IPO journey must make their peace with the many changes to their company. Like the scrutiny that comes from very regular and public financial reporting.

Or the differences in the decision-making process now that there are shareholders and a board of directors. This can be a real cultural shift for many start-ups.

My golden rules if you are considering floating your business

Opening doors

Prepare for late nights and ridiculous deadlines. Don’t take your mind off the end goal or waiver from it. Just accept that it will be a lot of work but there will be an end in sight.

On the flip side, it can bring many benefits. Having a board of directors also opens the door to extensive business expertise that can catapult your company to the next level. I know I have benefitted greatly from my board’s experience of growing and scaling international businesses. They have seen it, done it all before and got the T-shirt. They save you from costly mistakes and prepare you for unexpected risks.

If you are an entrepreneur considering an IPO, here is what I would advise.

Get your head down and just do it

Get help. Lots of it It’s hard work doing it on your own. Get the support you need and not just the legal kind. You will need the support of your friends and family too. A business network is also essential as their help will be invaluable.

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Focus on your business vision

About the author

What kept me going was an unwavering belief that I knew careers advice for young people could be drastically improved and my team and I had the ideas and product to achieve that.

That’s where the energy came from, that’s what ensured others came on board with the journey and that is what keeps me motivated to this day.

Chris Jeffries is CEO and founder of Launch Your Career, an online and virtual reality experience for young people which provides careers guidance based on a student’s personality.

Launch Your Career is the brainchild of digital innovation experts Dev Clever. The careers personality quiz is available free to all students at www.launchyourcareer.com @launch_ careers

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How to Boost Your Sales Funnel with PR Lis Anderson, director, AMBITIOUS PR. In the traditional sense, a marketing approach is usually used to drive sales and a PR strategy is used to build and maintain a positive reputation for a company. The PRCA[1] states that PR is “all about the way organisations communicate with the public, promote themselves, and build positive reputation and public image”.

Whilst the two disciplines continue serve different functions, the components are far more intertwined today. But how can PR play a part in driving those all important sales for your business?

You could be leading the way in terms of innovating industryleading products and services but unless customers know who you are and where to find you it’s all for nothing. Without effective external communications, your sales funnel will suffer and competitors may use this to their advantage. Its time to look at how you’re currently seeking out sales and the ways that you’re communicating to current and prospective customers.

Enhance the organic presence of your brand You’ll probably have a website, perhaps a blog, you may be targeting potential customers directly through email marketing and perhaps you’ve set aside budget to place some ads. PR is a powerful communication tool which can align with these tactics to drive organic growth. For example, people may start to become more aware of your brand through your blog and paid ads on social and traditional media. PR tactics will then enhance the organic presence of your brand through proactive social media posts and earned media. Earned media is defined as any publicity not generated by a company but by customers, social media followers, bloggers or journalists. By definition this type of publicity enhances your credibility as it’s rooted through respected third parties, rather than through your own channels.

Three key drivers behind a purchase decision If you put yourself in the mind of your customer for a moment, ask yourself what is it that you would look for in a company before making a purchase?

Trust, reputation and a product or service that really delivers are three of the key drivers. PR is a really effective way of delivering these messages, but its power lies in the subtlety of the approach. The goal is to give customers the chance to discover your brand, arm them with all the relevant information needed – this is where some strong corporate messaging is needed - and then allow them to make a purchase in their own time. Some clever and timely marketing tactics are also needed to make sure that it’s as easy as possible to purchase once they do decide to.

Create a positive emotional response that links to your brand The most effective PR campaigns are those that offer quality insights or advice without asking for anything in return.

Providing something of real value to the customer will evoke a positive emotional response. The goal is that this positive response is then connected with the brand, building awareness along with trust and credibility. Better still, if a customer deems your advice of high enough quality to then share it amongst their contacts, the exposure for your brand then multiplies.

PR can help to increase sales in many different ways, but here is a snaphot of an effective PR strategy including the key tactics used and the process to take to get it right: 1. Get your targeting spot-on Whether you serve other businesses or consumers, having a targeted approach to your PR will ensure that your budget is spent most effectively. If you can, be really focused on who your key customers are. If that’s consumer, it can be helpful to think of your customers according to specific personas; this includes age, sex, job role, hobbies or areas of interest.

By building up a demographic picture, you can then tier the audiences and focus PR activities accordingly. For example, a high percentage of the budget can be focused on the audience that is most likely to purchase with bursts of activity on those audiences that are not yet engaged. Tiering your audience will also help when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of PR. If you’re a b2b organisation, you may already have a clear idea of the businesses that your products or services benefit.

But which job titles would make the purchase decision? What products are they currently using? What problems are they currently facing? Building up a picture of the industry you work in may take a degree of market research, but it will be time and money well-spent if you can then focus your PR and marketing budget in the right place.

2. Make your message clear The foundation of a PR and marketing strategy should be aligned around some clearly defined messages. If you are not clear on what these are, your strategy will lack focus and it will take longer for your customers to build a relationship with your brand. A messaging session can solidify these messages; starting with who you are, what your company does, and how it delivers it. All PR and marketing efforts should be based around these key messages.

ENTREPRENEUR 3. Build trust and reputation Once you’re clear on who you’re targeting and where you fit in to the overall solution, now it’s time for PR delivery; to communicate with your target audience. Having your company and its products and services communicated through trusted media titles can do wonders for your reputation. To increase opportunities for your audience to see your brand, the focus should be on the quality of your content and how engaging it is. Levels of engagement can be determined in different ways; it can improve their knowledge on a topic and create a positive relationship with your brand in the process, it can encourage someone to find out more about your company or even change the way it perceives your company.

A PR strategy will ideally align with a marketing strategy to maximise any paid ad spend, webinars, events, white papers or social media campaigns. It will do this through PR materials such as press releases, opinion articles, case studies, news hijacking, award submissions and speaker slots. Remember, the rule of seven states that it takes an average of seven interactions with your brand before a purchase is made.

4. Measure and set objectives It’s true that its incredibly difficult to put an individual sale down to a particular PR tactic. That being said, PR shouldn’t be done for the sake of it. The best way to measure PR is a

combination of credibility of media reached (i.e. website or print circulation), the domain authority of the website, audience targeted (tier one or tier two etc), number of marketing messages included in content and call to action (for example back link to your website or contact details). If you can measure this against an increase in website traffic or SEO over time it is a good indication of how PR is performing and how the audience is responding to your brand.

Whilst PR shouldn’t be viewed solely as a sales engine, as part of a wider marketing mix PR can be a powerful way to increase the sales funnel. It creates more opportunities to connect an audience through your business stories and thought leadership, creates a solid reputation and can even influence the way that people think about your business. Although it is not necessarily a direct sales route, the subtle persuasive power of PR can play a huge part in purchase decisions.

About the Author Lis Anderson is an experienced PR consultancy Director and MD with over 20 years in the B2B and B2C marketing communications industry. Agency side she has held Board level positions at JBP, also as a partner of Worldcom Public Relations Group, and Bray Leino (Speed Communications) before launching AMBITIOUS. www.ambitiouspr.co.uk

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How to Market Your Business – When You HATE Social Media Read any guide on the best way to market your business and you’re bound to find social media high up the list — and sometimes, the only thing on the list. But what if the thought of all this posting, sharing, liking, boosting, engaging, following and whatnot else leaves you cold? Should you suppress these feelings and slog over social media anyway?

It may be music to the ears of social media dodgers that, according to Gina Hollands, Commercial Director from creative marketing agency PMW that’s the worst thing you can do. “For marketing to be effective, it needs to be authentic,” says Gina. “If your heart isn’t in one type of marketing and you do it regardless, your audience will see right through it and the outcome won’t be desirable — it could even be detrimental for your business.”

So, in this age of social media seeming to be the only way to win the hearts and minds of consumers everywhere, what’s the alternative if it’s just not your bag? Here, Gina gives her top five tips.

1. Focus on your strengths Identify where your strengths lie and focus on these. So, if you’re a great networker, spend your marketing time networking; if you enjoy liaising with the media, then make PR your go-to marketing strategy; if you’re more of a personal relationships type, then make a few appointments to have coffee with people you already know in the industry and see where these conversations take you. When you concentrate on what you do well, your results will be better and you’ll enjoy the process a lot more.

2. Try it, you might like it If you just think you might not like social media, but haven’t ever really given it a go, then try it out — you might be surprised how you take to it. There is a lot of prejudice around social media that it’s just a bunch of teenagers dancing around or people sharing pictures of their dinner, but in fact, many a contact can be made and a deal done when you get it right. Consider taking a beginner’s course or asking a friend who knows their way around the platforms to teach you the basics, and go from there. If you still don’t like it after a few months, then at least you’ve tried. But if you don’t try, you’ll never know!

3. Invest in the experts Love it or loathe it, it is no secret that social media has propelled many a brand from zero to hero. That’s not to say of course that it’s the only way to market a business, but it is definitely a cost effective and accessible way. It may be that you have absolutely no motivation to go there, however, and if that is the case it’s worth paying someone else to take the pain away. Depending on how far you want to go with your social media, you could enlist the help of a local freelancer to create your pages and make a few posts or, if you want to really get serious with your social and use it as a platform for advertising your brand and providing insight and analysis, then hiring a social media specialist could be the answer.

4. It’s not the only way!

It may be hard to believe, but you can still market your business without the need to turn to social media immediately. Certainly, once finances allow, it is wise to invest in hiring a third party to undertake your social media if you don’t want to do it yourself, but in the meantime, consider other routes to market, such as trade fairs, traditional advertising, press releases, events and other marketing methods which suit you and your brand.

5. Pick one thing and do it well We always say at PMW to do something well or don’t do it at all. Diluting your marketing budget by spreading it too thinly across an array of marketing platforms won’t get you anywhere, other than destination disappointment. It’s better to choose one marketing method which appeals to you, which you can afford and which suits your brand and do it well. Once you’ve perfected that, consider investing the return from this activity into your second chosen platform, and repeating the process.

The key things to remember when marketing your brand are to remain within the realms of affordability and — if you’re doing your own marketing — likeability. When you’re authentic to yourself, your passion will shine through and marketing success should follow. pmwcom.co.uk

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How to Build an Ethical Fashion Brand That Doesn’t Cost The Earth One of the biggest hurdles sustainable fashion brands are facing is the high production costs due to increased input costs. Ecofriendly fabrics cost considerably more, artisanal manufacturing is more expensive and the workers wages are higher. The end result of course is the increased costs of our beloved fashion items in comparison to fast fashion brands available to buy online and in our local high street. There are steps you can take to reduce these costs and create a sustainable fashion brand that doesn’t have to break the bank.

1. Move your production to a developing country Production costs in developing countries are arguably cheaper, making it an obvious choice for sustainable fashion start ups. This is due to cheap labour costs and the fact that the production is generally labeled as “unethical”. Therefore, most ethical fashion start ups choose to move their manufacturing to more developed regions, countries such as United States and Australia. Moving your production to a developing country such as Asia will not only significantly lower your production costs, but it will also enable you to make a direct impact in the lives of those at the lower ends of the fashion industry pyramid.

2. Ditch artisanal production The ethical fashion movement argues on the issue of artisanal production. Many of us seem to be under the impression that when buying expensive and handcrafted items made by skilled artisans, they last longer, reduce less waste, support local workers and local community. It’s evident that ethical fashion brands are competing in a highly competitive mass market. With this approach, it is impossible to produce garments without involving dedicated human hands in the process.

3. Be clear on your brands key focus There are numerous factors that make a fashion brand more ethical and sustainable. Some of these include economic empowerment, fair pay rate, use of organic materials and fairtrade certifications. It is advisable to select a few aspects of concern and to really dig deep to narrow down your brand’s key focus. For example, one of your main focus could be employees and making sure all workers are treated fairly and paid a fair wage. You may also only choose to use organic and natural materials as you main focus.

damage. From President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan which promises clean infrastructure, to the UK government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, environmental concerns are front and centre. With this in mind, the fashion industry has an important role to play in mitigating the impact of climate change. From e-Commerce businesses to traditional bricks and mortar style outlets, our growing reliance on looking good must not continue to come at a cost to our environment.

Looking back on 2020, it’s clear that at present, there is a conflict between a large proportion of fashion brands’ practices and our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Without naming and shaming, many popular brands impose negative environmental consequences, as well as poor labour conditions and animal welfare standards.

Crucially, in an attempt to keep up with a fast-changing landscape, some brands release hundreds of new styles a week, for cheap. However, instead of ushering in waves upon waves of cheaply made designs, companies need to slow down manufacturing. So often, brands lose themselves in the high-speed digital environment, producing low-quality garments to fit transient trends. A few months down the line, these clothes will be disposed, no longer fit for purpose.

If we look at brands’ response to mitigating the impact of climate change, regrettably, many continue this practice of mass production, while making grand claims of producing sustainable fabrics. However, if you take a deeper dive into these practices, you will discover these claims are simply “greenwashing”. A term originally coined in the 1980s by environmentalist Jay Westeveld, it makes reference to companies who present themselves as caring environmental stewards, when in reality, they engage in damaging environmental practices.

After all, if a brand is manufacturing thousands of garments per minute, producing carbon emissions and toxic microfibres, who really cares about sustainable fabric? In reality, the dizzying pace of apparel manufacturing means that the average person spends sixty percent more on clothing than in 2000. And not only do they buy more, they also discard more as a result. Crucially, less than 1 percent of used clothing is recycled into new garments.

The Environmental Price of Fast Fashion

A New Opportunity: Fashion’s Role in a Sustainable World

Across the globe, environmental concerns are at an all-time high. Research has found that we must get a grip on climate change, otherwise generations will face a lifetime of irreversible

The worldwide disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about several impacts to the environment and climate, causing many to rethink their practices. From

ENTREPRENEUR implementing hybrid working models to sales teams avoiding international travel in favour of Zoom, there is a significant opportunity for the fashion industry to contribute to the path towards an environmentally friendly future.

In many ways, our collective reality over the past year has been conducive to a greener world. Regrettably, a significant proportion of fashion brands are not aligned in this thinking, scaling manufacturing operations to meet the demands of the latest lockdown trends. In stark contrast to these practices, companies need to produce quality clothing, on a smaller scale, reducing the amount of chemicals, water and textile waste polluting our world. Although there are no quick wins in tackling climate change, with the European Commission’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, fashion brands must begin to take meaningful steps in the right direction.

About the Author UNCU London was founded during the pandemic with the aim of supporting in style, outfitting customers in and around London with sleek silk masks, hair accessories and silk bedding — using the finest materials and designs to provide breathability, style and a perfect fit. Having worked in fashion for over 11 years, Eliis Ashley Ruus’s fashion career started in 2010 in Los Angeles where she managed international designers for Celebrity Style Lounges, such as Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmy’s and Cannes just to name a few. In November 2011, Eliis launched her first business - Elpromotions Model and Events Agency based in London and Ibiza. The following year, in 2012 Eliis founded Birmingham International Fashion Week® in Birmingham, England with a vision to push international interest with the work of designer’s collections.

5 years later during a lockdown of a worldwide pandemic, Eliis used her creative juices and spare time to launch her first E-Commerce brand with an aim to provide everyday luxury for a modern woman. Eliis has a BSc Degree in Business Management from Brunel University in London.

“I am a strong believer that every business is a success, you started and built something from an idea - you are already successful. With UNCU London we had to find ways to stand out in an incredibly vast competition and more so competing with large online retailers who sell the same product with a fraction of the price due to the quantities they sell. We are a small business and count on our repeat customers who believe in the brand and love the quality and designs.”

The collections mirror Eliis’s love of fashion, art and global travels in the relaxed laid-back elegance and the bold and dark feminine colours with a strong focus on Eco-friendly packaging and ethical production. www.uncu.london

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How Businesses Can Support Employee’s Digital Health

By Jonny Pelter. If you have any friends or colleagues who are doctors, you’ll know they get pestered with ad hoc questions from family and friends whenever a medical ailment crops up….“My knee hurts, what wrong with it?” or “Tom has a cough, what do I give him?”

Having worked in cyber security at some of the largest organisations in the world for over a decade, I found I was starting to get something similar, but for family online safety.

Then when the pandemic hit and everyone’s digital wellbeing started to get affected by all the tech time and remote working, it was obvious people needed a service to help them balance their digital lives.

When regulation like the ‘Right To Disconnect’ was being proposed, it became very apparent that employers had a significant role to play in supporting their people’s digital health, and this was the inspiration behind launching Just Ask Max. The acceleration of remote working during the pandemic plus the physical and mental well-being issues that have arisen as a consequence, has acted as the catalyst for employers to start looking after the ‘digital health’ of employees. Our service is different to anything currently available and is designed to help employees and their families use technology in a safe, secure and healthy way.

Similar to what we saw with Headspace and emotional wellbeing a few years back, we expect this new area of digital wellbeing to explode in the coming years. New regulation like the ‘Right To Disconnect’ and the majority of us (66%) now wanting hybrid working post-pandemic (Forbes, 2021), this market shift is already happening.

25% of employers have already moved to hybrid models, resulting in 4 - 5x more of us working remotely post-pandemic (McKinsey, 2021) and so a support service like Just Ask Max is going to be highly valuable for organisations running remote workforces.

The recent announcement from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has further highlighted the devastating impact of long working hours on our health and how this has worsened due to the pandemic as millions work from home and can’t ‘escape’ the office, digital health has simply never been more important.

Below I outline some easy-to-follow tips to help businesses help their employees with digital burnout 1) Keep phones out of bedrooms - Research has shown that simply having your mobile device in your bedroom, even if it’s turned off, significantly affects your ability to sleep soundly.

Use a family charging station in a hallway to devices on to charge before bedtime ensuring that we getting a much sounder night’s sleep (and our kids don’t staying up late scrolling through social media channels too!)

2) Disable Self-View – research has shown one of the most fatiguing elements of remote working is seeing your image reflect back at you. This isn’t turning your video on and off, that affects whether others can see you or not. This is disabling that little box (usually in the bottom right of the screen) that reflects your video back to you, showing you what other people can see from your webcam. You can disable this ‘self-view’ in settings so that your webcam is still turned on and others can see you, but you’re not constantly looking at yourself on-screen.

3) Not every call has to be a Zoom Call – Since the pandemic hit, video meetings have been key to facilitating working from home, allowing us to interact with our teams and clients. A recent study by Microsoft (2021) found that backto-back calls for most of us causes huge levels of stress and needs to be monitored closely by businesses. If the call is a one-on-one chat encourage your employees to have a chat on the phone. It allows both parties to step away from their screens and even go for a walk and get some fresh air whilst still being productive.

As we return to the office, look at the notion of “Room or Zoom”. Research suggests collaboration, innovation and creativity is affected if there’s a mix of people in the room and dialling in through video conferencing. If there’s a split, ensure everyone dials onto a call.

4) Cultivate ‘Deep Work’ – We do this at Just Ask Max and it helps our staff focus to plan their working week and have time to really focus on periods of ‘deep work’. You could even agree that there are no virtual meetings on a certain day of the week, so your staff get a full day to work without interruption. Practically speaking you try the following to achieve this: · Use the in-built email filtering to sort emails and create folders where emails are sent automatically. Messages that you’re copied in on can be automatically marked as read and sent to a “review later” folder. · Focus on quality emails and try to reduce the total number of emails you receive. Every spam email you get, unsubscribe or block the sender. · Check emails first thing, then 9:30 - 11am each day, block your calendar out (so colleagues are aware), turn devices OFF when you need to tackle time-critical activities (not just on silent) and close your email.

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5) Turn off – Nobody ever turns their devices off anymore, they only silence them or put them on ‘airplane mode’. The nature of being ever-connected, is having a real impact on our emotional wellbeing. When your employees finish their working day, encourage them to not just turn off their work notifications (email, slack, etc.) but turn their work devices off altogether. Working from home muddies the water between work and home life and setting a time when work related notifications are stopped allows your staff to enjoy an uninterrupted evening.

6) Delineate Working and Personal Areas – Every employer should be supporting their staff and ensuring they have the right working environment. For many businesses the pandemic has removed or certainly reduce the cost of office space and therefore should be providing their staff with the right equipment and advice to ensure they have the best possible environment to work from home. Having a specific working area allows staffs to step away from their work and stops it encroaching across their whole home.

Research (CNBC, 2020) shows having a plant and scented candle nearby can lift your mood. Keep your laptop in your working space only! Come the weekend - try not to live too much in your workspace to ensure you feel refreshed when you come back Monday morning!

7) Encourage Digital Breaks – Encourage your staff to step away from their desk during the day. Ensure management set rules to ban meetings, calls or emails during lunch breaks helping your staff step away from their screens during the day. If this becomes the normal, then staff should feel no obligation to work through lunch or check emails or notifications meaning they can reduce screen time without concern.

Take some time out every 90 minutes – go for a walk outside, listen to music, exercise or meditate. Avoid back to back calls and challenge yourself to 15 minute meetings to focus discussions. Use a Pomodoro timer to ensure you’re having the right types of breaks to help you maintain productivity, avoid becoming overwhelmed with digital distractions and help you to stay focused Through the Just Ask Max platform, employees can get their home devices protected and get help improving their digital health.

We assess your digital well-being, then show how to develop healthier tech habits. This includes learning how you can protect your wider family online, how to work from home productively without losing focus to digital distractions and stay safe when working online to ensure you don’t become victims of cybercrime or the source of a data breach for your company.

We are on a mission to help work forces avoid digital burnout so they can enjoy a healthier relationship with technology.

While financial, physical and emotional well-being have long been on the HR agenda, employers and their HR directors now have a duty of care to do more to understand and promote digital welfare in the workplace given the changes to the ways we are now working as a result of the last 12 months.

About the author Jonny Pelter is the CEO and founder of Just Ask Max, a digital well-being service that helps you use technology in a safe, secure and healthy way.

Jonny started his career as a professional rugby player and played at a competitive level until his mid-20s before retiring and embarking on his next challenge. He decided to step out of his comfort zone and begin a new career in the business world and after being declined a number of times, managed to secure a place at Warwick University on a master’s course.

After graduating he quickly secured a position at KPMG in their information security team which sparked his interest in the world of cyber security. This passion accelerated his career and swiftly progressed with multiple promotions and eventually secured a senior management position at Deloitte.

Now an expert in this rapidly evolving sector, Jonny regularly commentates for media like the BBC News, Daily Mail, The Telegraph, etc. on topics of data security and privacy. He soon realised there was not only a huge knowledge gap but also genuine concerns from parents and businesses about how to keep their technology safe, secure and healthy and this was the inspiration behind Just Ask Max. The digital well-being service, launched in early 2020, has already secured numerous clients and was one of a six UK tech start-ups picked by the National Cyber Security Centre to become an affiliated business and join the association’s accelerator alumni. www.justaskmax.com

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4 Secrets to Business Growth During Hard Times With a record 250,000 small businesses on the brink of closing their doors, it’s been a tough old year for SMEs and start-ups.

And with new EU trade rules, inevitable job cuts and limited government support, we’re not out of the woods yet. It’s a long road ahead before the economy fully recovers and businesses can get back to ‘normal’.

To achieve sustainable business growth, you need the support of a good team. One you can trust implicitly and one that’s perfectly in-tune and in-line with your vision for the company.

But it’s not all doom and gloom! Here are four top tips, taken from successful entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs who know what it takes to not only survive the tough times, but to thrive in them.

Treat them as family members.

Business growth tip #1: Don’t be afraid of mistakes “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” – Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group Mistakes teach you valuable lessons. If you can understand what went wrong and why, you can use your mistakes to develop and grow.

“Making mistakes allows us to discover more about ourselves.

In business, they can be valuable lessons to enable growth.”

– Forbes Take Elon Musk for example. With a net worth of around $79.4 billion and as one of the world’s top 10 richest people, it’s hard to believe that Musk has ever put a foot wrong on his journey to success. From production bottlenecks preventing 1,500 Model 3s from reaching the market, to issues with crashrelated battery fires and spontaneous combustion, Musk has used his many mistakes to his advantage: “If something’s important enough, you should try. Even if the probable outcome is a failure.” – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla But there are good mistakes to make and there are bad ones.

Bad mistakes are usually made in a hurry, with little to no thought behind them. And, the results of a bad mistake are inevitably, terrible. Good mistakes, however, are grounded in fact-based decisions and educated action. Sure, the result might still turn out bad, but there’s no shame in that if it was a well-thought-through decision.

So, set your fear of failure aside and embrace your (good) mistakes Business growth tip #2: Treat your business like it’s your family “It’s the people within the business that makes it a success. It’s as simple as that.” – Barrie Dowsett, CEO of Myriad Associates

But how do you build this good team of people?

Treating your employees like family will create a caring and supportive environment where people feel safe, respected and valued. This type of relaxed, inclusive environment breeds success. Employees will feel like they can have fun while they work. They’ll feel they can openly celebrate successes and accept failures, and they’ll start looking for reasons to praise, not criticize. They’ll naturally work well together because they’ll be rooted by a common cause: To help your business grow and achieve its goals.

“Above all, we value our – we treat everyone like family!

We have second-generation employees working for us and are always happy to recruit team members’ relatives if there’s an opening they’re interested in. Our team consists of hardworking and loyal people and I’m very proud of them all!” Nabeel Chaudhry, the CEO of Al Safa Transport.

Employees crave opportunity and the support of a leadership, not a dictatorship: “The key, I think, is something that’s easy to say and hard to do: I trust them. That means I give people a lot of freedom and flexibility and authority.” - Kevin Sharer, CEO of Amgen Business growth tip #3: Practice prioritisation (& get the easy stuff done first) “I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Co-founder of Facebook Some call it ‘constructive stalling’, but tackling your easy tasks first is the best way to conquer procrastination.

Working through the easy stuff first gets you up and working. It gets the cogs turning, makes you feel productive and sets you in a positive mindset which will help you tackle the bigger, harder tasks.

“The primary disadvantage of doing your difficult tasks first is probably that it will make it especially hard to get started on your workday.” – Lifehack

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So, clear the small rocks off your plate so you can move onto the big boulders.

Business growth tip #4: Say no!

It sounds simple, but saying “no” to a task, a meeting, or an opportunity can be tough. There’s an irrational fear in most of that makes us feel like we have to say “yes” to absolutely everything. If we don’t, we may miss the chance of a lifetime or we might ruin our chances of becoming successful.

But the danger of jumping at every opportunity, task or meeting you get presented with, is: a) you’ll burn out. b) you’ll wind up diluting yourself, your brand and your product offering. You’ll become the dreaded jack of all trades, master of none. c) you’ll get distracted by things that do nothing for the progress of your business.

“Really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway And there you have it: 4 Secrets to Business Growth During Hard Times. Taken from CEOs of both large and small organizations.

About the Author Amanda Greenwood. As a copywriter, Amanda loves writes interesting, informative and insightful content about R&D, innovation, tech and tax for R&D tax specialists Myriad Associates UK, Myriad Associates Ireland, Tax Cloud UK& Tax Cloud Ireland. She enjoys taking subjects that are often confusing and difficult to understand and turning them into easy-to-digest content. https://www.myriadassociates.com/

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Stacking Your Start-Up Funding

By Steve Jacob, CEO, Fabrik Property Group. When you’re the founder of a start-up, you face so many choices. The process of taking a product or service from the idea and validation stage to actually running with it is likely to be the first true test of your entrepreneurship.

Many of the decisions in those early days relate to funding.

Who you can find to fund your start-up and what that funding will cost you are decisions that you’ll likely have to live with for years. So there’s plenty of pressure to make the right calls.

The way that you stack your start-up funding is going to be one of those fundamental decisions that affects your business finances over the medium and even the long term. Let me say at this point that there’s no single right answer here – people stack their start-up funding in different ways, based around their individual needs and preferences. As such, let’s take a quick look at some of the options available to you.

Ways to stack your start-up funding First, let’s talk about bonds. A bond is a loan that an investor gives to the company for a return on cash. An equitable bond, meanwhile, is a bond where the investor gets a return on cash, along with an opportunity for equity at an agreed later stage.

If you don’t like the idea of promising a return on cash, you could simply sell equity. The investor will then have a stake in your business. You won’t need to give a return on the cash invested.

It’s possible to combine these approaches for your start-up as well. Some people sell equity, for example, then subsequently choose to raise cash via a bond.

Bringing in a private equity firm can also be an effective way to raise the capital you require. Such firms have a (pretty well deserved) reputation for being ruthless. They may seek a large chunk of your business in return for the equity you need. Depending on the private equity firm in question, they might be able to provide you with the ability to scale fast, so it may be worth giving up a sizeable chunk of your business in order to pursue your commercial and growth goals more rapidly.

Another option is to float your company on the stock market to raise capital. As I said, it depends on your own particular needs – there’s plenty of business advice out there but, ultimately, it’s you who will be living with the consequences of these early financial decisions, so there’s an element of trusting your gut when it comes to stacking your start-up funding.

Giving away equity – but at what cost?

Many a founder has given away a sizeable chunk of their

start-up in the early days, only to regret doing so years later.

However, many successful founders have also given away equity and been able to scale rapidly as a result, without a moment’s regret.

I can’t advise you as to what’s right for your individual startup, but I will say that it bears careful thought. Any equity you give away can cost you significantly later on down the line, so factor that into your financials. And if you really believe in yourself and that your start-up will make it, the bond for a return on cash route might work out best for you.

Cashflow forecasting Regardless of how you stack your funding, you’ll need to do a cashflow forecast. I recommend doing a one, two and three-year forecast for a start-up. At a basic level, you’ll need to look at income (sales and loans) and outgoings (interest, insurances, staff wages, rent and so forth).

Be sure to have your cashflow forecast in place before asking to borrow money. That way, you can show your funder that you’re pre-planned your cashflow and use that as a basis for whatever targets the two of you agreed to set.

Meeting your financial targets I feel it’s worth talking about those targets quickly. Stacking your start-up funding is likely to include agreeing set incomerelated goals. However, investors do understand that there is the potential for them to lose their money when they make an investment. As such, if you don’t hit your targets, be honest. Delivering bad news to an investor is vastly better than delivering no news!

Keeping your investor informed when the news is bad, as well as when things are going well, is an important way to show your integrity. And in the early days of a start-up, successful founders need to demonstrate the solidity of the integrity on which their company is built. Alongside funding, it’s another major factor that can influence the long-term nature of the company and the way that it develops.

Now you know your options, the choice of how you fund your business is up to you. Put some careful thought into it and play out the long-term impact of your decision in your head.

After that, it’s time to go with your gut.

Author Bio Steve Jacob is Group CEO of Fabrik Property Group, and director of its subsidiary, Fabrik Invest. Steve has been part of over 1,000 property transactions and has a wealth of industry knowledge to share. He has been involved in construction and business from a young age, moving from working on site to working in the city as a broker, before founding Fabrik Property Group in 2014. https://fabrikinvest.com/

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How to Launch an AwardWinning Restaurant

By Louise Palmer-Masterton, founder, Stem & Glory. Lots of people dream of opening a restaurant, but many don’t survive.

The news is full of ‘restaurant chains in trouble’ stories at the best of times and, of course, Covid-19 has brought its own pressures. However, alongside the demise of the chain, we are seeing the rise of the independent; and the success of Stem & Glory is certainly testament to that. Having opened three successful, award winning and profitable restaurants, what do I see as the secret recipe? What have I learned along the way? Here are my top 10 tips for success and survival.

Find your passion. For me everything starts here. My current business is a vegan restaurant brand, coming from my own 35-year personal story with plant-based cuisine. So, if you are thinking about starting your own business, first rule - always follow your passion. That way it will be a love affair.

Find your place in the market. I had spent 35 years trying to find a decent vegan restaurant, so it became increasingly obvious there was a huge gap in the market. As the movement grew the opportunity also arose to test this out. But it was still the passion to share plant-based eating with the rest of the world that compelled me to take my ideas to trial; I don’t believe a gap in the market is sufficient on its own.

Identify your USP. Every business must have one. With Stem & Glory it is ‘delicious’. Again, based on my 35 year experience trying to find decent vegan food, I knew that what was available was all too often rather bland and boring. Therefore. by providing exciting and delicious plant-based foods we knew we would very likely be on to a winner!

Have outstanding customer service. In hospitality this is of primary importance. I am a firm believer that making other people feel good is pretty much the answer to everything.

One kind word can change an entire day; this is a powerful customer service tool. Recruit on the basis of competence, confidence and kind disposition; the rest you can train. Your team are vitally important to you, nurture and care for them and they will care for your customers. Our USP is delicious food, but kindness and customer care are a very important part of our offering.

Location. Our first location is very unusual. It is on the first floor, above a cycle shop, on a traffic island in a not especially good part of Cambridge. And yet it has worked. I sometimes think that its obtuseness has somehow worked in its favour! I think that more important than location is having a mechanism to drive people to your location. I do wonder if one reason for the demise of the chains is their reliance on high footfall locations alone to drive business? It’s not enough to have a good location and wait for people to pitch up at your door. For our second location we bought an existing business which has also worked well for us and there are advantages to buying an already fitted out space – we were able to open very

quickly. Always best to be a destination.

Themed nights and special events. This is hugely successful for us. Look at the calendar and create specials and special menus around events. You have all the classic ones (valentines, Mother’s day, etc.) but some of the more random ones have worked brilliantly for us – Burns night, Cinco de Mayo. A themed special event menu with two courses for xxx or three courses for xxx is tried and tested and works.

You can run elements of it for a few days around an event to maximise its power. Remember to market your event outside of your restaurant though – don’t just put it on and not tell people! Our special fine dining events have also proved very popular and for those we literally run a special menu for one night only and presell all the tickets in advance. It’s been a winning combination.

Spend money on photographing your dishes. We are hugely image-focused and in 2018 you have to be able to entice people on social media with great images. Images of our food drive our Facebook and crowdfunding campaigns.

Have regular special dishes on your menu. Having specials on gives you something to market on social media. We have literally filled our restaurant with a special dish. It also gives your chefs the chance to be creative, which is what they love most.

Experiment with your opening hours. Analyse your sales per hour and costs to open. Every location will have its own rhythm and flow. Don’t just open at 8am because you think someone might come in for coffee! Look at your peak times.

Our restaurant opens at 12 midday for lunch and 5.30pm for dinner. Our café opens 10-5 winter and 9-6 summer.

Market the restaurant – and then market it some more. There is a direct relationship between marketing and success. At Stem & Glory we are fascinated by marketing, and we literally do not stop. If you can embrace new ways of marketing and new tools, you’ll be on to a winner.

I believe that being successful is as much about you as it is your product. If the going ever does get tough, approach things with curiosity to find solutions. Be authentic and stay true to your own vision and passion and let this passion infect your team. Be persistent, be ambitious, be bold, and above all, be kind.

About the Author Louise Palmer-Masterton is founder of multiple awardwinning restaurants Stem & Glory; hip and trendy but accessible wholefood plant-based restaurants, serving delicious gourmet vegan food from locally sourced ingredients. Stem & Glory also offers a range of ready meals and recipe kits available for delivery across the UK. www.stemandglory.uk

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Why Account Based Marketing Isn’t Just For The Big Guys

By Helen Brown, co-founder of Seeblue Marketing. For as long as I can remember, account based marketing – the process of one to one marketing - has always been assumed as a marketing discipline that only the multi-nationals of the world should use. It’s discussed as a B2B marketing strategy that only big, complex organisations should use because it can take years to get right.

However, I think we need to ditch that mindset. For companies that are just starting out, or about to go through a high growth phase it can pay real dividends.

When you strip back ABM to its bare bones, it works because it is targeted. At its heart, is the notion that you structure your prospects and customers into groups and then focus activities, campaigns and outreach based on their specific needs. It could be the communications you develop are run specifically for 1:1 interactions, 1:few or 1:many. But the overriding factor is that you know exactly who to target and with what.

Prospects only get the marketing messages that are relevant and specific to their needs. The net result is that the response rates are much higher, so the return on the investment is much greater. The deals are significant and affiliation to the brand is stronger.

So why wouldn’t scale ups, who have tight budgets and limited resources, take the same approach by getting really clever about who they target and how? Why would they go down the ‘spray and pray’ approach? What use would it be to spend money on a Google ad or paid media campaign to target businesses that are going to hand over a four, five or six-figure sum?

Put it like that and the scepticism I receive wanes. Indeed, when SMEs and scale-ups pilot a one to one marketing approach, they see 80% open rates on comms and go on to secure meetings with 30%. In uncertain times, these numbers are not to be sniffed at.

Getting it right.

These numbers don’t just happen overnight. It still takes time to get right – but this time we are talking weeks of precise planning not years.

There are four phases: develop a strategy, understand the buyers, content and delivery.

1. Develop a strategy. This is all about the list of target companies you want to go after, what challenge you can help them address, and then doing the research to find out precisely who you need to contact. Lots of people think going direct to the c-suite is the route in. Actually, it’s not always the

case and there’s someone else influencing the decisions made at board level. Knowing this you need to put yourself in their shoes and work out a plan as if you were going to meet them face to face. What’s the story each individual wants to hear?

This will help you narrow down the top three companies you really want to speak to initially. Work on the assumption that you need to be agile enough to switch out a top three target for another if you encounter some intel later on that means the prospect isn’t want you thought it would be.

2. Understand the buyer. This is the phase in which you get under the skin of the target company. What’s the market context, how are decisions made, who makes them, how does the supply chain fit in to the purchasing process? Then get down to the nitty gritty, if you pick up the phone to the person you identified as influential, how would you build the rapport? There are lots of ways you can research this – reading posts on LinkedIn will show their interests and the topics they are interested in, watching videos, or reading interviews will help you understand their communication style.

3. Content. Brand awareness with new customers is critical at this stage, but so too is providing content that will help you grow an existing account. So, you need to be savvy and have pieces of thought leadership, case studies and guides that meet different needs and points of the sales journey.

All of it needs to add value so write it from the perspective of the reader – you know from phase 2 what they are interested in and how they approach decision-making so reflect this. Bear in mind this doesn’t have to be costly, sometimes the best thought provoking pieces are pithy emails or blog posts.

