The Edge - 14 Digital - Welcome to 2014

for business

DIGITAL FOLLOW US on twitter!

for 2014 12 Business outlooks Get ready for IFB2014 Big Trends Grow Your Business n Manor Look around Thornto

In Association with:

Events and Networking Diary

. . . o t e m o welc

HE’LL BE BACK. WILL YOU?

THE OPEN HOSPITALITY. MADE TO ENTERTAIN. THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ROYAL LIVERPOOL 16 - 20 july 2014 TO Book TICKETS AND official on-course hospitality packageS Contact our hospitality team now on: T: +44 (0)844 371 0883 or email: hospitality@TheOpen.com Ref: The Edge Please visit TheOpen.com/hospitality for further information.

2570_The_Open_TheEdge_FAW.indd 1

05/11/2013 13:47

Welcome to 2014 from the Edge Digital…

New Year is the perfect time for fresh challenges and opportunities.

At the Edge magazine we have embraced that by launching the Edge Digital.

Our Digital editions will be published bi monthly on alternate months to our printed editions, combining to create an essential monthly resource for all local businesses.

With the same comprehensive reach of business owners and senior managers in Wirral, Liverpool and Chester, digital editions will reach 12,000 subscribers and can be viewed online or downloaded to phone, tablet or laptop.

Containing the same mix of local business news, informative articles, useful advice, targeted advertising and informed opinion we are confident the Edge Digital will prove as popular online as it is in print.

We now have even more opportunities for our readers to get involved by contributing to the magazine. In keeping with publishing trends and house style we avoid publishing generic agency ‘PR’ in favour of genuine contributors who want to enhance the reader experience by sharing their own news, views, opinions, expertise and knowledge with the local business community.

We hope you enjoy our first digital Edge and we welcome your feedback and your suggestions for future issues.

Barry Bragg EDITOR

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 3

theedge

DIGITAL Marketing Trends for 2014 Outlook 2014 – Paula Basnett International Festival of Business Fire Safety Regulations Outlook 2014 – Kevin Adderley Social Media Match-up Outlook 2014 – Alison McGovern News Outlook 2014 - Gemma Stewart Outlook 2014 – Asif Hamed Business Trends Business Trends – 3D printing Outlook 2014 – Elaine Owen Business Trends – Cloud Computing Business Trends – Hyper Upgrades Outlook 2014 – Daniel Davies Business Trends – Wearable Technology Business Trends – Heritage & Culture Outlook 2014 – Mike O’Donnell Business Trends – 360 Business Feedback Outlook 2014 – Gary Millar Corporate Hospitality at Thornton Manor Outlook 2014 – Paul Davies Outlook 2014 – Mark McManus Business Events Diary The Open Hospitality Business Profile – Layne Timber Coffee Break A Let’s Go! Publication Issue 14 Editor Barry Bragg Publisher Melissa Bragg Design & Production Alex Ramsay Account Manager Claire Langrell

6 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 36 39 40 42 44 46

6

TRENDS FOR 2014

10

15

Business Trends for 2014

19-30

© Copyright Let’s Go! Publishing Limited 2014 No part of this publication may be reproduced, either in part or as a whole, including artwork, without prior written consent. All details are correct at time of publication. The editor of The Edge has consulted sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to provide information that is accurate and true at the time of publication. The views expressed in this publication are those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of Let’s Go! Publishing Ltd.

4 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Do You Know Your Fire Safety Responsibilities?

12

Published by Let’s Go! Publishing Limited.

With kind thanks to our contributors.

To advertise in future issues email claire@theedgewirral.co.uk or telephone (0151) 203 2115. To contribute email editor@theedgewirral.co.uk.

9

46

opinion

UTLOOK it’s Business as usual rom a company perspective 2013 was challenging and rewarding in equal measure. The demands of running a business remained rigorous and difficult decisions needed to be made but it’s always possible to derive a little more satisfaction from the relative success we achieve when times are tough.

Managerial skills have been tested to the full over the last few years and as a result we should hopefully all be better placed to benefit when the economy improves. The old mantra of ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ should definitely hold true in this instance.

the region into focus while ongoing investment into As producers of local niche publications we enjoy close renewable energy, motors and Wirral Waters projects should relationships with many sectors of the Wirral community continue to stimulate the local economy. from commerce, education, support services, training providers, local government and general public. While The Edge team would like to thank all of our many optimism appears to be returning, it’s fair to say that many contributors and supporters from last year who helped to are still waiting for tangible confirmation of recovery make the publication such a success. We look forward to before they truly believe, so for the time working closely with more of you over being it’s business as usual for many. The the coming months and hope to one area which appears to be causing develop our products and services concern across the board is cash flow as For the business further to continue representing the domestic finances remain squeezed, community 2014 business community in the most lending remains restricted and debtor continues to effective way. days increase as customers delay present reasons payments. There is a feeling that this for optimism and Finally we would like to wish you all a situation needs to improve before the opportunity successful, exciting and prosperous year economy can fully relax and enjoy its ahead. recovery.

For the business community 2014 continues to present reasons for optimism and opportunity, not least from the union of the Wirral Chamber of Commerce and the Wirral Business Partnership to form a powerful, dynamic and independent support service with a highly motivated and experienced team that will complement the great work done locally through Invest Wirral. World class events like the Open Golf and International Festival for Business also promise to bring

IN YOUR INBOX AS WELL AS THROUGH YOUR LETTERBOX

FREE SUBSCRIBE: subs@theedgewirral.co.uk www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 5

MARKETING

TRENDS FOR 2014

2013 has seen huge changes in the marketing opportunities available to all businesses.

Developments to digital, social and print platforms are happening at such a rate it is difficult to know how to assimilate them into the marketing mix. The rate of change for 2014 shows no sign of slowing down and instead the year promises to be one of consolidation and assessment with a focus on targeted platform selection and the integration of consistent messaging and quality content. With that in mind we have compiled a list of some of the most popular forecasted marketing trends from around the web.

6 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Integration of owned, earned and paid:

brands will start developing a 'converged media' approach with content plans that integrate owned, earned, and paid media platforms. Consumers expect a seamless and consistent brand experience whenever and wherever they encounter it.

Responsive delivery:

brands should continue to build relationships with their audience by delivering content that is relevant, authentic, useful, entertaining or educational. Content needs to be delivered in the right places and on the right platforms; a responsively delivered piece of digital communication that works multiplatform will go a long way to achieving this objective.

MARKETING Targeted marketing is king:

Whatever your platform of choice for marketing your business, the key to success is presenting your message to your target audience. Why waste time, effort and money creating persuasive content and then presenting it to the wrong people? Don’t leave things to chance with a scattergun ‘catch all’ approach when targeted platforms are available. Be robust in checking your media demographics; select appropriate physical print or digital distributions and get the best ROI for your marketing investment.

Omni-channel:

A well-planned, integrated omni-channel approach that takes and adapts core source content to social, mobile, tablet, web, digital and print will ensure quality and consistent messaging while maximising the effectiveness and return on your content investment. With the growth in the number of available platforms it is essential that we use the correct channels for our needs. Identifying which channels our target audience is tuned to and when, should enable us to concentrate our marketing efforts in the right place and time.

Native advertising in print:

Once the reserve of the digital market to combat ‘banner blindness’, native advertising in the form of long prose content, replicates quality editorial content normally found within print publications. It differs from traditional advertorial content in that it is not overtly promotional but rather acts to present the contributor as an expert within their field. Consumers are becoming increasingly turned off by the poorly disguised, self promoting; press release formats but continue to engage with content that enhances the reading experience within the context of the chosen publication.

Print is alive and kicking!

There are many innovative ways that brands are combining the digital and the physical. Brand creation requires a multi channel approach and print remains an essential medium for direct marketing and an effective signpost to digital content and social presence. The growth of highly targeted niche print products provides a cost effective means of direct communication to many markets. Consumers still enjoy the physicality of print and in terms of geographical and demographical targeting it is difficult to beat.

A well-planned, integrated omni-channel approach that takes and adapts core source content to social, mobile, tablet, web, digital and print will ensure quality and consistent messaging while maximising the effectiveness and return on your content investment.

Trust and quality: Video content is a must:

video can relate a message like no other medium and can gain and hold consumer attention. It is not necessarily expensive and the ROI can be huge. It works great on mobile, SEO, in email and on websites. It can drive a YouTube channel, enhance social presences and increases response rates wherever it appears. The growth of instant video messaging media platform like Vine and Snapchat add even greater relevance and options for an established technology.

A feature of content marketing this year is the huge volume of content which gets pushed out from brands. Quality inevitably gets compromised and when there is too much noise your audience stops listening. In 2014 smart brands will focus on genuine quality of their output and as a result will build their audience's trust, attention and custom.

Public Relations:

Quality trumps quantity again in terms of getting the attention of key media outlets. PR will become less about generic mass releases and more about contributed articles by thought leaders on targeted media and print platforms.

It’s no longer enough to see your name in ink. It needs to be associated with quality content and contextualised in relevant publications with targeted appeal.

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 7

OPINION

UTLOOK

Exciting times ahead for Wirral Chamber in 2014 saw two business support organisations joining forces in a merger creating a new look body to support the growth of commerce and industry in Wirral. Wirral Business Partnership and Wirral Chamber of Commerce combined their resources and expertise to form a strong representative organisation offering a powerful lobbying voice for issues affecting businesses in Wirral.

The new look Wirral Chamber of Commerce will also offer greater business support, such as its export documentation services, crime reduction programme, together with a full calendar of business events throughout 2014, which includes supporting businesses in the forthcoming International Festival for Business and The Open Golf Championship. It also puts the Chamber in a strong position to drive economic development strategies when bidding for publicly funded business support programmes across the Liverpool City Region.

The Chamber membership comprises a diverse range of companies and organisations - both large and small - including Unilever UK, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Finsa UK, Wirral Met College, University of Liverpool, Sovex, The Contact Company, Cammell Laird, Faiveley Transport, and Peel Group, to name just a few. These and many others are looking positively towards the next twelve months and beyond, and it will be vital that Wirral Chamber, and its network of support partners, work closely together to provide services to support business growth.

Royden Evans of PlumbNation sees an exciting time ahead for his business. "We have developed a new look e-commerce website which will see growth in both the range of products available and our staff numbers as additions are made to the sales and web development teams, together with financial growth projections expected to remain strong."

Alan Woods, Managing Director of Birkenhead based accountancy firm Woods Squared, has a simple but very positive message for 2014, saying “We want to continue going forward and to establish ourselves in Wirral by developing a strong profile and a growing reputation respected within the business community.”

But it is not only on a local level Wirral Chamber will look to support business growth plans. International trade will be an area we will be engaging with companies to provide services and support such as export documentation and the development of overseas trade links.

