Beruflich Dokumente
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heres how
Predict
Promote
Raise your profile for free
Forecast
Tips to aid cashflow
Welcome
A new year can be the ideal time to take a fresh look at your business. So for this first quarter of 2012, were focusing on topics to help you better prepare for the year ahead.
Whats inside
Energy market view Hot topic: Looking ahead How to: Generate free publicity Energy savers Business movers Spotlight: Cash is king Ways to reduce your bills 3 4 7 10 11 12 14 16
Predict
What will tomorrow bring and how can you be one step ahead? Dr Frank Shaw of the Centre for Future Studies foretells the latest business trends on page 4.
Promote
Tips on how to generate valuable publicity for your business, without having to spend much. Find out more on page 7.
Forecast
When it comes to maintaining healthy cashflow, accurately forecasting future spending and income is just one valuable tool. For others, see page 12. We hope you enjoy this issue. Pam Andrew Customer Service Manager
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Hot topic
Hot topic
Looking ahead
What will the world be like for small and medium-sized businesses in 2020 and beyond and what key opportunities will there be?
Business strategist, process consultant and futurist Dr Frank Shaw has a fantastic job title. He is Foresight Director at the Centre for Future Studies, a Kent University Innovation Centre-based consultancy he founded in 1996. Dr Shaw has been an advisor on the future for more than 30 years. Our foresight work involves research and analysis across political, economic, social and technological themes, he explains. We help our clients national and international companies, not-forprofit organisations, government departments and agencies to anticipate the future and manage change in their external environment. Over the past 14 years, the Centre has gained international recognition for its contribution to future thinking.
Dr Frank Shaw, Foresight Director at the Centre for Future Studies
A view to the future: understanding what trends are likely to emerge can help you adapt your business to meet market needs.
they pubs, restaurants or shops. Enabled by digital technologies, products and services will be subsumed into a wider experience.
Micro-business growth
Long-established businesses will become less common. Shaw anticipates a significant surge in micro-businesses, many of which will be part-time enterprises formed to satisfy a demand for a short period before the owner closes it down to start another venture. The current trend for people running more than one small business at a time will grow. Money will be entirely electronic in the near future, he says. And the working week will cease to exist, as the boundary between work and leisure will no longer apply. Although earnings have slowed down dramatically in recent years, Shaw says they will increase, as in the past. Perhaps of more relevance
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is that quality of life will improve and standards of living will be much higher. There will be a need for re-skilling, but many people will earn a living as freelancers working for several businesses, rather than being an employee at one.
Growth sectors
Over the next ten years, Shaw says the main growth sectors will be healthcare (especially elderly care, home healthcare services and nursing care facilities), technology, nano-technology, energy, food, water, the creative industries, management, scientific and technical consulting services, computer systems design (and related services), employment services, education and full-service restaurants. The fastest-growing firms will outsource more, focus on IT integration and be willing to invest in production and distribution, says Shaw. Over the period to 2020, successful small businesses will incorporate technology into every process.
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Hot topic
How to
Despite shrinking marketing and advertising budgets, there is still an overwhelming need to let potential customers know about your business. Penny Wells asks whether DIY PR is the perfect no-cost solution.
Some PR ideas are so effective they generate publicity time after time and often theyre quite simple, observes former journalist Paul Green, who now runs his own PR agency, Northantsbased Publicity Heaven (publicityheaven.com).
Something newsworthy
Youve got to give journalists something newsworthy. All day long they receive uninspiring press releases, so your story must stand out. Journalists also like to write about the first, newest, oldest, biggest, etc. And they like to write about pioneers which is why entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson have become globally famous.
The technology revolution will leave no person or organisation untouched. The digitisation and mobilisation of every process will affect us all.
Specialise to prosper
The SMEs that prosper will be niche businesses operating in ever-finer market segments. Affordable e-commerce solutions, together with cheap outsourced manufacturing or product sourcing, will enable SMEs to connect with market segments identified through social media, says Shaw. Size will become less of an issue in business, Shaw predicts, as long as you harness technologys potential. Classifying the nature of an organisation by the number of employees or turnover will become meaningless. More important will be the number of IT staff they have, the type of roles they perform and what level of IT expertise they possess to support the organisation, he concludes.