In some instances, it can be advantageous to take the ‘challenger approach’ and disrupt your prospect’s understanding of the status quo. In which case, your goal will be to develop content that uses commercial insight that sparks a concern, provides evidence market dynamics are changing or presents a problem as it specifically relates to a customer’s business or sector. Ultimately you are putting forward the view there is a better way to do things, and, if you can personalise it for the individual, you’ll stand out far more.

4. Delivery. When it comes to delivery, the first thing to emphasise is that tactics need to match your objectives and the world your prospect operates in. If they use social media then that’s where you need to be to build up awareness. If they share reports and articles they’ve read then you need to deliver similar content. It can take a while to build up

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awareness but it’s a worthwhile investment as it will make the initial engagement much easier.

Generally, when the time is right, we advise a series of emails that direct people to a personalised landing page, which includes the content you believe matches their goals. It could be video case studies, white papers that address a thorny issue the sector is facing, an infographic that summarises the gains to be made from different approaches. This all contributes to getting you on the list of companies they would consider engaging with.

COVID-19 has meant different things, good and bad, to different businesses depending on industry focus and circumstances. But more often than not it’s meant that broad based campaigns, advertising or content are hard to get a return on.

ABM changes all this and offers a very practical way to convert the most valuable prospects. The companies that have used it through covid are reaping the dividends and growing, something none of them expected a year ago.

About the Author Helen Brown is co-founder of Seeblue Marketing, a specialist B2B digital tech marketing consultancy that helps companies generate new business and establish consistent and profitable revenue streams. Prior to setting up Seeblue Marketing, Helen lead teams in a global FTSE 100 business and was chair of the Vodafone Group Women’s Network set up to support and drive the company’s strategic vision for diversity. www.see-blue.co.uk

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How to Achieve an Equal Future in a Post-Covid-19 World Over the past year, as nearly every human and organisation was faced with extreme adversity and uncertainty, Preferred Hotels & Resorts approached the conversation surrounding diversity and gender equality head on, through an incredibly spirited dialogue with a diverse, global group of associates.

The brand launched a dedicated task force to address concerns regarding the ubiquitous cultural upheavals, which included gender disparity, occurring in nearly every region, and through this conversation, learned a valuable lesson: diversity is key in seeing what others may miss.

“As we look ahead to the future – it is important to recognise the efforts, successes, and tips from women on our team who hold vital leadership roles and whose example inspires more hospitality companies around the globe to work toward increased diversity at the executive level,” said CEO Lindsey Ueberroth.

Below, women from Preferred’s executive team share their personal insight into achieving a more equitable future in a post Covid-19 world; advice for women beginning their careers in the hospitality industry; how to support other women on their path to success, and more.

Female Thought Leaders at Preferred Hotels & Resorts: Kimberly Wilson, Senior Vice President, Global Sales – Corporate Kristie Goshow, Chief Marketing Officer Brenda Collin, Executive Vice President of Europe Caroline Klein, Chief Communications Officer

1. How can we achieve an equal future in a post Covid-19 world?

Kimberly: A crisis situation can teach many life lessons in addition to opening new doors of opportunity. To close the gap on inequality for a more equal future, we need to assess the talent pool of women and diverse candidates, which will widen the path for others to be considered and hired for positions that were once exclusively dominated by male counterparts. It is vital to be cognisant of any limitations or unconscious bias and willing to have an open environment of inclusivity.

Kristie: Patience, mindset, and leading by example. My gender does not typically play a major role in either how I see myself or those around me. Gender should not define our capability,

integrity or success. The answer is perhaps in the question “How do you think?” We are accountable for our own success.

We must show others how we wish to be treated and therefore, equality is an outcome that we play an integral role in driving.

Brenda: With greater pressures commercially as a result of Covid-19, many companies are focusing on stabilising revenue and maximizing opportunity and return for their stakeholders. It is very positive to see the gender equality issue rising to the top of the agenda, and good progress is being made each year. An equal future is possible by ensuring we have champions across the government and the industry to make it happen. It starts with each one of us taking ownership and action, being a role model, mentoring females, and giving them the confidence that despite the issues still to be addressed in the workplace, that they have the ability to step up and lead.

Caroline: The disparity does not stem from women’s inability to perform essential leadership tasks. Instead, the problem stems from a lack of inclusivity. Therefore, the most impactful change the hospitality industry can make to nurture more women into leadership positions is to foster a culture of ‘conscious inclusion’, meaning leading and acting with the intent of providing equal opportunity. Recognising and preventing bias or male-dominated cultures moves beyond the traditional HR process and starts with senior leadership.

Leaders need to demonstrate their dedication to attract, retain, and nurture women through the talent pipeline.

2. What are some realities that need to be addressed looking ahead to help more women succeed in business through every life stage?

Kristie: There are a few realities that we cannot change that drive a unique set of needs for women specifically (although not exclusively), and these are pregnancy and menopause. I can relate to the challenges associated with both and use my experience to support others. Many leaders and organisations have evolved their thinking and support frameworks for women during and post childbirth but few are tackling the individual challenges associated with menopause – which is – as a reminder, a rite of passage that half of the population will inevitably travel through. This is clearly a topic that warrants far deeper discussion and needs to be welcomed.

Brenda: It begins with females finding their voice from an early age. Finding a mentor that will support you in achieving your goals will make a difference. Without a doubt, raising a family can impact career progression, but only temporarily.

Balancing a career with family is tough but possible especially with flexible working hours and working from home becoming more acceptable due to covid-19. We also need to address

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the workplace environment to be sure every woman’s voice is heard. Often the best ideas come from those too shy to speak up. Coaching on female empowerment in the workplace is one way to address that.

3. What advice would you share to women beginning their careers in the hospitality industry?

Kimberly:The hospitality industry is borderless and provides the ultimate passport to experience the world. Because there are several industry segments represented within the hospitality sector such as finance, operations, management, human resources, sales, and administration, women have a broader opportunity to learn and grow within so many disciplines. You will survive the ever-evolving changes within the hospitality industry as long as you have a tenacity mindset and believe change creates opportunity.

Kristie: Well, let’s start with congratulations - you’ve chosen an incredible industry that’s waiting for you to make your mark. Three key messages that I wish someone had shared with me that I would like to share and hope that others will pay forward are: know your worth and hold the confidence to ask for it; titles don’t matter but your performance does; and always get more sleep.

Brenda: Hospitality is one of the most exciting industries to be a part of with so much potential for any employee. I would advise any woman starting their career in this sector to research their potential employers before accepting a role to ensure there is a cultural fit. It is important to ask questions and understand the structure of the organisation. If there is not a diversity and inclusion policy in place currently, what are their plans to address this? I would advise women to have faith in themselves, continue to put themselves forward, and be present, because their contributions matter.

4. Who do you consider to be your biggest female role model and what impact have they had on your life and career?

Brenda: The person who has made the biggest impact on my life is my mother, whose words of wisdom stick with me through the good days and bad. I remember one day in 1987, when I had an important interview for my top choice university. With only 30 spots available for this opportunity, I was up against 500 other candidates. That same day, my father wanted me to confirm another offer that had to be accepted that same day. My mother, however, advised me to do what I thought was the right decision for me. “If you want it, fight for it.” I remember that interview word for word, and yes I fought for it! I wasn’t going to let my ambition of working in hospitality be taken from me.

Caroline: I am very grateful to have had such strong female role models in my life, both personally and professionally.

My mum has taught me the power of resilience, my sister has taught me to be bold, adventurous, and unapologetic in focusing on what success means to me instead of following someone else’s path, and my biggest female role model is my grandma. She taught me to not let pride get in the way of responsibilities, to trust myself – my ideas, my talent, and my intuition, that many boundaries – or glass ceilings – are only in your imagination, and that your reputation is yours – and yours alone – to manage and protect.

5. What is your leadership style, and how do you inspire and support women in your company and on your team?

Kimberly:My leadership style is best described as a mentor or coach. One of the greatest skills I have learned is to listen.

I like to encourage my team to share their challenges and be prepared to offer a solution, as this is a gateway for creativity.

I support other women in my company simply by asking about their wellbeing or lending my support on a project directly or indirectly. Work relationships remind me of a remote village in where we all need to help one another to achieve the same or similar goals for one company to survive.

Kristie: I would describe myself as down to earth, hands on when needed, consultative, and bold. My preference is to build teams that can fly and fulfill their ambitions for growth, and if that means I become redundant in the process, I am perfectly happy with that. We should all feel proud of what we do each day and go to bed knowing that we “made an add” that day. If we all build on each other, great things will, and do take place.

Caroline: As a leader, my first step is to establish trust with each member of my team, find ways to relate with them on a personal level, and provide clarity around expectations. This creates a strong foundation built on openness and mutual understanding. From there, my leadership style is to be incredibly inclusive, lead by example, communicate openly and candidly, empower by granting autonomy, and, most importantly, champion the success of every win. It’s important to create environments where hierarchy does not exist to create truly open, honest, and unencumbered dialogue.

For more information about Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest independent hotel brand, visit www. preferredhotels.com

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Peer-to-Peer Business Support - How to get involved It is safe to say that most companies in the UK faced more challenges than ever before in 2020. However, one hugely positive thing that came out of last year was the growth of peer-to-peer business support, underpinned by the help and encouragement business owners showed one another.

The pandemic has served to reinforce the importance of peerto-peer support for entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and keep moving forward. However, it is not only integral during times of adversity – it will be crucial for those looking to resume their growth strategies post-pandemic and there is no better time than now to get involved.

What is peer-to -peer support?

‘Peer-to-peer support’ networks encourage likeminded business leaders to share brilliant ideas, best practice and learn from one another. Often, they bring together senior leaders who share similar job roles but work in different sectors, and this encourages dynamic thinking and provides fresh perspectives on ideas and challenges.

Each session offers group members the chance to ask questions, seek advice, find out about others’ experiences, and share fears, concerns and successes. Members feel safe and able to express themselves in a non-judgemental environment where everyone is there to help one another.

The benefits According to research, peer groups enable businesses to advance growth by two to three times their normal levels, and BizSmart’s own research shows that 90 per cent of business owners asked found peer-to-peer support instrumental during the pandemic last year.

When compared with other sources of business support, only eight per cent of business owners said they would seek advice from a close family member or friend, and this demonstrates that nothing quite compares to the value of working with likeminded professionals.

It is the personal experience of running a business that makes peer-to-peer support distinct from the counsel of friends and family. Peer group members understand the responsibility and pressures of being at the helm of a business in a way that others simply cannot.

Peer-to-peer support could be a lifeline for businesses this year. Group members can be a great source of information, pragmatic advice and mentoring and, by leaning on individuals who have already ‘been there, done that’, entrepreneurs can create valuable returns for their business, position themselves for future success and drive longer term business growth.

How to get involved in delivering peer-to-peer support ‘Peer Networks’ is a Government led support initiative created by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, that encourages UK business leaders to invest in the growth and development of their company by working closely with their peers.

Following the economic impact of the pandemic, Peer Networks has recruited the assistance of regional business support providers to help business owners surpass current challenges and grow in 2021.

Having delivered our own successful peer-to-peer learning programmes over the last eight years, BizSmart has seen the incredible impact it can have in helping business leaders create a clear and consistent strategy for growth.

This initiative allows potential BizSmart Franchisees to establish their own client base as businesses become more aware of the power of peer-to-peer learning. Those who take part will reap the benefits of the initiative, and many will look to continue peer-to-peer support once it concludes, offering Franchisees a great opportunity to establish their own client base.

Businesses up and down the UK are looking at how they can grow following the setbacks caused by COVID-19, and there has never been a better time to launch a peer-to-peer support franchise and build a profitable business whilst helping SMEs develop growth strategies that will deliver value.

About the author Kevin Brent is director of BizSmart. He is an experienced and entrepreneurial business practitioner with a focus on strategy, business development and maximising value. He has combined pharmaceutical sales and marketing experience with strategy consulting, value based management, medical communications and e-business. He holds an MBA from INSEAD, has built three and exited from two business and built his own eco friendly home. www.business-central.co.uk/bizsmart

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How to Avoid Gender Stereotypes And Boost Your Brand’s Appeal That assumptions and stereotypes are still frequently used in place of insight, understanding and authentic profiling to understand consumers is frustrating. At best, it makes for less-than-optimal marketing and at worst, it alienates and is harmful to large swathes of the population.

Most marketers are in denial that the use of stereotypes to identify target audiences is even an issue. According to the 30 Percent Club’s ‘Are you missing millions’ report, while 76% of female and 88% of male marketers think they understand consumers, a whopping 76% of female and 71% of male consumers believe the way they are portrayed in advertising is ‘completely out of touch’.

Kantar found that globally 51% of LGBT consumers said: “I wish I could see more ads with families like mine”. 14% of African Americans and 66% of Hispanics feel not enough brands do a good job of representing their community and 79% of over55s feel that advertising portrays them inaccurately.

That’s a lot of work still to do.

We talked to film and sociology doctorate student and TikToker Tayler Scriber about this issue. Tayler has sought to explore and educate on stereotypes in TV and film with her TikTok series ‘You Hate To/Love To See It’. Many of the tropes she highlights are prevalent in media and advertising too.

Tayler agrees, saying: “I see a lot of the same tropes I recognise in film in advertising and media. For example, the ‘bumbling dad’, unable to competently care for the children or house which links to the ‘Himbo’ film trope. Most couples, particularly those that have young kids now, are much more egalitarian in how they split care tasks and dad is very involved and perfectly competent of taking care of the children and very much sees this as being as much his role as the mother.

I think men and women find it unrelatable and maybe even insulting. Ads that continue to perpetuate this idea are not doing brands any favours.”

The hapless dad stereotype is one recognised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules on gender stereotyping introduced in June 2019. The Philadelphia Cheese ad featuring ‘hapless dads’ so entranced by their cheese snacks they absent-mindedly place their kids on the airport-style conveyor belt meant for the food, was banned in 2019. The rules also led to a ban of People Per Hour’s “You do the girl boss thing. We’ll do the SEO thing” following complaints that it perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes by depicting a woman running a business in a patronising way.

The Philadelphia ‘hapless dad’ ad that was banned for perpetuating harmful stereotypes.These ads are recent and they demonstrate a real gulf between what consumers want and need, and how they see themselves compared with the way that marketers see them.

Research conducted by Cunningham & Roberts for their recent book Brandsplaining: Why Marketing Is Still Sexist & How To Fix It, analysed 120 UK and US brand ads, their websites, packaging and social media. They also surveyed 14,000 women in 14 countries across four continents to understand their attitudes and beliefs about marketing and advertising.

More than half (59%) of the women surveyed say advertising has an out-dated view of women, with 76% suggesting they mainly see very thin women featured in ads. Women featured in ads also tend to be young, with 68% saying there aren’t enough older women in advertising. Most women (68%) also do not feel represented in advertising, with the vast majority (81%) saying they want to see all types of women used by brands to promote their goods.

Physical attractiveness, getting married and having children is still most often depicted as the great ‘aspiration’ for women.

Yet appearance is not what women want to be defined by – the characteristics that women most want to be associated with are intelligence, their relationship with their family and sense of humour.

Tayler commented: “I think there is progress. It feels like there are brands like Nike Women that are doing a really good job of female representation and diversity. Their ads are really progressive and break down gender and racial stereotypes but then when you look at their board that isn’t reflected in the organisation.

“Even if brands are doing a better job of diversity and inclusion, there is still an issue when the power (in the film making or advertising and creative industry) is held by a very narrow ‘type’ of person. Certainly, in the US film industry this is this case. The USC Annenburg Inclusion Report recently found in 2019 only 10.7% film directors and 19.4% of writers were female and of all the popular films made 2007-2020 only 6.1% of directors were black, 3.7% Hispanic/Latino and 3.3% Asian American.

“And while you don’t necessarily need to be from a community to depict them authentically (if you research and engage them correctly) the reality is that underrepresentation is translating into what you see on screen. In the top 100 films in 2019 the ratio of male characters with a speaking role to women was 2.2:1. Only 1.4% of films had a speaking role for a LGBT character, and only 2.4% of speaking roles were someone with a disability”.

These stats are echoed in the advertising and creative industry.

It’s estimated that only 14% of creative directors in the UK are women. 13% of the creative industry workforce identify as coming from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds (which is in line with the % of UK population identifying this way) but only 8% of senior positions have BAME representation.

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Tayler says: “It’s an issue that the industry is falling short in terms of representation behind the camera as it points to more systemic bias and discrimination and this needs resolving. However, the issues in the outputs come down to an arrogance about what people think they know about other people’s lives. People often think they ‘know’ a consumer and don’t realise they are making unhelpful or inaccurate assumptions.”

Apart from the obvious societal impact, bias and stereotypes alienate valuable customers. So how can brands avoid stereotypes in their marketing: 1.) Do research and ensure you speak to a broad range of people that feel representative of the population to avoid introducing bias before you start developing products.

2.) In research look for prevalent needs, develop products and campaigns targeting and resolving the need.

3.) It is likely these needs will be more prevalent in certain demographics – use that information to plan where you put your advertising rather than who is shown in it.

4.) Use advertising to show how your product meets a need/ solves a problem rather than trying to ‘mirror’ an idealised customer avatar.

5.) Test marketing materials – this doesn’t need to be expensive – share with colleagues and friends or if you are using digital advertising test different versions of the creative on small budgets to see which work best, reaction and engagement before you invest full scale.

About the Authors: Vicky Murray and Tamsin Daniel, Co-Founders & Brand Consultants at Atalante Strategic Marketing Consultants. www.linkedin.com/company/atalante-marketing Sources: www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/adreactiongetting-gender-right www.pwc.co.uk/services/human-resource-services/insights/areyou-missing-millions.html Brandsplaining by Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts, Feb 2021 Full USC Annenburg Inclusion Report here: http://assets. uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_ films_09-08-2020.pdf www.creativereview.co.uk/how-creative-comeback-is-relaunching-careers-for-female-creatives/ www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/sites/default/files/201706/30183-CIF%20Access%20&%20Diversity%20Booklet_A4_ Web%20(1)(1).pdf https://the-dots.com/projects/championing-diversity-this-blackhistory-month-meet-100-creatives-inspiring-change-188600

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How to Create a Marketing Strategy Marketing is like an iceberg. The bit you see above the water is the marketing tactics, whilst below the water is the marketing strategy and deeper still the insight and diagnosis. Quite often, businesses focus entirely on what you see above the water and almost no time on what lies beneath.

As Sun Tzu the great military strategist said: “tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Without a strategy your activity and marketing spend is likely to be unfocused and inefficient. Before you start the ‘doing’ – designing packaging, advertising, or communicating – time to engage in some thinking. Here is our guide to the thinking required to nail your marketing strategy.

1.Marketing objectives Your commercial objectives articulate what you hope or expect to achieve in financial terms. Marketing objectives should describe how you will achieve them and how you want to change your consumer’s behaviour. Understanding where to focus your attention is one of the first decisions your marketing strategy makes explicit. To make these decisions, you need to have done your diagnosis – finding out your brand awareness and image scores, how well you convert at each stage of the customer funnel, what drives consideration, preference and purchase and how you perform relative to your competitors.

Diagnosis helps you identify what you need to achieve. For example, do you need to generate greater brand awareness (top of the funnel), do you need to focus on getting those who know about you to consider you the next time they purchase (middle of the funnel) or is it about focusing conversion at the point of purchase (bottom of the funnel)?

Your decisions and priorities impact where, when and how you communicate with your target audience. A good marketing objective is one sentence and demonstrates clear decisions have been made. For example, we will get [number] of [new/ existing] customers to switch from [brand x] into buying [product name] by [date].

2. Audience need In your diagnosis, you should have identified the need that your product or service meets. Summarise the need in 2-3 words and then describe why and when the need occurs – what triggers the need and what are the motivations your potential audience has for filling the need.

Next, identify how you meet those needs and what makes your brand different. Avoid category ‘hygiene factors’ i.e., those that all products are expected to fulfil. And check that

any differentiators matter to your target customers. Make sure you have spoken to actual customers – you don’t need to do big expensive research, just find 10-15 users of your products / services or those of your competitors.

The most common mistake we see brands making is using demographics (such as age or gender) to make assumptions about the needs and triggers potential customers have rather than starting with the need and building a picture of who may share this need, where and when.

3.Brand positioning Put simply, brand positioning is the intended brand image in the mind of your target customer. The positioning statement should be simple and sums up how you meet the needs of your target audience. For example, CocaCola’s positioning statement is: For individuals looking for high-quality beverages, Coca-Cola offers a wide range of the most refreshing options — each creates a positive experience for customers when they enjoy a Coca-Cola brand drink. Unlike other beverage options, Coca-Cola products inspire happiness and make a positive difference in customers’ lives.

Your positioning statement isn’t a strapline (as we can see from the Coca-Cola example), rather you are setting the ‘rule’ for what any advert or creative needs to communicate.

The positioning section of your strategy should also make clear the brand’s ‘distinctive assets’ – the main elements of your brand identity that help people recognise you.

Usually, assets are visual – logos, colours, shapes, colours – but for some they include a sound or a smell. Once identified, be obsessive about using them on everything you do to create recognition and association.

4. Your four ‘Ps’ strategy Most people associate marketing only with communications (the Promotions P of our 4 Ps). But marketing strategy also articulates the framework for Product, Price and Place (or distribution). Your strategy framework should include: Product: the rules for your products or services such as what they always are or aren’t, how they feel distinct and recognisable as your brand.

Promotion (Communication): the framework here has 3 elements: 1. Creative: how are you going to show your brand in a distinctive way (such as brand guidelines and tone of voice)

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2. Message hierarchy: 3-5 key consumer-facing messages to be communicated across all comms activity in order of importance.

3. Media channels: what types of media will best communicate your message and reach your audience in ‘trigger’ moments.

Pricing: your pricing relative to your competitors. Set upper and lower limits on price and agree how consistently the price should be maintained, for example, whether you will discount price and what you expect in return such as bulk or bundled spend.

Place (Distribution): how you will make your product or service available to your target audience. Identify the key channels which connect to your audience and their trigger points.

5. Tactical plan Your target audience will never see your strategy, but they do need to understand what you intend in everything you do.

You should start your annual planning process with a review of what happened previously – take the time to make your own assessment and seek input from elsewhere. Once you’ve done this, you can ensure your marketing objectives are stated in relation to where you start the year. There are lots of ways you can then develop new ideas for how you achieve your objectives, but however you do it (such as ideation sessions or briefing your agencies), evaluate and rank ideas against the following criteria:

· Is it aimed at the right audience? · Does it achieve my objectives? · Does it maintain the brand position / build it in the right way? · Is it coded according to brand guidelines and key brand assets?

Set clear timeframes and KPIs for your tactical activity and ensure that you are engaging in both brand building (top of funnel) activity as well as activation (bottom of funnel activity).

There’s plenty of research out there to substantiate the advice that 40% of your budget should be on brand building (with a 3 – 5 year horizon) and 60% should be on short term activation.

Your tactics may change and evolve over the year as you test and learn, but strategy should be longer term (3-5 years) and positioning should change very little over the brand’s lifetime.

Ultimately this is what creates powerful brands. Having strong and consistent strategy that guides and focuses tactics is what allows the world’s most powerful brands to occupy a strong and consistent meaning in consumers’ minds.

About the Authors Vicky Murray and Tamsin Daniel, Co-Founders & Brand Consultants at Atalante Strategic Marketing Consultants. www.atalantemarketing.com

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How to Catch an Investor’s Eye in a Crowded Marketplace

By Dr. Tom Mason. We are all familiar with the daunting statistic that startups risk a high failure rate - 20% of businesses fail in their first year and around 60% will go bust within their first three years. One, if not the top, reason startups fail is due to insufficient financial resources. Having the funds to get started and maintain the business can require a little help from outside sources, such as an investor. While asking for money from a stranger may feel nerve racking, it can be just what you need to kickstart a thriving business. Finding the right investor requires due diligence on the company’s side.

It’s not an easy process and can take time, but putting in the effort will be well worth it.

Finding the right investor The first, and perhaps the most daunting task, when looking for an investor is knowing where to start. Searching the internet can be overwhelming, and so the good news is that a great place to start is actually within your own network. This is an invaluable source when it comes to looking for investment as it can provide face-to-face introductions that are crucial to establishing a relationship with what could be your potential investor.

set you and your business apart from competitors as they are viewed with a certain amount of prestige amongst investment circles.

How to stand out when approaching an investor When approaching an investor, the first 60 seconds of your pitch are the most important when it comes to grabbing their attention. This is all about your ‘Hollywood Pitch’ - that WOW intro - to truly set you apart. It is crucial that you are able to summarise your company concisely and positively in 60 seconds so that your audience is ‘hooked’. You may feel like you are just one person among many who have a milliondollar idea, but if you can stand out in the investor’s eye just from your opening lines, then you are already better placed than your counterparts.

To head into your pitch with confidence, it’s worth remembering: You need to know your own market from the inside-out, along with the growing expectations within that market. Investors will want to know just how far their investment is going to go.

Before approaching an investor, it is important to do your research – look at investment activity that has been happening within your sector over the last 12 months, this provides you with a good starting point. Some questions to think about when you are doing your research include:

You must know what differentiates you and be able to articulate this clearly to them.

Can you identify any companies that were at the same point that you are in now? If so, how and where did they find investment?

How to get the conversation started

Have they said anything about their investors? Remember, first-hand feedback can be insightful.

What have they achieved since securing funding? Are they being well supported? Are their investors hands-on or off?

Another great way to rub shoulders with potential investors is by attending events, specifically for start-ups or relevant to your industry. Be sure to look at who will be attending the event and be prepared to introduce yourself - you don’t always get the chance to present at these events, so you need to lift your networking game.

Getting accepted onto an accelerator programme could be a real game-changer for your business. Not only do they offer funding opportunities but you will also benefit from expert training courses and the opportunity to network with other successful entrepreneurs who have been through the same process. While they may be fast-paced, you are provided with an enormous amount of experience and guidance in a short amount of time. Being on an accelerator programme will also

Confidence is key - there is no one that knows your business better than you do.

Once you have gained the investor’s interest, it’s important to start having the conversation about what theycan provide for you just as well as what they expect from you. Just as you had to sell yourself or your business and that standout moment, so will the investors. An investor should be able to ‘wow’ you in terms of what they can bring to the table to help you other than money. Generally this will revolve around their experience and network, but it is important to push them on what exactly their capabilities are.

Think about asking them: What is your track record in your sector?

How can you help scale my company further and faster?

Confidence and perseverance are the two things that have kept me going through my own investment journey. Confidence in knowing that my business can make a real difference in the world and perseverance because I knew the right investment could be a real game-changer.

I have learnt that not every investment is going to be the

ENTREPRENEUR right one. And sometimes the right one manages to escape you. But there is no one who can know just how relevant and important your business is better than yourself. Starting the journey is just the beginning and can open up doors and realms of possibility for your business that perhaps you didn’t even see coming. Never undervalue what you bring to the table and just how much more that can be - with the right people supporting you. www.brambleenergy.com

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Five Retail Strategies for Success

By Angel Gaskell. The retail landscape is currently changing at a rate quicker than most of us change our socks! With the e-commerce explosion, unforeseen trends and unpredictable challenges, the strategies which worked for retailers yesterday may no longer apply.

Whilst it’s understandable that some businesses owners and entrepreneurs could start to feel overwhelmed, I’ve outlined my top five ways to help anyone navigate these choppy (but prosperous) waters.

1. Give it some heart If you want to give shoppers that warm and fuzzy feeling every time they shop with you, put a strong ethical mission at the heart of your operations.

Sustainability is high on the agenda and according to the CGS Retail and Sustainability Survey, 70% of people consider environmental credentials when shopping, and a recent study

by Garnier revealed that 73% of UK consumers want to be more sustainable in 2021.

In 2020, we saw an influx of businesses reach out to us to help them boost their online presence and strategy. One great example is the work we did for British soap and fragrance brand, Bronnley. We developed and uplifted the brand’s online presence through content marketing, digitally-focused advertising campaigns, email marketing and influencer engagement. This resulted in a 1,215% increase in paid social engagement, a 91% increase in website traffic and, most importantly, a 118% increase in web orders.

Paradoxically, the pandemic also boosted brand loyalty for smaller, more local, brands. In fact this trend is only set to continue with a recent Barclaycard study revealing that more than nine in 10 people who shopped locally during the pandemic, intended to continue.

This makes now the ideal time to big up your origin stories and show some love to where you founded your business and its local communities to reap the rewards of this growing trend.

3. Get Geek Chic

There’s never been a better time to go green and it’s a winwin situation as it will attract a new customer base and allow your brand to play a role in a wider initiative to protect and preserve the environment.

If something is more than two clicks away, it might as well not exist in our modern world. While 2020 saw many businesses boost their e-commerce capabilities, this shouldn’t be the end to a digital retail strategy. It’s actually just the beginning!

Social media gives customers a clear route to contact their favourite brands to learn more about their creative integrity, supply chains, value for money, treatment of workers, data protection and authenticity. All of these things will be considered by the modern shopper, which is why it’s important to be open and transparent about your practices, suppliers and materials. Your honesty and integrity will earn you brownie points with the right people.

Give your customers a little something extra to entice them to shop with you and engage with you digitally. This can range from exclusive online discount codes, VIP access to special events and experiences or an engaging and entertaining social media presence.

2. Home-grown with global ambitions

One of our clients, Poundshop.com, experienced the power of influencer marketing first hand when the ultimate ‘cleanfluencer’, Mrs Hinch, posted a haul of products she’d bought from the website. With a 3.5million strong follower base, the Poundshop.com website more than quadrupled its web traffic during the day. That’s what you call influence!

As brick-and-mortar retailers have been shutting up shop during the various lockdown periods, the pandemic has highlighted two very distinct (but conflicting!) consumer trends: the convenience of online shopping from brands across the country vs. the desire to support local retailers.

Blending the digital and physical experience has never been more important, particularly as some shoppers might not feel comfortable mixing for non-essential retail.

While many retailers have upped their digital presence over the past 12 months, it’s crucial that it becomes a core part of the strategy and not a fleeting addition only maximised during periods of lockdown. E-commerce opens up a world of opportunities - literally! You can sell your goods to anyone in the world, at any time of day.

Working with influencers is another great way to boost online sales strategy. Influencers generate and create new content ideas, while also tapping into their audiences.

Another thing to consider is the growing connection between social media and shopping. Facebook is no longer just a way to see what your ex is up to, but as a place to hunt out a bargain. TikTok is the latest platform to join the craze after recently partnering with Shopify.

The rise of chatbots used to respond to customer enquiries reflect how digital shoppers really expect immediacy and convenience, so be sure to consider this when evaluating your online strategy.

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4. Find your squad The key to any successful business is collaboration. Teaming up with complementary and likeminded brands and businesses gives your proposition more dexterity and provides even more value for your customers. There’s definitely truth in the saying, ‘there’s strength in numbers’.

Collaboration leads to innovation, and diversifying your core offering can only be a good thing. A great example of this is Marks & Spencer responding quickly to the surge in online grocery shopping at the beginning of the pandemic by joining forces with Ocado.com. They spotted a pain point and swiftly found the right brand to collaborate with to solve their customers’ problem. A beautiful example of brands working together and reaping big rewards.

5. Get personal The turbulence of the last 12 months has had a notable effect on all of us (to say the least!) and people are now looking for a human and emotional connection with brands.

Whatever your service or product, it’s more important than ever to understand your audience and to connect with them on a deeper emotional level. Gain the trust of your consumer by really understanding their pain points and speaking to them directly through personalised messaging to make it feel like a person-to-person conversation, rather than person-toscreen.

As content marketing specialists, we know the power of creating and seeding engaging content to entertain, educate and surprise customers, while encouraging them to become loyal brand ambassadors.

Partnering with social media specialists and creative agencies is another consideration which will allow you to tap into expertise while you focus on the wider retail and brand strategy.

About the Author Angel Gaskell, a mum of two, is an award-winning marketeer and business leader with more than 20 years working in the marketing and advertising industry. She has an extensive background working with retail brands from shopping centres, duty free retail, luxury brands, high street retailers and online e-commerce brands. She is the Chief Executive of HDY Agency, based in the buzzy creative quarter of Birmingham. www.hdyagency.com

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How to get Your Food or Beverage Brand off to the Best Possible Start

By Richard Horwell, Brand Relations. Every startup founder needs to keep in mind that branding is as important as the product itself. 90% of a first-time purchase is based on the branding; it’s why a consumer will pick your product over their regular choice or your competition. So how can startup founders communicate their message to their target audience so that they decide to buy and try?

3/ Will my consumer be able to read the messages I have on the packaging from a distance, without picking it up?

Educate

Getting the answers to these questions is the first step to creating brilliant branding.

When you start developing your product you’ll need to ask yourself a raft of questions. These are much the same as the ones your target audience will ask including: ‘what is unique about this product?’; ‘should I risk spending money on this untried brand?’; ’does this product offer value for money?’

Your branding needs to answer all such questions.

The MOST expensive word in the Food & Drink category is ‘education’. If you need to take time to educate the consumer, away from the packaging, then you’ll either spend millions or fail, or both.

The best place to educate your target audience is on your product’s packaging, so your branding needs to be clear and provide instant education.

Help make connections We all tend to pigeonhole everything in our lives and whether we are conscious of it or not, when we see a new brand, we put it in its place. So, if your startup is attempting to break new ground with an idea or base ingredient then you need to add something to the mix that the consumer knows.

For example, we have just developed a drink based on the Stinging Nettle called Emunity. To help consumers to reach out and try this we‘ve added ingredients and flavours they recognise, like cucumber, gooseberry and wild strawberry.

The key is to make sure the messaging is easy to understand and include elements that consumers can understand and connect to instantly.

A product has to sell easily and quickly. Trade Buyers won’t give you long to prove that your brand works, so, make it easy for the consumer to choose your product fast.

Get Answers to Key Questions In order to get your branding right, you need to ask yourself and others some questions: 1/ Where will this product sell and what brands will sit alongside it? How will my product stand out against them?

2/ What is my brand message? For example, is it based on health, functionality, spoiling yourself or great taste?

4/ Does my brand look premium enough for the selling price?

5/ Why should a consumer buy my brand instead of their regular choice?

Focus on Your Audience Today the big brands are no longer dominating the market and there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Many consumers like the idea of trying something different, but they need to be drawn to a brand that relates to them and says, ‘buy me, I am new and exciting’.

When I lived in Australia, I knew a very successful entrepreneur who could turn his hand to anything. When I asked him his secret to success, his response was ‘when you explain something to someone and they don’t understand, it’s not them that’s stupid, it’s you for not explaining it properly’.

Consumers don’t care about a ‘new’ brand name, they care about what’s in it for them. So, make sure your message conveys this. Always focus on them, not you.

For example, we worked on a soft drink now called Chillio.

The previous design agency had simply splashed the logo across the entire. In other words, the branding was all about the client, not the consumer. We rebranded it to sit alongside the craft beers so you could be out sipping Chillio without feeling embarrassed you weren’t drinking. The new name highlighted the chilli ingredient in the drink (its point of difference) and the visual design evoked fun, hot days in South America.

Identify Your Point of Difference In order to have any chance of success in today’s market you must have a point of difference. This needs to be very clear in your branding and messaging on the packaging. Just being vegan, for example, is not enough - there are masses of vegan brands now, and when it comes to drinks most of them are already vegan.

So, think about what makes your brand different, list these points and then pick the MOST important ones to highlight on the packaging. The less important ones still need to be on there, but they can go on areas the consumer will read once they pick the product up.

Don’t Get Too Minimalist Minimalism has become a trend in recent years with many

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designs jumping on the bandwagon. However, be careful not to make it too minimal. I have seen some laughable branding where a designer has tried to be cool but forgotten about selling the brand. This has led to the consumer ignoring it completely and reaching for the safer option, in other words, one of the established brands they already know. Find the right balance between doing too much or too little. You also don’t want to waffle; let your branding do the talking.

Find a Relevant Name With the growth in food and drinks products comes a rise in the amount of new brand names, which makes choosing the right name harder, and getting a trademark more challenging.

Start by researching your chosen brand name and make sure it is RELEVANT to your product and your audience. Be clever with your brand name, find something that is simple but conveys your product’s message, not just a name that sounds cool to you and your family. After all, some names just sound plain stupid – so just because your friends think it sounds great, does not mean it will resonate with your target audience.

For example, we worked with Can’O Water, which is a brand that has reducing plastic waste at its heart. They chose a simple, ‘does what it says on the tin’ name – after all it is water in a can, so why beat about the bush? They were ahead of their time and agile enough to adapt to the demands of their target consumer; they now make their cans reusable with close caps.

Communicate Your Values Consumers want brands to be transparent and they want to understand the brand’s heritage and values. Is the product certified to be Vegan, Fairtrade or Organic? Consumers are also looking for certifications like ‘B Corporation’, which commends businesses that give as much consideration to their social and environmental impact as they do to their financial returns.

This move towards wanting to buy from companies with matching values is an opportunity for new, indie brands as the established companies can’t adapt quickly.

Conclusion As a startup founder, focus on your branding so you attract consumers. The great taste the added benefits and an ethos they can buy will then keep them coming back for more. With right branding in place your fledgling business and product will be heading for success.

About the Author Richard Horwell is the owner of Brand Relations, a specialist food and drink marketing and branding company based in London. Over the last 13 years, Brand Relations has been behind the launch and development of over 100 brands in the UK. Richard has also built up and sold companies of his own in the Food and Beverage sector. He has over 30 years’ experience in marketing FMCG brands around the world, having lived and worked in the UK, USA, Australia and the Middle East. www.brandrelations.co.uk

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Business Goals vs Business Purpose Combine Them for Success Look at the following Business Purpose Statements – which brands do these belong to?

1. To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world (and everybody is an athlete).

2. To empower creative exploration and self-expression 3. Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

The three brands chosen for this exercise are brands which successfully combine their business goal with their business purpose and make it look easy, (Nike, Apple and Patagonia respectively) but for many businesses, there isn’t a balance between the two.

