The Brighton Business Curry Club

Most Valuable Thing That You Learned Last Year?

2014-05-30T09:19:00.001+01:00

Here’s the latest Brighton Business Curry Club video. This month we focused on finding out what the most valuable thing was that our interviewee’s learned in the last year. As always the responses were as diverse as the types of businesses represented at the Curry Club, from food distributers to corporate tax to camping and foreign property.

The idea behind these videos is to harness some of the expertise in the room and offer it to the broader community. It’s always a struggle to get round lots of people at any networking event and time often seems to slip away. With videos like this we aim to extend the exposure of the businesses in the room by asking them to share their knowledge and offer some value to a wider audience.

Video courtesy of David Kilkelly from Blink Back Video

Top Networking Tips

2014-04-14T08:09:00.001+01:00

The Brighton Business Curry Club is a monthly event that combines Business Networking with a sit down curry meal and a bar for drinks. I’ve been several times and although it could be construed as ‘work’, drinking beer, eating curry and talking to interesting entrepreneurs and business owners is not exactly ‘work’ by my definition.

I’d spoken to Nick Harvey who runs the club on a few occasions about a videos and this was the fist month that those talks came to fruition. I’ll be producing further videos for the next events in May and onwards.

What I wanted to do with the video was give them some value. I saw little point in producing several promotional videos that all said the same thing so Nick and I decided on some themes and the first one is ‘Top Networking Tips’. Hopefully this not only gives and idea of what the Curry Club is like but also offers some broader insight into networking in general and why it’s a useful pursuit for businesses to undertake.

I’d like to thank the following individuals for taking part in the film.

James Wright – Streamline Taxis : http://www.streamlinetaxis.org/

Andrew Lake - Laughing Donkey Entertainments : http://www.ldentertainments.co.uk/

Caraline Brown – Brighton and Hove Business Awards : http://www.bahba.co.uk/

Chris Mansfield – Davenport Property Investments: http://www.davenport-wealth.com/

Jayne Hopper – Reach for Nutrition : http://reachfornutrition.co.uk/

Nick Harvey – Harvey Marketing Company : http://harveymarketingcompany.co.uk/

There are some photos from the event at Paul Fletchers site here

http://www.paulfletcherphotography.co.uk/photoblog/2014/04/happy-4th-birthday-brighton-business-curry-club/

Watch this space for more business Curry Club tips next month!

David Kilkelly

Director

BlinkBack Video Marketing

NEWS: Outstanding by Ofsted

2014-04-09T09:25:00.000+01:00

Chichester College have been rated Outstanding by Ofsted, including Work based learning and to celebrate, they are offering all local businesses the opportunity to train up their existing staff as apprentices for free, any age, as long as they don’t already have a degree.

This offer is for is open until 31^st May 2014.

To find out more, contact their Head of Business Development.

..Marketing, Team Leading, Management, Customer Service, Business Administration, and many more!

Sue Garman

Head of Business Development

Chichester College

Tel: 01243 786321 extension 2153

Mob: 07917 243988

Susan.garman@chichester.ac.uk

African Adventures - Orphanage Funding

2014-01-20T08:49:00.003+00:00

Guest post submitted via Sharna. Robs daughter at Davenport Wealth.

I know that we are all regularly asked to help or sponsor various people for various events.

However I hope to gather support from the local business community of Brighton & Hove to sponsor me.

In return for sponsorship I will be giving up half (3 weeks) of my school summer holiday to volunteer to teach and help in anyway I can in an orphanage in Ghana.

I have never done anything at all like this before and, I will be stepping way out of my comfort zone to, travel with some school friends (10) to Africa.

To be able to both pay my way on the trip and also provide a small amount of funding for the orphanage I have a target to raise £2,500. Of this £900 will pay for my flights, approximately £650 will go towards security and accommodation, the remainder of what I raise will go directly to the ongoing financial support of the orphanage.

I began fundraising in November and have managed to raise £500 so far thanks to the

generosity of many people.

I will be asking for sponsorship at the February curry club, in return I would ask all those who choose to sponsor me, place a business card alongside their donation, in return for this I will be holding a prize draw with the winner receiving two tickets for one of this seasons Twenty-Twenty Cricket Matches.

A little about me:

My name is Sharna Pelling, I am just 15 years old and am a student at Blatchington Mill School.

Below you will find a link to African Adventures, the company I will be a volunteer with, if you would like to discover more, please click on the link below.

http://www.african-adventures.co.uk/

Thank you in advance for your kind generosity and support.

Sharna.

Your Guide to Restaurants in Brighton - Guest Post

2013-12-30T14:35:00.000+00:00

Restaurants Brighton is built in collaboration with local Brighton people who have a

background in tourism and hospitality, and have a passion for great food.

The Restaurants Brighton restaurant guide - a portal for Brighton, Hove and wider Sussex is compiled together for its users, so you can easily select between different category listings, so you can quickly find what you are looking for.

- See more at: http://restaurantsbrighton.co.uk/#sthash.hQrYHcJB.dpuf

Here are a few of the most popular pages on the food website.

Best Breakfasts and Brunches in Brighton, Hove and Sussex

suggestions for where we would recommend for a good breakfast or brunch in Brighton, Hove and Sussex. - See more at: http://restaurantsbrighton.co.uk/best-breakfast-and-brunches-in-brighton-hove-sussex/#sthash.ohbKkT9W.dpuf

Sunday Lunches in Brighton, Hove and Sussex

Restaurants Brighton Top Ten – Voted By YOU

Indian Restaurants in Brighton and Hove

Gluten Free Restaurants in Brighton and Hove

Child Friendly Restaurants – Brighton, Hove, Sussex

Restaurants in Brighton Marina

A Visitors Guide to Restaurants in Brighton

Being a tourist in a different city gives you plenty of different adventures and challenges, particularly when it comes to finding a good restaurant. You just don’t want to be disappointed; you want to find and eat the best food in town.
You may be searching for a restaurant in Brighton because you’re here for a weekender, a holiday, or you are discovering the city because of a stint with work. No matter the reason, we have all been there in a new place. You arrive somewhere and you want to make the most of your time in a city and you want to be pointed in the right direction. You may be looking for a candle-lit dinner, award-winning cuisine, or you may be looking for somewhere quiet and boutique so you can impress a work contact; different budgets and companions call for different restaurants.
Restaurants Brighton is built in collaboration with local Brighton people who have a background in tourism and hospitality, and a passion for great food. Our restaurant guide for Brighton, Hove and wider Sussex is drawn together for its users and the information featured is from a local’s perspective and is an effort to highlight the great restaurant options available to you. We aren’t food experts or chefs (but we do like a good feed!) and we are thankful to a team of chefs and independent proprietors in the city who encourage our exploratory attitude to food.

