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t h e b e st magaz i n e s p eci f i ca l ly f o r bus i nes s o w ne r s
THE BUSINESS
OWNER MAGAZINE TAX DAY - ARE YOU AFFECTED? We take a look at the updates and consultations that will set the stage for the future of tax in Britain..
GO ELECTRIC! Electric cars are slowly but surely taking over the roads of Britain - we are lucky enough to have a firsthand account of one of the best. Read our review of the BMW330e on page 12.
HOW TO MAKE FITNESS WORK FOR YOU As business owners, there is always another excuse that will stop us finding the time for ourselves! Let us help you make fitness work for you and your busy schedule!
YOUR SALES PIPELINE IS YOUR PIPELINE FULL AND THRIVING? Get some great tips to help improve your sales skills.
Letter from Welcome to the April issue of The Business Owner Magazine and what an April it could be. The roadmap out of Covid is gathering pace and more of us will be able to enjoy a little more freedom this month and even more of the UK population will have received their vaccine, so here is hoping. This issue is once again packed full of great information for any business owner, Director or Entrepreneur and also with some inspiring interviews. The magazine is continually evolving and developing as a brand, not only do we produce this magazine but we have our Home Garden Lifestyle magazine and soon we will be launching EM Magazine to cater for those in the engineering and manufacturing sector. Enjoy this issue and remember if you are reading this and would like to get your company featured then do get in touch.
the best maga z i ne sp eci f i ca lly f o r b u si ness o w ner s
THE BUSINESS
OWNER MAGAZINE
Business Owners come in all shapes and sizes and have a variety of different needs and wants, but what we all have in common is the desire to build something and share it with the world. This publication aims to share those stories, struggles, innovations, tips and glories, positively. NO click bait, NO hard sells, NO doom and gloom, NO whining, NO rehashed PR content.
TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR HEART IN YOUR BUSINESS, AND YOUR BUSINESS IN YOUR HEART. - thomas watson Sr.
table of 06
Exit planning - perspectives on the big picture
08
Your sales pipeline with phil coley
09
Are freelancers the lifeblood of our economy?
12
go electric
15
bbq: uniting the division
19
Meet the Bosses...
24
making fitness work for you
26
company overview - Big red box pr
29
tax day. Are you affecteD?
No material may be reproduced in any way, or translated, without written permission of the publishers.
COPYRIGHT © 2020 IPLUS MEDIA
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that adverts and articles appear correctly, but The Business Owner Magazine cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by the contents of the publication.
The Business Owner Magazine is published by iPlus Media. Editorial: hello@iplusgroup.co.uk Telephone: 01242 312121 | Website: iplusmedia.co.uk Head office: Suite 2, 14 Union Street, Stroud, Glos, GL5 2HE
The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of its publisher or editor.
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operational
exit planning: Perspectives on the big picture According to research by Legal & General, nearly 60% of family businesses in the UK don’t have a succession plan in place. It is often a task shelved for ‘some other time’, until it’s too late. It is important for business owners, therefore, to consider the ‘big picture’ when it comes to succession planning. Should a key director retire, or crucial personnel suddenly depart, how would your organisation cope? And how can you prepare in advance to minimise the impact on your business should this happen, whether expected or otherwise? Three succession planning experts, from Legal 500-rated law firm Willans LLP, run through the key considerations for business owners…
START EARLY from Chris Wills, partner & head of corporate & commercial “There are, fundamentally, two types of exit: one brought about through choice (a trade sale or listing, or perhaps a management buyout or family succession) and one brought about through necessity (death or incapacity, or another change of circumstances). This makes it essential for every business leader to give some thought to what a planned exit may look like and how they would hope that a forced exit might look, no matter what stage they are at
in the business lifecycle. Early planning coupled with appropriate professional advice will help any business leader to ease this process and maximise the potential (or minimise the impact) of any exit. “Exit planning can take three to five years, so having a target in mind as soon as possible will enable a business leader to put measures in place that can steer the business in the desired direction with maximum impact. No matter what exit route is most desirable, three key ingredients to success are to invest in appropriate professional advice; to communicate with key stakeholders (such as the management team, if a management buyout is the desired option, or any family member that may be identified as a potential successor); and to keep all documents and records safe and in a well-organised manner. This way, any issues with the business can be readily identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity.”
MANAGE RETIREMENT
PLAN FOR THE UNEXPECTED
from Matthew Clayton, partner and head of employment law & data protection
from Rachel Sugden, senior associate solicitor, wills, trusts & probate
“A healthy succession plan avoids ‘blockages’ at the top and encourages up and coming new talent to move fluidly through the business. Managing the retirement of older workers is an essential and often-overlooked part of this strategy, but it can present a challenge; it has been reported that nearly a quarter of businesses are unsure of how to do this, and nearly 70% have no fixed retirement age (according to a CBI/Accenture study).