What is the difference between a goal and purpose?

Business goals are what a business anticipates accomplishing in a set period of time, usually a three-year cycle, compared to your business purpose, which is the reason you have formed your company and can be, as demonstrated above, explained in a single sentence.

If you tell your staff or customers that you want to achieve double digit growth and dominate your industry, it’s not going to encourage them, but is a classic business goal. Purpose is more of a long-term investment; it doesn’t necessarily provide you with quick wins but helps to build brand loyalty and the emotional connection and trust with your customers.

The disparity comes when you have to balance playing a long game when you have two/three-year business objectives.

Inevitably therefore, some businesses find it very hard to understand purpose, fail to see the value in it and are sceptical, particularly Stakeholders who have it ingrained in them to make profit the priority. They might question that purpose doesn’t necessarily have an ROI against it and initially question why it is important.

But when you look at some of the world’s most powerful and successful brands, they have found that balance and as Steve Jobs once said, “If people have a greater sense of purpose, profit will follow.”

Brand purpose is not a fad Most of us can remember our school motto such as ‘honour and integrity’ - these gave us value and purpose, and this works in parallel with business purpose.

Whilst the pandemic has seen a spike in the popularity of brands with purpose, it’s not just a fad and the last few years has seen a significant rise in the success of brands with an innate brand purpose.

Unilever backs this up with examples from their own brands, explaining that “In 2018, our 28 Sustainable Living Brands – those taking action to support positive change for people and the planet – grew 69% faster than the rest of our business.

That’s up from 46% in 2017.”

The Cone/Porter Novelli survey found that 66% of consumers would switch from a product they typically buy, to a new product from a purpose-driven company while purpose-led brands saw their valuation surge by 175% over the past 12 years, versus a growth rate of just 70% for listless brands uncertain of their role. (Kantar 2018).

Purpose isn’t something you advertise; you don’t commercialise it, and that’s why it’s such a hard concept to understand but as the stats show, businesses need to find a way to entwine the two if the business hasn’t grown organically with a defined purpose.

The examples of companies that really demonstrate the power of purpose have been built from the ground up, where purpose is embedded in everything they do. It has been intrinsic from day one.

Ben and Jerry’s is one of the best examples of this. They are activists who sell ice cream; they never set out to be so successful but the reason for their popularity, why consumers buy into them and why there is such brand loyalty is that they are genuine activists for change and this has always been the case.

Every business needs a WHY? In the wake of the pandemic, many businesses are reassessing their strategies and as a result are thinking hard about their brand purpose. But how does this translate for the b2b sector, for businesses who don’t have a consumable product and who talk more prominently about business goals?

All businesses, no matter the sector/product/service, need to start with the WHY? And for this reason you need to implement the top-down business model.

The mistake a lot of people make is they want a website and a social media campaign and that’s fine but what are you going to say? These businesses know what they need to do but they don’t know how to do it. People who start from the bottom up haven’t identified their brand/strategy/purpose and there is a whole piece of work that needs to be done before they

ENTREPRENEUR can produce something that captures the hearts and minds of their staff and their audience. People won’t engage if there is no WHY? Starting with a single idea at the top and then making the right decisions to forge ahead and flow down through the business enables you to position yourself, to create the right tone of voice and to identify your audience and your deliverables.

Another classic mistake is just tacking on some kind of charity or ‘do good’ angle to make it look like brand purpose; consumers will see straight through it. Even global giants make mistakes as demonstrated by the 2017 Pepsi advert featuring Kendall Jenner. This was a prime example of a brand trying too hard. What was meant to be a message of unification had to be pulled and apologised for (‘We missed the mark and we apologise’ – Pepsi) due to public backlash.

Does it matter if we don’t have a brand purpose?

Well, yes! People are more likely to buy into you if you have a brand purpose and if you don’t, you will let other people occupy that space and this is where the challenger brands will come in and dominate.

Consumers will connect with other brands over yours and the result is that you won’t achieve your goals and you won’t grow your market share, which is proof again that brand purpose isn’t just about being nice and fluffy, it actually and actively works towards achieving your brand goals.

Apple still remains true and its purpose lives on. People have come and gone from the business, but the core remains the foundation of the entire business and its unparalleled success.

And let’s face it, we’d all like a slice of that pie!

Author: Gayle Carpenter, Director of creative agency, Sparkloop www.sparkloop.com

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Why Entrepreneurs Should Make Research Part of Their Strategy

By Ben Hogg, Managing Director, International, Lucid. In a time when opinions are unpredictable and changing rapidly, the ability to know what people are thinking is invaluable.

Whether you’re a startup or multinational organisation, knowing what your customer wants will always be the golden ticket for the financial success of your business.

These days, technology and innovation are an integral part of our lives. From our prolific use of apps, streaming devices, smart homes, and more, we’ve come to expect immediate results with technology.

It’s a good reminder for all businesses that authenticity is paramount, and the consumer should always be top of mind, and top priority, when building out and executing on a business strategy. There is a valuable opportunity for marketers to reestablish trust with their target consumers. Marketers must leverage their first-party data and other actionable consumer insights to create authentic messaging that they know will resonate with their intended audience, because they’ve done their homework. The most successful marketers have tapped into those shifting consumer sentiments, understand what’s most important to their target customer, and are adjusting their messaging and tactics accordingly.

In our on-demand society, it’s no longer enough to underscore your business strategy with, ‘the customer is always right’.

While this is certainly still true, today it cuts much deeper, with authenticity and trust at the core. Never has it been so critical to know your customer. And, in this fast-paced world, in no other way is this truly possible than through quick, efficient, scalable, reliable and representative research.

Research has evolved in a similar way to AdTech First, it’s important to note that research has evolved tremendously over the years. Traditionally, researchers relied on in-person interviews or phone surveys. When online surveys first entered the scene, buyers still had to manage each individual survey panel, which was a slow process and an invoicing nightmare. And what about agencies, brands, or advertisers who need insights that are fast, scalable, and affordable?

The concept of programmatic connections was actually conceived in the AdTech industry via demand-side platforms (DSPs). In the dark ages of digital advertising, every ad placement was planned, negotiated, and executed independently with each publisher or network. The process was cumbersome. Eventually, DSPs and exchanges eliminated these obstacles with programmatic buying. AdTech made the process of buying and selling ads faster than ever, with the added bonus of being able to scale.

Research (the “insights” industry) has mirrored the evolution of AdTech with its own force of change, applying the concept

of programmatic buying to the research space. Instead of relying on phone surveys or individual survey panels, researchers are using online marketplaces to bring millions of global respondents to one place. Now, agencies, brands, and advertisers - those savvy enough to look to research to drive true insights - have more control over their studies, and online survey panels have more opportunities to sell to them.

ResTech has become enormously valuable - especially during COVID With the impact of COVID-19, companies have adopted a digital approach at a faster rate in the last six months than the past six years. As a result, the need for (and utility of) online research has grown exponentially, as sampling shifts from a traditional market research practice to widespread use in nearly every industry.

While this direction of research has been the norm for several years, we’ve defined its new path: Research Technology, which we’ve dubbed “ResTech.” ResTech is the comprehensive term for the software and tools that help platforms, agencies, and brands target, deliver, and analyse their insights initiatives.

In short, it is the ecosystem of technologies that enable us to gauge the opinions of different groups of people via targeted surveys.

ResTech has presented our industry with a real tipping point - so, what makes it so great? ResTech identifies customer sentiments in the moment. Not only can it help to provide an accurate depiction of where customers currently stand in the buying cycle but, most importantly, it helps us understand why. More than that, it has the scale to reach people from all different demographics and backgrounds, ensuring that we’re receiving an accurate representation of the target audience.

Faster insights make businesses more successful The more insights that organisations have into their target audience’s behavioural patterns, the more easily they can make an informed decision on how to interact and engage with them and to create content that will resonate. It’s all about the impact. If marketers are not taking the time to stay in tune with their target consumers’ changing sentiments, the impact won’t be very effective.

Honing in on consumer behaviours and sentiments are key elements to brand success and incorporating behavioural analysis within a marketing strategy allows marketers to actively observe how consumers interact with their brands.

These observations can be leveraged to understand influencing indicators, increase marketing campaign efficiency and ultimately feed the bottom line.

ResTech has the power to provide a clear roadmap to success for marketers, researchers, or anyone who needs insights. It

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can help businesses remain on the pulse of people’s changing sentiments so that they can understand what makes them tick, what they care about, and how to best appeal to them through personalised and targeted messaging.

By leveraging first party data through Research Technology, businesses can create authentic messaging that they know will resonate with their intended audience, because they’ve done their homework. By zeroing in to those shifting consumer sentiments, businesses can understand customer influencing factors, increase marketing campaign efficiency and ultimately feed the bottom line.

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What Makes a Winning Marketing Video?

By Harvey Woods, Digital Designer at creative agency PMW. No one can deny that videos make an impact — almost 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every single day.

Whether it’s posted on Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, the content you need to be creating to market your business is definitely moving image.

Furthermore, research has revealed that video marketing is one of the most effective strategies around. Around 80% of global brands now use video marketing, which has been shown to raise revenue and brand recognition even more effectively and quickly than other types of marketing strategies.

Creating winning video content, however, isn’t easy with the social media space ever changing; Facebook is currently getting more daily minutes watched than YouTube, Twitter is taking to audio with voice tweets and TikTok’s rise in the recent year has been phenomenal. It can therefore be difficult to know where to start. No need to worry though. A close look at how video marketing has helped brands thrive online can be a good place to start.

Doggface208 What do Fleetwood Mac, Ocean Spray and a skateboard all have in common? They were all part of probably the most successful accidental advertising campaign in the past year.

Doggface208’s video of him skateboarding to Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams while drinking a bottle of Ocean Spray went viral, gathering 12.7 million likes, 140,000+ comments, and a slew of imitators across social media sites (including one by none other than Mick Fleetwood himself). It’s perhaps Ocean Spray’s most successful promotion ever, even though they never intended for it to happen!

Why was this video so successful for Ocean Spray? It told a story about real people who purchase and engage with their goods. People trust other people more than they trust brand messaging.

What can brands learn from this? Creating your own ‘Ocean Spray moment’ will involve creating some form of challenge that compels users to purchase your product and create an ingenious video, showing them engaging with it. These usergenerated commercials have the potential to boost sales exponentially.

The world is ready for the next genuine user-generated commercial. You just need that viral idea.

Augmented Reality (AR) One of the biggest emerging video trends of the past year is AR (where an illustration is projected onto a photo or video).

AR isn’t just about dog filters on Snapchat, it’s a whole new form of marketing, allowing customers to try before they buy, giving people intimate experiences through their mobile devices.

Whether it’s makeup brands showcasing different tones of eye shadow or Dolce & Gabbana launching their new springsummer sunglasses’ range, AR eliminates the need for a large inventory as consumers can try on heaps of products before they purchase.

Augmented reality is far more than a novelty used in gaming; over the next decade it’s expected to be one of the biggest forces in driving sales for brands.

KFC: The Big Comeback Re-emerging after lockdown has been a challenge for many hospitality brands this past year, as the pandemic forced restaurants like KFC to abruptly close. The challenge was to use video advertising to generate footfall into their branches, all whilst safeguarding the brand.

Again, utilising user-generated content is key. KFC fans from all over the UK were recreating hand-made chicken wings and posting online how much they were missing their favourite fries. ‘The Big Comeback’ led to vital sale increases with the bonus of winning major awards. #WeRemember Okay, I promise this one isn’t all user-generated content.

Instead, #WeRemember was almost entirely created with stock video (video available to purchase). This didn’t stop it racking up millions of views across social media, providing a dose of positivity all whilst promoting The Social Co and increasing their client portfolio.

The feel-good campaign was launched at the beginning of lockdown and rapidly shared across social media sites all around the world. Their plan was to use video to help grow their business, and with celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg sharing, it definitely achieved that.

Are you all set to create amazing video? Regardless of the type of business you manage, using video can have a massive influence on your marketing and sales. Big brands are moving their ad budget away from TV and towards Facebook and YouTube. Digital Advertising and video can increase your conversion rates, help you launch a new product and even make a skating enthusiast from Wyoming famous. Don’t get left behind, get into video. www.pmwcom.co.uk

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Branding Getting Back to Basics The Christmas ads are now a distant memory but what we learned from them in the 2020 line up was that brands were, more than ever, vying for consumer attention at the end of what was a brutal year for business.

Brand purpose

What was clear in all of these campaigns, however, was a real shift in tone and messaging. The ads were stripped down to basics, focussing on messages of comfort, hope and simplicity, backing up a quote from Marketing Week that “Purpose will be central to rebuilding brands, post Covid” and how “brands should recognise that purpose creates distinctiveness and will be key to future growth.”

A really effective example of this is the brand ‘Who Gives a Crap’, which sells toilet roll to build toilets. This brand is bold, it knows what it stands for, it has a social mission, 50% of its profits go to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world – it works because it such a simple idea and a simple story to understand immediately but for some businesses, it is far more complex. When thinking about your strategy, ask yourself these questions:

The 2020 Guinness advert sent a clear message of resilience and assurance by taking pieces of footage from previous adverts over the years, piecing them together, and showing how they have endured the test of time – the core message from this advert wasn’t about the calibre of the product but the ethos of the brand. As cited in the Harvard Business Review, “The nuances of brand voice are more delicate than ever’ whilst data from YouGov suggests that ‘brands which put people first have surged in popularity.’

Consumer behaviour has changed during the course of the pandemic and as more have been forced to shop online, brands really do need to look at ways to differentiate themselves from the competition, to win over consumers and to build trust in their audience.

Many businesses have reacted to this shift by panicking and jumping straight to the more obvious technical solutions, but solutions need solid foundations to last. So now really is the time to, first and foremost, understand your brand, strip it back to basics and embark on a brand re-set.

Getting your branding right and delivering a consistent and clear strategy is what will nurture consumer trust and loyalty, so it’s time to do the things that you must do as opposed to those that it is nice to have.

Ask yourself this question: Do you really understand who you are? The most basic steps to take are as follows: 1.Audit yourself 2.Understand what you stand for 3.Asses what your impact is 4.Ask yourself what you need to do to re-set The three key areas to focus on are your brand purpose, brand strategy and brand identity

This is really what you stand for and consumers are becoming more and more switched on to.

1.Why should your customers care?

2.Why do you/does your product/service, make their life better and/or easier?

3.What impact do you want to make in the wider world?

You have to remember that that purpose is for the long-term good of your business and being disingenuous will have a negative impact on your brand.

As a positive example, take Tony Chocolonely. This brand has campaigned for many years to make 100% slave-free (chocolate) the law, supported equality and continue to be campaigning for this. So when many jumped on the bandwagon for the Black Lives Matter movement, Tony’s purpose really had gravitas and the advert they brought out at the time had real meaning. It is something they were already doing and will continue to do as part of their ethos – it’s not a fad – consumers see through fads.

Brand Strategy Customers can see through the bulls**t. They want to be able to see your ‘soul’. exactly what it is you offer and now more than ever, who you are and what you stand for. They want to be able to connect with you and feel that you are connecting with them.

It is essential to consider the following when drilling down to see who and what you are: 1.Be clear on your vision and mission 2.Look closely at your competitors – don’t be tempted to copy but always keep a close eye on what they are doing.

3.Dig deep under the skin of your customers and find out exactly who they are and what they stand for 4.Analyse if your proposition fits with your purpose and your customers – all elements need to align for the strategy to succeed.

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Brand Identity So many businesses have no idea what their identity is, hence, the need for a branding re-set. You need to think about your visual identity, the language you use and your tone of voice and ask yourself if it really reflects your brand and if it is still relevant.

You have to remember that a brand is not just a logo and a website is not a digital presence.

Be consistent, EVERYWHERE! Look at everything you are currently doing and expose every nook and cranny where your brand appears and where your customers might see it.

Reviewing it in the way your customers do will provide really context and highlight gaps and inconsistencies.

Consumers are fickle. They can be your best friends yet your harshest critics and the competition to entice and keep them has never been stronger as more and more brands have had to shift online. Now is the time to have that re-set; go back to basics, evaluate who and what you are and keep your message simple.

Author: Gayle Carpenter, Director of creative agency, Sparkloop www.sparkloop.com

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Improving Competitiveness Through Communication It’s fair to say that businesses across all industries haven’t had it easy lately. Not only having to contend with the fallout from a global pandemic, but also the repercussions of Brexit, have meant that businesses are under greater pressure than ever before. Particularly within industries such as manufacturing, organisations are now tasked with finding new ways to adapt and become more competitive, and they must capitalise on opportunities to improve efficiency, productivity and ultimately, profitability.

place, instead of constantly fighting the same fires.

If we want our economy to not only bounce back, but bounce back better and deliver the growth that is needed – businesses need to act now. As the world is recovering from the pandemic we know that new opportunities will arise so we need to empower our businesses to capitalise on these opportunities. To enable this, they require investment which must be channeled through to the right businesses as quickly as possible, whilst the opportunities are there.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Businesses cannot afford to wait for the pandemic to be over and for the impact of Brexit to settle before making changes.

Enormous efforts are already being witnessed within manufacturing companies to ensure processes are not only more streamlined, but that workplaces and processes have been arranged in a way that tasks can be completed most effectively and just in time processes have been established with the same objectives.

However, when it comes to detecting and fixing critical issues which can cause production lines to stop or slow down, create waste, or harm staff or the environment, the same level of efficiency has not yet been reached. But sectors that operate industrial machinery, such as utilities and manufacturing, cannot afford such delays to their operations. As Klaus Allion, MD, ANT Telecom, explains, now is the time for organisations to make changes for the better and unlock greater productivity, safety and efficiency gains to achieve a competitive advantage, even with fewer people physically on site.

Deploying human and machine skill The impact of the pandemic has demonstrated how important technology is to support critical business processes and infrastructure, and equally, the role that human resources have to play. However, businesses are still not accurately identifying where human and technical skill could be used most effectively, leaving huge gaps where greater efficiencies could be gained.

Many companies have rightly invested in highly qualified staff and training to increase employee skill sets, but all too often they continue to use this resource for tasks they’re overqualified for. Instead, these experts should be able to concentrate on putting the processes and documentation in

There is one element that can overcome the challenges of resource allocation and detecting machinery issues: using technology more effectively and in some areas taking human latency out of the equation. By automating processes and even decision-making, valuable time can be gained, enabling employees to concentrate on the issues where human engagement is required to find a solution.

Any monitoring technology should be smarter than just reporting on a binary level (i.e. working or not working).

Continuous monitoring can show change and variation in patterns, for example increased vibration that if undetected or ignored could lead to an unexpected and sudden breakdown.

This continued monitoring can ensure that preventative action can be taken ahead of escalation, at a time when it is least disruptive to the business.

Often, errors, miscommunication and confusion can occur within complex team setups where there is a lack of clarity over who can fix an issue when it occurs, and how quickly it can be done. A centralised operations function may seem the best approach, but once an issue is flagged, what is the delegation process? They would need to first assess who needs to be contacted regarding the issue. Perhaps the problem requires a local third party or a specialist, but what if they are unavailable and the issue requires an urgent fix? Do they have a list of alternative options to contact? This process takes up valuable time – particularly wasteful for repeat incidents.

What many managers may not realise is that if a machine or process issue can use automation to communicate an error to a central platform, automation can also be used to communicate the issue to relevant parties that can resolve or assist in its overall management. The key is having the flexibility in place to report the issue to the right person or group with the right skill sets to fix the issue efficiently and to a high standard. In some cases the right person might be an engineer or first aider who happens to be close to the incident at the time. Automation platforms can help to not only distribute alerts to the appropriately skilled person, but also to the person(s) in the right area geographically. With the right workflows in place based on the event or incident detected, the most appropriate staff can be alerted depending on the issue at hand, rather than the same team having to deal with every issue and delegate accordingly.

Additionally, with a 360 degree process, an alarm management platform can record the entire alarm chain as part of an audit trail, as staff interactions and actions are logged. Reoccurring issues can be documented and fault analysis checklist and

ENTREPRENEUR troubleshooting guides can be distributed together with the alert. This ensures the fault analyses and resolution process is consistent across the organisation and issues are resolved as efficiently as possible.

Intervening with technology Technology can also allow any issues that cannot be resolved quickly and efficiently on site to be escalated to remote experts.

Using technology that allows efficient collaboration with a support or expert team will further improve responsiveness.

Being able to reach a group of experts with one button click to quickly identify the most appropriate one to help is quicker than having to make multiple calls and waiting for responses.

With this approach, staff are freed up to concentrate on specialist tasks, and employees with less experience can then be upskilled, without impacting efficiency. Furthermore, it ensures the organisation’s fault resolution process is consistent, so that even if an expert leaves the company, the process will be able to continue seamlessly.

By automating processes and securing the right balance of using both technology and human intervention, higher productivity and greater efficiencies can be gained, even with fewer people onsite. As a result, the organisation will not only remain competitive, but will also be resilient, profitable, and above all, able to operate safely.

Considering lone workers In a lone worker scenario, consideration of how responders can locate the member of staff in an emergency must be a priority. Any lone worker solution should have the ability to provide location information, such as GPS, or for more accurate indoor location, WiFi triangulation or beacons.

In any emergency response scenario, instant communication is critical to ensure a timely resolution – especially if a worker’s life may be at risk. But rapid communication is also important for a critical machinery incident – if experts or support can be reached with simply the press of a button, then any parts, tools, actions or advice needed can be delivered immediately.

Companies need to deploy technology solutions, such as integrated lone worker and communication devices – for example, Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC) or Digital Radio – to ensure that all employees are connected. This is imperative for ensuring optimum team communication, collaboration, morale, welfare, mental and physical health and personal safety.

Conclusion UK businesses can greatly improve their competitiveness by improving efficiency. But this needn’t be an overwhelming task for any organisation as often existing technology can be used – it’s about using the technology more effectively and in some cases, taking human latency out of the equation. The sooner you can help your organisation to improve efficiency, the faster your company can benefit from opportunities arising. Capitalising on these now will be the difference between surviving and thriving.

Now is the time to analyse where your immediate wins are and to safeguard your organisation in the future. www.anttelecom.co.uk

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How Influencers and Brands can Restore our Planet If the last few years has taught us anything, it’s that sustainability needs to become a focus within all of our lives – and it has, and is continuing to become ever-more prominent.

Everybody is taking more responsibility for the impact they have on the environment, and now, social media influencers are using their platform for the greater good and are encouraging their audiences to take more care, too.

Social media is becoming less focused on materialistic items, and is beginning to turn its attention to making an impact on the things that really matter. And what’s more important than the world we live in? From fashion to food and travel, social media influencers are the voice of Gen-Z, and more and more are on a mission to do good and restore our earth. Here, Amelia Neate, Senior Manager at Influencer Matchmaker, shares a few influencers that will help you in your journey to live a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle.

Fashion Fashion is an industry that is traditionally known for not being all that economical or sustainable, however times are changing, and so are brands and their consumers, as #sustainablefashion has been used more than 10.5 million times on Instagram alone. Fashion influencers such as Em Sheldon and Charlie Irons are investing in timeless classics and wardrobe staples as opposed to trend-driven pieces that will only be worn for one season of the year. Whilst more expensive, these items are made and bought to last – for decades. Particularly for items such as coats, shoes and outerwear – all of which are often designed with durability and versatility in mind.

So, it is great to see influencers such as Em and Charlie using their large followings to promote a more positive and sustainable way of enjoying fashion.

Travel Upon first thought, travel isn’t the most sustainable of industries, however there are a few things we can do minimise the impact it can have on the environment as well as reducing our carbon footprint elsewhere. Parenting and travel bloggers Travel Mad Mum Karen, and Travel Mad Dad Shaun, understand how their travelling can be the cause of carbon concern.

To balance out their air miles and emissions released by road trips, as a family they eat sustainably, reduce waste and ensure that they recycle and reuse all they can.

In a previous campaign, Karen partnered with travel guidance brand ABTA to give her audience advice on making holidays greener. From educating children on recycling, through to

combined travel such as taking trains or cycling, Karen and her family work hard to promote a sustainable, circular economy.

Food Food waste is a huge problem on a global scale, so it is incredible to see social media influencers encouraging their followers to lead a zero-waste lifestyle. Matt, from Daddy Cooks Food and Bintu, from Recipes From a Pantry are two food influencers who are keen limit food waste and help contribute to a circular food economy.

Regularly sharing organic and sustainable food products and services, both Matt and Bintu are making a green and sustainable contribution to the world we live in.

Brands are also making a change It isn’t just social media influencers who are using their influential power and social media status to make a change, but brands, too. Brands are becoming increasingly aware of the ever changing needs of their consumers, many of which revolve around leading more sustainable lifestyles – starting with making conscious decisions when it comes to shopping habits.

Consumers are now seeking multi-purpose packaging, reduced waste and environmentally-friendly materials and Robert Lockyer, founder of Delta Global, a sustainable packaging solutions provider for luxury fashion brands, explains how brands can achieve just that.

“Whilst many brands are working hard to ensure their products are sustainable, many are forgetting to do the same for their packaging.

“The packaging of the products is the first thing a consumer will see, and it is important for the packaging to uphold the same ethos and values as the products and the rest of the brand.”

Robert also explains that removing plastic from packaging and reusing recycled materials is a great first step in the right direction.

He says, “Gone are the days when parcels arrived full of single-use plastic. Whilst it’s no longer acceptable, it is also completely unnecessary as there are a variety of other materials that brands can use to keep products safe.

“And where plastic is used, brands should ensure that it can be reused, repurposed and recycled.”

So,we urge brands and influencers alike to restore our planet; one post and one purchase at a time.

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Creating a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Most businesses will complete regular risk assessments as standard practice. They’re crucial to reducing the threat of financial or reputational loss and give you an overview of the high-risk areas you must address.

One type of risk analysis that is critical but sometimes overlooked is a cybersecurity risk assessment. In today’s digitalfirst world, it’s difficult to overstate the importance of analysing and addressing threats to your IT security. Making it a regular occurrence is also advised because cybercriminals are finding new holes in your defences every day.

To address these threats, full and frequent cybersecurity audits are necessary to review:

1.Weaknesses in your business systems.

2. Outdated hardware or software.

3. The security awareness of your employees Here are the basic steps you need to take to perform a cybersecurity risk assessment.

Audit your hardware and business systems You can’t understand the risks associated with your technology if you don’t keep track of it in the first place. Maintaining a comprehensive record of all the technology in your business can sometimes be tricky. If departments in your business are making shadow IT purchases – implementing technology without signoff from your IT team – it can quickly become unmanageable.

Identifying and auditing your most important and widely-used IT assets will help you understand which solutions make up the biggest percentage of your attack surface. For example, most of your employees will likely use your customer relationship management (CRM) software. If you haven’t tied down access rights, hackers could get in through a backdoor. Similarly, you can stop people from sharing customer information externally by limiting the number of people who can download large amounts of data.

Keeping a rolling kit of your hardware will also allow you to schedule your patching. Updating well-known security risks like unsupported devices or operating systems (OS) should be a high priority. Windows 7, which reached its end of life in January 2020, has been targeted with a password-stealing scam due to its vulnerabilities. This highlights how critical it is to patch software and hardware regularly.

Address the most likely incidents When we think of strengthening our cybersecurity, it’s natural to focus on protecting your business from external threats like hackers. That’s important, but you also need to look at other common incidents and their risk.

With GDPR in force, data security is a high priority for most businesses. It’s important to note that business data can be compromised accidentally as well as deliberately. If your people use removable storage devices like USB sticks, there’s a risk they could be lost or stolen – like in the case of Heathrow Airport.

Equally, if cybercriminals are targeting your business with phishing emails, consider the risk level of your people clicking on the malicious links and filling in their login details.

You can reduce the likelihood of these threats reaching your employees in the first place by using powerful email filtering tools. As hackers’ tools, like the highly evolved Ryuk ransomware, are continually becoming more sophisticated, you need to consider what will happen next.

Educating your workforce about the cyberthreat landscape and how they can play a role in keeping your business secure is vital. You can do this by: 1. Providing digital and in-person training materials.

2. Psing a phishing simulation tool to test existing staff knowledge.

3.Outsourcing security training to a managed IT support organisation.

Identify the level of risk and prioritise actions A risk assessment isn’t finished once you’ve identified the most pertinent risks. Next, you need to understand how to address the risks you’ve identified.

Let’s say you know a lot of your employees take confidential information to on-site customer meetings using USB sticks.

They travel via public transport and their storage devices aren’t encrypted. This means your vulnerability is high: there’s a high risk of those items being lost or stolen and accessed by a malicious third-party.

This should therefore be one of the first items you address.

You can split down actions into quick wins and long-term strategies. So, a quick win would be implementing a policy that states removable storage devices must be encrypted and/or password-protected. A long-term strategy could be implementing a cloud storage solution to allow your people

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to access their documents anytime, anywhere, and eliminate the need for USB sticks.

Don’t forget about your remote workforce If your business has back-office staff, chances are a proportion of them will be working from home at the moment. In fact, according to a survey by IESE Business School, SD Worx and CASS Business School 65% of all British employees switched to remote working during lockdown.

That presents additional risks to the security of your business.

A study by IBM found that 53% of remote workers are working using their personal devices, while 61% say their employer hasn’t issued any guidance on securing those devices. This presents a number of risks to your security, including: · Lower-grade security solutions on your employees’ personal devices, leaving gaps for hackers · Hidden malware or bloatware which has been unknowingly installed · Sensitive information accessible by non-employees.

You can easily mitigate these risks by providing employees with laptops or, if that’s not possible, enterprise-grade cloud storage solutions which add layers of protection to work files.

Similarly, unsecured home WiFi networks present a risk to security. By installing a business virtual private network (VPN), you can encrypt employees’ connection to your network.

In today’s information age, cybersecurity risk assessments are an integral part of your business’ processes. Hackers are taking advantage of businesses and their homeworkers right now, meaning an increase in your attack surface. By carrying out a thorough risk assessment, you can identify the systems which need protecting most urgently. You can then create a comprehensive action plan which addresses the high-risk areas of your business first, before looking at securing every potential entry point for cybercriminals.

About the Author Barry O’Donnell is the Chief Operating Officer at TSG, offering managed IT support in London, with expertise across a range of areas including Office 365, Dynamics 365, document management and business intelligence.

Article Sources: https://secure2.sophos.com/en-us/medialibrary/GatedAssets/white-papers/sophos-ransomware-the-cyberthreatthat-just-wont-die-wp.pdf http://filecache.mediaroom.com/mr5mr_ibmnews/186506/ IBM_Security_Work_From_Home_Study.pdf https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/09/29/ microsoft-digital-defense-report-cyber-threats/ https://www.tsg.com/blog/windows-10/it%E2%80%99s-timebreak-windows-7

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3 Luxury Beauty Brands Leading the Way With Sustainability The sustainable beauty market has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years, with many luxury beauty brands working towards the ultimate goal of being sustainable and eco-friendly whilst maintaining luxury status. The key to sustainability is to be authentic and transparent with customers, along with actively campaigning for changes in the industry. Many brands begin their journey by creating refillable containers, reducing excess wastage and utilising less plastic and more glass containers.

Daisy Roach researched into some of the most impressive luxury beauty brands that are changing their image for the better.

Kjaer Weiss Beauty line Kjaer Weiss is one of the pioneers of sustainable luxury beauty, as they have implemented a refill system with their products, ensuring their packaging does not need to be discarded. All packaging is made out of high-quality metal that can be refilled as many times as necessary. By creating packaging that provides solutions to the problems faced by beauty brands, Kjaer Weis is proving that ‘beauty, luxury and sustainability can coexist’.

Hermès When Hermès brought out their first lipstick collection, Rouge Hermès, in 2020, their packaging made headlines when it was announced they would be fully refillable, encouraging customers to treat their lipsticks as a loved item, in a similar way as one would with a piece of jewellery. Designed to last a lifetime alongside being 100% plastic free, Hermès have set an important precedent which they plan to continue with in the future.

Tata Harper Skincare Another brand that has combined luxury and sustainability is Tata Harper Skincare, where all formulas are 100% natural and biodegradable, meaning they do not pollute the earth or people’s bodies. With all products being made on a farm in Vermont, there is no outsourcing or unnecessary shipping, which significantly shrinks the brands Carbon Footprint, and reduces wastage. The majority of their products are sold in glass packaging, and the items that are sold in tubes are made with recyclable sugarcane plastic. On top of this, the paper used is sourced from sustainably managed forests, and to reduce the toxicity of cartons, the brand uses soy ink. Overall, Tata Harper are leading the way with their sustainability initiatives, and plan to expand to refillable and reusable packaging in the future to reduce single-use products.

Giorgio Armani Finally, Perfume bottles have always been notoriously difficult to locally recycle, however recently many brands have begun creating refillable bottles to encourage less wastage. Giorgio Armani’s My Way fragrance is sold in a refillable and recyclable container, which cuts down plastic waste by a huge 64%. Not only are they working to become more sustainable through their packaging, but also through their values. The vanilla used in scents is sourced through a programme that is created to directly benefit local communities in Madagascar, and everpresent carbon emissions are offset by eco-conscious projects that focus on biodiversity protection and reforestation in the same area. Following such success with the perfume, Giorgio Armani Beauty has plans to follow the sustainability route, committing to achieving carbon neutrality by 2025.

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Why CRM has Become Even More Important in a Post-COVID World For many businesses, acquiring new customers during the pandemic will have become much harder as a result of having to manage remote sales teams, customers tightening their spend and future economic uncertainty. As we slowly move through the roadmap out of lockdown, businesses are beginning to emerge from ‘survival mode’ and look ahead to the future. It is essential that new opportunities are managed effectively, and existing customer relationships are nurtured as business begins to pick up.

For some, the idea of investing in CRM software may not be at the top of their priority list but it can play a key role in acquiring new customers and developing stronger, more profitable relationships with existing ones. Here, Adam Hannath Client Relationship Director at BuddyCRM outlines why now is the time to invest in a CRM as we head to a post-COVID world.

Remote working Businesses are currently trying to operate as effectively as they did pre-pandemic. When everyone was in one office, it was much easier for managers to keep track of the status of potential leads and current customers. Yet over the past year, more and more staff have been working remotely.

However, businesses across many industries still face a common challenge in keeping track of the daily workings of their business. Many companies have realised that they need far more than an Excel spreadsheet and regular calls to keep their affairs on track, as managing teams has become far more difficult without physical interactions and conversations. As a result, businesses have started to open up to the idea of CRM as a means to understand their business’s day-to-day procedures.

By implementing a CRM, managers are able to have a complete overview of all elements of their operations by keeping track of customer engagement, potential leads, workflow and tasks assigned to individual team members. CRM allows companies to bring all elements of the business and all employees into one central place virtually, to aid remote working and track client relations.

Although we are likely to see many businesses return to the office later this year, more and more are opting for blended working, with some staff working remotely and others in the office. This allows the flexibility of remote working, but also means teams can meet in person if needed. If a business chooses this hybrid working model, a CRM system can allow a smooth transition between office and home working, to ensure that no matter where team members are, they can work efficiently.

Having a well-integrated CRM is also extremely beneficial when bringing staff members back from furlough. It provides a clear overview of the current status of all clients and potential leads

as well as outlining all activity that has taken place whilst they were away, so they can quickly get up to speed when returning to work.

Do more with less It is necessary to re-evaluate existing processes and systems to determine whether a business can be more efficient postpandemic. CRM software automates repetitive activities and increases the speed of customer acquisition and service delivery. This can drive down cost of sale and increase profit margins. In addition, if a business currently has team members on furlough and is working with a skeleton body of staff, having a CRM that automates time-consuming tasks can be extremely beneficial in maximising your employees’ productivity, as they are spending less of their working hours undertaking admin, and more driving sales and servicing clients.

With sophisticated reporting and the opportunity to monitor staff output and resulting sales performance, CRM solutions drive accountability by ensuring staff members work towards consistent sales objectives, with each stage of the sales cycle documented to showcase success rate.

Maximising value from existing customers As businesses tighten their financial outgoings until the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 is over, acquiring new customers will be undoubtably harder than it was prepandemic. Therefore for sales teams it is necessary to develop stronger, more profitable relationship with existing customers, as this can help the team retain and upsell. CRM software helps businesses develop a deeper understand of customers to maximise their value. All too often, customers are cast aside and not delivered the same level of service when they transition from ‘new’ to ‘existing’. An effective CRM solution helps business owners overcome this challenge by documenting all correspondence with existing customers, therefore showcasing those regularly interacted with vs those that have been ‘forgotten’.

Going forward business leaders need to work on striking a balance between engaging with and converting new customers, whilst retaining them for as long as possible. The right CRM solution can help do just that, whilst supporting teams working remotely, to ensure they provide current and potential customers with a well-rounded customer experience.

About the Author Adam Hannath is Client Relationship Director at Buddy CRM, a Midlands based B2B sales & marketing software company offering bespoke CRM packages aimed at medium sized sales teams in mid-market organisations. https://buddycrm.com/

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What online shopping boom means for early-stage investing

By Chantelle Arneaud, Envestors. The amount of online shopping rose sharply in 2019 influenced by Covid-19 however, it had been on the rise since 2007. It now accounts for just under 30%[i]of total retail sales in the UK. Importantly this is an irreversible trend.

In the past twelve months we’ve seen the demise of iconic high-street retailers that had been part of the UK’s cultural landscape. Debenhams had over two hundred years of history, while the younger Top Shop was frequently referred to as the ‘jewel of the high street’. Yet both fell into administration.

The way we shop has changed forever.[ii] It’s easy to write this off as consumer behaviour that has nothing to do with early-stage investing. However, the expansion of online shopping is not limited to clothing or everyday consumable.

It is an important part of the buying process for all types of buyers for all types of products. As entrepreneurs will be aware, whether you’re buying an enterprise-grade software solution, a house, a bicycle, or equity in a business, the online channel is a crucial part of the journey.

Purchasing decisions start with research online For both B2B buyers and consumers, the buying process begins with online research. A Google study confirmed that 92% of people begin their buying journey online. That leaves only 8% wholly reliant on other means to investigate purchasing decisions.