Green says the obvious advantage that gaining press coverage has over advertising is that it costs nothing. You can employ a PR agency, of course, as writing a professional-looking press release requires skill, and getting it to the right journalist can take perseverance, he explains. But, says Green, to increase your chances of success if you choose to do it yourself, there are a few golden rules.
Your press releases must also be targeted to the most appropriate media, and if possible, to a specific individual rather than a general news desk.
If you are announcing a new team member or customer, Green advises sticking to the trade press. It must be very newsworthy for a regional paper to write about that stuff, but if you win a national award, local papers will be interested thats why it pays to enter awards. Your press releases must also be targeted to the most appropriate media, and if possible, to a specific individual rather than a general news desk. Some business-owners now put themselves up as business commentators, notes Green. Journalists and readers like expert opinion. And if your writing skills are good enough, you could contribute free articles to publications or write blogs for websites. Your business will usually get a mention.
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To find out more about the Centre for Future Studies visit
futurestudies.co.uk
continues overleaf...
How to
How to
Speak out: making an announcement about a business win (top right) or a new team member (right) can generate free publicity for your business, as can offering expert opinion to relevant media.
Common mistakes
Green says common DIY PR mistakes include business-owners trying to push dull, irrelevant or non-stories. Journalists dont really care about your business, theyre focused on their readers. They often have to spend time wading through guff, so when something special comes along they jump on it. Perseverance is also key. Often business-owners give up after one failed press release, but not every one you send out will lead to coverage no matter how good your story, explains Green. Your expectations should be realistic. PR shouldnt be seen solely as a lead-generation tool either, its more about raising awareness and supporting the rest of your marketing activity. Publicity stunts are a tried and tested method of gaining press coverage, but Green sounds a cautionary note: Your stunt must be fresh, fun, exciting and highly visual. Make sure its legal, too otherwise you could well get the wrong type of publicity!
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Net gains
LINGsCARS has also gained publicity for its unconventional website (lingscars.com), which divides opinion massively. Some describe it as one of the ugliest websites ever, yet it has won awards and attracts 100,000-plus unique visitors every month. Love it or hate it you cant ignore it. Visitors want to find out about my vehicles and prices, but they also want to be entertained. They visit lots of other websites, so I need to grab their attention, explains Valentine. Most other car sites think their visitors are ready to buy there and then, but thats not so. I play with visitors for months and years, before they have a car from me. To generate yet more publicity, Valentine bought a truck, complete with giant rocket, which she used to advertise her business to motorists on the A1. I get massive visitor spikes after my publicity stunts, she says. I do it because its cheaper than advertising and crucially it works.
Ten minutes on prime-time TV on a hugely popular show, plus all the associated publicity, would have cost me hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Ling Valentine talking about the benefits of appearing on the BBCs Dragons Den.
Energy savers
Business movers
Moving premises?
When youre moving premises, theres a lot to think about. Thats why we have a dedicated Business Movers Team to take the hassle out of finalising your energy bills.
npowers energy efficiency expert provides tailored advice to the Southbank Bar.
Heres what to do if youre leaving a premises supplied by npower, whether youre the tenant or the owner.
Improving efficiency
How a Nottingham sports bar has reduced its fuel bills and carbon footprint - thanks to an energy audit from npower
Business may be thriving for the Nottinghambased Southbank Bar, but Assistant Manager Andrew Nicholls still believes reducing the businesss carbon footprint is important. As far as energy efficiency goes, we are always looking to improve, he says. I think more and more people are now realising we all have to do our bit and it all makes a difference. The venue is the number one sports bar in Nottingham located a stones throw away from both Nottingham Forest and Notts County football clubs and also hosts regular live music events. But despite being popular with the punters, how did it fare in npowers energy assessment? The audit identified that the bar can implement some very simple measures to make significant savings both in terms of cost and business energy. npowers energy specialists calculated that the business could make annual savings of 757, nearly 10% of its annual energy costs, through simple changes, such as replacing 15 x 35 Watt halogen lamps with 5 Watt LED, and by sealing a gap in the beer cellar wall where the drinks pipes pass through. Nicholls and his team have already changed the lighting, with no noticeable impact to the ambiance of the bar. All our spotlights have now been reduced to a lower wattage, and we adjust them via a dimmer to suit the conditions in the bar at the time - but no-ones noticed any difference in terms of brightness, he says. Other measures are still in the process of being actioned, but Nicholls is impressed with how easy it is to make a difference. Anything that can save the business money is always welcome, he says. And when you know you are also doing your bit for the environment, that makes it even better.