“It is not uncommon for the founding members to remain involved in the running of a business into their later years. Something that is rarely considered is the potential for a lack of capacity or even unexpected death of key individuals. “In each case, most people assume that their partners could manage without them or that their family could take their place. However, this may not necessarily be the case: business accounts may be frozen, leaving your partners unable to operate the simple every-day tasks of paying bills and salaries. It may be months before the account can be accessed, by which time it is possible that the business will have suffered irreparable damage.
“The default retirement age was scrapped in 2011. Since then, employers have had to make their own decisions as to whether to have a fixed retirement age, and if so, whether this is limited to certain roles. Some employers have decided not to adopt one at all, reasoning that most employees want to retire at some point, and most will do so before their abilities have declined to the point when the employer needs to take action on performance grounds.
“In terms of workforce succession planning, there is no obviously legitimate point at which to have a discussion with an older worker about their future plans and when they might finish working for the business. This may lead to discussions about when someone might retire (or vary their working patterns) not taking place at all. It is important that employers keep the lines of communication open with older workers about their future plans, and have effective procedures in place to deal with any health or performance issues that may arise.”
“Therefore, it is vital that all business people put in place lasting powers of attorney for their business interests and choose sensible and competent attorneys to take the reins. In fact, in some industries a business partner who fails to put such provision in place may be non-compliant with their professional regulations. “It is also important to make sure that the provisions of your will are sensible and suitable to the needs of both the business and your family. The correct combination of cross-option agreements and insurance policies can offer business partners the comfort of retaining control of the business following the death of a partner, whilst also ensuring that the cash benefit of that interest ends up in the hands of the bereaved family. These documents need to be drafted carefully to ensure that any available inheritance tax relief is not inadvertently lost in the process.” Willans’ legal experts are on hand with practical, clear and commercially-sound support, whatever challenges your business may face in the months or years ahead. Get in touch for more information:
www.willans.co.uk | law@willans.co.uk
sales
your sales
- with iPlus SaLes CEO, phil coley
Phil Coley, CEO at iPlus Sales, recently spoke about his expertise in pipelines and prospects. As Phil will tell you, there is no business without sales so ensuring your sales pipeline is always full and thriving is step number one in ensuring business success and longevity. You can view Phil’s presentation in full below.
A
b2b sales bootcamp Get working on bringing in more leads
Each day you will receive new content via email directly into your inbox. The Bootcamp is aimed at helping you to get more B2B leads and sales, giving you a structure to follow. Next course starts 26th April 2021 so book your place here: https://bit.ly/sales-boot-camp
people
ARE FREELANCERS THE
lifeblood of our economy?
If, like me, you work in the Creative Industry you’ll know just how important freelancers are; so imagine if you will, a world without freelancers and all that they bring to our industry. From Digital Marketers, UX designers, UX researchers, photographers, Creative Directors, Graphic Designers, Screen Skills Directors, dancers, actors, Marketing & PR you’ll understand how they operate and why they function as they do. The industry just operates with them and it works; they bring talent, creativity and ideas that you simply don’t get from a permanent employee; perhaps borne from the uncertainty of it all, their ideas are truly the lifeblood of the industry. Freelancers take the hit on holiday and sickness pay that a permanently employed person gets. They take the risk of being dropped with little to no notice on a project and they take the hit on being out of work for a period whilst waiting for other work. Yet despite all this, and despite their known importance across the industry they are still seen as the underdog to the wider world. And especially it would seem in the recent Government support following the Covid-19
pandemic. In a recent report by the Creative Industries Federation Andy Harrower, CEO, Directors UK said that the majority of Screen Directors are freelancers and as production halted due to the virus, their work has ceased. With the Creative Industry bringing £111.7 billion to our economy – that’s more than aerospace, automotive, life sciences oil & gas combined [Our World without Culture Report June 2020 Creative Industries Federation] – why are we still overlooking the community of freelancers? As the Creative Industry has grown over the last 20 years we are now, more than ever able to demonstrate how we have managed to adapt and grow, despite the banking crisis of 2008 and the following global recession. Perhaps now, in the face of
THE STATS
- For the majority (1.77 million), working on a freelance basis is their main occupation. - Freelancers are extremely valuable members of the UK economy, currently contributing approximately £125 billion.