Do angel investors fall into the 8%?

A common belief in the early-stage investing space is that High Net Worths (HNW) don’t like to do things online. However, this is proven not to be the case. A PWC study found that 98% use the internet daily[iii]and for up to three hours. Beyond this, a second study by Accenture Consulting[iv]confirmed 83% use digital for financial services. It’s worth pointing out that both of these studies are several years old, and it is reasonable to assume that the use rates of digital have increased since the time of publication.

So, if you’re a network promoting investment opportunities and you’re not using the online channel, you are absolutely missing out on a key phase of the investors’ journey.

Customer loyalty can’t be relied on Networks which don’t offer the convenience of an online channel to their investors may believe that it doesn’t matter; your investors have been with you for years and are loyal.

Another look at retail proves that there is no such thing as customer loyalty.

The loyal customer base that Debenhams and Top Shop built up, slowly trickled away as new digital-first players came in and offered a better, more tailored experience.

It’s easy to blame the pandemic. But the truth is that Covid-19 was but the last nail in the coffin for these iconic retailers. Both were struggling before Jan 2020. The reason: they weren’t giving their customers what they wanted.

Generations grew up, times changed, new savvier players like Asos, came into the market – and their once-loyal customers left.

Customers are only loyal for as long as it suits them. If something better comes along, they will move on.

What we’re seeing in the early-stage investment market is a number of new digital-first investment clubs like the Envestors Private Investment Club, Angels Den, or Chorus.

These next-generation investment networks are the Asos of the investment space. They understand that investors want always-on, self-service access to deals and they are ready to deliver.

Shared interests, experiences and data Since 2003, when Amazon began its category expansion, all other retailers have struggled to keep up with them. There are myriad reasons for this, but a core one is their mastery of data. A digital-first company, Amazon knows more about its customers than they’d probably be comfortable with.

They collect data from every interaction, and use it alongside trend data from other customers, in order to help users make buying decisions. They are so good at it they often identify you need something before you’ve even realised.

Can angel networks say the same thing?

Do you really know what your investors are interested in without taking advantage of all the options digital has to offer?

Investment networks are reliant on face-to-face interaction and personal relationships. Now, relationships are crucial to early-stage investing. But data can be used to empower your existing relationships.

With online platforms you can collect data on investor interests – both those they state explicitly and those you can infer based on their online behaviour. This data, at both

ENTREPRENEUR the individual and macro level, can be invaluable to you in catering to their needs.

Take the case of an investor who has told you they are interested in B2B SaaS, but through data analysis you see they’ve begun browsing deals in the cleantech space.

Perhaps they’ve decided they want to add some companies in this industry to their portfolio, or perhaps the interest is latent and they themselves are unaware of it. You might decide to introduce them to other investors experienced in the space or even hold a forum to discuss trends or specific deals. This little insight can very easily be used to deepen engagement among your audience.

Another application is in deal selection. With data on which deals are getting the most engagement you can start to look for similar deals to bring to your investors.

Change is inevitable The early-stage investment space is a traditional one – for now. But as we saw in the retail example, traditions can be supplanted as quickly as a Prime delivery.

Needs have undoubtedly changed. We are at a point where people expect an always-on, personalised service. They like to be empowered to do their own research and to drive their own agenda and without a digital offering they have to wait.

Given this, traditional networks need to move ahead. If not, they’ll fall behind the new players who are catering to the needs of the modern investor.

About the author Chantelle Arneaud is from Envestors. The company’s digital investment platform brings together entrepreneurs and investors across geographies, communities and sectors – creating the single marketplace for early stage investment in the UK. Envestors partners with accelerators, incubators and angel networks to provide a white-label platform empowering them to promote deals, engage investors and connect to other networks.

Founded in 2004, Envestors has helped more than 200 high growth businesses raise more than £100m through its own private investment club. Envestors is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. www.envestors.co.uk

Article sources: 1.https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/ retailindustry/timeseries/j4mc/drsi 2.https://kinsta.com/blog/ecommerce-statistics/ 3.https://www.pwc.com/sg/en/publications/assets/wealth-20sink-or-swim-gx.pdf 4.https://www.accenture.com/t20150703T033306__w__/_ acnmedia/Accenture/Conversion-Assets/DotCom/ Documents/Global/PDF/Dualpub_17/Accenture-High-NetWorth-Investors-Gen-D-Europe.pdf

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How to grow a business in challenging times: Pure Sport CBD

By Grayson Hart, Co-Founder of Pure Sport CBD. I started Pure Sport CBD alongside my friend and pro rugby teammate Adam. At the time we both benefited hugely from CBD and were able to replace pain killers, sleep better, recover from injuries quicker, feel more focused and less stressed. It really was a game changer, but the issue was no CBD brand in the world was certified as safe for drug tested professionals in sport and other careers that are drug tested. The industry was poorly regulated too so there were risks for all CBD consumers. There was a big gap in the market to provide very stringently lab tested and certified CBD. Because we were desperate for it ourselves, we made it our mission as customers to find a solution, and then quickly turned to the idea of creating our own range because almost zero CBD brands in the world were providing this desired level of clarity. We used our savings to create these products to be the best and to have the most stringent and clear cut lab testing around. We became the first brand in the world to have a full range of CBD products officially certified to be 100% safe and clean for drug tested professionals world wide.

Where this left us, however, was with the most premium and trusted CBD products available, but with no marketing budget and no actual experience between us on how to grow a business. Thankfully our brand has grown from strength to strength and to a point that far exceeded both of our expectations. It has taken a huge amount of time, effort, problem solving (I have learned business should change its name to “Problem Solving” ) to get to where we are today and we have such a long way to go!

Here are some of the lessons I have learned along the way: Be authentic: Allow your own voice to come through. This took a while and was scary because we all have self doubt. We all try to sound and look like the big boys in business, but people appreciate and relate to realness. Everyone has got that bit of underdog in them. This does not mean you don’t take pride and have the highest of standards, but rather you allow your true voice, passion and commitment to come through the brand, and this makes striving for better easier.

People see through inauthenticity right away. We never tried to portray an image of being bigger than we were, we showed up to meetings and let people know we did not know the answers to some things and that we were not experts. People actually want to help you when you are humble enough to say ‘yes I really do need your help and expertise’.

Passion: When going through very challenging times where things just are not going to plan, the one thing you can always fall back on to keep you driven is the passion you have for the

brand you are building. For Pure Sport, this was set on a solid foundation of knowing we had left no stone unturned to create products that were the best and most trusted. Even though we were the underdog with no budget! With this stellar product, we always wanted to push forward and see it through.

People: Trust your intuition when it comes to who you bring onto the team. When you are hustling to get through the noise of a flooded market and you don’t have the cash of the big boys to stand out, you need to go into the trenches with those who will fight to progress the brand the way you will. Learn from people and appreciate their expertise, but just because they’re an expert and like your brand doesn’t mean they’re the right fit. When you are on to a winner, many people will want a piece of the pie and many believe that their past success or titles makes them a great candidate. But trust your instinct, what are they really bringing to the party? Are they backing themselves or is the risk all in your court if they don’t pull their weight. The ones that will hustle with you will be willing to back themselves from the start.

Build a brand over selling products: Of course you want to sell products, that is your bread and butter, but the thing is how? The answer is in building a brand rather than just a product.

Building community around a lifestyle and sense of belonging has been essential to us. We have some amazing ambassadors who are essential to us. They are people that love the products and naturally and authentically represent us because they know who is behind the brand and they are part of the Pure Sport family. On this same note, our customers are seen as our number one ambassadors. We treat them with the respect and time of a key ambassador. The buy in and connection and word of mouth sharing we get from this is hugely valuable to us. Unfortunately, there is no quick hack for this. It’s all about your time, commitment and passion in every interaction, every piece of content, every email, every event. Sometimes this can be tiring, but if you believe in your products and you alway remind yourself how meaningful it is to humans to truly care and connect with them, you’ll find the motivation. Especially in challenging times like these, having this philosophy can keep you motivated and energised. If every customer feels helped, or a part of your community, then that’s a victory on the board.

Never forgetting why you started Thankfully for us this is easy, we needed the amazing benefits of CBD but we could not trust what was out there so we created that for us and others. We have a genuine journey that continues to unfold and never forgetting why we started and having a team thats driven by the being part of the journey is essential. www.puresportcbd.com

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Benefits of Virtual Events to Kickstart Post-Pandemic Recovery

By Toby Lewis, CEO at Live Group. COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way that businesses and brands have been engaging with their audiences. Lockdown restrictions have increasingly turned marketing strategies digital – indeed, mobile ad spend alone in Q2 2020 had risen by 71% over Q2 2019.[1]However, few businesses have made full use of virtual events to increase meaningful engagement.

Companies can no longer afford to postpone activities whilst waiting for ‘normal’ life to resume. Instead, they should revolutionise their programmes to progress away from standard activities of webinars and roundtables. Virtual events are here to stay, and innovative new digital platforms are developing apace; businesses across sectors should be leveraging their potential now to jumpstart post-pandemic recovery.

Making up for missed opportunities COVID-19 restrictions have meant that companies have lost out on a huge amount of networking opportunities. Large international events that have been the fulcrum of business engagement for many industries – such as the Paris Fintech Forum, which saw attendees from 75 countries in 2019 – were unable to host their activities, and as a result there has been a real difficulty in making meaningful in-person connections.

Some global conferences have turned to digital events to navigate this issue and have reaped the benefits of being able to offer relevant and data-driven content as well as efficient networking channels. Now, individual companies should be looking to gain the same advantages by using online platforms to host their own virtual events, driving meaningful engagement through content that is tailored to their audiences in creative new formats.

digital platforms can gather a huge amount of insight that can inform marketing and engagement strategies in both the long- and short-term.

However, virtual events can also offer significant benefits to the consumer. By nature, online platforms navigate many of the logistical challenges that are presented by in-person events. Attendees can log in from their own homes in an environment that is comfortable to them, eliminating travel costs and ensuring that engagement is accessible, inclusive and sustainable.

This individual journey continues across the whole lifecycle of the event and translates into how the audience can engage with the platform outside of any live elements. A ‘peer hub’ can provide participants with personalised profiles and integrated search tools, which can identify relevant fellow delegates, sponsors or exhibitors for networking opportunities. Channels that navigate discussions around pre- and post-event material can generate a significant amount of audience driven content, aiding discovery and collaboration.

Companies across sectors should be prioritising these goals in all elements of their business models to ensure long-term success, and virtual events can be the first stepping-stone.

Overlooked strengths

Reap the rewards of virtual engagement

Many businesses have understandably focussed their attention towards online content in the last year. This has meant that channels are now saturated with digital marketing – 96% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing and 83% for paid social since 2021.[4] With this level of competition, firms should be more creative in their approach to lead generation, and virtual events are an asset that offer solutions that have been widely overlooked.

Studies show that using event tech can increase attendance by 20% and increase productivity by 27%.[2] The capabilities of virtual activities can far surpass anything that is offered by a standard webinar; attendees can network through fun interactive tools, navigate the event in their own time and establish a unique relationship with the host business. When virtual events offer such opportunities, why should companies hold out for a return to traditional schedules? Harnessing online activities now can lay the groundwork for the type of engagement that offers long-term rewards.

A key advantage of virtual events is that they can offer companies more control. By hosting online activities, business can produce content that is tailored but is also flexible in response to developing attendee interactions.

Importantly, this content can be more accurately placed in front of a relevant audience, thus elevating company profiles and establishing their role as thought leaders in their field.

Such control over a brand’s expertise is hugely valuable in driving successful business connections – particularly in such a competitive digital landscape.

In short, increased event attendance means increased business opportunities, and 52% of organizations running virtual events reported seeing the same or more attendance than they’d expect at an in-person event.[3] The effects of this can be felt far into the future; once the audience is logged in,

Virtual is here to stay Businesses across many sectors will need resilient strategies to make the most of the nation’s emergence

ENTREPRENEUR from the latest lockdown. Virtual events can be a vital step in creating meaningful engagement that can offer long-term rewards, establishing successful customer relationships and consistently driving new lead generation.

An integral focus on sustainability and accessibility means that virtual events have made substantial progress in the absence of in-person activities – companies of all sizes would do well to seize the opportunities they offer to lay the foundation for a prosperous post-pandemic recovery.

About the Author Toby Lewis, CEO of Live Group, has over 25 years’ experience in the communications and events industry. Unashamedly geeky, Toby encourages Live Group to embrace the latest tech and digital services which enable clients to meaningfully engage with new and more diverse audience types informed by their data-driven insights. Pre-COVID, Toby had already identified, built and successfully deployed a range of award winning remote audience engagement technology and the pandemic has accelerated its usage dramatically. It is this technology and the way Live Group deploy it which has helped

transform how events are run. Under Toby’s leadership Live Group has won a clutch of coveted industry awards and his advice on complex events is sought after in the UK and abroad by organisations ranging across charities, medical associations and Government departments. www.livegroup.co.uk Article Sources: [1] https://pubmatic.com/reports/pubmatic-quarterlymobile-index-qmi-q2-2020/#:~:text=PubMatic%20 Quarterly%20Mobile%20Index%20(QMI)%20Q2%20 2020&text=Based%20upon%20the%20analysis%20 of,due%20to%20a%20faster%20recovery.

[2] https://www.socialtables.com/blog/event-technology/ event-technology-trends/ [3] https://www.wildapricot.com/blog/virtual-eventstatistics#virtual-event-promotion[4] https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/09/b2b-2021-research-final.pdf

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Human Insights Can Help Your Business Enter the American Market

By Louis Granger. For the founders of EMEA-based businesses who are looking to scale their empire or strengthen their financial foothold amid the market uncertainty brought on

by COVID, North America stands out as a tempting prospect.

With the highest average disposable income of any of the 37 OECD countries, many look to the US as the ultimate market to ensure their success.

But, as beloved British supermarket giant Tesco can tell you, success isn’t guaranteed in the crowded American market, regardless of how popular your brand may be in its current region. To minimise risk and give your business the best possible chance of success in any new region, you have to start your research and preparation well in advance of your market entry. In this crucial stage, receiving feedback from your target market is invaluable.

With the growing adoption of digital technology, a huge American audience is now at your fingertips to provide you with qualitative feedback on your businesses’ product or service. I was among the first EMEA employees when I joined the human insights platform UserTesting, at a time in which the company already had a significant presence in North America and had established the industry’s largest and most diverse panel of American test participants. It’s through this that I have been able to witness first-hand the value businesses can receive by engaging with their consumers to gain qualitative feedback.

So, if you’re the founder of a business that you’d like to see expand into the US, what are the insights you should look to gain from your research before you take the plunge to minimise the risks involved?

Identify your target market While you may already fully believe in your product or service and have a committed EMEA customer base, there’s no accounting for whether this will translate well to an audience of American consumers. By committing the time to research at an early stage, you can gauge the response to your product or service offering and look to locate a target market in America, minimising your risk in the long run and allowing for you to tailor your approach.

This process can also uncover if you have a viable productmarket fit for the US. When products or services are grounded in genuine market demand, they are vastly more likely to succeed, and you significantly reduce your risk when you make no assumptions about the size of your potential target market and instead invest the time to find out.

Once you’ve identified a target market, you can carefully set your panel parameters to uncover more about that specific demographic’s feelings. These can be vital in identifying any issues so that you can tweak your offering. Thanks to the

depth of information that can be gathered with qualitative research, you can gain a huge amount of insights directly from your target market even with smaller panels.

Recognise cultural differences Many of the biggest international marketing blunders in history could’ve been avoided by getting feedback from a local or native language speaker on the brand’s name, product, UI or advertising before they launched in a new market. While you, your team and your current customers may think your brand is perfectly harmless, there is no accounting for how cultural differences will have it perceived by an American audience unless you ask them directly. Thankfully, remote usability studies can ease any of these concerns for you effectively and easily with open-ended questions which provide a depth of insight not achievable with quantitative research.

Beyond the risk of offending due to cultural differences, there’s another problem: consumers and audiences in different countries will not necessarily want the same product or service packaged up the same way. Globally, people’s shopping habits, eating preferences, customer service expectations and cultural associations are completely different. How these differences will impact your business and its offering should be considered before you enter a new market. While these may only necessitate some minor adjustments, in other cases it could require a complete overhaul to appropriately suit the needs of customers. what3words, the innovative location sharing app, regularly undertakes tests via the UserTesting platform to gain critical insights directly from its US audience to ensure the product resonates with the market and effectively encourages usage.

This enables what3words to gain first-hand knowledge of its US audience to create a better experience for them.

Discover your competitors Each new market you enter will present you with new competitors. User testing enables you to hear directly from the public on which existing businesses they most associate with your product or service offering. Hearing directly from those located in the new market can often uncover businesses you may be unfamiliar with and who have not come up within other research.

Also, by engaging in qualitative research you can not only uncover who the competition is, but you can also learn how they’re best challenged. Huge insights can come from being able to ask a panel about not only what they like about a product or service, but what they dislike. When discussing their favourite brands, individuals are always able to think of some issue or area of weakness that can be improved upon.

With these insights, you can find your competitors’ weaknesses

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If you apply the rich, qualitative insights you gain from user testing, you can lay the groundwork for your business’s successful entry into the American market and significantly reduce any associated risks. While not all products and services are for success in all markets, companies that perform the necessary research and embrace innovation are vastly more likely to succeed.

About the Author Louis Granger is the Head of EMEA Solutions Consulting at UserTesting. UserTesting enables organisations to deliver the best customer experience powered by human insight. With their on-demand Human Insight Platform, companies across industries make accurate customer-first decisions at every level, at the speed business demands. UserTesting customers include more than half of the world’s top brands. www.usertesting.com

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Time Management: Making The Most of Your Morning

By Sid Madge, Meee. Morning is where your day is made. Like much in your life, to get the best out of your mornings you need to manage them. Here are 5 micro-moment ideas to help you start your morning off right so you set yourself up for a fantastic day.

1. Fitness Even just a quick 10-minute power walk around the block to kick start your day can make a huge difference to the way you feel. If you are lucky enough to live near green space and nature, even better. If you are unable to get outside, then there are loads of apps and many online videos that offer quick 7-minute HIT programmes or 10-minute yoga stretching. Take a minute to consider what you could do in the morning and incorporate it into your daily routine.

2. Fuel Most of us don’t realise that we can change the way we feel by either changing what’s going on in our mind or changing what’s going on in our body. Of course, the two are intertwined.

This is why moving first thing in the morning is so beneficial – it changes what’s happening in the body, which influences the hormone levels that can impact mood. The food we eat also impacts how we feel, so pay attention to your breakfast choices. But it’s not just about activity and nutrition. What else are you consuming that might negatively impact your mind?

Are you listening or watching morning news programmes, or reading newspapers, or scrolling through social media? Is a diet of doom and gloom, conspiracy theories, fake news and alternative facts good for you? Take a moment to consider how your current morning ritual makes you feel, and think of something that might leave you feeling better.

3. Kindness We share things all the time—anything from pizza to money— and when we share something, that act of sharing diminishes what we have. But this is not true of kindness. Kindness is the only thing in the world that increases when we share it.

And that’s not just a lovely thought, it has been borne out by research. If we perform just one act of random kindness a day, we will experience less anxiety, stress and depression.

Also, our body is flooded with the same hormones that make both parties calmer, healthier and happier – a double whammy win. These hormones include: serotonin, the feelgood hormone; endorphins—they reduce pain; and oxytocin, which is the bonding hormone and helps to reduce blood pressure. There’s also a third winner in this kindness scenario – those who witness kindness are also more likely to pay if forward. Take a moment each morning to commit to a random act of kindness.

4. Positivity Don’t add to how tough things can be by beating yourself up about poor choices or worrying about the stuff you can’t change or control. Take a minute to think about your life right now. Perhaps you find yourself in a situation you didn’t want or expect – most of us can relate to that! What have you learned about yourself as a result? Always remember, you have the power to turn a negative into a positive.

5. Perspective There is great old fable about a King asking a group of blind men to touch and describe an elephant. The first blind man runs his fingers along the elephant’s trunk and compares it to a pipe or hose. The second blind man, his palms pressed against the elephant’s side, is confused by this and says, “No, it’s like a wrinkly wall”. The third man, who has a hold of the elephant’s leg says that they are both wrong; for him, the elephant is like a tree trunk. And finally, the fourth blind man, gripping the elephant’s tail, disagrees with all of them, suggesting an elephant is more like a rope or a bendy, rough stick. None of the men are aware of the whole elephant; none are experiencing the same thing. Instead, each is getting a partial perspective based on their experience. And yet, they’re all touching the same (patient) elephant.

First thing in the morning, what does your day feel like? An opportunity or an obligation? Likely, it’s both. We all have stuff we have to do and not all of it is pleasurable, but we can make our days much more enjoyable if we shift and/or expand our perspective. Take a minute at the start of each day to map out what you need to do and what you want to do and get stuck in with equal vigour for both. And remember, each day is a fresh opportunity to reset if you need to.

Constructive managed morning habits provide the best possible chance for a fantastic day. And it doesn’t take long to do.

About the Author Sid Madge is founder of Meee (My Education Employment Enterprise) which draws on the best creativity and thinking from the worlds of branding, psychology, neuroscience, education and sociology, to help people achieve extraordinary lives. To date, Meee has transformed the lives of over 20,000 people, from leaders of PLC’s and SME’s to parents, teachers, students, carers, the unemployed and prison inmates.Sid is also author of the ‘Meee in Minute’ series of books which each offer 60 ways to change your life, work-, or family-life in 60 seconds. www.meee.global and www.meeebooks.com

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Setting up a Spa Business in Challenging Times North Wales has a major wellbeing boost with the arrival of the recently opened Wave Garden Spa, a new £1.25m 650 square metre luxury destination spa.

Located within the grounds of the Adventure Parc Snowdonia in the Conwy Valley – an award-winning adventure resort which is home to the world’s first inland surf lagoon – the Wave Garden Spa has been carefully designed to make the most of its natural resources and the magnificent landscapes of Snowdonia.

Complete with state-of-the-art facilities and an environment where its guests will be able to relax and unwind as they enjoy the sound of waves and views of the mountains and forests, the Wave Garden Spa is already very well received and said to be the wellbeing opening of 2021.

The last year, however, hasn’t come without its challenges, with the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc with the travel and hospitality industry. That’s why we spoke with managing director Andy Ainscough and his director and sister Danni Hitchen on the challenges, tips and tricks when it comes to opening a spa during challenging times.

Financial Planning Our advice is to have a healthy contingency. The spa had a total investment of £1.25 million and we were careful to ensure that we invested in the very best suppliers and support possible. Going on recommendations and knowledge within the industry, we engaged highly regarded Curveline Design to help with the build, and Claire Caddick at Spaticulate to assist with spa consultancy.

Where you know you lack insight or expertise yourself, make sure that you are asking someone who really knows their stuff and can guide you in the right direction. Investing in people is as important in investing in the bricks and mortar.

Market Research We always knew that we wanted to have a destination with wide appeal. Our phase one Surf Snowdonia and Adventure Parc Snowdonia, which launched in 2015, was all about adventure.

Phase two was weighted towards relaxation. Common to both of these elements was the theme of wellbeing and getting close to nature. This is where the idea for our spa was born.

Our market research involved a lot of spa visits and looking into what was trending and selling in the market. One thing that became very clear early on was the emerging trend for wellbeing and forest bathing. There was a clear inclination towards being closer to nature, which was something that we knew we could achieve with our unique location. One of the taglines that we use for Adventure Parc Snowdonia is that we offer experiences that are ‘inspired by nature’, and we wanted our spa to reflect the same themes and values.

Everything in our design has followed on from that start point.

From our natural backdrop of water with our surf lagoon and mountain location, to zero chlorine water and eco-friendly products and materials, the Wave Garden Spa reflects our values as well as what consumers are seeking out.

Another emerging trend that our market research illustrated to us was that the wellbeing market was growing amongst men. We know that we have a very compelling offer with our adventures like inland surfing, mountain biking, paddle boarding and freshwater swimming and our male audience is already strong. Therefore, we knew our spa had to appeal to both male and female guests.

Spending time on good quality market research has been imperative in our journey to creating the Wave Garden Spa. The results from our research have become important markers for the development of the spa.

Define Solid USP Ensuring that we defined our USP early in the process was incredibly important. For us, location is everything and that was our main focus with the design of the spa. Therefore, when it came to designing our Himalayan Salt Sauna for example, we built height into the design. The seating in the sauna is spread over several levels, which look out through a larger picture window across the waves of the surf lagoon – the higher you go, the hotter it gets. We are the only spa where you can go for a surf in the mountains before booking in for a full body massage and finish with lagoon-side bubbly for your sundowner.

Our Top Tip Always have a vision. Be true to yourself and think about how you can grow a sustainable brand. In the spa and hospitality industry, you are selling a story and a lifestyle, so pay attention to the detail that will help you tell that story credibly and consistently.

Looking Forward Covid has thrown a spanner in the works when it comes to first-year projections of all developments around the country.

However, the Wave Garden Spa has the advantage of being part of an established business with an experienced team driving it. Although it is a worrying time for all of us who work in the hospitality industry, we are confident that we are well placed to emerge from the pandemic in an exciting and strong position. Image credit Visit Wales. www.adventureparcsnowdonia.com/stay-old/wave-gardenspa/

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Benefits of Offering Remote Working When Offices Open Again

By Alec Dobbie. In the past, I have occasionally been accused of living my life in a bubble, concentrating only on those things around me and not seeing the world at large. I suspect this is a common state, especially for those who run a business and have young kids, because those two take up a decent chunk of time.

The bubble struck again recently. I’d jumped in the car to go down to the local town and during the pandemic, I haven’t been driving much at all. I almost immediately hit a load of traffic and sat in it for a bit getting quite confused as to why it was there, completely ignoring the fact it was 8:30am and that I usually did this journey two hours earlier when the roads are clear.

As I’m sure most reading are aware, I was simply sat in normal rush hour traffic. However, to me, this is far from normal.

I work from home and have done for well over 10 years, and I simply forget that 9-5 commuting exists. For lots of occupations, this desire for everyone to meet all of the time has always struck me as a massive lack of common sense.

Happier = better If you do the maths, it’s even more alarming. Assuming a 1-hour commute each way, 5 days a week, gives us 10 hours a week commuting. In a 46-week working year, that’s 460 hours or a solid 20 full days a year, sat crammed into trains, tubes, buses and cars. Most of the time, no-one wins from this time, it’s mostly unproductive, annoying and expensive.

At FanFinders, my performance marketing business, we have recently taken the decision to close our office and work 100% remotely with post-COVID sessions together as and when needed.

When I talk to my colleagues about this, they are for the most part very happy. There are naturally some concerns in feedback about the importance of human contact, but these mostly stem from the current lockdown restrictions at the time of writing this.

We have had a much larger amount of positive responses.

One colleague has been able to buy a house with savings from not commuting across London daily and another has moved to an idyllic countryside location, saving money compared to living in the city centre. There is a common theme around this time saving being turned into other things. We have loads of DIY going on, lots of walking in the countryside and a general happier feel.

This obviously not only pays dividends for our staff, but to us as a business as well. I’ve long been of the opinion that happier people make better employees and are willing to go above and beyond in fabulous ways.

Focus on outputs, not inputs This approach has multiple roots. Beyond the aim to create happiness, we are interested in outputs, not inputs.

I explained this to my near-teenage child recently when he was, in grand Kevin and Perry style, not wanting to clean his room and asked me how long he had to spend cleaning it. We had a decent chat about the output, a tidy room, being much more important than the input, the time spend tidying the room (or gazing out of the window as often happens).

This is how knowledge-based businesses like mine work. We need measurable outcomes, not as one of my co-founders puts it: “fluffy” ones.

If you are concentrating on what people produce, not 100% when they produce it, you end up with a better end product.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have decent core hours or still have some staff needing to work within a 9-5 like our commercial functions do but I am saying you need to look at the outputs that are created regardless, to some extent, of where they are created or how long they took.

Our aims through remote working if we look past the obvious cost savings, are happier people who are willing to give more and by doing so, create better work.

About the Author Partial to both a curry and comic book t-shirt, Alec Dobbie is FanFinders’ CEO and co-founder. With over 20 years’ experience as a developer, Alec started up the performance marketing and consumer intelligence company shortly after becoming a dad back in 2013. After realising that his partner’s data was being misused, he set out with his co-founders to evolve marketing to parents. FanFinders now has over 5 million parents signed up on its self-coded data platform, Your Baby Club, and operates on two continents.

Website www.fanfinders.com

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Which Types of Funding Should You Seek For Your Start-Up?

By Steve Jacob, CEO, Fabrik Invest. Funding can seem like a minefield if you’re starting your first business, but you can actually break it down quite simply by looking at two different funding models. We’ll take a look at both of these now, including the merits of each and what you’ll need to do to access the funding you need.

1. Putting your funding into a trading company This is actually the riskier of the two approaches I’m going to outline, so you’ll need to make the level of risk clear to anyone whom you’re asking to provide funding, whether that’s a family member or an angel investor.

Friends, family and the bank are all a good starting point if you’re looking for funding to put into a trading company.

Be honest and clear that it’s a start-up and thus comes with no guarantees. Sell them your vision, your dreams and your plans – along with clarity on how you’re going to remunerate them healthily.

Family member and friends will invest on you mainly based on trust, so you probably won’t need an in-depth business plan in order to convince them to fund you. You’ll need to show them that you know about the industry you’re looking to trade in, that you have clear goals and that you have a solid approach for reaching them.

If you’re going to the bank, you’ll need a structured business plan in place and to know your numbers inside out. The same applies if you’re reaching out to angel investors.

Angel investors are more accessible than ever before. From Dragons’ Den to the London Angel Club, you have an array of options. Do your research and check out the various angel investment platforms, not forgetting routes such as wellestablished Facebook groups and Clubhouse shark tank rooms.

Whichever you approach, you’ll need to be clear on: · How much money you need · What you’re prepared to give in return · Why they should fund you When it comes to your pitch, practice really does make perfect. Watch Dragons’ Den and observe the structure of the presentations closely. Each should cover the above three points, as well as succinctly describing the venture, why it’s necessary and why it’s going to be successful.

2. Asset funding The other approach that may be beneficial to your start-up is asset funding.

In the property sector, as an example, this usually means purchasing a property or an operating company. If you’re new to property asset funding, I recommend finding a Joint Venture partner – someone with plenty of experience. If you want to flip houses, for example, an established builder could make a good partner. If you’re looking at a development, you could go to a construction company; or for a hotel, you could approach a hotel management company.

In all of these cases, you can work with the funder and the partner, then split the profit three ways. You’ll need to partner with the right people, with the right experience. This means vetting potential partners heavily to ensure that they are able to help you in the way you need within the industry you need.

Both types of funding carry their own unique risks, but also have the potential to reap big rewards. https://fabrikinvest. com/

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4 Key Points for You to Follow to Be a Leader, Not a Manager Managing a team of people comes with a new level of responsibilities. But have you ever considered the vast difference between being a manager and a leader? Harvard Business Review reports that 30 is the average age of a firsttime manager while 40 is the age where people first embark on leadership training. This is a decade of lost years of building leadership skills – this can lead to ingraining bad habits and not practising to improve your style.

Being a manager doesn’t automatically make you a leader.

The main difference between a manager and a leader is that managers delegate tasks to those who work for them whereas leaders have people follow them and believe in what they’re setting out for the company. The best part of the last year has demonstrated that leaders need to be prepared and agile to respond to protect their business and employees.

Here, we will determine the four ways that managers can transform themselves into leaders.

Respect goes two ways Firstly, and most importantly, be respectable. Respect should be earned, not expected – no employee is going to consider a manager their leader if they don’t respect them. There are a number of things you should consider in order to gain your employees’ respect. After all, if they respect you, they’re likely to work harder for you, cooperate more with others, be more creative, resilient, and likely to take direction.

These include: 1. Leading by example. Be prepared to pick up tasks big and small, for example making your own cup of coffee or printing copies out to hand out to the workforce.

2. Listen to your team. Open the floor for others to speak and allow them to voice their opinions on how to improve things. Holding steady team meetings opens up a dialogue of feedback and ideas.

3. Follow through on deadlines and agreements.If you can’t meet your own deadlines, why should your team? If you offer to help someone on a particular project, honour that promise.

4. Accept responsibility if things don’t work out.

Communication is key Never underestimate the power of communication. Managers with poor communication skills often alienate their workers, leaving the team confused and with little faith that things are being run properly. Take time to communicate your ideas, expectations, strategies, and everything in between, making

everyone else feel involved in what’s going on. You can do this by thinking of any strategy the same as telling a story to someone who knows nothing about it. You can focus on things you don’t know or what you need to understand yourself in order to relay it others.

By involving your team and keeping them engaged, this will also allow successful executions and a happy, motivated team – you can’t expect a strategy to work if it isn’t understood and nobody is committed.

Shape company culture Leaders should contribute to an active company culture. If workers’ characteristics don’t fit into the culture, this could influence their decision to leave. By defining a culture early on and recruiting those who fit into the talent pool, employees will feel comfortable which will have a positive effect on their performance.

Harvard Business carried out research to find out which qualities are most important in leaders. 700 workers were asked which qualities they value the most – 70 per cent agreed that creating a culture of engagement is a very important attribute and results in lower turnover rates, more productivity, and more profitability.

This reiterates what was mentioned in the first section – leaders must lead by example. They can determine how valued traits are within the business, for example, communication, integrity, and commitment. Employees who work in an engaging culture with their leader will have positive opinions about the company and will be strong advocates.

Leadership training programs Go over and beyond for your team and consider enrolling on leadership training programs. which are designed to guide leaders through key issues and how to effectively adopt forward-thinking strategies. Organisations are constantly evolving in the modern world, therefore so does the nature of leading. Building on agile and reactive skills can help you become a capable and inspiring leader.

Leaders certainly have a big responsibility to inspire and encourage their workers – so it is important to do it properly.

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Knowing Where Your Startup Stands With HMRC Every limited company, and that includes start-ups, have a responsibility to keep up with their tax payments to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in order to conduct a legal and viable business. However, sometimes these taxes can build into an unmanageable amount. Rick Smith, MD at Forbes Burton, takes a look at what you can do if this is the case.

Starting off in business can be tough, especially as there are a great number of overheads that many do not anticipate from the off. There are a few core types of tax that are essential for companies to pay. It may seem obvious, but all of these do bare repeating:

Corporation tax – a percentage of your startup’s profits.

PAYE (Pay as You Earn) – a percentage of your employees’ income.

National Insurance– deduction from employees’ income to fund state benefits such as the NHS. VAT (Value Added Tax)– this is the tax on consumption of goods, although Capital Allowances may apply on more expensive items, on which the VAT can be spread against company profits over a number of years.

If your startup is unable to pay these taxes, you build up the aforementioned HMRC tax arrears, these could result in financial penalties and possibly legal action if they continue to go unpaid.

However, there are several ways to deal with these arrears in order to avoid these penalties and ensure that you can continue to trade: Act as early as possible If only one VAT payment has been missed, it is advisable to act as quickly as possible to avoid various knock-on effects to your business. If the bill is cleared with HMRC within 12 months of its due date, no extra fine is accrued.

On the other hand, in cases where previous action has been taken, VAT surcharges are increased, and the company’s annual turnover will be affected.

Pay your arrears if at all possible If your business has enough cash to pay its HMRC arrears, you should deal with them as soon as possible to prevent accumulating fines.

For example, if your VAT or PAYE balances remain unpaid they

will accrue interest, particularly if payments have been late in the past.

A LOC (Line of Credit) can be used to pay HMRC arrears If your business simply doesn’t have enough cash to pay what is owed to HMRC, one option is to use a LOC. This is a loan from the bank which may only be used for a specific purpose, and is slightly different to a typical bank loan due to the fact that interest is only paid on the amount of money that is withdrawn.

A LOC is usually secured by a business asset to lower the interest rates on the money borrowed. Using a LOC is not often advised, but in some cases where HMRC is beginning to become aggressive in its attempts to recover money, this may be the most effective way of allowing you some breathing space.

In circumstances where the director of a business doesn’t want to affect the end of year balance sheet liabilities, invoice factoring or discounting may be a more viable option to raise funds quickly.

A CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) may be the best option In situations where HMRC arrears have been accumulated it is likely that you also owe money to other creditors.

At a point where it has been established that these debts cannot be paid and you are therefore insolvent, a CVA could be proposed.

CVAs create an agreement between you and your creditors, resulting in an environment in which none of the creditors are able to chase you for payment or propose a ‘winding up’ of the business.

This option relieves the pressure on a company, but is only possible if the firm has significant financial problems and is not solvent.

Personal finances could be used In cases where your business is trading well and simply suffering a temporary cash flow setback, providing you are still viable, one option available could be to inject your own personal funds (or additional funds from investors) into the company in order to pay the HMRC arrears.

Where this is possible, it can be a quick way of returning the business to a profitable position and ensure stable operations. However, this is obviously not always an option,

ENTREPRENEUR as a significant cash reserve is required.

Also, you should be very careful about using your own funds; should the company eventually fail you are likely to leave yourself personally liable for the company’s debt when using this method. This should only be an option used when it is certain the company is in good health.

A TTP (Time to Pay) arrangement could be negotiated It is important to remember that while HM Revenue and Customs can become aggressive when trying to recover debts, ultimately they want your company to succeed and would prefer your tax payments to be paid off rather than your company ceasing to trade.

If the business is struggling to pay the full amount as a bulk sum, you may be able to propose a Time To Pay Arrangement and are likely to be given 6-12 months to pay the arrears in instalments that are agreed with HMRC. This option reduces the pressure of the debt by spreading it along a viable timeline but won’t reduce the amount of money you need to pay.

Administration may be the best option When a business becomes insolvent (unable to pay the debts it owes) and has no access to emergency funds, entering the company into administration may be the best way forward while leaving the possibility of a turnaround.