Please remember
If you dont let us know youre moving out, youll continue to be liable for all charges until the new tenant confirms their moving in date. Of course, wed be delighted if youd take us with you to your new premises! When you call us we can also set up a new supply account at your new premises quickly and easily.
Call our energy efficiency helpline to find out which audit option is best for your business and how much it would cost
npower.com/businessmovers
to find out more
Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
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Stoplight
Spotlight
Cash is king
Its perhaps one of the cruellest entrepreneurial ironies that even seemingly profitable businesses can fail if they run out of cash. Mark Williams looks at what can be done to make sure your cashflow remains healthy.
The well-worn business clich has never been more true or relevant: turnover is vanity; profit is sanity; cash is reality. Sales and margins only matter up to a point. Not having enough cash to pay your bills on demand can have disastrous consequences. Maintaining healthy cashflow is a key challenge that all businesses face, says chartered accountant Elaine Clark, Managing Director of online accountancy practice CheapAccounting.co.uk. Some make the classic mistake of spending large sums of money they dont have usually on stock. They make some sales, but not enough to pay their suppliers or they dont get the money in soon enough. Running out of cash is fatal. Often theres no coming back.
Optimising prices
Clark advises keeping your prices at optimum level, which means generating sufficient profit, while remaining competitive and attractive to customers. You need to maximise sales, too, of course, and the easiest and cheapest way to do this is, if possible, to sell more to existing customers. If your sales slow down, employ different tactics, such as offering special prices, early payment discounts, cheaper prices for cash up-front. Obviously, work out whether your business can afford this never go below a base line gross margin. But if you arent making enough sales, youll experience a serious cashflow crisis probably sooner rather than later.
If you grant credit, issue your invoices promptly and chase them as soon as payment is overdue. New customers should be checked thoroughly before credit is granted. Clark advises creditchecking existing customers at least every year (better still, every six months). To lessen your exposure on large sales, you could ask for deposits on order or cash on delivery.
Cashflow solution?
Asset-based lending (eg invoice discounting and factoring) could provide a cashflow solution. The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates it could benefit as many as 650,000 SMEs and lead to an increase of between 531m and 1.4bn to the UKs GDP by the end of 2012. Invoice discounting is a facility usually provided by specialist divisions of banks that allows businesses to draw against their unpaid invoices, while retaining control over their sales ledger. Factoring means selling your unpaid invoices to a debt factor that collects your debts and takes over your ledger management. Typically, you receive most (up to 80 per cent) of the invoices value and get the balance once paid, minus interest and a transition fee.
businesslink.gov.uk
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1. Dont overheat
Heating can be a significant cost in any business where people work inside. For example, around 12% of all energy consumed by manufacturing industries is used for space heating. Checking that heating is programmed to come on and go off at appropriate times can save a significant amount each year, especially over the colder months. You can also be sure you dont overheat your workplace by using the following temperature guidelines:
3. Prioritise maintenance
Regularly servicing and maintaining boilers and heating systems can save on fuel costs. Aim to service your boiler every 12 months to ensure optimal efficiency, which can save you up to 20% on running costs.
npower.com/smartstartQ1
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Service
Save time paying bills. With Direct Debit, the payment is automatic so once its set up, you dont need to do anything more.
Choice
Choose the best way to pay. You can opt for variable Direct Debit and just pay for what you used in the previous billing period. Or for easier budgeting, you can pay the same amount each month throughout the year. Your account is then reviewed every six to eight months to ensure your payment is appropriate.