Since we launched Make It Cheaper five years ago, our internet
speed has gone from about 1mb to 15mb and now, thanks to the
rollout of fibre optic Ethernet, we can increase that up to 100mb
as and when we need more oomph.

The implications this has on the business and how we manage our
IT budgets are pretty significant. Changes we’d never have
considered before have now become a reality simply because we have
a decent web connection.

So as our servers come to their end of life, we will seek to
replace them with cloud versions. Our new web server build, for
example, is being set up on cloud infrastructure for less than our
current dedicated web server with the same provider – all in
for £550 a month. Similarly, since becoming FSA-regulated last
year, we need to archive all emails for 10 years and so we are
using a system that offers UK based cloud failover, in case of
system failure, and keeps them secure elsewhere. 

The obvious benefit of having more of our IT environment offsite
is that it’s managed and maintained by third parties and so there’s
less need to employ staff internally. In Australia – where Make It
Cheaper is less than three years old – we’ve taken this to another
level with email, faxing and servers already all cloud-based. Phone
systems, CRM server, developers… they’re all outsourced too. In
fact, there’s just one person in-house who’s responsible for
technology – and he’s supporting the 100 staff we have out there
over our two locations. We’ve not had to buy any servers, expensive
phone systems or other hardware. 

Of course, the cost – and the day to day running of the systems
- is ultimately paid by us in the long run, but there’s no big
upfront outlay, which for a young business is important. The upshot
is that we can keep growing to several hundred staff without any
significant IT costs to bear.

Click here
to see how you could save your business thousands.

In association with

 

 

Business plans have always been synonymous with
entrepreneurship, largely because they act as a bridge between
entrepreneurs and investors. The primary function of a business
plan is to outline an investment opportunity, so a prospective
investor has the required information they need to assess its
attractiveness.  

However, this is not the sole purpose of a business plan. They
can also benefit entrepreneurs well beyond this narrow
interpretation, helping them to manage cash flow, to set goals and
milestones, to prioritise tasks and in helping them to deal with
uncertainty.

However, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are eschewing
business plans for a whole host of reasons, which are ultimately to
their detriment.

Let’s look at some of the excuses entrepreneurs come up with.

1. They are bootstrapping and are not planning on
raising finance at the moment

Bootstrapping essentially means that entrepreneurs look to start
a business without resorting to external capital. Overheads are
managed carefully and the fledgling operation is run on a
shoestring until revenues materialise. This justification for not
needing a business plan is, however, wedded to the archaic notion
of 40-page, bound documents used solely to secure
finance. Part of the confusion lies in the fact that the
phrase ‘business plan’ is a homonym (i.e. has two separate meanings); a
distinction first pointed out by business planning guru Tim Berry. The business plan can refer to the
physical document but also the plan that needs to be implemented
with goals, milestones and sales forecasting.

2. They don’t have the time

We are all increasingly pressed for time and during the start-up
phase there is undoubtedly a lot to be done. Entrepreneurs using
this excuse will argue that writing a business plan is time
consuming and they have other more pressing tasks to accomplish,
like designing their websites. Yet, when you ask them if they have
any evidence of demand for their offering they will look at you
blankly. Similarly, questions as to their ‘routes to market’ or to
their predicted turnover for year one elicit the same blank
responses.

The reality is that modern business plans can be very simple, yet
are extremely beneficial in helping entrepreneurs to prioritise
their work flows, to set the goals that need to be accomplished
along the path to success, and to ensure they have a holistic view
of the opportunity they are seeking to exploit.

3. They are not strong on the ‘business
side’

Many entrepreneurs end up starting a business in an area where
they have a particular skill. Others pursue a dream while many
others start as solo entrepreneurs, having been made redundant from
their roles. For these people, the notion of writing a business
plan fills them with fear. Instead they stay busy getting set up
and seeking customers without being able to demonstrate whether the
opportunity they are looking to pursue is a commercially viable
one.

 I would posit that this cohort represents a strong
proportion of those that do not survive the first year.
Entrepreneurs need to have some commercial grounding and, if not,
they need to hire someone who does. Business planning will help
them identify areas they are weak in and will force them to
confront the financials. Without knowledge of cash flow forecasts,
pro forma profit and loss statements, balance sheets and the like,
entrepreneurs run the risk of becoming insolvent before they even
get going.

4. There is too much uncertainty for business
planning

The argument entrepreneurs make when perpetuating this myth is
that the world has become too uncertain to plan. My counter
argument is that, precisely because of the increased uncertainty,
we should be doing everything we can to consider likely scenarios
and how they could affect the business.

Planning is not about being right; it is about considering a
number of plausible future outcomes based on assumptions we make.
By committing figures to these, we can be better prepared to
manage. Once actual figures emerge, they can be plotted against the
original plan to facilitate variance analysis, which exposes the
gaps in the plan that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
By broadening your horizons, you also reduce the risks of a ‘black swan event‘ occurring.

