How the Housing Market Affects So Many Business Types

As someone who has spent the majority of his career in DIY retail sheds, it is no surprise that the whole hub of the UK economy is based around housing and oil. As mortgages became harder to get with higher deposits and smaller multiplication of salary to monies borrowed needed to complete a mortgage application, even then provided the money was available, has meant the housing market went into freefall creating the biggest recession since the 20s, depending on which newspaper you read.

Of course the first to be hit is the builders themselves. The influx of Polish workers brought in to handle a lot of building work, pretty much packed their bags and went back home to better prospects. The businesses that attach themselves indirectly to the housing market such as DIY stores, tool hire and the equipment suppliers providing the equipment needed to build houses such as excavators and diggers  are next to be hit. One company selling wear parts and accessories such as rubber tracks saw a huge downfall in profits and turnover, as this type of equipment was heading for auction yards, not repair.

Then the word confidence or “lack off” starts to be mentioned every hour on the hour by the press and even those in pretty secure jobs, stop spending money which affects everyone, from sandwich sales to new cars. It has just been announced that we are now out of recession albeit by a very small margin. Common sense states, no matter what figure there out there, it will be when the housing market picks up with sales and prices, can we say we really are on the up.

Globespan – How a good company fails with 100,000 forward bookings?

In the light of the sad demise of Globespan it seems entirely sensible to recommend two areas for serious investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, the Administrators Price WaterHouse Cooper (PwC), and lastly but probably most importantly, the CAA.

In the first instance, I would like to suggest an Independent Review be commissioned (not sure who would pay for it, but paid in part by the key parties - in this case CAA, FSA, and the Government, representing lost PAYE, VATand Corportaion Tax - the taxpayers purse). The review’s brief should be a thorough examination of the mechanism for reimbursement of consumers’ monies (paid in advance, or reimbursement of expenses to complete their holiday) in the event of a (travel) company collapse.

The system now, which simply requires Credit Card Companies to bail out their cardholders, is not responsible, and may well have, in this instance and in hundreds of other cases, made a signficant contribution to the premature demise and eventual failure of a successful travel company like Globespan. I say successful, because at the time of its collapse in December 2009, it has 100,000 advanced bookings, which considering it is December is an oustanding achievement in anybody’s books.

The second suggestion is for Senior management and for all UK Travel consultancies. Tom Dalrymple MD of Globespan, the CAA, and the Travel consultancies, need to reflect deeply about the substantial power Dalrymple allowed E-Clear to have over his business. Allowing any other entity to weld such power is nothing short of co-dependence, completely irresponsible and appears to be an act of desperation more than inspiration. The problem with these kinds of heavily dependant relationships is that it is unhealthy for either party. Either the other party simply cannot bear the burden (as might have been in this case) or it seeks to walk away, causing potential havoc, and treating the relationship with disrespect (that it may deserve).

The sad demise of a much loved, well established and respectable Scottish travel firm, Globespan group, tells a dark tale.

An excellent commentary and feedback on Globespan, entitled The Missing Millions, written by Douglas Fraser, Business and Economy Editor at BBC Scotland gives the online researcher a broader picture of the Globespan story, and comes with the added bonus of the feedback from his army of avid Frazer ledger readers.

Did Tom Dalrymple have the best business support, advice and assistance around him, and the people he really needed to help him manage the crisis? Even if he didn’t have the ‘right muscle in his corner’ going into the crisis, it is little excuse these days as there are now much easier ways to find trustworthy, cost effective expertise fast, at the click of a button, using free online business support location services like Business Support Finder and the like, as well as the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

On another point, if I was a client of E-Clear I would seriously think of changing card processing company. This relationship should be ‘put in competition’ on an annual basis (as with all supplier relationships).

Scottish minister for Finance, Mr Swinney, quoted recently in the Scotsman believes vehermently that Globespan could have been saved. If you would like to read more try reading the article in the Scotman entitled:”Flyglobespan could have been saved“.