David Lindfield, Managing Director, Sovex Systems believes, “Sovex will establish itself as the leading supplier of equipment to the parcel handling Industry internationally. We will achieve this by having a strategic presence in key areas in the world, and establishing

8 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Paula Basnett, C.E.O, Wirral Chamber of Commerce meaningful distributor networks to service these targets. We also intendto grow our service and maintenance department by acquiring new customers in the manufacturing and logistics industries.”

In helping manufacturers achieve their aspirations, George Smith of NAC Group, is certain where he wants NAC’s position to be during 2014, “NAC provides training opportunities for the unemployed to help them pursue careers in manufacturing, therefore, I would like NAC in Wirral to become a Centre of Excellence in lean manufacturing and logistics, providing a resource across the North West that is world class.”

Amongst the benefits the Chamber can provide is the ability to source new funding opportunities for economic growth and developing business services; the implementation of community and educational initiatives and through the co-ordination of business strategies, working with strategic business partners to move the region forward.

There is no doubt that 2014 will be an exciting time for Wirral and we will be developing and adding to our own services, while also working in partnership with other support organizations. We will identify resources which add value to our objectives in supporting the creation of employment opportunities and growth of Wirral’s economic prosperity.

On behalf of our membership we will offer benefits to support their growth, including a much larger networking base to develop the local supply chain, enhanced technology for web and social media communications and business profiling, educational programmes and combined staff in co-ordinating even stronger events. There is also greater potential for the Wirral Chamber to look at both its asset and revenue growth so that we can continue to develop an even broader range of services.

ifb2014

erpo 4, LIv

ol

201 ULY J E JUN

What is the International Festival for Business 2014?

There will be guest speakers who will provide a festival update together with an exhibition area where visitors to the conference will be able to speak to key partners about the festival.

irral Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Wirral Council, is to hold a major conference event at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton to promote the forthcoming International Festival for Business 2014.

During IFB 2014 a series of themed weeks will take place throughout the region, clustering events in key industry sectors the IFB 2014 will cover Maritime, Logistics and Energy, Higher & Further Education and Research, Cities, Enterprise and Urban Business, Manufacturing, Science and Technology, Knowledge, Professional & Financial Services, Low Carbon and Renewables, and Knowledge, Creative & Digital.

Taking place on January 15th 2014 (2pm-5pm), it is expected to attract businesses from all sectors which will be able to find out more about how they can get involved in the festival.

With a business programme being developed throughout the Liverpool City Region, the organisers of the IFB 2014 are putting together an ambitious schedule of global business events running throughout June and July 2014 and these will be used as a platform to accelerate the UK’s economic growth.

If you would like to attend the International Festival for Business 2014 Conference at the Floral Pavilion on 15th January you will need to register on the online booking site - www.wirralifb2014conference.eventbrite.co.uk

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 9

EMPLOYERS INFORMATION Do You Know Your Fire Safety Responsibilities?

s part of its service provision, Wirral Chamber is working closely with organisations enabling awareness for businesses and employers on a range of new and updated information. Recent discussions with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has highlighted the fire safety and fire risk assessment obligations that employers must meet. If you are an employer the information below provides a summary of your responsibilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES • You must carry out (and review regularly) a fire risk assessment.

Further information can be obtained from the Community Fire Protection section here:www.merseyfire.gov.uk/aspx/pages/Default2.aspx further resources on fire risk assessment can be found on the drop down label “prevent and protect” on the page.

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service also wants to highlight its approach to Automatic Fire Alarms (AFA) to as many businesses and the wider business community across Wirral as possible. It is part of a risk-based approach to cut false alarms. All calls resulting from an AFA activating are now being challenged by the Fire and Rescue Service control room 24-hours a day.

• You must ensure that a record of a fire risk assessment is kept if you employ five or more employees, have a licence for the premises, are subject to registration, or have an alterations notice served on the premises.

• You must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of your employees from harm caused by fire in the workplace and take reasonable measures to ensure their safety and that of others there, or in the immediate vicinity.

• You must ensure that the premises are equipped with appropriate means of escape, means of detecting and giving warning in the event of fire, means of fighting fires, and arrangements for action to be taken in the event of fire.

• You must ensure that the premises, and any fire safety facilities, equipment and devices, are maintained in good order.

• You must co-operate with anybody else who has fire safety responsibilities for the same premises.

10 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

A fire appliance will not be sent unless a fire is confirmed or there are physical signs of a fire. If anyone sees, hears or smells a fire they should call 999. More information on the approach can be found at www.merseyfire.gov.uk

opinion

UTLOOK Significant Opportunities in 2014 has been another challenging year for many within the Private and Public Sectors and I am sure we would all appreciate a much more business prosperous 2014. Despite the difficulties we have faced it has not all been doom and gloom, with some Wirral Businesses performing extremely well and key measures showing good news for Wirral.

them. Without you creating the jobs in the first place, there would be no opportunity for local people to re –enter the workplace, so again, a big thank you!

Companies such as Cammell Laird, Unilever and The Contact Company have continued to see impressive performance and the Looking forward to future looks bright for continued growth. Staying with Cammell Kevin Adderley, Wirral Council 2014, I hope to see Laird, the opportunities that arise with the growing Offshore Wind further and Nuclear Power industries are extremely exciting, not only for improvements in trading conditions and a continued increase in “Lairds”, but also for a developing local supply chain. Wirral the number of jobs being created. We as a Council do not create Council was awarded £5 million of Regional Growth Fund by the jobs; we hopefully create the right environment so that our Government to help develop a supply chain for Offshore Renewbusinesses can create them for local people to access. There are able Energy and I am very pleased that we have already made some significant opportunities that will hopefully begin to come awards that will see local companies compete for work and grow to fruition in 2014, including the Offshore Wind Energy, the their employment numbers. We also worked with colleagues in the proposed Automotive Supplier Park and the International Trade Local Enterprise Partnership to secure a £10 million award to Centre. I believe these projects will have benefit for many existing support general business growth across the City Region and I am local businesses via the supply chains. again pleased that a number of Wirral Companies have benefitted from that. If you have any queries regarding 2014 will also see the International Festival any Regional Growth Fund matters then please of Business in the Liverpool City Region. A contact Invest Wirral on 0151 650 6915.

There are some significant number of events will be held in Wirral and opportunities that will I very much look forward to local businesses There have been a number of independent hopefully begin to come getting involved. International Trade is a reports produced recently that have to fruition in 2014, vital aspect of the local economy and I and highlighted Wirral as one of the most successincluding the Offshore my Invest Wirral Team have done much to ful areas in the Country for business growth. In Wind Energy, the proposed support local businesses to look at the fact, one was produced by PWC in early Automotive Supplier Park export markets and dearly hope that we see November that found Wirral to be the most and the International even more exporting from our companies successful location in the North West and the Trade Centre. during the New Year. I believe it is vital that third best nationally. This impressive growth is we seek out and exploit new markets in clearly down to Wirral’s successful businesses order to remain competitive and take and I am proud that the Council has been able advantage of the ever more accessible overseas markets. to help so many to achieve their growth plans over the year.

However, ultimately it is the entrepreneurial spirit and imagination Finally, 2014 will see the return of the Open Championship to that so many of you show that has delivered this impressive Royal Liverpool, Hoylake. This will undoubtedly bring great benefit growth and I thank you all sincerely for your efforts. to our local “hospitality" businesses, but will also create an opportunity to showcase Wirral, its people and its surroundings to Economic inactivity continues to blight so many Wirral residents millions across the Globe. It represents a unique marketing and is particularly concerning amongst our young people. opportunity that Wirral is extremely fortunate to benefit from and However, I am very pleased that Wirral has seen continuous falls in I do hope that we are all able to get 100% behind it and show the the number of Jobseeker Allowance Claimants and it significantly world what Wirral has to offer – in my view, a lot! outperforms both North West and National reductions. This again is testament to the number of new jobs that have been created by Best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful New Year!

Wirral businesses and the fact that local people are accessing www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 11

Which Social Media Network Fits Your Business? here are many variables to consider when planning and implementing a successful social media campaign for your business. Issues like the quality, timing and frequency of your posts along with the creation of suitable content engagement are obviously important but equally so is choosing the network that caters to your target audience.

There are discernable disparities in terms of user demographics between different social media platforms and you should understand which network best fits your business before launching a full blown campaign. Here is a brief analysis of the demographic of some of the most popular networks to help you choose the most suitable for your needs.

Most companies can't be amazing on every platform; that takes a huge amount of bandwidth and resources. Instead of having a sub-par representation in a lot of places, be awesome on a few of them. It's hard to be on all platforms, so choose the three that best meet your needs and monitor -- or employ someone to monitor -them closely. Social media only works if you stay involved.

GOOGLE + Although this network didn’t receive all that much attention a few years ago, it’s seen steady growth and currently has over 500 million users. With Google using the platform to collect personal information (think demographics, location, etc.), Google+ should no longer be thought of as ‘just’ another social network. It’s increasingly proving itself to be an integral part of Google’s grand design in terms of SEO, social signals and providing a more personalized search experience. This will become even more apparent with the emergence of ‘Google Authorship’, widely tipped to be one of the key components to Google’s search ranking algorithm by the end of 2014.

12 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

FACEBOOK AND TWITTER Are the heavyweights of social media positioned at the top of most marketers to-do list, and rightfully so. Facebook recently surpassed one billion total users worldwide and can be used by marketers to reach consumers in nearly any industry. Twitter comes a close second with over 500 million users who are also seeking content across a broad spectrum of markets. Both platforms are excellent places to start your social media campaigns, especially if your business appeals to a generalist demographic.

There are benefits to be had even if you are targeting a relatively narrow demographic, within a smaller segment of the population.

Regardless of your target industry it should be possible to get exposure for your business and establish a following for it.

Facebook can offer more advantage if you’re looking to reach females between the ages of 18 and 29. Statistics indicate the majority of Facebook users are women and young adults, which makes it ideal if this is your business’s main demographic. Twitter is also popular with a young audience with a large part of its user base comprised of individuals living in densely populated, urban areas.

In terms of its demographic, Google+ remains heavily favoured by males – 70% of users and in addition the majority of them are reasonably well educated with many having a background in technology based fields like web development and software engineering. Almost 45% are single and nearly 42% are looking for friends. As a result, launching a marketing campaign on Google+ could serve you well if your company offers a product or service that appeals to men within these categories.

Social Media

LINKED IN

PINTEREST

If you’re looking to grow your business and gain B2B contacts and opportunities, LinkedIn is an effective platform. Unlike other social media sites that are casual in nature, LinkedIn is designed more for educated professionals looking to advance their careers.

According to analysis, the majority of users are educated to degree standard and male users outweigh females.

Pinterest has grown in popularity over the last two years and while it is still a baby compared to the giants of Facebook and Twitter it could become a major player in the near future. The concept of Pinterest is incredibly simple and involves “pinning” images onto interest boards.

LinkedIn users also tend to earn considerably more money than those on other networks, with individuals earning over £90,000 annually accounting for the largest number of users, followed by individuals earning between £50,000 and £90,000.