5. They are embracing the lean startup
methodology

Lean startup is a movement based on the work of Eric Ries
(supplemented by the likes of Steve Blank), which is gaining
widespread appeal (particularly with tech entrepreneurs). It
essentially advocates a set of start-up principles that are
customer centric and focused on developing what is called a Minimum Viable Product, which is used to gain
feedback about customer requirements and demand. While Ries may not
explicitly talk about business plans, he is very focused on what he
calls ‘innovation accounting’, which is essentially about measuring
progress, setting milestones and prioritising work streams. Of
course, these represent the very essence of business
planning.

It is evident that many people remain wedded to the archaic notion
of a business plan as a bound document consigned to a drawer upon
completion. In reality, business planning is about setting SMART objectives, prioritising work streams,
managing cash, and establishing goals and milestones against which
performance can be tracked. As the old adage goes, ‘What gets
measured gets managed,’ and in these tough economic times it holds
as true as it ever did.

Alan Gleeson is the General Manager of Palo
Alto Software Ltd, creators of LivePlan and Business Plan Pro. He holds an
MBA from Oxford University and is a graduate of University College,
Cork, Ireland.  Follow him on Twitter @AlanGleeson.

“Just setting up my Twttr”. So went the first tweet ever posted
on the now ubiquitous social network when founder Jack Dorsey
launched it six years ago.

People in Britain have taken to Twitter in a big way – yesterday
we passed the milestone of 10 million active users. Whether it’s to
make connections, keep in touch, promote your business, engage with
customers just to follow celebrities and keep up to date with what
goes on in the world we can’t stay off it.

Worldwide there are 140 million users on Twitter and Britain,
with one in six of us signed up, is only behind large countries
like the US, Brazil and Japan. Compared to other nations we are
more likely to tweet on the go with 80% of us accessing the site on
our mobiles.

If you are reading this it is a safe bet that you are a fan and
a follower of the 140 character site. Start-ups today can’t afford
to not have a social media presence, it’s as simple as that.

In fact, the first ever British user was an entrepreneur eager
to learn more about other start-ups. Jonathan Markwell set up his
Twitter account in July 2006, relatively unconvinced that it would
take off and he didn’t use the account until seven months in.

However,
yester
day
he revealed to the media that having set up his own business,
a Brighton based community enterprise, he could attribute
£50,000 of consulting revenue to connections made on Twitter
and the social site has played a part in establishing
most of the business relationships he has today.

So when for the 20 million users? Already 140 businesses in
Britain have paid to promote their products on Twitter. There is no
sign of us stopping the tweets. And why should we – it’s good to
talk, isn’t it?

Tell us what you think – how has Twitter changed the way
you do business? Is it necessary for your start-up to stay
connected?

It will have escaped few people’s attention that drinks giant
Diageo got itself into a spot of bother last week. It was a classic
David v. Goliath story, only tweaked for the internet age.

For those who missed it, micro brewery BrewDog had expected to
take the trophy for Bar Operator of the Year award at a dinner,
organised by the British Institute of Innkeeping Scotland. The
independent judging panel had made their decision and the trophy
had even been engraved with BrewDog’s name.

However, a representative from event sponsors Diageo arrived and
spoiled the party, threatening to pull future sponsorship unless
the award was given to another winner. The reasoning behind this is
hazy, but apparently the issue was BrewDog did not hold membership
of the Portman Group, the industry body that promotes responsible
drinking. No matter, the award was handed to someone else.

In the past, before the advance of Twitter and blogging, BrewDog
would have been upset, outraged even, but the company would
probably have been resigned to the fact that there was nothing they
could do. After all, bullying by the big boys was not an unusual
occurrence.

But with the possibilities of social media, BrewDog, a
five-year-old craft beer company, found itself in a great position
to bite back. And it did. Founders James Watt and Martin Dickie
wasted no time in taking to their blog and Twitter accusing the
giant of dirty tricks. Soon Diageo was trending, for all the wrong
reasons.

The big players should take note that they can no longer get
away with bully boy behaviour. The problem for large companies lies
in the vast number of customers; it is impossible to engage with
them all.

There is much less of a risk to smaller companies like BrewDog;
they know their customers, they understand what they want from
them.  The reality for them is simple; if they don’t engage
with and listen to their customers they won’t have a business to
run for long.

Diageo is not the first company to feel the full force of the
Twittersphere. Fitness centre chain LA Fitness recently faced the
wrath of members who were unhappy with the less than flexible terms
of their membership.

A couple had been locked into a two-year contract, but when the
woman fell pregnant, the man was made redundant and they had to
move  house, they tried to cancel their membership and was
told they would be charged a £780 to cover the last 15 months of
the contract.

The Guardian newspaper published an article about the
couple’s plight and soon social media users were writing angry
statements on Twitter, many announcing that they were cancelling
their gym membership in protest. LA Fitness announced – belatedly -
that they were waiving all fees, but the damage had been done.

The gym chain was shamed into taking action rather than take
control of the situation in a sensible way.

