Your Business eZine | Manchester | February 2010

February 2010

BLESMA Viridis Enerie

Consultants

IAW

It’s About Websites

Your Business eZine Calendar Goes Live!

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It’s About Websites

Team Talk

Why do Flies Die On The Window Sill

Have your Say Viridis Energy Consultants Ask The Expert

• Business Coach • life coach • Solicitor • Tax Accountant • Humour Consultant • International Trade Our panel of experts are offering their expertise to the members. Also get an insight to what they see effecting us this month and what advice they have. We also introduce our new expert.

It’s About Websites Technology For business

10 reasons to switch to Mac for Business AGV: Next Gen High Speed trains Google Pull Out of China

Charity: Blesma Networking Networking 4 Business: Simply Networking Calendar

The Calendar has now been moved to the website where it is continuously updated

Offers To Readers Contact Us

TEAM TAL

Why Do Flies Die O Your Window Sill?

W

hen I have anything to write for this magazine, I usually do it from home and I usually sit with my laptop in my dining room, (as I am now), which is actually a conservatory. Now, despite my conservatory having 2 solid walls to it, there is still a large proportion of glass, which as you can imagine gets a little warm on the odd occasion in this country when the sun comes out. When this happens, I either open a couple of windows, or one of the doors, or sometimes even both. Wow this is riveting stuff isn’t it, well perhaps not, but please bear with me, I do have a point. You see, occasionally a fly will come in through the open window or door and I noticed something very business like about them that I have found fascinating. So I often find myself watching, timing and measuring their actions, allow me to explain why.

When a fly comes in, say through an open window, it has a little scout around to see what’s going on, obviously doesn’t find what it’s looking for and decides to leave. Now here’s the thing, it never goes out through the window it came in. Instead it usually goes to approximately the same place and fly’s straight into a pane of glass. A fairly painful

experience I’m sure, bu itself, “bloody hell tha ing that again”, not at a does is takes a bit of a and has another go. B work again, what if I h of times really quickly? to no avail. The open only centimetres away, it? Not often. In fact I r 5% make it back out. Th banging their heads ag over and over again unt On your window sill.

Ok, so what’s that got Well for a start, they d new businesses fail in t what makes the differe that make it and the o people, especially if th the first time, have a that they are going to and nothing else, then manage to sell anythin previously predicted, t to speak, and have ano I did wrong, not enou were wrong, my auntie

LK

On ?

t to do with business? do say that 95% of all the first 12 months. So ence between the ones ones that don’t. Some hey are in business for dogged determination o sell what they have n each time they don’t ng like what they had they take a run up, so other go, “I know what ugh advertising, prices es uncles second cousin

let me down”, it’s always something else, only 5% of the time do they say, “hang on a minute, I’ve just banged my head and it bloody hurt, maybe I should reposition myself ever so slightly and have another go”.

Is your business acting like a dying fly at the moment? Before you end up dead on the window sill, STOP, take a step back and have a look at what’s going on around you. Re-evaluate your position and then get back in there.

You may have to do this several times, but at some point you’ll find the opening you’re looking for.

GOOD LUCK.

Mark Brake

ut does the fly think to at hurt, I won’t be doall. In fact what the fly run up, (so to speak), BANG, ok that didn’t hit the same spot lots ? 10, 20, 50, 100 times, window may well be , but does the fly go to reckon that only about he flies generally keep gainst the same point til eventually they die.

submit Your Comments to Mark by emailing him at teamtalk@yourbusinessezine.com

HAVE YOUR S A Y

T

his section of the eZine is for our member’s to do exactly what the title suggests, Have Your Say. If your a member you can submit your comments/opinions to haveyoursay@yourbusinessezine.com and wherever possible, we will publish it.

Your Piece can be about anything you wish (provided it’s not slanderous), it could be a funny story or a serious point you may like to make. It can even be a comment about this eZine, good or bad, it’s entirely up to you.

So get you thinking cap on, and don’t forget that every piece we publish, the author gets a credit as well as a link to your website. (the only thing we dont except in this section is a sales pitch for your business) Be prepared for a reply. Anything we do publish, we may also post a reply to.

HAVE YOUR S A Y

Choosing an Online Marketing Agency How well do small business owners know their online marketing agency? More importantly, how well do they know you? It's no longer good enough that they know all about online marketing and send you some graphs or pie charts at the end of each month. Your online marketing agency needs to know all about you and all about your target audience.

If you've been getting meaningless stats on a monthly basis, the reluctance to trust and invest in internet marketing is understandable. However, your investment is more important this year than ever. As your competition gets stronger and stronger you need to be prepared to invest more than ever because the opportunities are there to be had.

So how do you make sure you're making the right choice this year when choosing or reviewing your online marketing agency?

Start by getting a feel for how in tune they are with your business - do they really understand what you do and what you want?

comes more like your online marketing director than a supplier. Don't just ask how much money did you make me last month, ask how much more money are you going to make me next month? We call it our monthly ‘Jerry Maguire' meeting. ‘Show me the money'.

Don't just talk about the performance last month ask, what can you tell me about my competition?

What can you tell me about my target audience that I don't know? How can you make my online estate (website or websites) convert more opportunities and work harder for me in the future?

Your online marketing activity could transform your business this year if you choose the right partner to help you carry out the right conversion strategy to improve your performance each month and generate more and more business online.

Remember, if you think marketing is expensive, you're doing it wrong. We say this at least once a day every day - ‘It's not the tools you use but how you use them.'

By Brian Adams Ph:Creative www.ph-creative.com

Invest in an agency that can turn strangers into customers. Invest in an agency that quickly be-

It's Time To Say Goodbye To IE The Germans have slated it, the French have slated it, and now Microsoft themselves have slated it - So I think it really is time that you ditched Internet Explorer and got something better!

that users not only upgrade their browser to the latest version, but should also seriously consider upgrading their entire operating system to something newer than Windows XP.

What's all this about then?

"We recommend users of IE6 on Windows XP upgrade to a new version of Internet Explorer and/ or enable DEP. Users of other platforms are at

In a recent blog post, Microsoft are recomending

haveyoursay@yourbusinessezine.com reduced risk. We also recommend users of Windows XP upgrade to newer versions of Windows."

Although I am a long time Mac user, I always run a system or virtual machine with a windows installation for testing. After downloading the Windows 7 beta, and taking it for a test drive - it is by far the best version of Windows available today so I would also recommend upgrading if you can.

This recommendation direct from Microsoft could be the last push on not only getting end users to upgrade their browsers more often, but also for large IT departments to reconsider how often they update browsers within their organisations. At one time, "The Browser" would have had the same importance level as something like "MS Paint" - not much. However, with the rapidly increasing availability of very high quality web based applications and resources like Google Apps, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha, it is what I would consider to be a key desktop application

(Not just because I am a web developer).

Organisations will also have to give much more consideration to what their "Acceptable Internet Use Policy" might include. Should access to the likes of Facebook and Twitter be limited? Our thoughts are No - it has become an invaluable resource for us to connect with new clients (as well as sharing funny pictures of cats with our friends), and our business has benefited from it.

So what does this mean for the web industry?

For a long time now, web developers have been trying to drop support for IE6 (and to a lesser extent, IE7 and IE8) and it's lack of compatibility for web standards. We dropped support sometime last year, but our clients could request specific Internet Explorer support at extra cost - not many of them did though. This enables us to not only to keep costs down, but also increases the accessibility of your site as it requires less "hacks" to get it looking correct.

Moving forwards, if users get into the habit of upgrading their browsers every few months, this will reduce the time it takes for new standards like HTML5 to be developed and implemented and further increase the capability and accessibility of future web applications. Personally, I am looking forward to developing our new Its About Video product using the new HTML5 <video> element, which will let you view the video content using your computers own media player (Windows Media, VLC or Quicktime) and not a Flash based player

- a lot of which can suffer with performance on higher resolution videos. (Shortly after the original posting of this article on our blog, both YouTube and Vimeo have both added trail support for the new HTML5 video element!)

By Paul Court It's About Websites Ltd www.itsaboutwebsites.com

A

s time passes we all become more and more aware of the impact we have on the environment. Through research and the development of eco friendly products and produce we can lesson the impact we have on the ecology of our planet. There are people that are passionate about saving the planet and there are people that just don’t care. Then there is the overwhelming majority. Most people in the so called western world, (although this phrase is being outdated with the development of many eastern economies), are aware that there is a problem, but it’s not theirs until it actually directly affects them. Here in lies a problem. You see it is small changes by a large number of people that have a huge impact on how we affect our environment. But the majority of people won’t take any action until they are forced to through legislation, or they are adversely affected directly by environmental changes.

Let me make something clear now. We are not actually going to be saving our planet. The planet WILL survive. What these environmental initiatives are for is to preserve the planet as we know it and our way of life, or worst case scenario, the very survival of our species. That may sound a little dramatic, but the truth is, we don’t know exactly how bad things could get, all we can do is estimate and it does appear that we are constantly surprised by the ferocity or extremes of nature when they actually impact on civilisation.

So what’s the answer? How do we get the majority to make the necessary changes that are required?

How about making it attractive for people to make these changes until we hit a point of critical mass and those changes in behaviour and technology become the norm.

