Archive for July, 2007

Start Up summer podcast : Starting your own business - how to reach day one?

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Business Link
on 19 July, 2007
in Podcasts
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Thinking about a new career?

Whether you spend them chilling on a beach or trekking through the wilderness – summer holidays are the opportunity to get away from it all and tune back into your personal aspirations.

People with a burning ambition to start their own business take the time during the summer break to think through their plans and take those first vital steps. Which is why this summer, Business Link has produced an informative podcast, which covers all the issues that you need to consider before taking the plunge.

The 30 minute production features practical advice from Andy Reeve, Business Link advisor and interviews with three local entrepreneurs who have recently started businesses, providing first hand accounts of the challenges faced.

A business idea could be an invention, a new product or an original idea or solution to an everyday problem. Listeners are encouraged to consider a gap in the market that they can fill; a business related to work that they already do or an interest or hobby that might be turned into a business.

Business Link adviser, Andy Reeve, has provided the following checklist of things to consider in shaping your business idea:

  • Is there a market – a need for the idea, and customers who will pay for it?
  • How big is the market, and how will you reach it?
  • Who will be your main competitors?
  • What is special about your idea, making it different from similar products or services already out there?
  • How will you fund your idea?
  • What might go wrong?
  • What is it that you will personally bring to the business in terms of relevant experience and expertise?

Listen now!

Right click to download or left click to play in browser:

Start Up summer podcast (18.3MB mp3 format)

Um, err… you what?

Published
by
Business Link
on 19 July, 2007
in HR & People Development
. 1 Comment

Filled pauses - hesitation sounds emitted whilst speaking - appear to mean something, but their overall impact on listeners is varied. Successful speaking may be more heavily influenced by your message than the way it’s delivered.

Nicholas Christenfeld, from the University of California-San Diego, conducted two studies into whether ‘ums’ are noticed, and to what extent they influence an audience’s perception of speakers. The first study - using a simple questionnaire - found that “even though ums do not seem to be a product of anxiety or lack of preparation, the average listener assumes that they are.” A further study concluded that “on subjective ratings of the speaker, filled pauses created a better impression than silent pauses, but no pauses proved best of all.”

Dr Robin Lickley, from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, suggests “there is evidence that pausing strategically can help the listener - that filled pauses can and are used rhetorically and may be effective. But we also pause hesitantly and there’s evidence that people pick up on this and can attribute negative qualities to it. On the other hand, there is also evidence that people don’t detect filled pauses. The more you focus on the message, the less you will hear the noise”.

Evidence suggests that filled pauses can create negative effects on the listener. But crucially, delivering a strong message can minimise their impact. That makes the message key, over and above how much you um and err.

The Business Link guide ‘Effective selling’ lists ‘Work out the key message’ as number one tip for effective sales presentations, alongside advice and guidance on dealing with sales nerves.

More info - ’Effective Selling’

Get the right insurance

Published
by
Business Link
on 19 July, 2007
in Strategy & Operations
. 0 Comments

Liability insurance

Business owners and employers have a legal responsibility towards customers, employees and the public - who can hold your business liable for damage or injury should you breach your legal duties. Your exact liability insurance requirements depend on the nature of your business. Do you employ people? Does the public visit your premises? Do you sell products, knowledge or skills?

Find out more about Liability Insurance

Insure people, life and health

Insurance to cover injury, illness or death provides protection for your business and also represents a key benefit for employees. Liability insurance is compulsory and your level of responsibility depends on your business and its operations. Other protections available include life, accident, health, medical, income protection and critical illness insurance.

Find out more about Insuring people, life and health

Insure your business and assets

Business premises. Most standard insurance policies cover buildings and premises for a number of risks including fire, explosion, malicious damage, storms or floods. Always check policy details carefully to confirm what’s covered. If you’re a tenant, speak to your landlord about your insurance responsibilities.

Contents insurance. Business owners can choose between ‘replacement as new’ or ‘indemnity insurance’ (the latter deducts depreciation when claiming). Business interruption insurance covers loss of profit or increased overheads resulting from unforeseen circumstances such as flood or equipment breakdown.

Specialist insurance. Specialist insurance ranges from motor and travel insurance through to professional indemnity, commercial legal cover and insurance for home based workers. To learn more about the different types of general insurance and ensure you get the right cover, read the guide Insure your business and assets

Further resources

To help get the right insurance for your business, the following resources may help.