In reality the BrewDog episode is unlikely to cause Diageo any
long-term harm, in fact they were super speedy in coming out with a
grovelling apology for the “serious misjudgement”. Put it this way,
people will not stop downing pints of Guinness or shots of Smirnoff
Vodka.

On the other hand a lot more people who’d never heard of BrewDog
will be looking out for their products. The smaller, nimbler
company skilfully turned the setback into a triumph and the PR
value of the whole episode potentially outweighed getting the prize
in the first place.

No doubt we’ll see many more small businesses biting back on
social media, just like BrewDog did.

But they too should remember that Twitter works both ways. It is
a dream for small businesses wanting to promote themselves for
free, it’s brilliant to connect with customers, get your message
out there and receive feedback from your customers. But when you
get it wrong it can go very wrong, very quickly.

Quite simply, there is nowhere to hide on Twitter.

To find out more about Brewdog, click here.

Or you can follow them on Twitter, @Brewdog

The government is currently under big pressure to grow our
export business so this week’s task was very topical: a marketing
campaign to promote English sparkling wine. Did the candidates have
enough fizz to rise to the occasion?

Golden boy Tom was in his element as his day-to-day
business away from realityTV is wine and he was quickly snapped up
as project manager. Again. Fighting in the other corner was
semi-pro wrestler Ricky Martin.

The emphasis of this brief was quality, quality and quality. Not
tacky, cheesy or ridiculous – a place we quickly entered
unfortunately.

Stephen gave his English brand a flipping French name
‘Grandeur’. What a complete muppet! He was the driving force behind
their advert creative, which is just dire. Jenna followed him like
a lost puppy.

Tom and Adam got pissed during a ‘tasting’ while his team
beavered away on a sensible, yet dull, brand and advert. Poor Lord
Sugar had a tough choice to make – boring or tacky.

After their pitches the industry experts called time on Ricky’s
team stating their tacky advert let them down. Steven should be
fired but as the snake that we know him as he slithered away to see
another Apprentice day. Poor Jenna was sent home and we wish her
all the best.

Hero

Gabrielle for developing a decent brand logo and talking sense
throughout the task.

Villain

Stephen yet again for managing to always get away with it. How
many lives does a snake actually have?

British based website builder Moonfruit have been acquired by
directories giant Yell in an £18m cash deal that rewards the hard
work of Moonfruit’s founders Wendy Tan-White and husband Joe.

Key executive management from the shop building and
web-hosting site that is integrated with Smarta Business Builder will receive a
golden pat on the back in the form of £5.2m in retention
bonuses after two years if they remain exclusively employed by
Yell.

Yell is most commonly known as the yellow pages directory with
1.3m small business customers. Its purchase of Moonfruit is a step
towards achieving its goal of becoming an online marketplace
providing business tools as well as listings.

Currently, Moonfruit is the number one website builder in the UK
with over five million sites and 230,000 shops built using it’s
services. It’s managed to forge a following in the US with
1.5m sites built using its services there.

CEO of Yell, Mike Pocock believes the acquisition will be a
great advantage to his company. “The addition of Moonfruit’s
services and team helps us provide competitive advantage to our
global small business customers in connecting with consumers
through digital, mobile and social,” he says.

Wendy Tan-White co-founded Moonfruit with  Joe in 2000 and
they’ve been gradually growing the company since then. They raised
£1.57m in funding in 2010. The deal is great news for the pair. “We
built Moonfruit to make it easy to publish and sell on the
internet, and provide stylish web, blog and shop designs as well as
easy-to-use web tools for small businesses,” says Tan-White.
“Joining Yell and integrating with its local eMarketplace provides
access to larger audiences and additional resource to accelerate
what is a common vision for the future.”

Here’s hoping the acquisition helps Moonfruit to continue to
innovate and put British start-ups on the map.

Fore more articles about Moonfruit, click here

0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a
sentence.

We are the UK’s first crowdsourcing platform for entrepreneurs,
creatives, innovators and professionals looking to start new
businesses.

5-10 seconds: What’s the business
model?

We have an advert based revenue model, so we are hoping to use a
directory or unique service provider. We’re looking to include
premium features later down the line.

10-15 seconds: Who are your
competitors?

In the UK we’re the first crowd sourcing platform for start-ups
so at the minute we have no competitors.

15-20 seconds: What’s your USP?

The crowd element for entrepreneurs is unique. The whole
idea of pitching together for the resource, time, money, skills to
bridge the technical and financial problems that people face when
they launch a business. This is the first time that instead of
paying freelancers; you are working with guys who have a direct
benefit from the business doing well. It’s networking in a real
social environment. So it’s almost like Twitter, or LinkedIn
but more targeted.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so
far?

So far we have been totally self-funded.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing
before?

Training as a lawyer at a London firm.

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come
from?

The idea came from my own personal experience. I had an idea but
I didn’t have the technical skills to develop the site. What I
wanted was a Yellow Pages of people who are ambitious and
interested in pitching together to start a business. That’s now on
the back burner.