Another factor that differentiates this network from others is the average age of its users. Unlike many that cater to younger demographic, LinkedIn users are typically older and range between 25 to 64 years of age so if you want to connect with a mature audience of wealthy business professionals this can be the perfect resource.

This simplicity combined with its visually appealing aesthetic probably accounts for its growing popularity. Like Google+, Pinterest also has a significant disparity in terms of gender. The difference is that it swings the other way and has a massive female user base of around 72 percent and some of the most widely shared content is based in the following niches. Cooking and recipes, arts and crafts, Clothing and fashion, Home décor, Home design and Gifts.

Pinterest can be a great resource if your business focuses on any of these areas or similar ones. Since this site is image centric, it’s a great resource for displaying pictures of your products or services in action. It’s also possible for popular content to go viral on this network because of the ease with which users can share.

YOUTUBE YouTube is a very powerful tool, visually driven and potentially a very exciting platform with a massive generalist audience. It is the second largest search engine behind Google with hundreds of millions of users. The key to using YouTube effectively is to feature your product or service in a memorable way as viewers won’t watch boring video content.

Like Pinterest, you can use YouTube to capitalize on our innate love of visuals. It's a good idea to watch a number of YouTube videos and see which ones generated hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of hits. Videos that show people how to do something, demonstrate your product or service, or introduce a new or unusual (visual) product can help you benefit from YouTube.

Visual content is becoming an increasingly critical component of any content strategy. Sites like Pinterest and YouTube will become an integral part of retailer marketing strategy and other image-based sites like Slideshare, Vine, Path, and Mobli will continue to grow. Businesses will need to become more mindful about the ‘sharability’ factor of photos on their websites and blogs to derive maximum benefit from their content marketing

TUMBLR Tumblr is a microblogging site that allows users to share a variety of content including text, images, audio and links. They can upload original content or re-blog content from other users.

It has an appealing and simple to use interface and although still in its infancy, renowned brands like IBM and J Crew are taking the time to build their presence on it.

The most notable aspect of this site is its young audience, aged between 13 and 25, making it the ‘go to’ network if this is your target demographic. More young people in this age group prefer Tumblr to Facebook. 61% of teens and 57% of young adults use Tumblr regularly, while only 55% of teens and 52% of young adults are regular Facebook users. If your business offers a youth oriented product, Tumblr could be an excellent choice.

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 13

OPINION

UTLOOK

Pledging Support for Business know that 2013 has been a challenging year for many businesses in Wirral. We have begun, at long last, to see some signs of limited growth in the economy, but this has yet to trickle down to many businesses, especially with household incomes still squeezed and bank lending to SMEs remaining limited.

It is always a pleasure for me when I am asked to visit local business and to see the entrepreneurial skills shown by business owners. Running a business is not easy at the best of times but the costs that businesses face at the moment is making these challenges even harder.

Alison McGovern, Labour MP for Wirral South

Labour plans to cut business rates in 2015 and freeze them in 2016.

This would help 1.5m shops, start ups and workshops across Britain.

The savings that small and medium sized business would make if Labour’s business rates plan was implemented would be almost £450 on 1.5 million properties. These plans would in no way effect funding for local authorities, so it wouldn’t be a case of making savings with one hand and cutting support for businesses and communities elsewhere.

Small and medium size businesses are hugely I know that many small businesses second important to the biggest concern after business rates is energy character and condition bills. of High Streets so it is important we support Labour would freeze energy bills for up until them. They are also hugely January 2017 to help relive this burden. This important to our economy would save small business an average over and job creation. £5,000. It would also ease the cost of living crisis

Small and medium size businesses are hugely important to the character and condition of High Streets so it is important we support them. They are also hugely important to our economy and job creation.

Small Business Saturday was a great initiative that received cross party support and that was a very positive event, with events, offers and promotions taking place across Wirral. I’m looking forward to working with local businesses to make the 2014 Saturday even better.

There are 40,000 empty shops in the UK which is a blight on local areas, reducing footfall in shopping areas and hurting those businesses that are still trading. In 2013 Wirral Council used seed corn funding to get some of these shops used which in New Ferry has had some effect but we have a challenge to improve blighted areas.

I know that business rates are a big concern for many small businesses who are struggling at the moment. I often listen to business who tell me the challenges faced. So I’m pleased that during 2013 Ed Miliband set out Labour’s plan to cut and freeze business rates in the short term, and reform them in the long term, should we be elected in 2015.

Shops and small businesses across the country are due to see their business rates increase by an average of £430 from next April, at a total cost to businesses of £700 million. In the North West business rates are currently set to rise by £350 in 2014/15 with this figure being £280 in Wirral.

14 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

for households, allowing for consumer spending to begin to pick up again.

Over 2014, Labour will be setting out more policies to help small and medium sized businesses, both directly and through tackling the cost of living crisis. We know, for example, that we can only keep housing costs down by tackling the issue of supply, so we are committed to building 200,000 new homes every year by 2020 – boosting businesses in the construction sector and keeping rents and mortgages down. Businesses will only be able to grow sustainably and create the jobs we need when Britain has a recovery that is shared by all, where-ever they live and whichever sector they work in. A recovery based on a housing bubble in London, won’t help businesses in the Wirral.

Can I wish all the readers of The Edge a very happy and successful 2014.

theedge

news UK marketing budgets rise but PR spend in decline esults from the latest Bellwether report for 2013 indicates that the UK’s marketing spend is at its highest level for 13 years reflecting an economy on the mend, even though budgets for PR are suffering a decline.

The report published by the IPA, the professional body for advertising media and marketing communications agencies in the UK, found that 12.3% of companies increased their advertising budgets in the third quarter, compared to 7.3% in the second quarter. These figures show a positive impact on UK advertising spend of 2.4% in 2013 and are projected to increase by a further 3.6% in 2014.

The spike in marketing budgets were however not uniform across all media verticals. The growth was led by the continuing surge in internet advertising spend, with a net balance of +11.7% of companies boosting their budgets in this area.

Spends were revived in mainstream media this quarter with a net increase of 3.4%.

However, direct marketing (down 3%), events (1%), market research (down 3%) and PR (down 2%) illustrated the falling popularity of some marketing streams.

The rise in marketing budgets is linked to a strong upturn in the confidence of companies regarding their own and their wider industry’s financial prospects.’

According to Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit and author of the Bellwether report: ‘The increased appetite to spend on advertising and marketing is being fuelled by a surge in business optimism, with firms seeing their financial prospects to be the brightest for at least eight years.’

Paul Bainsfair, IPA director general added: ‘This latest Bellwether report will provide a welcome boost to our industry. Companies are beginning to move forward away from the recession and the UK economy is on the rise again. This optimism will send a continued upbeat message to the advertising industry and the wider economy.’

SPONSORED BY

The Department for Work & Pensions is organising a National & International Job Day Fair in Wirral on 23rd January 2014 at the Floral Pavilion.

The event is free of charge to exhibitors and visitors and will focus on promoting jobs abroad alongside those in the local area or elsewhere in the UK. It is expected over 1,000 local jobseekers will attend plus more online.

Email phil.kane@dwp.gsi.gov.uk for further information on services available.

IFB 2014 (International Business Festival) Wirral Chamber in partnership with Invest Wirral will be hosting an IFB conference at the Floral Pavilion on Wednesday 15th January 2014.

The purpose of the conference is to provide you with information relating to IFB 2014 and how you can get involved. IFB 2014 provides extensive opportunities for businesses and organisations to plan and deliver their own events, be part of the vibrant programme and connect your brands to national and international audiences. We will email you with further information on this event next week along with details on how to register, but for now please save this date.

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 15

news

UK firms unlock economic benefits of British forests major plan to unlock a sustainable economic future for the UK’s forests and woodlands has received a significant boost after 30 British retailers and construction firms have pledged to procure UK timber wherever possible. The companies involved include construction group Balfour Beatty, furniture retailer Heal’s and timber merchant Travis Perkins who have a combined purchasing power of £50 billion and have given long-term commitments to preferentially procure products from the UK woodlands and forests. Their pledge is part of 'Grown in Britain’ an action plan launched by the Government and the forest industries to revitalise the UK timber supply chain and unlock the social and environmental benefits of Britain’s forests and woodlands.

The commitment is one of a number of achievements unveiled in the first Grown in Britain progress report, including a new framework to release vital private sector funding for woodland projects through corporate carbon sequestration. The Grown in Britain campaign aims to reverse a current trend that means 80 per cent of wood in the UK is imported despite the fact the private sector in the UK only harvests about 40 per cent of available wood.

"Wood supports the roofs over our heads, surrounds our gardens with fences and we see more and more premises built to high sustainability standards with wood at their core. What’s often missing is the connection between wood, our woodlands and sustainable timber forests. Understanding that tree felling and replanting is good for woodland health, biodiversity and our economy should encourage more people and businesses to buy and supply wood Grown in Britain," said Sir Harry Studholme, chair of the Forestry Commission.

Research suggests the wood fuel market alone could generate £1 billion in gross value added (GVA) and 15,000 direct and indirect jobs to the UK economy by 2020. The public forest estate in the UK, meanwhile, is valued at around £400 million per year (including benefits to people and the environment) – about six times more than the £72 million per year it costs to manage it. In addition to economic benefits, Grown in Britain estimates the social benefits of a thriving UK forests and woodland sector could save Britain £2.1 billion in health care costs and could reduce the social costs of air pollution by £16 billion per year.

Corporate carbon reporting An important driver for revitalising Britain’s wood supply chain, according to yesterday’s report, will be the ability to unlock the "considerable" funds corporate organisations can contribute to woodland projects. Therefore, Grown in Britain is establishing a framework for businesses to be able to report against their carbon by investing in UK-based woodland projects and has created a UK 'Corporate Responsibility Reporting Plan’, underpinned by the UK Forestry Standard. The CR Reporting Plan will help investors and land managers describe and report to others how their woodland creation or management projects could impact on areas such as timber, carbon and biodiversity. It is designed to used in conjunction with the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Carbon Code, the first Government approved woodland carbon accreditation scheme.

Further achievements The report listed a number of other key outcomes achieved by the Grown in Britain campaign over the last six months. These include a new system to ensure smaller woodland owners that can’t afford the cost of independent certification now meet Government timber procurement standards and large-scale trials by major retailers, including B&Q, to sell products under the Grown in Britain logo.

Chair of Grown in Britain, Dr Peter Bonfield, said: "Grown in Britain’s magic ingredient for making change happen has been through engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders – thousands of people passionate about the UK’s woodlands and over 280 organisations from the forest and wood industry, community groups, campaigners, wildlife and woodland trusts, professional bodies and government. We are collectively proud of what we have achieved in a very short period of time and this will act as a successful template for the future development of our treasured woodland assets."