This path prevents you from being liable to legal action, as a third party is appointed to manage the company in the interest of its creditors.

This process can be expensive and sometimes can feel like failure but often, when managed in the correct way, it can ultimately save the company a substantial amount of money.

Whatever you choose to do, keeping ahead of HMRC payments is the sensible option. It can seem tough at times, but there are always ways to bridge the gaps or find solutions that work for you. www.forbesburton.com/

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Brand Story: In the Welsh Wind Distillery In the Welsh Wind Distillery is a maverick distillery, crafting bespoke spirits on the western-most coast of the British Isles since 2018. Both the business, and the spirits they produce, are award-winning. The distillery is now producing fully ‘grain to glass’ Welsh whisky, and developing their premises as a year-round visitor attraction and research and education centre. We caught up with the company to discover more about their unique brand story.

community were left short. The distillery stepped up to fill the gap. Equally, their constant questioning of the way things ‘have always been done’ allows them to come up with different solutions and ways of working to achieve their objectives.

Who are the founders and what is their background?

Alongside Ellen and Alex, business manager Joe Lewis provides medium to long term strategy support as well has having overall responsibility for the day to day running of the distillery. Sally Sellwood manages the content and marketing side along with HR matters. Distillery Co-Ordinator Martha Baum keeps day to day production on track and Jasmine Jones works with the distillery’s brand portfolio to develop their offerings.

Ellen Wakelam and her partner Alex Jungmayr came to distilling after pursuing careers in teaching and in the food sector respectively.

Can you tell us why was it created? What is its mission?

The couple were determined to create a business they could work in together that would contribute to the economy of west Wales and provide training and jobs for young people in the area.

The distillery’s mission is to tell the stories of people and places through the spirits they craft.

What are its USPs? The distillery is respectful of the traditions of distillation, but does not feel constrained by them, and are constantly innovating to deliver solutions.

Can you share the story of the brand’s journey – from concept to where it is now?

‘In the Welsh Wind’ began as an adventure blog where the couple documented their adventures walking around Wales for 3 months. A couple of years later, the couple discovered the craft gin distilleries of Scotland and realised that this was what In the Welsh Wind was destined to become. Almost entirely self-taught, to date the brand has developed and helped launch upwards of 40 different gins for other businesses, 10 of which are award-winning. The brand launched its own award-winning gin in July 2020 and is now producing the first fully ‘grain to glass’ Welsh whisky for over 100 years, working with local farmers to grow barley, and developing an in-house malting process.

What’s the secret to the brand’s success?

The brand constantly innovates and adapts to move forward.

A key example is the business’ ability to flip quickly into hand sanitiser production at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown. With a national shortage of sanitiser, the local

Who are the key personnel and can you tell us a little about their contribution to the brand?

What are its most successful innovations?

The development of the first commercial malting process in Wales for over 100 years has to be the distillery’s most successful innovation to date, contributing significantly to the Welsh credentials of their whisky, and reducing the environmental impact of the whisky making process both in terms of reduced transportation and removal of the energy heavy kilning process from the production flow.

How has the brand been promoted over the years?

As a relatively young brand, promotion has been through a number of channels – from initially building a loyal following on social media, to engaging with PR and print advertising.

What are the biggest challenges and how have they been overcome?

Having launched the business in a renovated cowshed on the family farm, space has been one of the biggest challenges for the business. In February 2020, working alongside Development Bank of Wales, the business secured funding, matched with private loans from local and interested individuals, to purchase a local pub. The distillery set and achieved ambitious income and match funding targets to ensure the security of the business in its new home.

What are the brand’s biggest successes?

The production of so many award-winning gins has to be one of the key successes of the distillery, alongside the development of whisky production to the stage where the brand is now recognised as a Welsh whisky producer. The brand is also proud of the launch of its work experience

ENTREPRENEUR programme, giving young people at risk of long term unemployment in the area an insight into all aspects of the business.

What are the founders most proud of about the brand?

Wakelam and Jungmayr are proud to be growing a premium brand and gaining national recognition while remaining firmly rooted in the community where they live and work. They feel they are doing their bit to broaden horizons and put an oftenignored area of the country on the map.

Can you tell us about any eco/sustainability initiatives the brand has?

The brand tries to be as sustainable as possible, and to source locally where there is an option to do so. By its very nature, the Welsh origin whisky project heavily reduces food miles.

Malting on site avoids the need for the energy-heavy kilning aspect of whisky making.

The refurbishment of our premises and the construction of new buildings incorporate several features designed to reduce the business’s carbon footprint.

What’s next for the brand?

The brand’s vision is to complete a Celtic barley and whisky crescent stretching from the distilleries of Ireland through Wales and up into Scotland.

Can the founders or senior personnel share any advice for success?

- Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo - Never forget that the people you work with are key to your success.

- Always use any resources and help that are offered – and if they aren’t offered, ask!

- Don’t be afraid to ring people already in the industry you are working in – many of your peers will be excited to talk about how they’ve got where they have or to talk through issues you’re experiencing - Work within your local community as much as possible - If you are inspired to do something, just get on with it - Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – just learn from them when they happen!

What are their favourite leadership type quotes?

inspirational/motivational/

The brand doesn’t go with many inspirational quotes but they do like to remind themselves of these words, attributed to Grace Hopper (American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral) “If it’s a good idea, go ahead and do it. It’s much easier to apologise than it is to get permission” What is the brand’s website? www.inthewelshwind.co.uk

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4 Simple Marketing Tips Guaranteed to Grow Your Business Now more than ever, marketing plays a critical role in any business’ growth, development and ultimately, success. As we begin to return to some sort of normality, many businesses need all of the help that they can get to claw back what they’ve lost as a direct result of the pandemic. They must also set themselves apart from their competitors, as customer favour has become more relied upon than ever before. Marketing is the key to achieving both of these goals.

According to recent data, 90% of businesses have said that targeted marketing efforts significantly increased exposure for their business, whilst 75% say website traffic has rapidly increased, resulting in direct sales. It’s clear that when implemented correctly, marketing can have a huge impact on any business, enhancing awareness and profits in turn.

However, many business owners don’t know where to start.

‘Businessperson of the year’, Sarah Kauter, is CEO of multiaward-winning marketing and PR agency VerriBerri; having worked in the industry for over a decade, she has noted the top marketing tips for business growth and how to implement them. Here, she shares her expertise, outlining the marketing techniques businesses should be utilising in 2021 to effectively stand out from their competition. With a little help, we can all reap the rewards of effective marketing.

Have a Plan In Place ‘As a business owner, your first priority should be to develop a marketing plan. Even if you’re not an expert, outlining your initial goals and what you’re looking to achieve is a good place to start. Business owners are often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of marketing that’s required to put their business on the map; although they may try their hardest, independently overseeing a marketing strategy whilst managing the everyday running of a company is, in most cases, an impossible task. As a result, the growth of the business is hindered.

Having a marketing overview can help prevent this outcome.

Break it down into sections, define your goals and identify where you’ll need support. Taking a look at your competitors and their successes can also give you an indication of what could work for you, providing you with a useful point of comparison.

If marketing isn’t your area of expertise, then stick to what you know and find a reputable marketing agency to help you specialist expertise is always an invaluable investment. Begin by booking some consultations to find the perfect marketing match for your company; discuss the agency’s values, how they could help you and make sure they understand your business.

Having a plan in place ensures that you never lose sight of the bigger picture and what you’re wanting to achieve;

only by accepting help and looking beyond your own understanding can your business truly grow. Think about your goals, consider what you need to do to achieve them and embrace the expertise of specialists.’

Develop a User-Friendly Website ‘A professional looking website can make a tremendous difference when it comes to sales and generating a reliable return on investment (ROI). However, this isn’t simply a case of setting up a domain and immediately being good to go… A website must be nurtured consistently to maximise its SEO value. This essential maintenance is often overlooked and as a result, businesses end up further and further down search engine results pages (SERPs).

If your website doesn’t look inviting, whilst being filled with content that isn’t relevant nor concise, then potential customers won’t stay on your page for very long. Google will pick up on this and your SEO will be negatively impacted. According to Google’s EAT guidelines, you must be viewed as an authoritative and trustworthy expert to climb the SERP ranks; therefore, it’s important that your website is filled with valuable, informative and reliable content, whilst looking professional. More specifically, your content must be updated frequently, relevant to the common searches, informative and, of course, easy to navigate. User friendly pages will encourage readers to engage with your website – people won’t always read between the lines so you need to be clear, concise and credible.’

Prioritise a Social Media Strategy ‘A social media presence is just as important as an optimised website. In today’s ever-changing digital society, social media is essential for business growth; if used correctly, it’s a steadfast way to gain quick, longlasting exposure to a wider demographic and, in turn, increase your business’ revenue.

The great thing about social media is that you don’t need to be an expert, you must simply decipher what you want from it. Firstly, consider the platforms most appropriate for your brand; with over a billion monthly users, Instagram is often a good place to start for many businesses, however this depends on your industry and the platforms your customers use most frequently. In any instance, keep in mind that the content you post should be effective and appealing, it’s a direct reflection your brand and shouldn’t be frivolous. Be strategic with your posting; if you want to gain maximum recognition, then post valuable content at times when social media traffic is high to increase the engagement you receive.

ENTREPRENEUR Similarly, sporadic posting does nothing for your credibility against most platforms’ algorithms, so update frequently; one post a day will garner results.

the box, listening to feedback and accepting help that comes your way, you’ll undoubtedly find marketing success in 2021.

Additionally, the use of hashtags is a brilliant way of getting your business noticed by the right people as users can follow and engage with specific hashtags to stay updated on trends and/or topics that they’re invested in. If you use hashtags that are relevant to your business then you’ll naturally reach potential customers who will be interested in your brand.

Remember, social media allows you to connect and converse with consumers – this is essential if you’re looking to grow.

About the Author

Finally, if people are talking about your brand be sure to acknowledge it! Engaging with current and potential customers alike will only play to your advantage.’

Remember, a Good Reputation Is Marketing 101 ‘Marketing 101: a good reputation will see your business grow from strength to strength as consumers will always go to a reputable source for what they need. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways by which you can improve your reputation and propel your company’s development.

Firstly, focus on your SEO. As humans, we want quick results and that’s why it pays to be higher up on SERPs; most of us will only ever click on the first few options that appear. The more people that click on your domain, the more credible you are in the eyes of Google. So, focusing on your SEO will steadily improve your ranking, giving you maximum visibility online whilst strengthening your reputation and recognisability.

Link building and backlinks are another brilliant way to gain positive recognition and stimulate business growth. A ‘backlink’ refers to a reputable source linking to your business as a point of reference. Essentially, they’re giving their approval of your business to Google and potential customers by recommending you. The more backlinks you get from authoritative websites, the more trustworthy you appear.

Meanwhile, really listen to your audience. Having a personable and sincere etiquette sets you apart from your competitors by demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Anyone can be taught sales and merchandising techniques but amazing customer service is something that will consistently bring you business.

Lots of companies are so focused on reaching more people that they unknowingly fail to prioritise their current customers. New customers are of course important but you should never underestimate your existing customers; their loyalty and continued custom speaks volumes. Repeat customers have fewer barriers to overcome before using your services, because they’ve supported you previously, and their continued trust in your brand shows that you’re a reliable business. Really get to know your target demographic and listen to current customer feedback. Establish strong foundations to begin with because a misread of audience early on could cost you further down the line…

No two business are exactly the same, however it’s vital that every business takes the time to evaluate their marketing strategies; this will form the basis of continued growth.

Consider your goals and how you can more effectively engage with existing and potential customers; by thinking outside of

Sarah launched VerriBerri in 2009; it has since continued to grow, subsequently becoming one of the leading marketing and PR agencies in the South East. Sarah was recently awarded ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Businessperson of the Year’, whilst VerriBerri has been nominated for and won several titles including ‘Best PR & Marketing Agency 2021’ at the Global Business Awards. www.verriberri.co.uk

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How to Identify Your Business Niche Felipe Polo, a digital entrepreneur, non-executive director and investor, shares his top five ways to identify your niche and build your business for success.

Launching a business can be a daunting experience with developments often happening at 100mph, leaving little time to reflect, learn and grow. It’s key then, that you spend a good amount of time working to identify your niche – what you can offer, how it differs to what is already in the market, and how it will add value to your customers – before you launch, so that you can make sure your business decisions are driven by the right motivations. Especially in the early days when decisions need to be made at speed, your niche can help you focus your product or service, enabling you to ignore the inevitable distractions that have the potential to weaken your brand and your business.

I kick-started my professional life as a Software Developer in someone else’s company, but as my expertise grew and I climbed the career ladder, I quickly realised that under the broader industry umbrella of ‘technology’ I could carve out my specialism. Having co-founded and sold a software development company, I’m now in a position to support other business leaders and help them navigate their own niche.

Identify what you have to offer Deciding what you will build your business on usually evolves from pre-existing experience. I had a vast amount of experience in building different, software-based microservices for a broad range of clients. I could see how these different services helped to streamline operations, support culture and enhance productivity. Instead of continuing to build software for clients, I knew I had value to offer in advising business owners on how technology can act as a business lever in mentoring teams to enable them to reach their full potential. My experience gives me a unique perspective and I work at the intersection between tech, teams and business, providing sound advice to businesses on digital transformation to drive results.

Research your potential market Market research is crucial to honing a business niche as it helps you understand the level of need for your proposed service or product, and what customers may value most. By using market research to “niche down” you can often find an underrepresented and entirely unique specialism. For example, your skills may be in business consultancy – is there an underserved area of the market that you have the skills, passion and experience to support that can help you brand your business and niche down further?

Materialise your product(s) or service(s) Now you know what you can sell to provide benefit and what your niche is, the next step is to extrapolate it into a concise service or product offering. For me, the ability to distil your vision, service and its value into one sentence is crucial to take your offering to market. If you can’t explain what you offer in one sentence, your customers might struggle to understand the value.For example, I advise business boards on technological solutions that streamline operations and save on costs.

Segment your potential customers Once you have a customer base and have enough data, segmentation is invaluable for those operating in niches as it enables you to align your products or services to specific customer-types.

Segmentation also does not require industry specialists anymore either, as the right software will enable you to split and review your data set for product and profitability. This kind of software is an upfront cost, however, may increase your chances of success in the early days of launching your niche to market.

Be adaptable Throughout the life cycle of any business, a leader has to be ready to adapt as processes unfold. Launching any business is a challenge with a great number of potential variables waiting to trip you up. Of course, there are large scale events like global pandemics, but smaller things like pricing and outsourcing requirements may change quickly too. An open mind and a willingness to pivot will help you overcome challenges, reflecting an entrepreneurial culture of risk-taking that drives you forward. https://www.felipepolo.me/

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Why Organisational Resilience Is More Crucial Now Than Ever

By Stefano Maifreni, founder of Eggcelerate. The pandemic has changed the way most businesses operate: the global supply chain has broken down, economic activities have been massively disrupted, and inequalities and social tension have been exacerbated. Initially, during the lockdown, we all had the same thought: how will our business survive?

The financial year 2020 was a challenging year for many.

Most businesses faced challenges, incurred losses, and some unfortunate ones had to shut down.

Against this background, understanding the importance of organisational resilience becomes even more crucial.

An organisation’s capacity to absorb stress, recover critical functionalities, and thrive in altered circumstances is what resilience is.

Resilient businesses survived the storm, and some even thrived. These businesses did so by feeding off the power of good stakeholder relationships – inside and outside the organisation.

Each component of the business driven by human relationships needs to be resilient for the organisation to mitigate and overcome the continuity risks.

Business Continuity Risks and Mitigation Even before the pandemic, businesses faced multiple continuity risks, which led them to establish risk management processes and procedures to prevent interruptions.

From fire and flood to cybersecurity and data loss, companies face many continuity risks. According to a 2018 report by BCI, some of the significant continuity risks businesses face are: cyberattacks and threat to cybersecurity, unauthorised access to data and information; unplanned IT and telecom outages; interruption in utility supply (electricity, water, gas); adverse weather; acts of terrorism; security incidents and fire; supply chain and transport network disruptions (e.g. the recent case of Suez Canal Blockage).

According to PwC 24thAnnual Global CEO Survey, the most expected upcoming business risks are the pandemic and health crisis followed by the cyber threat.

There is a connection between the top two risks. The pandemic has forced companies to work digitally; this digital transformation then leads to increased cyber threats.

Furthermore, tax policy uncertainty and misinformation have risen drastically compared to last year’s threat expectations reaching 31% and 28%, respectively. These are some risks that a firm, big or small, must be prepared for in the upcoming years.

Preparedness is the key to mitigating risks and avoiding disasters, and what better way to prepare than planning?

For anything to work systematically, we need a blueprint.

Managers need to do Business Continuity Planning, the process of identifying all the possible risks a company might face and creating a prevention and recovery system from these risks.

Understandably, SMEs are often the most exposed to the effects of certain types of risks due to limited resources and structural issues outside their control.

However, any business can manage risks using three principles:

1. Identifying the nature of the risks The business needs to identify if the risk is related to compliance, security and operational fraud or is a financial risk. Once the nature has been determined, the firm can then take corrective actions.

2. Assessing the likelihood of the risks manifesting themselves Rank the risks once they have been identified, e.g. which risk has a high probability of occurrence, which will impact the business more, and then prioritise them, keeping one risk under more control than others 3. Taking preventive and corrective actions to reduce the enterprise’s level of exposure to the risk.

The importance of the human-to-human connection’s resilience Tired of looking at the dark side of the pandemic for a year, I thought hard about what opportunities a crisis may unlock to build a resilient ecosystem and relationships with all stakeholders.

The crucial point is that all these identified risks must align with the business’s day to day operations and practices.

Therefore, the kind of resilience that any business can find the most straightforward to develop would be based on strengthening human to human relationships: · How much trust do your suppliers repose in you? · How eager is your team to contribute unflinchingly?

ENTREPRENEUR · How significant is the brand equity among the clients?

About Stefano Maifreni

These could be the three most important questions that would form any risk mitigation strategy’s bedrock.

An engineer by education, product manager by role and expert at achieving growth by career, Stefano has an outstanding track record in business strategy, operations, product and marketing, with extensive P&L management and international expansion experience. His professional journey includes Senior Manager roles in global Bluechip companies, Growing Businesses and Start-ups in technology-intensive and innovative industries (IT, Telecom, Technology Manufacturing, Drones, IoT and FinTech). www.eggcelerate.com

Through my business’s direct experience and that of my Customers, I realised how important it is to focus on your current relationships and build a robust ecosystem with Clients, suppliers, and staff. In the simplest terms, it could be about talking to your clients about getting paid on time and paying your suppliers on time – it’s a chain that could grind to a halt if we stop paying each other. In turn, it would help reduce the need for redundancies and furlough, maintain morale and build loyalty.

As the proverb goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the next best is now.” The firms should not focus on what could have been but what could be.

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How to Spot a Resilient Business

By Douglas Grant, Managing Director of Conister, part of AIM listed Manx Financial Group PLC (AIM: MFX). www.mfg.im/ The last year has shone a spotlight on the long-term future of the UK’s business sector, its reliance on people and the need for business resilience. It was crucial to protect the financial security of consumers so that they could continue to conduct business with each other, and that was understandably Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s priority, with the unprecedented introduction of Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and furlough schemes. But while businesses across the country have shown extraordinary levels of adaptability and strength in the face of changing consumer behaviour, it must also be acknowledged that many are beyond the survival stage.

Going forward, we should be focusing our attention on identifying, prioritising, and protecting our most resilient businesses and sectors, avoiding exasperating the zombie status of many UK companies, living off an ever-increasing debt pile. Other strategic sectors will require specific longerterm government intervention to ensure their survival, such as those that rely on inward tourism.

So, what constitutes a resilient business and how can you spot and protect one? The pandemic has unquestionably focused our attention on resilient businesses as we have witnessed firms rapidly adapting and responding to all types of risks with sectors closing overnight, industries being mothballed, cashflows being decimated, working practices being altered, technological issues, production challenges and many more.

With this backdrop we believe there are five fundamental pillars that you should look for when assessing the robustness of a company, namely:

in the past? Is it a country that permits free and open trade for all? Looking at the UK, it does historically have that structural level of robustness which can be evidenced by how such a major challenge as Brexit is now forecast to be little more than a short-term blip to GDP. The pandemic has also demonstrated the UK’s ability to adapt, remain productive and has cemented the nation as a strong and fertile market for growth businesses.

The longevity of the market Look to see that the market in which the business operates has longevity and support from its government. In recent years, the UK government has focussed its efforts on and supported certain markets such as infrastructure, agriculture, bio sectors, real estate and the ‘green’ sectors. By using trade body content, relevant market associations’ publications, government generated statistics and relevant press cuttings, one can take a view on the future sustainability of any sector.

The sector’s competitiveness Evaluate whether the sector is overly congested or dominated by a small handful of brands. Where will or does the business fit amongst its peers? Is there a chance that the business simply cannot gain a foothold or a sustainable level of scale?

Ensure you carry out your own thorough research on the competitive landscape and check to see how viable expansion is for the business in its chosen sector.

Barriers to entry

The sector’s competitiveness

Look to see how the business can enter the market. Has it the competencies to enter alone and compete successfully, or can it bring a scarce resource to an existing market player via a joint venture, or should it acquire an existing player? All three do not necessarily disrupt an existing market but present a situation where competitors may respond or quench any potential growth or gap in the market – considering your competitor’s response to your entry should form part of your strategy. It is vital to see how the business plans to enter or has entered a market to gauge its potential long-term resilience.

Barriers to market entry, and

Your business’s USPs

Your business’s USPs

Finally, look comprehensively at your business and determine what core competencies it has that will allow it to be successful in the long term. What makes your business different to others and why will it be successful? What scarce resources does it offer and how are they allocated so that players in the market will ultimately not be able to do without? Most importantly, do not be afraid of trusting your intuition on a business as it will often hold true and, as Blaise Pascal once said, “The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.”

The company’s operating location The longevity of the market

The company’s operating location It is important to determine the stability of the market in which the business operates or plans to operate within. How much interference is there from government? Is the rule of law fair to all? How has the market performed economically

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How to Improve Your Content Strategy to Ensure Start-Up Success

By Timo Virtanen, CEO & Co-founder, React & Share.

Trustworthy content has never been more important for startup businesses, as only 1% of Brits believe everything they read online. Our recent research collected by the team at React & Share showcases the search habits of consumers online in 2020/21. Through the use of a YouGov survey, it was revealed that only 1% of Brits believe everything they read online despite 88% of us searching online at least once a day.

social proof enters the chat. Social proof is the idea that people mirror the actions of the masses and can come in many forms including word of mouth, reviews and other content efforts.

As online searches continue to grow, it has never been more important for consumers to trust the content they read online. Any website that holds trustworthy content can relate to sustainable business growth by ensuring repeat traffic and increasing your rankings. This is key for any startup business to conclude their success.

Don’t ignore the (qualitative) data

So how can you improve your content strategy and build trust within the online content that you provide your target audience?

Let your audience talk to you Asking your readers what they want is the number one way to build trust in your content. By reaching out to your audience to find out what they think, you are automatically displaying an interest in their needs - putting your head and shoulders above those who press post without a care in the world.

After all, when you publish content how do you know - without collecting feedback - that your audience has left the content feeling satisfied? To get effective feedback from readers, don’t ask too much of them. A couple of your readers will want to email you or complete a survey. A few more may leave a comment or chat with a bot but almost all would be willing to click a button.

At the end of the day, audiences want to feel like their opinion matters. Choose the feedback tool that’s right for your content and watch your trust and engagement soar.

Ask the experts We’re huge advocates for pulling in voices from respected industry members to foster trust between you, your content, and your community. In these turbulent times, reliable content from reliable sources has become central to the lives of millions, and who’s more trustworthy than the (other) experts in your field?

Featuring industry thought leaders, highlighting testimonials, platforming case studies, or even including your customer in your content is a great way to build credibility. This is where

A third-party perspective in your content will always contribute to attesting to your value and validating your work.

It’s important to pay attention to what the numbers are telling you about your content. Data can be deployed to influence decision making, inform content strategies, and demonstrate your teams’ efforts. There are plenty of free tools to gather some pretty interesting insights, however, we’re inclined to warn against focusing solely on gathering quantitative rather than qualitative data.

Quantitative data can give you great insights into how your content is performing on the surface but quantitative data gathered via feedback can let you know exactly how your reader feels about the content that you’re posting. Bounce rates, traffic, and likes are much less important than humancentric metrics such as customer satisfaction, shares, and engagement that get to the heart of your audience’s needs.

Spend some time unearthing qualitative data – you’ll be surprised at what it reveals about your content.

Be authentic Employing a consistent and authentic tone of voice across all channels that align with your brand is crucial. Imagine stumbling upon the socials of a website that you know and love and discovering that the messaging across the social channels doesn’t resonate at all with what you like about the web pages.

Beyond authenticity, injecting personality into your content can make it seem more genuine, reminding readers of the real people behind the screen. Personalising content won’t do any harm either. However, any inconsistencies in voice, messaging, imagery, quality and overall branding – no matter how small – are a massive red flag to anyone reading your content. If trust is central to your content strategy, make sure that all of your content plays by the same rules.

Conduct an audit of all of your content and ensure there are no discrepancies. We’re all human, typos happen.

ENTREPRENEUR Prioritise clarity and accessibility

About the Author

Ensure that all information is clear, accurate, and above all accessible. Just one spelling mistake can chip away at the trust your audience has in you, and they’d become less and less likely to stand up for your content.

Timo Virtanen is CEO & Co-founder, React & Share. The team at React & Share polled 2,000 UK consumers via a YouGov survey for their research. The full extent of the research can be found here.

Beyond small errors, refusing to address crucial conversations around accessibility and publishing pieces that exclude a large portion of your readership could have disastrous consequences when it comes to trust in your content. Keeping content clear, concise, and compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is a good step towards creating content that readers can utilise. Also, ensure that any tools you are using are aligned with the same guidelines. You’d be surprised how many aren’t.

Timo launched React & Share with a bunch of ideas and a strong co-founding team who worked together to get the company to the doorstep of success. Before React & Share, Timo was involved with a range of different businesses in Finland, always with a finger on the pulse of emerging technologies.

His key skills are rooted in a passion for digging deep into the subjects that he cares about. www.reactandshare.com

By putting clarity and accessibility at the top of your list, rather than as an afterthought, you’re less likely to jeopardise trust.

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Key Steps to Managing The Back to Office Return As lockdown restrictions begin to lift, a wave of new concerns has got UK workers feeling worried when it comes to returning to the office. According to recent research, 60% of Brits say they would only feel comfortable returning to the office once everyone has been vaccinated.

way we usually would, we have to be more creative and have more intention in our connection with others during this lockdown scenario. In some ways, the enforcement of rules around movement has caused us to slow down. This actually gives us the chance to connect on a deeper level.”

With people starting to head back to the office, the team at Instant Offices gives an insight into why it more important than ever for businesses to retain talent, reduce presenteeism and maintain employee morale.

Lead By Example

According to a recent survey by HSE, the top concerns about returning to work in-office include: Social distancing: 60% Workplace safety: 56% Workplace cleanliness: 55% Spreading illness to family or friends: 45% Being away from family: 16% The most-requested workplace changes among UK employees can provide a guideline for businesses looking to provide better support and ease post-lockdown concerns: Flexible hours: 59% A 4-day working week: 45% Fewer people in the office: 37% Fewer meetings: 33% Mental health days: 32%

With many employees working remotely, managers need to be more conscious of the challenges different households face. Encouraging flexibility, self-care and regular check-ins is key to reducing presenteeism and stress, and ensuring employees facing any issues can be identified and supported.

Encourage transparent conversations and put action plans in place for team members who need help.

Introduce (or Keep Up) Team Activity and Training Sessions With employees using tools like Zoom to connect with the office remotely, now is a great time for businesses to encourage morning catch-ups, remote Friday drinks, yoga sessions or even company training sessions. Encourage team members to take a class they’ve always wanted to try or to attend industry-related Webinars. This is a great way to support employees looking to upskill themselves and stay busy.

Four Things Employees Can Do to Manage Stress

How Businesses Can Support Employee Mental Health Right Now

1. Get a Better Night’s Sleep: ‘Coronasomnia’ (corona insomnia) is causing a rise in sleepless nights across the UK. The number of Brits struggling with sleep problems has risen from one in six to one in four.

Break the Culture of Silence There is still a stigma around mental illness that makes employees more likely to suffer in silence than share information with their managers or bosses.

Some of the best ways to create a better sleep pattern include reducing caffeine intake, turning off screens, going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, and ensuring our bedrooms are as dark as possible.

Now is an ideal time for leaders within businesses to talk more openly about mental health and create a culture that encourages conversations around these issues. Taking a mental health day or asking for support should never impact an employee’s reputation or how they are perceived.

2. Take a Digital Detox: With little control over the situation and our social feeds jam-packed with COVID-19 related news and uncertainty, now is a good time to limit the amount of media we consume. The goal is to ensure you are informed enough to make decisions but not so overloaded with news headlines that it induces anxiety. A good idea is to choose a few authoritative resources and check in with them daily while muting channels that disrupt your sense of wellbeing or using a tool to manage screen time.

Keep Socialising With Your Teams Remote working has its perks, but a lot of people are feeling isolated right now. British workers are missing the days of office banter and face-to-face meetings.

Environmental Psychologist & Wellbeing Trainer Lee Chambers says dealing with a lack of social connections during the outbreak has been a massive challenge for many people.

“In these turbulent times, social connection is vital to our wellbeing. Without the ability to go out and socialise in the

3. Be Strict Around Work-Life Balance: Lee says it’s important to schedule the day into bite-size chunks and work in waves.

“Honour your ultradian rhythms, which run between 60 to 90 minutes, and then take 15 to disconnect and take a break. By working in waves, we become energised and find it easy to switch off from work when the end of the days comes.

ENTREPRENEUR If we can’t disconnect from work, we face the real possibility of burnout and making mistakes. I have my clients have a digital sunset, where they tidy their workspace ready for the following day and put everything work-related in that space.

They visualise shutting down from work, and then walk around the block again, this time leaving work, and returning home.

It’s crucial also to schedule enjoyable things in the evening. Do a Zoom call with family and friends, or partake in hobbies and interests that are not work-related.”

4. Create a Calm Workspace: It’s not always easy to find an ideal space to work from at home. When deciding which space to work from, look for an area with natural light and temperate, fresh air, and minimal distractions. The space must be free of clutter and have comfortable furniture.

With the whole world facing unprecedented challenges around COVID-19, now is an ideal time for businesses to place a sharper focus on talking about employee mental health, whether teams are working onsite or remotely.

The Instant Group: Flexible Workspace Specialists Founded in 1999, The Instant Group is a workspace innovation company that rethinks workspace on behalf of its clients injecting flexibility, reducing cost and driving enterprise performance. Instant places more than 7,000 companies a year in flexible workspace such as serviced, managed or coworking offices including Sky, Network Rail, Capita, Serco, Teleperformance, Worldpay making it the market leader in flexible workspace. Its listings’ platform Instant Offices hosts more than 12,000 flexible workspace centres across the world and is the only site of its kind to represent the global market, providing a service to FTSE 100, Fortune 500, and SME clients. visit www.theinstantgroup.com.

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7 Key Steps to Creating An Online Brand

By Soniamarie Palmer, Business Development & Leadership CEO of Soniamarie Consulting.

Soniamarie Consulting works with entrepreneurs to evaluate their business, pin down a strategy that suits their schedule as well as their goals and harness the invaluable help that surrounds them to drive business growth and personal fulfilment. Empowerment underpins every discovery call and consulting session, whether for high-flying company directors or ambitious solopreneurs.

Backed by over two decades of corporate experience and built on the foundations of her own entrepreneurial success, Soniamarie Consulting paves the way for bold business owners to carve their own path and elevate their business to even greater success.

1. Know who your target market - you need to be clear on who you are speaking to otherwise you will not resonate or capture the attention of anyone. It is about knowing where they are, what they need, what they like and their pain points.

When you have a deep knowledge of them, you can then ensure that you tailor your message to suit them and meet them at their place of need.

2. Know your message - the online business world is very different to the usual bricks and mortar type of business. When you put something out there it stays and has a far reach. so it is important for you to not only know your message, but to be clear and consistent in your communication and delivery of that message. People want to relate to you, need to be able to readily identify with you, know who you are, what you do and both hear and see your message and you consistently.

3. Have good branding - a brand is more than just a logo, it included you colours, icons, wording and you overall business voice. It is important to use this to carve out your place in the market and create your own identity. One which captures your personality, your unique style which your customers can relate to. It is always worth investing well in this side of things so that they is cohesion with all of your marketing and branding.

4. Be clear on how you can help people - potential customers should understand who you are , what you offer and the value that you can bring to them and their situation. You need to clearly define your offering, how it meets the needs of your audience, the value that you personally bring them over someone else and given them a reason to what to work with you. You need to make it easy for your customers to work with you so mapping out your customer journey is a must.

5. Prepare to be present - people need to see you many times in order for them to get to know you and before they will even

consider buying from you. Don’t just relay on one form of marketing to get your message out and reach your audience.

Research the platforms where your audience are and be present there, consistently. Use a number of different angles to reach them such as emails, blog pots, guest speaking in other peoples audiences. You pretty much want to be out there so that people get to know what you stand for and who you are.

6. Get your tech sorted - one of the differences in having a bricks and mortar business versus an online business, is the technology. It doesn’t have to be complicated but you need to have good systems in place to be able to manage key areas like your emails, client on boarding, sales funnels, social media. There are many free opt - ins out there but you need to work out what you need first and then seek out the best options for you. Do not let it hold you back, if you need help, then consider a tech VA to help set you up and explain things so that you can get moving!

7. Get savvy in online marketing - This can be a steep learning curve if you are new to online business. Understanding content marketing and sales funnels for example can feel a bit daunting. The key is to not get overwhelmed and only do what you need to do in the beginning stages. You will not be a overnight digital marketing guru. You will learn as you go along and there are some basic things that you can put in place to get you started. If in doubt, invest in a mentor or coach who can show you how or even a specialist in the area.

It will be worth it! https://www.soniamarieconsulting.com/

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When Funding Your Own Startup, What Should Come First?

By Omer Ukuser, Co-Founder of HairFare.

The idea of HairFare first came to me when a friend of mine had been made redundant from his job. He was searching for something to do when he decided to open up a barbershop.

He wanted to rent his chairs out as he did not want the hassle of managing people as well as wonder if there would be enough customers each day. After searching for several months, he managed to find barbers that could rent the chairs on a monthly basis. Within one year, he managed to make enough money to start looking at another barbershop and repeating the gruelling process of finding more barbers.

There had to be an easier way for shop owners to find professionals and professionals to find places that are willing to rent their spaces within the Hair & Beauty (H&B) industry.

I went to my good friend, now Co-Founder, Murat Feimoglu and told him about the issue and a potential solution and he was instantly all in.

We received a really positive reaction to the idea of HairFare from our own network of hosts and professionals and we already knew the renting of chairs and spaces is widely adopted in the industry, so we were super confident in the product / service and its potential.

What to do first?

Before we started anything related to HairFare, our first step was to create a plan of action. What did we need to do first?

How were we going to keep track of our activities? Did we need to patent or trademark our idea? The first decision that we had to make was where would we launch our platform from, through a website or through an app. An app would have required a larger initial investment which we did not have at that point in time so we decided to pursue the website route. This would allow us to still be accessible on phones and tablets without spending a significant amount on the creation of an app.

Additionally, this would give us time to sign up customers, gauge what the response would be like to our platform and then pursue creating the app once more funds were raised.

I’m delighted to say this is exactly what will be happening next on our HairFare journey.

Whilst the website development was in progress, we wanted to ensure that our brand was protected, so we made the decision to trademark HairFare To add further security to our brand and broaden our reach we created a number of social

media handles for HairFare across various platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.

How much of your own capital do you invest?

When you start to look at how you will initially finance these ideas, I believe it is very important to always put your own capital towards the business. This gives you the psychological advantage of making sure it works due to the fact that it is your own money that you are using and hence gaining the rewards associated with it, but at the same time you take on all the risk.

From previous jobs, I had managed to save some money and chose to use this as my initial investment, which would be for creating the platform. This would include the design and coding of the website. After this initial investment, we chose to allocate 30% of our salaries into further developing the platform. However, if one off fees would come up where we would need to invest more than this, we were open to putting more money into it.

Money management is an incredibly important factor for a startup. You need to be careful with how much you spend but even more careful with where the money is allocated. One thing which we used extensively was freelancer websites, it allowed us to pay very small amounts for high quality pieces of work from professionals we would use again. There is always the risk of not getting exactly what you asked for so I would always recommend paying a little extra and making sure you have the option to talk directly to the freelancer so they can understand your end goals and passion. We have had plenty of instances where we tried to save money by looking for a cheaper alternative but always ended up spending more than we would have liked.

Thanks to the launch of HairFare we have learnt so much in a very short period of time. One of the most important things that I have learnt is that it is extremely important to have someone by your side from the very beginning. Financially it is a massive help as all costs are split 50:50 but additionally, there is also the emotional aspect.

This journey is like being on a rollercoaster where you can go from feeling elated after signing up your first customer to having doubts about the whole venture - especially when launching during a global pandemic - and whether it was worthwhile. Having someone by your side to ground you, pick you back up when things do not work out as planned and having a close knit support system is a very precious thing to have.

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For anyone considering launching a brand new venture, using their own pockets - now or in the very near future - I wish you every bit of success. Here are a couple of questions I would recommend asking yourself before you make a decision to dig deeper into your pockets.

1. Is this the right time to be putting more money into it? Can it wait?

2. What will be the results if you invest now compared to doing it in a couple of months time?

3. How will your investment now impact you paying your household bills this month?

4. Could you use this capital in another area of the business that could give better results?

5. Have you made sure you’ve negotiated as much as you can, to get the best possible price?

About the author: Omer Ukuser is the co-founder of HairFare where he has a hands-on approach on the management, operation and innovation side of the company. He studied Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary University and his previous experiences were at KPMG, BAE Systems, Broadridge and Newport Shipping where he is currently an analyst. www.hairfare.co.uk

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How to Kick Start PR for Your Start-Up

By Joanna Dodd of the Rochester PR Group. As a startup, you’ve got loads of goals, problems and opportunities to think about, but carve out some time for some PR that will help raise your profile and your business grow.