35-40 seconds: What’s the smartest thing you’ve
done so far?

Finding the guys I’m working with. I’ve got this awesome
developer, who’s been really great. We’ve worked together to
get this idea. So we’re using the Bizoogo model and we’re using it
to set up our own business. I found him through trial and error. He
was a friend of a friend of a friend.

40-45 Seconds: What’s the stupidest?

I think I was a bit slow to market. The development took a lot
longer than I would have hoped. I could have put out a
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) sooner. There’s no point putting in
lots of time and money on ideas when you have no clue whether they
are going to take off or not. It’s better to come out with
something basic and see what people think and then build the bigger
package.

45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit,
what would it be?

A Jaffa Cake. It’s basic on the outside but has a great filling.
Like us. Hopefully there’ll be a lot of great businesses coming out
of Bizoogo.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous
of?

Instagram. Obviously. If I was them, I’d be really happy right
now.

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12
months’ time?

We’ll have a more developed site and Bizoogo will be a
really creative, dynamic and ambitious community with a lot of
ideas and professionals looking to get involved. More importantly I
hope we will have a lot of businesses being created from
introductions made on the site

I’m hoping for 200,000 members. Global Entrepreneurship
Week bring in 200,000 people so if people are prepared to
physically got to exhibitions, why wouldn’t they sign up online? I
hope they see it as a really valuable opportunity.

For more information about Bizoogo, click here.

This speech included some announcements relevant to businesses,
including cutting red tape on bureaucracy, fairer deals for the
suppliers of supermarkets of which it includes diminishing
regulatory barriers for businesses operations and expected reform
changes on the Enterprise and Regulatory Bill, but it just
wasn’t enough. In fact, it was so lacking in terms of its focus on
business I worry the coalition has run out of ideas or is no longer
able to listen.

We are always looking over our shoulders at Germany, but the
bulk of their growth and exports comes from small and medium-sized
businesses. These are the very businesses that are not just
strangled by red tape but also looked down upon by banks.

The government thinks that infrastructure as a headline grabbing
story will be the way to kick start the economy. This is wrong for
two reasons. First, infrastructure takes time to build and second,
the funds are barely available unless we sell infrastructure to
overseas investors. The sale of nuclear power to EDF and its recent
cancellation would suggest that such a route is very high
risk.

Getting the economy moving needs to be thought of far more
laterally than mere investment. I hope that President Hollande in
France also recognises this. De-regulation is a very important part
of this, but the creation of enterprise zones will lead the way.
These need to be expanded across the UK, as does the thinking
behind them.

Let’s take an example. In round numbers it looks like the
government is overspending on ministry of defence re-fuelling
tankers by £6bn over the next ten years. Assuming it corrected this
overspend, it has £600m a year to put towards supporting small
businesses and start-ups. Supposing each start up needed £50k, that
fund alone would enable the establishment of 12,000 new businesses,
each employing five people taking 60,000 people off the unemployed
total. Not to mention the fact there would be 60,000 people
spending more in the economy and paying taxes.

Now suppose the government goes into matched funding partnership
with the banks so that their exposure is halved. We now have
120,000 more people a year employed. Add to this corporation tax,
national insurance and rates support for say two years and for a
zero sum there are seven more incentives to start and sustain a
business and employ people.

There needs to be greater incentives and support for exporters
too, which will see the balance of payments starting to improve.
This is the only way our debt will be reduced in the long run.
Also, the government needs to bring in a tax system whereby
employers can get corporation tax rebates if they employ more
people.

The coalition needs courage and imagination and it needs to come
quickly. Osborne looks locked into the City and Westminster bubble
and is missing the bigger picture.

For more information about Spring Partnerships, click here

 

You may have read recently the story of a car sales business in
my home county of Kent that suffered a ‘no-show’ from all seven new
members of staff due to start work on a wet Monday morning. Well,
apart from the inclement weather, the common excuse for keeping
them at home seemed to be ‘better off on benefits’ than risking
failure in the commissioned-based role they’d earlier chosen to
accept.

This beggars belief when you consider that the Centre for
Economics & Business Research has just published figures that
show how unemployment is forecast to rise in almost every region of
the UK. In London for example, where we run the 100-seat Make It
Cheaper call centre operation, it’ll go up from 10.3% to 10.7% and
in some regions it’ll hit 13% by 2016. That’s the highest it’s been
for two decades. So you’d be mistaken for believing that jobseekers
would be a little more enthusiastic about turning up for their
first day at work.

At Make It Cheaper, we champion a staff-get-staff recruitment
policy and this is reflected in the levels of attendance and
retention that are pretty abnormal for our line of business. I
would estimate that at least a quarter of all staff have been
appointed via referrals from existing employees.

We are more than happy to pay out £500 a time to the introducer
(once the newbies have passed a three month probation period)
because of the cost savings this brings. That’s not because it’s
cheaper than using an agency or that we save on advertising
(actually we always post job ads regardless). It’s more about the
value that our staff-sourced applicants deliver in terms of
cultural fit, skills and motivation. We know that they come
pre-loaded with the right attitude and have an instinctive
obligation to work hard and deliver results. The introducer helps
their friend to settle in and they both know they have something to
prove.