Viridis Energie Consultants work in the field of renewable energy. They are not what you would describe as traditional eco warriors. In fact, both Peter Moore and Barry Nutley who set up and run Viridis both used to work for a regional energy company in slough. Whilst there they identified a need for a completely independent and impartial service for potential consumers of renewable energy equipment and systems. There is a veritable mine field of information out there and it took Peter and Barry 6 months to put together relevant information on usable, cost effective and efficient products and systems that they were happy to recommend, of course they also have a list of stuff to steer well clear of. That’s 2 men 6 months from within the industry who both already had a background in these sorts of energy products. You or I could spend 6 months researching a single product and still get it wrong.

Viridis has been trading for approximately 1 year now, although the web site only went live in October 2009. Just in case you were wondering, Viridis means green in Latin. What these guy’s do is ap-

proach things from a different angle. You see of all of the people that Viridis have dealt with over the last year, whilst they may have an interest in the reduction of their carbon footprint, the reason why they carry out any installation is purely financial.

You see, what Viridis do is come out to your home or place of work and complete a very thorough survey of your premises and then compile a comprehensive report outlining what energy producing, or saving measures are available to you, how viable they would be, what would be the cost of purchase and installation and, crucially, how you can get a return on this. All of this is done completely impartially as Viridis do not actually sell anything themselves.

If you’re anything like me you may have just read that last paragraph and thought, “how on earth do you get a return on installing renewable energy producing equipment”. Well allow me to explain. The government has recently committed to a scheme were by energy company’s are obliged by law to purchase any surplus energy you may produce through renewable sources and use it

in the national grid. And the price set is actually quite an attractive one. This scheme is guaranteed for the next 25 years. Even the most expensive equipment, provided you have the location and appropriate environment to install it, will pay for itself over between 1 and 5 years. Now I’m no expert, but worst case scenario that’s 20% per year. Try getting a return from your bank like that. Another point to bear in mind is that if you don’t have the spare capital, The Carbon Trust could give you an interest free loan in order to pay for the equipment, which could well pay the loan back by itself, then everything it produces is revenue, which is tax free. Yes you did read that correctly, any income generated from renewable energy production is NON TAXABLE INCOME! Being green is starting to become a little more attractive don’t you think?

So what of the products that are available. Well there are so many out there now, but the main ones are Solar Photovoltaic (solar panels), Wind Turbines and Ground Source Heat Pumps. The latter of this trio, the ground source heat pumps seem to be very much in vogue at the moment.

Whilst these are very effective, they are certainly

not suitable for any building. In fact only the best insulated buildings can really benefit from an installation like this. This is because on average the system runs at a temperature of around 35 degrees, as opposed to maybe double that of a traditional central heating system. They can also be fairly expensive to install and if you’ve had one fitted to an older property, you may well find yourself compensating with a gas, electric or oil fired secondary system. If however you have a very well insulated property, especially one that meets the B.R.E.E.A.M environmental standard, then this system should work fine. Next, the wind turbines.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. If you purchase a small domestic unit to bolt on to the apex of your home or office, they are next to useless, (unless you’re a politician and you want to be seen to be green). Many of them would struggle to charge a mobile phone. To make wind turbines viable, you would need to have at least 1 acre of land. The turbine should be at least 25 metres high and have a 5 metre wing span. Whilst this may cost up to around £30k to purchase and install, this is the sort of thing you can make a profit from. The biggest problem with these is actually planning permission. The main objections for the planning are visual and noise. Finally, solar photovoltaic. No planning permission, cheaper to purchase and install, but obviously don’t work of a night, although contrary to popular belief, they don’t need direct sunlight, just daylight is enough. Obviously the sunnier it is the more power they produce, but with photovoltaic’s, its all about tracking. If you mount the panels on to a frame that allows them to auto track the sun, you can increase their efficiency by around 25%. Now that’s a significant difference. Photovoltaic’s that are fixed in a vertical position, say on the side of a building, may only be working at 25 to 30% of their capacity. These systems are mostly maintenance free and are usually guaranteed for 25 years, although Peter suggests they should last longer than that. Here’s a bit of trivia for you, did you know that the Germans are the most active country in Europe when it comes to renewable energy and that they have invented a solar photovoltaic towel, which is why they have been in training for years in Spain to get them out on the sun loungers first in the morning time. Ok, the towel bit isn’t true, but they

Fitting Renew Energy Equip Will Provide Non Taxable really do seem to have grasped this renewable energy thing with both hands, with vast numbers of domestic installations.

Viridis are currently in the process of becoming an accredited consultant with The Carbon Trust, which is quite an achievement. Also, they were very pleased to see that Manchester has become the first city in the UK to become a Low Carbon Economic Area. What this means is they will save 6 million tonnes of carbon per year, create an additional £650 million to the economy and will support 34,800 jobs. Well done Manchester!

Viridis Energie Consultants are passionate about what they do. Having one of their evaluation and survey reports done, which cost from just £250, is like

having your very own specific Which Magazine produced which cuts through the masses of information to give you the very best impartial advice and can not only save you a huge amount of time, help you reduce your carbon footprint and save you money, it could also make you a tidy sum and give you a tax free income which can also become part of your inheritance.

Contact Viridis by email at; info@viridisec.co.uk You can see viridis at the following exhibitions: • Eco Build – Earls court – 2,3,4 march 2010 • Homebuild expo – NEC – 28,29,30 march 2010

wable ptment You With e Income

www.viridisec.com

Ask The Ques

Ask The Exper

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Business Coach Life Coach Commercial Solicitor Tax Accountant Humour Expert International trade

Ask The Expert

Busine Richard Dickinson

Richard started out in his working life in the Navy, were he served for a number of years, travelling around the world learning some fantastic skills and meeting people from many different cultures. After leaving the navy, Richard entered the world of banking and finance, ending up in a role as East Midlands Region Development Manager for a high street bank. Richard then decided he was ready for another challenge, so he left the bank and set up his own national insurance brokerage, which he ran for 5 years, until selling the business in 2005. Given Richards extensive experience over the years in dealing with businesses and more importantly business people, Richard felt he would make a very good business coach. He then trained and was accredited by the Adler School of International Coaching and took on a franchise from Ology Coaching, which gives him the support of a multi national company, whilst at the same time still being able to give a local personal service to his clients. We are very pleased to have Richard on board and are sure you will benefit from his wisdom and experience.

Do Not Make Any New Year’s Resolutions!

A

nother year has just started, a new, unblemished year with endless opportunities just over the horizon. Many of you will be thinking about how to make this year better than the last and will probably even have made a new year’s resolution or two… but will it work?

No doubt you will be trying to change old habits, create new ones, work harder, find the secret of success, spend more time with family, earn more money, quit smoking, lose weight, and so many more aims that will probably be forgotten about before this first month is over!

For any business owner or manager, the New Year is a great time to review your progress and plan for the future, but for any real change to occur there has to be a long term commitment. It is all well and good to write down an action list and get excited over it for a few days or a few weeks, but that’s the easy part. It takes maybe 20 minutes of commitment to come up with a list of goals and targets for the coming year… it takes a lot longer to achieve

them, particularly if your business needs to make some major changes or improvements.

Although twenty minutes is probably longer than many people spend reviewing their goals and targets, and thinking about the future, it is not enough if you really want to become all that you can be – and all that your business can be. Unless you are a highly motivated and ambitious person that naturally jumps from success to success, you will have to continually review your position throughout the year.

Even a big exciting challenge usually isn’t enough to change the behaviours that we have taught ourselves over many years. Just as we developed our current way of thinking over a long period of time, we have to develop our new way of thinking (to achieve the goals) over a long period of time too.

So – our advice is that if you are truly committed to achieving your New Year’s resolution – your business goals for 2010 - you will forget about calling it a new year’s resolution! It needs to be a constant

ess Coach living commitment to action and change that you are absolutely determined to achieve.

the going gets tough – and you know from experience it will!

At this point, you are probably asking… “So, how do I do this?” Well, here are a few tips to help:

Be unusual this year and don’t make a new year’s resolution – make a commitment to a living action plan and seek the support to make sure that it remains a part of your business life for longer than January.

Take time to learn from 2009 – the lessons both positive and negative – and build this into your planning for 2010.

Look ahead not just to the end of 2010, but beyond to get a clear view of what you want to achieve in the longer term.. and then work back to plan this year’s actions and objectives.

Write down clearly what you want to achieve – and what will need to change for this to happen.

Include some of the behaviours that will need to change – both yours and those you work with.

Share these goals with the people that will make them happen with you.

Review them at least weekly and ideally daily – have them displayed in a place that you will see them regularly each day.

To be truly effective, your constant living action plan must be reviewed, tested, and measured at least monthly or preferably weekly. Without continual adjustment and maintenance we all just slip into the habits that we know and are comfortable with.

At this point, you may be interested to learn how we at Ology could help keep you on track – help you achieve extraordinary results in your business and most importantly, keep you on track throughout 2010 and beyond.

Creating something new in your life will take effort and positive action on your part. Most people will fall off the horse along the way as it seems to be human nature to fall off the horse! We have to continually get back on the horse and continue on our way towards achieving what we set out to achieve.