- See more at: http://restaurantsbrighton.co.uk/restaurants-in-brighton/#sthash.TEvBDacj.dpuf

Where to Find a Good Curry in Brighton and Hove - Guest Post

2013-12-26T13:30:00.001+00:00

Fancy a Curry?

Can't wait until the next Brighton Business curry club and in need of a curry?

Take a look at the most comprehensive curry listing for Brighton and Hove.

Featuring some of the best in the city, a list put together by our January event partner ' Restaurants Brighton.'

“Indian cuisine is the general name for the foods of the Indian subcontinent, characterized by the extensive use of various spices, herbs, and other vegetables, and sometimes fruits grown in India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society. Each family of Indian cuisine includes a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques. As a consequence, it varies from region to region, reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically-diverse subcontinent.” Source: Wiki Pedia.

For more information about the best Indian restaurants Brighton, view the complete listing just here.

Here are the top 3 Indian restaurants in no particular order. Click on each restaurant to find the comprehensive feature on the Restaurants Brighton website:

The Eastern Eye

Chaulas of Brighton and Lewes

Indian Summer

Guest post submitted by our January event partner - RestaurantsBrighton.co.uk

Here are our top three Brighton and Hove Indian restaurants based on authenticity, value for money and of course flavour. These aren’t restaurants that have been adapted for the English palette – these Indian restaurants and curry houses are the real deal. They are listed in no particular order: - See more at: http://restaurantsbrighton.co.uk/indian-restaurants-curry-houses-brighton-hove/#sthash.JcuM7rod.dpuf

Here are our top three Brighton and Hove Indian restaurants based on authenticity, value for money and of course flavour. These aren’t restaurants that have been adapted for the English palette – these Indian restaurants and curry houses are the real deal. - See more at: http://restaurantsbrighton.co.uk/indian-restaurants-curry-houses-brighton-hove/#sthash.JcuM7rod.dpuf

Social Media Aggregation

2013-12-02T14:34:00.000+00:00

Does social media even work for my business?

This is the question everyone seems to ask me.

Well it’s a free notice board to millions of people so it should… shouldn’t it? – Social Media is now more crucial than ever within a robust digital marketing campaign.

With such a large number of platforms available, it’s a daunting task to know where to start and what to say.

Social Media Aggregation helps to organise and simplify the user’s social networking experience, aiding users to keep updates concurrent across all of their networking platforms.

Perhaps you would like Facebook to post a link every time you update your blog, or Twitter to post a photo when you update your Instagram.

These rules will help keep your social network thriving and your presence ubiquitous.

Clever ink not only integrates your Social Media communications with existing marketing strategy – but also utilises Social Media aggregation to ensure that all relevant platforms and tools are brought into play…

The performance of each platform and tool is then measured to ascertain what really works for you, your customers and your business.

For more information, contact our December events sponsors:

www.cleverink.co.uk

Infographics

2013-11-28T17:58:00.000+00:00

A crash course in Infographics by those clever rascals at Cleverink.co.uk.

As part of our talk at the Christmas Curry Club we will be asking for a little bit of data from all that attend. It will not hurt a bit! From this we will produce an infographic to illustrate our findings.

If you don't know about infographics they're the humble pie chart's fitter sister.

In short one sexy way to convey data.

To get an idea of how this works have a quick look at the one we produced from last month BBCC.

How did we do this you say?

Well woven into our witty patter whilst chatting to people on our tables we slipped in a few questions in and noted the answers. From this data we produced the following artwork.

To get a handle on the metric please note the scale for one person to the left of the page.

Looking at the smallest spot size that represents one person you can quickly reference the rest of our findings.

Beautiful, insightful & fun - Welcome to infographic mania. So the more info we gather at the Christmas BBCC on the 10th Dec the better our artwork will be. No pressure!

To check our more about how Cleverink work their magic check out www.cleverink.co.uk

Content First

2013-11-25T14:27:00.001+00:00

Latest research states that in 2012 on site attention or engagement lasts just eight seconds.

That means you have as long as it takes to tie your shoelaces to get your services and point of difference across on YOUR website… makes you think doesn’t it!

The principal weapon in communicating your message is well-written text.

This is just as important as your images and design but all to often not considered properly.

At the end of the day it's the deal closer when people finally decide to contact a potential supplier.

The design of a web page should aid the reader’s experience to absorb information and support the message.

This is why content first design is winning eyeballs across the Internet.

As it says this design movement is clean, simple and content light meaning your pitch, perception, pricing and personality are clear.

To see our beautiful, clean content first design for local superstar architect Koldo Gill please click here: www.koldoandco.com or check us out at www.cleverink.co.uk

Post submitted by Cleverink, sponsors of the December Christmas Curry Club.

Corporate Videos Part 2

2013-08-15T09:05:00.001+01:00

How To Make Your Corporate Look Professional

Following on from the last video blog about why a business would need a corporate film, this blog will go into how to make your corporate film look professional.

Planning a corporate film to help promote your business to others can be tricky.

It’s easy to get bogged down in trying to cover everything and often the person watching the video is left bored or confused by the bombardment of information thrown at them. Here are some things to be aware of when planning your corporate film.

Think About Your Audience:

Don’t think of your audience as a business or the general public. Your audience are all people and need to be treated as such. All people want to be entertained and if you want them to watch your video properly then you need to give them stimulating visuals and interesting dialogue. Use the language of cinema to draw people in as most people watch films so this is the visual language they are used to.

Don’t Try To Say Too Much:

Don’t try to say too much as it will confuse your audience. Make your video focused and easy to understand. A picture says a thousand words so make sure you storyboard your film before you shoot and include lots of cutaways and still images to emphasise the points you are trying to make.

Music:

Music is a powerful tool which can help an audience connect to your video emotionally. It can also liven up what might otherwise be a very dry part of the video. When choosing your music, make sure that you have the right licence to use it. Otherwise you may be restricted as to where you can show your video which would be a great shame having worked so hard on it.