Put it this way, no one who has been recruited in this way has
failed to turn up for work on Day One.

Click here
to discover how you could save your business thousands.

 In association with

 

There’s never a bad time to launch a
great business

If you have a great idea and you really are bringing a different
proposition to the market, you can do it. I do think it is a
difficult time to be a “me too” business at the moment unless you
are just coming in on price.

It’s always been hard to get investment. When we launched it was
difficult to get investment as a non-web business, but when the
bubble burst a couple of years later it would have been easier. I
think it is always difficult, but if the idea is great it is always
the right time.

At the end of the day most people only need one investor.

Employ brilliant people

Never be afraid of employing people who are smart and who
understand the areas that you don’t. You should always employ
people who are great at dealing with the issues that you are weak
at.

Hard work pays off

We were lucky in the way that nails inc. instantly became
popular and we were busy straight away. But as great as the idea is
you need to work hard making the back end of the business operate
well. Financially this took a bit of time and a lot of hard
work.

It helps to have worked for somebody

I think it is very difficult to start a business if you have not
worked for someone. It just means that somebody can help you work
out your strengths and weaknesses.

Having said that, I would encourage anybody with a great idea
and the real desire to go for it. But go into it with your eyes
wide open having done all the research and with the right level of
investment.

Embrace change

When we first started pitching for investment for nails inc. all
the potential investors wanted us to be a dotcom business, but
that’s not what we were. We now have a great website and an app, we
take online bookings and send people text message reminders. I love
all the digital elements but nails inc. wouldn’t have worked as a
web only business because it has that service element.

For more infomration about nails inc click here, www.nailsinc.com.

 

The research, from energy provider E.ON, highlights the
advantages of embracing technology and using a smart meter.

But we already know that there are potentially many more savings
to be had for those who stay on top of their bills, not just in gas
and electricity.

Smarta has teamed up with the money saving experts for business
at Make It Cheaper and they can save you a bundle on all your
bills.

Make It
Cheaper has proven that there are savings to be found even
where you think you’re already on the best rates.

The free money saving service is totally independent and
compares rates from suppliers to ensure you get on, and stay on,
the best rates for your energy, telecommunications contracts,
merchant services and insurance. Product specific experts are only
a short phone call away, saving you time, money and hassle.

For more information about the service and to start saving today
click here.

 

It’s pretty much guaranteed that the Olympic torch will bring
some unnatural disruption when it comes jogging into town. There’s
likely to be staff absences as well as problems with travel and
deliveries.

However, if you plan in advance you can make sure your business
feels the benefit from the extra attention our country will be
receiving during the Olympic months.

You can start your preparation on 15 May, when NatWest hosts a
special event titled The 2012 London Olympic Games – How will
your business cope?

Taking place at the University of East London, Docklands Campus
from 5pm, the event will showcase talks from Transport for London,
a HR professional and will provide inspiration for special products
that your business could offer that may sell well during the
games.

Places are limited; you can register and find out more about the
event, here.

Home businesses generate £284bn of the UK’s GDP making
them the true heroes of our economy. So, to continue Smarta and Viking’s celebration of
these brave entrepreneurs, we tracked down Martine Davies, the
founder of Balcombe Street Window Box
Company.

Name: Martine Davies

Business: Balcombe Street Window Box Company

Location: London

How did you come up with the idea for your
business?

I moved into a 1900 period home. I had a huge window with a
large window ledge crying out for a window box. I couldn’t find
anyone to make one for me so eventually I got round to going
to a garden centre and making one up myself.

After placing my new window box on the ledge I looked
out to see who else had one and noticed a distinct lack of
floral colour on the other window ledges and decided then and there
to offer a service to make them.

What were you doing before?

I was a personal assistant and not a very happy one.

How did you find suppliers of the boxes?

I went to garden centres and looked online and sourced some
suppliers. I am always looking for new and interesting boxes to
use.

How did you fund the business?

I had some savings. However, I make each box up once I have an
order so I don’t hold stock.

How did you market it?

I contacted the press and delivered a lot of leaflets. I was
lucky to get some great editorial coverage.

Who have you provided window boxes for?

All kinds of people – Lords, Ladies and pop stars,
including Noel Gallagher. I also supply to hotels, shops,
offices and of course homes.

How do you store all of the boxes?

I have a little shed to keep stock, although as I make to order
I don’t tend to keep much spare stock.

Do you arrange the flowers?

Yes, that’s the best bit. I enjoy discussing with the
clients what they want and then coming up with a design.

Where’s your office?

I work from home in St Johns Wood. My company started in
Balcombe Street where I used to live, hence the name.

How do you make sure you never get distracted at home?

I do get distracted. I am only human, but I find that when I
have work to do I naturally want to get on and do it. When you work
for yourself you need to be self-motivated and if someone wants you
to make something for them then that is motivation enough to want
to do that.