We will be the catalyst to keep you on track when

email your question to: richard.dickinson@yourbusinessezine.com or visit the website at www.ologybusiness.com/richarddickinson/

Ask The Expert

Life C Lisa Madariaga

Lisa is a life coach of some distinction. She is what you might call one of life’s achievers. Allow me to explain. Lisa is a qualified Barrister and a Chartered Accountant. She has worked around the world for both NYSE and FTSE 100 companies. Then one day, in November 2005, she collapsed in her London office. Not only was she unable to work, but could barely get out of bed for 5 months. As her health slowly improved, she was able to re evaluate her life.

Lisa found that with her unique experiences of life, she was able to help others. She re trained and is now also qualified with the Institute of Leadership and Management, (ILM), as a life coach and executive business coach. Lisa is the founder and trainer of the Finance Coaching Academy of RSA, (formerly Royal and Sun Alliance). Soon to publish a self help book for people living with or recovering from ME, we are truly privileged to have Lisa contribute for us. So, don’t be shy, use this fantastic opportunity and ask Lisa some questions and don’t miss her articles, they may just change your life.

Make A Promise To Yourself That You Will Keep

H

appy New Year! Yes, it has been that long! I wish you all a year full of joy and good health, with prosperity and success all thrown in for good measure too.

There really is enough joy and money to go around for everyone to have plenty – so here’s to us all getting our fair share!

It’s January and wow hasn’t the weather been atrocious. I’m writing this now kneeling in front of my computer (long story!) with two jumpers and a fleece on as my boiler packed in two days ago.

The snow and ice is still on the ground and my poor car hasn’t moved for days. However, I am more than confident that by the time you read this, all the frozen white stuff will be gone and we won’t be in mortal danger any more every time we set a foot down on a pavement!

So, back to the matter in hand, the new- year, along with it comes the ubiquitous New year’s resolution.

So how have you done so far? Did you make a

resolution? Maybe two or three? Well done if you have and many congratulations if you’re sticking with it still – that’s fantastic.

Personally I don’t make new years resolutions.

As part of regular goal setting and attainment, the need to look at a new year and make changes does not arise as I’m in a constant state of goal setting and working towards a better, happier and healthier me.

This has a number of positives to it, mainly the fact that I am always celebrating some sort of achievement I’ve had, another step further to completing a bigger goal I have set for myself. Also, I don’t feel under pressure on December 31st to have a final big “blast” before the sacrifice and doing without that hits on January 1st for so many of my friends and family. Stopping smoking, an alcohol free week, month or longer, a diet to lose 2 stone, 6 points, whatever – it all seems so harsh to me.

Coach As I did say earlier, if you have stuck hard and fast to your new year resolutions – well done and celebrate your success! If you have not, or did not make any in the first place, then maybe the goal setting I explain here may be of interest to you.

Where do you see yourself by 30th November 2010? How do you see yourself? Can you picture what you look like? What are you saying?

Who are you with? How do you feel? What is happening in your life? What can you hear going on around you? Take a few seconds, close your eyes if it helps and really get a clear impression of where you are in November.

Are you ok with what you see? Does it make you feel happy and excited? Do you enjoy the sights and sounds of your future? If the answer is yes, fabulous – what is it that makes you feel so good?

Is it a definite? Do you have to take some action or continue just as you are to get there? Could it be improved in any way and if so, how?

If you are not completely satisfied with what you see, what is it that you would like to improve? What are you not happy about? Pinpoint it and write it down if that helps. Identify all the things that you are not completely happy about, your weight, your house, partner, finances, family, situation, whatever it may be.

So after identifying the areas for change or improvement, turn the “I don’t wants” into “I do wants”.

Instead of “I don’t want to be this fat” turn it into “I want to be a size 12” or “I want to be able to play football for the full 90 minutes”. Turn “I don’t want to be stuck in the same old job” into “I want a job I love doing surrounded by people I like being with” or even “I want to be working from home and not having to travel into an office every day”. Only you know what will make your November self a happy one.

This process may take some time, we often know

what we do not want, not what we do want and we may have false beliefs that we cannot have exactly what we do want – oh but we can!

After having completed this round of goal setting, the questions continue. The ultimate goal must be broken down into self-contained and achievable milestones. Identifying where you are right now is the key. If you want to lose weight and be a size 12

by November, what size are you now and therefore how much weight do you need to lose? If we want to be able to play a full game of football by November, where are you now? Do you play football at all? Can you play for 45 minutes?

Only by being completely honest with yourself will you be able to achieve your November happy self.

So why cheat yourself out of your happiness?

Once you have identified your current real state in the area or areas you want to change – then you can identify the size of the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in November.

This gap can be broken down – but there is a first step that needs to be taken, this may be making a call or looking up on the internet where your nearest slimming club is. It may be phoning a friend to go running with you or getting the football out from the cupboard under the stairs and going for a kick around. Whatever that first step is, take it now.

It will set the ball rolling (no pun intended!) and you’re on your way to your November happy self.

Next month we will look more closely at setting milestones to breakdown the gap between now and November and how to celebrate those milestones as we achieve them! Good luck and be happy! email your question to: lisa.madariaga@yourbusinessezine.com or visit the website at www.lisa4coaching.com

Ask The Expert

Solicit

Gorvins is a regional full service Law Firm with an established commercial practice compromising of specialist teams working across the disciplines of corporate, commercial property, commercial litigation, and employment.

Based from offices in South Manchester we act for a diverse portfolio of clients including blue chip organisations, SMEs, entrepreneurs and public sector and regulatory bodies.

We are client focused at all times and work with you to provide cost effective advice helping you to achieve your commercial objectives whilst adding tangible value to each transaction. We seek to continually improve our reputation for excellence and see investment in our people and processes as the foundation to creating an effective and inspiring environment which contributes to the delivery of results for our clients.

We believe you will appreciate our joined up approach to working which delivers a seamless and consistent service coupled with an excellent track record of offering proactive and innovative solutions. Our sector expertise with years of experience in your market place means we understand the restrictions and opportunities you have to work to. We will provide cost effective delivery with a focus on identifying the best possible outcome at the outset giving you realistic estimates whilst reviewing and communicating updates to keep you in the picture. We recognize the need to work in partnership with our clients and provide hands on approach with enthusiastic and highly motivated people and a single point of contact to manage a dedicated team providing the right expertise at the right cost.

BUYING AND SELLING A BUSINESS – DOING IT RIGHT

F

or most, buying or selling a business represents a once in a lifetime transaction. Whether you are acquiring a company by way of a management buy out, undertaking that critical strategic acquisition, or retiring after building up a company from scratch, it is critically important to do it right. After all, unless you are a strongly acquisitive company, you are unlikely to do it again for a long time.

So Where Do You Begin?

Proper legal advice is essential for two key reasons:1. to ensure certainty about exactly what it is you are buying and selling – you do not want to get caught out with unexpected liabilities.

2. to protect your investment – whether it be what you are hoping to buy, or the proceeds of sale.

Timing As with many things in life, it is all about timing.

Buying a business can be opportunistic – a larger company may be looking to divest itself of a non-core business, which could be the ideal opportunity for a management buy out, or a competitor may be struggling and ripe for a takeover.

Alternatively the process can be more planned and strategic – an owner looking to retire, or a growing business keen on integration.

In any scenario, the chances are that communication with your professional advisors will often highlight potential opportunities – by building a close relationship with your accountants and lawyers, you can react quickly and efficiently.

Fail to Prepare… or Prepare to Fail When selling, it is vital to make sure your “house is in order”.

Make sure the business is not over-reliant on either the seller, or any one customer or supplier. Sort out those niggling employment issues, collect your debts, settle your litigation and make sure there are no skeletons in the cupboard; especially with HMRC!!

Buyers hate surprises and unknowns (both known and unknown, as Donald Rumsfeldwould say) and those funding the deal hate them even more!

As a buyer, thorough accounting and legal due diligence flushes out the issues in any company. If due diligence highlights any serious problems which would need to be resolved after the deal completes, the buyer may ask for indemnities or a price adjustment to compensate them for taking on these issues.

From a practical perspective, the parties should enter into a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement at the outset to

tor

ensure trade secrets remain private. Remember, sensitive information cannot be “unlearned”.

Shares or Assets If a business is run by a sole trader or a partnership, there are no shares to buy. The assets, including contracts and goodwill of the business, will be sold by the seller – an “asset sale”.

If a business is owned by a company, there is a choice of buying the assets of the company, or the whole company itself by acquiring the shares from its shareholders – a “share sale”.

Whilst the legal process for both is similar, there are some very important differences between the two: Assets In an asset sale both the buyer and seller can “pick and choose” the assets to be bought and sold. In a share sale, all the assets of the company are sold unless the seller extracts some from the company pre-completion.

Liabilities In an asset sale, the majority of the liabilities of the business will stay with the seller. In a share sale, however, all the liabilities of the business will stay with the company – and, therefore, the company’s problems - “warts and all” - become the responsibility of the buyer.

Tax By selling shares, the selling shareholder will receive the purchase price direct and pay CCT on his gain. If there is an asset sale, the money is received by selling company – it them has to account for corporation tax on any gain and then the owners have the problem of distributing the money by dividends or liquidation. This means the seller could be taxed twice and therefore asset sales are normally very tax inefficient for individual shareholders.

How Much is My Business Worth?

There is a very simple answer - what someone will pay for it!

