Wonderful Wefinda weekly news - Week ending 24 September 2010

Public sector under increasing pressure to pay invoices promptly

The European Union Late Payment Directive which is awaiting final sign off will force all public and private organisations to pay invoices within 30 days or face a surcharge of 8% plus fixed compensation. This is somewhat weaker than current UK regulations which oblige public sector organisations to pay invoices within 10 days. However, with statistics showing that only 44% of councils and 31% of NHS trusts pay their invoices within the 10 days perhaps the sanctions in the EU legislation will help to concentrate the minds within public bodies’ accounts departments.

Survey of social media use by SMEs

A recent survey by Daryl Wilcox publishing shows that over half of all SMEs use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to promote their businesses. However only a quarter of those using social media update their sites every few days and the majority admit to only occasional use.

Technology World Exhibition

For all those of you working in the Technology field, the Technology World exhibition in December is the ideal place to meet, catch up and exchange ideas. The show is giving UK companies the chance to make a 5 minute pitch to potential buyers and investors. More details on http://bit.ly/c26Teb. On the same website are details of how to enter the Business Innovation awards sponsored by the department of trade & industry.

So, what do we have to look forward to? Parliament is still in recess due to all those party conferences and the tax fiasco rumbles on. The Labour party conference is on next week so expect to see your papers full of criticisms of the coalition and the announcement of the new Labour party leader on 25 September.

And finally, it is well known that drinking water regularly can help the brain to operate at a higher level. UK firms can check out our Wefinda guide for more information on finding the best water cooler to boost their staff’s performance. Meanwhile workers in Paris can get their chilled sparkling water for free from a water fountain installed in the Jardin de Reuilly park. The fountain offers a choice of still or fizzy water both chilled and un-chilled and is the brainchild of the local water company. If the idea catches on it might make a small dent in the 128 litres that each French person drank last year, and the 4.5million barrels of oil that went into making the water bottles.

Wonderful Wefinda weekly news

Week ended 17 September 2010

We start this week with the dreaded word inflation. Consumer price inflation was higher than expected in August and shows no sign of dropping back for some time. However, most economists believe that the still weak economy will gradually bring inflation down without the need for higher interest rates. Meanwhile the European commission is forecasting growth in the Eurozone to be 1.7% this year, double the previous forecast giving hope for all UK businesses which export to Europe.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has given his strongest acknowledgement yet that the current state of the economy is down to the financial sector. Speaking to the Trades Union Congress, the Governor said “Before the crisis, steady growth with low inflation and high employment was in our grasp. We let it slip – we, that is, in the financial sector and as policy-makers – not your members nor the many businesses and organisations around the country which employ them. And although the causes of the crisis may have been rooted in the financial sector, the consequences are affecting everyone, and will continue to do so for years to come.”

The digital economy act which was passed in April 2010 brings potential fines of up to £50k to anyone who illegally downloads files. Those firms which allow their employees to have unrestricted access to the internet are particularly at risk as it will be the firm which is prosecuted not the employee.

On a further note of caution, the new Equality Act comes into force on 1 October 2010 and applies to all employers. The act will allow individuals to sue potential employers if they think they were not appointed due to an answer given to a health related question at interview. ACAS has advised employers to stop issuing health questionnaires and not to ask questions about health at interview unless the health issue is central to the job role.

So what do we have to look forward to in the week ahead? Parliament has only been back a couple of weeks but is now in recess until 11 October to allow time for all those party conferences to be held. First up is the Liberal Democrat’s party conference with Nick Clegg having the task of uniting the party firmly behind the coalition.

We should expect the PAYE tax fiasco to rumble on. With HMRC officials already having been summoned to explain themselves to Parliament and changes announced on how shortfalls can be repaid, we expect there to be more twists to this story before long. Wefinda’s advice is to check the calculations carefully or consult an accountant as stories are already emerging of the HMRC letters being wrong.