Understand what PR is Firstly, it’s worth understanding what PR is. Consider it as a strategic communication process which builds mutually beneficial relationships between your company and brand and your audiences. The best PR is carefully planned with time to formulate ideas, finesse messaging, create materials and ensure the right people are being targeted. Take a look at other startups, their media coverage, their websites and content, what messages do you think they are sharing. What might those be for your business.

Define what you want to get out of any PR activity Work out your business objectives and plan your PR activity to help you achieve these. For example, for the business objective of reaching a sales target, you might need more or new people to know about your brand. The PR objective would therefore be to generate more awareness. Other startup objectives might be to successfully launch a new product or service, to attract the right talent to your business or to secure financial investment to help you grow.

Capture your founder’s story One of my favourite pieces of advice, is to remember to capture your founding story. It’s a great piece of content that you can use for many years to come so capture it whilst it’s fresh and make sure you know it! You’d be surprised how often I have seen stories change or hear different versions of events from different founders.

If you’re a not-so-new startup, things may have changed since you first started and may have become more complex since your initial “ah-ha” moment. You have probably spent months fine-tuning your product or service and creating business plans, but your most powerful tool is why you did it in the first place. What prompted you to launch your business, what problem were you trying to solve? How does your product or service aim to enhance people’s lives? Re-connecting with that emotion can help with many a PR angle and story.

Back to basics Start by taking a long hard look at your website and social channels and other collateral. Do they reflect your mission, vision and values, are they up-to-date, relevant to the market

and with great content? Get rid of typos or out-of-date information. Give everything a spring clean, it’s your job to put your best face forward.

Understand your targets Think about who you need to reach with your messaging and content and, then find the media that reaches them.

Do you know what they are reading/watching/listening to?

Try to avoid basing this on your personal likes or dislikes as you’ll introduce bias to your targeting. Make sure you get to know these media outlets before you start pitching. You’ll need to target the right journalist with the right kind of story otherwise your investment will be wasted.

Make a start Being ‘a best kept secret’ is never a good plan for a startup.

So, pull together your media collateral, make it relevant, make sure it’s newsworthy. When crafting your news release, think Topical, Relevant, Unusual, Trouble, Human interest. Think of your end audience, how do you want them to react or what action do you want them to take when they see/hear/read about you?

Follow the news agenda Once your startup is launched, think of follow on stories.

Whether you are a food brand following consumer habits or a tech brand with the latest innovation, remain relevant, jump on the news agenda and react to ensure you stay part of the conversation.

Measure and analyse what works PR is much more measurable than you may think, with so much media visible online you will be able to track click throughs from online coverage to your site. And when it comes to social media, you can track analytics including engagement, follows, reach. After your first foray into PR, you will be better armed with information that will help you make even more impact with your next story. www.rochesterprgroup.com

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5 Interactive Skills to Use This Year to Improve Communications This year has been one like no other and is certainly one that the majority of us will be keen to say goodbye too. That said, it’s been an interesting one for businesses as we’ve adapted and completely transformed the way in which we communicate.

Here, Tony Hughes, CEO of global negotiation, sales and communication specialists, Huthwaite International, highlights the top five key communication lessons from 2021 that we should take on board as we enter the New Year.

Be mindful of your online behaviours One thing that many of us realised quite quickly is that there are a number of behaviours that can be instantly irritating to people during conversations that take place online. Virtual communications themselves provide multiple barriers such as poor connections and technology issues, this means without even having a conversation – the experience can be quite irritating. Therefore, with virtual communications not disappearing from the agenda anytime soon, it’s crucial that verbal behaviours do not further irritate those you are talking to.

Self-praising declarations are one of these irritators. Using the words ‘fair’ and ‘reasonable’ when talking to people can cause tension as they can undermine the person you’re speaking to and may cause lasting damage to your relationship. There are also other ways of communicating that can indicate a lack of sincerity. Verbal behaviours such as telling someone you’re ‘being honest with them’ or ‘that you’re trying to be frank’, can indicate that you may not have been completely honest in the past, or that you may be suggesting your counterpart is being intentionally dishonest. Leave this use of language where it belongs - back in 2020!

Active listening is essential Listening is what separates skilled communicators from unskilled and using active listening is key to ensuring the conversation goes well. We demonstrate active listening by acknowledging statements. Acknowledging is not the same as supporting, by acknowledging we show we are listening but do not necessarily show agreement. Using phrases such as ‘I understand’, or paraphrasing statements show that we are aware of their opinion and their thoughts without necessarily agreeing with them.

Taking care to allow people to fully express themselves, especially if they are agitated or excited, is key to defusing a highly emotional or tense conversation. If we must disagree, we should take care to make a positive statement before and after the disagreement. This means saying things like ‘I fully understand what you’re saying, and will do my best to help.

However, I will need some time to investigate the situation.

Let me come back to you in X time’. Implementing active listening into your communications during 2021 will lead to much more effective and less confrontational conversations.

Remember to show emotion Perhaps surprisingly, skilled communicators show their emotions and indicate how they are feeling towards a situation more than the average communicator. This skill is particularly important when dealing with a difficult online conversation. For example, phrases including ‘I am pleased we are making progress’ or ‘I’m worried that this won’t work out’, can be used as a substitute for an outright agreement or disagreement as it’s difficult to argue with someone else’s emotions. This verbal behaviour also reveals something personal, which is likely to encourage trust within a conversation. If someone expresses that they’re concerned a deadline won’t be achieved – it’s then difficult to retort with ‘no you’re not.’ When used in the right context, showing emotion is a highly effective way of deescalating confrontation.

It can also be difficult to observe someone’s body language over a virtual camera call so tone of voice is more easily interpreted and allows to show empathy. Listen carefully for clues to how the conversation is going from their tone and note that nerves tend to make the voice higher and this can be very noticeable – a warm drink may help to relax your vocal cords and deepen your voice. Smiling when you speak (if appropriate) will also help to relax you, and the other person. If you need to get it all right first time, practice makes perfect. Practicing with a friend of colleague can help to produce the relaxed tone of voice necessary to sound sympathetic or authentic.

Dealing with extreme levels of reaction People who have an unusually high or low reaction level present characteristic problems, and how you deal with these high or low reactors is a whole communication skill in itself. We’ve all experienced talking faster or drying up I’m sure, when dealing with a ‘low reactor’ or perhaps giving away too much information or exaggerating? It’s important to stay focused and factual if people appear unresponsive – don’t try and fill the communication gap! Similarly, you need to look out for feedback from high reactors who may be too quick to support and or disagree over issues. In a meeting scenario, ensure you check on the views and contributions of ALL participants.

Don’t allow discussions to lead to a breakdown in communication A strong indicator of an effective meeting is how well people respond to one another’s ideas and proposals.

ENTREPRENEUR When a meeting is working well, people react positively or at least constructively, to what others say. When a meeting is ineffective, the opposite can occur and tensions can rise leading to a potential communication breakdown. An extremely negative discussion can lead to what Huthwaite refer to as ‘Defend/Attack’ behaviours where opinions are expressed more strongly and more directly which can lead to people feeling exposed and becoming overly defensive.

Defend/Attack usually involves value judgements and contains emotional overtones.

Avoid these behaviours by responding positively and appropriately and most of all, try to actively listen to what is being said. Really take the time to understand a differing point of view and respect their position before jumping in with a response. Taking the time to listen will give you time and space to fully consider other opinions. If you decide you do disagree with what they’re saying, active listening will leave space around the discussion which offers the opportunity to react in a constructive, rather than an emotional manner. www.huthwaiteinternational.com

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About to launch an App? Here Are Five Things to Consider First

By Sarah Woodhouse, Director or Ambitious PR. When it comes to getting your app from the store onto the smart devices of potentially millions of people, where do you even start?

Similarly, reaching out to credible industry journalists, analysts and thought leaders with a description of your app and a free trial in return for an endorsement will allow you to capitalise on their authority.

Strong PR and communications is the springboard to getting in front of your target market. With 4.41 million apps available[1] for users to choose from, a well thought out campaign that starts even before the app has launched can make the difference between a marketing ‘buzz’ or a disastrous fizzle out. Here are five key things to consider when launching your app.

5. Compile an essential media pack

1. Research your target audience Children, teens, adults, parents, silver surfers – every demographic has different needs, desires and spending habits. Get to know the audience you are targeting through gathering demographic data on them to help you build up a better picture and plan your PR campaign.

This will help you to be crystal clear in your brand positioning and launch strategy.

2. Build a website Like any other product or service, a website is the base for your app launch. You can boost your web presence in numerous ways from blogs, competitions and free trials with links to purchase the app, of course. The website allows you to remain in control of your brand message and SEO – your owned media – and you can be much more targeted with designated landing pages for each audience if you’re targeting more than one.

3. Create a pre-launch buzz The best way to create hype around your brand before launch is through growing a social media community. Find your niche, invest time in getting to know them, post frequently and invite engagement through competitions and how-to videos. Interact with similar pages to grow your following.

Are you able to offer some free trials to selected followers in return for them being your brand advocate?

4. Use third party endorsement Influencer endorsement can propel your brand forward in your target markets. The right influencers can create a noise and a buzz about your brand which acts like a snowball effect; whether that’s via social media or traditional media. Many consumers are now influenced by reading a blog or a social media post by someone they can relate to. In fact, 89 per cent of marketers say that the ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels[2].

Images (including screenshots and high quality lifestyle images), logos, videos and review guides are all essential items in your launch press pack, but what other PR assets could you make available to a journalist?

Paid research with your target market can help to boost print and digital brand mentions to raise awareness, both pre and post launch. It shows that you have your finger on the pulse of your target market and understand their current challenges. For example; you’re launching a wellbeing app for busy parents. Find out when was the last time they took 30 minutes for themselves to read a book or have a bath.

Research can be used to start drip feeding the press news content before you’ve even launched.

About the Author Sarah Woodhouse is Director or Ambitious PR. The company was crowned Best PR Agency at The Drum’s RAR Awards 2018, 2019 and 2020, the national award based on client ratings. Its focus is corporate and business-to-business communications. www.ambitiouspr.co.uk

Sources: [1] Statista: number of apps available in leading app stores, 4 May 2020 https://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/ number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores/ [2] Mediakix.com Influencer marketing survey 2019 https://mediakix.com/influencer-marketing-resources/ influencer-marketing-industry-statistics-surveybenchmarks/#:~:text=89%25%20Say%20ROI%20From%20 Influencer%20Marketing%20Is%20Comparable%20To%20Or,are%20equal%20to%20other%20sources.

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Inspirational Founder Spotlight Morgan Howson In this issue, we are delighted to feature Morgan Howson, an inspirational 28-year-old trans woman, who revealed how her own difficult transition inspired her to create a social enterprise platform for discovering pro-trans and non-binary supportive businesses across the world.

make a lasting change,” she said, “I believe what we need are partnerships – that’s what creates change. Our platform makes finding businesses easy, not only in an online space but in a physical one too. Businesses that are partnered with us will have a window sticker so that you know that it’s pro-trans.

Morgan created TransFriendly after transitioning in December of last year: “While I knew since I was young that something wasn’t connecting with my identity, it wasn’t until the first lockdown when I realised who I wanted to be.

“All of the businesses on our site are genuinely trans-friendly and pro-non-binary – we make sure of that.”

“I went through my teenage years not being happy in relationships, knowing deep down what I wanted but suppressing it. Like a lot of people, I was given a lot of time to think in lockdown and something just clicked for me.”

While Morgan was finally ready to transition, the urgency couldn’t have come at a more difficult time: “I first looked at what it meant to transition around May/June time. To my disappointment, the state of transitioning in the UK is abysmal – it takes around 3-5 years to speak to someone and the whole process is horrifically underfunded.

“I decided to get everything done privately – soon finding out that pretty much everything you need to transition you can go out and find yourself. The drawback comes in finding businesses that will help you.”

Morgan found many aspects of transitioning difficult due to not knowing how to find pro-trans and non-binary supporting establishments.

“Everything from finding that first hairdresser to getting laser hair removal is really difficult. For the latter, I emailed 30 places – getting two responses. Even getting my ears pierced meant going to a pricey national chain to ensure you’re not being discriminated against.

“It feels like a rejection of who you are, and the whole process is made even tougher with the fact that the part where you’re most likely to be discriminated against is at the beginning of your transition. I’ve been screamed at on the street, one time in central London where a guy on a bike decided to shout, ‘That’s not a woman!’”

With this difficulty, Morgan saw fit to create a platform where other trans individuals and non-binary people could avoid the difficulty she faced and easily find businesses that would be willing to help them.

“I’m not the kind of person to sign a petition and while I believe activism can be very powerful, it’s not the approach we take at TransFriendly. Our approach is to work with and educate businesses and connect them to trans people in order to

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More than 1000 business have already signed up to the social enterprise platform since it began on the 1st of May, with partners from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and more joining up.

“All the money comes from businesses listing with us, but we never charge trans people or businesses to be partners,” Morgan said, “We’re not the new Yellow Pages, we’re just trying to make it easier for people to accept their gender identity and have an easier time transitioning into it.”

Visit: https://transfriend.ly

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Meet the Successful Founder Series Ed Johnson Ed Johnson is the CEO & Co-Founder of PushFar, a globallyleading platform helping to make mentoring more accessible and effective for individuals and organisations. With a background in digital marketing and online business growth, Ed now works closely with HR directors and Learning & Development Managers in organisations across a wide range of industries and sectors, helping to unlock mentoring and employee potential. We were delighted to catch up with Ed recently for our Meet the Successful Founder series.

Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?

I dropped out of school at 17, after I tweeted the CEO of a digital marketing agency asking for a job, and being offered one. Twitter was in its infancy and it was far easier to ask senior leaders (the few who were on Twitter at the time) for conversations and, in my case, a job! I was a self-taught web designer from school, so the background and experience I built up helped me to break into the working world and I went on to work for companies like Oracle and Zoopla, until in 2018 I found I was lacking direction in my career development and that’s when I realised that I needed to find a mentor. That’s what led me to setting up PushFar. PushFar’s a platform we’ve developed to help both individuals to get involved in mentoring and organisations to run mentoring programmes, in a streamlined, effective and engaging way. We now work with hundreds of organisations and more than 50,000 individuals on our free open mentoring platform.

How did the idea come to you for the company?

I was looking for a mentor myself and that’s when I realised it wasn’t easy for individuals to find mentors. I started doing more research into mentoring and realised that the problem larger organisations found with mentoring was running programmes. Most mentoring programmes were being run using email threads, excel spreadsheets and a lot of manual work. So, the business model adapted to being one where we can help individuals to find a mentor and volunteer to mentor others, whilst also licencing the same technology into businesses and organisations looking at running their own internal and private mentoring programmes.

How did you achieve awareness?

A lot of networking, conversations, focus groups and research.

Every day our awareness of what our clients, customers and the industry offers’ increases and we are now seen as the market-leaders for mentoring. We’ve focused on producing content that helps our customers and clients, which, in turn, has a fantastic impact on our social presence and search engine optimisation. We really do live and breathe mentoring at PushFar and increasing awareness happens, to a large extent, organically now.

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

We gained initial seed investment whilst in concept stage.

We spoke with a number of angel investors and were able to prove interest levels based on the number of conversations we were having, before we even had a product built. We had commitment from a number of companies to take out contracts with us, so, before launch, we already had revenue projections that were more accurate that estimations often seen by early-stage startups. We raised a second seed-round to carry us through into profit after the first-year and since then have scaled-up with a primary focus on revenue growth.

I think it’s easy to get tied down with ‘vanity’ metrics and, to a certain extent, we’ve been guilty of this in the past but at the end of the day revenue generation, client contract licences and customer success are what we need to be focused on.

What are the key successes?

The primary key success for us is that we grew 700% in revenue during 2020 and are now in profit. As an early-stage startup, being in profit whilst also having contracts with some fantastic, globally-recognised brands. What’s really exciting now is the continued growth and the calibre of clients approaching us, requesting a demo of PushFar’s mentoring software.

What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

I think our main challenge, as a tech platform, will always be tech scalability. I’m so fortunate to have an incredible cofounder, our CTO, Gabriel, who really knows his stuff and has a really strong team behind him. The technology we’re developing and continue to expand on comes with lots of challenges but it is exciting that we’re continuing to develop new product features and updates on a weekly basis.

What are your plans now/for the future?

Our main plan for the rest of 2021 is to further revenue growth and remain in profit, whilst also growing the team.

We’ve already had another three colleagues join PushFar so far this year and have plans to add another three people to our team by the end of this year. Our mission statement is to make mentoring more accessible, globally, so I would love for us to have millions of mentors and mentees on PushFar in the next 1-2 years. We’re growing quickly and if we continue at the current rate, then it is entirely possible.

What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

There will never be a right time to launch a product and it will never be perfect. Built a product, service or solution that can help people and if it helps people, even if it’s a little

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‘rough around the edges’ then launch it. You can always adapt and evolve the product as time goes on. I speak to lots of entrepreneurs, through mentoring, who ask where to begin. Start a business by coming up with a plan and then just execute on it – don’t spend too long putting barriers in your way. Focus on building and launching. There will never be a right time so just go for it.

Can you share you top tips for entrepreneurial success?

Don’t be afraid to fail – you will learn a lot from it.

Find a mentor – you can even use PushFar to do so!

Surround yourself by people who motivate you.

Focus on learning and always be willing to learn more.

Just get on with it – there will never be a right time.

Don’t expect everything to work well – some things will pan out and others won’t. Learn to let go of the things that aren’t working and focus on the things that are.

Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?

1.

Our CTO, Gabriel Sirbu. Gabriel is always challenging me to think about different solutions and approaches. He’s everything I could ask for from a co-founder and CTO. 2.

My Head of Marketing, Sam Hall. I’ve known Sam for three years now and had the pleasure of working with him for the last 18 months. We first met at an entrepreneur meet-up and I knew I wanted him on my team. He is so enthusiastic, driven and passionate about business!

3.

The founder of Monzo, Tom Blomfield. I think the work he’s done has been absolutely incredible and how he’s grown the business to the extent he has is fantastic.

4.

Dragon’s Den Dragon Deborah Meaden. Deborah seems to be extremely grounded, happy to ask sensible questions and challenge Dragons in a way that I’ve always been inspired by.

5.

Our chairman, Martin Sherwood. Having worked with Martin since before PushFar’s inception, Martin has always inspired me. As someone involved with dozens of companies and on several boards, Martin knows what makes a good business great.

What is your favourite inspirational /motivational quote?

“Hope for the best, expect the worst.”

What is your website link? www.pushfar.com

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Meet the Successful Founder Series Jordan Devenish Jordan Devenish founder of InsideOut Beauty From Within, was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. She’s 31 and currently lives in West Yorkshire and it mum to Nate Alexander and wife of Nathan Chappell. Before starting her business in 2019 she worked as a flight attendant. We were delighted to catch up with her recently to learn about her entrepreneurship journey.

who would never leave the house without make up until by using the Inside|Out Beauty From Within products my skin cleared and I felt comfortable doing so) I still wear make up most days but this is now to enhance my appearance not to hide it and I will pop to the shop bare faced without a problem now!

Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?

For many, many years before Inside|Out Beauty From Within came to fruition I had always known I wanted to be my own boss, always coming up with business ideas that never went past an idea due to life getting in the way.

As a child when asked the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question. My response was - A millionaire!I always knew start up costs for any business would be high so I set aside savings every month for many years to fund my dream. When I reached the age of 26 I had a choice, either put a deposit down for a house and buy a car like all of my friends were now doing or invest that money in my new idea. I decided to take the risk and put my savings into starting my business.

I have always been fascinated about all things health and beauty, especially how consuming natural ingredients can effect and alter your skin, hair, nails and even your mood and energy levels. After suffering with my skin for quite some time and terrified of the first signs of ageing beginning to appear I decided to research which combinations of products would help me the most, only to find it impossible due to the huge amount of supplement choices out there.

How did the idea come to you for the company?

That is how the idea for Inside|Out Beauty From Within flourished. I wanted to make it as easy as possibly for myself and my customers to receive all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients to achieve flawless, blemish free skin, stronger, healthier hair and nails and enhanced general wellbeing.

I began by researching ingredients and ingredient combinations to get the most out of product formulations and working closely with my suppliers and their biotechnology lab technicians to come up with the most effective products for all things health and beauty.

After nearly 3 years of perfecting and testing these formulations Inside|Out Beauty From Within was born and finally launched to the public in December 2020.

It was an exciting time however being mid global pandemic I did encounter some major set backs, delays in deliveries, companies and people I had been working with closely up until the launch closing down or getting furloughed just to name a few.

How did you achieve awareness?

I am using a few different avenues for brand exposure, social media platforms being one of them. I use Instagram @inside. out.beauty.from.within and facebook with the intention of educating my audience on the benefits of using a combination of products internally to achieve optimal health and beauty that shows on the outside. My hope is all of my customers can feel amazing in their own skin without the need for make up to pop to the shop ( I myself was someone

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

Starting any business is challenging, you put in a huge amount of hours/days/months/years of unpaid time to get to where you need to be. I’ve never really felt like I was working though, instead I see it as learning, evolving and growing, my business and myself. A lot of my challenges have been mainly due to the pandemic, I also gave birth to my son in September 2020 which meant having a lot less time on my hands than before (and being a lot more tired!)

However you do always find a way, we can be mothers, entrepreneurs and anything else we choose to be as long as we believe we can.

What are your plans now/for the future?

My plans now are to grow my brand and help women all over the UK look and feel their best everyday. We feel empowered when we look and feel good and this is what I want for all of my customers. Future plans include global expansion, some exciting additional products added to the product line and my brand on the shelves of UK retail stores.

What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

To anyone on the fence about starting their own business.

I say. -Do it!You have an idea, you have a vision, you have a dream. Anything is possible and you only live once. Get organised and keep a to do list (there will be a lot of these)

ENTREPRENEUR starting a business involves a huge amount of work from sourcing and interacting with suppliers, to shipping agents to packaging companies, being organised will help you stay on track.It may seem difficult at first but once you make that first sale and you watch your company grow, all of the sacrifices you made and hours you spent building your business will all be worth it.

My tips for entrepreneurial success: Believe in yourself, even when others don’t.

Surround yourself with like minded people you can learn from.

Be yourself.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, as an entrepreneur just starting out you have so many roles, your not expected to know everything about everything.

Take calculated risks.

Research everything and never stop learning.

People who inspire me are: Tej Lalvani - For growing the family vitamin company into the largest vitamin company in the UK and his belief in self improvement. @tejlalvani Operah Winfrey - She proves no matter your past you can be whoever and whatever you want to be.

Jessica Alba - For proving women can be both mothers and successful business women. @jessicaalba Bob Proctor - For his inspiring beliefs. @proctorgallagher My late Grandma Pat - As a child I once asked her why she wore lip stick everyday. Her response - If I look good, I feel good and if I feel good I will have a great day.

My favourite quotes.

You create your own universe as you go along -Winston Churchill.

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

Take the risk or lose the chance.

Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.

She believed she could, so she did.

FAIL- First Attempt In Learning.

Website & Socials Instagram - @inside.out.beauty.from.within Facebook - Inside Out Beauty From Within Website: www.insideoutbeautyfromwithin.com

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Meet the Successful Founder Series Krystle Downie Editorial Director and founder of It’s My Magazine, Krystle Downie, can be found “musing, baking and looking up the definition of a wordsmith... preferably all at the same time” according to one of her social media bios, but in reality she’s most likely to be found scheduling Instagram posts. We were delighted to catch up with her recently to discover more about her entrepreneurship journey as part of our popular Meet the Successful Founder Series.

I’m an ideas person, hugely creative but can lose interest in the details. Fortunately, capturing time is something I undertake with my mother/business partner who balances my weaknesses with her strengths.

I believe that time is one of our important assets and once it’s gone you can never get it back. For this reason, I wanted my company to help people capture it by preserving their memories and bringing back print. So we started It’s My Magazine with life stories, capturing peoples memories and photographs as an heirloom to pass down to younger generations in a professionally produced personalised magazine. I spotted a gap in the market for weddings as traditional wedding albums fall short of adequately capturing the whole event, and I really believe that weddings are so much more than one day.

So today, it’s my aim to build meaningful connections with 2021 brides, who are facing a unique set of challenges. We understand the importance of preserving the memories by helping them sort out those digital photos they’ve been putting off organising and gathering together to print. As a Wedding Capturer for It’s My Magazine, here’s a little insight into a day in my life; Emails!!!! Bridal consultations, and answering queries. Most of our couples have been more confused than ever due to changing government guidelines regarding weddings, which is where we like to give clarity and some innovative wedding ideas to suit these unique times.

Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?

From coordinating editorial content for our clients’ luxury magazines to arranging unique photography opportunities, I love all things creative and proud to see people’s dreams weddings preserved with the love and care in which it was planned. We started the business with my mother doing all the design (this is her field) and myself the writing and story telling. We soon arrived at a place where we had an army of freelancers with real magazine experience working to create these living experiences in a magazine.

I would describe my company culture as inclusive, innovative and interesting, with people at the heart of everything we do.

Just before Covid hit we were in talks with care homes to trial our life story magazines for their dementia patients, capturing their memories for their families before they faded. That

unfortunately had to be put on hold, however being a history buff, that is where my true passion lies, because we never write our family history down. Throughout it all though, it’s always about the people, preseving human connections and bringing back print. With only one in every 100,000 pictures taken actually printed out, it is my mission to bring back print and encourage everyone to preserve their moments properly as lost memories are expensive. With many photos lost to the cloud, It’s My Magazine ensures you capture it all, from childhood to meeting, the love story, proposal, wedding and honeymoon. Couples usually commission anything between 20 and 200 copies, as they work brilliantly as wedding favours and bridal party gifts.

One thing I love about our company is that many photographers are very precious about their albums consisting of purely their own images. It’s My Magazine differs as we encourage the couple’s friends and guests to submit pictures for the couple’s magazine. This is all the more vital as the photographer usually only stays until the first dance, however this is normallly when the party’s just getting started and to miss this out is a vital part of your wedding experience.

How did the idea come to you for the company?

We are a mother and daughter business interested in capturing time for other families. My great grandmother was best friends with Bob Marley’s mum and had all of these great stories about him as a little boy growing up. That coupled with being one of the few young Jamaican women to run her own shop under the age of 20 before coming to Britain, I was determined to write her life story. Unfortunately, life got in the way and she passed rather suddenly. As a result, a lot of our family history was lost and I went about gathering old photos and thought of a nice way to package them for each member of the family that was more personal and professional than a photo book.

So our first product was the It’s My Life magazine, which people can commission to capture the story of their loved ones and elders. Our second product was geared at the wedding market as we realised a niche with budgets for photography, as a great magazine is based on great images.

We’re a family business, based in the UK and our products made in the UK but capturing history for all families across the globe. (We were shortlisted by the British Council as being amongst the UK’s top three most innovative new companies) so we hope that 2021 brings bigger and better!

How did you achieve awareness?

In order to achieve more significant awareness, we initially did this through wedding shows all across the country and also attending lot of appearances in wedding magazines which provided us with lots of networking opportunities.

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

ENTREPRENEUR Launching the business after a game show win (Million Pound Drop), we were also proud to have our unique business supported by the Princes Trust and were soon shortlisted by the British Council as within the UK’s top three most innovative new companies. Princes Trust support helped us grow as they provided a start-up loan and advice, sessions on starting a business. Recent partnerships with councils and venues include the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Sunninghill Hall and we have a bigger team to meet increased demand.

What are the key successes?

One of our key successes has been perseverance, as with a nine-to-five job it’s easy to sign off and enjoy your evenings.

This is harder to do when running your own business and it’s often at these times that break-throughs are made. I came across the 80/20 principle which can ensure great results when used in business, and one of the key take-aways from this book is that we should be aiming to work smarter not harder. Whether that’s through creating digital products, automating aspects of your business or creating a residual revenue income stream, you have to always be on top of these strategic decisions and not get lost in the day to day running of the business.

What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

Being so new to the market, we understand the importance of having to educate our target audience about how we solve their wedding capture problems, as many have not heard of our services so it’s a new genre. One of the ways we are currently overcoming this is by being more visible and vocal in more places, getting our message and company vision out to different audiences particularly online.

If I as a Wedding Capturer could go back in time, I’d tell my former self that something big would be happening in 2020!

Pre-Covid, for the last few years we had many brides-to-be gearing up for a 2020 wedding as they loved the date, it was an ultra popular year. Who would have predicted that a global pandemic would derail virtually all weddings in that same year.

So many wedding businesses have been affected by this blip in the industry and many have not been able to bounce back.

In brighter news, with the lifting government restrictions, weddings are making a comeback and all those brides who were delayed are now looking to reschedule so things are looking up for the UK wedding industry. We’ve been fortunate in that we also cover other non-wedding commissions, e.g. life stories, so we weren’t reliant on one stream, however we are thankful that weddings are back (albeit slightly different).

What are your plans now/for the future?

In the immediate future, it is to cause a bigger splash in the wedding industry, before going back to our roots and doing more of our life story magazines. We also strive to be the number one supplier of quality wedding and events magazines. In terms of a trend nationally, I foresee a lot of UK brides booking staycations and costal UK honeymoons over the next couple of years. It looks like the travel industry will remain unsettled for a while yet, and savvy brides are preventing as many hiccups as possible by staying local. So brides get your location locked and business that cater to that market, be ready.

What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard prior to starting my entrepreneurship journey is to be passionate about what you do, as that is the only thing that will keep you going before the regular clients start coming in.

Can you share you top 5-10 tips for entrepreneurial success?

- - - - -

Go to networking events!

Take up learning opportunities Seek out a mentor Challenge yourself Have a vision

Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?

Tracey Ellis Ross because she’s quirky and fearless Amanda Oleander because she’s such a talented illustrator, can never wait to see what she does next Shaun King as he’s a diligent freedom fighter and activist making actual change Deborah Meaden as she’s a pleasant-enough seeming business woman who still has a nurturing vibe despite being uber successful What is your favourite inspirational /motivational quote?

An inspirational quote that has truly resonated with me on my entrepreneurial journey is, ‘Entrepreneurs work hard now like others won’t, so they can relax easy later like others can’t.’

How can our readers connect with you? @itsmymagazine

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Meet the Successful Founder Series Jessica Messenger Jessica is 32 and a second-time entrepreneur from Derbyshire. After launching a wedding photography business with her partner in 2018, she got a taste for entrepreneurship and wanted to launch a business of her own but not really knowing what the business would be! She has 10 years experience working in the UK film industry as an actress, costume designer and producer but after a decade of working for everyone else and not feeling creativity full she decided to leave the industry altogether in late 2019.

She was drawn toward selling cruelty free perfumes and after 4 months, fell in love with fragrance. She was inspired to create products of her own that were more in tune with her personal style and ideology than what she found on the candle market, so The Scent Coven was born. Merging her love of fragrance, with the artistry of candlemaking, she strives to innovate and create pieces of art for the home. We were delighted to catch up with Jessica recently to discover more about her entrepreneurship journey.

Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?

I have worn many hats over the years which is probably why The Scent Coven is so unique to us, it makes replicating what we do really quite difficult. I have worked in film for over 10 years, from acting, to costume design and producing, I have had a lot of experience in what it takes to make a successful brand. The difference now is, I am not selling people, I am selling a product. The Scent Coven is a luxury gothic candle brand and fragrance house, based in Derbyshire. Our main focus is innovating new, exciting and entertaining products that provide more than just fragrance for the home. We believe art and luxury shouldn’t come at a cost to animal or planet welfare, so we are entirely cruelty free, vegan, using ethically sourced ingredients and we plant 1 tree for every order.

How did the idea come to you for the company?

I started selling a cruelty free perfume brand in late 2019 after leaving the film industry and having no idea what I was going to do next. After a few months, I noticed lots of girls making their own scent based products but nothing I would personally want to see in my own home. So I decided I would make a company for myself and people like me. I found creating our brand and aesthetic pretty easy, I thought if it appeals to me, it appeals to others and I have quite a luxury taste, so I wanted to blend that high end fragrance house feel, with the darker, more gothic opulence.

How did you achieve awareness?

We hit instagram really hard from day one. I suppose I have a bit of an advantage because I already KNEW how important a niche audience was and I already knew building community

was key to a successful brand. Straight away I was very aware that we had to build brand trust, loyalty and familiarity. I have been very specific about how we appear online, how we interact and what we do to give back to our community.

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

Funding has been really important for us because we started with literally £600 in our back pocket, which doesn’t go far!

Initially we had to operate a preorder model on some of our more expensive items, due to lack of cash flow which has helped us to grow our range quite quickly and deliver the kind of products we really want to deliver. Funding came about 10 months into our journey, where we managed to secure an angel investment. This has been so important for leveling up our operations, investing in inventory and now using a marketing team for ads. Honestly, I just kept banging on doors and applying. At one time, I applied for the same investment every day or two for a couple of months. I knew we had to have it so I wasn’t going to give up.

What are the key successes?

Securing an angel investment felt like a huge achievement for us because we are so new to product based business and it was completely new terrain for us. I, the founder, have just been shortlisted as a finalist for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in the Creative Industries category which feels like such a huge achievement in 12 months. We hit 12k followers in our community on instagram which has been the biggest part of our growth journey and we are so grateful they have stuck around.

What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

We launched June 2020 so our entire journey has been fraught with challenges due to the pandemic. At one time, we were completely unable to get hold of raw materials such as wax as there was a national shortage, boxes were difficult to come by, we had border challenges with shipments taking up to 6 weeks and then Brexit happened in January so trade with the EU has been challenging. At one stage, I had glassware sitting in Australia and Germany and I couldn’t get it to us for weeks, which of course caused some upset for customers.

Honestly, communication. We have just communicated honestly, with everyone, about the challenges and where we stand at each stage, for the most part, people have been amazing.

What are your plans now/for the future?

We plan on getting a warehouse because currently we operate from a home studio which we are quickly outgrowing.

I am going to need staff to help, so I would love two full time members by the end of year 2, i make and create all the

ENTREPRENEUR products by hand at the moment and so, with growth comes a team! We have a small stall opening at the end of July and having a physical space for products like ours is wonderful and the most exciting is going back to our roots and what started all this in the first place: our own perfume line. We hope to have the kickstarter running by the end of 2021.

What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

Just start. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, or even knowing where you are going exactly, if you are passionate and have a good idea, just begin. You really do figure it out along the way. Don’t get put off by challenges, just pivot. There is always a solution to the problem, just think a little more laterally and chances are you will figure a way around it. Lastly, focus on you and where your brand is heading. Don’t be tempted to look sideways at everyone else too often, especially on social media. Be inspired but don’t stay there and be a comparasaurus, you have your own path so stay focused on the end goals. Dream big, and if you think that’s big, dream bigger, you will be shocked at what you can achieve when you dare to dream.

Can you share your top tips for entrepreneurial success?

Be committed. Be obsessed. Be a student, always. Learn to pivot, failures and mistakes will happen. Dream bigger. Seek out the answers, if you don’t find them, dig harder.

Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?

1: Holly Tucker MBE: @hollytucker i admire her kitchen table business to massive market success with Not On The Highstreet and what she does for the small business industry in the UK. I listen to her podcast all the time.

2: Amie McNee @inspiredtowrite - i love her inspirational daily posts about creativity and it inspires you to keep working away at your art no matter what.

3: Jo Malone CBE @jomalonecbe I admire her journey from kitchen worktop to global success, sharing her journey with her new brand Jo Loves and she is a major influence on how i create with The Scent Coven.

4: Abigail Ahern @abigailahern a truly wonderful design inspiration, i love her maximalist style and how she has created a brand that is so recognisably hers.

5: Chrissie Rucker @chrissierucker or @thewhitecompany another business started from home The White Company, a catalogue business that is now a globally renowned brand, truly inspiring.

What are your favourite inspirational /motivational quotes?

“I expand in abundance, success, and love every day, as I inspire those around me to do the same.” - Gay Hendricks “Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.” - Dale Carnegie What are your social handles and website links so our readers can connect with you? instagram: @ thescentcoven FB: @ thescentcoven www.thescentcoven.com

ENTREPRENEUR

Meet the Successful Founder Series Naima Lacerna Naima Lacerna, the CEO and founder of Closer Consultancy is equipped with over 10 years experience in corporate business with international exposure. She began as an EA for the CEO of an international engineering and security systems manufacturer. Assisting in closing high level business deals, she swiftly took up the position of international Sales Manager, launching the London, Dubai and Singapore offices.

After a career working in business development across professional services and launching her own luxury fashion boutique in Knightsbridge London, she decided to launch her own business development outsourcing agency and consultancy. Bringing a team of highly specialised consultants under one roof to work on their clients international projects.

We were delighted to chat with Naima recently as part of our popular Meet the Successful Founder Series.

Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?

My name is Naima Lacerna, I’ve always been in sales and business development and stuck with that as a career as it provides me the opportunity to travel and constantly being exposed to new industries, businesses, cultures and people.

You have to stay on top of your game in that regard as you’ll be talking to potential clients from a variety of backgrounds from absolutely anywhere in the world. I set up Closer Consultancy during a global pandemic, right after I finished maternity leave! The business plan was written in my living room with a 1 year old on my lap! It wasn’t easy but we are thriving and profitable and it’s only been 10 months!

How did the idea come to you for the company?

I knew that we were living during a transitional period in regards to how businesses would be pivoting and navigating their way through the pandemic. Everyone was racing to implement and speed up digital changes in their organisation, working remotely has now became the norm. Instead of having an in-house sales team I realised that there is a demand and a booming market to outsource this area of your business to specialist. There are many benefits to outsourcing business development to experienced and sophisticated consultants rather than bringing employees on-board, which is generally pretty costly too in regards to recruitment, training and there is also less flexibility. There has also been a growing trend of large businesses outsourcing projects to niche specific consultants and I knew this was this ideal time to start building this brand. Things like story-telling, personal branding, strategy and community building are key areas of interest for sure.