There is no “correct valuation” it is art not a science. Professional advice from specialist accountants is very important here to make sure you that as a seller you do not undersell yourself, or a buyer that you pay too much.

There are many bases for valuation – multiples of earnings, net asset valuation, discounted cash flow, return on investment. Every business is unique, and so will be the method used.

One size does not fit all.

Structure and Funding Again, this depends on the individual requirements of a buyer and seller, the value agreed for the business and where the money is coming from.

Sellers ideally prefer a “clean break”, with all the purchase price being paid up front. However, in the current economic

climate, it is increasingly the case for there to be some deferred payments or some of the price dependent on the future performance of the business – an “earn out”. An earn out is a common way of achieving the seller’s price expectations, but giving the buyer some practical assurance that it has not overpaid.

Funds will come from a combination of the buyer’s cash, venture capital, banks and asset backed lenders (e.g. invoice discounters) and often using cash in the company itself.

Institutional funders will need to make sure the group postacquisition can repay the money with interest, so they will pay close attention to the financial position of all parties. Reliable accounting information and proper forecasting is vital to ensure access to funds – lenders will just not look at your proposal without a proper, well structured business plan.

The Legal Process WARNING! This is time consuming. Be prepared for it!

The main elements are: Heads of Terms: A deal agreed in principle will normally be documented in heads – this is a non-contractual framework document showing the main terms eg price, timing of payments, what is included/excluded etc.

Due Diligence This will be carried out by accountants and lawyers, to ensure the buyer knows, as far as is possible, what it is buying – Expect lengthy questions on property, employees, tax, assets, litigation, customers, suppliers, contracts, pensions ……. and so on!

Legal Paperwork The main document is a sale and purchase agreement, dealing with the principal terms and containing lengthy warranties, indemnities and restrictive covenants to protect the buyer. The sellers will negotiate this agreement, insert provisions to limit their liability under the warranties and also prepare a disclosure letter, which allows the sellers to “set the record straight” and let the buyer know if there are issues in the business. The buyer cannot sue the sellers for something it knows about. There will also be service and consultancy agreements for key personnel and often property documents – transfers of land or leases to be signed.

Completion When it all comes together…………...

The road for buying and selling a business is long andwinding with many pitfalls along the way for the unprepared.

Expert advice is imperative, and appointing good professional advisers is critical. It is not cheap, but it is worth it.

Buying and selling a business is often a life changing transaction – it is important to do it right.

For more information or for a confidential discussion on any potential sale or acquisition please contact: Andrew Curwen Partner Corporate Department Direct Dial: 0161 930 5299 andrew.curwen@gorvins.com www.gorvins.com

Ask The Expert

Tax Ac Pat Cobham

Pat Cobham used to be a tax inspector. She has more than 30 years experience in accountancy. Mostly from the side of the inland revenue. Pat set up Cobhams tax consultants and accounts in 2004 and has not looked back since. With a no nonsense and plain English approach to accountancy, Cobhams is going from strength to strength. You not only get knowledgeable one-to-one advice, but you also get it at a fraction of the cost you would pay a large company. They even go that bit further and offer a one-to-one service out of hours should you require it. With background in the corporate world, they are better placed than most to help you with your corporation tax and whether you’re a sole trader, small business or established company, they will make sure everything is done quickly and efficiently to meet all HMRC deadlines.

What They Don’t Tell You On Their Website Getting Advice from HMRC

A word of warning if you phone HMRC asking for advice. The HMRC website encourages people to ring them by actually saying “if you can’t find the answer to your question on the HMRC website the quickest and easiest way is to ring the Helpline”.

However a case went to the High Court recently on this very subject. The case of Corktek involved a business man Mr Malde who was given advice over the phone on the VAT treatment of exports.

HMRC later took a different view from the advice they had previously given and issued a VAT bill.

Corktek appealed saying that HMRC should be bound by their original advice even if this turned out to be wrong. At the High Court HMRC won.

Mr Malde hadn’t made any notes regarding the telephone discussions whereas the HMRC officer involved had. As the two views differed the Judge felt he could only really rely on the notes that were made at the time of the call. The Judge also said “the advice line was only held out as a source of general advice rather than as a source of binding rulings on the proper tax treatment of specific transactions” and as the original conversa-

tion lasted only 6 or 7 minutes Mr Malde “could not reasonably have thought that HMRC had given a fully considered and binding ruling”.

My advice would be that if you use HMRC help lines then give them as much information as you can and keep a note of the date, time and details of the conversation. Do not rely on oral advice alone.

Follow-up the telephone call with a letter clearly setting out your understanding of the advice you have been given and ask for written confirmation.

PAYE Inspections

If you have employees then sooner or later HMRC will undertake a PAYE inspection. The hot topic for the tax man over the last few years has been the status of the workers. Status has always been a hot topic in the construction industry where a lot people were paid as self-employed labourers when in fact they should have been treated as employees.

Status queries are no longer the preserve of the construction industry and HMRC have widened their queries into this. A number of tax cases concerning status have been brought by HMRC and they have recently won the case of Philip Wright v

ccountant HMRC. The case involved a contactor who used short term labour under very loose arrangements.

He gave them no written contracts and paid them no holidays or sick pay.

The Judge decided that not paying holiday or sick pay doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t affect the employment status of the workers. The contractor provided no written contract for his employees preferring to explain the terms and conditions of the job orally. He also gave instructions via trusted and more experienced workers on how the job ought to be done.

This clearly showed that the contractor directly or indirectly controlled the workers and this was a vital factor in determining employment status.

If you have any self-employed workers it is vital that you do not exercise any control over them.

Pay them like you would any other suppliers and make sure they provide invoices etc. In a case heard in 2008 the Judge thought it was important that the worker involved would appear to an outsider to be part and parcel of the business like other members of staff. If you have any long standing self employed workers you will be well advised to review their status or ask your accountant to look at this to see whether by default they have become employees.

If the Revenue do challenge the status of any workers and these are conceded to be employees rather than self-employed then the costs can be extremely high. The pay given to the worker will be treated as net pay and the employer will have to find the tax employees and employers National Insurance contributions plus interest and penalties. If there is a change in status of a worker the Revenue will also reopen earlier years.

VAT and the Dangers of the Flat Rate Scheme (FRS)

VAT is normally calculated by deducting input VAT on purchases and supplies from output VAT collected and the balance paid over. However, some

businesses can make use of the flat rate scheme.

Providing the business turnover is less than ÂŁ150,000 per annum then the business is eligible for inclusion in the FRS. Once in it you cannot reclaim VAT on purchases under ÂŁ2,000. However, you pay over less VAT than you charge your customers. How much less depends on the type of business you are in.

HMRC is very keen to push the FRS and on the face of it, it does sound good as it is far easier and less hassle to apply a set percentage to turnover rather than do a full VAT return on the normal basis. However, do take care before you rush into joining the FRS. Under the FRS you have to apply the reduced flat rate percentage to all business income even if it is usually exempt and zero rated.

As an example, consider a business that in addition to the normal business owns a property which is rented out. If the rent is exempt rent then this takes no part in a VAT return under normal circumstances. However, if the business joins the FRS scheme the rent is classed as business income so the flat rate percentage is applied to the rents in addition to the normal business turnover. A more common situation could be the sale of a company car. Again VAT is not normally applied to car sales as there is no VAT on the purchase. However, again under the FRS the sale of a company car is classed as business income. Because of the necessity to include exempt and zero rated income this could mean that joining the FRS scheme could actually make a business worse off.

So the lesson here is look before you leap.

email your question to: pat.cobham@yourbusinessezine.com or visit the website at www.cobhams.co.uk

Ask The Expert

Humour

Stephanie Davies

Director and Founder of Laughology, Stephanie Davies has over 10 years experience working in the public and private sector which has gained her an unsurpassed reputation for designing and delivering laughter and humour interventions for businesses, practitioners, clients, young people and adults. Stephanie is recognised as one of the UK’s leading voices in laughter and humour. She was recently invited by the University of Chester to develop and deliver the UK’s first MA course in Humour in the Workplace and will soon complete an MA on The Psychological Benefits of Laughter, Humour and Personal Growth.

On leaving Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in 2002 she began performing stand-up comedy, firing her fascination with the power of laughter and humour.

After attending Dr Kataria’s Laughter Leader course Stephanie was accepted as a participant in world-renowned, Dr Patch Adams’s Health Care Intensive Training in the USA. She worked with Patch exploring the relationship between health, humour, community and the arts.

On top of her busy training schedule, Stephanie is often asked to contribute to popular television programmes, such as Trisha, The Bank of Mum and Dad, BBC’s Heaven & Earth and ITV’s Stand-up Jenny. She is also a regular on BBC Radio

A

Growing Young

s I approach my 31st birthday I wonder when will I feel like a grown up and what defines being a grown up. My Grandma’s birthday is a couple of days before mine and I have always seen her as a grown up and at 98 I wonder if she feels grown up now. When I speak to friends and colleagues I realise it’s not just me who ponders on age and how we’re meant to feel/act at “our age” and I realise that no matter if your 20, 30 or 40 there’s no text book on life.

I see people desperately trying to defy age with plastic surgery and injections of Botox, that doesn’t necessarily make them look younger just permanently surprised that they are the age they’re at.