Production Value:

Remember that this video represents your company so production value is key. Good ways to give your video that professional Hollywood look is to use steady-cam shots & crane/jib shots. The use of cinematic lenses with shallow depth of field (out of focus areas) really helps as well. Another way to add production value is cinematic colour grading. This can be a really useful post production tool to make your video look exciting and unique. Titles are very important. If your lovely new video has horrible low resolution titles then you will ruin all the good work you have done. Use particle effects in post production to create stylish transitions for the titles.

Call To Action:

At the end of your film you should include a ‘call to action’. This gives the person watching your video a way to find out more about your company or even better, use your service or buy your product. A great way to achieve this with video is to put hot-links on the video itself. This means all your audience has to do is click the link on the video and they will be taken to the relevant place. The benefit of this over putting the links below the video on your website is that the links will remain visible, even when people are not watching the video on your website and instead using a video sharing site such as Youtube.

Post submitted by Tom Kelly of Kelly Images.

Workplace ‘B’ashes 2013

2013-08-15T08:55:00.000+01:00

Are you looking for an alternative team building / corporate day out?

Or just simply looking to rejuvenate your staff during the summer months?

Join our venue partners the Sussex County Cricket Ground at the BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground in Hove on Wednesday 21st August from 1pm, to bash some balls and some business with other local companies at the home of Sussex County Cricket Club.

NO CRICKETING EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED, softball cricket games will be played on the outfield at Hove.

Each team will play in 3-5 matches against other businesses, with prizes for the winners of the tournament.

There will be a BBQ from 4pm onwards with drinks throughout.

The cost will be £200 per team (Teams of eight, squads up to 12) which includes the BBQ and all the equipment required to play cricket.

There are limited spaces available so please send your entries to carl.tupper@sussexcricket.co.uk to confirm your businesses place.

Corporate Videos Part 1 : Why Do I Need One?

2013-07-01T14:58:00.001+01:00

Google

Videos on websites are gaining in popularity lately and many businesses are probably wondering if they should jump on the band wagon.

The first thing to find out is why businesses produce corporate videos as without this knowledge you won’t be able to plan yours properly.

One of the main reasons businesses are falling over themselves to produce videos now is because ever since Google purchased Youtube, video has been essential to getting top ratings in Google SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) standings.

Where’s The Humanity?

Video is the best medium to use for speaking directly to your clients or customers and encouraging them to pick up the phone. Businesses can use video to show that they are just people too and if done right can take away from the fear factor that some people have before first contacting companies.

Tutorials

Another reason some companies produce videos is to create tutorials for people to show competence in the chosen subject matter. I have filmed a number of these for clients and it is a well proven tactic for demonstrating knowledge in a certain area. Indeed, this is what I’m doing with this very blog!

Summarising Your Website

Websites which have a lot of information on them can benefit from a video which sits on top of the home page and briefly goes over the main points of the website. This means the viewer can get a basic understanding of what a company does without reading whole pages of text. The viewer can then choose to read the rest of the website for further more in depth information.

Branching Out

A video can be a good opportunity to try out a different marketing strategy, test the market for a new product or go after a different type of clientele without alienating your current clients or changing your current website. This is made even easier now as Google has introduced Adwords for Youtube videos, so you can make a marketing campaign around a series of videos and see what people are most interested in.

There are many reasons to get a video made for your business and I have given you a few good examples of how videos can be used in your companies marketing strategy. In the next blog I will talk about how to make your Corporate Video look professional and elevate your company above the competition. Until then if you have any questions about what I have talked about please feel free to contact me through the Kelly Images website.

Look out for part 2 - coming soon on The Brighton Business Curry Club Blog

Post submitted by our July event sponsor, Tom Kelly From Kelly Images

Sussex businesses encouraged to celebrate workplace learning

2013-04-24T08:02:00.003+01:00

Chris Parkinson, Head of Leadership at Dixons Retail and the man behind the army of outstanding volunteers of London2012 said in an interview “Training is critical, not a luxury”.

On 23 May, thousands of organisations up and down the UK will join him in celebrating Learning at Work (LAW) day by promoting activities that develop staff, including everything from formal learning and coaching to mentoring and knowledge-sharing.

In Sussex there’s a programme of free events from 20 – 24 May to celebrate National Adult Learners Week and National Learning at Work day. The programme culminates in the Sussex Workplace Learning Awards that recognise dedication to workplace learning on Thursday 23 May.

The people behind the Sussex Learning Awards are now seeking your nominations.

If you’re an organisation that thinks you’ve got a great learning culture or you know an individual who’s shown real commitment to learning then take a look at www.workplace-learning.org.uk
Entries are done on-line with a closing date of Friday 10 May and places on the free events are also bookable via the website.

By reviewing how you run training in your organisation, or acknowledging the dedication of one of your staff through entering these free awards you’re already in a win-win situation. Together with the free events during the week you’re gaining extra value and when research shows that 80% of senior business people and 70% of customers are influenced by awards you’ve won, it makes sense to get involved.

Hot Brighton business news – Good stuff for January 2013

2013-01-21T07:30:00.000+00:00

As the city mourns the demise of Jessops and HMV, there’s positive news on the horizon… thank goodness!

The City Deal

This week our city Council submits an application to the government for a so-called ‘City Deal’. This means they’re making solid, actionable proposals about how they’d like to do things differently, and detailing exactly what needs to be done to make it happen.

With a bit of luck the project will give Brighton & Hove Council the tools and special powers it needs to drive healthier local economic growth as well as access projects and initiatives to boost our money-generating potential.

It should also bring about a revolutionary change by allowing the council to work across administrative boundaries, with the adjoining Adur and Lewes districts, to develop new environmental industries and turn our city into a recognised eco-hub. Which will help create new graduate-level jobs for some of our 7,000 graduates. And most exciting of all, they’re proposing a new eco-tech business centre at Toads Hole Valley, another job-generating, city-changing initiative.

All this good stuff has been inspired by our vibrant and hugely successful creative, digital and information technology sector. Which remains the star in Brighton & Hove’s economic firmament.

This is great news when many analysts think the first quarter of 2013 is set to be a dismal one, with negative growth in the UK economy as a whole. Britain looks set to lose our coveted AAA credit rating and all three of the top credit rating agencies have already put the country on what they call a ‘negative outlook’, which usually precedes a downgrade.