The demise may in large part be due to the contractual and operational arrangements that Globespan had with its card processing company - in this case a card transaction processing company based in London called E-Clear. This company is alleged to have been (with-) holding £35m from Globespan, and it transpired that it may be the legal obligations of card processing companies in the event of airline failure that could have been a key ‘driver’ in the behaviour and actions of E-Clear. If so, this would be a monumental professional oversight by the industry watchdogs, both travel and financial

Quoted in travel publication the TTG, in July 2009, Elias Elia is credited as saying that the travel industry is becoming riskier”. This is interesting since a previous client of E-Clear was collapsed businesses XL Leisure Group and Zoom Airlines. Interesting also is that Elia was quoted during the XL collapse as saying that his firm was insured for any exposure and the impact was “nothing we could not handle”.

A Slovakian low-cost airline SKY EUROPE which went into administration in June also appears to have had difficulties in obtaining its monies from E-Clear.

E-Clear has been also involved this month with the failure of Allbury Travel Group, which includes Libra Holidays, Argo and Jetlife. Libra Holidays had a good reputation, as well as Argo. They handled considerable holiday business each year, consistently providing good quality holidays and value for money for its hundreds of thousands of happy clients and customers.

Looking at E-Clear, prior to August 2008 the highly rated Deutsche Bank acted as E-Clear’s guarantor. It has not been explained why the bank ended the relationship, but it is likely that Deutsche Bank consider the risks has become too great to warrant the returns.

Looking for answers is always hard in the travel industry which, over the decades from the collapse of Clarksons in the 1970s, Intasun and Air Europe, Laker Airways, right up to XL Leisure, is a graveyard including good travel businesses as well as the bad (ask the CAA and ABTA for a list).

 Successfully managing medium or large travel organisations is not for the faint hearted, and it can be any number of factors that can cause the demise of a successful travel organisation.

google web history - why one needs to take notice of the changes

The latest google algorythmn change might affect internet marketeers and eBusiness strategy. Why?

Unless consumers click disable, then the DEFAULT SETTINGS for (YOUR CLIENTS, AND YOUR) ……GOOGLE Web History will be Enable customisations based on search activity.

What is the significance of this seemingly minor setting?

It will distort what the consumers see on their screens.

If the WEB HISTORY customisation is NOT disabled the reSults to their screen of a Google search will include the most visited websites of that search (TERM). Spend a moment to think about this.

In theory the first time the consumer searches they will get normal results. After that they will start to see most prominently the results that they have previously viewed most.

This may not be the best example, but this type of insight is another example why UK SMEs need to make sure they have use of the services of a Internet Marketing Business Consultant to get access to expert SEO advice. This is particularly important when SMEs are planning to invest in renewing their websites, as they need to be made SEO friendly (whatever one might read in the National press, written by journalists who do not make their living by selling online).

Of course, SMEs need business advice and assistance for planning their internet strategy. The best person to consult is an e-business consultant.

Without a Search Engine Specialist (SEO) most SMEs will be lost when it comes to making a profit from their online investment. The startling statistic is that over 90% of SMEs do NOT succeed in making a return on their investment (ROI) with their websites.

The question is….which statistic do you and your business want to be included in - the few that succeed online I suspect? If so, use the internet to start your research. Services like Business Support Finder. Last piece of advice is, whichever business consultant you use make sure that they have professional indemnity insurance cover.

Sir Gerry Robinson - what needs changing in the UK Care Industry (Dementia Care)?

Sir Gerry Robinson has been described as one of the best businessmen in the UK, and whose career is depicted in wikipedia. He is credited in turning round Coca-Cola’s UK fortunes (£7m loss into £17m profit within 24 months); leading the then biggest management buyout of Compass from Grand Metropolitan (1987) and turning round Granada’s losses in 12 months to profits of 10% more than anticpated best expectations.

 In December 2009 Gerry Robinson did a couple of BBC TV documentaries on Dementia and Care Homes in the UK, highlighting the successful strategies and those which need attention. Robinson sees change in the care of dementia in the care industry to be a very slow process. It was a joint venture with The Open University, which has produced a booklet on Dementia Care.

Robinson reflects that as an entrepreneur, if one’s homes are full, meeting all the regulations, and are economically viable then why would you want to change it? Yet he sees the standards could easily be raised.

He identifies an excellent example of how best practice in Merevale Homes, adided by leading Dementia Specialist Consultancy ‘Dementia Care Matters‘, and also shows how quickly the environment can be changed forn the better in the example of Thornfield care home, which was transformed in just 4 months.