CBI ups 2014 GDP growth forecast to 2.4 percent Britain's business association, the CBI, revised up its forecast for the country's economic growth next year to 2.4 percent, predicting a rebound in business and housing investment. The recovery that started in the service sector has spread to manufacturing and construction, and is shaping up to be more broad-based. Many economists have revised up their growth forecasts for 2014 on stronger than 16 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

expected figures from late 2013.

While the CBI said there remained headwinds from a sluggish euro zone recovery and slowing growth in emerging markets, the forecast registered a generally more positive outlook. It forecast that unemployment - currently 7.6 percent - would fall faster than it previously expected, but would remain above the 7 percent level at which the Bank of

England would consider raising interest rates.

The central bank does not expect unemployment to fall below 7 percent for at least three years, but most private-sector economists think it will. The CBI said it expected employers would seek to get more out of the workers they already have by increasing productivity and hours worked, slowing the drop in unemployment.

opinion

UTLOOK Looking forward to 2014 was another challenging year for Wirral Council due to the severe budget constraints we are faced with.

However, in 2011 all parties signed up to support our updated Investment Strategy which recognises that a successful economy is fundamental to the Borough’s future prosperity. The Strategy, guided by our public and private sector Board aims to deliver a Borough founded on a strong, vibrant economy, with high levels of employment and investment, where businesses flourish, and all Wirral residents have the skills and opportunities to work.

Gemma Stewart, Manager of Invest Wirral

It is because of this commitment that we have made business support a priority and Invest Wirral have worked even harder with local companies to help break down the barriers to to firms at a local level, as most aren't aware that they exist. growth through initiatives such as the Merseyside Business Support is available to help remove the barriers of engagement Support Programme and the Business Growth Grant. We have and enable enterprises in Wirral to access the array of services used our successful Regional Growth Fund bid to work with available such as, Passport to Export, Gateway to Global Growth, companies such as Cabfind.com, Riverview Law and Osiris Market research and introduction and trade missions.

Projects to identify projects that, with the boost of grant funding, would enable them to win new work, create new jobs If there are any businesses who would like to take the step to and grow their businesses. By awarding these exporting but are finding it a daunting grants to a number of companies, Wirral prospect, please get in touch with Invest Council has helped create several hundred Wirral and we will make sure you receive new jobs and there are more projects in the 2014 is set to be an the best support available… at no cost to pipeline for 2014. exciting year for you. business in Wirral Wirral’s economy is making a steady and with the global 2014 is set to be an exciting year for sustainable recovery with strong growth business in Wirral with the global spotlight spotlight once recorded in the professional, scientific & once again shining on us when we host The technical, Information & communications and again shining on us Open Championship in Hoylake and play a health sectors. We are working closely with UK when we host The Open significant part in the International Festival Trade & Industry to encourage more of our Championship in For Business in Liverpool. Invest Wirral are small and medium sized businesses to export Hoylake and play a partnering with Wirral Chamber of and it is a partnership that is working significant part Commerce to discuss the opportunities for extremely well. The CBI recently published in the International our businesses at the IFB on Wednesday their “Local Champions” report showing that Festival For Business 15th January at The Floral Pavilion in New 20% of the workforce in the Northwest is in Liverpool.

Brighton. I hope as many of our businesses employed by medium sized businesses and as possible will come along to see what contribute £23bn to UK GVA. opportunities there are to promote yourselves to a truly global audience.

Medium sized businesses in the region are growing but there is more that can be done to support them If you think Invest Wirral can help your business grow please call and a key recommendation of the report is that UK Trade & on 0151 650 6915.

Industry and UK Export Finance need to promote their services

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 17

OPINION

UTLOOK

The Contact Company – a national success in Birkenhead.

The Contact Company had a successful 2013 and is optimistic about further growth in Birkenhead next year and beyond.

Success doesn’t come easily and the trading environment since the credit crunch of 2008 has been tough. Yet we have cultivated a strong client list and a pipeline of new business enquiries. So, without sounding smug (and I assure you we are not), why has The Contact Company been successful and do the conditions exist nationally, regionally and in Wirral to sustain that performance?

The Customer is King It’s a cliché but it is our central tenet. We are committed to providing customers with excellence. That is not “management speak” but, rather, is the main driver of everything we do. If our clients are not delighted by the service we provide, we have no right to retain their business and no basis for attracting more work.

Our best assets all have legs We are the ultimate “people business” and we have a really motivated workforce with an appetite to take on all the work we can secure. We have low staff turnover and attract managers, supervisors and workers with the right attitude and skills. We promote from within and encourage and incentivise staff to give their best. Consequently, despite extraordinary growth to almost 1,000 employees, we have had no recruitment problems even when we have needed foreign languages or particular technical capabilities. Ours is a labour-intensive business and Wirral has a workforce of 200,000 working age residents. Even so, many of the borough’s brightest young people travel elsewhere to seek work.

Regeneration and business expansion in places like Birkenhead will generate higher value jobs and opportunities will help reverse this migration.

We provide staff with great working conditions. Our office, Queensgate, has become a familiar landmark in Birkenhead and when clients and new business prospects visit, they invariably comment on two things – first, they notice that there is a “buzz”.

Our staff are friendly and yet focused on delivering; secondly, they love the views from our board room out across the shipyard and River Mersey to Liverpool’s impressive waterfront.

18 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Asif Hamed, C.E.O, The Contact Company

Better together I believe passionately in Wirral but I also believe we benefit from being an integral part of the Liverpool City Region and the view from our upper floor windows serves as a constant reminder that we are an important part of a greater reality. That is why I agreed to become Deputy Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, or “LEP”. We often hold LEP board meetings in The Contact Company board room and that reminds the others that Wirral has great strengths and brings significant assets to the wider City Region economy.

And it cuts both ways - with a population of 1.5m covering the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St. Helens, Wirral and the City of Liverpool the city region generates a GVA of £19bn, 17% of the NW total. As a businessman I understand competition and there will always be an element of rivalry between neighbours – but there is so much more to be gained from understanding our collective economic clout and taking advantage of it.

I have no doubt that The Contact Company can continue to grow in the coming years. We have the key conditions in place – a splendid office with room for growth, a willing and productive workforce, sound financials and a management team that has a clear vision of where we need to be. Add to that the many positives in the local and sub-regional economy and we can look forward with confidence.

Business Trends for 2014

rom 3-D printing to using scent in your marketing campaigns, opinion from around the web predict that 2014 is the year to seriously consider these developing trends which will change the way we do business in the future.

As entrepreneurs we all chart the course for our own businesses to follow and we are responsible for adopting or adapting to new technologies or other commercial trends. Getting in early and being an early adopter can mean the difference between gaining

large rewards as a trailblazer or picking up the crumbs as an also ran. It can also work wonders for your corporate image as the business that others look to imitate.

As always the key is identifying those trends that are destined to become the next ‘big thing’ rather than wasting time and money on a flash in the pan fad.

We’ve had fun searching the web for the trends most widely tipped to explode into life this year and make a genuine commercial impact on the world of business…

3D Printing Cloud Computing Hyper-upgrading Wearable Technology Scent Technology National Heritage and Cultural Identities Honesty

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 19

3D Printing he technology has existed for some time but now the price of printers and the materials they use have dropped sufficiently for demand to reach commercial levels.

Like all cutting edge technology gadgets, prices start in the thousands but then fall rapidly until the new technology is accessible to all. 3D printers will become affordable in a shorter period of time than you can imagine, and they will revolutionize domestic manufacturing. Whether you manufacture goods or not, these printers and the local manufacturers they will create will significantly reduce the cost of items and components that we all rely on for daily business. The ascendency of 3D printers is inevitable and right around the corner. Find a way to leverage this technology to improve your bottom line, whether it’s as a novelty marketing campaign or a bottomline equipment decision. You want to be at the forefront of this trend.

A 3D PRINTED SHOE

THE WORLD'S FIRST FULLY ARTICULATED 3D PRINTED DRESS

photo by Albert Sanchez

20 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

opinion

UTLOOK MOBILE MARKETING TRENDS FOR 2014 his December (according to the Telegraph) online shopping broke all previous records. This Christmas virtually all mobile phone sales were smart phone sales – a trend that we have been forecasting in our socials media marketing presentations for 3 years now.

Now in 2014 mobile platforms will be part of nearly every digital purchase or transaction and buyers will always only be one click away from a purchase. Mobile internet traffic is quickly overtaking desktop traffic. Mobile advertising grew by 75% in 2013 and will continue to grow in 2014 and things will start to change when it comes to mobile shopping behaviour.

Nearly 85% of Smartphone users use their phones while they shop, which impacts on buying behaviour considerably, so when planning your digital strategies for 2014/15 it is worth looking at some of the existing technology and mobile trends that are likely to double in use this year and you may want to consider running your business operations differently in 2014.

So in no particular order here are 10 of the growing trends that I think worthy of a mention for Edge readers …

Elaine Owen, Managing Director, Designated Associates 4) Email will increasingly be viewed like ‘fax’ is today and SMS will be used for “formal and official” communications and “form letters” and person to person communication takes place via social media and social interest tools.

5) Mobile small screen/big screen.

The drop in price and ever growing demand for tablets means that any business applications you have (including mobile versions of business web sites) need to be able to run very well on both. Make sure your email marketing is designed and optimised for mobile on the go customers.

6) Phablets are Go! Yes they are acceptable business tools and will grow in popularity throughout 2014 as having your phone and a larger screen for productivity and online communications will become more and more desirable.

7) Any business requiring reservations, tickets, physical resources, delivery, or scheduling will only win the custom of the digital shopper if available via mobile.

1) Low-cost, smart devices.

Devices will continue to drop in price and their low prices don’t necessarily mean low quality.

2) Cloud tools will encounter significant growth in active users. Established tools such as Evernote, Box, Dropbox, WhatsApp will undoubtedly become essential tools for business.

3) 4G will become the mobile data technology of choice.

8) Sharing is normal so consider how and what your business can share if it isn’t doing so already.

9) Managing & engaging across all major social networks is now the norm & EXPECTED, your business communications should be relevant and real.

10) Social & Digital Media Mentoring – the ever changing world of digital marketing needs monitoring, managing and doing correctly so investing in support to guide strategy and skills is growing at an exponential rate. www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 21

Cloud Computing Comes of Age t seems like cloud computing has been around for years, but cloud-based services are finally starting to take off in a big way and this will accelerate throughout the Year.

By 2016 it is predicted that most major companies will be using cloud services, which will transform much of the current IT hardware, software and database markets into far more flexible services.

The proliferation of Cloud services will transform businesses and business models, with reduced up front and ongoing costs for IT buyers, while also offering greater flexibility and lowering risks. There will be great demand for what will ultimately prove to be a hugely responsive and infinitely scalable, pay-as-you-go model.

Concerns still remain about data security, privacy and business continuity, but if these fears can be suitably allayed, cloud computing represents an irresistible ‘value proposition’ that all but guarantees success. In time, cloud-based services will grow increasingly sophisticated and evolve into the provision of full-scale business processes.