I have a lot of experience working in the Middle East region and with a lot of the UK impacted by economic uncertainty I knew the proposition of getting businesses to consider opportunities in the Gulf region would be something founders, CEOs and executives would be open to hearing about.

How did you achieve awareness?

I love social media sites like Instagram to network, promote my work and also learn from my peers, I enjoy sharing fun and value packaged content on there. I’ve built an engaged audience at this point so it’s always great to be able to get feedback and test the waters of what potential services get a good response or not. That’s why building a community is so great because market research becomes much easier so you can hit your ideal clients sweet spot when it comes to introducing new things. I also do a lot of outbound prospecting mainly on LinkedIn where I would be connecting and engaging with my prospective clients on a daily basis.

It’s important to be proactive, you can’t just sit and wait for customers to come to you — let them see you are driven and have something to offer!

LinkedIn is super important when it comes to B2B business now and professionals should be focusing on building their personal brand on there. I call it “digitalising your reputation” so again, content creation and active relationship building is something I do and constantly encourage my clients to do so also. I create content, share my thoughts and engage with other business owners.

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

I’m totally bootstrapped and self funded! With some of the profits I have made I also invest this back into the business.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t consider funding to scale or bringing an investor onboard in the future but for now I’m pretty happy with what I have going on.

What are the key successes?

That my work creates success for others, serving my purpose, always getting better and learning more every day and seeing my ideas come to life.

What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

My main challenge was juggling everything! We were locked down, I had a small baby and I had to do everything around her needs. I am also a lone parent so I didn’t have that support others may have. It was a struggle but I knew I had to do it for me and my daughter. I launched the whole business and did whatever work I had to do around my daughters daytime naps and during the evening until she started preschool and then I could then take it up a notch! However, it’s all been a blessing in disguise as I haven’t missed any special moments with her and running my own business allows me to be flexible which is what I really needed. It’s important for me to build a life that makes me happy and fulfilled first of all.

ENTREPRENEUR What are your plans now/for the future?

My plans are to continue growing the business, winning deals for my clients, developing our brand awareness and positioning. I’m not in a rush as I am happy with how things have gone so far and it’s just building on what we already have.

What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

Just do it. It’s either sink or swim — what’s the worst that could happen? I always say your 20’s are the best time to make mistakes and take risks! So do everything when you can and live a life with no regrets.

Can you share you top 10 tips for entrepreneurial success?

Do your research Read books Find a mentor Focus on relationships Think about how you can help people around you Be open minded Don’t do things just because you’re simply driven by money as it comes across and you seem inauthentic, do work that truly interests you and that you enjoy. If you love it, everything else falls into place!

Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?

Maria Hatzistefanis - she’s a successful founder, her vibe and style is on point and the way she engages with her followers on social media is fab. Her strategy is great - @mrsrodial Rihanna - her transition from a young pop star to a super successful businesswoman is really impressive. She set the bar when she finally introduced 40 shades of foundation and proved that diversity in beauty has a demand and is needed - @badgalriri Kim Kardashian - the OG of social media influencing and selfies. Enough said - @kimkardashian J. K. Rowling - I admired her journey and struggle. It’s just a reminder that with hard work you can make anything happen!

- @jk_rowling Princess Diana - I loved her kindness and the effect she had on people.

What is your favourite inspirational /motivational quote?

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.

What are your social handles and website links so our readers can connect with you? www.closerconsultancy.com Instagram: @closerconsultancy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nlacerna

ENTREPRENEUR

Meet the Successful Founder Series Rachel Burgin Rachel Burgin started Routes as a side hussle and is now known as one of the top 20 women disrupting the beauty industry 2021. We were delighted to catch up with her recently to discover more about her entrepreneurship journey.

When I started Routes I was a passionate hairdresser with 15 years experience and teaching behind me. Hair extensions were my specialty and after coming up against problem after problem with the hair extensions market I began to source my own. This took 2 years and a load of wasted money and time trialing and testing but eventually I found the perfect hair and teamed this with my ethics for better branding, better value, better quality and better service - Routes hair extensions was born … but It wasn’t an overnight boom (more of a slow trickle from my humble stock in 2 blue IKEA bags behind my sofa in my living room) however it did grow and after many twists and turns here we are now crowned hair extension retailer of the year 2021 and I’m so proud and humbled to be a top supplier to thousands of salons globally.

Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?

I was a hair dresser and extension specialist having all sorts of issues with my hair extension supplier which lead me to try and make a change - this turned into a 2 year search for a supply of hair extensions that had the best quality, price and ethics. It took 2 years due to so many purchases of bad hair, inconsistent factories, hair that looked amazing then went bad after one wash - it was exhausting and expensive but finally I nailed it and decided to design my own packaging too so it looked more professional. When the first final batch arrived I was so thrilled I contacted a few local salons and stores and was bowled over that almost all of them wanted it. One even placed an order for 10k of stock there and then! For a good while the hair would live in 2 IKEA bags behind my sofa in my tiny cottage i slowly grew the range and within 3 years I had staff, a showroom, offices and a turnover I could never have dreamed of (7 figures) How did the idea come to you for the company?

Completely by accident due to my own issues with the existing hair extension suppliers that were available. I only wanted to get great hair for my own clients and give them the best but the overwhelming response from local salons and stores when I got my first batch was a lighbulb moment to somthing bigger.

How did you achieve awareness?

To begin with our clients did this for us - we had zero marketing budget (or know how to be perfectly honest) but clients across the globe would buy Routes hair, fit it on clients and tag us in their amazing transformation pictures. Word of mouth and some amazing hair extension training schools loved our hair so much they recommend it to all their students!

How have you been able to gain funding and grow?

We are self funded so the 2 IKEA bags of hair extensions that cost 1k just sold and the money kept reinvesting until there was enough to grow the colour range then the different lengths and so on and so on. We never borrowed money but I also didn’t take any out for a long time.

What are the key successes?

Hard work, motivation, and resilience (definitely resilience as somtimes it gets tough) What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?

Gosh where do I start?! …. Human hair shortages, ensuring hair is ethicly sourced, raw material prices rising year on year, ensuring clients understand the importance of aftercare, a (dare I say it) pandemic closing down our industry for a year!

We can never overcome hair shortages as demand grows quicker than hair grows it takes the price up with it.

Unfortunately this is the same for the entire industry so it has a knock on effect for customers. We ensure our hair is ethicly sourced and purchased from Indian temples - this is where people in India shave their head for religious purposes by choice (this has been a tradition for thousands of years) our factory buys this hair direct and the money they pay to the Indian temple goes into the local community. The hair is then processed, treated, coloured and drawn before it’s packaged and shipped to our warehouse and stores.

Hair shortages and the pandemic let us to adapt as clients couldn’t go to the salon and salons couldn’t do business as well as less and less human hair available with prices rising while the pandemic risked jobs globally we launched a range of luxury fibre hair extensions for at home use. Fibre hair being a fraction of the price of human hair but still having the same look feel and overall finish lead us to name the collection “Too good to be true” (if you try it you will understand). So this enabled people to apply their own extensions safely at home without great cost and the salon. However we didn’t want this to cut out or dear hair salon customers that are our lifeblood and at a time they are all out of business we made the range to be a stockist product for salons to retail and they make more profit than we do (seriously).

What are your plans now/for the future?

My plans for the future are to keep finding ways to help our salon customers grow their confidence, business and bank balance. Our ethos has always been “your business is our business” which is always something to remember in a b2b environment.

ENTREPRENEUR What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?

focus on giving back, charities, communities and speaking out for causes that matter.

Literally anyone can do it! As long as your willing to roll up your sleeves and work hard, think hard and get creative you can do it! I was a single mum of 4 living in my overdraft when I started Routes I didn’t want to get into anymore debt so I had to start slow but my experience and expertise and knowledge of products teamed with better service and pricing gave me a leg up - it was a slow start but in a few short years we hit 7 figures! (To say the start budget was only £1k is not bad going ey?!)

Then of course Karen Brady - she didn’t go to uni she was rejected from Harlow collage but by the time she was 20 she was killing it and her boss worth multimillions invested heavily when he saw her potential. Like Dr Dre and Alan sugar she was a minority in her field being a woman that wanted to manage a football team she had to work twice as hard and be more savvy than any man. This of course wasn’t a problem for Karen who laughed in the face of adversity and is now a business leader, a baroness and small business ambassador to the U.K. government.

Can you share you top 5-10 tips for entrepreneurial success 1- Keep it simple - over complicating your business will quickly make it become unmanageable 2- don’t overstretch. If your product or service is good the customers will come even if you don’t have everthing they want. If you take out loans to try and jump straight to the top and it turns out you don’t have enough space in the market you could be stuck in debt with inventory that dosnt move for years.

3- time is precious so plan well to make sure you have time to sleep and eat. Use scheduling apps such as later.com or hootsuite for your social media and you can schedule a whole month in a day then the pressure is off and you don’t have holes in your marketing.

4- if at first you don’t succeed try try again! Like many I have had failed businesses and successful ones. If it dosnt work out then adapt and try a new avenue. Failed businesses are lessons that teach us pitfalls to avoid but rather than let it deter you instead let it be the inside info you know not to repeate in your new venture. This could be overspending/ Not marketing correctly/buying too much perishable stock/ not enough time or resources to run your business correctly.

Identifying the cause of your failed business and having the confidence to try something new is key.

5 - know when to let go. As well as being confident when things go wrong it’s wise not to become a martyr. Somtimes things don’t work out rather than cling on until you have nothing left and no confidence get your creative side going and re route your energy into something new. It’s a fine line between not giving up too soon and completely loosing yourself and your business. If your hearts not in it anymore it’s time to move on.

Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?

Going to be cheesy (but honest) my parents are true role models - their lives have been a roller coaster of mad, sad, crazy and amazing. They have had so many struggles and hurdles and yet overcome everything they have had thrown at them with a smile on their face. They are what I see as strength and resilience.

In the business world my inspirations are Richard Branson, Alan sugar and Andre Young (aka dr Dre) because all 3 of the above were unlikelies that were not born with a silver spoon in their mouths and were just determined and passionate about what they do - when they reached success that would keep them comfortable for life they all

What are your favourite inspirational /motivational quotes?

“You can’t wait until things are easy to be happy.”

“Great oaks from little acorns grow” What is your website link so our readers can connect with you? https://www.routes-hair-extensions.com/

Luxury Lifestyle

TSF Entrepreneurship Book Gallery

Wine Time Taittinger Nocturne Sec City Lights A visual twist on the traditional Nocturne with fine bubbles and delicious notes of white blossom, peaches and apricots.

On the palate it is soft, fresh and mellow with delicate floral and ripe fruit flavours. The aftertaste is long and soft with a subtle sweetness. £40 www.champagnedirect.com Langham Estate Rosé 2017 This lovely English rosé is a blend of 54% Pinot Noir, 23% Pinot Meunier and 23% Chardonnay, which produce this pale rose gold wonderfully elegant wine with a stream of fine bubbles and a lasting fniish. Aromas are of rhubarb crumble, cherry, cranberry & raspberry compote. The palate has a fine mousse with notes of strawberries, cherry and zingy apple. Langham was named Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year recently by the IWSC. £29.90 www.langhamwine.co.uk Ca’ di Rajo Pink Prosecco DOC Treviso Rosé Millesimato Brut 2019 An elegant pink Prosecco with touch of Pinot Noir bursting with flavours of summer berries The Pinot Noir gives the wine a pretty pink blush, as well as adding delicate tastes of wild strawberry and fresh raspberry.

It’s a delightful Summer drink, with a lower-than-usual alcohol (11.5%), and a light body. www.independent.wine/ £14.56 Francone Antichi Poderi dei Gallina 2020 Moscato d’Asti A highly aromatic, light-bodied and exceptional sparkling Muscat wine from award-winning Piemonte winemakers, which has only 5% ABV and is ideal as an aperitif, and irresistible on summer afternoons. With notes of guava and pear, candy, and white flower blossom. The wine has the typical sweetness of Muscat, with medium acidity, a fine mousse, low alcohol and a long lingering finish. www.independent.wine/ £16.16 Bolney Estate Cuvée Rosé A wonderful award-winning English sparkling wine from vineyards in Sussex. An elegant and delicate single vintage, traditional method sparkly with a pretty salmon pink colour and very fine bubbles. Floral and red apple aromas lead to red apple and cranberry on the palate with a bright, fresh finish and lovely length. Cuvée Rosé Magnum 2016, £69 https://bolneywineestate.com/ Jenkyn Place Blanc de Blancs 2015 This award winning wine is made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes from the boutique vineyard’s 500 vines. Pair with a fresh asparagus tart or white meat, such as chicken in a light garlic and cream sauce. It’s notched up many awards including a gold medal at the Wine GB 2020 awards, silver at the IWSC awards 2020 and winner Best English Sparkling Wine at the World Sparkling Wine Award 2020. £38.00 www. jenkynplace.com/shop The Palm by Whispering Angel From the makers of iconic Provence rose Chateau d’Esclans comes The Palm by Whispering Angel, an effortlessly chic and refreshingly approachable new wine for the rose-lover looking to bring an extra splash of style to their summertime sipping. www.thedrinksbasket.com £13.99

Bottego Gold Prosecco Bottega Gold Prosecco Brut is made from Glera grapes, grown in the Valdobbiadene hills that surround Venice. Fermented for 40 days, it’s given its signature sparkle via the Charmat method, and bottled in an opaque golden bottle to protect the precious formula from light. With a fruity, floral bouquet and fresh, elegant palate of pears and apples, this is a lovely bubbly for any special occasion. www.thedrinksbasket.com 18.99 Veuve Cliquot Champagne Veuve Clicquot Brut NV is the favourite champagne for many and rightly so. Grapes from as many as 50 to 60 different Crus go in to the blending and the long aging in Crayères (3 years minimum for Yellow Label) gives the champagne a particular depth and smoothness. Most of us appreciate VQ for its wonderfully refreshing lemony crisp dry finish and delicious aroma. www.thedrinksbasket.com £38.99 Krug Grande Cuvee Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne is the magnum opus, a finished product that starts out as a combination of over 120 wines, expertly blended by the brand’s Chef de Cave, hence the limited quantity. Fresh and full-bodied, you’ll notice notes of toasted bread, hazelnut, sweet nougat, jellied fruits and barley sugar, accented by green apples, floral notes and a dash of savouries, like almonds, marzipan, gingerbread and sweet spices. www.thedrinksbasket.com £149.99 Calvet Crémant de Bordeaux rosé A gorgeous, highly aromatic rosé perfect as an aperatif or simply enjoying on a warm summer eve. This merlot cabernet franc blend is made in In the heart of the Entredeux-Mers, between the Dordogne and the Garonne, and has delicious rasberry and lime notes with very fine bubbles.

One of our favourite rosés this year. www.ocado.com £12.99 François Martenot Crémant de Bourgogne Another wonderful crémant, this time from Bourgogne.

Fresh and long lasting on the palate with delicious bright notes of peach, hazelnuts and white flowers, it’s perfect as an aperitif or to accompany a meal and highlight fruit-based dessert aromas. Another absolute favourite of ours this summer. www.ocado.com £14.99 Tinwood Brut Rosé Tinwood Rosé is a gorgeous salmon colour with an abundance of bubbles and a beautifully creamy mousse.

Chardonnay dominance brings freshness and finesse, whilst the pinots hint at the classic red fruits for which England is so acclaimed. A raspberry and red currant nose with hints of strawberries and cream carry through to a delightfully fruit driven palate. Perfect as a refreshing aperitif or accompany it with smoked salmon dishes or fresh English strawberries. www.tinwoodestate.com £31.00

Skin Care Specials La Prairie Pure Gold This is a wonderfully indulgent and highly effective new collection from one of the world’s best skincare brands. The Pure Gold Diffusion System is designed to provide immediate radiance and sustained delivery of key replenishing ingredients to help compensate for a loss of receptiveness of the skin. This results in a more even skin tone, smoother and finer skin texture and a luminous glow. Treat yourself to all or some of the products from the range comprising a Radiance Concentrate Serum, Radiance Cream and Radiance Eye Cream. They really are a delight to use. www.laprairie. co.uk RÉDUIT Spa Device This brand new innovative skin care gadget delivers ingredients directly to pores without the need of unnecessary filler. The Device works with accompanying Skinpods by using magnetic misting which gently amplifies the infusion and delivery of actives into the skin, while ultrasonic diffusion and sonic pulsations ensure the formula is evenly distributed.

Skinpods are a sustainable alternative to the unnecessary filler ingredients and waste that comes with most skincare products as each targeted pod contains the most potent ingredients delivered exactly where your skin needs them. There’s a pod ideal for every skin care concern including the Clean Vapor Skinpod that rids the skin of residual oil and grime and the Hydro Boost Skinpod, which delivers a nourishing boost. www.reduit.com £179 Sensica Sensilight PRO For silky smooth hair-free skin, this clever device is a must.

Designed to give the same results achieved in a professional spa, it’s clinically proven for at-home use, with unlimited flashes. The RPL™ technology inside every Sensilight PRO has been designed with both effectiveness and safety in mind. A cordless design gives you full freedom of movement, and the battery life provides up to 600 flashes between charges which can cover a full body in one charge, making the Sensilight PRO versatile too. www.sensica.com £379 Skinego Prime Using an eye massager is one of the most effective ways to deal with not only eye strain from staring at screens for too long, but help improve the appearance of the skin under your eyes too.The Skinego Prime is designed to fit neatly into the contour around the eye and reaches a temperature of 42 degrees. With thermal treatments being clinically proven to help stimulate collagen production, this function allows you to fully target problem areas such as dark circles, puffiness or tired eyes like never before which can result in tighter firmer looking skin. £95.00. www.skinego.com Sensica Sensilift MINI and PRO Hailed as some of the best anti-aging products on the market, both these excellent non-invasive, medical-grade facial

therapy devices help slow down the signs of ageing to tighten and firm your skin, reduce wrinkles and reveal a more radiant and toned appearance. While most treatments mainly only address the surface of the skin, Sensilift is different. It acts on deeper layers using its patented InTrense RF™ technology to promote collagen synthesis and deep tissue lifting. You’ll start to see results with even just a five-minute treatment once a week. They are both painless and easy to use. The MINI is perfectly portable too, so you can take it on holiday with you and never miss a treatment.Sensilift MINI £179. Sensilift PRO £279 www.sensica.com K Facial Ice Roller A perfect Summer facial device. Simply pop this in your fridge or freezer and use over your face, ace, neck, and décolletage to improve circulation, de-puff and reduce swelling, soothe redness and irritation, brighten under-eye circles, tighten the jawline and help minimise the appearance of large pores. www.kfacials.com £29 Lily & Loaf Luminescent Face Polish Eliminate dead skin cells, decongest pores, reduce the signs of ageing and boost circulation with this evening facial polish which contains soothing Avocado Oil. Do try the rich yet easily absorbed Bedtime Revitalising Cream too and other great skincare, aromatherapy and nutrition products by this lovely brand. £19.95 www.lilyandloafinternational.com Age Defy + range by Cha Vøhtz This is a highly acclaimed collection of luxurious and organic skin care products designed to reverse the signs of aging through skin regeneration, moisture balance and hydration.

Particular favourites include the Collagen Boost Vitamin Serum which has Vitamin C, Bakuchi Oil and Hyaluronic Acid. The perfect for Summer DD Tinted Moisturiser SPF 15, and the Hydrate & Renew Serum. From £39 www.greenpeople.co.uk Slow Ageing Face Discovery Range A range of excellent products to transform the radiance of your complexion, help slow the effects of time on your skin, boost natural energy levels and feelings of inner calm. Perfect for taking on holiday is their Discovery Range – four of their hero products including facial essence, wash, balm and moisturiser in generous travel-sized jars. www.slowageing.co.uk. From £35 Grass Roots Super Glow Miracle Oil & Skin Drench Super Serum This brand offers a luxury, cosmeceutical and result driven range of skincare that is vegan, cruelty free, has recyclable packaging and is made in the UK. The products feature CBD. Favourites include their Super Glow Miracle Oil, and Skin Drench Super Serum which glide on and leave skin feeling incredibly soft and nourished. Use the oil with their black obsidian Gua Sha in a lifting, firming and fluid draining facial massage. www.grassrootsskin.com From £24.99

Ren Daily AHA Skin Tonic Summer Edition Get the ultimate refreshed summer glow with Ren’s Summer Limited Edition Daily AHA Tonic. It’s lovely and cooling to use and brightens, hydrates, exfoliates, soothes and smooths the skin. Has a summery delicate fragrance too of fresh organic cucumber. www.renskincare.com £28 ESPA Overnight Glow Enzyme Peel, Yuzu and Ginger cleansing sorbet, Clean & Green Detox Mask All ESPA products are a delight to use. To achieve a Summer glow your skin needs to be clear and exfoliated and these three products are just the job. Each has a delicious fresh scent too. The cleansing sorbet cleverly changes from a balm to oil to simply melt away impurities and leave your skin silk soft and able to absorb moisturising treatments more easily. www.espaskincare.com/ From £40 Forlle’d Hyology Forlle’d Hyalogy is a state-of-the art Japanese nano-technology skincare range, with a ‘liquid skin’ formulation which delivers long-lasting skin health, renewal and regeneration. Using Nanotechnology, Biofermentation and Ionization the products work simultaneously on both epidermal and dermal layers of skin for scientifically proven results. Do try the P-effect Reliance Gel and Hyology Lift Cream. www.forlled.com From £93 REN Evercalm™ range A firm favourite with anyone with sensitive skin, REN’s Evercalm™ range effectively sooths dry, itching, red, sore, flakey and irritated skin leaving it soft and supple after just a few uses. The range comprises everything from super serums to redness-reducing day creams, recovery balms and cleansers. Highly recommended. www.renskincare.com PMD Clean in Silver The PMD Clean Pro Silver breaks down dirt and oil from within the pores at 7,000 vibrations per minute while operating at a perfect frequency to lift, firm, and tone the skin. Patentpending ActiveWarmth™ facial massager allows your skincare to activate by assisting in deeper absorption and effectiveness from the combination of SonicGlow™ and heat. The Pure Silver Plated facial massager is antibacterial and has added anti-aging benefits. £179.00 www.pmdbeauty.com

Stress Relief & Improved Sleep the Natural Way While most of us are relieved and excited about finally being free from over a year of lockdown restraints, some are feeling increased apprehension, anxiety and lack of sleep. The thought of heading back to a busy office, commuting again and being away from home and children can be a daunting prospect.

There are however some self-care rituals and effective natural products that can really help to gently and positively ease you back into the world once more.

One of our favourite methods is aromatherapy - it’s quite incredible how just a few drops can make a hugely beneficial difference to our state of mind and wellbeing.

Lavender is a great choice, of course, to lift your mood, and relax and calm the mind, but also zesty mandarin, soft and feminine rose geranium, rich and herbal clary sage, light and lemony rose otto and heady and exotic ylang-ylang, frangipani and tuberose. These latter three will transport you to a tropical island paradise in an instant, and are lovely blended with a little sweet-almond oil and dabbed on your wrists when you just need a pick-me-up on a particularly stressful day.

As with all pure essential oils, do use sparingly, and, unless you are confident you are not sensitive to having them on your skin, always use heavily diluted in a carrier oil. Only purchase from reputable suppliers – those packs you see on Amazon are generally of very poor quality and are often diluted already.

Our recommended suppliers are Quinessence Aromatherpy (www.quinessence.com), Tisserand (www.tisserand.com), Neal’s Yard Remedies (www.nealsyardremedies.com) and Amphora Aromatics Ltd (www.amphora-aromatics.com ).

Tisserand offers some excellent diffusers too – try the elegant Aroma Spa Diffuser which cleverly uses ultrasonic aroma technology instead of a candle to create an incredibly fine vapour which quickly fills any room with your chosen oils. It also uses chromotherapy through gentle variations of soft coloured light. You can add a few drops of essential oils into a hot bath too, or on to a tissue you keep near your pillow at night. Popping a few drops into a carrier oil and using on your legs and arms as a daily moisturiser is highly effective also.

If you are a little unsure of creating your own aromatherapy blends there are plenty of pre-prepared products available from each of these companies too. And you don’t have to buy actual essential oils to benefit from their calming and healing properties, some skincare products feature these as their primary ingredients. Some of my favourite products worth seeking out include: Tisserand’s excellent ranges such as the Total De-Stress Collection and Sleep Better range. Lily & Loaf (https://lilyandloafinternational.com) and Nourish London (https://nourishskinrange.com) both offer high-quality, beautifully fragranced essential oil blends and aromatherapy products.

Artisanal brand Africology (https://uk.africologyspa.com) offers a wonderfully scented Rose Absolute Serum which is gorgeous and effective to use. Another product we

recommend is the delicately scented Rose Plus Marine Collagen Complex from the Organic Pharmacy (www. theorganicpharmacy.com), who also do an ultra-luxurious Rose Diamond Face Cream. And one of our favourite skincare brands Zoetic (www.zoetic.com) has a lovely range of creams with CBD and fragrances of exotic delights such as lemongrass and ylang-ylang.

In addition to using aromatherapy to relax, do consider CBD oil drops – excellent brands include Pure Sport (https:// puresportcbd.com), Cannaray (https://cannaray.co.uk), Life Spark (https://lifesparkcbd.co.uk), Cannadox (www. cannadoxshop.com), and one we’re enjoying currently is Blood-Orange CBD drops from Thrive (www.wethriveofficial. com) – these taste amazing, with none of the sometimes harsh, sharp, nettle-like taste most have. Try a relaxing tea before bedtime too. Passion Flower Tea from Naturboutique (https://naturboutique.co.uk) tastes great and works well.

Finally, consider using silk eye masks to block out the light – particularly if you live in the city and are disturbed by street lamps. And treat yourself to a silk pillowcase – which not only is incredibly soft and cool to rest on, but helps keep your hair and skin smooth too. Our favourites are from This is Silk (https://thisissilk.com) and UNCU (www.uncu.london).

It’s really worth investing in some of these lovely products and creating a daily ritual where you can be still and centred and find the calm, confident and balanced you once more.

Summer Shop

A showcase of some of our favour

Charo Ruiz Luchi Kaftan | £362, www.revolve.com Luisaviaroma Women’s Borsalino Panama Hat £300 | www.luisaviaroma.com Dior 30 Montaigne Slide sandals £660, www.dior.com Laura Witmore Edit Influencial Leggings Dragonfly Ink Print | £30, www.dare2b.com Creed Fragrances Viking Cologne | £240 / 100ml, www.creedfragrances.co.uk Initio Parfums Privés Musk Therapy | £205 / 90ml, www.harrods.com Parfums de Marly Greenley Eau de Parfum | 75ml £160, www.selfridges.com Three Seasons Gin | £90, www.cambridgedistillery.co.uk Warners London Dry Gin | £30, www.warnersdistillery.com Health & Her Perimenopause Multi Symptom | £19,99, https://healthandher.com

pping Guide

rite gifts & treats for the season

Chiara Boni La Petite Robe One Piece Swimsuit £236 | www.lyst.co.uk Tom Ford Oversized Square Frame Sunglasses | £300, www.coggles.com The Melitta® epour® |£199, www.melitta.co.uk At Home Cider Cases | From £35, www.cideriswine.co.uk The Fellowship, Advanced Moisturiser 50ml | £25, www.the-fellowship.co.uk Warner’s Rhubarb Gin 70cl | £38, www.warnersdistillery.com Lashile Good Hair | 24.90 Euros, www.lashilebeauty.com Your Zooki Liposomal range – C, D, Collagen & Turmeric https://yourzooki.com Fight Vitamin gummy range – Immunity, Bone Strength and more https://fightvitamins.co.uk Bodyism supplement range - Beauty Food, Ultimate Clean and more £50 https://bodyism.com/supplements/

Maison Chaumet, London Situated in the heart of London’s luxury shopping district, the Chaumet boutique on New Bond Street has reopened its doors. Dedicated to a selection of exceptional High Jewellery and the Maison’s iconic collections, this unique location is imbued with an intimate identity, bridging British elegance and Parisian distinction. The prestigious address highlights the enlarged presence of Chaumet in both the United Kingdom and Europe, following the reopening of its space in Harrods, and the renovation of the hôtel particulier at 12 Vendôme in Paris last year.

Much more than a boutique, this exceptional setting is a destination for lovers of jewellery and refinement. Decorative elements include embroidered ears of wheat, naturalistic frescoes and bas-reliefs with imprints of grasses and plants, straw marquetry evoking the radiance of a jewel, and artistic lacquering. On the ground floor, the noble materials contrast with digital screens that replace the traditional cases to show off the Maison’s creations in a modern manner. The Joséphine, Liens and Jardins collections are presented here, along with Perspectives de Chaumet, the Maison’s latest High Jewellery collection.

Emblematic of elegant Victorian houses, the staircase has been specially and identically recreated for this prestigious address, while respecting the city’s heritage. Decorated with a unique contemporary fresco, it illustrates the Chaumet combination of tradition and modernity. Ribbon link and laurel leaf motifs, shaded from beige to dark blue, provide a visual sense of elevation that invites visitors to explore the first floor.

With the reopening of this prestigious address, Chaumet writes a new page in the story that has connected it to the United Kingdom for over 150 years. In 1848, the Maison moved to New Burlington Street in London, a short walk from the current New Bond Street store.

Jeweller to sovereigns, it attracted the attentions of Queen Victoria who, on the occasion of the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851, even sent her own hand-drawn design for a piece of jewellery to the head of the workshop, before granting him a Royal Warrant of Appointment the following year.

Maison Chaumet new High Jewellery Collection, Torsade de Chaumet

Spa Time Special

16 of the Best UKs Coun

Ragdale Hall Leicester

Stoke Park Buckinghamshire

With no less than six pools and raft of excellent treatment choices in this thermal spa there’s plenty to experience and enjoy during any stay. https://www.ragdalehall.co.uk/

Set in The Pavilion in this stunning historic estate, you can enjoy an indoor pool, Italian marble steam rooms, outdoor Scandinavian Sauna and hot tub, nail bar, boutique and more. https://www.stokepark.com/

St Michaels Spa features the largest hydrothermal pool in the south-west. Here you can explore a range of wonderful hydrothermal experiences and relaxing treatments tailored to your needs. https://www.stmichaelsresort.com/

The perfect relaxing retreat, Herb House Spa is located in the heart of the pretty New Forest and boasts an excellent array of treatments and facilities including large indoor hydro and swimming pools, outdoor hot tub and stunning views. https://www.limewoodhotel.co.uk/spa

St Michaels Cornwall

Lime Wood, New Forest

ntryside & Coastal Spas

Dormy House Worcestershire

Calcot Manor Gloucestershire

The House Spa has been winning awards since day one, offering guests an indoor/outdoor blend of soothing therapies, serene pool, terrace hot tub, and Scandi-style thermal suite. https://www.dormyhouse.co.uk/

Nestled in elegant landscaped grounds, Calcot Spa is a perfect place to revive, refresh and feel great. Why not enjoy a blissfully relaxing treatment and retire to the outdoor hot tub with a glass of bubbly. https://www.calcot.co/

This famous spa is home to celebrity-magnet Soho House group’s countryside-chic Cowshed Spa. You can indulge in a host of excellent treatments in gorgeous surroundings. https://www.sohohouse.com/en-us/houses/babingtonhouse

Another world-class spa nestled in the New Forest is Chewton Glen, an idyllic setting to indulge in some ‘Me’ time. The large and beautifully designed pool area really is one of the very best. https://www.chewtonglen.com/

Babington House, Somerset

Chewton Glen, Hampshire

The Langley, Buckinghamshire

Luton Hoo Bedfordshire

The ideal spa for those wanting to combine wellness and fitness activities. Here you can indulge in a wide range of custom treatments to suit just about any need, all in luxurious surroundings.https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/lonivthe-langley-a-luxury-collection-hotel-buckinghamshire/

This unique spa is located in a historic stable yard, Luton Hoo is the perfect place to experience a spot of indulgent pampering in luxurious surroundings – and maybe enjoy a round of golf too. https://www.lutonhoo.co.uk/

For those who love their spas to come with spectacular sea views this spa is a must. If you can tear yourself away from the beach you can enjoy the wonderful hydro pool, cedar sauna, eucalyptus steam room and caldarium. https://www.bedruthan.com/

A gorgeous spa with excellent facilities including a 20-meter pool and indulgent treatments to leave you feeling fully relaxed and glowing. https://danesfieldhouse.co.uk/

Bedruthen Conrnwall

Danesfield House, Bucks

South Lodge Sussex

Pennyhill Park Surrey

The Spa at South Lodge is a stunning 44,000 sq. ft. luxury spa with a state-of-the-art facilities, a thermal suite and host of pools to enjoy, including even one for wild swimming. https://www.exclusive.co.uk/south-lodge/

The perfect place for a spa day treat, Pennyhill Park luxury spa offers plenty to enjoy including hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, large indoor and outdoor swimming pools and even an ice igloo. https://www.exclusive.co.uk/pennyhill-park/

Here at Cottonmill Spa you can enjoy a raft of wonderful innovative treatments and facilities including the Amber and Quartz Crystal Bed, where warm crystals help to ease muscle tension during a massage. www.sopwellhouse.co.uk

Another luxury spa in Cornwall, the Scarlet is an eco spa which enjoys an amazing location high above the sea with the soothing sound of waves below. Enjoy the natural outdoor pool and wonderful range of Ayurveda treatments. https:// www.scarlethotel.co.uk/

Sopwell House, Herts

The Scarlet Cornwall

The five-star Kagi Maldives Spa Island has launched a transformative wellbeing package allowing guests to relax on this island oasis with a fully-integrated wellness experience.

Guests can book the Pure Life Wellness Retreat embarking on a journey of discovery, learning special body-mind tools to reach a balanced life and enhancing sense of self. The retreat offers the ideal post-lockdown escape and a holistic, wellness journey to reclaim self-connection, self-care and balance through an array of therapeutic and mindful practices, all whilst immersing oneself in the calming oasis of the Maldives.

Guests will leave Kagi having learnt about nutrition and how it effects wellbeing, learnt acceptance and self-compassion, learnt multiple practices to create calm and peace in daily life, and above all leave having experienced deep relaxation.

Be guided on a bespoke wellness journey and become equipped with the skills to achieve an enhanced, joyful and mindful life. The inspiring cooking class will teach the importance of nutrition, while the two scuba dives will allow guests to reconnect to the body through the focus on breath while beneath the deep blue sea. Increasing awareness and control, scuba diving allows divers to clear the mind and experience inner peace. Through mindful meditation sessions, nutrition lessons and rejuvenating spa treatments, guests will feel confident in transforming healthy intentions into sustainable wellbeing practises and will be able to explore the power of connection and self-care.

The package includes: 5 night accommodation, daily breakfast, welcome info session with the wellness team, 2 mindful yoga private class, a be touched by the ocean signature massage, a Balinese massage, a Sound of Baani evening wave meditation,

3 superfood smoothies, two 3x course lunches at Spa Corner, a PURE Fly photo session, cooking class, and Discover Scuba Diving including 2 dives. Prices start at $2,681 per person on a B&B basis in a Lagoon Pool Villa inclusive of Government Green Tax of $6.00 per person and 12% GST. Airport transfers not included.

Baani Spa, which appears to float atop the island’s turquoise lagoon waters, comprises four treatment rooms with outdoor bathing facilities, a relaxation lounge, beauty salon, fully equipped yoga and sound-healing studio, steam rooms, stateof-the-art gym and a spa wellness boutique. A ‘Spa Corner’ provides a juice bar with superfoods and ingredients rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, offering a variety of drinks that are as delicious as they are energizing and nutritious.

The five-star Kagi Maldives Spa Island launched in the Maldives’ North Male Atoll in November 2020. The boutique 50-villa property provides a 360° wellness experience, just a 15-minute seaplane or 60-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport.

Kagi partnered with esteemed architect Yuji Yamazaki on the design of the resort. At the heart of the island sits Kagi’s 1500-square-meter spa and wellness hub, complete with an open-air, teardrop-shaped sky roof at its core. Kagi also houses a state-of-the-art gym, two restaurants, three bars, a dive centre and a house reef. Guests can choose from three room types, a Beach Pool Villa, a Lagoon Pool Villa or an Ocean Pool Villa, all of which are distinguished by their unique locations and house a private pool, a sun deck and an expansive indoor-outdoor bathroom. www.kagimaldives.com

Pure Life Wellness Retreat at Baani Spa, Kagi Maldives Spa Island

8 UK Road Trips w

Road Trip

with Amazing Views

With UK road trips now possible and staycations on the agenda for the coming months, we caught up with one of our readers’ most admired brands Lexus to discover which driving routes their experts recommend enjoying this summer.

From Land’s End to John O’Groats, via sweeping bays, soaring cliffs and rolling fells, there are so many great roads to experience - appreciated even more travelling in a great car. What better choices than two of our absolute favourites we’ve enjoyed on test - the simply stunning LC Convertible and LC 500 Coupe.

From wild coastlines to picturesque countryside & stately mountains beyond Kendal to Keswick Cumbria, England

Enjoy the best of the Lake District in one 38-mile drive via the A591, which runs along the banks of Windermere and Thirlmere, then the cloud-grazing Lakeland fells, through countryside that has inspired artists and writers. The village of Grasmere is perfect for a pit stop.