As an observer the issues for me are the dangers of working as a professional, i.e. a care industry business adviser. Working in these difficult conditions, under constant scrutiny from outside authorities and relatives highlights the risk of litigation, and just how vital is and just how enormously valuable is Business Adviser Professional Indemnity Insurance is for a consultant working in the Care Indsutry.

Remote Access working - boost to productivity

After having wasted several hours, and several attemptes over several days, I have given up with LOG ME IN.

Small businesses don’t have the time to waste. Several frustrating hours on a couple occasions, and a cul-de-sac conclusion makes me  believe that this is a corporate strategy on behalf of LogMeIn (based in the US). LogMEIn seems uncessarility complicated, has restrictive timelimits etc. It pertains to offer a Free service but I have a distinct feel that it is merely a cheap trick and sales gimmick to entice the hapless consumer to pay £60 a year for a service that is free with other free Log Me In software reputable services such as TeamViewer. If this is for personal use it is free.

Business Consultants could use this software to log in to their pcs at home to access sensitive data and to reduce the requirement to carry expensive it equipment with them out of their office and away from home.

Twitter - how valuable is it in business?

Recently many ‘names’ in business (Robert Craven, Ken McCarthy and many many more) have declared in favour (UK Spelling) of Twitter as a business medium for ’spreading the message’ (their business).

I have been a raving fan of Twitter from the start. Heralded as a milestone in internet history and search engine optimisation, Twitter could best be described as one of the initiators of micro-blogging. Registering as a business on Twitter is easy, such as example BusinessFinder on Twitter.

Twitter can be an excellent medium for businesses, as any good marketing consultant should verify, to keep in contact with its customers, prospective customers and indeed any customer segment it chooses, and as many as it chooses since there are few restrictions to membership.

One of the key questions to me is the value in terms of search engine optimisation and the quality of internet links is a micro-blog post on Twitter. Is it only the main link that has value or is does the link in each post also have a value?

Abbey Business - customer service quailty standards being met?

Thanks to Jasmine Birtles of MoneyMagpie in her article ‘The misery of Abbey Business‘I don’t feel so alone in my desperation and frustration of Abbey Business Banking. I ma grateful to her for sharing her personal experience. I too have had problems in accessing my money deposited with Abbey Business in the UK. Abbey is part of the Santander banking group allegedly one of the Top 10 global banking institutions.

I have been obliged to ring them 6 times today (no regard for the customer’s valuable time) and I have been obliged to repreat a lengthy series of security questions (no regard for the customer’s level of acceptance, tolerance and frustration levels).

Previously I was offered a telephone reply by an Abbey supervisor or departmental manager. No telephone contact with me was made. To add to my injuries an unprofessional member the Abbey Business fraud department, who declined to offer her name (which I suppose is understandable - why publicise that you are a bad employee) and made the decision by herself to terminate the call despite.

Finally today I’ve been told that the Abbey Business ecommerce team have identified the problem (this is after other members of the Abbey Business team had previously identified the problem and failed to resolve the issue affecting my business account), and I’ve been told it will take the system 24 hours to update.

All in all I have had very little access to my business accounts in three weeks.

It is a good job I have been able to survive in the meantime, because 98% of all businesses would not have been able to trade through such poor level of business banking service. I would be most interested in the comments of a Professional business adviser in business banking, and his suggestions?

In conclusion, without prejudice, here is a summary of the Abbey Business bank customer experience I have witnessed. I am unable to say whether other Abbey Bank customers would experience the same below par levels of customer service or what impact that it might have on their business performance. How many businesses would be willing to chance it?

1.  After I reported my involvement is a fraud phishing scam, Abby responded quickly to stop any transactions out of the account. They were unable to set account quickly to keep me going, but offered to transfer monies to a new account to keep me in business. Fortunately I had just opened another business bank account with another bank. Yet the monies transferred by the Abbey representative never arrived in the new account, and were returned or transferred to my new Abbey current account 5 days later with no explanation ever given.

2. I was told I had failed a security check (quite hard since it was me, and I do not believe I had behaved differently from any other occasion.) I was threatened with my account being put on hold.