What was it like at the start?

Hard work but exciting. I had to be focused and persistent.

What’s the worst thing about working from home?

It can be a bit lonely at times and also you can get easily
distracted with things at home.

What’s the best?

Working for myself, not having to answer to anyone but myself or
my clients. Having the satisfaction of providing something
beautiful and making the streets a prettier place. It is very
rewarding. Window boxes make people happy.

For more information on on the Balcombe Street Window Box
Company, click
here

Home Business Heroes, in association
with

Our brand new service for business is based on existing Wonga
principles and features totally flexible loan terms of between one
week and a year, fee-free early repayment, clear pricing before you
commit and 24/7 access.

We’ve already provided over four million short-term loans
to individuals and we’re now using our real-time decision
technology to help entrepreneurs and organisations access urgent
funds that can help them keep growing. We can provide cash
injections of between £3,000 and £10,000 to small companies in less
than an hour.

Small businesses are the backbone of the British economy. It
will be agile entrepreneurs and small businesses leading us out of
the tough economic times we find ourselves in. They are the ones
coming up with new ideas, generating wealth and creating jobs. At
Wonga we’re entrepreneurs ourselves and we believe we can help by
offering an alternative way of giving businesses quick access to
credit to help overcome everyday challenges.

I have been involved in a number of start-ups and I know how
important access to credit is in staying afloat, taking
opportunities and growing. We intend to use our platform as a
genuine alternative to help get Britain growing again.

Modern businesses are no longer 9-5 or Monday to Friday. Whether
you’re an individual consumer or a business owner, speed is of the
essence if you have an urgent cash flow need. If you’re a small
retailer with an opportunity to buy some seriously discounted stock
or you run a restaurant and your pizza oven’s just packed in, you
need cash quickly.

It won’t be the perfect solution for every small business, but
it will sit alongside traditional forms of funding such as
overdrafts, bank loans and invoice discounting products. It gives
businesses confidence that cash can be there if they need it, the
online application process takes less than 15 minutes and we’re
removing the complexity and potentially biased human
decision-making normally associated with applying for business
credit.

The service will initially be available to limited liability
companies and limited liability partnerships, which have been
established for three years or more and have sales in excess of
£20,000 per month. We plan to extend to sole traders and
incubator-stage entrepreneurs in the future, as there’s clearly a
need for this product. We launched on Monday and we have already
been inundated with applications.

We aim to offer a fast, flexible way of accessing these funds. A
time consuming application process is the last thing a business
needs in these circumstances and we offer a competitively priced
alternative to traditional products. Small business owners are
savvy people who can judge value for themselves and we’re
completely transparent about the cost, so they can easily make that
call.

The cost of the loans, including a variable application fee and
interest, will be set according to Wonga’s risk-assessment
technology, with weekly interest of between 0.3% and 2%. On a
per-£1,000 basis, that equates to around £3 – £20 per week. As
ever, a clear cost of repayment will be calculated for approved
applicants before they commit.

Take the example of a £6,000 loan with a weekly interest rate of
0.8%. If a business borrows over 12 weeks they will have total
interest payments of £576, alongside a £120 application fee. That
gives a total cost of £558 per week and a total repayment of
£6,696.

We believe we’ve priced the service to make it value for money
while also taking into account the risk we are taking.

We’ll be using our technology platform to make the same,
selective lending decisions that we make for consumer applications
and we are lending our own money, so we have nothing to gain from
helping a business that can’t afford the loan they’re asking
for.

For more information about Wonga for business click here, www.wongabusiness.com.

We’re heading towards the homerun and pressure is on. By this
point, I know from my own experience that candidates will be tired,
jaded and feeling as if they might be cracking up. Only the
toughest will survive.

This week’s task was my worst nightmare. ART. A world which I
know very little about, nor have much interest in. Saying that if
you’re good at sales you need to be flexible and able to shift
anything. Let’s remember that most of these candidates say they are
the best salesperson in the world so it was time to show it. The
key to this week was all about subtle selling, building
relationships and people skills.

Two of my favourite candidates were selected as project managers -
Gabrielle and Tom. So far, both had proved they’re good so I was
excited at the prospect of them facing off. Blood in the boardroom
is always great TV.

Tom is a handsome guy but unfortunately has an air of always
looking a bit miffed. This lack of enthusiasm was picked up by
artists when he pitched and led to his team losing a key seller
called Pure Evil to the other team.

The name of the game is whoever sells the most wins. It came
down to a £137 difference and Gabrielle was grinning like a
Cheshire cat as her team celebrated victory. In her team, Steven
the Snake walks away yet again. How many lives does that man
have?

Tom was articulate and defended his high-risk strategy well.
However, the two he took into the boardroom with him fared less
well. Jade’s wittering tones made me want to zone out and Laura
proved once again she’s all talk and no action with poor sales
figures. Ideally I wanted a double firing but Lord Sugar decided to
only send Laura home.

