smarta

What's a small business?

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:20:43 +0000

With venerable business secretary’s long-awaited small business rescue package finally unveiled today, the press has been full of speculation as to whether or not putting an extra £20bn behind small businesses is going to make the blindest bit of difference.

David ‘the bandwagon’ Cameron has made an uncharacteristically enthusiastic u-turn, veering in spectacular style from his unwavering commitment to criticising Brown for investing too much in the economy and instead slamming him for not spending enough to prevent small businesses from going under.

Whether or not it helps save the 20% of small businesses expected to slip into insolvency this year remains to be seen, but one thing is bugging us – who exactly will the money go to? On this morning’s Today programme, Mandelson said the cash will go to ‘credit-worthy small businesses with a turnover of up to £25m’.

Eh? Last time we checked, ‘small businesses’ weren’t turning over £25m. Far from it. In fact, according to The Companies Act, a small business needs to satisfy two of three criteria: a turnover below £5m, a balance sheet total below £2.8m, or fewer than 50 employees.

There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the matter. In the US, a small business is defined as under 100 employees, while in Australia, it’s under 19 employees, and the British Bankers’ Association says it’s a business with a turnover of less than £1m.

Twitter was equally unhelpful. “I would say less than 30 employees,” suggested @beatpoll, while @Goodadvice thought ‘a solopreneur’ (sole trader, we can only assume) best fits the definition.

It seems Mandelson may have to reconsider his criteria before he starts dishing out the cash – Smarta suggests he works it out using measures such as loo to employee ratio, the number of people who feel responsible when the kitchen gets dirty or perhaps how loudly you need to shout to get the attention of the person on the other side of the office. On the other hand, he could adopt a more zen-like approach: perhaps being a small business is merely a state of mind.

Crisp to defy crunch?

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:03:44 +0000

Walkers have finally announced the shortlist for their long-running find-a-new-crisp-flavour competition, and, my my, what a list it is. Top of the bizarre stakes is the rather nuts-sounding Cajun squirrel.

So, will this crisp be enough to help Walkers defy the crunch?

Let’s look at the facts (providing that we can take the term “facts” loosely enough to also include opinion and speculation).

Firstly, the flavour itself is bound to generate publicity. If anyone else can name me a tree-climbing rodent-flavoured mass-market snack in this part of the world, I’ll give them a tenner. So, PR, tick.

Secondly, the fact that the flavour is consumer-created and that the whole campaign has been consumer-led is a canny, albeit well-used, marketing move. Consumers typically love the chance to get involved, and this branding exercise has tightened the bond between Walkers-the-corporation and their customers. No doubt this more intertwined and closely meshed symbiosis will generate happy love-feelings amongst Walkers-customers everywhere.

Thirdly, it's safe to assume that a flurry of not-so-regular crisp-eaters will buy up lots of the new flavour either for novelty value, because they have been unashamedly influenced by the marketing of the campaign, out of sheer curiosity, or because they genuinely like squirrel.

Fourthly, Walkers are likely to create a sizeable new market amongst squirrel-haters everywhere, who have had their beloved lawns destroyed and corrupted for years by the vile little hairballs and now, with the power of wishful thinking, will have their ire soothed by the thought that they have just bought a packet of crisps that necessitated the death of seven squirrels.

So, all round, we likes it. Daring, original flavour, guaranteed to whip up a PR storm and please customers. Well done squirrel-cookers.

(Image: Darragh Sherwin at flickr)

BlackBerry gets celebrity Baracking

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:15:50 +0000

There’s been a lot of hoo-hah about celebrity endorsement of late, particularly after news of Jerry Seinfeld’s reported $10m (£6m) deal with Microsoft broke – but it seems BlackBerry may have found celebrity backing from even more newsworthy source: none other than president-elect Barack Obama.

In an interview with US television channel CNBC, the messianic leader-to-be said his minders will have to ‘pry’ the device out of his hands when he enters the White House. “I’m still clinging to my BlackBerry,” he told them.

We can only imagine the statement had the management at Research In Motion (RIM), the company which makes the devices, crying tears of joy – according to an article in The New York Times, marketing experts are estimating his endorsement to be worth $25m (£15.3m) – but the great man hasn't charged them a penny.

