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First Intuition – Recruitment of the ‘COVID generation’

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

Leadership Lunch and Learn

Recruitment of the ‘COVID generation’ brings a new set of challenges for young adults entering the workplace, as well as for the employers hiring them. For the first time since WWII, there are massive changes to the way students study, are assessed, and in turn the skills they bring to the workplace. We believe it is important for employers to have information about these changes to ensure candidates are successful and the right recruit is hired.

Gareth invited a balanced panel of guest speakers, representing both students’ and employers’ perspectives on the topic. Exploring the impacts on the different parties involved, speakers discussed their answers to the following questions:

Questions for candidate representatives: Form the Future and Long Road Sixth Form College

1. What has the next generation of school and college leavers missed out on over the past 11 months compared to usual cohorts?

2. Which skills might these school leavers be lacking when employers encounter them?

3. What can employers do in their recruitment processes to help support these young adults to overcome some of the skills gaps and give the best impression of themselves?

Questions to the employer discussion panel: AstraZeneca, CBI, and Leeds City Council

From either your own experiences or from employers you talk to, have recent recruits already shown any skill deficits compared to normal school and college leavers?

1. Conversely, have any recent recruits shown any stronger skills since the start of the pandemic?

2. What allowances in recruitment have already been necessary to allow for these skills deficits?

3. What else can be done to plug these skills deficits when young adults join the workplace?

4. What advice would you give to employers who are currently undertaking their recruitment process?

Below are some highlight comments from the forum. You can watch the full recording of the forum by clicking the button below.

You can watch the full Discussion here

Top 10 Takeaway Points

Employers should offer more virtual work experience and careers resources to help the COVID generation gain employability skills
Recruits should be considered on an individual basis as candidates will not have been impacted in the same way, this is especially true for disadvantaged students. Recruitment therefore may need a more tailored approach going forward
Students should be encouraged to think about relating their skills in interviews that have not been gained in the workplace
Employers could assist candidates by giving them ‘more scaffolding’ in applications to help students show what they are capable of. They can also give them tasks that let their natural skills shine, or give candidates a trial run
Mentoring can be beneficial for both new starters and the mentoree
Employers should not catastrophise the situation and should continue to encourage young adults into the workplace
Local employers can help schools in their area by providing career help and resources
Schools should tell all students about the apprenticeship route after school and college
Being more mindful of students needs may make the workplace more attractive, discouraging students to simply follow the university pathway
Promoting social activity in the workplace would help change the belief that university is the only way to gain those experiences

Key Comments

Candidate Representative: Anne Bailey, CEO and Co-founder of Form the Future

Anne helps young people to prepare for their careers, introducing them to different industries and jobs. Anne found that schools have had to squeeze their curriculum and cut careers resources since March 2020. For instance, Form the Future spoke to less than 5,000 students in the last year compared to the usual 20,000. Employers haven’t had the chance to go into schools let alone offer work experience; thousands of work experience placements have disappeared. Exposure to careers is too important for young people to miss out on, it’s too great a risk. Students can’t be what they can’t see.

A big impact on the COVID generation has been mental health. The opportunity to have a ‘terminal exam’ as a reflection on their progress and their futures has been swept out from under year 11’s and 13’s causing huge anxiety and uncertainty. Furthermore, part-time jobs in customer-facing, dynamic environments haven’t been available. These can be the making of young adults and a big boost to their confidence and developing self-awareness. There haven’t even been opportunities to evidence transferable skills such as teamwork through playing on a sports team, or organisational ability by holding a play.

Anne recommends that employers’ give ‘more scaffolding’ to help students better conduct themselves in interviews and stand out in a competitive job market. This includes allowing candidates to reach further back to link to examples of transferable skills. Furthermore, students should be taught how to talk about the transferable skills they have developed during the pandemic, like time management, working alone, and using online programmes. Interviews can favour extroverts and employers should give tasks and ‘work trials’ that favour the natural skills of introverts. Additionally, new starters could be paired with other young and relatable employees as mentors who can offer support.

Candidate Representative: Steve Dann, Vice President of Long Road Sixth Form College

Steve Dann, Vice President of a college of 2,500 students doing a range of level qualifications, gave insight from the perspective of the student. Steve believes the effects of the pandemic is going to ripple through the education system for several years. He states that it is likely to be younger children who are the most affected, impacting reading and writing. This is particularly the case for disadvantaged children. College students have been in the education system for most of their life and are more resilient to change. The educational impact is minimal compared to the effect on interpersonal skills.

2020’s college leavers had learned the majority of the syllabus by the time the first lockdown started. 2021′ college leavers will have had two academic years of disrupted learning, particularly in 2021. They have also missed out on the usual way of being assessed and graded through exams. This uncertainty and unfamiliarity has helped contribute to mental health problems, as well as changed the relationship between student and teacher. Teachers assess students based on their work throughout the year, meaning every piece of work is now held against them.

However, Steve does report that some benefits have come out of the changes to learning over the past year. Some students have thrived as they have gained extra hours in the day by not commuting. As well as able to work in their own time instead of around a teacher’s schedule, and generally had fewer distractions.

Steve advises that employers should not catastrophise the situation and should continue to encourage the COVID generation into the workplace. Employers should be wary about how grades are predicted in 2021 as it is still not yet confirmed how students will be assessed.

Employer Representative: Emma Wood, Talent Acquisition Partner at AstraZeneca

Emma reported that AstraZeneca has not seen any skills deficits in the young adults they are recruiting in 2021. They have seen a huge rise in applicant numbers for this round of recruitment with double the applications than usual and great feedback from virtual events they have hosted. However, she believes we will not see the full extent of the impacts of COVID-19 for a couple of years yet.

Mental health again came up as a top concern for the COVID generation. Students worry they will have nothing to show for their years of education without exams. Employers and teachers should be encouraging young adults to see the other benefits and years of hard work have brought for them. Including a strong work ethic and self-motivation that is essential in the workplace.

Emma agrees that there is going to be a considerable lack of work experience in candidates’ applications. She encourages recruits to think outside the box when discussing their skills without work experience. For example, helping someone in the community, or managing workload when studying at home.

Employer Representative: Alex Hall-Chen, Education Policy Advisor at CBI

Similar to Emma, Alex has not seen too much impact on this year’s cohort of recruits’ skills, she agrees it is likely to be more of a problem for next year. She is more concerned that the COVID generation will be lacking soft skills rather than subject knowledge. Soft skills like communication, time-management, problem-solving, and team working are what employers really look out for when recruiting. Students may also choose not to take education further due to their lost learning, which would help gap some of those missed skill bridges.

Alex advises that employers consider that no young person will have had their learning disrupted in the same way. Recruitment therefore may need a more tailored approach going forward. She also believes that new employees would benefit greatly from mentoring and peer support in place to help students adjust. Engagement with government programmes with learning on the job could be powerful in overcoming some of the issues.

Employer Representative: Tracey Greig, Employment and Skills Senior Manager at Leeds City Council

Tracey has seen a considerably larger number of students attending their virtual careers festival, implying they are thinking about employment opportunities. She says the main missing skills have been a lack of confidence and issues with resilience.

Some employers may be looking at GCSE grades instead of A-Level for comparison purposes and understanding a candidate’s capabilities. However, local employers can help schools in their area by providing career help. Including helping to put together a CV, virtual work experience, online interview preparation, and other employability skills to help young adults build a virtual portfolio. Equally, businesses can help young adults with interview preparation so that they can show the best of themselves.

This has proved invaluable for students when implemented in the past and can be great for a company’s brand identity. Employers should give students the opportunities to gain alternative skills to bring to their applications other than work experience. Tracey also argues all students should be introduced to apprenticeships, not just those who are unlikely to go to university.