3. I rang to make a complaint. I was promised a telephone response by a Manager, which I never received.

4. I rang today 6 times to get access to moving monies. I was passed from Abbey Business Banking to ecommerce department and back again. The Abbey Ecommerce member of staff did not advise me why he asked me to return to the main department, nor did he speak to a member of staff to instruct them what to do. As a result I was left “hanging in abeyance”. Eventually a helpful member Greg, told me that he had contacted ecommerce again and they have identified the problem and it should be resolved within 24 hours.

What impression can I have with the low level of customer service I have received?

I am sure someone senior on the Santander banking group would be scandalised to learn of my Abbey Business customer experience.

As a business analyst, and business consultant involved in best practice would do as well, I could implement several quality control measure to transform the customer experience and at the same time vastly reduce time wasted, simultaneously massively increase individual productivity, and undoubtedly staff morale as well.

The Internet influence - 5 interesting facts (Anthony Tjan, Harvard Business Publishing)

Anthony Tjan in his Harvard Business Publishing article (28 Oct 09) entitled ‘Upstarts and Titans’ highlights 5 key facts that he has observed on the Net in the world wide web world:

1. Explosion of websites - (2009 200m) 40,000 times increase since 1994 (spanning 15 years).
2. 2009 1m blogs daily (the term blog first used by Evan Williams founder of blogger.com)
3. Twitter - launched 2006 - in 2009 has over 5b ‘tweets’ - blogs of 140 charatcers of less.
4. Google 2b global internet searches per day, and Facebook 700,000 new members daily.
5. Internet-unique industry-high rate churn of Top 10 players.

What does this say about the importance of business internet marketing? Fundamental to your business strategy? Do you need help from a business strategist or from a internet marketing consultant? What does it say if your business is not leading from the front, and where does a business owners or senior manager go to get good business advice?

Business experts on personal development can help today’s managers.

In my humble opinion In the UK there is a shortage of business gurus.

Names like Robert Craven nicknamed by the Sunday Times as the ‘entreprenueur guru’ spring to mind, but there are not many.

In the US it is a different story. Whatever one may personally think of Anthony Robbins, one cannot ignore the significant contribution he has made to the field of personal development, which he suggests is ‘the source of all one’s business’ and therefore his contribution to business performance.

His message is that there are 5 things to help (managers) face adversity and crisis.

1. Be decisive. (whatever happens, make a decision, learn from it).
2. Get resourceful (get help from a mentor, business adviser, colleague)
3. Get a vision (of how change will happen. If you can’t think of a positive one, think of the most negative one, and then do the opposite)
4. Get a proven plan (ideally, model on somebody who’s been through the same and who’s succeeded. Athony Robbins says “success leaves clues”).
5. Take massive action.  (5 frogs sitting on a log floating in a lake. One decides to go for a swim. How many are left? Answer: the same number since the frog who made the decision has only made up his mind, he hasn’t taken action yet. So this step is equally crucial).

So as a manager we need to think deeply with our minds (using Stephen Covey’s terminology) how best we can respond to the current situation, bearing in mind the current economic climate, and the current activitiy of our competitors. In my mind, as Robert Craven always reminds the UK SME business community, we don’t get far trying to go it alone. I have learned this from personal experience. For outstanding results we need outstanding business improvement, and that is likely to come from seeking external business advice and assistance. Do you agree?

Peter Roper says, “Be seen, be heard, be visible” to connect to people (in business)

At the North East Business Road Show organised by Network North, Peter Roper of Positive Ground encourages all business owners to be natural presenters.

We buy people. We buy relationships.

So why do 80% of all presentations fails? Roper bases his claims on survey results of 350,000 businesses.

1. WHY ARE YOU PRESENTING? I am here to serve….
2. THE POINT - YOUR MESSAGE
3. CLOSE (the closing 5 mins)
4. OPEN (the opening 5 minutes)
5. BODY (the rest of the talk….flexible…the proof of what you are talking about)

Roper sugests we all ask oursleves the following question:

How do you know you’re good enough? (presenting your business).

Often there are considerable marketing questions that need answering prior to designing a good presentation, but where does one find a top business marketing consultant? Roper offers consultancy to address any issues you might have. If you want to get a choice of solutions then using an onlione service such as Business Support Finder will probably help you to consider alternative business professionals.