If he were to charge, ‘this would be almost the biggest endorsement deal in the history of endorsements’, Doug Shabelman, president of celebrity endorsement company Burns Entertainment told the newspaper. “He’s consistently seen using it and consistently seen in the news arguing... how he absolutely needs this to function on a daily basis.”

The jury is still out on whether or not the device presents too many ‘legal and security concerns’ for Obama to keep on using it in the Oval Office, but we do know after that comment, if Barack is running short of cash and looking for something to endorse when his presidency is over, chances are RIM will only be too happy to provide.

An electric idea from some very bright sparks

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:25:58 +0000

Beep beep beep beep beep beep. If you’ve ever been woken up by the sound of your mobile phone running out of battery, you’ll realise that the aforementioned sound is not only the most irritating noise in the world at 3:30 am, but also representative of the number of expletives you’re likely to emit as you curse your phone from across the room.

But fear not sleep-loving friends – the power of technology has come to save us. Wi-Tricity is here. Like its forefather (as far as name goes) Wi-Fi, Wi-Tricity is electricity without wires. Which means you can charge up your electrical devices without wires. Without plugging in. By power of magic.

Well, almost magic... Wi-Tricity works by picking up very specific resonances of power from a nearby Wi-Tricity power emitter. Wi-Tricity devices are expected to become the stars of this year’s upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the biggest electronics expo in the world. At the moment, the technology has only got as far as mobile-phone sized devices being charged up when placed on or near Wi-Tricity boards, but hopes are high that sometime in the future entire rooms and buildings will have Wi-Tricity – much in the same way as Wi-Fi works now – so that you could simply walk into a building clutching your laptop and it would recharge automatically.

Pretty amazing stuff!

Happy New Year!

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:15:08 +0000

Well well well, 2008 saw the advent of some great new businesses, and we’re hopeful that 2009 will welcome even more. You see, recessions, my friends, whilst the bane of almost everyone else’s lives, tend to foster lots of lovely little new business babies. So we entrepreneurs love them. Well, not love them, exactly – but we see the silver lining.

Both the previous two recessions saw an increase in the number of small businesses, the government is pumping a cool £1 billion into encouraging SMEs and good old Mandelson and Brown are by no means the only politicians banging on about how important small businesses are for the economy (making up 90% of it, don’cha know).

And the reasons for the pick-up at times like these is that with so many people newly unemployed but laden with skills, those great business ideas that you’ve been holding in the back of your mind but just haven’t quite yet been started on are now given a massive expanse of your time and attention to expand into. With no job on the line to detract from, people take the plunge. (And with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development predicting a whopping 600,000 more jobs going across the UK this year, that’s really just as well, otherwise God knows what they’d all do.)

And good for them that they do. It’s business starters that get the economy going again, and the necessity of boot-strapping means that these will be some of the most financially robust companies once things get going again. It’s always invaluable for your start-as-you-mean-to-go-on ethic to be keeping overheads and costs as absolutely low as possible.

So – here’s to 2009, here’s to you, here’s to us, and here’s to all the entrepreneurs that make the world go round. Hurrah!

Hallelujah!

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:36:11 +0000

After weeks of grumbling, whining and surprisingly belligerent discounting, it seems this weekend, the Christmas fairies (in London, at least) finally granted retailers’ festive wishes, with a surprise upsurge in shoppers boosting pre-Christmas takings.

A source told Smarta the Oxford Circus branch of music retailer HMV saw a jump of more than 80% in year-on-year sales, while the rest of London saw a 20% year-on-year rise over the weekend, with a million people spending about £120m on the capital’s streets.

A spokesman for John Lewis, where computer games sales soared by 500%, told The Metro the company had expected the surge. “We have always felt with Christmas Day falling on a Thursday, Christmas will be coming late this year.

“We had a nice increase over the weekend and we are expecting it to get even busier. Most people probably stopped work on Friday so they effectively have a five-day weekend,” he said.

Sadly, while London’s retailers were celebrating, the news wasn’t quite so rosy elsewhere – on average, sales across the country were down 8.7% from last year, but retailers have remained resilient. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said even though sales are down, things are beginning to look up.

“While conditions remain tough, retailers have reacted with high-profile price cuts and promotions,” said the group’s director general, Stephen Robertson.

“This, together with the recent reductions in VAT and interest rates, has meant in the last few days shoppers have come out in force. Some retailers will now dare to breathe a sigh of relief that customers are simply delaying their Christmas spending, rather than cancelling it entirely.”