Awarding Bodies Representatives:

Sophie Shepard, AAT

Sophie at AAT comments that as a small employer, recruitment has been lower than normal with notably lower quality applicants. They are looking at adapting how they assess their new recruits accordingly, with competency interviews and tests that can assess the skills candidates might have but are not visible in a CV or interview. Employers should be prepared for gaps in CVs, recognising why it there and looking for potential. As well as taking into consideration external factors like limited access to WiFi and computers when assessing applicants. It must also be remembered that some people will never have actually been in a physical office environment.

Lucy Randall, ICAEW

Lucy from ICAEW points out that employers should be mindful of judgement about the COVID generation and those who have not achieved as much throughout lockdown. Sometimes just surviving is enough. It is therefore important to get to know how the candidate is as an individual. How you question students is going to be important to avoid unconscious bias.

Aleksandra Zaronina, ACCA

Aleksandra from ACCA agrees with this more personal and tailored approach. It will be important going forward for employers to look at employees on an individual basis as they will suffer from differing gaps in knowledge. As well as different perceptions of work, and differing wellbeing and mental health concerns. Furthermore, younger employees and the COVID generation are tending to jump to technology for solutions rather than their accountancy training. Employers, therefore, need to think about bridging the skills gap between different ages. Inter-generational coaching can offer big benefits for both parties.

Trevor Robertshaw, CIMA

Trevor from CIMA argues that he has seen resilience in students who have been able to adapt quickly to the move to online exams with no change to pass rates. He agrees that the benefits of mentoring programmes are notable for both the mentor and mentoree.

Further Comments from the Audience

More applicants and lack of work experience

On the whole, members of the audience agree that a larger number of applicants have come in this year than usual. Not only are CVs more likely to lack work experience, but applicants are also coming from further afield. Furthermore, a large number of applicants graduated in 2020 and are now starting their career a year later than they would have done. Perhaps because they were unable to find a grad role last year.

Fewer careers events

Some employers have found they haven’t had as much interest from local schools with regards to careers events. One employer notes they normally help schools with interview and advice sessions but have done none this year. As a result, they have not seen as many school leaver applicants as yet. Schools do appear to have prioritised getting students through online learning and careers events have been pushed back. CV building and general awareness of apprenticeships and alternative routes into employment seems to be lacking still in many schools. There are however lots of insight programmes and resources available virtually to provide career information.

Skills gained

The COVID generation does have some advantages they can articulate to employers. The ability to cope with online working, study, and socialising without requiring excessive or disproportionate hand-holding and time investment from line managers. Demonstrating that they can be trusted to be efficient, effective and economical in terms of their work.

Concern for wellbeing

The audience agrees that wellbeing is a major concern as remote working can be a challenge to younger people, and often domestic arrangements may not be ideal for home working. Lack of social engagement without the office environment is cited as a major issue. Similarly, the anxiety of constant assessment and therefore the requirement for high performance on an ongoing basis is as well. However, a positive is that this form of assessment is more replicated in the workplace so maybe better for preparing students. It may open up a conversation to change the current exam system that can be an unreliable way to test performance.

Widening the disparity gap

With a move to online, digital exclusion and how some young people have limited access to computers and WiFi is likely to become a bigger problem. This will greater impact students from low SES backgrounds putting them at a further disadvantage. More widely, the impact of lost learning has been greater already for disadvantaged groups; if that isn’t explicitly accounted for in recruitment then workforce diversity may suffer.

Additional Resources

Join our upcoming FITT Forum:

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace – Wednesday 5th May 2021 8.30am to 10am.

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Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

Stress awareness month – 5 ways to help staff avoid burn out whilst working from home

Lovewell Blake

With teams working remotely it can be increasingly difficult to spot the signs that a worker is suffering with stress or nearing a point of burnout. According to the Mental Health Foundation 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. The following points help identify the warning signs, enabling you to take action and provide support as required.

1. Ensure they are taking breaks

With teams working remotely it’s harder for managers to identity if staff are working through lunches. It can be tempting for a worker to eat at their desk and continue with tasks rather than taking a break. Managers should encourage the team to continue taking breaks whilst working from home and remind them of the importance of these breaks. Taking a break away from work and the screen is proven to improve productivity following the break.

2. Regular calls

Having regular communication with workers is not only important for their wellbeing and the flow of communication, it also allows managers to assess workload and help a worker delegate tasks if required. These calls also allow the manager to spot any differences in the worker’s characteristics which could be a sign of stress or low mood.

3. Encourage staff to take holiday

Whilst annual leave cannot currently be used for trips abroad or weekends away it’s still important for workers to take a break away from work to rest and relax. Managers should look to encourage staff to be booking holiday to help avoid burnout. This will also help prevent a build-up of holiday impacting staffing levels and business operations once the economy and borders open up again.

4. Monitor workload / working hours

The lines between work and home life can easily become blurred whilst working from home. Workers may stay logged on later as they no longer have their commute, evening routines or social plans prompting them to leave the office. You may be able to spot if an increase in working hours through increased levels of overtime, or maybe the time of day which emails are being sent or documents are saved.

5. Signpost to support

Lockdown and adapting to working from home has been difficult for many for a number of reasons. Look to provide information signposting staff to where they can access support, such as their GP or NHS wellbeing services. Aim to create a working environment where workers feel able to speak about any concerns they may have. It may be that you look to implement a wellbeing or mental health policy so workers know how to get support should they need it.

With the threat of an impending mental health pandemic impacting the nation as a result of lockdown restrictions it is important, now more than ever, to take a proactive approach with regards to workers’ health and wellbeing. Following the tips above will help ensure your workforce stay well and continue to be productive in the coming months.

If you require assistance with managing workers and their health and wellbeing, including drafting policies or training line managers then please get in touch with the HR consultancy team.

The original article was shared by Lovewell Blake and can be viewed here

If you have any specific questions or would like to speak to a member of the Lovewell Blake team, get in touch via email info@lovewell-blake.co.uk

Dealing with overseas interest in your business

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

Price Bailey

Last year was a mixed year for the UK M&A and private equity markets. With the announcement of the first lockdown in the spring of 2020, the country and all its dealmakers held their breath, and acquirers stepped back to see how the market and opportunities would develop.

Consequently, deal volumes and values dropped as some decided to wait, while others accepted a lower price. Yet, adapt is what we did and come the second half of 2020, the M&A and private equity market made moves back toward recovery, as news of the vaccine and the temporary easing of lockdown measures bought with it some renewed confidence. Now, in the early stages of 2021 and living in reintroduced lockdown measures, we look at the lay of the transactional landscape and notice, among other trends, the increasing interest of overseas buyers on the UK horizon. In this article, we look at the growing trend in overseas investment in and out of the UK and provide our thoughts on what to do if you are the object of overseas interest.

According to a recent LexisNexis report on UK Public M&A in 2020, of the 42 firm offers announced, 62% involved overseas bidders, including 8 of the ten deals that were valued at over £1bn each. We have observed that this growing trend in the public markets is also being mirrored in the private mid-market with a growing number of overseas to UK deals vs UK to UK.

Interest from Euro and Dollar corporate buyers and funds is due to various reasons, including Brexit and the continued impact of the COVID pandemic. We look at some of these in further detail here:

Playing to our strengths – it is unsurprising that both the impact of Brexit and COVID are dominating UK business news; however, it is also important to keep in mind the reasons the UK has been and continues to be an attractive place to do business.

• A top European economy – despite the noise surrounding Brexit, the UK is still one of the biggest economies in Europe, second to Germany. The UK continues to provide a key gateway to Europe for US and Asian purchasers. For US purchasers, there can also sometimes be an easier language and cultural fit with businesses in the UK than in other parts of Europe, increasing the attractiveness of UK businesses.