opportunity and provide freelancers with financial and personal resilience. Our secondary focus has been to shift the understanding at local and national government level, which we’re achieving through reporting and challenging the decision makers of local strategy to really truly understand why freelancers are so vital to our local and national another recession that will inevitably follow the Covid pandemic, wider industry will look to us once again to help them respond as their businesses unfold. But in order to do so, they need to ask not ‘what we can do to be more like them’, but ‘what can they do to be more like us?’ There are currently over 2 million Freelancers in the UK. Not only do they bring financial value it is their wider breadth of knowledge, creative perspective and a deeper understanding of the creative process that is truly immeasurable. They adapt, and integrate whilst maintaining a holistic view that brings so much to the ecosystem of our Creative Industry. If you are looking to adapt for the post Pandemic world, then it is this talent that may well help you do so. The beauty of freelancers after all, is they are not headcount and they’d prefer not to be but they are colour and diversity where you may otherwise lack it. In Coventry & Warwickshire our focus has been supporting freelancers in two ways. Our primary focus has been to develop a programme of networks, collaborations with wider business to increase
economic picture. The ecosystem for freelancers is powerful, from OpentoWork.uk, to the amazing help of recruiters in the freelancer industry like Beyond the Book, to Grant fund advisors like Amy Dalton Hardy and us, at Fresh Seed, providing commercial support and training, aswell as amazing books available by Sarah Townsend and Alison Grade, we feel now is the best time to be a freelancer and a great opportunity to share the advantages they offer to the world. If you’re a freelancer in need of HR help during this time, contact Sarah Brewster at Fresh Seed.
www.freshseed.co.uk | 01926 357355
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Environmental
We tested a BMW330e M sport Saloon Auto: With the government pushing us to go green and wanting us to drive electric cars, manufacturers are frantically producing new models to fit this gap. Personally I think there is still a way to go before we can all go electric, it’s not because I don’t agree with them, it’s just the logistics and for many it’s just not practical for everyday driving. Don’t get me wrong, if you do standard journeys to and from work with the occasional long journey or you are very well organised and can plan your day out to allow for ½ hour stops to charge your car up then Electric is great.
Go
Unfortunately that’s not me, I’m lucky if I remember my phone, keys, wallet, laptop, sandwiches and coat so to plan a whole day of driving, allowing for regular stops and being on time isn’t going to happen! Not only that I would probably forget to charge the car up the night before so my first job would be calling the customer to say I’m running late whilst sat at a charging station! So for someone like me what is the solution? Well, I have been handed the keys to a BMW 330e M sport Auto saloon. It has a 2.0 litre petrol engine producing 185bhp and a battery that produces a further 108bhp giving a total of 292bhp. It will whisk you to 63mph in 5.8 seconds and will take you 34 miles on electric only. This means that you can do most of your short trips, taking the kids to school, popping down to the shops or visiting the
in laws all on electric only and when you need to do the longer trips you have a petrol engine to assist. Driving up the motorway today I managed over 40mpg which surprised me and better than I was expecting. I was also recharging the battery whilst driving so when I got to a town I could switch to electric only mode so for me this is the perfect solution to the electric problem.
The Car: This is the new 3 series which has now been out a couple of years and I’ve got to say I am very impressed with the car. The car I drove was in Portimao Blue with upgraded alloy wheels and sun protection glass, it really made the car stand out. Inside you get all the mod cons that you would expect from a premium car with sat nav, bluetooth, DAB radio, heated leather sports seats, front and rear parking sensors and a rear reversing camera. BMW have both a large touch screen and a traditional dial by the gear leaver which is a nice touch as I find they are easier to use whilst driving. I’m a big fan of the BMW MMi as its fairly easy to use and you can be on your way quickly. You can also spend hours looking at all the other features when you are stuck in a traffic jam! This new 3 series feels plusher than the previous version and has a premium feel to it with solid plastics above and below the eye line. The old 3 series always felt claustrophobic whereas this feels more spacious.
The Drive: As with all BMW’s you have a sportier drive, the handling is precise and direct. Paddles on the steering wheel or click the gear leaver to the left allows you to drive in manual mode so you can push the car if you fancy being more like Stirling Moss. There is also a choice of sport, normal and electric
mode from the switches next to the gear level. With 292bhp under your right foot acceleration is swift when required so overtaking is relaxed rather than fraught with will I make it!! So, are there any downsides to the BMW? The one that sticks out most to me is the batteries take up some of the boot space but for once BMW offer rear seat folding as standard instead of an optional extra so that helps and if you do lots of load lugging then you can always choose the estate version. For anyone doing more than the standard to and from work and wants to take a step towards going green then the 330e Hybrid should be on your short list. Company car drivers will see a massive drop from their current diesel cars P11d values for example a 2.0 diesel BMW will cost you £215pm as a 20% tax payer whereas the 330e will cost you £70pm, a saving of £145 and if you are a 40% taxpay you can double that to nearly £300pm.
