SOCIETY

SNAPPED

ACROSS BRISTOL, ONE SHINDIG AT A TIME

Ed Schofi eld, Lindy Campbell, Sandy Hore-Ruthven, Heather Frankham and Richard Anthony

NEW PHASE Origin Workspace recently celebrated the launch of its Phase 2 building, housing a range of coworking and private oٻ ces dedicated to entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-up businesses. The launch completes the Š!m renovation of the award-winning coworking space that provides a home for ‘grow on’ businesses needing premium space.

Photos by Millard Photography

EMPOWERED Neath Raisbeck Golding Law have established a supportive networking group celebrating women in business, connecting their strengths, interests and needs to create their own success. The next event will be hosted held at their oٻ ce in +lifton on Wednesday 20 May 2020. Kat Haylock, Chris Goodfellow, Emma Durkin and Shalin Pather

Matthew Robinson, Lynda Brown and Mark Botha

Xxx Pauline Cox, Ruthie Johnson, Natasha Poole and Leanne Lolley

Emily Herberston, Sally Coulden, Louise Poole, Susi Titchener, Alice Peacock, Louise Higham, Pauline Cox, Trish Johnson and Yasmine Collins

Yasmine Collins, Megan Taylor and Helen Snell

INVEST IN YOUR BIGGEST ASSET – PEOPLE

WWW.PINNACLERECRUITINGSPECIALISTS.COM

Providing specialist permanent recruiting services along the M4 corridor Aspiring to change the perception of the recruitment industry.

Meet the Accountant

When it comes to money matters, these experts really know their stuff

EDWARD CORRIGAN CORRIGAN ACCOUNTANTS 0117 928 1970; www.corrigan.co.uk

Who are you? Corrigan Accountants are a Bristol accountancy firm with independent spirit and positive energy, supporting growth in Bristol businesses by providing a broad range of accounting, tax and advisory services, delivered by an experienced, flexible team. As a growing business ourselves, we understand the demands of meeting ambitious growth plans – whether that is staying ahead of industry innovation, scaling up, business planning or tax efficient strategies to name but a few. What challenges do you predict businesses facing in 2020/2021? Whilst it is helpful that we have a little more certainty around the Brexit issue, most would agree that this next transition period will be vital to understand the impacts and opportunities for business. We can help mitigate some of these risks by planning for these changes using sophisticated financial modelling tools which can show outcomes based on various scenarios. We have our ear to the ground and are ready to advise our clients on the impacts of Brexit as soon as they become clear. Do you specialize in a specific area of expertise? We are ready to help start-up businesses from day one, with an expertise in the tech sector and with fast-growing tech business including experience of R&D tax credits and EMI share incentives, through to support in debt funding to eventual management buyout or sale.

ANDREW JORDAN MILSTED LANGDON 0117 945 2500; www.milsted-langdon.co.uk

What changes to the tax and investment systems are coming up in 2020? The change affecting many of my clients is the potential reform to Entrepreneurs’ Relief. The Conservative Party Manifesto, released prior to the December 2019 election, stated that Entrepreneurs’ Relief would be reviewed. It has since been reported that Boris Johnson has suggested that the tax break for entrepreneurs in its current form is likely to be scrapped. The Budget is scheduled to take place on 11 March 2020, and whilst nothing is certain, it is likely that we will see significant reform of the relief, if not its complete abolition. Do you specialize in a specific area of expertise? I work across a wide range of sectors, but I have particular expertise and experience working with owner managed or private equity backed businesses, especially those who are fast growing, scaling up, changing or preparing for an exit. Whilst I work with a broad range of businesses, it’s not just about me. I couldn’t do my job without my specialist colleagues. As a team, we have corporate tax, R&D, VAT, corporate finance, intervention, insolvency and restructuring, forensic accountancy and business innovation specialists who work with me to help my clients thrive. Edward Corrigan

Lisa White

LISA WHITE DUNKLEY’S CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS 01454 619900; www.dunkleys.accountants

What challenges do you predict businesses will face in 2020/2021? For me, the biggest challenge that businesses will face in 2020/21 is the fall out of Brexit and the implications that come with it. Hopefully we will know more when the budget is revealed on 11th March. Aside from this, I believe the enforcement of Making Tax Digital on businesses by the Government is also a key challenge. As specialists in this area, we can help you to realise the potential of Cloud Accounting software and show you how it can truly benefit your business. What’s the best advice you would give at the start of the tax year? Speak to your advisors before you engage in transactions. Receiving proactive advice from professionals will help you have a prosperous 2020/21. What preparations can you and your business make as the end of the financial year approaches? My recommendation is to take advantage of the tax reliefs available. If you are an individual, make sure you are aware of your ISA and pension contribution allowances. I would also take this time to look forward and think about your budgets and forecasting for 2020/21. If you need support with any pre-year planning, please feel free to get in touch.