Hero
Adam has shown he’s a grafter. He is flexible and can sell
poncey art as well as apples and plums.

Villain
Stephen. To quote Karren he showed, ‘how not to treat a corporate
client’. The guy is a plonker and really rates himself.

 

What is your intention? A question I was recently asked as I
strolled down Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg.

Billy Innovates, a US social innovation lab, had grabbed space
on the pavement, laid out a large piece of paper and stopped people
passing by, asking them to write their intention on a Post-it note
and stick it on the pavement.  Sure, not everybody saw the fun
in taking part but most people would stop to hear them out and give
them their thoughts.

A glance at the many Post-its already dotted on the pavement
showed a huge range of intentions from “to go to dinner” and “to
get rich” to those more philosophical ones “to live life fully” and
“to enjoy every moment”.

The guys behind the experiment call themselves social innovation
architects. When I spoke to them they explained that they were
interested in finding out what makes people tick and they were
hoping to find a problem to solve. They expected the answers to
spark an idea for a product or a service.

A very basic form of crowd sourcing you may think, but one that
inspired everybody taking part.

It’s almost irrelevant what they end up doing with this
information. The important bit is that they figured the best ideas
come from the people you want to become your customers. So why
not go straight to them?

The approach is similar to the one Richard Reed and his
co-founders used when they were trying to decide whether to launch
Innocent Drinks. They turned up at a festival with a van loaded
with smoothies and a question they wanted answered: should we give
up the day job to launch a healthy drinks company? Are we good
enough? Would you buy from us? They asked people to put their empty
bottle in one of two bins: one marked yes and one marked no.

As we now know, at the end of the day the yes bin was over
spilling, the no bin was empty and Innocent Drinks was born.

Most start-ups are so scared that someone will steal their idea
if they talk about them, but this was definitely not a concern for
Innocent and sharing your idea is the best thing you can do.
Besides, it is not your vision that matters most, but what the
customers want.

Forget focus groups or other forms of traditional market
research. There is a place for them but surely this is the best way
of spotting – or starting – trends.

Billy Innovates were not just surveying in the hipsters’
paradise that is Williamsburg, the next day they were heading to
midtown Manhattan, and after that somewhere else.

Some Post-its triggered their curiosity and they pulled people
aside to ask further questions, including “what do you do to
achieve your intention?” and while some people had plenty to say
generally the feedback was disappointing in that people did not
seem to be living out their intention. Which completely validates
the approach – find out what’s stopping them and remove those
barriers.

The message in all this is simple: talk to people. It is easy,
effective, and best of all it’s free. Plus you’ll spend a day
talking to interesting people, be hugely inspired and it’ll be
fun.

So go on, ask more questions.

Businesses across the UK are being asked to give any unused or
outgrown suits to charities, helping homeless people. Back for a
second year, the people behind the Suit Amnesty hope to help even
more homeless people get into employment.

Last year the the initiative collected more than 2,000 suits and
helped 22 participating charities.

The idea was born out of a thought that those in the fortunate
position of working in businesses could make a huge difference to
people who are looking for jobs by donating their suits. Very often
there are people from less privileged backgrounds who don’t have
access to funds and are trying to get into work but want and need
some help.

“There are thousands of unwanted suits gathering dust in
wardrobes, but equally many more people without enough money to be
able to afford to buy one,” says Katherine Sparkes from Suit
Amnesty. “Owning a suit is something most of us take for granted so
to give young and homeless people a step closer towards getting on
the employment ladder is a great gift.”

There is little doubt that presentation matters when going for a
job interview. The Suit Amnesty ensures suitable clothing that is
no longer needed can be put to good use and help people take their
first step on to the career ladder.

“The Suit Amnesty is a fantastic way to recycle unwanted suits
to those who can really benefit from them,” says Sian Thomas,
marketing officer at participating Newcastle charity The
Cyrenians. “The suits are perfect for our back-to-work
projects, which are all about getting people off the streets and
preparing them for working life. Owning a suit makes a massive
difference and will help our service users achieve their full
potential.”

The Suit Amnesty will be collecting suits until the end of May.
Drop-off points span a whole host of businesses from health clubs
and hotels to bars and banks, making it accessible to all.

For more information and a full list of drop-off points click
here, http://www.thesuitamnesty.co.uk.

0-5 second: Sum your
business up in a sentence

Pockit is a leading prepaid card, which helps
cardholders save and manage money through partnerships with
businesses.

5-10 seconds: What’s the business
model?

Consumers purchase the card online via our
website and have a choice between a Pay Monthly card and a Pay As
You Go card. The Pay Monthly card comes with more benefits and
lower fees than other cards.

10-15 seconds: Who are your
competitors?

Other prepaid cards such as Cashplus, Virgin
Prepaid Card, Orange Cash Card and Kalixa.

15-20 seconds: What’s your
USP?

We offer our Pay Monthly cardholders up to 10%
in-store cash back with 20 leading high-street retailers, including
M&S, B&Q, New Look, and many more, when they use their card
in-store. We also have discounts on insurance, broadband, gas and
electricity and travel.