I have to admit I am a victim of the anti-aging

creams which I paste liberally on my face morning and night in a hope to keep wrinkles at bay and that I frequent the gym and set new challenges for myself as I get older in an attempt to trick my body into thinking it’s still a teenager. Though this year I have noticed a few twinges that are new, I now have a “good knee” and I make a funny groaning noise when I bend down. Are these the signs of growing up or are they just physical traits of growing up that so many of us try and defy with antiaging potions, pills and surgery? How Ironic it is that when I was younger it was my experience as a teenager and certainly that of other teenagers I have met, that we are keen to grow up, then something happens and you decide you want to start going back: growing young!

Consultant

s I am a firm believer in growing young and encouraging playfulness and imagination in everyone, these traits that come so easy to us as children we seem to forget as we grow up. When we are young we accept situations as they are: we enjoy being silly, we have time to play, laugh and enjoy life. As we grow older we are faced with tougher challenges, bigger decisions and generally are more serious. So the argument for being able to be imaginative, playful, enjoy life and dare I say childlike in order to cope with the seriousness of growing up is one I support. As a Laughologist and someone who is very interested in human behaviour and how we perceive life and situations I can’t think of a time more in life, where skills such as creativity, optimism, humour and imagination are needed as we grow older. In 1981 Anthropologist Ashley Motnagu published a book called growing young. Montagu discusses a theory Neoteny which I try and live by and use continually with others. Neoteny: simply put it means the human species in body, spirit and conduct is constructed to grow and develop in ways that emphasize rather than minimize childhood traits. It directs us to “engage with our positive childhood traits to enhance the pro aging life experience.” - You’re only young twice - Ronda Beaman So as I approach my 31st I organise yet another fancy dress party, which is of course is for my benefit because I enjoy dressing up, but also for others who need an excuse. This year the theme is Superhero’s and though I have been met by a couple of groans by those who would benefit from growing young a little more, the majority are excited at a chance to dress up and be playful for a night.

Being able to Pretend like they are actually the superhero’s they wanted to be when they “grew

up”. What is so special about being a child is that anything is possible, it’s only as we grow up we put the constraints on ourselves learnt by society or believing what others say. So as I sign out for the last time as a 30 year old my advice is to enjoy life, make it fun, encourage laughter, it’s good for us physically and mentally I promise you will achieve more using it. As Charlie Chaplin once said “ a day without laughter is a day wasted”

email your question to: stephanies.davies@yourbusinessezine.com You can visit the website at www.laughology.co.uk

Ask The Expert

Internat Alan Taylor

Alan’s early career was in IT (when this included punch cards and paper tape). He quickly moved from programming into analysis which gave him the opportunity in the mid-1980’s to work for an insurance company in the Bahamas. This gave Alan the bug for travelling and he has managed to cover five continents to date on his travels, South America still eludes him.

His career in IT eventually developed into project & business change management and Alan has been involved in a number of large projects of this type. This lead him and his business partner to set up their first business together, a business change consultancy (PSI), in 1993. PSI initially grew in the UK & South East Asia and, once acquired by a FTSE-quoted parent, it subsequently expanded to forty-five people across five continents.

He has now been developing businesses both in the UK and Internationally for over sixteen years.

During this time he has built a global network of contacts including senior level decision makers.

As a seasoned professional Alan is able to help a business to focus on the definition and delivery of its development strategy, ensuring drive & momentum are maintained to achieve the company’s strategic goals. This is non more evident than in his passion for international business development where Alan is able to leverage his global network of contacts to generate significant business development opportunities.

An adaptable character, with a pragmatic approach, Alan has an open (if determined) mind and the ability to make a significant contribution to a team delivering a product or service to a clearly defined market.

Alan lives on Merseyside with his wife and two children and has recently returned to university part-time where he is studying for a Qualifying LLB Law. Of all of the places he has visited San Francisco (and nearby Sausalito) and Singapore remain his favourites.

You Are Not Alone

S

o, you’ve decided that your company should look into markets abroad, who can help?

There is a mind-boggling level of support being offered to UK companies that are planning to trade internationally, some of which is available for free or subsidised to some degree, from a variety of sources.

ing point. There is no recommendation, specific or implied, of the services being presented here.

There is a summary at the end of the article showing further details and contact points for the organisations mentioned.

The most logical starting point is the government department UKTI (UK Trade and Investment).

This article presents some of the support available to UK companies to help them establish a presence internationally, whether the first time a company has set-up abroad, or whether they are entering a new territory.

Positioned between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), UKTI has some 2,500 staff and advisers around the world to help UK businesses to exploit international opportunities. UKTI works to promote inward as well as outward investment, i.e. helping companies to take its products and services abroad but also offering assistance to companies coming into the UK.

Although this article cannot cover all elements of the support available it is aiming to provide a start-

UKTI’s staff is split between the UK and its links with UK presences around the globe such as em-

Part of the problem, however, is knowing what is available and where to find it.

tional Trade bassies, high commissions, consulates and trade offices. In England UKTI has an office in each of the areas covered by the nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). In the North West, for example, UKTI has an office in Trafford Park in Manchester.

Each regional office has trade advisers who may specialise in a particular overseas market and/or sector. Outside the UK it has 150 offices in 100 markets.

UKTI splits its services into three groups. Advice & Support gives access to International Trade Advisers who can help both companies that are new to international trading as well as companies who already have an international presence. Initiatives in this area include ‘Preparing To Trade’ and ‘Support To Succeed’. In some cases the support is free.

Information & Opportunities provides three types of information to UK businesses: the details of potential leads gathered from UKTI’s global teams, a route to working with aid-funded organisations globally, and, market & sector research.

Some of these services are provided at a charge, however, there may be grant support available to help smaller companies. For example, one avenue to research is the Export Market Research Scheme (EMRS) which provides information such as: market size, trends, customer usage and competitor activity. Although a chargeable service smaller companies may be eligible for a grant of up to 50%.

‘Making It Happen’ is geared towards market entry and marketing support. Market entry includes the opportunity to visit a potential market through participation in one of the many market visits arranged throughout the year by the regional UKTI offices.

UKTI North West for example has arranged a market visit to Malaysia & Singapore at the end of January 2010. Many market visits are subsidised and qualifying companies on the Malaysia/Singapore visit are being offered up to £860 towards their travel costs (companies do have to register and pass certain criteria to qualify for this support).

Although a company may miss a market visit being arranged by its UKTI regional office, there may still be the opportunity to join a subsequent visit arranged by another region.

Market entry support also extends to helping companies to attend international trade shows and grants can range between £1,000 and £1,800 depending on the nature of the show, where it is and the company applying for the support.

UKTI is also building UKAN (the UK Advisory Network) a directory of public sector and private organisation that assist in overseas trade and investment.

Help for companies to grow into global markets can also be available from local Chambers Of Commerce. Liverpool Chamber Of Commerce has an International Trade Centre, for example, while Manchester Chamber Of Commerce has launched its Go Global initiative.

Liverpool’s International Trade Centre aims to be a ‘one stop shop’ for Merseyside businesses offering services such as: consultancy, training, market research and trade missions (both inward and overseas). One of the most practical areas of help is the support offered in completing the correct export documentation, including the specific documentation required in areas such as Arab markets and EC Certificates Of Origin.

Liverpool Chamber works in conjunction with other organisations that offer international trade support such as UKTI. China is a particular focus of the Chamber for 2010 as a result of the city’s presence at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo and it has established a connection with the organisation Chinalink. It has also organised a visit to China on 1st October 2010 and is offering the package at a cost of £1,350 per person to chamber members and their employees/ families.

Greater Manchester Chamber Of Commerce has set up its Go Global initiative to bring together all of its international-related support services into a single portal. Its International Trade Team is aligned with the regional UKTI office. A similar set of services is offered including advice on: language and culture, transport and logistics, finding the right route to market and specific sector opportunities overseas.

It is, therefore, always worth asking your local Chamber Of Commerce whether they can offer any support. You may have to become a member of the Chamber which will usually entail paying an annual membership fee.

Business Link also offers help and guidance when considering trading internationally from advice to get you started (such as: Export Basics & Import Basics) to help in specific areas (e.g. around foreign payments, associated customs duty relief and what trade tariffs may apply).

The Business Link website has a page dedicated to International Trade. If you are already working with Business Link then your existing contact should be able to advise you on what support may be available.

Business Link also has regional offices aligned with the RDAs. The North West office is based in Preston, although its advisers operate on a local basis and are willing to meet with companies and/ or offer phone support.

Even HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can be a source of advice and information with regards to overseas markets and trading abroad. UKTradeInfo is an online register maintained by HMRC which allows users to extract, sift and analyse trade and market data. Some standard tables of data are provided but users can also build their own tables.

Access to UKTradeInfo is free but registration is required to be able to build your own tables and to save the results.

to gain their advice on how to deal with payments, revenues and tax.