Giles Johnson says, ‘Learn from the wisdom of 10 year olds’

At the Business Road Show North East (UK) Giles Johnson of SmartSpeed revealed how the wisdom of 10-year olds can help us manage our businesses better.

1. Work ON your business, don’t fixate with the competition.
2. Focus on YOUR priorities and make sure tasks happen.
3. Be clear about the requirements of your clients and the value you bring to them.
4. When facing an issue, keep asking questions until you get to a real cause, not a symptom.
5. When projects/improvements stall, use the tiniest step possible to ignite activity.
6. If a change doesn’t work properly first time, tweak it and try again.
7. Use routines to help make sure that the day-to-day stuff is manageable and gets done.

In conclusion, Giles summarises the 5 key things to look out for in organisations when addressing (poor) business performance:

1. PROCESS
2. VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
3. MEASURES
4. LINKAGES
5. ISSUES

The best method to help business owners consider how best to make improvements, and ideally to install a continuous and never-ending improvement programme is to employ professional business advisers. Where can business owners access the right business consultant at the right price? An online business support search using Google UK may bring you to a service such as Business Support Finder

Richard McCann says, “Focus on the Positive” to find the opportunity in adversity

Speaking at the Business Road Show North East (UK) Richard McCann gave a rousing speech encouraging ALL entrepreneurs to find the opportunity in adversity.

Richard McCann told his audience of business owners how he turned it round.

(He) knows a thing or two about adversity. Brought up in poverty, on the ‘At Risk’ register, lived in foster homes. Eventually brought up by his estranged step-father, often violent and drunk towards him. As a result Richard had little confidence or self esteem, left school with no qualifications. He was kicked out of the army after a nervous breakdown, turned to drugs and ended up in prison - his rock bottom. - and found the gut wrenching determination to turn his life around.

1. ATTITUDE - ”I Can” approach to life.
2. FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE - it makes it easier to deal with challenges.
3. BE COURAGEOUS - life begins at the end of one’s comfort zone.
4. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP - nothing worth having is going to be given on a plate.

Richard suggests that when Life offers us a ‘window of opportunity’ to climb through it. Many people let other people take the risk. It requires a leap of faith.

We’ve all got more potential to do more than we are currently. Richard also encouarges us to “Do things that make you feel uncomfortable, because they make you grow.”

As a business owner, as Robert Craven the Entrepreneur guru often reminds us, we cannot do things on our own, we need to ask for help from business consultants, and Richard McCann says to ask for help is actually a sign of strength, not weakness. I think they’re right, don’t you?

Robert Craven - Entrepreneur Guru - What would you do if you were in his shoes?

In my opinion, Robert Craven is one the UK’s leading authorities on UK Small and medium Sized enterprises. He runs The Director’s Centre which offers “been there, and done it” support for medium sized business that have hit a ‘glass ceiling’ and have run out of ideas, steam, or the will to carry on.

What I like about Craven’s style is it is simple, clear, direct and works - I find his style refreshing and quite rare. He has just launched a business club for small enterprises who perceive that they can’t afford business advice and assistance. Since ALL consultancy operates on a ‘results basis’, whether charged as such, means that small business owners lack the faith or insight as to the business opportunities in their niche sector or marketplace. The business club benefits (newsletters, videos, downloads etc) act as ‘education’ helping to bring the business owner to the point of clarity and purpose when they can see the opportunities and can sense a rising confidence to go after them. Craven emphasises that ‘you can’t do it one your own’, which is absoutely true.

Finally, I come to the aspect of what I would do if I were Robert Craven. What could Craven do, occupying as he does the position of a leader in his marketplace (Consultancy). Anyone involved in assisting SMEs wishes to help raise the standards and expertise of small business management. As a market leader in UK Business advice and assistance Craven also needs to protect himself from business consultants trying to use or cheapen his business material. So what’s my suggestion? It is simple. Robert Craven (RC) already does a fantastic business presentation for UK SMEs in his business series: “Lets talk, More profit”. Market himself/rebrand himself as a business guru ‘celebrity’, increasing his ‘reach’. He is already known as an author but he would benefit from raising of his profile. Creating a top quality DVDs of his material (e.g. More profit and Bright marketing) and, with the help of the best PR in the business, he can try to -reposition himself as the celebrity business guru, such as the like of Alan Sugar. Does this need TV to achieve it? I suspect it does, but that is where professionals come in. The point is to rebrand Craven as a celebrity (i) is achieveable and (ii) which bring him all the rewards he deserves (increased prominence, respect for his materials, financial return etc).