22 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Need help with your digital marketing?

If you’re reading this, so are your prospects.

For more information contact Claire Langrell on 0151 203 2115 or claire@theedgewirral.co.uk

theedge – relevant and engaging

Hyper-Upgrading atest versions of operating systems and software upgrades are available whenever you power up a phone, tablet or laptop computer. An update that remedies crashes and fixes bugs isn’t a problem, but when the update requires that users learn a new system or even a slightly "better" way of doing things, business owners can find it challenging to keep all their staff training up to date and current without losing productivity. The growth of cloud based service provision will mean operating systems will change, even before users have time to master the previous one.

This will create the opportunity for providing or using incremental training programmes designed to provide short sessions that flexibly address specific needs. Brief, customisable quickie online training sessions that bring users up to speed on the features of a new operating system or version of essential software without devoting days of training for a program that will look and function significantly different in 12 months time. Trainers and learners need to become as agile and adaptable as the systems being employed to enhance productivity.

24 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

opinion

UTLOOK Looking forward to 2014 was a year of consolidation and growth for CPL Training. As a company we have consolidated and deepened our relationships with our existing SME and corporate clients, and at the same time won new customers and grown our share of the training market, particularly in the hospitality and licensed retail sectors where we are already well established as the number one training provider.

“Consolidation and growth” does seem to me to reflect what has happened in the wider economy where the much-feared triple-dip recession failed to materialise and where there has been a return to growth based on improved consumer confidence. Does this prove that the Chancellor’s ‘Plan A’ worked? Well the UK remains hugely indebted and discipline in public spending must be part of the solution to that, regardless of arguments about the appropriate pace of spending cuts. But I also think that a lot of the heavy lifting has been done by the Bank of England, where ‘quantitative easing’ and ‘forward guidance’ have precipitated a very Keynesian recovery.

Daniel Davies, Chief Executive, CPL Training Group Limited For CPL Training 2013 has seen us retain and grow our SME customer base, whilst also growing our list of FTSE 250 clients both within and outside our core markets. Winning Palmer and Harvey, Coca Cola and General Motors as clients exemplifies the quality of our corporate client base. We have also continued to grow our presence internationally, delivering training and qualifications in 10 European countries and Occupational English Tests in a variety of countries in the Middle East.

The arrival of the new Governor, Mark Carney, The received wisdom in the training heralded a wider remit for the Bank beyond industry is that in a difficult economy simply setting interest rates to control inflation Winning Palmer and companies cut their training budgets along and towards a more rounded responsibility for Harvey, Coca Cola with anything else that doesn’t contribute encouraging growth. I suspect that when directly to the bottom line in the short term. and General Motors Chancellor George Osborne looked at the Our experience has bucked that trend. Our impact of austerity on countries like Greece he as clients exemplifies clients understand that consumers want must have been thankful that we didn’t join the quality of value for money and a premium experience. the Euro, and were therefore able to control our corporate They also understand that they operate in a our own money printing and interest rates. The client base. tightly regulated environment. So Bank stated its intention of keeping base rate investment in staff training ensures at 0.5% and stated that it wouldn’t even compliance with regulation and improved consider raising it until unemployment fell levels of customer service. below 7%, unless inflation was above 3% for 18 months or more. The new Governor has thereby quietly raised the inflation Another key to our success in 2013 has been our ability to break target by 20% from 2.5% to 3%. Conditioning market down barriers to training and qualifications by offering a blended expectations by indicating the medium term intention of learning approach. We offer face-to-face training and e-learning keeping Bank base rate at 0.5% enables us to inflate-away our online and have designed both so that each complements the national debt at the difference between the two – something other. Our ability to tailor the development of training that Euro-based economies can’t do. programmes to meet legislative requirements, whilst making them highly relevant to the particular needs of a client’s business, In the longer term we will need to keep interest rates low if we exemplifies the vision that we have for CPL Training to be a are to avoid another banking crisis precipitated by mortgage broad-based education solutions provider. We are looking forward defaults, and the damaging effect that would have on to 2014 with renewed confidence. consumer confidence. www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 25

Wearable Technology lot of buzz this year is about electronics you can wear. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, consumer demand for wearable technology is expected to quadruple in 2014. At present the runaway success is in the field of fitness and health with some of the big players like Nike and Adidas already actively promoting their wearable exercise monitors.

Manufacturers are offering new and improved high-tech wristbands that monitor activity during a workout. Monitors track your steps, distance, calories burned and more and allow you to wirelessly sync the stats to your computer or smartphone. Health monitors for heart rate, blood pressure and even headphones to induce sleep are other popular products currently available but a plethora of new devices are in the pipeline.

Google has Glass, and Samsung has a smartwatch, but Apple’s iWatch and many other smart wearable technologies will be arriving soon. 2014 will be a “watershed year” for wearables although privacy and security will be an issue as cameras go everywhere and other devices require secure network connections. Recent surveys indicate 52% of consumers across six countries including the UK are interested in buying wearable technology, particularly for health and fitness reasons, 46% want smart watches with 42% interested in web connected glasses.

Scent Technology e’ve all been taken in by the April Fools’ ‘smellovision’ news item but scent technology is not a pipedream for the distant future. In fact it’s just around the corner, with several prototype systems already fully developed and ready for mass production.

Scent technology has become such a hot priority because the part of the brain that processes smell (your olfactory bulb) is located within the part of the brain that processes emotion and stores memory.

26 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Smell is intimately tied to memory and closely linked with your emotions, and that makes scent technology perhaps the most powerful tool in the history of marketing. It may still seem like science fiction but it won’t be long before you see personal computers, tablets and smart phones with the capability to receive scent files and transmit those smells to users. In movies, advertising, proposals and presentations scent is destined to become an integral part of digital media and early adopters will help refine the application of this innovative technology.

Don’t let cash flow hold you back in 2014...

• Specialise exclusively in business-to-business debt recovery & commercial contract disputes • Client base from sole traders through to international PLCs • Legal services to landlords & managing agents • High Quality / Cost Effective Services

Call for a no obligation consultation We act in claims from less than £1000 right up to several million pounds

web: www.kjplaw.co.uk email: info@kjplaw.co.uk add: 1st Floor, Birkenhead House, 17-21 Price Street, Birkenhead, CH41 6JN tel: 0151 650 6830

YOUR COMPLIANCE PARTNER

Fire Alarms Fire Extinguishers Fire Training Courses Free Risk Assessments Pat Testing Emergency Lighting Dry Riser Testing

Since 1992 Wirral Fire Protection have been supplying fire safety services and products to over ten thousand North West businesses.

Over this period we have established ourselves as one of the most proactive and versatile fire safety companies around. /Wirral-Fire-Protection

@wfpltd

WE’RE ACCREDITED

Residential Care Homes Health Care Premises Schools / Educational Premises Hotels & Guest Houses Flats - Block Management Offices, Shops & Commercial Premises Restaurants - Licensed Premises

Gallagher House Cashel Road Birkenhead Wirral CH41 1DY

Call 0151 639 7745 or visit www.wirralfire.co.uk www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 27

National Heritage and Cultural Identities his trend is already well underway, but there’s still plenty of time to adapt and make it work to your advantage. The international nature of business needn’t dilute our cultural differences. On the contrary it provides a unique opportunity to capitalise on your culture as an essential element of what you export.

28 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Think about the way that reggae is used to enhance the appeal of Jamaica’s exports for example. Jamaica’s cultural export identity is a laid-back, cool vibe that moves to island rhythms and that is part of the way Jamaican coffee, tourism and rum is marketed to the world. In an increasingly global market, national identity and culture can be the differentiating factor between you and your competitors’ products.

opinion

UTLOOK Looking forward to 2014 brought the first real feeling of ‘green shoots’ of recovery in the UK Economy. It was also reported that Merseyside has outstripped most other UK regions in growth in the past year and that the UK is now predicted to have a larger economy than Germany by 2030, which overall is great news.

At The Priory Partnership, however, as a firm of chartered accountants, we have seen the severe pressures that businesses have been faced with during the downturn. In addition, despite the introduction of new government-backed funding schemes and reports to the contrary, we have seen that the difficulties involved in obtaining finance, especially from banks, has not eased as much Mike O’Donnell, Director, The Priory Partnership as expected. This has resulted in other forms of financing becoming more popular and ‘crowdfunding’ or ‘peer-to-peer’ schemes. We have also seen a rise in HMRC enquiries in general lending has increasingly become a significant alternative source and do our utmost to defend our clients who are facing such for companies with regard to financing their business projects or enquiries. This includes offering an insurance policy covering the simply supplementing their working capital requirements, and we cost of our work in dealing with the enquiry, so that business have clients who have successfully taken this route. Although owners can be assured that they can afford to defend their cash flow is still a major issue for many businesses and accessing position. finance is still not easy, it does now seem that our economy overall has turned a corner and is now heading for growth. Crowdfunding At The Priory Partnership, 2013 saw us take is a very modern way for businesses to borrow on two accountancy apprentices. We see in today’s society and we see it growing apprentices as a great asset for small throughout 2014, with more organisations we would encourage businesses and we have gained genuine appearing in the marketplace and further other local businesses business benefits from employing them, as government funds being deployed in this way. to make the investment well as feeling we are doing our bit for of time and resources to youth employment. Our apprentices have The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his take on an apprentice and been outstanding and have applied Autumn Statement on 5th December. He has make use of the themselves to their work and studies and continued to try and stimulate investment, government support passed their exams. Sound recruitment and whist still being very focused on cutting available to do so. management practices are key to achieving government expenditure. Investment tax this but with these in place we would allowances and cuts in National Insurance encourage other local businesses to make Contributions (NIC) are some areas where the investment of time and resources to business should benefit in 2014 and it will be a take on an apprentice and make use of the government support priority of ours to ensure that our clients take advantage, wherever available to do so. possible, from any tax breaks announced by the government, for example, from April 2014 an allowance of up to £2,000 per year All in all, we are moving into the New Year with more optimism can be offset against Employers’ Class 1 NIC. than recent years and will be there for our clients to boost them into their recoveries, at whatever pace they go. We are here to We have also seen further attacks by the government on artificial provide support in all areas of concern for business owners, tax avoidance schemes and many users of such schemes are now including the new pension auto-enrolment duties that many are facing tax enquiries from HMRC. Further pressure will be already dealing with and we are encouraged by the emergence of introduced this year when, if such schemes are enquired into by new local business support, including that from the re-invigorated HMRC, the taxpayer will be obliged to pay over the disputed tax at Wirral Chamber of Commerce, to make a positive impact on the the outset of the enquiry. Not surprisingly, therefore, we have seen local business community. a significant reduction of the promotion of these avoidance www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 29

360 Business Feedback o

The voice of the crowd will encourage change In 2014 social networks will provide the main form of business communication for 25% of employees worldwide.

onsumers dislike being misled but respond well to businesses that are transparent about their operations. It can even be beneficial to disclose the ugly side of your company providing you are striving to improve of course. Adidas, for example, launched a new line of clothing made with DryDye technology, which saves 25 litres of water per t-shirt. It simultaneously highlights the enormous environmental impact of traditionally dyed clothing while announcing its commitment to find dye methods that are greener.