Finally, whilst slow and unreliable broadband is no joke for those SMEs living in rural areas, Wefinda loves the story this week of pigeon post beating broadband. Rory the pigeon took 80 minutes to fly just over 80 miles carrying a data stick. In the same time, just 30% of the five minute video uploaded to the internet and it took over five hours for the full video to upload.

wefinda weekly small business news (week ended 10th September 2010)

Businesses breathed a sigh of relief this week at the Bank of England’s decision to hold base rates for a further month. However, with mixed reports on the housing front and weak economic reports, the prospect for a double dip recession hasn’t gone away completely. Analysts are generally predicting a long slow climb out of recession combined with high unemployment as the most likely future.

In our news of the 6 August we highlighted the responsibility that all businesses have to recycle their waste. Now Defra reports that in the last year there have been 2,500 prosecutions for fly-tipping with 116,500 warning letters issued. Given the rise in the number firms offering to take away and recycle business waste, this 20% increase in prosecutions over the previous year is surprising.

With further postal strikes threatened in response to the Government’s plan to privatise the Royal Mail, now may be the time for businesses to review their postal options. Check out the Wefinda guide to Courier services for advice.

A report by the Payments council shows that we are turning away from cash and cheques and towards debit cards. In the three months to June, withdrawals from cash machines fell by 3.2% compared to the same period last year whilst cheque use fell by 10%. This compares to a 12.4% rise in the use of debit cards and a massive 67% rise in the use of faster payments (the same day transfer system between banks). With cheques on course to be phased out by 2018, any business looking to upgrade its accounting or banking systems would be advised to search for a cheque-less solution.

So what do we have to look forward to? In Parliament there is a debate on Tuesday on apprenticeships and skills whilst at the same time there is a select committee hearing on Local Enterprise Partnerships. On Thursday we look forward to questions in the house on energy and climate change. This should be a lively debate following Prince Charles’ recent comments that he found the views of climate change sceptics “extraordinary”.

The Tour of Britain starts on 11 September and finishes in London on the 18th. With international riders from 17 teams taking part and special events along the way the race is well worth a cheer.

And finally, with all the doom and gloom about and dire predictions on pensions, it is good to hear of one pensioner who is not short of cash. Police in Germany were called to investigate a possible scam operation only to find out it was a pensioner celebrating his retirement by giving away Euros to passers by.

The wefinda guide to social media for small business

Talk about social media to a group of business people and you get a range of responses. Some have embraced social media and think that their business couldn’t do without it; others don’t see the point and will have nothing to do with it whilst the remainder nod sagely and then confess that they don’t really know what social media is or how it could help them.

In truth, social media is simply using the internet to have a conversation with your clients, suppliers and fellow businesses. Tapping the power of the internet business world, you can ask and answer questions, talk about new products and build your business’s reputation whilst at the same time benefit from the instant communication that the internet brings.

Social media can largely be broken down into three areas, your own web site, business specific forums and open communication sites.

Looking at these in reverse order, open communication will include web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Originally thought of as ways to share personal thoughts and ideas, these sites are now recognised as providing a great way for businesses to share information with their clients, both existing and prospective as well as getting the world to talk about their products.

Business specific forums allow you to build up your businesses reputation as well as acting as a source of information. General forums such as UK Business Labs or LinkedIn allow you to share ideas on a wide range of business areas. Other forums are industry specific, such as IFA Life which promotes articles, news, chat forums and resources to the financial advice community.

Your own web site can also be a place for communication, not just an advert for your products. Post news and blogs and encourage readers to comment or ask questions.

How might social media work for me?
Taking just one example, let’s say you’ve invented a simple device which will cut down the use of water in your toilet, lets call it a brick. When you announce your invention to the world you will probably think about all the usual marketing devices including advertising, posters, adding the device to your web site etc.