Have we learned the lessons of too much dependence on the US for growth?

If the current opposition party wins the right to govern the UK at the next election, they will have an almost impossible challenge. The present incumbents (presently on the Government benches of the house), will ‘hound’ every move by any Minister who advocates spending cuts. Obviously, the very best solution is not to spend it in the first place. The rising debit of the UK is unsustainable, despite the UK retaining its TRIPLE A status. Making cuts in the here and now for monies (mis)spent in the past may turn out to be political suicide, but was it financial prudence by Alistair Darling? Gordon Brown made a courageous move and motivated US, Asian and European finance ministers to agree to certain measure to help the macro economy of a global scale. He did this against a background of the experience of the Great Depression of 1929 (which almost certainly paved the way for WW2). The great debate is were the measures taken the right ones. Evidence seems to suggest that the recession is shorter than it could have been, with the highly respected CBI forecasting recovery turnaround in 2010. It could have been much worse. In the US the sub-prime market was a scandal. Many consumers of sub prime mortgages were in no position to afford the US$600,000 homes they were being sold. Millions are now destitute, through criminal behaviour of US financial institutions. I do not believe the situation was so irresponsible here in the UK, but the impact to the UK economy, and to finance in particular was devastating. My own (inadequately informed) opinion is that Mr Brown and world leaders acted swiftly avert a global catastrophe, but as Mr Alan Greenspan alluded to recently in his interview as part of BBC2’s Love of Money season - “it will happen again - ITS HUMAN NATURE”.

Alan Greenspan - BBC\’s Love of Money season

Have we learned the lessons of too much dependence on the US for growth? Have we learned what was flawed in our human nature - insufficient governance?

Marketing is Key

Business is tougher than usual within the current climate with many that would rely on passing trade now needing to take their business to the world. This has meant that many marketing companies are busier than ever hopefully assisting getting the business message out.

Top gear the popular car TV programme did a feature albeit a tongue in cheek one, as a challenge to market the new VW Scirocco Diesel . The advice was to find a truth within the car and use that truth as a basis of a TV advert (something that can be used in all business marketing). The problem was when they came to test the car; their perception was that a car this beautiful should not have the slower Diesel engine in, but the faster petrol one. More advice came, do not focus on the car with a diesel engine, but focus on the diesel engine in a beautiful car.  What followed was a catalogue of funny videos that we all know will never be used for real. But from a VW perspective they got a good 10 minutes of prime world TV. What was also understood, that even simple messages can be difficult to deliver.

Here are some more marketing challenges

Composite Doors

This is the latest door product made from composite materials that end up stronger and better looking that the traditional uPVC doors. The marketing challenge is that composite doors presented on a colour brochure of website look exactly the same as uPVC doors, and most people will not take the time to read the text.  If you stand next to a composite door, you can clearly see and feel the benefits, but pictures just don’t do it.  One solution was to show cutaways of the doors, but again you needed to be present to see the difference. The final conclusion is that video footage of composite doors being made will probably be the best was to show why they are superior doors. But coming to that conclusion took some time and will cost more to market than the traditional brochure or advert in the paper.

Business Support

Most businesses leave it too late to ask for business support and have no idea where to go for the right help. One problem is that to be seen as a reputable business adviser or consultant you need a superb CV and qualifications to match. But if there is anything a small business owner does not like, is guys in suits with a fancy CV and loads of qualifications. It is a catch 22 situation. It is no wonder most business support comes from referrals.  How to market this and to get business owners first to find you and then decide you are good for their business is an art. A solution is probably not from business advisers, but from business owners currently running their own business. Would they not be the best advisers, for those who are struggling? Something to think about.

Redcar Demonstrations

This weekend saw a huge demonstration through the streets of Redcar, campaigning against the planned loss of 2000 jobs at Corus steelworks nearby.  It seems that a 10 year contract had been cancelled and Corus can no longer guarantee the work. In one way it is a sign of the times and in another something that tends to happen in the North East, recession or not.