The deets: Vehicle: BMW 330e M Sport Saloon Auto Fuel: Petrol Electric Plug in Hybrid Transmission: Automatic BHP 292bhp Co2 emissions: 34g/km Max range on electric only 33 miles EC Combined fuel figures 188.3mpg (Battery completed 34mpg) NCAP rating 5 P11d value £42079.99 BIK 20% £70.13 / 40% £140.27 20% taxpayer £70.13pm 40% taxpayer £140.27
If you want to learn more about electric cars, then the team at MPH Vehicle Solutions can answer your questions and queries. Shop their latest cars now:
www.mphvehiclesolutions.co.uk
BMW330e M sport Saloon Auto
people
UNITING THE DIVISION. WITH In a little over a year, and during a global pandemic, Suzuki’s Motorcycle, Marine and ATV division have transformed themselves, significantly turning around their engagement scores, changing their culture and adopting a brand-new name. How did they do it? Let us tell you… First, go back to summer 2019. Suzuki’s Motorcycle, Marine and ATV division had undergone a re-organisation, there had been a change of senior leaders and they were facing several challenges. There was a lack of clarity around vision and values, managers weren’t all working as a team and employee engagement was at an all-time low. An employee engagement survey confirmed this – with only 17% of employees actively engaged and 22% actively disengaged. So now let’s fast forward to October 2020. A subsequent employee survey showed that in just over a year, the ‘actively engaged’ score had increased nearly four-fold to 61%, and ‘actively disengaged’ had dropped to zero. Paul de
Lusignan, Division Director, picks up the story. “When the June 2019 results came out, we were shocked. Everyone in the team was passionate and hard-working, but it was clear that we weren’t working as a team. We had plenty of technical expertise and experience, but we’d lost sight of the importance of how our people felt. We knew we needed to find a solution – and we needed it fast.” Paul contacted Freddie Guilmard Managing Director at The Red Thread Partnership. “We already knew Freddie, who had worked previously with Suzuki on developing our company values. He suggested we start on The Red Thread’s High-Performing Teams
programme, and after some thought, I decided that was the way forward.” Over the next few months, Freddie worked with the team’s six senior leaders. In early sessions, the team reviewed their current state of play, created a visual map of their division and ways of working, started to build deeper trust among themselves by understanding their strengths and blind spots, and crafted a powerful new vision statement – ‘We are a united team, working in partnership with our customers to deliver commercial success, with fun, passion, courage and pride.’ Along with the new vision, the leaders decided they also needed a new identity for the team. As Paul explains: “Within the division we have three distinct product ranges, which tended previously to act as separate businesses. To help unite us, and give us an identity that was both memorable and fun, we came up with the name BBQ (Bikes, Boats and Quads).” So, BBQ now had an identity and a clear vision – but then suddenly the whole country went into lockdown! Not being able to be physically together was a setback for the team but, as Paul says, “In that enforced break from business-as-usual, we had weekly, rather than just monthly, coaching sessions with Freddie, and we created a lot of new materials.” In some ways, remote working actually helped what BBQ were doing. Regular team-wide meetings and socials online were established and became the norm. Above all, the leaders continued to work towards the BBQ vision. Freddie comments: “That first lockdown was the point where many managers would have cut the budget and held back. But that’s not what Paul did. Instead, he asked, ‘how can we go on with the journey?’.” The division’s leaders held an online launch event for Team BBQ, to engage the whole
division in the journey so far, and this was followed up with a launch to the whole company. Paul comments: “Our immediate team had already seen and felt change happening, and they were very positive about our new identity and approach, but some in the wider company questioned why we were doing this during a pandemic.” The team also decided to refresh their working environment and put up a set of framed posters in the streamlined office, proudly displaying the new team name, vision and products, and creating a clear ‘home’ for the team. The new identity and vision were well received and got the attention of people in the rest of the organisation. Equally important was to monitor how the whole division was feeling and engaging with the change. So, the management team introduced Officevibe, an online engagement tool that asks team members a random assortment of five questions every week to gauge how they are feeling. Initially, the team’s ‘Wellness’ scores were low, prompting BBQ’s leaders to look at practical ways of increasing wellbeing – such as getting away from home-desks for a walk at lunchtime. Head of Motorcycles, Jonathan Martin, reflects on the change journey so far: “It’s been challenging – especially finding the time to look at new ways forward and making this an integral part of the day job. But it’s been worthwhile. We’ve all adapted,
and we’re proud of that.” Jonathan says the team is now viewed far more positively from outside. “In the past, people saw my part of the business – motorcycles – as scary and hard to understand. Now they see BBQ as a united team, and they’ve started to see and feel the changes we’ve made.” Jonathan adds, however, that the whole team is aware that the journey has to go on. “We’ve achieved a lot, but we can’t take our foot off the pedal. To sustain the changes, we need to really live by them.” BBQ team member Scott Farmer describes the transformation journey from the point of view of the wider team: “It’s been a massive turnaround. We feel we now have a clear structure and direction, and every team member feels valued, which means there’s an increased feel-good factor around the team.” In his role as Business Support Specialist, Scott is well placed to understand the positive effects of team engagement on business performance. Just as importantly, as an employee forum representative, he has seen at first hand the increase in team members’ personal engagement levels. He comments: “All the challenges of the past couple of years – including the restructure and working through the pandemic – have brought us closer. We’ve all learned together how to use remote-working technology, to have virtual team meetings and hold regular socials online. All this has helped make us more of a united force. And, considering the very difficult market, our