There is a lot of information available and support on offer. Although it may seem many and varied by defining and working to an international trade strategy a company can work with these organisations to feed in this support at the most appropriate time and in the most appropriate form.

email your questions to: alan.taylor@yourbusinessezine.com You can visit the website at www.ttnp.co.uk

SOME USEFUL CONTACTS UKTI NORTH WEST

North West International Trade Centre International Trade Team Warren Bruce Court Warren Bruce Road Trafford Park M17 1LB Telephone: 0845 603 7053 Fax: 0161 236 6469 Email: info@uktinorthwest.co.uk

UK ADVISORY NETWORK www.ukan.uktradeinvest.gov.uk

LIVERPOOL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

International Trade Centre for Greater Merseyside One Old Hall Street Liverpool L3 9HG

There is not enough space to include all sources of information and support for companies considering trading abroad. In addition to the organisations and initiatives mentioned above there are a number of independent consultancies that offer their services based on a particular area of specialism.

The contact details for a selection are included below.

0151 227 1234 http://internationalliverpool.co.uk/ itc@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

You may also wish to discuss your international trade plans with your bank and/or your accountant

UKTradeInfo www.uktradeinfo.com

CHINALINK

www.chinalink.org.uk

HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS

GRAHAM RHODES CONSULTANCY LTD

Independent Consultancy offering International Trade support and has worked with some of the leading UK and European wallcovering and home furnishings brands.

11 Church Close Brighton East Sussex BN1 8HS UK +44 (0) 7921 064981 www.graham-rhodes-consultancy.com graham@grahamrhodesconsultancy.com

GREATER MANCHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE International Trade Team Warren Bruce Court 2nd Floor Warren Bruce Road Trafford Park Manchester M17 1LB 0845 603 7053

BUSINESS LINK NORTHWEST Brian Johnson Way Preston Lancashire PR2 5PE 0845 00 66 888 www.businesslink.gov.uk/northwest info@businesslinknw.co.uk

KINETIC CUBED LIMITED

Independent Consultancy offering International Trade Support with offices in the UK, India and Spain +44 (0) 7788 917 934 www.kinetic3.co.uk info@kinetic3.co.uk

TAYLOR NAPIER PARTNERSHIP LIMITED

Independent Consultancy offering International Trade Support specialising in South East Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region +44 (0) 774 683 4236 www.ttnp.co.uk info@ttnp.co.uk

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IT'S ABOUT WEBSITES

H

ave you ever gone to a networking event and NOT met someone who “does” web sites? Me neither. Ten to fifteen years ago it was quite a specialised thing to do, but now it seems like every man and his dog can do them. There are, as usual, several reasons why this is the case. For a start, it’s got easier to do.

There are no end of “packages” available online that use standard templates and any old relatively technophobic idiot, like myself, can pretty much fill in the blanks and get online. Also, we have had a full generation, (now grown up), that have grown up with computers and the internet as the “norm”. If they need to do anything I.T. related, it is far more instinctive and they are therefore much more likely to have a go themselves. So maybe we should start a campaign to get rid of all web design companies and just do it ourselves. I DON’T THINK SO! You see here is the problem. Whilst what was difficult fifteen years ago has got easier today, things have moved on, significantly. The web has evolved and continues to do so. If it’s not your full time job, then it’s difficult to keep up and let me tell you, it’s evolving at a hell of a pace. A good modern web site is a very complicated work of art. There are so many factors to be considered in order to not only get it right, but as much as possible, future proof it.

So here’s your next problem. You know you need a new web site, one that is modern and actually works for you 24/7, and doesn’t just sit there, passively waiting for someone to fall over it, only to let them go, with no record after what must have been, quite frankly, an uninspired visit. But who do you go to? How do you sort the wheat from the chaff? Allow me to help. Turn the page and I think you may find an inspired answer. IT’S ABOUT WEBSITES.

IT’S ABOUT WEBSITES. Well let me tell you, for Gavin and Paul, it really is.

I first met these likely lads at a networking event in Liverpool back in September 2009, but I immediately new that they had excellent taste, (well, they did become a member of this fantastic publication straight away).

But besides this, there was something just a tad abnormal about them. It’s actually quite hard to put your finger on at first, but you know when you look at someone and think their brains are just not wired the same as everyone else’s in the room? I have to say I was intrigued, especially given the industry they're in, which lets be honest, is very competitive and difficult to remain unique in. So the following day I called them to arrange to meet up and find out more about this elusive duo.

My instincts served me well. These lads are a little bit bonkers, but a good bonkers, not the scary kind like the nutter on the bus or anything. Allow me to give you an example; Paul, returning to the office from a very productive meeting with a new client, finds Gavin having a dance competition with Guy from next doors office, (Gavin is a HUGE line dancing fan and will challenge anyone to a dance off). Now then Paul, being a partner in the business and obviously very concerned about productivity, did exactly what was expected of a man in his position. He walked straight over to his desk and sounded the air horn they keep there for the ever increasing number of occasions when they sign a new client. In fact they’ve been so busy last month that they thought they had a leak, until they realised it was coffee coming through the ceiling from the office upstairs, (they tend to have a little accident every time the horn goes off). You see, you may now be starting to build a picture of what IAW life is actually like, but believe me, you don’t know the half of it.

Well Gavin and Paul have known each other for a many years. They first met when Paul went to work at Rippleffect when the company was in its infancy and Gavin was already there as one of the companies founding members. Paul eventually moved on and began working as a freelancer, but Gavin stayed at Rippleffect, rising to the position of Creative Director and winning awards on the way. Eventually Gavin also left and went into the freelance market, where he once again met with Paul and formed 'It’s About Websites' three years ago. Originally working from home, the two of them carried on doing their respective freelance work, whilst building the client base for It’s About Websites, until eight months ago when they de-

www.itsaboutwebsites.com

cided to take the plunge and do what they love doing best full time. They looked at various areas to locate the business in, but decided on Liverpool, which is a decision they are both extremely happy with, in no small measure because of the help that they have received from the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and also May Fifteen. Actually they are both particularly grateful of the help and support they have received from Jeni of May Fifteen who has not only helped them with setting targets, but also boosted their confidence whilst out networking and in the business as a whole. Now the business is going from strength to strength and the passion and enthusiasm that Gavin and Paul both obviously feel is infectious.

As I said before, this really is quite a competitive industry and I wanted to put my finger on what it was that made IAW stand out, because believe me it does, so I asked them. The thing is, I got all of the stock answers that you would expect someone to say about their business. A friendly personal service, middle range pricing for a top of the range product, simplistic to use, blah, blah, blah.

Then, just when I thought that was it, almost as an afterthought, they said it. You see, the thing with these two is this. What they do they do so naturally, there is nothing contrived or calculated with them, there uniqueness almost doesn’t register with them. You’re going to have to bear with me on this one so I can explain. You see, when I first tell you what it is, you will probably say, “is that it, I mean it’s good, but the way you’ve built this up I was expecting fireworks”. So here goes. You don’t have to pay for your website up front, you can spread the payments over two years, in fact they would prefer you to do that. Now let me explain

why I am so impressed with this. If we go back a few lines you will see the blah, blah, blah bit. Now, one of those blah’s was this. “We want to get to know our clients and work with them on an ongoing basis in order for us to really understand their business and give them the best possible service”.

What I didn’t realise at the time when they said this to me was they were not reciting this from a how to run a better business manual. This was a genuine passion for them, and the payment terms simply allow them to do this more effectively. So if your website costs £X’s, then divide that by twenty four and that’s what you pay. Then what happens is that IAW bear all the cost of the production of the site, they work very closely with the client for however long it takes in order to get it just right, after all, the client has to be happy, he’s not paying for it all for the next two years, then, they sit down with the client every three months and check how their search engine optimisation and online marketing is going and make any necessary adjustments to improve things as they go along. Brilliant I thought, but that’s not all. This gives them the time and contact with the client they need, so they can not only get to know their business, but also them as individuals, and in doing this they can do a better job for them.

Paul and Gavin don’t want to stand out from the crowd, they want to be in front of the crowd. They are happy to work with other companies or organisations in order that they give the best possible service to their clients. They have developed a fun, cheeky kind of atmosphere to work in, were they can all just be themselves and do what they love doing most, after all, IT’S ABOUT WEBSITES.

10 Reasons To Switch To Mac For Business A few days ago, my dad asked me if I could help him switch to Mac, to my very big surprise. He owns a small webmastering company in Austria, and has been a lifelong PC user, so before brainstorming about possible tips I could give him as he undertakes the big leap, I started wondering if the idea was actually good.

There’s no doubt I love Macs, I even wrote an article about my own switch from the PC world in a previous TechHaze article, but given the relatively high pricetag of an Apple computer and the “fear of change” that such a project can be associated with, I asked myself if it was all worth it. Some would say “don’t fix what isn’t broken”, but let me stop you right here: the PC he uses is in fact agonizing at this very moment, so it’s now or never.

So should small and medium businesses switch to Mac? My answer is yes, and here is why: 1. It’s a safe choice When you buy a Mac, you don’t just buy an Apple machine: you also buy a PC. Macs are shipped with a software called “bootcamp”, which will allow any user to install Windows on an other partition.

Hell, you don’t even need to know what a partition is, the software is intuitive, easy to use, and in a matter of minutes you’ll have a fully operational windows installation on your machine. This is the guarantee that if something goes wrong during the switch, you’ll always be able to reboot your Mac, hold the option key and come back to the familiar windows world. Small businesses can’t afford to to loose time because they recently switched and don’t know how to perform a specific task on their new OS. Don’t worry, that’s not an issue thanks to

Apple’s bootcamp. You can also try the numerous OS emulators.