Andrew Jordan

DAMIAN EVANS EVANS ENTWISTLE 0117 301 8607; www.evansentwistle.co.uk

What should be your clients’ priorities at the start of the financial year? We like to conduct a strategic review with our clients every year, enabling them to ascertain what their priorities should be for the forthcoming financial year. We can then advise on the most tax efficient means of delivering achieving those goals. All of our practice principals have worked in business at senior level, so we hope that our practical advice and management experience adds value to the client year round. What is the most frequent problem you encounter this time of year? At this time of year, I’m pleased to say our “problems” are minimal! January is always a challenge as our intention is to ensure that 100% of our clients’ self assessment returns are filed on time. Now that deadline has passed, we’re focusing on reviewing our clients’ current position and helping them strengthen and grow their businesses. What first attracted you to the industry? Aside from a fascination with numbers and a penchant for creating Excel models, I relished the opportunity to work with business owners and make a real difference. Sound advice can make all the difference between being in the black versus being in the red, and nothing spurs us on more than seeing our clients succeed.

Marketing matters

If you want your business to thrive in 2020 and beyond, here are 5 marketing mistakes you will want to avoid.

What does 2020 look like for your business? Essentially one of three things could happen; it will thrive by smashing growth targets, you could see it sailing through with consistent year-onyear results, or possibly, your business could struggle and underperform.

The strength of a business’s marketing will have an infl uence on this outcome. It is no surprise then that marketing, especially online marketing, is the go-to strategy for growing businesses. Here are 5 marketing mistakes you’ll want to avoid in 2020...

1. LEAVE YOUR WEBSITE TO IT Keep your website updated. It sounds simple, but many businesses build their site then leave it for months, sometimes years. It is important to keep it up-to-date; technically so it is secure and performing well, and by adding new content and functionality that help you to grow your business. If you have invested money into getting potential customers to visit your website then don’t leave them disappointed when they get there. Give them a good experience by ensuring your site is attractive, mobile-friendly, easy to read, loads quickly and there are no broken elements. Provide them with the information they are expecting, so it is easy for them to take the next action in your sales process, such as contacting your company or purchasing a product.

2. IGNORE SEO Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of increasing your company’s visibility on search engines such as Google or Bing.

There is no magic wand when it comes to SEO, and successful SEO happens when a business is getting the rest of its marketing communications strategy right, with content marketing and online PR playing important roles in demonstrating Google’s E - A - T guidelines: Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Reviews play an important role in building trust, *90% of consumers will read online reviews before visiting or contacting a business.

3. RELY ON JUST ONE CHANNEL A channel, put simply, is a way to reach your customers with your marketing message. The rise of social media and other digital platforms over the last 20 years has given way to a huge increase in the number of marketing channels available. The decision making process facing today’s marketers about which channels to use, how and when, can feel overwhelming.

Rather than asking, ‘What channels should we use for our business?’ Ask yourself these three questions: ‘Who are my customers?’ ‘Where do they spend their time?’ ‘What channels shall I start with to reach them?’

As the largest search engine, Google provides a big opportunity to businesses looking to reach customers searching for their products and services online. With 49%** of all clicks coming from Google Ads campaigns this channel should be a key part of your marketing strategy if you are looking to drive traffic to your website.

4. DON’T KEEP UP WITH COMPETITORS To gain the edge over competitors, you should review where you sit in the market relative to the competition and define why a customer should choose you over them. The digital world moves fast and throws up new opportunities but the fundamentals of marketing research, strategy and planning haven’t changed for decades, only the technology that we use.

As such, competitor research and positioning remain critical in planning for success. Using time-tested tools such as the 7 Ps (product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and processes) will help you when reviewing your place in the market. Take each in turn and compare yourselves with your competitors. It will help you to uncover your business’s strengths and weaknesses and enable you to go on and communicate your unique selling points (USPs) to your customers, i.e. why they should choose you over the competition.

5. TAKE NO NOTICE OF YOUR DATA Data is essential for good marketing planning. Relying on your instinct or what you think you know about your market is not enough.

We all have questions about how we should move our businesses forward. The answers are in the data and advances in digital marketing means that it is more accessible than ever.

Google Analytics, your social media accounts and online tools such as Ahrefs and MOZ provide a plethora of data about your audience. This will uncover opportunities such as potential new markets for your product or service. It will also help to guide you in terms of where you spend your time and efforts promoting your business. n

Nivo Digital, based near Temple Meads in Bristol, helps business owners and marketers get results on search engines (SEO, PPC) and via social platforms as well as designing customerfocused websites. Find out how to get more customers and beat the competition, visit www.nivo.co.uk/thrive for a free marketing and website review or call 0117 251 0115. Email: hello@nivo.co.uk *Forbes **Search Engine Land