On that cheery note, Smarta is taking a break over Christmas, but will be back at the beginning of January. Until then, merry Christmas – and here’s to a recession-busting 2009.

Image by Beatbull on Flickr - vielen Dank!

Wink wink, nudge nudge ; - )

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:46:25 +0000

OMG!!!!???!?!?!?!?!?????!!!!!!???!!?! WTF?!?!?!??!????!!!!!?!??!?!?!???

Does it annoy you when people over-punctuate in emails? Does it really, really annoy you? Does it make you wish that each of those superfluous exclamation marks could in fact be peeled from the screen, rolled at the tip between your forefinger and thumb into a sharp point and forcibly inserted into a 10 cm high voodoo doll of the person who sent you the email?

If so, then we need not even speak of the vile scar upon the state of the punctuation of the western world that is the wink emoticon.

Yes, this oh-so-kooky combination of semi-colon, dash and parenthesis screaming “I’m such a cheeky chappy I’m practically Robbie Williams!”, is, with regret, the subject of today's blog. For a Russian entrepreneur has now copyrighted the wink emoticon.

Yes that’s right, copyrighted ; - ).

Oleg Teterin, the entrepreneur in question, is president of mobile ad company Superfone. He reportedly assured the public that he has put the trademark in place only to prevent large corporations from using ; - ), but even this seems strange. Either the Russian trademark office has gone completely bonkers, or (possibly more likely) they are taking a cut of any proceeds Teterin makes from breach of copyright pay-outs.

Either way, the initial shock of the news has diffused into a gentle glow of joy within me. Either this is a piece of entrepreneurial genius, allowing Teterin to make millions from breach of copyright and discovering an inspired new market set to change the way we use language, or, and this is what I really hope for, the entire matter will be exposed for the sheer insanity that it is and use of the wink emoticon will become fully illegal in every country across the globe.

Hammertime

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:33:27 +0000

Worrrd.

Smarta’s new favourite Twitterer is 90s hip hop lothario MC Hammer, who has taken time out from warning people against touching this to launch a sort of YouTube for dancers, DanceJam.

In an article on the BBC earlier this year, the baggy-trousered rapper was adamant he knows his technology. “There is no high-tech lingo or business strategy that you talk that is above my head. I breathe this stuff,” he insisted.

It seems Hammer has had the entrepreneurial bug all along – Smarta can report the Twitter feed presents the reader with a real insight into the man behind the music, giving a voice to someone who was previously without a platform to share his experiences – untouchable, if you will.

“I refuse to deny access of my experience & expertise to the people who made me. My Fans”, he proclaimed earlier today. A statement which is, if somewhat ineloquent, is nevertheless revelatory about the nature of the extraordinary generosity he feels towards his humble followers.

While you’re waiting for Smarta’s launch, then, why not check out @MCHammer when you’re having a business crisis? Consider the following nuggets of Hammer wisdom – we particularly admire his creative use of “speech” marks, rhetorical questions and, of course, the bible quote:

"Perhaps "sales" is no longer the "measuring stick"... then "profits" decline and in that model there is no longer an attractive business ... Sales have to be a significant factor if "music" is the product. There must be profits in order to sustain the business."

"Did the marketing campaign convert to sales? Now you question the "art" of the artist... I question the "skills" of your marketing plan."

"Converting a "critic" to a "buyer" is a tough proposition... the behaviour is "give me the product" and I'll "give you my opinion"."

"If you cannot see yourself accomplishing your goal... it won't happen."

"The music industry (1.0 ) is dead and being reborn in 2.0 ... to get ahead and find your place as a PR or marketing person you must adjust.. the economics will reflect the reality of the current economy.. the biggest opportunity is in establishing the new "Validation" of a hit."

""I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." (Psalm 142:4)"

Thanks, MC.

Image from Flickr.

Wild cards

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:06:04 +0000

It’s that time of year again. While across the nation, employees are waking up with a sore head and unsettling memories of their Christmas party expatiations on why the company should definitely be investing more resources in personal effectiveness workshops/improved toilet facilities/shares in Woolworths, those who have elected to go down the entrepreneurial route find themselves faced with a more trying dilemma: the company Christmas card.