business results have been phenomenal. Scott also speaks highly of BBQ’s senior managers for continuing to drive forward the change they want to see. “It’s very refreshing and encouraging that we have come this far, and it’s fantastic to feel that team BBQ as a whole are really committed to moving forward.” Denis Houston, Suzuki’s Director of Aftersales, gives an external view of the team’s transformation. He is impressed with Paul for driving forward his vision and culture change, and with how the wider team has engaged with the process. “People who saw the division as it was 18 months ago wouldn’t have believed they could do it. I give them 10 out of 10.” Freddie describes the next step for the team as ‘Equip’ – equipping managers to achieve a lasting transformation. In some ways, he says, this will be the hard part. “It’s not enough just to have a great culture – you need to embed and sustain it. Don’t be afraid to keep challenging yourselves – that’s what leads to continuous improvement. Being a high-performing team is a job.” Paul adds: “The recent company survey shows how we’ve dramatically changed our team dynamic and improved the working lives of every one of our team. But we didn’t need a survey to tell us that; you can feel it every day. There were initially doubters across the company, but we’ve shown that establishing a great culture and driving for a high-performance team can be achieved even in the midst of a global pandemic. In fact, it’s a credit to the whole team that we’ve emerged stronger after so many months of uncertainty and remote working. I couldn’t be prouder of what’s been achieved.
If you are interested in anything you’ve read here you can get in touch with the team at Suzuki to learn more about BBQ. 01908 336750 | pdl@suzuki.co.uk | www.suzuki.co.uk
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E E R F R O F Y R T ITMEN M M O C O 1 4 DAY, N
T TRIAL
meet the bosses
with Liz hillary & John Robinthwaite - Name
Liz Hillary and John Robinthwaite
- Company
JPR Environmental
- Position
Company Directors (and husband and wife)
- Industry
Ecological contracting
What does your company do?
‘shop’ at home.
We provide a landscaping service specialising in Ecological works on development sites and wetland works for both habitat improvement and water treatment.
L: Deciding to work together as partners in the business when we were also partners outside work! It could have gone horribly wrong not to mention the fact that both of our livelihoods were now dependent on one source of income.
When was the company started? L: John started as a sole trader in the autumn of 2000 and the company was incorporated in November 2002. How does the company differ today from when you started 21 years ago? J: 21 years ago, I started as a sole trader, it has since developed into a skilled landscaping team able to offer a variety of services to clients. We work as the main contractor on larger scale projects or offer solutions to issues on development sites, both in a timely and cost-effective manner. What has been one of the bravest decisions you have had to make in the 21 years of the company? J: Working with my wife! Whilst it made a lot of sense when our son was young and allowed a lot of flexibility – it also meant that we had to succeed because there was no other income coming into the family. It takes a strong relationship to both live and work with the same person – luckily in our case this has been so – though it does take an effort not to talk
However, there have been plenty of other nerve-wracking decision-making experiences since then from employing more staff to deciding to carry on through the pandemic and trust that there was light at the end of the tunnel. How important have staff been in your development as a company? J: The staff within the company have been essential to our development – from project managers, site supervisors, office managers and plant & machinery operators. Our work is very physical and requires a good degree of self-motivation (despite the vagaries that the British weather can throw at us). Having a good team with a good team spirit has been the driving force behind our success. L: Our staff have been essential to our development – their skills and experience, commitment and hard work continue to impress us. We are able to leave more and more to them and ourselves, concentrate more and more on developing the company. What are your company values?
J: We believe in undertaking quality work for our clients, whilst maintaining a respect for the environment that the landscape or development will be in for the future. L: We aim to do quality work for our clients which is probably (you would hope) what any company would say. Where we get the greatest satisfaction is from some of the long-term relationships where we can take the pressure from our clients of the day-to-day stresses of managing wildlife mitigation projects or the maintenance of water treatment systems. With these projects, we feel that we offer real value for money. It’s important to us to be fair to our staff and suppliers and to treat them in the same way that we would want to be treated. We aim to be clear in our expectations but also open to the difficulties that others inevitably come under and we help out personally wherever we can. What changes or challenges do you foresee for your company in the next three years? J: There is a large unknown as to future environmental legislation as a result of Brexit which has yet to become clear. Many of our conservation works have also been dependant on EU funding – it will be interesting to see if future Green Infrastructure works are able to access the same degree of support. L: An economic recession would affect us as it would affect any company. One thing is for certain, that we are living in a rapidly changing world and that the rate of change is speeding up all the time – this presents us with a challenge to keep pace with these changes. Are you optimistic, realistic or pessimistic about 2021? J: I am optimistic about 2021, we are looking to invest both in machinery and people which will improve the
level of service that we are able to offer. L: We feel optimistic about 2021. It was hard to know what was going to happen when the lockdown first started in May of last year, what demand for our services would we be coming back to? However, we had an extremely busy 2020 and 2021 has started with plenty of demand for our services. We can’t be complacent though and our hearts go out to all those businesses and individuals who have been adversely affected by the pandemic. What is your company’s most important KPI? J: We measure the time spent on each project and measure that against our target daily income rate for each type of worker. This enables us to keep a track of which projects are profitable (and which are not). There are always lessons to be learnt from each job to make our lives easier in the future, whether that be in the choice of machinery, subcontractors used or problems that were encountered. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes so long as you learn from them. L: The financial KPI that we analyse the most is the amount we make per hour once all our fixed costs are accounted for. It is not an exact science but it gives us a good idea
of how one project compares to another and what each project is contributing to the financial whole.