Interactive tool - Get the right insurance for your business

Guide - Choose an insurance adviser and present your risk

HR focus - law on pensions; staff monitoring and security

Published
by
Business Link
on 19 July, 2007
in HR & People Development
. 0 Comments

The law on pensions

Businesses with five or more employees are required by law to provide access to a stakeholder pension scheme (exemptions apply in some cases). However, you don’t need to pay contributions to your employees’ stakeholder pension.

You are not legally required to provide occupational pension schemes, but many businesses see the value in doing so - both as a means of fostering staff loyalty - and for potential tax and national insurance advantages.

Stakeholder pension schemes are run by pension providers, while occupational pensions are set up by the employer.

Learn more about your legal obligations and the types of pension available  

Staff monitoring and security 

Monitoring staff is intrusive but sometimes necessary. You may need to check the quality of work produced by staff, look after the interests of customers, protect sensitive information or ensure compliance with legal requirements.

Monitoring must be justified. Improper monitoring can breach laws including the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act and may result in subsequent damage claims by employees. You must inform staff when monitoring is taking place (although it may be possible to use covert monitoring when informing staff would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime). 

Employers are responsible for the safety and security of staff. If you employ five or more employees, a written health and safety policy is required. Risk assessments also help identify and subsequently minimise potential dangers for your staff.

Find out more about monitoring and securing staff
Learn how to create and operate a health, safety and environment policy 
Online tool - Health and safety performance indicator 

Top tips - Make outsourcing work for you

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Business Link
on 19 July, 2007
in Top Tips
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Outsourcing can inject expertise into your business, filling skills gaps or releasing internal resources to concentrate on more important tasks. Whatever your motivation - successful outsourcing comes from effective implementation and management. It’s about what, who and how.

What you outsource depends on your strengths, weaknesses and priorities. Outsourcing secondary functions could help reposition internal resources to more worthwhile pursuits, strengthening your business. Identifying functions where you lack the expertise (or inclination) to perform specific tasks may highlight weak areas suited to outsourcing.

Who you outsource to is key. A good supplier will understand that your success is their success. Establishing an effective and mutually beneficial relationship can help protect your business in the long term.

How you outsource is about specifics. Carefully assigning roles and responsibilities between you and your supplier helps balance control. If you give too much responsibility away, it may be difficult bringing business functions back in house if necessary. Service Level Agreements can help firm up the detail, documenting assigned responsibilities and defining minimum service levels you and your supplier must work to.

Outsourcing is a two way street. If you implement and manage outsourcing properly, it’s likely you will establish productive and successful long-term partnerships.

Read Top tips - Make outsourcing work for you

More info - Outsourcing

Create good value emails

Published
by
Business Link
on 19 July, 2007
in Sales & Marketing
. 0 Comments

Email marketing has matured. Audience expectations are high and the spam bin sits just one mouse click away. As a result email marketers must create good value emails or face shrinking click through rates and audience apathy.

Alongside maturity comes increased opportunity, however. Independent research concluded recently that email marketing is alive and kicking:

“Despite concerns about declining attitudes toward email marketing, the medium is alive and well. In fact, email lovers are some of marketers’ most valuable customers. They spend more online, buy impulsively, pay for convenience, and tell others about emails they value.” www.forrester.com, 2007

Creating valuable content is fundamental to good email creation. There’s no prescriptive formula to deliver value, it’s about understanding the wants of your audience.

Some readers will be interested in product and price - what they can get for how little. In such cases, online exclusives, introduce a friend discounts or functional product listings may be more valuable than lengthy text or fancy designs. Conversely, such enriched content may be useful to others and may provide the viral hook that gets people talking.

You need to ensure value for you too. Creating engaging and relevant content may bolster your brand but it’s likely you’ll have more defined objectives. Linking content to calls to action is crucial, whether this be purchasing a product or simply visiting your website where more sales focussed content exists.

Monitoring your campaign once it’s sent provides priceless intelligence about the success of your email. Many email distribution tools allow in-depth reporting and free services are available that let you monitor click through rates. Learning what works and what doesn’t will help your email evolve to deliver increased value.

If the argument for creating value isn’t strong enough, the advent of tighter regulations and best practices focussing on opt-in or permission based email marketing further reinforces the importance of creating relevant, engaging emails. Consumers will only give and maintain permission to email if they see value in your offering.

The matured marketplace for email marketing demands quality and value, but also offers an exciting opportunity to reach out to valuable, impulsive consumers willing to engage and buy. Your audience is ready and waiting. You just need to create value and send the right message.

Find out more about email marketing