• Growth industries – whilst some markets are experiencing challenging and uncertain conditions; many sectors continue to experience growth that is likely to be sustainable. To take full advantage of this, companies need a physical presence in the UK, and overseas buyers need to acquire established local businesses to increase their footprint to benefit from that growth.

• Intellectual property (IP) – the UK is one of the major global creators of IP. In a global market, being the cheapest supplier is not sustainable in the long term. We have seen overseas buyers, particularly those from low-cost markets, look to acquire UK businesses to gain control of IP to safeguard the longevity of their own business.

Capitalising on uncertainty – we cannot ignore the turbulence caused by both the ongoing COVID restrictions, particularly in the UK, and the final severing of ties with the EU. From a UK business perspective, there have been significant winners and losers over the last 12 months. Across every sector, the focus has been on how business owners adapted their business models, cut discretionary spending and preserve profits. For acquirers, market conditions over the past couple of years have resulted in the weakened pound making UK assets more attractive to overseas buyers. COVID has led to expectations on values reducing in some situations. What this creates for strategic buyers looking to enter the UK market or expand their existing presence is an opportunity to do so at a lower cost.

Continuation of UK trade – in other instances, the UK’s departure from the EU at the end of last year has caused some overseas corporates to acquire in the UK to continue trading here with fewer restrictions. Interestingly, we are observing the reverse being true with UK businesses acquiring businesses in Europe to enable the continuation of Eurozone trade post Brexit.

Availability of cash and lower borrowing costs – the cost of debt globally is at an all-time low at present, and there is plenty of cash in financial institutions that need to be deployed. Access to cheap cash is helping to fuel acquisitions.

New work practices removing barriers – as in other sectors, technology is making the transaction easier to manage remotely and, thus, cross-border deals easier. With travel restrictions across the world, it’s now common to buy a business without visiting the site or meeting the management team face to face. In the longer term, this raises challenges for physical and cultural integration.

Interest from overseas buyers and funds has been steadily increasing since 2016’s referendum result, and we believe we can expect to see continued interest for the next 12 months. Where acquisitions are strategic and not hostile, this may provide a much-needed boost to the UK economy. Nevertheless, every potential opportunity to sell (whether to an overseas and domestic bidder) should be assessed on its individual merits. Below, we provide some of our thoughts on what business owners should consider when considering selling to an overseas buyer.

What to consider if an overseas buyer approaches your business

Businesses can often be subject to unprovoked interest from acquirers. Whether a business is actively looking to sell or not, an approach, particularly one from an overseas buyer, can often incite more questions about the future of the business than it does answers. As Corporate Finance advisors, we advise businesses looking to acquire on or off-market opportunities and businesses looking to sell. We have provided below our top 5 tips for what business owners should consider if an overseas buyer approaches them:

Understand what you want from the deal – First and foremost, it is important to have a clear idea of what is important to you and the business’ shareholders both in the deal and for the continuation of the business. This is not necessarily just about the offer price; in fact, sometimes money is of lower importance relative to other things, such as exciting growth prospects, continued employment for loyal staff or maintenance of the family name. However, the point here is that having a clear idea of what is important to you and the business in a sale will help you to identify the right offer, aid in negotiations and avoid you being blind-sided by an attractive price when there are more important things at stake.
Tax planning – almost as a natural progression from knowing what you want from the sale, it is also important to ensure you are in the best possible position from a tax perspective before sale and that you also understand the tax implications of different deal structures (e.g., assets vs share deals). If you haven’t sought advice from a tax advisor, it is recommended that you do so as there may be an opportunity to improve the tax position. They can ensure that consideration has been given to the tax implications in the sale. Any required clearances with HMRC are factored into the sale process to avoid any unnecessary hold-ups.
Are you ready to go through the process? – This may seem like an obvious question. Still, particularly in situations where you are the party being approached to sell, it can often be tempting to get swept up in considering the offer and finding out more detail before considering whether the business and you as owners are ready to enter into the process. The sales process can be lengthy, and for a prolonged period of time, both you, your fellow stakeholders and the business are under the microscope. Therefore, it is important first to consider whether you are mentally prepared to undertake the process and, secondly, if the business is in the best position to sustain detailed examination. For example, are all your records, processes and procedures up to date? Do you have a relevant and up to date financial forecast? Are there any skeletons in the closet, e.g., outstanding disputes or litigation? The level of detail an acquirer will require to complete due diligence is more than owners typically use to manage their business. Ensure that you are on the front foot when the acquirer and their advisors scratch below the surface. This is particularly relevant if you are in talks with US acquirers as their due diligence procedures are notoriously detailed.
Think twice, strike once – Building further on the point above; it is vital to ensure that the information you share with prospective buyers shows the business in the best light, is correct, accurate and up to date. Once a buyer sees it, it’s difficult for them to un-see it. Sending information that is out of date, incorrect, or overly negative or optimistic could be detrimental to the continued interest of the purchaser or your negotiating position. It is also wise to be thorough and provide both numbers and words. When preparing information, always consider:
a. What message do you want to convey? Sharing information during due diligence is still part of the sales ‘pitch’; therefore, ensure that everything you share fits into the story, e.g., if you are sharing financial information and forecasts, it can be helpful to provide supporting commentary that explains any unusual items, or assumptions made so that they can follow the narrative told by the numbers.
b. Don’t assume the purchaser has pre-existing knowledge of your business or that what is publically available is suitable.
Are they right for you? – You will spend a lot of time providing information to the potential buyer. Before you engage too deeply, you need to confirm:
a. Does their offer meet our objectives for a deal?
b. Do they have the capability and resources to deliver it?
c. Does their business fit, strategically, with ours?
d. Is the person we are speaking to the key decision-makers, or have they got delegated responsibility to deliver the deal?

This list is by no means exhaustive, and the last question may seem strange, but we have seen several situations where division heads have not got the group’s authority to act.

We also suggest that you speak with your financial advisors, who will be able to assess the approach to appropriately support and advise on how to proceed.

A recent example

We recently advised Cambridgeshire-based Comtec on their sale to French-based Euro Techno Com Group (ETC Group).

Founded in 1978, Comtec Group is one of the UK’s largest value-added distributors of telecom and IP equipment to both the carrier and enterprise markets, and a specialist in supply chain management for telecoms operators and systems vendors. It serves most major telecom operators and installers in the UK and the Middle East, including BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Ooredoo. Since its inception, the company has experienced continuous growth and has scaled through targeted acquisitions and sustained international growth. Comtec has seven offices across the UK, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Hong Kong.

Since completing a management buy-out, the business has continued to develop. Revenues have more than doubled over the past five years to over £70m.

The acquirer, ETC Group, has operations across six countries in Europe and North America. It is regarded as a global leader in product design, procurement, supply chain management and the distribution of passive and active telecom equipment and materials with best-in-class technical and logistics solutions for communications service providers’ network deployment and maintenance. Its 2,000+ customers include major American and European cable operators and telecoms service providers, as well as large and small independent installers and sub-contractors.

The transaction provides ETC Group, which Carlyle acquired last year, a strong foothold in the fast-growing UK market. All major telecom operators and alternative networks have started a long-term deployment phase of fibre across the country to support the ever-increasing demand for high-speed connectivity. The acquisition also allows ETC Group to serve the growing IP infrastructure market for enterprise customers and further expand its offerings and expertise in data centre supply and maintenance.

You can read more detail in our press release here.

This article was written by Phil Sharpe, Corporate Finance Partner at Price Bailey. If you have been approached and would like to speak to our specialist Corporate Finance team, please contact us on the form below.