Great Britain became what it was through the assistance of the large industries and manufacturing organisations, but towards the end of the 20th century, it seems that industries like steel works are destined for eastern, cheap labour based countries. In terms of generating new business you have to ask if there is a place in the modern UK business world for large industries anymore and have we put too many rules in place to make anything built on this land competitive compared to other countries.

There is a mixed view; certainly school leavers are not asking their careers advisers, “how do I get into industry”? But a more mature wiser population will argue that Britain needs heavy industry and that once it’s gone, it will not return.  Unlike other countries throughout the world the government does not like to keep business alive. If it fails it fails, even if it is something as important as the motor industry, where we have sufficient car plants, just very few which are British owned. We are good enough to make the cars, just not clever enough to run them to a profit.

So it is unlikely that the Government will intervene and put money into Corus to keep it alive, within an area that has one of the worst start up business figures throughout the UK. There is only one answer and that is orders. Without customers, there is no work and no jobs. It will be hard for anyone else to believe sufficient work is being put in to source new work, or that Corus will diversify into other sectors. It must be a very worrying time, even tough there is a hint the recession is on the up and up.

The financial decisions we make.

Julian Rowe, Business Correspondent, Business Service Finder, reflects upon analysis by economist, Dan Ariely, in his interview with the BBC World Service concerning Predictable irrationality (regarding money).
Regarding money, Ariely suggests we make repeatable, predictable mistakes - the recording of his interview is still available on the BBC World Service website.
Ariely is a behavioural analyst, concerning himself with ‘Behavioural economics’ i.e. Human irrationality and money. Ariely quotes Greenspan, in front of Congress, who is alleged to have said, “Oops I made a mistake”. Ariely points out that this shows ‘irrationality’ is not just confined to the lower eschelons of society i.e. we at the bottom of the heap.

The main reason for the mistakes we all make with money, Ariely argues, is because it is actually a very hard subject to master. Everytime one spends something, e.g. a cup of coffee, one should really ask oneself “what I am giving up in the future” in order to enjoy this cup of coffee now? What will I not be able to do in the future? In reality, as Ariely points out, it is this concept, or thought, that is actually very complex. For example, if I buy this now I may not be able to go to a movie in ten years or buy this book in fifteen years time is a very challenging decision. Because of this challenge, we often resort to “simplified juristics” (i.e. reasoning) or simple ‘rules of thumb’.
One of these (rules of thumb) is ‘relative comparison’ – i.e. how much does this cost compared to something else. The fact that something is on discount today as opposed to yesterday, why is it such a big deal, Ariely asks?  It is because we don’t know how much something is worth, so we compare it to what it used to cost. In the same way we compare our salary to other peoples’ because we have very little way to evaluate it.
What can we do or how should we learn to stop getting ourselves into this kind of (financial) mess?
In the current downturn, many people are trying to cut back on expenses, realising that the financial future may not be quite so bright as it was. The big question is “How does one cut down”?
People always look at ‘discrepancy spending’ i.e. not buying a coffee or a sandwich – the expenses they can physically see coming out of their wallet or purses. However Ariely argues that most people do not pay attention to the expenditure - things directly deducted from our bank accounts or credit card i.e. whatever is on one’s automatic payment schedule. So we sometimes cut the wrong things, i.e. the things that have a direct impact on our pleasure, and not much on expenditure and ignoring things hidden which might greatly reduce expenditure yet hardly impact on our pleasure.

Ariely states that regardless of most people’s financial astuteness the odds are that people will make the wrong cuts. One reason for this is that often we are very bad at predicting what our life might look like in the future - The change in circumstances. When we look to the future we think it will be terrible. It turns out to be so in the short term but then it is quite manageable.

For business owners financial decisions are better made with a business finance consultant specialist, and a good online resource in the UK is Business Support Finder.

All specialists are accredited, offering current liability cover which in this case would be Professional Indemnity Insurance for financial specilaists.

Not all Marketing Is The Same

Unless you have been living on mars the last 18 moths or so you may have noticed that there is a recession on. The media is full of closures and redundancies, keen to sell newspapers of gain viewers. Where is much of this is true what is not been so apparent is that not all businesses are failing to the recession.