Wired Sussex takes the bit between their digital teeth

At the same time, Wired Sussex and the Council have secured £650,000 funding to support the city’s creative industries as part of a £6.4m umbrella project, Recreate. This’ll result in a new learning and support centre for start-ups and existing businesses in the creative and tech sectors, called Fusebox, sited at New England House.

The theory is that smaller digital business often operate in a fast-changing environment and, unlike big businesses in relatively stable sectors, they need an entirely different kind of support. The new initiative will host and help start-ups and freelancers in the sector, provide top class training and a dedicated venue for digital communities and groups. It’ll focus on highly creative ‘disruptive’ business thinking and will take inspiration from unusual, off-piste sources in line with the sector’s unique Zeitgeist.

The Recreate project as a whole is tasked with creating new work, exhibition, studio and learning spaces for creative entrepreneurs in the arts, creative and digital industries, with empty spaces in the city brought back to commercial life via a clever brokerage scheme. And a pop up shop scheme will see empty retail and other premises put to good use without all the usual bureaucracy.

If that all sounds good, it is. Making the city a hub for the green sector plays on our existing excellent environmental credentials and opens up a whole new world of opportunity. Our already-thriving digital and creative sector will get stronger. And both will drive new jobs and opportunities for small businesses, new and existing. If you were feeling a bit gloomy, plaster a smile on your face and go do business… things in our city are on the up!

Small business predictions for 2013… and how to deal with them

2012-12-17T18:58:00.001+00:00

2012 has been a rocky ride for some of us, a blinding success for others. So what’s on the cards for 2013? And what can you do about it?

Niche your business

According to Emma Jones, the founder of Enterprise Nation (www.enterprisenation.com) and a respected small business expert, niches will be bigger than ever next year. If you can niche your business so it points at a highly specific set of prospects, dovetailing with their exact needs, you could be onto a winner.

Take your small business abroad

The same goes for going global as new and emerging technologies make becoming a micro-multinational a feasible and desirable aim for small businesses. Going global can be as simple as setting up on Etsy or Ebay or as complex as opening up a completely new presence or a fresh offering to target foreign shores.

If you can’t compete at home, is the competitive landscape clearer abroad? It’s worth thinking about and any number of businesses are springing up to help facilitate it. Take Ann Hughes (www.thevatlady.co.uk), the VAT Lady, whose import and export training puts small businesses in a good position to grow without falling foul of the scary tax and VAT man.

Stay small and beautiful

The face of the employment is changing fast too. Jones also predicts that more small business owners will aim for better turnover without increasing their headcount and staff overheads. There’s a growing movement towards outsourcing to freelancers, e-workers, home-workers and external consultants. An excellent way to keep your business nimble, fast and flexible, it also benefits the job market and the economy as a whole.

See beyond the gloom and doom

What does the government say? Typically gloomy, they predict dire times ahead with more cuts and growth bumbling along the bottom, either flat-lining or even – worst case scenario - shrinking. But there’s no reason why you can’t thrive in a steady economy, one that might not be growing but is managing to stand nice and still!

Pressurise lenders

The banks? They’re flush with government cash, handed over specifically to lend to small businesses. But according to many, they’re still not lending. If you need working capital, investment or funds for growth why not try alternative lending? Or change banks? Or take the Squeaky Wheel approach and keep on at your lender until they tell you where to go or you actually get somewhere? Keep up the pressure and the dam might eventually break… we can only hope!

Tell a good story

The author Ian Sanders (www.iansanders.com) catches the tail of the Zeitgeist by predicting that more people will want to hear about a business’s values rather than how big and powerful they are. He joins a growing flurry of marketing folk who advocate the fine art of presenting the benefits instead of majoring on a product or services’ features, being honest, human, helpful and personal, putting trust at the heart of your marketing proposition. And it’s something everyone can do.

Hijack the new media and mobile revolution

Britain comes top of the world league for shopping online. We love it. Everyone loves video - the medium is causing a huge marketing splash. And according to research experts Gartner, mobile phones are set to overtake PCs by 2013 as the most popular way to get online. Can the mobile web deliver extra potential to your small business? Are you making the most of every online opportunity? If not, it’s time to get busy.

Get social

Online marketing is undergoing a seismic shift, mostly because of Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithm updates. We’re moving towards building communities and sharing exciting stuff, away from hard sells and traditional marketing. Can you zero in on niche markets via social media?

What’s your small business prediction for 2013?

We’d love to hear your ideas and share the with Curry Club fans. Feel free to leave a comment!

Learning new stuff for better small business performance

2012-11-19T08:30:00.000+00:00

You’ve had a brilliant business idea. Or you’re brilliant at what you do, your speciality. Either way it doesn’t automatically mean you’re equally adept at every aspect of running a business. You can’t afford to employ experts in the early stages. Perhaps you don’t want to expand, happy as you are, there’s nothing wrong with that. But unless you’re a superhero you’ll need to brush up in some areas and learn new skills.

Pinning down the grey areas

1. Jot down a list of your business-related strengths and weaknesses

2. Look for patterns and group your blank spots logically:

· Administrative

· Financial

· Systems

· Sales

· Marketing

3. Put your blank spots in priority order using your business plan as a guide, basing your decisions on what you want your business to achieve and when.

Delve into DIY online learning

If you want to learn it there’ll be a course about it online. Often hundreds or thousands of choices from a vast choice of suppliers including trusted quality stalwarts like the Open University. You can take your pick from videos, how-to guides, animations, interactive and distance learning courses and qualifications, from dummy to degree-level and beyond.

Lose yourself in real books and ebooks

If reading is your favourite way to soak up new information, Amazon is a reliable source of new and used textbooks and course books. There’s also a world of useful stuff available on Kindle.

Face to face learning at our city’s excellent FE college

City College Brighton & Hove runs an impressive array of professional courses for the business community. Their part-time courses in employment-focused subjects are perfect for sprucing up your skills and boosting your capabilities. Courses are taught by people with recent industry experience, with professional backgrounds and recognised qualifications.

Private tuition

Do you know an expert, or know someone who does? Would they be willing to give you tuition on a paid or barter basis? Or would you like someone to simply be there for you, answering tricky issues you come across in your e-learning, testing your knowledge ad egging you on? Private one-to-one tuition and support suits some of us better than classes or DIY learning. It depends on your personal preferences. If you’d benefit from private tuition you could even ask around at our next Curry Club event. You never know!