Try not to get used to it though, because on the long term, you’d be missing out on OSX’s fantastic features, which are at the core of a Mac’s strength.

2. It’s not expensive I will discuss software-specific details, but let me first underline the very first thing you’ll notice about your new Mac: how beautifully built it is. Sure, it may not have the quad core processor and a gazillion gigaflops per nanosecond graphic card, but it is built by the highest quality standards, and has one of the sturdiest designs of the market. The iMac is a beautiful machine, but good design and engineering really matters with mobile devices. There is nothing about Apple’s laptop that is not useful.

By this I mean that every part is carefully designed, and that there are not unnecessary moving parts.

The more moving parts you have on a machine, the liklier it is one for one of them to fail, and that is expensive. Time is money, remember?

On a mac, you’ll spend less time repairing, protecting, figuring out, calling the IT guy, and you’ll spend more time being productive.

On the long run, good quality is less expensive than bad quality, and a Mac is the perfect example for this. Businesses of all sizes can save money over time, despite the higher price tag associated with the initial purchase. The Mac’s greatest ally in calculating cost of ownership is the value of time.

Business owners say their Macs experience few-

Technology For Business er crashes and other problems than PCs running Windows, translating into less lost work and time.

They also tend to keep Macs in service longer than they keep PCs running.

The time calculation works both ways though: You’ll have to place a value on retraining employees on the new operating system and lost time and increased agitation due to slightly different keyboard layouts and a different OS. You’ll also need to budget for Mac versions of the software you plan to run. (Of course, you would probably also have some retraining and software costs upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 if you stuck with Windows.) If you’re starting a new business, you can skip the costs associated with switching. Also, if you already own screens and keyboards, Apple’s Mac Mini seems a perfect solution: Inexpensive, green, quite powerful and discrete.

3. Security For some, working on a computer that doesn’t have a virus scanner may seem unnatural, but don’t you think that this is how things should be?

Well that’s how things are on a mac. Because Apple’s market share is relatively small, creating malware and viruses for Macs just doesn’t pay off, hence the quasi-nonexistence of Mac viruses. One could easily foresee that this won’t last for ever, with Apple’s popularity rising and Macs gaining market share, but some simple (and very effective) security features are already implemented in Apple’s newest OS, Snow Leopard. For instance, you will be warned the first time you open a program, in case some phishing attack may have fooled you into downloading an app.

This means no additional costs for a virus scanner licenses, no nightlong scans of your hardrives, no figuring out why the mouse moves on its own, no troubleshooting and countless reformatting runs, and more time to work.

4. The OS You may have noticed that the average specs of a Mac are unimpressive, and you are right. But what one shouldn’t forget is that thanks to tight OS/hardware integration (and lack of bloatware), Apple has fine tuned their OS for their relatively small product lineup, which basically means that you won’t need as much speed as on a PC. Macs are stable, but they do sometimes crash.

This is why you should backup your files, and OSX has a truly amazing tool for this called Time Machine. Just plug in a hard drive, and let the computer take care of everything for you. You can also do this over a wifi network, if you’re the proud owner of a Time Capsule.

The OS learning curve is quite shallow, you’ll get used to the Mac in no time. To be precise, you’ll be so used to it that you’ll find it unbearable to work

on a computer that doesn’t have spotlight (and instant file finder/app launcher), expose (see all your open windows in one snapshot) or spaces (organize your windows on different desktops).

You may be annoyed by Apple’s window philosophy: No window should take more space than it needs, hence the lack of “maximize” button. In this case, you’ll find plenty of software, free or paid, that will allow you to replicate windows functionality, if you really can’t live without it. This leads us to a crucial point: 5. The software The times where you could say that there are no decent software alternatives for Mac are over. The biggest concern for a small business, most of the time, is the productivity suite, usually known as Microsoft Office. Microsoft has a fully functional version for Mac, you’ll be able to run Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Snow leopard is Exchange enabled and Office ships with Entourage, that should take care of your emailing.

But now that you switched, why not have a look at OSX’s standard apps? GarageBand is a powerful audio editor, Quicktime X supports screencasts, iWeb will allow you to easily create beautiful websites, iMovie is a great video cutter and iDVD is wonderful mastering tool. Yes, all this is included in your OS, for free.

If you want to leave Microsoft’s world for good, consider buying the $79 iWork suite. One of its apps, Keynote, is worth all the money alone. If you own a business, there’s a good chance you’ll have a to prepare slides at one point or another, and Keynote excels at that. You may be familiar with Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth”. Yes, the sideshow was produced on Keynote.

All the Adobe apps are available on Mac, and are not more expensive, which is what most people tend to think. A growing community of Mac developers have created a wonderful range of apps, most of them quite inexpensive (15-35$), but of great quality, focusing in typical Apple fashion on user interface ergonomy and design, but not without sacrificing functionality and usefulness.

6. Support is key In case something should go wrong, be advised: Apple’s support is the best on the planet. If you are fortunate enough to live in a city with an Apple store, you’ll be able to take your computer to the Genius Bar, and get it fixed on the spot. Because the OS and hardware are produced by the same

company, they won’t give you another number to call or simply tell you that it’s Microsoft’s fault. You can even seek support for a Windows partition installed via bootcamp!

Should you live a in a city where there’s no service center, just give them a call (I waited 23 seconds on the line) and they’ll give you instructions on how to troubleshoot the Mac. Worse case scenario, you have to get it repaired and can’t go to a service facility: don’t worry, Apple will come and pick up your mac, for free. This is precisely what happened to me, and they switched the motherboard + lid within 4 days. Also, Apple doesn’t care in which country you bought your computer, they’ll repair it wherever you are.

7. It’s pretty Don’t laugh. Image is key in business, and Apple represents cutting edge technology associated with a good dose of cool factor. Thanks to their unique and gorgeous design, Apple computers will be instantly recognized when your customer walks into your office. If the customer is an Apple user, a bond will easily created. If the customer is windows user, he’ll at least be curious and see that you, forgive the quote, “think different”.

8. The server licensing fees If you’ve ever bought a server for a Windows network, you know how they get you. Hint: It’s the licensing fees. Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, for example, has a retail price of $1,089.

Technology For Business For that price, five clients can connect to the server. Each additional client costs $77. If you opt instead for a full-fledged copy of Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2007, the pricing structure is even more complex.

Mac OS X server costs $999 and includes an unlimited client license, making the accounting simple. It uses the familiar Mac interface, so you don’t need to go out and get a certification before you set up your network. It’s got the communication and management capabilities you’d expect for a small business, and some you might not have thought about, such as a Wiki Server to make your intranet more collaborative and flexible. And, as your business grows, you don’t have to shell out for more client licenses.

9. Because you have an iPhone Ok, maybe not you, but the iPhone is one of the most popular business smartphones out there.

People are just ecstatic about its connectivity, user interface and various (business related) apps. Apple developed the current iPhone OS in 3 years, OSX has been in development for more than a decade. I can guarantee that if you love the iPhone, you’ll adore your Mac. Do your iPhone a favor and buy a Mac. 10. Because it is the best I know this is a typical Apple fanboy conclusion, but it is true. Now that Windows 7 is here, the cut isn’t that clear anymore, but it is undeniable that Apple offers the most polished up, thoroughly developed and advanced computing experience out there. Why would you have anything but the best for your business? Sure, Macs costs more than low-end PCs initially, but isn’t it worth it in the end to pay a little bit more up front for a computer that works with you, rather than against you?

Mac users love their computers, so, if you can, it makes nothing but sense to bring that to your business. There is a Mac for everyone: The MacBook Air’s feather weight and the MacBook Pro’s record breaking battery life will appeal to the mobile user, the business man on the move, while the all-in-one iMac and budget friendly Mac Mini will be likely to satisfy big screen lovers and business that are just starting up. And then there’s the fabulous Mac Pro, the holy grail of Macs for power users. The strides Apple has made in offering business solutions over the past decade are making the Mac a more sensible choice, and I haven’t heard of an unsatisfied Mac user… ever.

By Florian Wardell www.TechHaze.com Pictures: Apple.com

A G V Not just any high-speed

Tr a i n

T

he Automotrice Ă Grande Vitesse (AGV) will be the successor of the famous TGV (Train Ă Grande Vitesse), France's successful high-speed train built by Alstom.

Scheduled to be deployed in Italy in a few years

by Europe's first private high-speed train operator, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, it represents a new step for railway transport.

Alstom, the firm behind the AVG, is a railway transportation manufacturer as well as an energy provider. Its transport division occupies first place among high-speed and very high-speed train manufacturers: 70% of the of the high speed trains (300kmh | 186 mph) in worldwide service were built by Alstom.

The TGV was one of Alstom's greatest successes.

Beyond France, where it was first commercialized, the high-speed train was sold in diverse countries such as Spain (where it is called AVE, Alta Velocidad EspaĂąola), Korea (the KTX or Korea Train eXpress), and will also enter the Argentinian market in the near future. TGV technology was also exported in the United states where Bombardier built the Acela Express. In France, the TGV operates at top speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph) on a daily basis. But the TGV has been operating for almost 30 years. It was developped in the 70's and uses technology from that time. Very little has changed between the first TGV that had its maiden voyage in 1981 and today's trains. Though it is a proven design, its manufacturer wants to take high-speed railway transportation to a new level.