Cheddar Gorge Somerset, England

See Cheddar’s soaring limestone cliffs along the twists and turns of the B3135. This 18-mile route will take you past craggy bluffs from Bridgwater to the Cheddar Gorge. Take the A372 east from Bridgwater, then the A361 north-east, before joining the B3131 and on to the B3135. Photo: Visit Britain/Stephen Spraggon

Ribblehead Viaduct Yorkshire, England

Enjoy the beautiful Yorkshire Dales from the village of Hornby to the Ribblehead Viaduct, along the A683, A687 and B6255, encompassing wild woodlands, pitted peaks and lush, grassy valleys. This 15-mile trip ends beneath the famous 400-metre-high viaduct, which first carried locomotives in 1875. If you continue for another six miles on the Buttertubs Pass between Thwaite and Hawes you’ll encounter thrilling descents and hairpins. Photo: Visit Britain/Colin Barker

Snow Roads Scenic Route Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

You’ll see some of the Highlands’ most beautiful scenery along the A93 from Blairgowrie, which is Britain’s highest public road. Drive northwards, taking the A939 from Ballater, passing towns, crumbling castles and the Cairnwell chairlift (open all year, for skiers and hikers alike). You’ll finish this 89-mile route in charming Grantown-on-Spey. Photo: Visit Scotland

The Atlantic Highway Atlantic Way, Pedn Vounder Beach, Cornwall Devon and Cornwall, England

One of England’s greatest coastal routes runs between Barnstaple (Devon) and Newquay (Cornwall) along the A39 and A3059, covering 75 miles of glorious beaches, dramatic clifftops and rolling surf. From Newquay you can extend the trip for a further 41 miles by following the A3075 and A30 to Land’s End, the most westerly tip of mainland Britain. Photo: Visit Britian/adam Burton

The Coastal Way Pembrokeshire Coast West Wales

The Coastal Way is 180 miles long, stretching the entire length of Cardigan Bay. You’ll encounter empty beaches and trafficfree roads with edge-of-the-world views. There are plenty of interesting stop-off opportunities, where you can join dolphin safaris, forest foraging tours, and kayaking. Interesting towns and villages along the way include Cardigan, Aberaeron, Aberystwyth and Aberdovey, reached via the A487. Photo: Visit Wales

North Coast 500 North Scotland

Start this circular route in Inverness and drive clockwise heading for northern Scotland’s coast, through Muir of Ord, Applecross, Ullapool, John O’Groats, Wick, Dunrobin Castle and Dingwall, before returning to Inverness. The 515-mile official route includes winding lanes, spectacular beaches, and remote rural communities. A trip to the Isle of Skye is highly recommended, to see the famous Storr rocks. Photo: Visit Scotland

South West Coastal 300 South Coast 300 at Mennock Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland This 299-mile loop starts in Dumfries and features spectacular sea views, medieval castles and plenty of activities to try, from angling to horse riding. The driving is spectacular, including coastal curves and wide-angle stretches. The route can easily be reached via the M74 and M77 motorways and takes in Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point in Scotland, as well as passing through Wanlockhead in the Lowther Hills. Photo: Visit Scotland

Manor Farm, Sapperton, The Cotswolds

New to rent this summer is the gorgeous Manor Farm, Sapperton. The seven-bedroom house, situated in the small hamlet of Sapperton, on the edge of The Golden Valley and adjoining the Bathurst Estate, is beautifully constructed from traditional Cotswold stone. Original parts of the house date back to 1650s, and a recent refurbishment, including a beautiful new kitchen, brings it right up to date for modern needs.

The house has a wonderful wide flagstone hall on arrival, as well as a drawing room, sitting room, dining room, television room, breakfast room, kitchen, utility room and guest cloakroom, all on the ground floor. Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with a very large en-suite bathroom, with tub and shower, and a large shower room for two further bedrooms.

On the top floor, three are two twin bedrooms and two queen bedrooms; two with en-suite bathrooms and one additional family bathroom.

The mature gardens have stunning, sweeping views of the Cotswold farmland and hold a large, heated swimming pool, within a walled courtyard. This has a covered loggia for dining and smaller loggia for shaded seating and is a perfect spot to spend this Great British summer, sipping on a cool drink. There is also a traditional asphalt tennis, great for all ages.

Manor Farm is within walking distance of well-known pub, The Bell Inn, five miles from Cirencester and just six miles from the wonderful village of Stroud, with its renowned farmer’s market. The house is available from £14,000 per week. Long weekends available from October 2021 until June 2022.

For more information: luxurycotswoldrentals.co.uk, teamtravel@luxurycotswoldrentals.co.uk

The Fellows House Cambridge Located a short walk from the city centre, and a stone’s throw from the River Cam and Jesus Green, this delightful new hotel is the perfect base to explore Cambridge’s famous colleges, the Bridge of Sighs, the University of Cambridge museums and Botanic Gardens. It provides a range of carefully curated experiences designed to unlock the history of the city and showcase its full offering from the authentic perspective of a local.

The hotel features unique pieces of artwork and sculptures, all designed locally in Cambridge. The room types are all named after people associated with the city and notable Cambridge fellows such as Kipling, Newton, Gormley and Attenborough.

This includes king rooms, studios and one-bedroom apartments, together with Fellows Duplex apartments split across two levels. All studios and apartments have fully equipped kitchens, ideal for relocation, project workers and extended stay alongside workation-style getaways. Families can comfortably stay in a one-bedroom apartment or in the two-bedroom The Fellows Family connecting room.

The signature restaurant, The Folio Bar & Kitchen, serves plant-based dishes and British comfort classics with locally sourced ingredients, from roasted cauliflower steak to beetroot wellington. The Sage of Cambridge, a coffee shop

by day offers colourful, health-conscious options including wraps, smoothies and vegan salads, as well as freshly baked breads and pastries, transforming into a vibrant wine and aperitifs bar after 5pm.

Guests can make use of the ample onsite car park, which includes multiple electric car charging ports, as well as the indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna and steam room and bicycles for hire. The hotel’s Hawking Suite boardroom seats up to 10 people and doubles up as an event space and private dining room with natural daylight and direct access to The Fellows Garden and The Observatory.

The Fellows House Cambridge is part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest loyalty program for Hilton’s 18 distinct hotel brands. Members who book directly have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount, free standard Wi-Fi and the Hilton Honors mobile app.

The Fellows House Cambridge, Curio Collection by Hilton is located at 33 Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1UZ. Wisit www. thefellowshousecambridge.curiocollection.com

Room Envy Hux Hotel London

Dimora Palanca A stunning 5* boutique hotel in the heart of Florence, Italy.

Since the end of 1800 Dimora Palanca has been the rendez-vous for cosmopolitan travelers and art lovers and now it’s the starting point to discover an unexpected Florence. www.dimorapalanca.com

Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa

This newly renovated unique 125-year-old property in the heart of rural Warwickshire boasts charming grounds, complete with an 11th century church and a listed, ornate topiary garden, steeped in history. A variety of conference spaces have also been refreshed, and an ambient library adorned with a ceiling of floating books provides a light filled area for relaxation or inspiration, said to be where William Shakespeare wrote his famous comedy ‘As You Like It’.

Many of the bedrooms have been expertly upgraded with sumptuous new furnishings. Four poster beds, period fireplaces and contemporary fabrics ensure a charming blend of traditional and modern, with elegant and refined design.

Communal spaces have also been enhanced with a new look, still in keeping with the former 16th century Elizabethan home’s historic charm. The incredible transformation includes the grand welcoming reception area, Great Hall, bar, lounge and gallery, and the Stuart Restaurant for guests to indulge in everything from themed afternoon teas to exclusive gastronomic delights with locally sourced produce.

Drawing inspiration from the romantic English landscape, historic origins and the notable voices past and present that have retreated to Billesley, the hotel is the perfect sanctuary for guests looking to feel re-energised and inspired.

The hotel’s new makeover has kept its glorious floor-to-ceiling oak wood panelling complemented and elevated with a new rich colour palette of blues and golds. Plush, velvet furniture has been added throughout the property, whilst artwork by Pratiksha Tayal brings a contemporary twist to the traditional paintings that previously adorned the walls, creating a timeless luxury haven for all guests to enjoy.

Listed in the 1086 Domesday book commissioned by William the Conqueror, the Billesley Estate has an expansive history

dating back to 705 AD. One of its most famous visitors includes none other than William Shakespeare himself, who allegedly married Anne Hathaway in the All Saints church next to the hotel, and who’s granddaughter followed suit by getting wed in the very same church. William Shakespeare famously wrote lines from his play ‘As you Like It’ from the library and as such many nods to Shakespeare can be found around the hotel from hand crafted feather pieces to more traditional artwork, allowing guests to become immersed in the rich tapestry of Billesley’s history.

Those looking to wind down can experience a number of indulgent beauty therapies within the newly refurbished Decleor spa. Guests can take a dip in the pool followed by a steam and a sauna, or make use of the secluded yoga hut and fantastic gym facilities. The romantic and historic topiary garden offers an idea backdrop for sunrise yoga and meditation which guests can enjoy on their own accord after picking up a yoga mat from reception.

Located in 11 acres of beautiful countryside just outside the medieval town of Stratford-Upon-Avon and close to many engaging locations, this 16th Century country hotel provides a sanctuary from which to feel relaxed and inspired. Enveloped in rolling countryside, Billesley Manor Hotel & Spa draws inspirations from nature, creating spaces to reconnect. The exquisite, listed topiary garden planted over 125 years ago, has been curated and shaped to form giant chess pieces, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The exquisite setting provides another unique opportunity for guests to spend time unearthing the true spirit of the place.

Visit www.billesleymanor.com

Siyam World Maldives A bold new world of possibilities beckons in the Maldives’ Noonu Atoll this autumn, with confirmation that the highly anticipated Siyam World, Maldives will open on 28 October 2021. A natural, carefree playground promising an eye-popping array of “neverseen-before” experiences across land, sea and sky, Siyam World is set to transform the monotonous Maldivian holiday mould with its striking new vision of the Indian Ocean archipelago’s rich natural wonders.

A standalone brand under Sun Siyam Resorts, Siyam World, Maldives is a five-star, all-inclusive, all-embracing island resort that offers fun-loving, open-minded couples, romance seekers, families or larger groups of friends the freedom to roam, socialise and engage in an island community. Uncompromisingly quirky with a fun-loving attitude, a deep-rooted soul, and a unique approach to everything, this is one of the largest natural islands in the Maldives to boast a resort and show-stopping residences: a natural 54-hectares island blessed with more than four kilometres of white sandy beaches and six kilometres of house reef.

Siyam World shows off an enticing variety of 21 accommodation categories ranging from 89 to 3,000 square metres, including lush Pool Beach Villas, expansive Beach Suites and breathtaking Beach Residences to the playful Over-Water Villas – complete with inviting water slides. An exclusive enclave, The Beach House Collection, also features stunning Grand Water Pavilions and the magnificent Palace. All accommodation types overlook the pristine Maldivian waters, come with direct access to the ocean and feature generously proportioned indoor and outdoor living spaces with private pools. Contemporary yet tropical architecture will blend seamlessly into the island’s paradisiacal surroundings.

Interiors boast a neutral colour palette, mixed with bold splashes of Maldivian hues, soft textures and wooden accents; a calming environment that allows the vibrant shades of the Maldivian surroundings speak for themselves.

Forging its own maverick path away from the Maldives mainstream, Siyam World is on a mission to bring guests the broadest offering of unique experiences and pioneering concepts ever seen in the Maldives – from the country’s biggest floating water park, to a peerless WOW! premium all-inclusive concept across more than a dozen restaurants and bars. Forget any preconceptions of monotonous dining in the Maldives – Siyam World guests will be able to enjoy an unlimited medley of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, as well as a tantalising selection of health, fitness and wellness activities; and excursions, water sports, and activities for adults, kids and teens. Children will be in their element, with an array of family programmes focused on fun-filled learning and mindfulness at the Little Explorers kids club for children aged 3 to 11. With a world-class spa, wellness and sports facilities, along with some of the region’s best dive sites just metres away, Siyam World will be a game-changing new island of infinite choices, fun and bliss.

Siyam World, Maldives is located in the popular Noonu Atoll, a mere 40 minutes’ direct seaplane ride from Velana International Airport, and also accessible via a 30-minute domestic flight to Maafaru Airport followed by a 10-minute speedboat trip. For more information, visit Siyam World or follow on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. For booking enquires email: stay@siyamworld.com.

Ansanga Corfu Luxury Resort As one of the world’s leading luxury hotel and spa brands, with more than 48 properties across the world, the charming Greek island of Corfu is delighted to announce the opening of Banyan Tree’s first property in Europe, Angsana Corfu. The long awaited new luxury resort offers an enticing blend of sophisticated Greek island lifestyle, with fine Asian hospitality making Angsana Corfu a destination unlike anywhere else in its portfolio.

Perched on the lush hillside near to the charming and traditional fishing village of Benitses, Angsana Corfu will bring a new level of luxury to the island. The resort offers 37 chic private pool villas boasting far-reaching sea views, each inspired by the Venetian architecture of historical homes on Corfu and offering opulence, privacy and exclusivity, yet with complete access to all of the premium facilities of the resort.

Angsana Corfu’s main building offers 159 rooms and suites, ranging from spacious double rooms to apartment suites, most with expansive balconies overlooking either the twinkling bay, or with countryside views of the fragrant olive groves and Mediterranean gardens surrounding the hotel.

Alongside offering the largest entry-level room size on the island of 41sq metres, Angsana Corfu will also be home to the biggest infinity pool and the largest hotel spa on Corfu. Such is the strength of the renowned, award winning Angsana spa; the hotel will be open most of the year to offer a true haven for guests looking for winter wellness breaks too. For those seeking exceptional gastronomic experiences, visitors will be thrilled with the signature fine-dining restaurant Botrini’s, where Michelin-starred chef Ettore Botrini has personally curated the creative cuisine.

Accommodation The resort’s exclusive collection of rooms, suites and pool villas each provide spacious, stylish and ambient décor and complete privacy. Ideal for couples, families and groups of friends, the resort offers different type of accommodation depending on budget and taste. These range from spacious Hill View Grand Rooms with either King or Twin beds, Ionian Sea View Grand Rooms, Seaview Junior Suites, Ionian Seaview Suites, Seaview Corner Suites and a range of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom Private Pool Villas. There is also an exceptional Friends and Family Residence, the exclusive Ionian Seaview 4-bedroom Pool Villa.

Dining & Bars Angsana Corfu will be home to four restaurants and seven lounge bars, including a beach bar. Dining options range from local Greek dining and Pan Asian sushi options, as well as the fine dining restaurant Botrini’s, led by the renowned Michelinstarred Corfiot Italian chef Ettore Botrini.

Botrini has a long history in gastronomy; in 1999 he followed after his father at the top gastronomy destination, the Etrusco Restaurant in Corfu and in 2011 he opened his dream restaurant Botrini’s, a journey of flavours and taste, in Athens, which received a Michelin star in 2014. The Pan Asian Sushi option, Koh by Tokyo Joe, a trendy specialty restaurant already present in Athens and in Mykonos, will serve a range of delicious exotic Japanese dishes and sushi platters.

For those on romantic breaks, guests can discover mixology under the stars at the rooftop lounge bar, Vertigo, or enjoy private dining at the water’s edge in the Sky beach bar. For those looking for a wellness kick, the Juice Bar is located at the indoor pool level, serving fresh juices, fruits, Greek yogurt and energy smoothies. What’s more, guests can also take part in cooking classes with the resort’s culinary team and discover their inner chef by learning skills to produce authentic local dishes.

Award Winning Angsana Spa Spas have always been the highlight of the Angsana properties and Angsana Corfu is no exception. Guests can enjoy invigorating massages and rejuvenating therapies at the award-winning Angsana Spa, offering an indoor heated pool, 11 treatment rooms including single and double rooms featuring a seaview Jacuzzi facility and outdoor massage pavilions. The spacious destination spa and gym offers a rich spa menu of exotic treatments and wellness programmes focusing on well-being, fitness, vitality and healthy living.

Angsana Spa’s refreshing blend of treatments places special emphasis on the use of natural ingredients such as native flowers and fruits. It is based on the use of aromatherapy, the therapeutic sense of touch and a fusion of techniques from the East and West to refresh and rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit.

The resort’s Angsana Gallery will offer a choice selection of signature memorabilia items, Asian-style home furnishing, resort apparel and accessories as well as a selection of traditional handicrafts.

Leisure facilities Angsana Corfu features a wide variety of facilities, an infinity outdoor pool and an indoor swimming pool, a state-of-theart gym, private fitness lessons, an outdoor yoga pavilion and water sports on the beach. The family friendly resort will also offer a Ranger’s Kids Club and a Kids’ pool, ensuring carefree time for all the family.

Conferences and meetings Angsana Corfu is an ideal location for corporate meetings.

The resort has a wide range of meeting facilities; the large conference room is suitable for up to 250 people in a cocktail reception and there are two meeting rooms with the capacity of 12 guests each in a boardroom style set up. Meetings can also be set up outdoors, by the pool or on the beach upon request.

Safe Sanctuary Angsana Corfu, following its international counterparts at Banyan Tree Group, is committed to going the extra mile to ensure a Safe Sanctuary for both associates and guests.

Partnering with Bureau Veritas to co-develop a proprietary label and set of protocols, they have launched the Safe Sanctuary Program, an integrated health and well-being initiative to all hotel operations, space layouts and cleanliness procedures.

Visit www.angsana.com/en/greece/corfu

Environment Conscious Patina Maldives With a host of thoughtful sustainability initatives including zerowaste kitchens, recycling marine plastic and free dive lessons to children to nurture next-generation respect for the environment, this new luxury resort is blazing a commendable earth-kind trail.

From addressing waste in its supply chain and boosting the health of its guests, neighbours and local environment, to ensuring energy-positive operations - including becoming the first resort in the Maldives with 100 percent solar-powered kids’ club, recreation and dive centres - Patina Maldives is committed to making a lasting difference in everything it does.

Patina Hotels & Resorts’ interpretation of perpetuality is rooted in its belief in effecting and empowering lasting change - starting with nurturing sustainable values in tomorrow’s travellers.

Embodying this future-thinking approach, Patina Maldives’ pioneering kids’ centre, Footprints, is a place of discovery and inspiration, engaging programming and exceptional facilities – all powered entirely by Swimsol, a company specialising in marine offshore solar panels and also the leading solar panel provider in the Maldives.

At Footprints’ Fab Lab, kids can turn recycled ocean plastic into models using 3D printing and laser cutting technology - echoing the energy-saving prefabrication techniques used in the modular construction of the resort’s villas; while in its culinary studio, hungry young minds can discover the benefits of local, organic sourcing and enjoy the best of sustainable plant-based cuisine.

Shark spotters and budding marine biologists can sign up for free diving lessons, while free PADI dive certifications are also offered for local Maldivian children - helping to raise next-generation awareness of the local ocean environment.

The resort has also formed a strategic alliance with the Olive Ridley Project, a charitable organisation that provides rehabilitation to injured turtles from the Indian Ocean.

Sea turtles are vulnerable to ghost nets and have a habit of consuming plastic waste, mistaking it for sustenance and leading to general ill-health and malnutrition. In addition to a donation effort earlier in the year, guests are encouraged to adopt a turtle during their stay and dive deeper into understanding the threats to these peaceful ocean dwellers.

The culinary concept on the island is based on the noseto-tail, root-to leaf principle, not only minimising waste, but at the same time advocating the benefits of a plantbased diet. Roots, the signature dining experience at Patina Maldives, Fari Islands, is the manifestation of the latter. It is a conscious and conscientious lifestyle and plant-based concept, created responsibly for curious foodies seeking nutritional food and drink without compromising flavour and quality, all in an environment that is ethically produced.

The resort has also built an on-island organic permaculture garden where fresh produce is cultivated for various departments, reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the supply chain process; guests are encouraged to explore and forage the variety of vegetables and herbs available within the garden at their leisure. All off-island ingredients are sustainability sourced and accredited by EarthCheck or the International Pole and Line Foundation, with local provenance a clear priority.

Reflecting a firm belief in seeding opportunity and empowerment through the creation of a healthy, balanced, economic ecosystem, 1 percent of Patina Maldives’ gross operating profits will be used to fund a range of charitable initiatives, focusing on supporting Maldivian women and children, and those local communities most heavily impacted by global climate change.

Patina Maldives, Fari Islands has set ambitious goals to tackle marine plastic pollution and implement a comprehensive coral propagation project, helping establish the Fari Islands as a new standard-bearer for marine conservation in the Maldives.

In addition to these longer-term projects, Halevai Founder and longtime Parley for the Oceans crew member, Frank Heidinger, is collaborating with Fari Islands to bring a disruptive creativity to the environmental awareness of guest programming within the archipelago. For example, Patina Maldives is leading regular guest and team beach clean-ups both on-resort and on neighbouring local islands; for every stay, 10kgs of marine plastic will be collected, cleaned and repurposed into Parley ocean plastic material.

All drinking water on the island is produced and bottled in-house with on-island water bottling plant, Nordaq.

In addition, every cocktail and spirit served at Patina Maldives, including the Fari Beach Club, will eliminate 30 grams of carbon emissions in comparison to drinks crafted at beverage outlets with conventional labels. This is thanks to the world’s first low carbon, low waste spirits distribution technology – ecoSPIRITS, which nearly eradicates packaging and glass waste from the spirits supply chain.

As part of Patina Maldives’ commitment towards reliance on renewable energy, plans are in place to expand its Swimsol solar plant to provide 50 percent of the resort’s energy needs by 2030. The resort’s energy-positive ethos is further demonstrated by participation in global carbon sequester programmes that neutralise its carbon output.

Future plans include investing in long-term Blue carbon partnerships and a solar-powered transportation fleet. www.patinahotels.com

Patina Maldives Earth-Kind Contemporary Luxury

Designed by renowned Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan, Patina Maldives offers 90 contemporary one- to three-bedroom Beach and Water Pool Villas, alongside 20 Fari Studios, all of which embody a harmony of sanctuary and stimulation.

Set in the Fari Islands archipelago in North Malé Atoll, guests can immerse themselves in a new expression of island life through thoughtful tailormade wellness journeys, interactive music programmes, captivating culinary experiences, and bask in the light-filled James Turrell Skyspace pavilion — all while embracing the vibrant social scene that emanates from the destination’s communal heart: the Fari Marina Village and Fari Beach Club. www.patinahotels.com

Patina Maldives gorgeous beac

ch and overwater villas

Range Rover D350 The reigning King of the Road is celebrating a major milestone.

For the last 50 years, the indomitable Range Rover has been on the wish list of millions and an iconic symbol of success, class and discernment. Large, imposing yet elegant, the Range Rover D350 is a car of real substance and capability too, and with pretty matchless on and off-road credentials, the appeal of this motoring legend has endured and it’s easy to see why.

The ride delivered is smooth and forgiving thanks to air suspension as standard – even on pothole riddled country lanes and with the larger 22” Style “9012” 9 Split-Spoke Gloss Black wheels we had fitted. Handling wise for a car of this height and weight is remarkably good. The steering is well judged and weighted.

Despite its age, the Range Rover’s aged well, thanks to Land Rover’s skill at modernising the model’s looks without diluting its design DNA. The high roofline, acres of glass, and space affording enough head, shoulder and leg room for just about anyone means it’s like a light and airy, super-comfortable lounge with an ever-changing view.

Off road is where the Range Rover really leaves its rivals in its wake. It truly is a car for all seasons as even if you never leave tarmac, you’ve the reassurance you and your passengers will be as safe as possible travelling in the worst of weather and surface conditions. The beauty of it is you don’t need to be an off-road driving expert either thanks to Land Rover’s unbeatable Terrain Response system which, with a twist of a dial, automates as much as possible for you.Our vehicle featured Terrain Response 2, All Terrain Progress Control and a Drive Pack comprising Blind Spot Monitor, Driver Condition Monitor, Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Speed Limiter.

This is a remarkably quiet car thanks to touches like an acoustically laminated windscreen, enabling passengers to just relax back and let the world in all its chaos pass peacefully by.

This space and comfort doesn’t compromise on the Range Rover being a thoroughly decent drive though. The D350 mild hybrid 3.0l diesel AWD auto on test can tackle the 0-60 sprint in just 7.1 seconds – not bad at all for a car of this size. At 700Nms there’s plenty of torque to play with when you need an overtaking boost, and towing even a sizable horse box will be no problem at all.

The Range Rover’s high ‘command’ driving position gives an unbeatable view of the road ahead and from the steering wheel to seats, just about everything can be electronically adjusted to suit your exact height/visibility and comfort needs.

Our car was fitted with a 360 degree surround camera but rear cameras come as standard along with front and rear parking sensors. For excellent visibility and safety driving at night, Matrix LED headlights which can remain on high beam without blinding oncoming drivers are also standard.

All driver controls are sensibly placed too. The two 10inch sharp focus touch screens are intuitive and easy to use – once you’ve had a pre-drive familiarity play.

The cabin and cockpit as you’d expect for from Land Rover and a vehicle of this calibre are superbly appointed, luxurious, elegant and tech-rich. The deployment of craftsmanship is clearly evident and all surfaces, trims and materials are of the highest quality. Our £103K Vogue SE model featured Vintage Tan Seats with Ebony / Vintage Tan Interior, aluminium treadplates with Range Rover script, configurable ambient interior lighting, 20-way heated and cooled front seats with power recline heated and cooled rear seats and heated steering wheel, Kalahari veneer, soft door close, a Meridian Surround Sound System, fixed panoramic roof, three-zone climate control, Tow Pack and much, much more.

This monarch of much loved, large, luxurious, truly all-terrain capable cars is set to stay top of the pack for some time. We say ‘Long may the Range Rover Reign.’

Visit: www.landrover.co.uk

Lexus LC 500 C If you’re optimistic Summer will finally make an appearance and have some weekend escapes planned, imagine if you had one of the world’s most beautiful convertibles to travel in. The Lexus LC 500 convertible isn’t just glamourous but wonderfully crafted and a dream to drive – the total drop-top package.

Still busy notching up awards since its launch, this most elegant and desirable model has recently won the title of ‘Best Luxury Car of 2021’ in the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards and also ‘Best Open Top’ in the UK Car of the Year Awards 2021.

Judges’ praise included comments such as “The feel-good factor of driving a car which looks astounding, sounds terrific and should be as reliable as a Swiss watch, cannot be underestimated” , “one of the best-looking convertibles – ever” ,

“The Lexus LC 500 Convertible is a car to add to the bucket list” and that it’s “brilliant to drive.” Thoroughly enjoying the car on test, we couldn’t agree more.

The LC Convertible – following the example set by its sister Coupe model reviewed last year, perfectly captures the spirit of Lexus’s evolution as a luxury lifestyle brand, providing discerning customers with driving pleasure, unique design and superb craftsmanship quality.

Its story started when a concept version was revealed at the Detroit motor show in 2019, revealing how Chief Designer Tadao Mori and his team had succeeded in translating the award-winning design of the Coupe into an equally stylish softtop, following the principle of “ultimate beauty.” Refreshingly, only minimal changes were made for the production version, which was launched last year and took its place as an aspirational, halo model for the entire Lexus line-up.

Unlike many convertibles, it’s evident to see the designers really focused on making a car that looks equally beautiful with the roof up or down, applying Lexus’s famous attention to detail in areas such as the folding top mechanism to achieve the ideal lines without compromising cabin comfort or load space.

The LC 500 convertible’s credentials certainly don’t stop at its impressive visual appeal. It’s a thrilling and engaging drive thanks to its 5.0-litre V8 engine and 10-speed Direct Shift automatic transmission, matching the Coupe with a 155mph electronically limited top speed.

The 0-60 sprint takes just five seconds, while precise aerodynamic styling prevents any uncomfortable wind buffeting when travelling at speed. The cabin is beautifully appointed, finished in high-quality materials throughout and reflecting Lexus’s human-centred philosophy in its design, comfort and multi-sensory appeal. It’s the perfect car for exploring the countryside and heading out to the coast.

Driving top down enjoying fresh sea air is wonderful and with its dynamic handling, each mile is a pleasure to travel. The engine sounds rich and throaty too – unique to a naturally aspirated V8. The LC 500 Convertible at circa £93K is practical as well as pretty, the boot is actually more spacious than you might think from its streamlined stunning lines, the roof can be raised and lowered in just a few seconds at the touch of a button, and thanks to minimal buffeting from wind, you can arrive at your destination looking as immaculate as when you left. This really is a most beautiful, luxurious and desirable car. Visit: www.lexus.co.uk

Polestar 2

Proving electric cars can be stylish, fantastic to drive and practical, Polestar 2 is rightly attracting attention for all the right reasons as an eco car with all-round appeal.

As electric vehicles go, Tesla has probably been the first brand to come to mind for most. That is, until Polestar emerged from Scandinavia to steal the spotlight and win drivers over with its super-stylish, effortlessly cool and eco-conscious cars.

Viewed kerbside, the Polestar 2 is a simply stunning fastbackstyle car. Bold yet understated, futuristic without being flashy, lean yet muscular, curvaceous yet honed –all these seemingly impossible contradictions work and the result is a model which is a visual delight.

Features like frameless mirrors and avant-garde lights give it an other-worldly air but it’s never a case of show without sense. The Polestar 2’s door handles are aesthetically pleasing but also enable you unlock the car just with a light touch – and thanks to integrated ground lighting, you can see them easily in the dark. The boot can be opened just by running your foot below.

Inside the aesthetic appeal continues and it’s here you can experience the brand’s efforts to be eco-kind too. Our model on test in bright Snow metallic, featured a vegan Charcoal Weave Tech with Black Ash deco, set off beautifully with contrasting bold yellow seatbelts to really give a racing air.

They may be small details, but the Polestar 2’s interior lights make a big difference. White mood lights give a clean, fresh vibe, and make it easy to find things in the dark. And the hexagonal gear selector with an illuminated Polestar symbol in the base is a beautifully crafted and unique visual focal point.

Although the Polestar 2’s interior has been carefully designed using innovative materials, its uncluttered appearance still comes fully loaded with a raft of state-of-the-art features even as standard. The generous list actually runs two columns of an A4 page! Highlights include an always-updated infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS, 360° surround view camera, heated front and rear seats and steering wheel plus a panoramic roof. As with cousin Volvo models, Polestar boasts industry leading safety tech too, including the likes of Cross Traffic Alert and a host of advanced collision warning and avoidance systems.

There are also great option packs and features to choose from. Our model on test came with an excellent Harman Kardon Premium Sound system available as part of the Plus Pack, and the Performance Pack adds high capacity Brembo brakes, adjustable Öhlins Dual Flow Valve dampers, 20” Forged Alloy Wheels and more.

It’s not all about looks and tech though. The Polestar 2 really is a contender for the best electric car in production. With up to 408hp, a sub-5 second 0-60 sprint, instant torque delivery and super-responsive feel, it’s an engaging delight to drive.

Overtaking is child’s play and it’s the type of car you will make excuses to keep heading out to play in.

Equally at home on motorways or country B roads, the steering is precise and well-weighted, there’s ample grip and the electric delivered instant thrust at the slightest touch of the toe a thrilling delight. If your preference is for the more sedate then you might like to know the Polestar 2 can actually tow even a 6-birth caravan with ease.

Many people have some concern over the lack of range electric cars have, and over the ease of charging. You’ve up to 335 miles on a single charge with this model, which isn’t bad at all, and Polestar does all it can to make charging as easy and as accessible as possible, plus the number of public charging stations is growing all the time – even in more rural places.

If you desire a premium electric car with gorgeous looks, great performance, decent range and plenty of features as standard, the Polestar 2 a cracking choice.

Visit www.polestar.com

Volvo XC40 Recharge If you’re one of the very few still not familiar with the range of excellent models Volvo has today, you’re missing a trick.

Whilst not as flashy as highly promoted models from other car manufacturers, the likes of the XC60, XC90, V60 have been delighting buyers worldwide with their unbeatable blend of build quality, style, practicality and of course safety. The smaller, yet super-special XC40 is no exception.

Stylish, spacious, practical and great to drive, not many cars tick all these boxes, but Volvo’s excellent XC40 can – and add class leading eco creds and safety too. It’s no surprise this highly acclaimed model has won a cabinet full of trophies, including What Car? Family SUV of the Year title – for the third time, and Car of the Year on its award debut in 2018.

The XC40 premium compact SUV continues to set the standards in its class. It’s just so easy and great to live with.

As the What Car? Judges said: “It might be a few years since we

voted the multi-talented Volvo XC40 our Car of the Year, but it still cuts the mustard. It blends generous passenger space and a practical boot with a quality interior and top-notch safety, so you aren’t only buying a hugely desirable product, but one backed up with real substance.”

Today, the XC40 range exemplifies Volvo’s far-reaching commitment to electrification, with a line-up featuring two Recharge petrol-electric plug-in hybrid versions (the T4 and T5) and two mild-hybrid petrol powertrains (the B4 and B5).

Anticipation is also high for the first UK customer deliveries of the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8, Volvo’s first fully electric car.Enjoying our Recharge FWD Inscription for even just a couple of weeks you can really understand why the XC40 has been so well received by motoring experts and public alike.

A handsome car, it’s a just-right combination of muscularity and fluid lines and clearly a car of quality and class. Smaller than its also excellent XC60 and XC90 siblings, but it’s still

remarkably spacious even when fully occupied front and rear.

Slip inside and you’ll see as with all Volvo cabins, the clean, functional and fuss-free design means knee and elbow room isn’t compromised and there’s a great choice of scandi-chic tasteful interior trims in eye-pleasing light neutral tones.

The XC40 is a masterclass in ergonomics and functional design, but this certainly doesn’t mean it’s lean on tech and features. Even as standard all variants of this model feature a crystal-clear nine-inch centre console touchscreen with voiceactivated control, Volvo On Call with app, Sensus Navigation and Sensus Connect, Data SIM card providing up to 100GB of data for 12 months, eight-speaker sound system with three USB sockets and a host of advanced safety tech. Highlights including pedestrian, cyclist and large animal detection, front collision warning with fully automatic emergency braking, steering assistance if you unwittingly drift out of your lane and even a system which automatically tightens the front seatbelts should the car inadvertently leave the road.

Our Inscription spec model also came fitted with handy

wireless phone charging, heated steering wheel and windscreen, dark tinted windows, heated seats front and rear, a 360° view parking camera, panoramic sun roof, excellent Harman Kardon Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound system and more…

Both XC40 T4 and T5 FWD Recharge Plug-in Hybrids tip the scales at a minimum of 1,812kg (running order weight).

They are however swift, agile and engaging to drive. The T5 produces 180hp and 265Nm of torque delivering the 0-60 sprint in 8.2 seconds from its 1.5-litre petrol engine, along with 82hp and 160Nm from its electric motor. Its maximum braked trailer towing capacity is 1,800kg. The efficiency of its petrol-electric powertrain results in official WLTP Combined fuel economy of 117.7-134.5mpg, while CO2 emissions are 47-55g/km, together with an all-electric driving range of up to 27.3 miles (according to battery charge, vehicle load and driving conditions). Whether for daily commuting, acting as a family run-around, or even to carry golf clubs or tow ponies to shows, the XC40 is a perfect choice. Visit www.volvocars.co.uk

Audi e-tron S Sportback Substantial, striking and head-turning , Audi’s e-tron S Sportback couples ample kerb appeal with impressive power, performance and electro-eco creds. This first Audi all-electric S model is also the first production vehicle in the world to boast three electric motors – one powering the front wheels and two powering the rears, producing a hefty 370kW and thrilling thrust of torque surging to 973Nm in Boost Mode and even 808Nm without. This takes the car to 62mph in just 4.5 seconds – impressive for a sizable car weighing in at over two tonnes.

In addition to a practical range and excellent performance the e-tron S Sportback is a stylish, spacious, comfortable and super-high-tech car. Looks-wise, prominent bumpers and flared wheel arches create an extra 5cm of width over standard models and the sculpted curves and bold sweeping lines give more than a hint to its impressive performance pedigree. There’s a choice of 8 attractive colours. Our test car in Catalunya Red metallic was particularly eye-catching, set off nicely by 21” black diamond cut sport alloy wheels, selenite silver intakes and surrounds and a panoramic sunroof.

Performance is meaningless without decent handling though, but as one of Audi’s elite S models, you know you’re in for a rewarding, dynamic yet safe drive. The model’s electric quattro system shares the task of getting a grip on the road between all four wheels and torque vectoring distributes driving force between the two rears with millisecond-targeted precision.

For a large car, out on test it proved to be a remarkably swift, agile, instantly responsive and thoroughly engaging drive. One of the concerns for many when it comes to choosing an all-electric car is the worry of a limited driving range and being caught short power-wise mid route, miles away from home.

This model however features a highvoltage battery with a gross energy capacity of 95kWh, of which 91 percent (86kWh) is usable. With one battery charge it’s capable of achieving up to around 226 miles – enough to please and reassure most and make those trips out to the coast or country a pleasure.

Slip inside to discover a cabin that’s as attractive, roomy and comfortable as it is tech-rich. The supportive electronically adjustable heated front S Sport seats were in a tasteful rotor grey valcona leather with anthracite diamond stitching & S logo embossing. Deluxe 2-zone electronic climate control with remote preconditioning allowed us to heat or cool the car before entry, and rear passengers enjoyed plenty of rear legroom as unlike many other electric cars, the e-tron’s battery is positioned underneath the car, so there is no need for space-taking central tunnel. There’s a sizable boot to fill which at 615 litres, can accommodate a mammoth Waitrose shop or enough cases for a long family vacation.

As you’d expect from an Audi and car of this calibre, there’s ample state-of-the art tech to enjoy.

Included is MMI Navigation Plus with MMI Touch and Audi Virtual Cockpit Plus two high-definition, excellent touch screen colour displays and a full-colour, fully digital Audi Virtual Cockpit with additional Sport and e-tron displays. Plus a 36 month subscription to Audi Connect, which provides high-speed 4G internet access in your car via an embedded SIM card with no data charge.

There’s also Parking System Plus to guide you into tight spots with a rear camera and parking sensors at the front and back, and Cruise Control, Smartphone Interface and more.

To summarise, Audi’s e-tron S Sportback is one of the world’s most desirable all-electric models. Seamlessly marrying ample style, space, comfort and refinement with potent and engaging power and pace, this is a true drivers’ delight yet still practical, eco-conscious and family friendly too.

Visit: www.audi.co.uk

ENTREPRENEUR