Today is the Royal Mail’s second-class deadline for Christmas post, and with the recession having put thoughts of Christmas cheer firmly at the back of most entrepreneurs’ minds, Smarta can appreciate there may be something of a commotion when it comes to getting cards written and sent by the end of the day, and is taking the pressure off with a time-saving guide to help you decide what kind of company Christmas card is best for you:

The charity card – The design on the front may be bordering on the crap and the greeting inside may be off-centre, but it’s alright, because it’s printed on recycled paper and the money goes to blind orphans. Alright, after the printing costs, the cost of the packaging, the transport, and the VAT, 2p of it goes to blind orphans. But it’s the thought that counts... right?

The a-religious greeting – work for a local council and worried you may offend your non-Christian associates by alluding to the nativity? Best not to mention the c-word - stick to ‘Season’s Greetings’ or a very a-religious 'Happy New Year' instead. Or, as in the case of one company, do away with any mention of the time of year altogether and simply wish them ‘Happy Season’. Ahh.

The product placement – what’s that little Johnny, sitting by the fire, eyes aglow with Christmas cheer, is unwrapping with such excitement? A soldering iron? Why, that’s just what every little boy wants! God bless you, ACME Soldering.

The corporate reminder – December is a great time of year, because it means as long as you put it in a coloured envelope and hand-write the address, people will definitely open their direct mail. Sod robins and snow-covered vistas, you’ve got printers to sell and by god, you will sell them.

The e-card – in this time of economic hardship, it’s important to be frugal and sending out 1,500 emails is much, much cheaper than sending out 1,500 Christmas cards. Points to US venture capital company First Round Capital, who forewent reindeer and elves and instead persuaded all their investees to do a little dance a la wherethehellismatt.com to show their Christmas cheer.

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:41:46 +0000

What with Royal Mail workers doomed, big banks being frauded, and general recession depression, today we would like to offer you something a little more uplifting.

Sock and Awe is a lovely little web app game where you get to throw shoes at George W Bush.

It's also a stunning example of how quickly the switched-on web entrepreneur can turn out a fun and instantly popular product. In a few hours the guys at soon-to-be-launched comedy website Pop Jam created this on the back of the news that - well, if you don't know the news story you ain't gonna get the game.

Also neatly creating a bit of pre-launch buzz around themselves and reaching a big audience through viral marketing in an incredibly innovative way. A great bit of PR - remembering not to annoy people, to get people involved and make things enjoyable. And using the power of word-of-mouth and the internet to get the name and idea out. Big marketing ticks all round, and pretty big smiles too.

Bah, humbug

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:09:26 +0000

Twitter has been abuzz all day with the news in the run-up to Christmas, online retail giant Amazon.com is giving its packing staff an extra dose of festive cheer by forcing them to work long hours – even if they’re ill.

According to an investigation by The Sunday Times, the company shows its appreciation to staff packing boxes in its ‘fulfilment centres’ by making them work toward unrealistic targets, making them work a 10½ hour shift on Saturday nights, and imposing penalties on workers who take sick days, even if they have a note from a doctor.

Workers are made to pay £8.50 a day to use a communal bus to the warehouse, are told they have to pack 140 Xbox consoles per hour – that’s 2.3 per minute – to reach their target, and ‘pickers’, workers who collect items off shelves for packing, are made to walk up to 14 miles a shift. They even have to ask for permission to go to the toilet.

It’s a grand example of a management technique so outdated, Smarta had assumed it had died out altogether. Frightening staff and giving them unattainable targets isn’t a motivator, and staff who are constantly in fear of losing their job won’t be motivated.

With turnover expected to hit £13bn this year, it’s no surprise a company as large as Amazon has unscrupulous employment practices. It’s a company which refers to its employees as ‘associates’ and systematically hoovers up its competitors: we don’t know why we expected more.

Stealth tax

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:02:52 +0000

As if businesses haven’t had enough to deal with over the last few months, it looks like the nice people at Westminster are set to squeeze even more out of you: this time, in the form of Workplace Parking Levies (WPL).

The scheme, which was first proposed as part of the Transport Act 2000, means councils will be allowed to charge for employees’ parking spaces – and it looks like rather than workers paying for their spaces, it will be businesses who foot the bill.

According to a piece in The Telegraph, the scheme could cost businesses up to £350 a year per employee.

The British Chambers of Commerce was scandalised by the proposal, accusing the government of imposing a ‘stealth tax’ on businesses.