We always recommend that you seek advice from a suitably qualified adviser before taking any action. The information in this article only serves as a guide, and no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of this material can be accepted by the authors or the firm.

You can view this article in its original setting with Price Bailey Here

SME Tools: eight ways to rein in business costs

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Cost structure

With their eyes on the prize, it’s easy for SME owners to overlook some of the outgoings that can seriously dent the bottom line. Here are eight ways to make smart savings.

1. Don’t be a supplier’s cash cow

“SMEs rarely invest in procurement training, so you have people making quite significant buying decisions without knowing anything about negotiating,” says Chris Aston of cost-management experts Expense Reduction Analysts. These staff are often not motivated or incentivised to make sure they’re getting the best value for the business, he says, which means you may well be a ‘cash cow’ to your suppliers.

“You’d be mortified to hear this,” says Aston. “You’d obviously rather have suppliers feeling that they have to work really hard for your account and that you get the best value of all their clients.”

The answer may be to bring in procurement consultants to negotiate better deals – but educating staff is a good place to start. “You have to get employees spending company money as if it was their own,” says Aston.

2. Claim capital allowance relief

“Tens of thousands of businesses could be sitting on a potentially significant tax windfall in the form of capital allowances relief,” says Mark Tighe, MD at tax specialists Catax. “It concerns the ‘intrinsic fabrication’ of a commercial property, and qualifying items typically include pipework, cabling, air-conditioning, heating, lighting, security and communications systems.”

Tighe says, in his experience, the average net tax benefit to a business is £46,000, but that nine out of 10 SMEs have never made a claim for it. Why wait? An expert firm will often tell you for free whether or not you’re eligible for tax relief.

3. Don’t waste money on pay-per-click

That’s unless you know exactly how it works. “I’ve seen companies that almost seemed addicted to it,” says Andrea Sexton, director of Andrea Sexton PR. “There’s a certain buzz that comes from seeing your brand on the first page of a Google search and above all the organic results, but when every click is going to take cash out of your bank account, it’s imperative you’re confident visitors have a very real chance of buying, and that your margins are sufficient to make the cost of the advertising worthwhile.”

While pay-per-click does work when used correctly, there are probably other basics that need taking care of first – such as making sure your website is truly reflective of what you do, says Sexton.

4. Make sure freebies are being used

Peter Fleming, director and adviser at Business Doctors, used to work for a major car manufacturer and says the company saved £90,000 a year when it got rid of free vending machines that were barely being used.

“A kettle and some tea bags were just as good for the staff,” he says.

Another top tip of his is to outsource debt collection. It can cost as little as £20 an hour, which is a fraction of what you may have to pay running up your overdraft, making late VAT payments and dealing with other cash-flow issues.

“When every click is going to take cash out of your bank account, it’s imperative you’re confident visitors have a very real chance of buying, and that your margins are sufficient to make the cost of the advertising worthwhile”

Andrea Sexton, director, Andrea Sexton PR

5. Do it for a ‘Fiverr’

“The gig economy enables small business owners to find services online at much reduced rates,” says Archna Tharani, director of the newly launched Small Business Finance School, which helps SMEs make sense of their numbers. “You can find freelancers on websites like Fiverr and People Per Hour to get jobs done quickly and cheaply – but it’s always a good idea to get recommendations, as it can sometimes be a false economy when you end up paying again to get the work done if it’s not up to scratch.”

Fiverr in particular can be a boon for those in need of low-cost visuals like logos, but even complex areas into which you might want to make a tentative foray – such as market research and SEO – may be worth a look when just £5 will buy you a short contract with someone whose feedback suggests they know what they are doing.

6. Make pension contributions through your limited company

Tharani’s second tip is that your company can make employer pension contributions for you. “The pension contributions are an allowable deduction in calculating the profit of the business,” she says. “This will lead to a saving in corporation tax.”

As a result, you get extra in your pension and the company pays less tax. “It’s a win-win,” says Tharani.

7. Find partner brands

“As an early-stage challenger telco brand, we needed to generate product awareness with UK SMEs and start-ups,” says Damian Hanson, co-founder of online phone system CircleLoop. “But we found the cost of traditional advertising channels very prohibitive. Instead, we’ve focused on developing key partnerships with businesses that target similar customers with non-competing services.”

Hanson says these mutually beneficial relationships can generate faster volume at a lower cost. CircleLoop tends to seek out two distinct types of partnership. The first is the promotional partner, such as a business that serves the same or a similar customer base and can benefit mutually from joint campaign activity. “The second is the integration partner, a business that offers complementary software-as-a-service-based products into which we can integrate our service,” says Hanson.

8. Bootstrap until you’re 100% ready to expand

The best way to not waste money when starting out is to forego the trappings usually associated with running a business (office, staff, hardware and so on) – something Barnaby Lashbrooke, founder of virtual assistant platform Time Etc, discovered too late when launching an earlier business. “I burnt through cash by hiring staff and renting office space before I needed to – a mistake I’ll never repeat,” he says.

“My advice to other SME owners is to outsource tasks, use freelancers you trust and don’t leave your home office/kitchen table until you’re really ready to expand.”

Further Reading

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SME growth: when to spend

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Cost structure

The average annual expenditure for SMEs is £1m, with the biggest costs being new staff, paying suppliers and investing in technology. Savvy cash flow management is vital to managing these costs.

Spending decisions can make or break an SME. As Emma Chesson, head of online services at chartered accountancy and business advisory service Kreston Reeves, puts it: “There’s a balancing act in managing expenditure and business expense that’s a little like running a race car, swapping cash for fuel: if you under-fuel the car and drive recklessly, you’ll quickly run out; if you over-fuel and drive too cautiously, you’ll be overtaken. Businesses that are reckless with their spending will fail, but if you are too risk averse your business is unlikely to succeed.”

Chesson summarises the biggest spending decisions SMEs and fast-growing businesses face as the ‘three Ps’: people, premises and promotion.

“For some businesses there will also be significant capital investment in plant and machine to enable them to carry out their business,” she adds. “Not only are these likely to be significant, they’ll often have to be borne upfront.”

Savvy spending

When Ed Challinor and Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann co-founded private dentist Smileworks Liverpool in 2013, they were turned down for funding, which placed severe limitations on their planned expenditure.

“In hindsight this gave us an opportunity to run a tiny practice with none of the overheads of a large dental practice and learn the art of business finance along the way,” says Challinor.

Eventually, they were able to lease the state-of-the-art dental equipment that enabled them to offer dentistry on a higher margin, while still keeping the costs down to a minimum. Smileworks Liverpool is now growing fast, with a net profit margin of between 30% and 70%.

“All of this profit is reinvested because we’re still growing,” says Challinor. “Our initial investments were all calculated to improve revenue or cut costs.”

For London real estate broker Stonelink International, the wider economic environment prompted a halt on spending in 2017.

“For a long period there it was a matter of patience,” says director Nicholas Tsiougos. “It was a very difficult period, followed by uncertainty in our industry with clients simply pausing from making any investment decision.

“We couldn’t hire new talent, nor could we make the immediate changes required. So we went into a highly resourceful mode with little to no spend at all, with key objectives every quarter, and we stuck to them. Slowly, over the course of 12 months, the clients we wanted started to knock on our door.”

Question your motives

Even if the time is right and the funds are available, you should still take a critical view of your proposed spend.

Simon Paterson, partner at Surrey accountancy firm RJP, recommends considering whether you’ll get value from your proposed spend.

“It’s all very well spending on, say, marketing and advertising, but if all of your work comes from referrals and word-of-mouth, it’s a potentially pointless spend.”