safe. After that it is probably weather and HR issues (although it can be very rewarding to get a solution to HR problems).
What positive effects has your company experienced during lockdowns?
If you could instantly change one area or thing about your business, what would it be?
J: In the first lockdown, whilst at first people enjoyed being at home everyone soon realised that actually they enjoyed coming to work! Our team spirit has never been higher. We are very fortunate that because all of our work is outdoor the control measures regarding protection against Covid-19 have not been too restrictive. L: The lockdown has allowed us to focus on what we do want to do but also highlighted the kind of work that we want to focus on and what we don’t want to focus on. The employment situation, whilst we recognise the difficulties it has caused a lot of people, has meant that there are some fantastic people out there looking for work whom we have been able to employ. What causes you the most stress in your business?
J: It would be to have more space, even though I am sure that whatever space we would have in our works compound we would manage to fill it! L: Our workspace is pretty good but to have the perfect workspace, with plenty of storage area and to have the office closer to the yard would help to create an even more cohesive team. How would you rank the following in order of importance for you in your business? (1 most, 5 least) J: Environmental 1 Team communication 2 Strong financial data 3 Sales pipeline 4 Social media 5 L: Environmental 1 Sales pipeline 2 Team communication 3 Strong financial data 4 Social media 5 If you went back 21 years would you do it all again? J: Yes – I struggle to think I would be happy working for anyone else! L: Yep!
J: If I am allowed two, it would be the joys and unpredictability of machinery breakdowns and the vagaries of the British weather – work life is so much easier when the sun is shining! L: That is a fascinating question! I would say health and safety – the risk of having an accident and making sure that everyone is
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wellbeing
making
fitness
for you..
As business owners we understand the importance of making the business work for us!! Often there are many hurdles to tackle to make this happen. Covid and its huge impact has made this much more challenging, but who does not love a challenge!! If pre covid you were like myself, beginning to see a shift from working in the business to working on business – this will return (it better!!!) Many of us have had to work harder this year than the early start up years just to survive, others to thrive!! With the largest easing of lockdown imminent at a time when most business owners are exhausted, we need to
look after ourselves. We should all be going on holiday, not about to push even harder. As this perfect storm of tiredness and busy collide with the expectation of ramping up for the big reopen, fitness and healthy food must be a fundamental piece to getting though the next few months and beyond!! By nature of a business owner the plan for many will be that of an extreme – setting goals of marathons or 750 calories a day or dropping 2 stone in a month, but not this time!!
YOUR EXERCISE SHOULD; - Provide an escape - Be enjoyable - Not create more time stress - Not be painful - Create progress
YOUR FOOD SHOULD; - Be enjoyable - Provide nutrition - Provide constant fuel - Not create more time stress - Be closest to its natural state
You need to make sure the above becomes a tick list. If running isn’t your thing, don’t do it! If you only have 30 minutes 4 times a week, don’t set a goal of an hour 6 times a week!! Look for ways that exercise can fit into your day, going forward; - park 20 minutes away from the office – brisk walk in and jog back to the car at the end of the day. Twice a week! - cycle in to work. Once a week! - do a yoga session. Once a week!