Including social media would allow you to open up your invention to a wider audience and get the world chatting about your invention. So, on your web site you might add a series of blogs about how great a brick is for cutting down water use, the green credentials of a brick and so on. You’d then send teasers and links to the blogs to your contacts by e-mail and encourage the recipients to post comments.

Bringing in the business specific forums, you might join chat rooms and forums that cover areas such as green issues, bathroom design and cost saving. Starting discussion threads and answering questions will enhance your businesses reputation so that by the time you announce your new product you have gained access to a wide audience all of whom think highly of your business and are in tune with your ideas. These forums are also good places to carry out consumer tests so you can run discussions on colour of brick, range of sizes to suit different toilets etcetera.

Now you add in the open communication sites. Announce your new invention on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t just Tweet links to your blogs, try and come up with a really catchy tweet and your contacts will pass this on to their contacts, and so on and before you know it your brick might have gone viral and be the most talked about item on Twitter or Facebook. Make a fun film about your brick and how to install it and post it on YouTube. Post links to the video on your web and on Twitter and Facebook and your chat forums encourage your contacts to look at the video and comment.

Now the whole world is talking about and looking at your new invention and the best bit is that it only costs a few minutes of your time to create all this great publicity for minimal cost.

A Social Media success story
In April 2009 a tweet on one side of the Atlantic got picked up by someone on the other side. A few tweets later and Like Minds, a way of sharing social media ideas and inspiring others was born. The first event held that October had over 200 attendees with a further 560 taking part on line, a success considering the first tweet about the event was only sent out six weeks beforehand with all publicity and arrangements for the event solely on social media platforms. Since its start, Like Minds has gone from strength to strength with international events being added and the last UK event attracting over 1,500 virtual participants and raising over £150,000 for the local economy.

With successes like this coming from a single chance tweet, it is easy to see how a planned social media campaign could transform any business and why so many companies are integrating social media into their day to day life.

wefinda weekly small business news (week ended 03 September 2010)

In banking news, HSBC has announced that it will consider relocating overseas if the UK government forces banks to split into smaller chunks. HSBC refused government assistance at the top of the banking crisis and has stayed relatively strong thanks partly to its concentration in the Asian Market. Meanwhile state owned RBS has announced a further 3,500 job cuts, mainly in back office functions such as call centres and computing.

The EU has just agreed powers which will let it monitor banks and investments in the EU and take action if it considers that risks are being taken which might upset financial stability. These powers will allow the EU to overrule national regulatory bodies.

The Environment agency has started a search for Environmental Pioneers. Categories include technology, waste reduction and energy savings. Online entries can be made at http://www.neilstewartassociates.com/sw118/awards.php with a deadline of 8 October.

The EDF energy announcement of price rises for 1.2million customers came as a shock to many in a time of falling energy wholesale prices. With four of the big six energy companies currently under investigation by Ofcom for potentially mis-selling contracts and two under investigation for varying prices depending on geographical area, this may be the time for all of us to review the energy tariff that we are on.

A report by the Centre for Economic and business research predicts that by 2015 unemployment will have risen to over 10% in over half of the UK’s regions. London, the South East, the South West and Northern Ireland will be spared once again bringing the north/south divide to the fore with the North West being worst off. Elsewhere, despite slowing house prices economists are generally confident that the chances of a double dip recession are fading fast.

So what do we have to look forward to? Parliament is back on 6 September so expect a flurry of stories relating to the economy and reforms. Of particular interest to SMEs is a debate in Westminster Hall on the 7th on the financing of small businesses and a select committee debate on the same day covering Local Enterprise Partnerships.

And finally, with the first of a series of strikes due to disrupt the London underground system on Monday and Tuesday, the French are looking at their tube system in a new light. Heat generated by trains and passengers is to be used to warm buildings in a public housing project in the city centre. Apparently each passenger generates around 100 watts which will be drawn off via heat exchangers and used to supply heating pipes. Let’s hope that there is a back up system or the inhabitants will freeze if the French underground workers follow ours out on strike.