Transparency creates trust, and you want your customers to trust you.

“Honesty is the Best Policy”

9 | | www.theedgewirral.co.uk 30 www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Google, Facebook, Twitter, smartphones, tablets and e-readers — technologies that originated in the consumer space – will continue to shape the way companies communicate and collaborate with employees, partners and customers. These methods of "social listening," are allowing smart businesses to better understand and provide what their customers and employees need and want. This will accelerate as younger generations who have grown up with instant information channels join the workforce and begin to shape the workplace.

In a world where change occurs so rapidly and completely, the need to look forward and identify developing trends has never been more acute. Finding ways to adapt your business to accommodate and derive benefit from changing trends is the challenge for all entrepreneurs. 2014 looks like an exciting year with many opportunities to explore and enjoy.

opinion

UTLOOK Okay I admit it I'm a serial entrepreneur! ometimes unsuccessful, sometimes successful - but always happy to give it a go.

You could say I've had 5 careers - civil servant, application developer, researcher, trainer and business adviser. Plus, some would perhaps say a cliched vocation - that's "wanting to make a difference". That vocation took me into charity work with Liverpool Habitat for Humanity, Ripples on the Mersey and The Linda McCartney Centre and later into local politics. My work with The Whitechapel Centre and The Michael Causer Foundation are my more recent adopted causes. However, whether it's career or vocation I'm recognised for bringing entrepreneurial skills with passion to help "pay it forward". I truly expect no help and no thanks - if it's a failure it's my failure! Success is down to teamwork, partnership, ideas, hard work and lots of passion.

I've spent 30 years advising over 10,000 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in one form or another and brought simpliďŹ cation to sometimes chaotic practices. I've introduced technological advances including systems, hardware and software. I've brought business improvements including process, people, product and strategic direction.

Gary Millar, .Chief Executive & Co-owner Parr Street Studios It's 2014 and you have an idea for a business - I say go for it. It's your choice, it's your business and you have to make it work. Oh, and please don't forget that word "passion" and don't be afraid to ask for help. Good luck!

Business Support Businesses in Liverpool can go it alone but there are organisations who provide free and paid for support. This includes accountants, banks, training companies, consultants and even friends. Contact Liverpool Vision on It's 2014 and you www.liverpoolvision.co.uk who can signpost have an idea you to some of the most suitable business support agencies. Or, contact Dream High on for a business www.dreamhigh.org.uk for bottom up - I say go for it. community led business support. Businesses It's your choice, it's receiving support are 95% more likely to your business and still be in business after 3 years.

So why does this make me an entrepreneur?

Well, at the root of all I do you could say I'm a self-starter who is willing to "give it a go" and explore the impossible, take calculated risks, stay driven, listen to and work with others, learn from my mistakes and be innovative. My own businesses have included computing, you have to make it literature & web design and IT training; International Festival for Business work. manufacturing of building products; creation In 2014 Liverpool hosts the International and selling of arts, crafts and gifts; and most Festival for Business - the biggest UK trade recently co-owning a famous recording studio. I've also created exhibition since the Festival of Britain back in the summer of a new bar and new hotel, produced music and written software 1951. IFB2014 will feature hundreds of world-class events from handling over ÂŁ5billion in transactions.

June to July 2014 in Liverpool and the region, attracting over 250,000 visitors from across the globe, and bringing ÂŁ100 million Quite varied, yet quite similar! worth of investment into the UK economy. Check out if it's for you at www.ifb2014.com Varied! Similar! What?

My "similar" means having passion, systems in place, paying bills, getting paid on time and providing 5 star customer care.

My "varied" relates simply to the "product" line.

You can Follow Gary on twitter @garymillar www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 31

An extraordinary and historic Wirral venue

“

Thornton Manor is set to make a real impact in the corporate events market in 2014

�

32 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 33

Set within the Estate Thornton Manor has other facilities which either compliment your use of the house or which can be hired separately.

The New Walled Garden Luxury Pavillion Thornton Manor provides a stunning back drop to our luxury Walled Garden Marquee - an impressive half million pound investment in this purpose built structure makes it ideal for a Conference, Exhibition, Award Ceremony, Fashion Show, AGM, Corporate Party, Christmas Party, Summer Ball, Promotional Event, Product Launch, Kick-Off Event, Family Day... the list is endless.

Encircled by a beautiful Victorian red brick wall, mature trees and filled with seasonal planting, the Walled Garden is a secluded setting, allowing you to conduct your event in privacy with the whole area dedicated to you. 150 – 1000 people can be accommodated depending on your requirements.

The Lakeside Marquee This marquee is set in a idyllic position which makes the perfect environment for a broad range of conference events from a staff training day or conference dinner to a summer party or Christmas ball. It can be tailored or dressed to suit your needs with a variety of corporate themes and set-ups. This versatile structure can easily be adapted to suit a range of party sizes from 100 – 400 people, complete with a dining partition, to help create a party atmosphere even if the venue isn’t at maximum capacity.

The Waterside Pavilion Whether you are herding a gaggle of geese, holding an archery competition or starting a treasure hunt within the manor grounds The Waterside Pavillion provides an ideal base for your team building activities. This picturesque waterside location is a fabulous venue to entertain guests. With acres of land to fill with the most imaginative activities, combined with an extensive marquee structure, up to date production and a private garden, this venue lends itself to any event.

34 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

BRIEF:

BRIEF:

July Summer Conference with drinks reception and dinner for 150 delegates.

Christmas Party for 120 people

Exclusive Hire of Thornton Manor to accommodate the conference during the day in the Music Room, with catering and refreshments served on the terrace at the back of the house with stunning views over the grounds.

Exclusive Hire of the Lakeside Marquee for a drinks reception overlooking the lake followed by a3 course seated dinner on round tables in the Marquee. After dinner the reveal is lifted to expose a dedicated area which has a dance oor, bar, sofas with tables around the outside underneath a dazzling star cloth.

BRIEF: Sales Conference for 500 people Exclusive hire of the Walled Garden Pavillion for a conference for 500 people theatre style separated to host the registration networking and standing catering.

Exclusive hire of Thornton Manor for drinks reception and canapĂŠs where guests mingle between rooms, followed by a 3 course seated dinner served in the Music Room.

Joanne has also developed a range of Christmas Packages in addition to the Thornton Manor which opens up this exclusive venue to a much wider audience.

Our Events Director Joanne Penney will work with you to take your ideas and make them a reality, helping you choose your themes, organise your accommodation, create a project and plan to ensure your event is created in the right space.

Call our Events Director Joanne Penney... ...who will work with you to take your ideas and make them a reality, helping you choose your themes, organise your accommodation, creating a project and plan to ensure your event is created in the right space.

Give Joanne a call directly on 0845 6801138 for a friendly chat.

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 35

OPINION

UTLOOK

2013 - The Year of the start-up? ust a few days before the end of 2013, the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills (BIS) published a 40-page statement on Business Support in the UK, entitled “Small Business – Great Ambition”. The statement’s strapline is “Making it Easier” – as in making it easier to finance growth; to employ people; to develop new ideas, and so on. Crucially, one of the sections is entitled “Making it easier to get the right support”. Clearly the people at BIS have a keen sense of humour!

Scattered throughout the document are a number of interesting and attention-grabbing statistics – including the brave assertion that 500,000 new businesses started up in the UK during 2013.

Yes, that’s no typo, it clearly says half a million – several times, in Paul Davies, Principal Business Consultant, fact. If you read the small print you find Fieldcrest Business Solutions that this actually refers to the number of Limited Companies which registered at Companies House in 2013. Seems an are available, and they are based on VAT Those of us that have awful lot to me, but even if true it’s pretty registrations and de-registrations, rather than worked at the coal-face meaningless. The fact is, no-one knows start-ups per se, but nevertheless, as an of business start-up how many of these registrations are real indicator, they do carry significant weight. support know that new businesses, or will trade successfully, Interesting to note that whilst the ONS quietly actually all of these or at all, or submit a first set of accounts published this official figure of 15,000 net numbers, official or in 21 month’s time, or ever. Also, business gains for 2012, the BIS website for the otherwise, are suspect. strangely, there’s no mention in the same period trumpets a start-up figure of In truth, no-one knows report of the number of de-registrations 484,224. Slight difference there, guys. Perhaps for certain how many in the same period and in particular, someone could look into it? Just when you businesses start and how nothing about the appallingly high have a minute, you know….. many close down failure rate for new businesses (reckoned each year. by many business advisors to be 50% or Those of us that have worked at the coal-face higher). of business start-up support know that actually all of these numbers, official or otherwise, are So, this figure of half a million 2013 start-ups could already be suspect. In truth, no-one knows for certain how many businesses seen as somewhat misleading, but it gets worse. The report’s start and how many close down each year. Why? Simply because champion, Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, Mathew the overwhelming majority of start-ups are micro businesses and Hancock, directly quotes the 500,000 number in his Foreword, but they start off as sole-traders. They don’t register at Companies fails to acknowledge that it originates in unaudited claims from a House initially, nor do they register for VAT. They are however non-government source – namely, Startup Britain (who actually do obliged to register for Self Assessment with HMRC within three some good work, but talking-up the numbers like this is not months of starting trading, but bizarrely, although this statistic helpful). Spending a few hours digging out some verifiable would give the government and the support agencies a very statistics, as Mr Hancock or his advisors perhaps should have done, strong indicator of the true rate of businesses starts, HMRC do not reveals that the latest official government numbers paint a very collect or publish the data! different picture.

With all this dissembling, smoke and mirrors, it’s no wonder that The Business Statistical Bulletin, from the Office of National support for start-ups, and for that matter for established Statistics, published on November 27th 2013, states very clearly businesses, is in complete disarray. Nationwide, the only that Business “Births” were 270,000 and Business “Deaths” were co-ordinated approach to business support is through the 255,000 – a net gain of just 15,000. Now, admittedly these Government’s one-stop website Gov.UK. Have a look at it numbers are for 2012, the most recent period for which statistics sometime – it’s not just inadequate, it’s downright insulting. >> 36 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

starting Cartoon about a new business?

On the other hand, locally and regionally, councils, LEP’s and various consortia are trying desperately to offer support with almost no money, and no national infrastructure. To quote from the Great Ambition report again – “Small businesses that grow are more likely to have sought advice and support”. No argument from me on that one – but exactly where is it? What’s the strategy? It takes until page thirty-two of the report before BIS actually gets round to outlining any policy: “Business support at the local level will be brought together through Growth Hubs – a single place businesses can go to get help. This will improve the coordination of support provided by local public and private sector partners, creating a more streamlined and coherent offer for businesses, based around local needs”.