BOOM! 4 SESSIONS, WITHOUT EVEN THINKING! As many of you know, I have been in the fitness industry for over 20 years and its my passion, so my own fitness is right up there as a priority!! This has been so important this year to keeping my stable and strong, both mentally & physically – THE SAME NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR YOU!! We are nearly out of the woods! But in nature this leaves us more exposed!! Line up your food, fitness and health progression alongside the reopen. Check out www.xerlife.com to make this a little easier!! If you would like to make this a little a easier for yourslef, get in touch with Paul at Xerlife: paulwanford@xerlife.com | www.xerlife.com
company overview Welcome to the Business Owners Magazine quick interview – conducted in a very socially distanced fashion! Here we try and get an insight into a company leader and their industry to find out what makes them tick and how their challenges and lessons could help you in your business.
big red box pr
- Name
Louise Bruce
- Company
Big Red Box PR
- Position
Managing Director
- Industry
Public Relations
What was your first job or role after education? Having been politely asked to ‘leave’ boarding school at the age of 16, I moved to London and completed my studies at a crammer college. A few days after my final exam I realised I needed money to fund my chronic coloured tights and B&H habit, so I put on my best frock and went into every shop on Sloane Street, asking for a job in each until I got one. I started work at designer clothes retailer, Joseph Bis, a few days later. I learned so much from that job. a) Standing up all day is agony. b) Rich and famous people can be incredibly rude (Lauren Bacall was one of the worst). c) Never trust clothes in a sale; my uniform I’d been washing and wearing the entire season was marked down to half price and sold to the unsuspecting public. Could you describe your career path for the reader? I was married at 23 and spent 18yrs as the wife of a British Army Officer; a role I took very seriously and put my heart and soul into. Living all over the world and adapting
to many challenging circumstances (bombs in Belfast, Battalion deployment to Bosnia and the Gulf War etc), gave me an incredible training for the job I do today. Whilst stationed in Osnabruck, Germany, I secured a job writing for a British Army newspaper, Sixth Sense. The stories I wrote varied from reports on the latest Wives’ Club fundraiser to interviewing military personnel. I was paid by the word, so worked hard to find as many interesting stories on my patch as I could. As the Commanding Officer’s wife at the time, I was often interviewed by BFBS radio (British Forces Broadcasting Service) about upcoming events etc. I really enjoyed these interviews and, on return to the UK, marched into the now defunct Garrison Radio in Tidworth and asked for a job, which I duly got, giving me my first paid job on the radio, as a broadcast journalist. Another posting for my husband meant the search for another new job for me. A very talented presenter friend made me an outstanding demo tape to go with my application for a job at Star Radio, Cheltenham. Incredibly, and due I’m sure only to the quality of the demo tape, I got the job. When I asked which news-shift I’d be
covering I was told ‘co-host on the breakfast show’. That was some learning curve. I’d never ‘driven’ a live desk in my life and cried on my first day. I was still pretty bad at it by the time I left to be honest, frequently leaving my mic ‘open’ so the whole of Cheltenham could hear me gossiping with a colleague during songs. I was particularly bad a ‘back timing’ up to the news. I |particularly I loved going out and about interviewing people in shops and businesses across town, for a feature on my mid-morning show called the ‘Work place takeover’. Colleagues noticed I had a knack for choosing locations with free food and drink. After a few years of radio, I decided PR was a better use of my skills, joined a local firm and a few years after that, set up Big Red Box PR on my own.
Are you optimistic, realistic or pessimistic about 2021? Good question: I think realistic bordering on optimistic. I specialise in the franchise sector who of course trade across a myriad of sectors and, alongside big losses there have also been some big gains in many areas. I was chair of EWIF (Encouraging Women into Franchising) a few years ago and have recently been reading about the incredible successes some of their award winners have had in the last 12 months. As long as your particular marketplace is still able to trade, those who put high standards, professionalism, exceptional service and the welfare of their staff at the top of their agenda, seem to be winning hands down. What is the most important task you carry out each day? Stepping away from my desk. My brain sometimes just stops working and, much like a laptop that has frozen, I need to switch it off and back on again. I need to be creative in my thinking and if the cogs seize up, then we’re done for.
What is your current role and what is your favourite part about it? I am a one-woman band so do absolutely everything in the business. I work incredibly closely with my clients, truly becoming part of the team, planning and delivering their PR and social media strategy. It is crucial that I get to know every part of their business so I can take advantage of PR opportunities when I see them. I love talking to people, teasing stories out of them that they didn’t even realise existed. I recently discovered one of my clients has seven father and son teams working with him…an incredible story that I’ve got saved up for Father’s Day in June. My brain is constantly scanning for PR opportunities and for building best practice into each business so that, should they wish to enter awards in the future, they have a bank of great stories and results to draw on. My favourite part? All of it.