“The WPL is purely a means to generate more funds for councils at the expense of local companies and their ability to compete,” raged the group’s director general, David Frost.

“The government must recognise the financial burden businesses are already under and rule out any possibility of councils taking up the scheme.”

For a government which claims to have ‘saved’ ~~the world~~ small firms, the scheme doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense – especially as the Conservatives push Brown to do more for small firms during a time which could make or break British business.

Image from Flickr.

Using an intern

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:33:01 +0000

Struggling with workload but low on cash? Can’t afford temps but need an extra pair of hands? Look no further than the helpful enthusiasm of the INTERN. These chirpy souls come in at the bargain rate of £0.00, and a knowledge and keenness about your field come included in that price.

Don’t know where to find one? Ask around friends and family, place ads in student publications or on relevant trade websites, advertise on Gumtree (which usually gets huge responses), talk to local universities and colleges and talk to local employment agencies about offering work placements to those who need more experience to get that crucial first job.

Don’t know how to manage one? Follow these handy tips for getting the most from your intern:

• Be selective – read through their cover letter and cv carefully, ensuring that they and you would benefit from the experience - look for new skills that your team currently lacks or is short on – conduct interviews if you get loads of applications
• Be clear – make sure that they know this is an unpaid placement and explain what they can hope to get out of it
• Be helpful - cover travel and food expenses if you can – the cost of a coffee here and there to you is a weekful of food to a student
• Get off on the right foot – before they start, explain exactly what your business does, what time they should arrive, what time your day finishes, how best to get there, your contact details, the office dress code and anything that they might need to bring such as stationary or a notepad
• Make them feel welcome – a chat over coffee first thing and an introduction to everyone on the team breaks down barriers and puts them more at ease
• Don’t patronise them – treat them like any other member of staff
• Give them interesting tasks – they’re working for free and deserve to get more than just filing
• Ask for their input and ideas – someone who’s new to the team has a different way of looking at things and will bring fresh life to your team’s thinking – and it makes the intern feel valued
• Be polite – they’re doing you a massive favour – let them know how much you appreciate it
• Explain things – show them how the business works, why it works, and talk them through some of your best and worst pieces of work so they can learn more about the industry
• Give them contacts – ask about their career aspirations and help them get a leg-up by putting them in touch with anyone you know who could help
• Give them feedback – let them know how they’re doing, as they probably won’t have a clue - showing them how to improve and refine their skills will also mean that you can get better work out of them
• Give them advice – review their cv, assess their performance and give tips on how to get to where they want to be
• Give them a chance – finally, if you’re really impressed with how they’ve done, keep them in mind for the next time you take someone on and tell them your intentions so you both keep in touch

Flat-rate taxis

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:54:03 +0000

Smarta’s new favourite business is Taxmobil – not, as you may think, another way to may tax less taxing, but, in fact, a company which uses a monthly flat-rate payment model for taxi journeys.

As Springwise pointed out this week, gyms do it, DVD rental schemes do it – so why can’t taxis?

Customers of the Swiss start-up by EUR 48 cards which last a month, and call the Taxmobil hotline to order a cab whenever they need one. If two people are doing the same journey, the company will automatically combine them to keep costs down.

The business says its model means it doesn’t own the cars it sends out, instead buying time from idle taxis already in service.

The service will start early next year in the town of Boeblingen in the South of Germany, and while members are only allowed to make journeys within one city, they will be able to use the scheme in other participating cities as well.

Smarta would like to take this opportunity to advocate London as a great city to expand to, and would recommend that the founders of Taxmobil try it out... as soon as possible.

Image from Flickr

Don't worry, be happy!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:33:13 +0000

According to a new survey carried out by the British Library Business & IP Centre during Enterprise Week, business-starters and owners are on the whole still positive about business despite the recession.

72% of those questioned said they were confident about their own business in the current economic climate.

Which is good to hear – we at Smarta don’t want something as silly as a little financial hiccup to put off you budding business tycoons. Ok, ok, maybe trivialising the grave state of the global economy isn’t quite appropriate, but this survey just goes to show that those-in-the-know know that surviving or setting up in a downturn can only make you stronger. (See the blog post below for tips on how to do it.)

After all – if you can make money now, or even just weather the storm, think how much profit you’ll be reaping when we all get spend-happy again.