The question of whether to spend on new staff is often the most difficult one for SMEs.

“You’ll be able to see if you’re heading for a cash-flow squeeze further down the road and be able to take preventative action”

Bev Hurley, chief executive, YTKO Group

“Unless you have a healthy and pretty certain sales pipeline, and a bit of working capital in the bank, taking on a new overhead can be daunting,” says Bev Hurley, chief executive of enterprise creation and business growth specialists YTKO Group and chair of the Institute of Economic Development.

With this in mind, it’s worth exploring whether you can simply enhance the efficiency of your existing team, says Paterson.

“As a company grows, you often see them take on more employees when really if you looked at the systems in place within the company, it could be that processes could be improved, which means you don’t have to take on more staff – which ultimately leads to increased profits,” he adds.

Managing cash flow

For Challinor, adequate cash-flow management must underpin any spending decisions. “At the end of the day it’s running out of cash that kills businesses – at an alarming rate,” he says. “There are five ways to improve cash flow: cut costs; make more revenue [by increasing prices if you can]; extend payment terms with suppliers; reduce customer payment terms; and reduce inventory. A sixth could be: lease – don’t buy.”

Business growth expert Royston Guest, CEO of business consultancy Pti Worldwide and author of Built To Grow, adds that you should keep on top of your company’s creditor days (how many days pass before it pays its creditors) and its debtor days (how many days it allows to pass before its debtors pay).

“Understanding average creditor/debtor days is the foundation of a well-run business and cash-flow management,” he says. “But having an understanding is just the start: SMEs need to dedicate time and resource to establishing and maintaining a system for the collection of monies in, for chasing down overdue debtors and for optimising payment terms.”

Hurley recommends creating a cash-flow forecast and updating it at least weekly. “You’ll be able to see at a glance if you’re heading for a cash-flow squeeze further down the road and be able to take preventative action,” she says.

She also suggests running credit checks on potential clients to weed out bad payers, make it easy for customers to pay you (for example, by facilitating online payments) and build good relationships with internal accounts teams for your suppliers and your clients.

“Try to ensure you have a diverse client base rather than putting all your eggs in one basket, and heed your early warning signs and take action – don’t put your head in the sand,” she adds.

Spending wisely: five things to get right

1. Decide whether there is a real benefit to the spend. “Often you see SMEs making needless purchases that don’t add value to a business and are more of a lifestyle spend,” warns Paterson.

2. Consider spreading the cost of any major investment over the lifetime of the asset. “This is particularly useful for expensive plant and machinery,” says Chesson.

3. Have real-time financial information to hand. “Your profit and loss, cash-flow forecast and balance sheet are essential financial tools that will allow you to see the big picture and proactively determine what’s possible,” says Guest.

4. Take a step back and look at the financials of your business and ask yourself: would I invest with my money? “If the answer is yes and you’ve removed all your confirmation biases and downgraded your estimates by a safe 20%, go for it,” says Challinor.

5. Make sure you’re fully aware of all the costs. “For example, recruiting a new team member might include recruitment costs, and then there are the tools for them to be effective – their computer, mobile phone and so on,” says Guest. “There’s not only their base salary to consider but all the additional costs of national insurance, pension and expenses.”

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Smart savings for start-ups

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Cost structure

Starting a business is no small feat, and in the first year every penny matters. We look at practical economies SMEs can make to keep their budgets in check and survive that challenging first year.

It costs an average of £27,520 to set up a business in the UK, according to a recent survey of 850 new companies. Nearly half of these entrepreneurs used their own savings, and almost a quarter had help from friends and family. That’s quite a financial – and personal – investment.

But with careful planning and thinking outside the box, business leaders can slash those costs dramatically.

Here are a few ways you can save cash in that all-important first 12 months.

Choose your location carefully

Much of your spend on premises, staff and suppliers depends where in the UK you are. The average London business spends around £30,000 just on admin during its first year, but head to Wales and you could pay just a quarter of that. The cheapest place to launch a business in England is Yorkshire, where average first year costs for start-ups are £11,454.

Refurb’s the word

It might be tempting to kit all your team out with the latest tech but refurbished computers, tablets and phones can give you the same quality for a fraction of the price. “Technology moves so fast that it can be hugely expensive to invest in new kit that could be outdated in six months,” says Geoff Wightwick of accountant RSM UK. “But cheaper alternatives are out there. Look for those low-cost options in everything you do. It’s not just tech – keep a lookout for businesses moving premises, which will often be offering unwanted office furniture cheaply, or even free.”

“People tend to note down utilities as a fixed cost. But [you’d] be amazed at how much you could save by paying a little attention”

Jason Smith, founder, Business Electricity Prices

Conserve your energy

“People tend to note down utilities as a fixed cost,” says Jason Smith, founder of advice website Business Electricity Prices. “But [you’d] be amazed at how much you could save by paying a little attention.”

This is particularly true if you’re taking over a premises. “New tenants get put on ‘deemed rates’, which is the second highest tariff out there,” says Smith, “and many businesses don’t even notice. But you can change it immediately by calling the provider. Also, make sure you shop around at renewal time – some ‘automatic, take-no-action’ renewals put you on a 30% higher tariff than you were paying before.”

Share your space

Finding premises is costly – so why not join a co-working hub? Britain’s increasingly flexible working culture means new businesses that previously might have had to commit to a year’s rent for a space they could never hope to fill can now hire space one desk at a time, on an ad hoc basis. “It’s brilliant,” says Jane Porter, who set up her bespoke uniform fashion-design company Studio 104 at Shoreditch co-working hub The Brew. “We started with two of us, and a tiny space to match, and we now have 10 staff and just expanded on the site, and without the tie of a fixed-rent contract. This allows companies to grow and shrink, and pay only for the space they use, when they use it.”

And it’s not just office space that can be shared. Many universities now have business incubation centres/enterprise hubs, which let units, including industrial spaces, to start-ups at affordable rents – and often offer free mentoring and business advice.

Exchange

If you need to buy something, you don’t necessarily have to pay cash for it. If your product or service is of use to, say, the local printer, you could do a deal offering your product in return for producing your promotional materials.

And this can scale up, too. “This is a fantastic way to buy, especially if you’re struggling for cash flow,” says Chris Kirby, who with business partner Greg Harrand runs the British arm of Australian firm Bartercard. “We have 54,000 global ‘Barter cardholders’ who sell their services to fellow members for so-called ‘trade pounds’, which they can then spend on a product from another member. It’s a brilliant way of reducing expenditure.” The UK franchise only opened up in April, but already has 2,000 members and is aiming for 10 times that by 2020.

Moving to hire ground

Staff are a costly expense – essential in the longer term, but freelancers might suit you better to begin with. “It could be a flexible, cheaper option than staff when you’re starting out,” says Bobby Lane, start-up consultant at London-based accountants Blick Rothenberg. “You hire them when you need them and, as they’re self-employed, you don’t need to provide the employee benefits you would for those on permanent contracts. Freelancers are particularly good for short-term, specific projects, but even employing them for more general tasks you avoid long-term fixed costs.”

Head in the cloud

There’s no longer a need to buy expensive servers and office software – cloud-based software will save you money on hardware and installation, or upgrading in the future.

“It’s an obvious money-saver for start-ups and SMEs because it’s so much cheaper than setting up a network,” says Robert Davies, who runs technology consultancy business Kashiko. “Most providers will offer word processing, spreadsheets, calendars, while cloud-based accounting is secure and can give your accountant real-time access to your figures, which will save you money too. You don’t need an email server, you just buy as many addresses as you need, with your own domain name. And the biggest advantage is that if you suffered a fire or a theft, you don’t lose any of your files.”