Take marketing for instance, with customers choosing more carefully what they buy and not automatically coming through business doors, many businesses have decided it is time to market heir wares to attract new customers. Many advertising companies now have more clients on their books than ever. None more so that those who specialise in internet marketing.

Even during tough cost cutting times there still has been an exception with the top USA retailers that is to increase spend on internet marketing. With high street sales just about breaking even this Christmas even with huge discounts, sales on through the internet once again increased. Cost cutting consumers are using the internet more than ever to ensure they really are getting the best price on their chosen products and services and the large retailers have noticed this and responded.

Of course this applies to all businesses large and small and so the demand for SEO Companies and internet marketing suppliers is higher than ever. Unfortunately the quantity of those who know what they are doing ahs not risen. Many internet marketing companies have been formed only to let their consumers down and give a bad name to the industry.

So whenever choosing an internet marketing company, make sure you ask for evidence of what they have achieved for other customers. As well as this, focus on those who work in your industry sector as they are more likely to have contacts and access to other websites. You should not underestimate the work involved in getting visitors to your website, employing someone on £50 a month will not deliver you value for money. It may seem cheap, but ion fact you are probably throwing away £50.

Set out a budget and get your internet marketing company to estimate a rise in quality traffic to help you calculate extra profits. Remember quantity of visitors means nothing is they are not looking for you products. So it is better to have smaller quality traffic than large qualities of window shoppers.

Branson: “Entrepreneurs can change the world” & SCALE DOESN’T MATTER

Richard Branson (RB) gives us a clear message as entrepreneurs i.e.
Entrepreneurs CAN make a difference, and scale doesn’t matter (see RB video below).

Think realistically and creatively. The entrepreneurial spirit can truly make a difference. Branson has launched ‘Virgin Unite’ to underpin this, and he says “working together we can change the world.”

However, all entrepreneurs need business support. A good way for entrepreneurs, owner managers or small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) senior managers is to employ the services of a business consultant mentor.

There are a number of options. The Department for Business Enterprise and Reform (BERR) is trying to simplfy its business support schemes from 3000 to a mere 100. This is a good initiative, but using a business support professional, usuing a free online resouce like Business Service Finder is still likely to save time, and money, and deliver better financial performance & improved productivity.

Entrepreneurial Advice from Dell

Michael Dell of Dell Corporation - gives good advice - be prepared to experiment, and make mistakes.

This is code for being preapred to spend money and to lose money, and no to get stuck on one thing. If it’s not working, change it until it does. Much of which SME Management is not prepared to do in the UK SME sector. Parts of this reluctance is to do with lack of having access to the right management expertise which is exactly why and where Business Service Finder - a new online resource - comes in. For example: Imagine you run a small business t/o £1m and you need to improve productvity of the business and the return on investment (working capital employed). As an owner manager you probably have the technical expertise concerning for the sector, but you need a performance management consultant - a business specialist - to help you introduce new measures. This is precisely where Busienss Serevrice Finder becomes invaluable.

Branding & Marketing (from Branson’s perspective)

Being a great marketer and promoter. Fun should always be a part of it, according to the successful British marketer Richard Branson - the creator of the immesnely strong Virgin Brand.

Losing my virginity is Branson’s autobiography.

Branson’s says that in business it is one long struggle and only one word matters : “To survive”.

Many businesses do not survive. Business owners need business support - it is best to use a professional business consultant from a reliable source.

Nevertheless “Make business and life fun.”

So much of life is spent at work. Make sure that people have a good time. If possible, have a director of fun.

Business Scams

The UK Office of Fair Trading has a new website dedicated to raising awareness on scams in business. This is helpful, but falls far too short.

The truth is legitimate business can just as much a commercial minefield as any scam, instead of instant financial loss with no opportunity to reimbursement, instead you may have years of losses or poor performance by using an inefficient supplier or promoting the wrong products and services.

Few managers will admit such failings, but most manager experience them. These ’sagas’ of poor performance are traditionally covered up by a ‘blame’ or ’scapegoat’ culture which acts as a convenient smokescreen diverting the audit and responsibility to others.

External advice is a great way to avoid such errors, but where can SME owner managers and senior business managers find such expertise? One such resource is Business Service Finder - a new online resource to request advice and assistance from business support professionals.