Business training in Brighton and Hove

We’re lucky to have a wealth of excellent training providers in the city. Here are just a few of them:

· Silicon Beach Training (www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk)

· Integration Training (www.integrationtraining.co.uk)

· Achieve Coaching and Training (www.nlp--training-business.com)

· The University of Brighton - Training and professional development (www.brighton.ac.uk/business/training/)

· The Life Project (www.thelifeproject.co.uk)

· Sussex Chamber of Commerce (www.sussexenterprise.co.uk)

· Pitman Training Brighton (www.pitmantraining.com)

· David Foster Associates Limited (http://www.davidfosterassociates.co.uk/)

10 Great Reasons to Outsource Your Payroll

2012-11-08T22:42:00.000+00:00

1. COST
Big businesses can afford to maintain big payroll departments. For small businesses however, an in-house payroll service is a money burner. If you calculate the hours your employees spend on payroll-related activities, plus payroll software costs, training costs, printers, printing and distributing payslips, creating tax documents etc, you could be surprised by the result when you compare that amount to the cost a payroll service provider can offer.

2. RESOURCES
The payroll function can consume a large proportion of your staff resources, especially if the staff in charge of the payroll are not trained specifically to deal with it or have the payroll function as a smaller part of their overall responsibilities. The benefits of outsourcing the payroll include freeing up these resources allowing your staff to concentrate on more essential tasks. You may even be able to reduce your staff's size. Outsourced functions also give you better scope for expansion of your company with scalable services suited to your business.

3. TRAINING
It can often be expensive to employ staff with the necessary training to operate a payroll system. For smaller companies where the payroll role is not enough to warrant a full-time employee, you may have to use your current staff to train in payroll as an additional responsibility to their core role. Your payroll staff will also need to keep up to date with the latest tax procedures and legislation.

4. EXPERIENCE
Certain types of employment can lead to complicated payroll structures or scenarios. It pays to have a wealth of experience at your disposal which is something you are unlikely to have with a small in-house payroll department. A good payroll service provider will know all the ins and outs of payroll-related tax laws and latest government legislation.

5. SPEED
As payroll service providers are specialists, they can process even the most complex payrolls at a great speed, providing a quick turnaround time on your payroll when required.

6. ACCURACY
Payroll mistakes can be painful, upsetting and stressful. A good payroll service provider is far less likely to make a serious error than your in-house staff, as you are paying them for their expertise, knowledge and finely-tuned checking procedures they have in place.

7. RELIABILITY
In-house payroll activities function as reliably as the people doing the work. With a payroll service, output, speed and quality won't vary in accordance with holidays and sickness. There is always a risk that you may lose one of the key members of staff that deal with your payroll and all their knowledge walks away with them. If this happens you could find it extremely difficult to replace them, causing a logistical nightmare come payday. You also won't have to spend time training new staff or helping them to understand your business's payroll system.

8. FLEXIBILITY
Many payroll bureaux can offer small and medium sized business total payroll packages in which all your payroll requirements can be met. With outsourced solutions, these packages are often flexible to meet your specific business model so you don't end up paying for something that includes services you don't need or misses key features that you do need.

9. SECURITY
Do you have the time and energy to closely supervise your business's payroll for time and rate abuses and other shady activities? Most payroll bureaux have technologies that can spot and alert clients to various types of payroll fraud, such as payment manipulation and 'phantom workers'.

10. WORRY-FREE
There's a lot to be said for the peace of mind that outsourcing payroll services can bring to a business owner or manager. No headaches, no hassles, no stress, no worries: You're left to focus on running your business knowing you payroll obligations are dealt with correctly, efficiently and lawfully.

Sussex Payroll Services

@payrollgirls

info@sussexpayrollservices.co.uk

Mentioning the ‘C’ word – 7 tips for a happy marketing Xmas

2012-10-23T10:45:00.000+01:00

Should you advertise during the run up to Christmas?

Millions of British companies and organisations spend time and money jumping on board the annual Xmas marketing bandwagon. But is it always a good idea?

It’s a bit like the Olympics, where everyone who was anyone came up with an Olympic themed special offer or marketing campaign. Did they all attract loads of new customers and inspire existing customers to buy more? No idea, but common sense suggests there must have been an element of Olympics marketing fatigue and the same thing probably happens at Christmas.

Standing out from the crowd

It’s hard enough standing out from the crowd as it is. But when the entire crowd joins in it makes your marketing life much more of a challenge. Do you have the budget to spend your way to visibility amongst the noise? Or would you be better off lying low ‘til the new year, when everyone gets back to normal?

NOT driving people nuts!

It might turn out that Christmas isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in your sector, full stop. Some people get stuck in as early as September, but does mentioning the C word four months in advance annoy people more than it attracts them?

If you can’t find a logical, clear, practical connection between the stuff you sell and Christmas, is it worth bothering? If your offer or campaign is less than relevant to the season, which many are, will it have the right kind of impact or will it fall flat?

Waiting for better media buying deals

Many direct marketers stop sending out campaigns half way through October because their message just gets lost in the Christmas frenzy. And media buying often costs less after the festive season is done and dusted. It’s a matter of supply and demand: when demand is high, prices go up. In the new year, when demand is lower, it can be easier to find good deals on ad space and advertorials as well as negotiate free or cheap editorial.

What about email marketing? If your inbox is anything like yours it’ll be filling up with Christmas messages already. Would it be better to leave it until the fuss is over and things have died down? Or can you make yourself heard amongst the rubbish? The same goes for your newsletter. Your customers and prospects might thank you more if you just wish them season’s greetings and leave it at that –what do you think? It’s all worth mulling over first.

Whatever you sell it’s worth bearing in mind that female target audiences are traditionally busier than blokes, more so the closer we get to the day itself. We’re supposed to be equals these days but buying gifts, decorating the house, sending cards, buying food and cooking tends to be woman’s work in the majority of households. If your target audience is females over eighteen, it might be safest to leave them to get on with it!