But, Lane warns, however you save money, it should not be shorthand for cutting corners. “Every start-up has necessary expenses, and it’s foolhardy and short-sighted to cut these out for the sake of saving a few pounds. The key is to plan, evaluate where you need to spend the money and then work out the most cost-effective way to do it.”

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Leadership lessons: how to be a good boss

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Self Awareness

There’s truth to the maxim that people leave managers, not businesses. So how do you become the kind of leader people want to work for?

As an SME founder, you may find yourself managing a growing team without having had adequate preparation in the art of leadership. Your management style will affect company performance, yet, like many leaders, you may feel uncertain as to how to get the best out of your staff.

“When I started my business nearly 10 years ago I didn’t intend to be a boss nor appreciate the importance of good leadership,” says Faye Watts, business consultant and founder at FUSE Accountants. “I now have a team of 10, and leadership has become the core focus of my role. Going from employer to leader takes soft skills training, an understanding of people, and the realisation that your people feed off you, so every action you take is being witnessed by your team.”

Your leadership skills can have a dramatic impact on your ability to retain staff. Last year, a Gallup poll found that 75% of workers who voluntarily left their job did so because of their boss or immediate line manager. So how can you get it right? Here are some golden rules.

1. Be flexible

Paula Hutchings, owner/director at Marketing Vision Consultancy, learned first-hand the damage an inflexible boss can do to a workforce.

“After maternity leave, I was offered a full-time-or-nothing option on returning to work with zero flexibility or room for negotiation. So I chose to leave,” she says.

“One of the biggest mistakes a boss can make is not listening properly to the reasons why an employee has decided to leave the organisation and/or not taking the time to see if small changes may result in the employee deciding to stay.”

Inflexibility can also manifest as a rigid approach to working style, says Ricky Muddimer, co-founder and director of business consultancy Thinking Focus.

“If you work for someone with a fixed mindset, it can be infuriating: they’re inflexible, prescriptive in the way you should approach a task, or not open to the opinions of others. It shows a lack of trust in your people,” he says.

The management solution

Try to adopt a more flexible approach to working styles and structures. “Being a good boss means finding the right balance between what’s important to you or the company, and what’s in it for the employees personally,” says Muddimer. “You can’t expect your employees to have the same priorities as you, but the more flexible and open you are to their way of working and how they use their skills, the more they will buy into your plans and priorities.”

2. Stay tuned to your staff

Along with flexibility comes the ability to listen to your team and take their opinions on board. “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about being a good boss is to consider everything from all perspectives, not just mine, and to listen and encourage,” says Katherine Caswell, chief commercial officer at sales promotion consultancy Opia.

It’s a similar story for London-based property developer Nicole Bremner, founder of East Eight and London Central Developments. She now manages a team of five staff at East Eight, and places listening at the heart of her role.

“We all have personal issues in our lives we need to deal with, and part of being a good boss is ensuring we remain empathetic to those personal issues while still remaining firm on policies in place,” she says.

“Being a good boss means finding the right balance between what’s important to you or the company, and what’s in it for the employees personally”

Ricky Muddimer, co-founder and director, Thinking Focus

She adds that managers need to be willing to act on what they hear, and to allow staff roles to evolve and develop in line with their needs.

“Beware of keeping a person in a role long term because that’s the role you need them to fulfil,” she says.

The management solution

Keith Bevan, sales and marketing director of business services provider Suresite, which employs 49 people in Preston, Lancashire, says small business leaders should talk with every member of their team on a daily basis to understand their workload and deadlines and any potential barriers to achieving them.

“It also really helps if the leader is privy to information about any external pressures and stresses that could impact on the employee’s ability to perform,” he says.

If checking in daily is impractical, aim to create regular opportunities for discussion and feedback, suggests Watts. “We do two reviews per year and give the team an opportunity to tell us how they would run FUSE or whether they would do anything differently to get them thinking about the client needs and those of the business as a whole.”

3. Learn to let go

As your business grows, you’ll have to trust your team to take on some of the tasks you initially carried out yourself. Failure to do so can make staff feel undervalued and frustrated.

“Micro-managing is never advised,” says Bremmer. “I’d rather my team make mistakes or get stuck and then ask for help, than to ask me for help along the way or have me guide them through. Hopefully, they’ll come up with a better way or system than I’ve even thought of.”

The management solution

With a mixture of support, trust and guidance, you can nurture your team so they’re able to fulfil their responsibilities in the way that works best for them.

“In my earliest days as a leader, if someone’s work was not up to standard, I’d want to redo it myself and pull all the cards in closer to my chest,” says Bevan. “As my confidence and ability developed, my strategy changed to coaching people through how they could perform a task even better next time around. I’ve also learned it’s very important that people feel they can approach you and ask for a tighter brief or greater explanation if necessary.”

Tips for becoming a great boss

Ricky Muddimer offers the following advice to help you become a better leader.

Understand how the people working for you see the world It will be different from how you see the world. Inspirational leaders can communicate from other people’s perspectives.
Have a growth mindset This sees the world as abundant, with growth and success created through effort and learning.
Provide structure and clarity Ensure people understand what’s expected of them and by when.
Connect your people to your purpose At an organisational, departmental or team level, establish what’s the ‘ding’ you’re trying to make in your universe and communicate it clearly and regularly to your people.
Help people to get out of their own way and believe in themselves We all need someone in our corner rooting for us and this is the role of a good boss.

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Management strategies: the six questions you need to ask your staff

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Self Awareness

If you really want to know what your team think of you and your business, these questions will help create a clear image.

1. What frustrates you about your role at the moment?

This question is a great one for SME owners to ask, says Peter English, a management development consultant and author of Tackling Difficult Conversations, because about 40% of people focus primarily on resolving problems in their lives. “These are people who are more aware of problems and get more annoyed by them,” he says. For the other 60%, it’s still a good question because it can unearth all kinds of issues.

English says many owners have a natural aversion to this line of questioning because they’ve been tutored in the ‘think positive’ school of thought. “They also fear that they won’t be able to address the issue that’s frustrating employees, or that the answer might be about their management style,” he says.

Why it’s worth asking: It should give owners a true snapshot of what their staff are thinking about their daily grind. “Owners won’t always be able to solve the problem, but they can often do something about it – maybe meeting staff halfway,” says English, who adds that bosses should try not to act defensively to employees’ suggestions.

2. What can I do better as the owner of the business?

This question – unthinkable to some bosses – turns the spotlight 180 degrees. Nelson Phillips, professor at Imperial College Business School in London says that feedback could be transformational if the owner is brave enough to listen.

“Owners often think that employees will feel free to speak up and tell them their ideas, observations, and suggestions, but this is very often not true,” he says. “Hierarchy always looks much more distant looking up than looking down.”

Why it’s worth asking: The team may well be holding back – especially true, says Phillips, if the founder is charismatic and full of self-belief. “Asking this question is, ironically, most useful for owners who are least likely to ask it,” says Phillips. “This is a version of the feedback paradox: the people who desperately need to receive feedback will do everything they can to avoid it.”

3. What do you think of the service we currently provide to our customers?

If the customer is king and your team’s on the frontline when it comes to dealing with them, getting staff to open up about their thoughts on the customer experience can be a valuable exercise. Caroline Dunk, owner of business consultancy the CDA Organisation, says this question often helps identify opportunities to improve customer service by making changes to key processes.

“I’m the only person in this business who can make blanket changes quite easily, so I tell the team that if something can be better, they should let me know”

Adam Greenwood, CEO, Greenwood Campbell

“We carried out some work for a mobile phone retailer to improve the service in their high-street stores; many of the changes that we made were based on ideas that came from their store staff when we asked them this question,” she says.