My break might be unloading the dishwasher, hanging out the washing, taking the dogs for a walk or having a nap. We are not machines and I honestly believe it is unhealthy and unrealistic to think that just because your bottom is sat on a chair in front of a desk from 9 am till 5pm you are ‘working’. It worries me terribly that young people are working ridiculously long hours and feel it is beholden on us, the older generation, many of whom are now ‘the boss’, to say ‘stop’. It really is just a job and you’ll be much better at it if you step away from your desk for long enough to enjoy returning to it. What advice would you give to your 21 year old self about your career journey? If I could go back a bit further to 16, I’d have said, ‘knuckle down, go to university and pursue a proper career’ but knowing me I wouldn’t have listened, I’d have been halfway down a gin and tonic looking for the
next opportunity to get up to mischief. My boarding school eventually gave me a key to the front door so I could go out to dinner with my boyfriend in the evenings. I’m presuming they thought it was safer to let me go rather than catch me climbing out of a window? To my 21yr old self I’d say ‘it’s going to be one hell of a ride; you’ll learn every single lesson the hard way but you will find enormous satisfaction in being self-employed.’ Have there been any positives about 2020 and lockdown for you? On balance probably not. I lost most of my clients at the beginning of Covid 19 and as the Director of a Limited company, I am one of the three million #Excluded who received no meaningful support from the Government. Drawing on an in-built resilience I appear to have picked up over the years though, I dug deep and have now built the business back up to pre-covid levels, with new clients who I am thoroughly enjoying working for. What causes you the most stress at work? The inability to predict whether stories I draft for clients and send to the press will be used. I can send similar stories (eg: a business rebrand/acquisition) to two different regions, one area will lap it up gaining coverage everywhere, while the other will ignore it completely. The press have, like all industries, suffered
during the pandemic and with journalists working from home I can’t even phone them to have a chat, so it’s just a case of ‘email and see’ which is really difficult. If you could instantly change one area or thing about your business, what would it be? I wish I did not have to pay the Copyright Licensing Authority and the Newspaper Licensing Authority money to receive and share coverage that I wrote. That really annoys me. Without the content written by PR’s, most media publications would be empty, and yet we get charged to see copies of our own work. How is that fair?! What do you do to unwind? I run. I started running a few years ago, have two half marathons and numerous triathlons under my belt and am looking forward to getting back to competing in 10k races at weekends. I also entertain a lot and also spend a lot of time camping in my motorhome. If you could give a single piece of advice to a start up entrepreneur what would that be? From a PR perspective, try to make sure you do things ‘right’ from the start. It is never too early to think about CSR and PR credentials. Ask yourself, what good is my company going to do? How is it going to make life better for other people, for the planet? What are the pillars you want to build your business on? Write them down, pin them on the wall and keep referring to them. In the early days you may not be making huge amounts of money or winning big contracts, so be noticed for being the good guys instead and by having those standards, in place you’ll be heading in the right direction from day one.
If you are interested in the services that Lousie can offer your business, then you can get in touch today: www.bigredboxpr.com | louise@bigredboxpr.com
accounting
TAX DAY. are you affected? The Treasury has released 30 updates and consultations that will set the stage for the future of tax in Britain. Dubbed the (not so imaginative but nevertheless clear) title of Tax Day, we take a look at the key take home points and discuss what they mean going forward. One major thing to note from the announcement is the lack of suggestions surrounding reforms to pension relief tax. There were calls for the Chancellor to avoid a major overhaul of the pension tax system, with providers claiming that a removal of higher rate tax relief would be felt across the board, potentially most by those in public sector defined benefit schemes. However, for now that seems to have been put on a back burner, along with any big changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) or self-employed taxation. Regarding business rates, the Treasury did not publish any significant reform plans, instead claiming it would set out its final conclusions in the autumn. That said, there were changes that may prove important for some.
TAX BILLS MOVE FORWARD Under proposals, millions of people and small businesses may see their self-assessment and corporation tax come forward after 2024. The government has suggested that moving the timing of these payment brings the system closer to working in real time and that it is seeking “to explore
some of the benefits and challenges of more timely payment of tax”. However, the proposal has been acknowledged by the financial secretary to the Treasury as a significant change that would potentially see those eligible paying two years’ worth of tax in a single year.
RED TAPE REDUCTION FOR INHERITANCE TAX For grieving families, a sure to be welcome proposal published yesterday is the simplification of Inheritance Tax (IHT). Under the suggestions, form completion will no longer be required for estates whose value is significantly under the IHT threshold after probate. The change will affect over 90% of non-taxpaying estates. Reporting regulations are set to be amended later this year with the change coming into effect from 1st January 2022.
TOUGHER STANCE ON AVOIDANCE SCHEMES AND SECOND HOMES The consultations also highlighted the Treasury’s efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance schemes. These include new plans to close down promoters of such organisations accompanied with the freezing of assets. Owners of holiday lets will also be affected by the proposals, as the government plans to tighten tax legislation for those with second homes. The issue with the current system is that no checks are required to verify this. Under the government’s proposals, legislation to tighten the rules would ensure that those applying for business rates, and therefore business rates relief, are not exploiting the process. If you have any queries about how the proposals may affect you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team at Brunsdon Financial. www.brunsdonfinancial.co.uk | 01452 623623
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WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE? You know you can be successful, if you have the guts in life. You know you can reach so far, if your look is towards the star. You will reach your goal, if you know your role. So, all the best for the path, your destinatin is near, look for it!
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