7 tips for a happy marketing Christmas

1. Keep it real – if the things you sell have absolutely no connection with Christmas, think twice about marketing at this time of year

2. If your media costs are going to end up higher than normal because of Christmas, do your sums. Will your usual response and conversion rates cover the cost? If response goes down, what’s the worst case scenario? If you think you’ll end up making a loss, step away

3. Plan everything like a military campaign to maximise your chances, creating a dedicated Xmas marketing plan

4. Choose your target audience/s carefully, establish what they do at this time of year (buy gifts, buy supplies, ignore the whole thing in a business context) and tailor your offers as closely as you can to their needs. It’s always important but even more so at times like this, when targeting might be your only real way to stand out

5. Remember that benefits sell much better than features. Again it’s always important but it’s more important than ever at Christmas, especially for people buying gifts. When you’re buying a gift you often need more detail than when you’re buying for yourself. You want to make exactly the right choice and benefit-led communications do a much better job the feature-led. It’s no good telling people what the buttons on a gadget are. They want to know all the good things the button functions will do for them. Don’t say this gadget has a ‘go faster’ button. Say the gadget’s ‘go faster’ button increases your play speed by at least 50%

6. Do unto others. Use your most powerful tool, your consumer head, to gauge whether you’d appreciate and enjoy the offer yourself. If you wouldn’t, tweak it until it sounds like something you’d be thrilled to receive at this time of year

7. Make your message the best it can be – creative, funny, beautiful to look at, quirky, rude, compelling, awe inspiring… whatever it takes to cut through the babble

National Minimum Wage October 2012

2012-10-15T08:30:00.000+01:00

The national minimum wage (NMW) is the set minimum hourly rate that UK employers must pay their workers. There are three aged based rates and an apprentice rate which are usually updated in October each year.

Almost all workers who work in the UK are entitled to the NMW, except self-employed people and children who are still of compulsary school age.

The rates from October 2012 are as follows:

Adult Rate (21 and over): Increase of 11 pence to £6.19 an hour

The 18-20 year olds rate will remain at £4.98 an hour

The 16-17 year olds rate will remain at £3.68 an hour

The apprentice rate: Increase of 5 pence to £2.65 an hour

HMRC enforces the national minimum wage and if they find you have underpaid the NMW they will issue a notice of underpayment showing the arrears you must pay to your workers and possible penalties you must pay HMRC. Does your payroll software flag up when employees rates are due to be reviewed? Check your employees' ages and make sure you increase their houlry rates when applicable.

Sussex Payroll Services

@payrollgirls

info@sussexpayrollservices.co.uk

EC Sales List - Reporting EU Sales to HMRC

2012-10-08T08:30:00.000+01:00

If your business is registered for VAT in the UK and you sell goods or services to VAT registered customers in other EU countries you are required to submit an EC sales list (known as ECSL or form VAT 101) to HMRC.

Why HMRC needs EC Sales Lists

The information you give on the ESL is used by the tax authorities in other EU countries. They use it to check that the businesses you've supplied your goods and/or services to are dealing with the VAT correctly.

The details are also used to build up anonymous statistics showing how goods are traded in the EU.

The same thing happens if your business receives goods from a supplier in another EU country. Your supplier also completes a similar sales list showing the value of the goods and/or services they've supplied to you.

EC Sales Lists - the basics

All VAT-registered businesses in the UK that supply goods to a VAT-registered customer in another EU country must provide HMRC with information about the supplies.

There is no threshold for ESLs - you must list every supply, no matter how small.

You submit the details on what's known as an ESL.
This contains details of:
Your customer
The relevant country code
The value of the goods and/or services

An EC Sales Declaration

Goods

The ECSL is generally submitted quarterly, but businesses that export goods totalling more than £35,000 (excluding VAT) per quarter must complete an ECSL every month.

When you completes box 8 on their VAT return because you have sold goods to a VAT registered business in another EU country, the Tax Office will automatically send you an ECSL form to complete.

If you move your own goods to a branch or subsidiary of your business in another EU country, this movement is treated the same as if to a third party and will also have to be entered on the ECSL for that period.

The paper ECSL form must be submitted within 14 days of the end of the reporting period. You can also complete the ECSL online, and have 21 days from the end of the period to submit the form. Note that this deadline is well before the deadline for your regular quarterly VAT return

Services

If your business only sells services to other EU countries you can continue to submit a quarterly ECSL, but they can opt to submit monthly ECSL forms. You will not have entered this sale in box 8 of the VAT return so there is no reminder that you have to complete an ECSL.

If your client moves their own goods to a branch or subsidiary of their business in another EU country, they may also have to complete an ECSL for that period.

Ann Hughes

@thevatlady

The VAT Lady

info@thevatlady.co.uk

Social Loafing

2012-09-25T10:08:00.000+01:00

Why Social Loafing is good for small business owners

You’re a contractor, a freelancer or a small business owner.
Are you missing out on having loads of colleagues, people who can pitch in, lend their expertise and dream up fresh angles? If you’re drowning – not waving – and you’re finding it difficult to cope with all the work, would having a team on the job mean you’d get stuff done faster, in direct proportion to the number of extra hands on board?

Not necessarily. We assume that when we’re joined by others, together we’ll work harder and become more accomplished. But in reality, research proves we don’t pull anywhere near as much weight in a group as we do on our own. Once we have willing helpers, we slack off and invest less effort because we know our work will be pooled. And we know we won’t be judged on our individual efforts, either!

Evolved behaviour

Social loafing isn’t conscious. It’s one of those unconscious behaviours humans have evolved, probably because in evolutionary terms there’s no need to knock yourself out expending valuable energy when the burden can be shared.

Blindfold tug of war

How do the egg heads know there’s such a thing as social loafing? In one experiment the psychologist Alan Ingham set up a blindfold tug of war, with one person at each end of the rope. When he told them they were part of a team, they pulled 18% less hard than when they were told they were alone.

You can read about more social loafing experiments in the book, ‘You Are Not So Smart’ by David McRaney.

Why’s it good for lone cowboys?

The strange phenomenon of Social Loafing works to your advantage. You can drop the notion that the faster you can grow and take more people on, the more efficient things will get. You do a fantastic job on your own. Well done! When you do expand your business, just remember to put some careful thought into the way you distribute tasks and share responsibilities.

That way you’ll get the very best out of everyone.

Reach the top of your own mountain!