Why it’s worth asking: As well as unearthing new suggestions to improve the customer experience, Dunk says this question will help you to identify which members of the team really care. “Even if you don’t agree with every detail, a considered, passionate response will tell you that the individual is engaged with the goals of your organisation and wants to deliver an outstanding customer experience,” she says.

4. What can we as a company do better?

It seems such a blindingly obvious thing to ask the team, but Laura Jackman, assistant professor in entrepreneurship at Edinburgh Business School, says many owners simply never get round to it.

“The ‘we’ aspect of this is important because staff need to feel that it’s safe to be honest and not just say what they feel the boss wants to hear,” says Jackman, who cautions against asking this purely as a box-ticking exercise with nothing happening as a result. “When that happens it’s hugely de-motivating and staff quickly realise that their opinion isn’t valued,” she says.

Why it’s worth asking: “It’s open-ended, and in my experience frequently brings out both problems and opportunities,” says Jackman, who reiterates the importance of acting on at least some of the feedback. “I think you can ask staff as many questions as you like but if they really don’t feel ‘safe’ to answer honestly, it’s utterly pointless,” she says.

5. How can we improve working here?

Happy staff and a work culture in which they thrive are much-sought prizes for many owners, and Adam Greenwood, CEO and co-founder of digital agency Greenwood Campbell, says the best way to get there is to ask the team what they want.

“I’m the only person in this business who can make blanket changes quite easily,” he says, “so I tell the team that if something can be better, they should let me know.”

Why it’s worth asking: Staff are the lifeblood of any enterprise, and the happier they are, the more likely they are to propel a business forward. Don’t ask, and resentment and grievances may simmer. “Last year we took two members of the team away to a big digital conference in the US,” says Greenwood, “and some of those who didn’t get to go questioned why I only took those two. So this year I said: ‘OK, we’re going to take everyone.’”

6. Are you clear on the wider business objectives and your role in achieving them?

“A lot of business leaders make the assumption that employees know the business goals and the part they play – and that everyone is pulling in the same direction,” says business coach Rebecca Morley. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case – as Morley discovered when she recently put this question to a senior leadership team. “In a number of cases there was some ambiguity around the goals and their role, and it can lead to inefficiency,” she says.

Why it is worth asking: “Sometimes the simplest questions can make the biggest difference,” says Morley. “Business is a machine, and everyone needs to be playing their individual role in making it move forward effectively. If someone is misaligned, it creates an issue not just for them but for the business and the people around them.”

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Introduction to Self Awareness

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Self Awareness

The ability to develop, understand and regulate your mindset and behaviours is central to becoming an effective entrepreneurial leader, so throughout this module we’re going to give you some key tools and techniques to help you develop your self-awareness further.

In this module you’ll explore:

What is self-awareness?
Why is self-awareness important for an entrepreneur?
How to develop your self-awareness

Start by downloading and saving the workbook to your computer, to use throughout the module, capturing any key takeaways and completing the exercises at the end of each chapter.

What is self-awareness?

Self-awareness is the ‘keystone’ of emotional intelligence. But what does that actually mean?

In this chapter we’ll understand what self-awareness actually is and why it’s important to you as a business leader, and start to look at some key tools to develop your self-awareness.

Test your self-awareness

In this chapter we’ll continue to explore your self-awareness by looking at different reflection techniques and how these can help you, as well as completing a simple psychometric test to give you a greater understanding of your social styles.

Developing self-awareness

Feedback is the final tool we are going to explore within this module and it is central to identifying, understanding and revealing elements of yourself that you were perhaps not aware of.

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Top tips for would-be entrepreneurs

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Customer Discovery

Five successful start-ups talk about the highs and lows of running their own business and offer their hard-earned insights.

All around Britain, thousands of people are starting their own businesses every week. In fact, entrepreneurs are setting up new companies at a record pace of 80 an hour, according to data collected this year by StartUp Britain, a government-backed national enterprise campaign. Its analysis of data from Companies House found that more than 608,000 new businesses were registered in 2015.

Many of these companies start small – from spare rooms or kitchen tables, inspired by a passion that someone wants to pursue. Five entrepreneurs share what they’ve learned from the process of setting up their own company.

Be prepared to spend time and money on your brand

Chantal Teal started her chocolate brownie-making business Love Brownies in 2009 in the kitchen of her Yorkshire home, before expanding into the garage, later into a converted barn, and then to a shop and bakery which now employs 10 people.

She came to baking after five years of studying catering and management and then working as a chef in Europe, Australia and the UK.

She and her husband Lee have now invested £25,000 in the business with the help of a bank loan in order to take it to the next level and provide their award-winning gluten-free brownies to supermarkets, and potentially to Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.

“I underestimated how much it would cost to get the branding right,” she explains. “I had a clear idea about what I wanted the brand to represent, but to create the logo, brand, values and vision and make them coherent and appealing cost me £10,000. That’s the minimum you are likely to spend.”

Don’t expect immediate riches

Neely Reyes is the founder and director of Sapphires Model Management – a boutique model agency based in central London. She started the agency in 2005 with a £3,000 loan and has provided models for some of the biggest names in the industry. Her client list includes brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Victoria Beckham, Topshop, Chloé and ASOS.

“I was scouted as a model at the Clothes Show on a school trip when I was 16. Although I liked the idea of it then, my mum was not so keen on the idea while I was still at school. A couple of years later I did regional modelling. I didn’t really enjoy it but my sister did. She was doing more modelling than me and I was getting her castings and marketing her, so I decided that was where my strengths lay.”

“It’s really important to listen to what your customer wants and provide them with that. It’s how we’ve survived the hard times”

Mark Hide, MD, Tangram Training

Reyes says a successful entrepreneur needs to “be prepared to work hard, to be determined and ambitious. You also need staying power and a bit of luck.

“It is a great way to make a living if you are prepared to work long hours and face a fair amount of rejection. No one told me how poor I would be at first. Make sure you do your research and that you understand the industry you’re getting into.”

Know and understand your customer

Mark Hide started Tangram Training on a shoestring after he was made redundant and wanted to work for himself rather than go back to being an employee.

He built the Oxfordshire-based business by spotting a gap in the market for corporate and executive training. “Rather than provide an off-the-shelf solution, we focus on helping companies fix long-standing, intractable problems which hurt productivity and morale, but which they have been unable to solve,” he says.

This involved understanding how blockages and problems arose in teams, and being able to understand a company well enough to help staff open up and share difficult issues.

“Our customers know that they can come to us now with any problem, and we will find a way to sort it. Over the course of a few days we can uncover the real reason why a team is not working together – it sometimes comes as a surprise to those who are part of the team, and we’ve had participants in tears when their work colleagues suddenly understand and appreciate them for the first time in years.

“It’s really important to listen to what your customer wants and provide them with that. It’s how we’ve survived the hard times.”

Have a flexible business plan

Simon Jayham set up Gower Surfing School 16 years ago in the Gower, South Wales. He invested £40,000 of his own money and initially concentrated on providing surfing lessons and development.

As the business expanded he offered a Junior Surfing Academy and Stag and Hen parties. He now sells a lot of family-friendly surfing packages, and has seen his customer profile change.

He says: “Things are always changing in business and you have to be able to adapt. I started a surf school with coaching for youngsters who wanted to compete, but the business has evolved and now many of my customers are from outside the UK or are families coming for a week or two in the summertime, rather than just for the weekend.”

He says outside factors like the weather, the economy, the value of the pound and the increasing demands for ‘staycations’ have also affected turnover. “There’s no opportunity to stand still – you have to change and be flexible,” he explains.