Has it been delivered yet?

PROOF OF DELIVERY WITH EVERY DELIVERY

Documents, parcels and pallets.

We collect within 1 hour.

We deliver when you want.

0151 666 1500 Collect

Deliver

Communicate

Maybe at the end of 2014 we can report some real progress and perhaps even highlight some true and meaningful statistics about start-ups and business growth?

KIRWANS

Sound good. Is it too much to hope that this is what might actually happen? The Government is already committed to providing business support primarily through public-private partnerships, usually centred around Local Authorities. The newly re-vitalised and re-configured Wirral Chamber of Commerce could be ideally placed to deliver a comprehensive package of support to new and existing business, given the funding and the mandate.

Maybe at the end of 2014 we can report some real progress and perhaps even highlight some true and meaningful statistics about start-ups and business growth? Watch this space.

On a lighter note……

New research from car-maker Volvo has found that men e xperience more emotion when they look at the image of a beautiful car than when they are shown a picture of a crying baby.

The Senior Vice-President of Design at Volvo commented, “This survey finally proves what we’ve always suspected – beautiful car design can elicit strong emotional responses”. On the other hand, could it just be further evidence that when all is said and done, men are simply callous, heartless and shallow?

Have a Happy and Prosperous 2014.

Paul Davies is Principal Business Consultant at Fieldcrest Business Solutions www.fieldcrest.co.uk • paul@fieldcrest.co.uk

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY PURCHASE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SALE

LEASE GRANT / ASSIGNMENT

BUSINESS SALE AND ACQUISITION

Commercial Property is a journey.

Make Kirwans your destination. t: 0800 525 035 e: info@kirwans.co.uk w: www.kirwans.co.uk facebook.com/kirwansuk

twitter.com/@kirwanslaw

Kirwans is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (www.sra.org.uk) Prenton SRA Number 71723

www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 37

opinion

UTLOOK 2014 sees Stiebel Eltron celebrate its 90th birthday sees Stiebel Eltron celebrate its 90th birthday, progressing from an original idea by company founder Dr Theodor Stiebel, to the global green energy company that exists today, producing innovative technologies such as ground and air source heat pumps, solar PV and solar thermal. Our UK division was launched in 2008 and over those five years we have experienced solid growth and look forward to what 2014 holds for the UK’s renewable energy industry.

Government incentives, advances in technology and growing consumer confidence will all combine this year to create what we hope will be the best year yet for our industry in terms of sales and installations. We specialise in ground and air source heat pumps for both domestic and commercial markets and last year enjoyed 10% growth. For 2014 we are expecting even better figures with greater confidence amongst both consumers and installers due to the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

In the last quarter of 2013 the business was already showing signs of the market becoming more promising, which has been mirrored by the confidence of our installer and merchant partners. As 2014 begins there is a tangible positivity within the industry which we hope will continue throughout the year.

This of course depends on a range of factors, particularly the Government’s commitment to green energy incentives. If the Government does come good with the RHI – in the format that they have presented – we will certainly expect an upturn in sales and particularly from businesses and commercial property owners.

Mark McManus, Managing Director, Stiebel Eltron UK We will be releasing a new range of heat pumps in 2014 and of course will continue the process of achieving MCS accreditation, reinforcing our commitment to meeting the required standards of the UK market. We cannot afford for consumers to be let down by poorly designed heat pumps and it is great to see that other manufacturers as well as ourselves are focusing on developing technologies that are specific to the UK market.

Looking at other areas for growth, we are always seeking to increase the number of installer partners we work with – particularly across the Wirral and Merseyside region. The renewable energy industry needs to convince more plumbers, heating engineers and electricians that green is the way forward. A majority of installers are focusing solely on fossil fuels and it is our aim to show them the many benefits that renewable energy holds.

First class training, technical and customer service support as well as free IT and software packages are just a few ways that we are engaging with installers. We are also looking to simplify things for installers by adapting our products to make them easier to install and more user-friendly.

We are only as good as our installer partners and this is at the core of our growth strategy driving into 2014: providing better training and offering full system package solutions – this means not just looking at one product within a home or commercial building, but its holistic heating needs and how to save both money and energy throughout.

We remain confident that with the right guidance, support and market awareness, more UK consumers will grow to understand the benefits of renewable energy – 2014 could be a very good year and another step in the right direction. www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 39

networking

Events& Networking January Thurs 9th 10am-2pm Social Networking Skills for Business Workshop. Learn about websites, including Facebook, Linked In and Twitter, and how to use these easily accessible and cost effective marketing instruments to increase your contacts, clients, sales and profits. Vale House, Vale Park, Magazine Lane, New Brighton, Wirral, CH45 1LZ. Contact : Donna on admin@designatedassociates.com or 0151 653 3338 Fri 10th 8am - 12noon Growth Accelerator workshop - Effective sales and marketing: How to find, win and grow profitable customers. QHotels - Park Royal, Cheshire Stretton Road, Warrington , WA4 4NS. Learn to establish an efficient and effective sales and marketing process to drive high growth strategies, hear how to develop better relationships with current and potential customers to drive new business. enquiries@growthaccelerator.com Mon 13th 10am - 2pm Mentoring in the Workplace Designated Associates course to help you develop your mentoring style, giving you practical guidance on successful mentoring schemes and teaching you the pitfalls to avoid. Vale House, Vale Park, Magazine Lane, New Brighton, Wirral, CH45 1LZ contact : Donna on admin@designatedassociates.com or 0151-653-3338 Mon 13th 9.30am – 1pm How to get better all the time - North of England Excellence FREE Seminar.

Learn from some of the North’s most respected business leaders how a series of small improvements could improve your business. Network with speakers and with delegates and find out more about the North of England Excellence Awards, which recognise organisations that achieve superior levels of performance. Wakefield and District Housing, Merefield House, Whistler Drive, Castleford, WF10 5HX. Book your place 01925 715245 Email: Jackie@noee.co.uk 40 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Tues 14th 8.30 – 10.30am Liverpool Superport freight hub and Liverpool Chamber Export Centre: a golden exporting opportunity on your doorstep FREE workshop at the Export Centre on Old Hall Street (opposite Moorfields station).

Hear about growth of exporting opportunities in Liverpool, the recently opened Export Centre and the port and population logistics concept of the SUPERPORT freight hub. With Peel Ports, UKTI, Barclays and Liverpool City region LEP. Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Number One, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9HG Wed 15th 2 - 5pm Invest Wirral and Wirral Chamber of Commerce present IFB 2014 opportunities at The Floral Pavilion. Hear about the opportunities around International Festival for Business (IFB) 2014 IFB 2014 provides extensive opportunities for businesses and organisations to plan and deliver their own events and be part of the vibrant programme and connect their brands to national and international audiences. Guest speakers, presentations and an exhibition area. For more information call Invest Wirral on 0151 650 6915 Wed 22nd 8am - 12noon Growth Accelerator workshop High Growth Teams: Top-Grading your people to deliver your high growth plan.

Create a winning businesses by hiring, coaching and keeping the best people.

Subjects introduced include: • Assessing internal talent • Coaching people to improve and develop • Hiring fresh A-Grade (& A-Grade Potential) people.

Crowne Plaza , John Lennon Airport Speke Boulevard, Speke, Liverpool , L24 8QD enquiries@growthaccelerator.com

Thurs 23rd National & International Jobs Day at the Floral Pavilion Jobs Fair organised by The Department for Work & Pensions. Free of charge for exhibitors and visitors. Over 1,000 local jobseekers expected to attend. email eures.events@dwp.gsi.gov.uk to get involved.

Fri 24th 9 - 10am I’m a Manager Get Me Out of Here 60 Really Useful Minutes with Liverpool Chamber of Commerce delivered by Denise Chiltern Executive Business coach, Learn some simple effective techniques to help you get the most from your people. Book at events@liverpoolchamber.org.uk.

Number One Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9HG Tues 28th 9.30am - 4pm CIM Digital Marketing Bootcamp at Tangerine HQ, Giant's Basin, Castlefield, Manchester, M3 4NB. How do you make your social media activity deliver against your business and marketing strategies, reinforce and enhance your tone of voice and – ultimately – deliver sales? In an interactive day of workshops and talks from top practitioners, leading PR consultancy, Tangerine PR will talk delegates through taking social media to the next level, how to measure success and what to do if/when everything goes horribly wrong. CIM member £55 non-member £110. cimevents@cim.co.uk

networking

Wed 29th 2-4pm Leveraging your network and making LinkedIn work for you. As of January 2013, LinkedIn reports more than 200 million acquired users in more than 200 countries and territories.With this workshop you can learn how to use LinkedIn to benefit you and your business. Info and bookings: Donna on admin@designatedassociates.com / 0151-653-3338

February Thurs 6th Priory Business Forum FREE networking and topical seminars over coffee and a bacon batch. Marine Engineering College Birkenhead. www.the-priory.co.uk

Thurs 6th 10am - 12noon Taster Session from The Coach Mentor Centre at Vale House, Vale Park, Magazine Lane, New Brighton CH45 1LZ. Performance Improvement Coach Mentoring Masters Programme TASTER : Situational Coach-Mentoring Model. 2 hours introduction to the Situational Coach-Mentoring Model exploring the 3-Dimensions of the Manager’s Role: the Line Manager, the Teamworker and the Personal Performer. For an informal discussion please contact Elaine Owen or Cath Mills on: 0151 6533338 or email info@coachmentorcentre.com

Follow us on twitter

@theedgewirral

March Mon 3rd 8am - 12noon Strategy: Plan to Win. This workshop explores the scalability of your business to ensure you understand how you might overcome barriers to the growth of your company. Growth Accelerator workshop at Crowne Plaza , John Lennon Airport, Speke Boulevard, Speke, Liverpool , L24 8QD. enquiries@growthaccelerator.com Thurs 13th 5.30-8.30pm North West Sustainable Business Quarterly with Speakers Julian Walker-Palin, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Asda and Dr Richard Wright, Behavioural Science Director, Unilever, and networking.

Bruntwood, City Tower, Picadilly Plaza, Manchester M1 4BT. For more information please visit www.m4c-sustainability.co.uk

Include your listing in our next issue - email details to events@theedgewirral.co.uk

Looking to take your business to the next level?