20-25 seconds: How have you funded it
so far?

To date the business has been funded by us.

25-30 seconds: What were you doing
before?

Danny was focusing on the family business,
Lornamead, which he set up in 1978. Yuvraj was working at Ernst
& Young in Corporate Finance while Virraj started working on
Pockit straight after university.

30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come
from?

The idea was born out of Danny’s experience in
negotiating deals for his family business, Lornamead. He strongly
believed that group buying could be applied and delivered to the
everyday consumer.

35-40 seconds: What’s the smartest
thing you’ve
done so far?

Putting our customers first, by
listening to their feedback early on and lowering our fees to
become more competitive.

40-45 seconds: What’s the
stupidest?

Committing to long-term contracts with
outsourced partners. Start-ups need to be flexible.

45-50 seconds: If your business was a
biscuit, what would it be?

An Oreo cookie because we have three layers of
benefits: our online voucher codes and partner offers are the
biscuit layers and our in-store cash back is the cream bit
everybody loves.

50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit
jealous of?

Badoo is very clever. Who would have thought
you could monetise meeting new people in that way?

55-60 seconds: Where are you going to
be in
12 months’ time?

We’ll have gained another 40,000 cardholders,
launched our own app with a strong focus on delivering the best
deals to our customers and we’ll be in a bigger office with
like-minded individuals who want to share in our success.

For more information on Pockit click here, www.pockit.com.

I have to say that I’m none too sorry to see the back of April.
Apart from the miserable weather, it’s been our worst trading month
of the year for the second year running. I probably ought to put
that statement into some sort of perspective – given we’re ranked
39^th in the Fast Track 100 and our bean counters will be
reading this. It means our monthly turnover was just under the
magic one million mark, compared to just over it.

The problem with this time of year is the number of trading days
that are cut down by bank holidays and the big chunk of the working
population that takes a break while the schools are out. As much as
we get a buzz from growing our top line while helping businesses
protect their bottom line, there’s little point in staffing our
London-based 100-seat call centre at times when the UK has
collectively shut shop.

So it’s quite interesting to read that around two-thirds of
small businesses won’t be giving staff another day off for this
year’s extended bank holiday to honour the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Perhaps it’s a knee-jerk reaction to last year’s royal wedding
trading blip, but some employers will force staff to take the extra
day off from of their holiday entitlement and others will simply
open as usual.

This might be music to the ears of Mervyn King over at the Bank
of England (ironic, seeing as it invented ‘bank’ holidays in the
first place) because he’s worried about a Jubilee-related fall in
output. Look at it this way: it’s been estimated that February’s
leap day gained the  aneconomy extra £1.6bn in
productivity.

Whether or not, on 5 June, you give your staff another excuse to
don their ‘Thank you for the day off’ T-shirts could all boil down
to their employment contracts saying the number of days permitted
‘includes’ or are ‘in addition’ to bank holidays. Either way
there’s an opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of employees
- rather than their spleen – with a bit of horse trading.

Balance their needs with yours and face up to the fact that both
Euro 2012 next month and the Olympic Games in July will inevitably
clash with working hours. As a nation, this summer is all about
getting over our malaise and mustering the pride to put the Great
back into Britain. If you’re prepared to play your part as an
employer – by making small compromises – then your business could
rediscover its mojo too.

Click here
to discover how you could save your business thousands.

In association with

We’re past the halfway mark of the series and the candidates
began by promising to ‘step up to the mark’. It would be
interesting to see how many business clichés they squeezed into
this one-hour episode.

The candidates were gathered in the pitch dark, of what looked
like a lovely 5am start, and given a wholesale task which consisted
of £150 start-up kitty and a brief to buy products, sell, find your
best sellers and replenish. Simple? Yes, but remember this is
The Apprentice and the road to true business success never
runs smooth.

Nick with the hair was PM versus Jade, who quite honestly I’d
forgotten was in the show. She hasn’t done much to date even though
she promised that she’s a ‘natural born leader.’ The poor woman
also looked exhausted or like she’d just fallen out of a
nightclub.

As the teams trotted around the warehouse picking stock I was
mesmerised at how high the girls’ shoes are, how do they survive a
20-hour working day in those?

The target market was Essex and Nick’s team hit the jackpot
selling fake tan, with bottles of the stuff flying off the shelves
at £10 a piece. However, Jade’s team had a mixed approach. They
failed to focus on one hero item. This was a task of margin and I
predicted that Nick’s team would win. Unsurprisingly, I was correct
and we saw Jade bringing Azhar and Tom back into the
boardroom.

Under the pressure of the boardroom Jade fell apart but her
passion and previous no faux pas performance managed to keep her
in. In the end poor Azhar was sent home in the taxi of doom. I
wonder if he saw that coming as part of his ‘strategy’?

Villain
Azhar-for using the word strategy excessively. He must have been
on a course recently and learnt a new word.

Hero
Adam- This task was made for him and the market trader was in his
flow. The boy done good!