That's what the AVG is all about.

AGV stands for Automotrice a Grande Vitesse, or "high-speed self-propelled carriage" in English.

The missing "train" in the name is not an error, as the AVG runs on an entirely new concept. Instead

of being the classical train composed of a set of carriages pulled and pushed by locomotives, the AVG's configuration will be quite different: each car will have its own "boogie". Each of these will have its own motor so as to spread the energy required to move the train along its whole length.

According to Alstom, this distributed power design will give the AVG enough power to travel regularly at top speeds of 360 km/h (225 mph). It will also decrease overall maintenance costs by 30% and increase overall capacity by 20%, as compared to the TGV. The configuration is also set to eliminate much of the vibration and rolling noise on board, to cushion movement between cars, optimize aerodynamic performance and to guarantee higher security standards for passengers. The AVG is also more performant energywise: "The combination of articulated architecture, composite materials, and improved traction systems have made it possible to reduce the mass of the AGV by 70 tonnes compared to competitors' trains.

The AGV is therefore particularly efficient from an environmental point of view, consuming 15% less energy."

However, the new design is more than just that. It gives more freedom to the operator: "Distributed power also offers the advantage of modularity in relation to car numbers. Based on an AGV range comprising between 7 and 14 cars, each operator can build up a fleet to match their capacity requirements."

For a video featuring a 3D model of the future AGV click the link: http://www.yourbusinessezine.com/articles/agv-not-just-any-high-speed-train

By Florian Wardell www.TechHaze.com

Technology For Business

To Censor No More On late tuesday, Google announced that they will stop censoring search results on Google.cn, and that the decision may lead to the shutting down of all Google offices in China if they can’t come to an agreement with the Chinese government. I applaud Google’s ballsiness.

This is the result of a massive cyber attack, apparently originating from China (some sources say Taiwan), directed at Google’s Gmail systems.

Google, in their official blog, stated that the primary objective of the attack was access accounts of human rights activists, but that the attack also targeted other large companies in finance, technology, and media. Apparently, the attack more or less failed: “Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.“ Google launched their Google.cn search engine in 2006, believing that the benefits of entering the world’s largest market would outweigh the consequences of censorship and freedom of speech limitation. They did, however, make clear that they “will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services”.

The last attack (one of many) led them to the conclusion that the situation wasn’t satisfactory, hence the decision of pressuring the Chinese government.

Will they reach an agreement? Only the next few weeks will tell us, but so far Google’s move seems to benefit China’s interests: According to Reuters, shares of Google fell 1.9 percent in after-hours trading, while shares of Chinese Internet search company Baidu Inc, Google’s main competitor in China, rose 5 percent. It is estimated that 8 to 10 percent of Google’s revenue originate from China.

Google isn’t one of the largest companies in the world by chance, their long lasting internal policies of ethics and user privacy protection are a vital ingredient of their success. People trust Google.

By refusing to be a censorship engine, Google is protecting their worldwide image, and on the long term, their interests.

China, on the other hand, should seize this opportunity to show that its approach towards information access, freedom of speech and censorship has matured, and let Google do its job, even behind the great wall.

By Florian Wardell www.TechHaze.com

BLESMA is a national charity which aims to give counselling, care and support to ex-Servicemen and women who have lost limbs, the use of their limbs, or one or both eyes as a result of their time in the Armed Forces. We also assist their needy dependants, in particular their Widows, and also those that suffer the trauma of the above after service. Today we have some 2,200 limbless veterans from the 2nd World War and subsequent campaigns, and still they come from conflict and keeping the peace in so many other places around the world and from accidents suffered in training.

In addition we help where we can those ex-Service men and women who lose limbs later in life by facilitating funding and giving support and advice.

We receive no Government Grants and rely wholly on the generosity of the public.

From the outbreak of World War II and all conflicts since up to and including the present conflict in Afghanistan, many Members of BLESMA went to War young and whole. They came home disabled for life. The Association offers them the fellowship of shared experience, the welfare support they need and have fought for their interests over all the long years.

Whilst we do not wish to receive new Members due to the current conflict in Afghanistan, it is inevitable that we shall do so. It is very important therefore that we are here to assist them in their recovery and rehabilitation from their injuries.

It has long been recognised that participation in sports provides the best form of rehabilitation to amputees and the Association has led the way in providing a variety of events to its members. The members take part in a wide variety of sports and activities such as sailing, parachuting, gliding, canoeing, cycling, rowing, bowling, running and many others all of which assist in their rehabilitation.

At the core of BLESMA's work are the twin pillars

of welfare and rehabilitation, which can include giving members the opportunity to take part in events such as their recent all amputee entry to the Fastnet Race. "Rehabilitation plays a very important part in the lives of recent and relatively young amputees," explains Jerome Church, General Secretary and BLESMA Member, "whereas welfare is more important to our more elderly members."

Our work starts with rehabilitation - proving that there is life after amputation. Our work is about amputee helping amputee - the fellowship of shared experience. Our work is about life long welfare support, about campaigning for what they deserve and about being there when old injuries come back to haunt. Our youngest Member is 19 and our oldest is 99. BLESMA's focus remains very much on meeting the needs of its members, and ensuring real quality of life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for life!

www.blesma.org

NETWORKING

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etworking In The City Business Networking

CHINESE NEW YEAR YEAR OF THE TIGER 14 / 02 / 2010

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etworking In The City Business Networking

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LIVERPOOL

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PRESTON

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My Networking PA is an exclusive site that will find suitable business networking and referral events in your area, tailored to your specifications. So you can spend less time searching and more time networking.

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T

hey do say that necessity is the mother of invention. Mark Greenwood set up Networking 4 Business 7 years ago after working as an insurance claims defender for the 10 years prior to that. One of the things that Mark hated doing, like so many of us, was cold calling. What he discovered was that networking negated the need for him to do this. Initially, when Mark first went to some breakfast networking events, he was very nervous about standing up and speaking, again like so many of us are, but given a little time, whilst it rarely becomes something we relish doing, we get used to it and it becomes easier.

So, Networking 4 Business. Initially the format was a 2 hour networking session with the first hour being a more formal sit down, people standing and telling the group what they do and so on. Then in the second hour, everyone was able to just open network. At this time there was an annual membership fee and this seemed to work as the group slowly grew over a 2 year period. After 2 years, a friend of Marks came to him and suggested he drop the annual membership and the formal first hour of the event. What he would be left with would be Simply Networking. So 5 years ago the format changed and Networking 4 Business has never looked back. In fact since the new format, the central Manchester event got up to 180 people attending, which Mark felt was too much, so now that event is capped at 120 attendee’s. Such was the popularity of the Manchester event that 2 more had to be organised in the suburbs in order to meet demand, although these events are capped at 60 attendee’s.

Over the last 5 years the Simply Networking brand

has grown to 3 events each month in the Manchester region, 1 in Liverpool, 1 in Leeds and 1 in Thursk. Mark is looking to grow the brand further, although he has no defined plans to do so.

He believes it will grow organically as demand requires. “You never know were these things will take you. We have some fantastic contacts around the regions we operate in and we must be doing something right given the popularity of our events.

In fact, we exhibit in a business exhibition in Manchester each year and the exhibition organisers have come to us and told us that our stand has been the busiest for the last 2 years in a row”. Actually, at the last exhibition Mark tried out a new idea called The Connection Point. This proved so popular, (making 7000 connections for businesses at that 1 exhibition alone), that it was felt that it had to be incorporated into the Simply Networking events. The concept is actually quite simple.

Besides having a delegate list, there is also a wall which Mark fills with cards, each one having the contact name and company name of everyone attending the event. As an attendee, all you so is go up to the wall and have a look to see if there is anyone there who you would like to make contact with, if so you simply staple your business card to their form and at the end of the event the forms are passed to their owners who then have business cards of everyone who wants to speak to them.

The Networking 4 Business Simply Networking events go from strength to strength. And with no membership fee, just £10 to attend, a fantastic turnout and refreshments provided, it’s not hard to see why. The events are listed on our calendar on the Your Business Ezine web site, or for more information you can contact Business 4 Networking by email at mark@networking4business.com .

www.networking4business.com

Its About Websites It’s About Websites the the Liverpool based digital media agency would like to offer all Your Business Ezine members a 5% charitable donation to a registered charity of their choice to the value of all work commissioned, From our Website design, Online Marketing and our It’s About Video multi platform video production services. *Subject to payment terms.

Info@itsaboutwebsites.com www.itsaboutwebsites.com

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Contact Viridis today mention “e-zine” and get a free desktop survey on a renewable technology of your choice worth £100! Viridis Energie Consultants provide independent and impartial advise on renewable energy technologies

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Gas Safety registered plumber with many years of experience. Fantastic low rates of pay. 10% discount on any full house central heating system.

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Horlock Horticulture

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Allerton based Landscape gardener offering complete garden services throughout Merseyside. FREE estimates given, with 15% off any ground clearance.

horlockhorticulture@hotmail.co.uk

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Looking to cut costs? Expanding? Starting up in business?

We won’t be beaten on price and are offering 2 months free rent if you sign up before Christmas. Contact for a no obligation visit. www.bizspace.co.uk

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To become a member and advertise here as well as receiving business support and gaining access to business resources, please call 08000 432 734 or you can email

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