2012-08-28T11:56:00.000+01:00

As an active networker, I’m often asked to represent groups that are run and operated by someone else. “It’ll raise your profile!” is the usual reason given. Although that’s not in question, have you ever wondered what it’ll be like to lead your own? Operating ‘third party’ groups is great and I would recommend it. I’ve done so myself and what I learned in a short space of time has been invaluable. Running your own is an entirely different ball game! There’s no big ‘system’ to lean on and the ultimate responsibility is on you.

With a solid networking grounding, here’s a question: Why not climb up and reach the top your own mountain?

My late father, a distinguished army officer in WW2, who fought alongside Lord Mountbatten and his troops to help liberate Malaya, (now Malaysia and Singapore), mentored me to lead. Until I started my own business, I hadn’t really considered that I was in fact more active than most in various leadership roles from a young boy, throughout my adolescence, (more in my LinkedIn profile), and into the business world. I’ll never forget his pride when I became Head Boy of a UK boarding school, despite my not being considered a top academic. Heck, when I arrived at the school at nine years of age, I was the boy who had the “funny accent”, (the Couplands and extended family were – and our family ‘hub’ still is – based in Singapore).

The bar is constantly being raised. Expectations are higher. Effective leadership can be a great solution.

I have come to the realisation that, in order to make a real difference, great leadership has to be at the core of almost everything one does in the world of business. I have shared with those I coach in marketing that the bar was and is still being raised. People’s expectations in what a business person has to offer are higher than ever. Why? Well, there are several reasons. The main ones are lack of time; ever increasing competition and what I often term as ‘noise’.

So what do I mean by noise?

The fact that we live in a busier, more crowded world is a given, so that’s not what I’m covering here. What I mean is I often hear fellow networkers claim that they’ll start something for themselves, however don’t really deliver – assuming they started in the first place! Ideas are the easy part. Most can come up with great ideas so, to me, there’s nothing in the slightest bit exclusive about that. Action and action with great results is an entirely different matter! Sure, there are and will be plenty of mistakes, disappointments and regrets along the way. Isn’t life about that anyway?

Being a leader should no longer be regarded as something one can aspire to be. In my view, it has never been so vital in the business world.

Ever presented in front of audiences that consist of your customers, your network and your competitors? I can tell you, it’s no mean feat, however seldom have I found such a rewarding experience. In fact, taking on the mantle such as this has so far been one of the best things we have done so far since I started my business. Great relationships and business that resulted exceeded our own expectations.

So whether it’s networking, a committee or your business, why not climb and be at the top of your own mountain? I’m not saying I’m there yet however, for me, one or two mountains aren’t enough, I’m climbing more and, although my legs can sometimes hurt like mad, there’s no way I’m turning back!

There are no “you have to’s!” here, I‘m deliberately being thought-provoking.

…and what about representing someone else? (I’m not referring to advocating here, which is of course a great thing to do). If you represent someone else, ever considered removing the billboard of him / her / their logo at events and representing yourself? It could well be time to move on and, usually, the best time is when you feel you’re at your (or their?!) peak. Don’t just imagine being at the top of your own mountain, why not do something about it? It’s called change and a change that should have an even better view!

Reach the top of your own mountain! It doesn't have to be the tallest

What I seldom see are people truly aspiring, taking focussed action at coming out of their comfort zone and at least trying to lead and carve their own way, representing themselves and leading – no matter how large or small the initiative.

Those that do get more respect through what they have achieved anyway and, even if they end up doing something else later, it’s most certainly not failure as they’ve climbed their own mountain, took a deep breath of satisfaction and took in the view.

Now how exclusive is that?!

John Coupland
@networkerplus Social Media
www.networkerplus.net

Organisational Stress and Sustainable Wellbeing

2012-08-21T08:14:00.001+01:00

Stress is a real issue in the workplace and a growing problem.

Employers recognise the benefits of a stable and well trained workforce; the immediate benefits include an engaged workforce as well as reduced recruitment, training and sick pay costs.

Poor health is one factor that can undermine a sustainable workforce.

More than ever, a wellbeing strategy is a must have if you want your staff to compete and gain an edge from your competitors then you need to look after them.

Firstly, it is very important to understand the culture of the company, the market, the environment, the clients, the demand of the jobs and on the very top knowing your people. They are the ones the day in day out deal with those factors regularly.

The approach used will determine the results. Involve your people, ask them about their challenges, about what they need andhow you can support them as an employer.

Define your strategy to achieve sustainability. It’s not good doing something for the sake of it. You will achieve sustainable wellbeing if you use a holistic approach considering the mind, body and spirit about the employee.

Psychological health, physical health, emotional wellbeing, financial wellbeing – consider all of these then bring the organisation into the equation. Important aspects such as culture, values, internal procedures, communication channels and other factors in your organisation should be looked at.

Sustainable wellbeing will not only make your organisation a stronger business to compete in the market, but also will prevent health and wellbeing absenteeism through a cared approach where the employee comes first. If you get the balance right the results can be magnificent in your business, reducing illnesses, stress levels, increased motivation, sense of belonging and loyalty.

The corporate world is evolving all the time. Do not spend time and money providing training and development that nobody wants; focus on people’s wellbeing now.

It’s all about the approach, it’s all about people.

With a big thank you to Joao Bocas, CEO of Sports13 for submitting this article.

Sports13 are Specialists in Health, Performance & Wellbeing

joao@sports13.co.uk,
T - 01273 810277
M - 07731983936
www.sports13.co.uk

Follow that star! Harnessing our city’s thriving economy

2012-08-06T07:30:00.000+01:00

The British economy shrank by 0.7% between April and June, sending everyone into a spin yet again. But according to an article in The Argus, Sussex’s businesses are bucking the economic trend with confidence surprisingly high.

Despite the gloom and doom, in Brighton and Hove we’re fortunate enough to be experiencing steady economic growth. And we’re doing it all on our own, without much help from those in power. Well done, us.

What can local businesses do to take advantage of the situation?

The news is a serious shot in the arm for local businesses like ours. So what can small business owners do to ride the wave?

Catching different fish

If you haven’t done it already, get cracking and update your prospect database. There’s plenty of fresh potential in town.

Most of our members operate business-to-business, so think creatively about the kind of businesses that will benefit from your services. If you’re not in the new media sector, it’s the hottest industry in town – can you hook into it? Scour the Argus for inspiration, check the jobs pages to see who’s recruiting (therefore growing).