Invest Wirral’s dedicated relationship managers give the one-to-one support you need to grow your business and as a delivery partner for the Merseyside Business Support Programme, can offer fully funded specialist advice in the areas that really matter to your business, including:

• • • • •

Business planning and health checks Sales and e-commerce HR strategy and advice Marketing and social media Quality assurance and diagnostics

• • • • •

Accountancy Change management and mentoring Tendering IT strategy advice IP advice

To find out how your business could benefit please contact Invest Wirral on 0151 650 6915, email invest@wirral.gov.uk

investwirral.com www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 41

Hospitality

Hospitality at the Open in

Safe Hands

Sodexo prepared for One of the busiest events. atering specialists, Sodexo, are preparing for the lagest outside event in Wirral's history with the much anticipated return of The Open to Hoylake on 14 – 20 July. The last Championship in Muirfield saw 142,000 spectators arriving to enjoy the spectacle and this year’s event at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Wirral is expected to welcome over 200,000 to watch the world’s best golfers compete for the famous Claret Jug. Sodexo has the challenge of ensuring that spectators, players, caddies, corporate guests, officials and the world’s media are catered for both on and off the course.

From January their chefs will be visiting local food producers and farms in Merseyside to arrange supplies and they are preparing to employ around 700 local workers in the run-up, during and immediately after the event.

Last year in Scotland, Sodexo provided a wide range of dishes, prepared on site which reflected the East Lothian region Thistly Cross Cider, Luca Ice Cream and seasonal fruit from Belhaven Fruit Farm.

Artisan bread was also created especially for The Open Championship by the award-winning Breadwinner Bakery of Edinburgh.

Sodexo say they are committed to using local produce and supplies wherever possible, and work hard to source local ingredients, select seasonably available produce and review how food can be transported to sites more efficiently to reduce food miles. This policy, ensure the highest standards are met while also providing maximum benefit to the local economy and minimum environmental impact.

Ben Dutson, Sodexo’s head chef for events said: “In 2013, we worked with Food and Drink East Lothian and East Lothian council, where we sourced local produce and hired local staff, many from catering colleges in the area who have gained their first experience of major event catering as a result. We look forward to replicating this successful formula for 2014.”

Sodexo have been providing catering and hospitality for The Open Championship for the past 25 years, and have been the sole provider for the past six. They are also the exclusive sales agent for the only official on-course hospitality – www.TheOpen.com/hospitality.

42 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

HoSpitality

Brett Tonkyn Director of The Open Hospitality comments

At Muirfield last year the company sold approximately 12,000 sandwiches, 7,000 beef burgers, 8,000 portions of fish and chips, 21,000 hot drinks and 90,000 pints of beer. The heat also meant they sold record numbers of cold refreshments, taking almost £200,000 on ice cream sales alone.

The Open Championship is a truly world class event, and one we are incredibly proud to be part of. We are very excited about the prospect of the return of The Open to Hoylake and interest in corporate hospitality from the local market has been phenomenal. By introducing The Champions Club, we now have an exciting range of restaurants and private facilities to suit any size of business whilst also appealing to golf fans or those looking to enjoy the occasion in style.

factfile The Hoylake event will be serviced by 13 food outlets, eight coffee shops, eight ice cream stalls and a 70 metre long bar which will expect to sell 150,000 pints of beer to an anticipated crowd of over 200,000. Three restaurants and 14 private suites will also operate throughout the tournament to provide over 8,000 covers and there will be catering for Patrons such as Rolex, Nikon and Mercedes-Benz, each within their own bespoke facilities with a fine dining service. The R&A Complex itself will include the Player Lounge, the Club Marquee for R&A members and guests and Championship Officials, and the Trophy Room for VIP guests plus a Media Centre for hundreds of journalists.

In The Open Hospitality areas the company entertained over 6,000 guests between The Gallery Restaurant, The 1860 Club and The Premier Suites. They hope to exceed these figures at Hoylake if visitor numbers compare to the 2006 event. In fact some hospitality packages are already close to selling out.

For 2014, The Open Hospitality has introduced a new and exciting facility, perfect for individuals or businesses looking to entertain guests in an informal environment. The Champions Club is the ideal restaurant to use as a base throughout the day where guests can enjoy all inclusive food and drinks while relaxing in a private garden with a putting green and large outdoor screen showing all the action. www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 43

Business profile

Timber Frames for Affordable Housing Layne Timber Systems is based in Hoylake and was founded by Frank Brennan early in 2013 and began trading in March of that year.

After some research Frank recognised the potential of being able to design, manufacture and supply energy efficient houses for the Affordable Homes Market.

Layne Timber Products are not 'timber houses’ but rather the internal frames that are used to replace traditional concrete/breeze block walls.

After securing contracts for three small schemes with Keepmoat, the Company won its first major contract with Anwyl Construction, for a development of twelve properties in Anglesey.

This scheme was designed, manufactured, delivered and erected on schedule with no site issues. Both the builder Anwyl, and the Housing Association involved were delighted

by Layne’s performance and invited them to quote for further projects.

In September, Graeme Guy joined the business as a partner and brought with him a vast experience of timber frame installation and timber frame manufacturing.

With Graeme's added knowledge, Layne Timber Systems is now able to offer a complete design, manufacture and installation package for small and large builders alike and service the ever growing Social Affordable Market.

The company is going from strength to strength and has now secured three larger building schemes with Anwyl, Hargreaves Builders and Nobles Construction. All of these schemes are within the North West region and outline the steady growth within the sector.

Currently, the largest user of timber frames is the Social Housing market, as they recognise and appreciate the environmental benefits of using a sustainable product like timber, rather than the more conventional concrete.

44 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Whilst timber frames are not cheaper than concrete blocks, the speed of construction to the point where the building can be made water tight is considerably faster, which in turn allows for the whole building process to speed up and not be so affected by bad weather which in turn leads to a massive cost saving on all site prelims.

Naturally all of the wood used in the manufacture of the timber frames comes from certified sustainable sources.

In a few short months the Layne Timber premises has been transformed from an empty 4,000 square foot unit in Hoylake to a now a thriving factory unit, employing a factory manager, two skilled joiners, six production workers and a professional design coordinator.

The present capacity of the factory is approximately ten houses per week but should the company finalise just half of their current contracts, they intend to move to a two shift process and increase their direct labour force by a further five staff.

As a company Layne Timber Systems are committed to using as many local businesses as possible in their supply chain with Hoylake Commercials supplying their transport and Travis Perkins in Hoylake supplying most of their products.

The company are now looking forward to 2014 with huge optimism when they hope to see the Layne Timber Systems brand in hundreds of new houses across the region and establish Wirral as a leading supplier to the affordable homes market.

Frank Brennan, Chairman

Layne Timber Systems Frank Brennan T: 0151 632 2007 M: 0797 3756 237 sales@laynetimbersystems.co.uk www.laynetimbersystems.co.uk 77-81 Seaview Road, Wallasey, Wirral CH45 4LE

The Wrightsure Insurance Group is one of the country’s largest privately owned insurance brokers. Founded in 1975 and with four UK offices, Wrightsure is an Independent Broker providing a range of insurance products for business. In 2010 Wrightsure Services Ltd obtained Lloyds Broker status which allows us direct access into Lloyds benefiting our clients both in savings & speed of response.

The Wrightsure Way: We listen We analyse We provide Our philosophy is refreshingly simple - to provide the highest degree of service, value and result to every person or organisation that ever comes into contact with us.

We also specialise in Car, Home and Travel insurance so,

if you’d like more information on how Wrightsure can meet your insurance needs,

why not contact us today?

11-12 Hurricane Dr, Speke, Merseyside L24 8RL

Don’t go round in circles Let us protect you.

Concentric HR is a friendly and down to earth HR Consultancy based in Wirral, offering individual cost-effective HR solutions for small and medium sized businesses.

We understand the cost constraints faced by small and medium employers, and we work hard to provide a true value for money HR service. We aim to help you avoid costly legal claims caused by poor HR practice, but also to add value by helping you to retain and motivate the best people for your business.

Practical HR - Advice and support with day to day HR issues leaving you free to run your business Affordable HR - Various HR support solutions to suit your budget and your needs Dependable HR - legally compliant contracts of employment and HR policies and procedures coupled with commercially sound pragmatic advice and legal knowledge to support the HR process Individual HR - Personable customer-focussed HR support which is designed to meet the specific needs of your business

Call Laura for an initial informal and confidential discussion 0151 342 6978 or 07957 667908

laura@concentrichr.co.uk

www.concentrichr.co.uk www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 45

COFFEE BREAK

Well there couldn’t be a coffee break more needed than in the edition of The Edge that goes out In the first week of January.

Well done for even turning up today, make yourself a large cupper and take a break, you deserve it.

Our futuristic new digital format means we can have some mouse-clicking fun for a change and in this issue we offer a selection from our friends at the brilliant UsVsTh3m.

THE NORTHOMETER Here at Edge Towers we’re a cultural melting pot of northerners and southerners (well just one southerner actually, but a really loud one) so we really notice the subtle nuances that collectively are the north-south divide. If you’re worried that you may secretly be a bit southern, the north-o-meter is here to give reassurance. games.usvsth3m.com/north-o-meter

A DONALD TRUMP PROPORTIONATE PRICE CALCULATOR If the long term business goal is to be as successful and rich as Donald Trump, the Donald Trump Proportionate Price Calculator will help you feel that rich and channel the right positive metal attitude. toys.usvsth3m.com/donaldtrump

YOU CAN’T DO SIMPLE MATHS UNDER PRESSURE We all think if we can estimate National Insurance in our heads then we’ve got a good handle on mental arithmetic. So we challenge you business leaders to see if you can do simple maths under pressure (this may have been easier before 10 days off work).

The first person to tweet us and tell us what happens to the screen when you complete the test gets our tweeted adulation and reverence. toys.usvsth3m.com/maths 46 | www.theedgewirral.co.uk

Tweet us!

@theedgewirral

Making a workspace you can work in We are specialists in creating the right workspace for you • Extensions • Loft Conversions • Basement Conversions • Conservatory Offices • Garage Offices Bathrooms and Kitchen also undertaken References available

www.logoco.biz

cost effective

- quick - professional Call for a no obligation quote: 0151 486 4718 or 07730 281 578 start2finishltd@gmail.com

Why spend your valuable free time cleaning?

Get the experts in instead ! ind us F on

s

p com/grou facebook. team /ccsgleam

Our team of experienced cleaners love the jobs you hate so let us take the strain.

We offer a comprehensive cleaning service to households across Wirral.

So call us today to discuss your household needs

Reliable , Honest & Friendly Cleaners Just

£per1ho0 ur

We cover all of Wirral.

Fully insured.

Call Charlene on 07718 483337 or visit: www.ccsgleamteam.co.uk

CC’s Gleam Team www.theedgewirral.co.uk | 47

Need support? we’re here to help...

To grow as a business, sometimes you need access to the right type of support which will ensure that you have the opportunity to develop the potential and the aspirations of you and your business – we will be happy to help with this.

There are various types of assistance available from a wide range of business support partners,

but to make this easier if you contact Wirral Chamber of Commerce we will find out what your needs are and then see how we can bring in the right people with the expertise to help with business guidance, marketing and HR support, export documentation services, crime reduction, finding business properties and many other areas.

CONNECTING BUSINESSES ACROSS WIRRAL

0151 650 6940 www.wirralchamber.co.uk info@wirralchamber.co.uk