Making sure you look the part

Does your business look, feel and sound professional or is your public face letting you down? If you’ve been putting it off because you’re too busy, or too busy trying to get busy, now’s the time to overhaul your online and printed collateral. When you look and sound the part, you’ll attract more business.

Putting yourself about

Are you networking yet?

There are loads of business networking events in Brighton and Hove, all different. If you haven’t experienced a Curry Club event yet, sign up for the next one. Alternatively, pick your weapons based on personal research: choose your top six networks, going by what they say on their websites, and sample them for real so you know for sure the winner (or winners) tick the right boxes.

What about marketing? If you don’t do much, it’s time to make your voice heard so the city’s exciting new prospects can find you. It’s a bit like that film, Field of Dreams. You can’t just build a business and hope customers will magically arrive. You need to tell them you’re here.

Altering your mind-set

There’s a growing body of evidence proving that believing success is possible, better still probable, helps you achieve it in real life. Positive thinking is a handy business tool, and this week’s good news about the local economy gives everyone a solid reason to perk up, gird their loins and take a fresh look at the possibilities.

Don’t believe a word of it? Here’s a fun experiment for you

First, think of something that annoyed you recently. Go over it again and again, re-running it and remembering the feelings you had at the time. Continue for ten minutes and notice how you feel worse as time passes. By the end of the process you’ll probably be livid, fit to kill.

Second, think about something that made you feel really happy. Ruminate, daydream and re-experience it for ten minutes and notice how much happier you feel, and how much more positive you are about your working day. Better?

You’re in control of how you feel, so let the good news about Sussex’s lively economic landscape drive your attitude to business. You might as well be optimistic, there’s nothing to lose!

What are you doing to make the most of Sussex’s thriving business scene? Leave a comment and let us know.

4 great tools to help you overcome small business overload

2012-07-13T14:43:00.000+01:00

I mentioned at one of our Brighton Business Curry Clubs that I answered 10,000 emails in 12 months. When we launched the Gatwick Diamond Business Curry Club a month ago, I had 600 emails in 4 days. I answer each of them individually but I understand it when my clients complain of feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails that come flooding in. Just knowing there is an ever increasing number of people to reply to can cause stress and panic and is a great cause of bad time management.

How do you react when you’re suffering from overload? Your poor old short term memory can only hold onto so much stuff at any one time and when it overflows, you might find yourself sitting blankly in front of your screen with no idea what you were just doing. Or repeating the same tasks. Or feeling like someone’s stuck a spoon in your brain and stirred it… hard. It’s horrible, and boy does it prevent you from getting things done.

Tools are the answer. Use them wisely, grasshopper, and they’ll save your sanity on a regular basis as well as helping you churn through your work with much less pain and angst.

Gmail

Googlemail is great if you’re on the move, accessible from any computer or your smartphone. And millions of us use it to keep our email under control.

It blocks spam before it reaches your inbox. There’s a huge amount of space, so much that you may as well call it ‘unlimited’. You can search within Gmail to locate specific messages and it matches messages with responses so you don’t lose track of conversations.

There’s a Priority Inbox at Beta testing stage, which separates important messages from the gumph automatically. You can use Gmail to call other countries at low rates. There’s built-in chat with voice and video, plus super-secure HTTPS encryption.

How to get it? Sign up for a Google account and follow the signs.

ActiveInbox

ActiveInbox is a free plugin/add-on for Gmail which integrates seamlessly with your calendar and other tools. It makes organising tasks and project folders in Gmail easy, so you can work with other people better. It deals with the horrors of email overload by achieving inbox zero – what a relief! You can even use it for creative Customer Relationship Management.

If your email inbox is in a perpetual state of chaos, Activeinbox will soon sort you out. It’s a simple way to organise your Gmail life so you never lose or miss another message or forget a vital task. It keys directly into your Gmail account and transforms it into a wonderfully simple and intuitive task manager.

You can give each email a status and guarantee it gets completed. You can set deadlines and escalate emails elsewhere, achieving perfect filing. Oh, joy!

You can surface important work by moving relevant messages into a project folder as well as store actions, useful information and links to Conversation Notes. Clever shortcuts make cleaning out your inbox a dream. And Activeinbox’s Active Results tool is great for giving you a crystal clear focus on projects, people and deadlines. It’s built by local people, who created the system with the principles and best practices behind Getting Things Done in mind. Download the free extension here. There is also a Plus version with extra features - if you mention the Brighton Business Curry Club I'll double your free trial to a month.

Disclaimer: I thought this product was so great that I contacted them – turns out the developer is based in Brighton so after a chat to give him some of my thoughts and suggestions from a user’s point of view - now he’s one of my clients and I look after the support (and lots of emails) that come in from the thousands of users around the world who also think ActiveInbox is great.

Remember The Milk

A bunch of perceptive Aussies created Remember The Milk as a replacement for the slapdash post-it and back-of-your-hand approach to getting things done that so many of us resort to. With its help you can make managing tasks an enjoyable experience instead of an ongoing nightmare of mayhem and chaos.

Here’s a list of what it’ll help you with:

Manage tasks fast and easily with due dates, handy keyboard shortcuts and more
‘Locate’ your tasks in the real world – for example pin your reminder to buy milk on a map, on the location of the supermarket
Access tasks via your mobile, print lists and populate weekly planners in seconds, plus a calendar facility and Atom/RSS feeds
Get SMS, emails and messenger reminders on the move
Collaborate, share, send and publish tasks (plan world domination, do the washing up…)
Plan, prioritise and postpone with ease, and set repeat tasks months ahead
Create a task cloud in seconds, with tools for tagging, lists and notes
Add and search tasks wherever you are

Rapportive

Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts from your inbox. It doesn't help directly with overload, but it does give you essential insights into who is emailing you. You can see their gravatar if they have one, and what they do: their job, company and LinkedIn profile. It pulls in their location, what they’re getting up to with MailChimp and more.

Why bother? It’s useful for establishing a rapport, making contact with people near you, sharing interests and social media activity. It’s great for growing your online network because you can follow people on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etcetera, all without clicking away from your inbox. You can even leave notes for people on their Google profile from your email client. In February 2012 LinkedIn decided they liked Rapportive so much, they bought the company.

Why suffer? Let tools relieve your GTD burden

If it’s high time you gave yourself a break, click through and get your life back in shape!