Let your passion drive you

Hannah Corne is director of the Mini Mermaid Running Club UK, a national after-school club which aims to raise girls’ self-esteem, self-confidence and love of movement through a six-week training programme culminating in training for a 5km run. Thanks to a link-up with the ParkRun scheme, her young graduates can continue their love of running with weekly 5km events.

“What keeps me going is my strong sense of achievement when I see these girls grow and develop over the weeks of the course. Many of them wouldn’t necessarily join a running club at school but they learn how movement can help them in so many ways.”

She is so committed to the business succeeding that she doesn’t yet draw a wage. “Right now I’m what you’d call a social entrepreneur. My drive is to help these girls grow and learn and love to run. It’s not about race times, but about the joy of movement.”

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Management strategies: staying solvent in the early years

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Customer Discovery

Around half of all UK start-ups fail in the first five years, while 64% are hit with unexpected costs in the first year alone. We look at ways that businesses can survive the early years and carefully manage surprise costs.

When Andy Carr launched his performance bike business, Spoon Customs, from the French Alps in 2016, he was quietly confident in his three-pronged approach to trading.

He knew his customer bases were in New York, Milan and London, so by targeting all three markets at once, and by setting up near his Italian suppliers, he felt sure to make a splash. And then the Brexit vote happened, the pound crashed, and his operating costs rose dramatically.

“As time went on, we realised that the extra costs were associated with trying to access those three markets simultaneously; despite giving us the cosmetically impactful launch for the brand we wanted, it would have stretched us too far,” says Carr.

The solution? Keep production and development in the Alps, but return to the UK and relaunch the firm a year later in Covent Garden.

“Thinking smaller and more locally helped us play to our strengths in our home market, and generate more for less,” says Carr. “It’s that willingness – which was reluctance at first – to change direction as situations change.”

Use accountancy services to budget

As Carr demonstrates, monitoring outgoings and remaining flexible are essential principles that all early-stage businesses should follow.

“What gets measured gets done,” says Richard Tidswell, an SME growth consultant for the Business Doctors network. This includes disciplined 12-month budgeting and “spending time to properly consider what the operating expenses of the business should be, and then monitoring actuals on a regular basis, and investigating and resolving any variances.”

Tidswell recommends opting for cloud-based accounting services that make it easier to track and monitor expenses and profitability. “Get away from spreadsheets,” he says.

Monitor regularly and shop around

Processing customer payments may seem straightforward, but can hide nasty surprises. “While we knew the online web development costs would be high, I was most surprised at the high costs of processing customer payments, such as Visa processing charges,” says Andy Baxter, managing director and founder of Internet Gardener, now a multimillion-pound turnover business.

After monitoring the payments, Baxter shopped around until eventually choosing an independent website payment system, and using a merchant account separately from different banks.

“Thinking smaller and more locally helped us play to our strengths in our home market, and generate more for less”

Andy Carr, founder, Spoon Customs

“This allowed us to change merchant accounts as rates increased so we could obtain the best possible card-payment processing charges,” says Baxter. “Initially, these rates were around 2% of turnover; however, we’ve now managed to get this below 1%, which is a big difference.”

Negotiate and invoice early

Like Baxter, Emily Bain is used to shopping around, and recommends negotiating everything with suppliers precisely because you’re a new business. “Don’t be shy, be brutal and use the fact that you’re a start-up and will give them loyalty as you grow,” says Bain, who co-founded Bain and Gray in 2009 with very little finance.

Meanwhile, on the delivery side, Bain and her business partner focused on invoicing promptly and keeping payment terms ‘strict’ with clients from day one. “You cannot underestimate how key this is to keeping the business running,” says Bain. “On our first deal, we asked the client to pay within 24 hours to help with cash flow.”

The firm also used invoice finance, which, despite having costs attached, enabled it to scale up much faster: “It meant we could move to the next level in our turnover and that was vital.”

Remember the ‘ordinary’ costs

Many seemingly ordinary start-up costs still come as a shock to first-time entrepreneurs. For the founders of Bain and Gray, this included registering the company and the domain name – outlays that are essential, but which neither founder had anticipated.

Failing to budget for rudimentary costs is commonplace among businesspeople, according to Dr Harveen Chugh, who teaches entrepreneurship at the Imperial College Business School.

“This could be things like VAT, permits and licences, or insurance – things you probably know at the back of your mind you might have to pay, but then you see the final figure and think ‘How much?”’ says Chugh.

Invest in a good accountant

And while these costs may be unavoidable, they can be better managed by ensuring you invest in a good accountant, says Michelle Wright, founder and CEO of Cause4, which advises organisations on fundraising strategies.

“Invest in a good accountant quickly to advise you on how to grow the business and to manage your finances cost-effectively. We still work with the same accountant we had from day one, and his knowledge of how we have grown as a business has proved invaluable.”

Top tips

1. Network: You already have a network, so leverage it. Could friends or family members provide you with low-cost (or free) legal advice and marketing know-how? Now’s the time to ask.

2. Build your own website: Squarespace, WordPress, Wix – there are plenty of free or inexpensive website-builders out there. Start by building free dummy sites until you find one you’re comfortable with using and then sign up. The larger builders also have fantastic customer service agents on hand to help.

3. Negotiate: When it comes to quotes, three is the magic number – and don’t be afraid to let contractors know you’re asking around, either. It can feel awkward, but explain you’re a new business and ask for a discount. The worst that can happen is they say no.

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

Introduction to Customer Discovery

Written by Haze Carver on 27 April 2021.

NatWest Business Builder: Customer Discovery

In this module we’ll explore the common pitfalls of customer discovery and techniques to gain insights into the behaviours of your potential customers so you can test and validate any assumptions that you have made.

In this module you’ll explore:

What is customer discovery and why is it important?
Common pitfalls of customer discovery
Customer discovery techniques
Effective questioning

Start by downloading and saving the workbook and use it throughout the module to write notes, reflect on the key points and take time to answer the questions for your own business.

What is Customer Discovery?

In the first chapter we’re going to start by setting the scene and understanding what customer discovery actually is, and why it’s important for you business; using the customer/ client development model to demonstrate the different steps of building a repeatable, scalable business model.

Understanding your customer

In the second chapter we’re going to explore some key methods used to capture valuable insights from your customers. Throughout this chapter, continue to use your workbook to capture any important takeaways and consider what insights you need to gather from your customer segments, how you might do this and who you need to speak to.

Pitfalls of customer discovery

In the final chapter, we’re going to highlight some of the common pitfalls of customer discovery and explore some effective questioning techniques, to help you gain honest and accurate insights from your customers, to drive your business forward in the right direction.

Further Reading

‘Want to learn more? Register for NatWest Business Builder to view all of their business development tools. Click HERE‘

The October B2B 25

Test Event 2

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Co.next PaddleBoarding

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon 11.30am

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon

East Norfolk Employers Networking Breakfast

One-Person Powerhouse: How Tech Can Multiply Your Productivity

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Hub Club Friday Breakfast Networking May

The October B2B 25

Test Event 2

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Co.next PaddleBoarding

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon 11.30am

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon

East Norfolk Employers Networking Breakfast

One-Person Powerhouse: How Tech Can Multiply Your Productivity

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Hub Club Friday Breakfast Networking May

The October B2B 25

Test Event 2

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Co.next PaddleBoarding

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon 11.30am

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon

East Norfolk Employers Networking Breakfast

One-Person Powerhouse: How Tech Can Multiply Your Productivity

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Hub Club Friday Breakfast Networking May

The October B2B 25

Test Event 2

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Co.next PaddleBoarding

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon 11.30am

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon

East Norfolk Employers Networking Breakfast

One-Person Powerhouse: How Tech Can Multiply Your Productivity

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Hub Club Friday Breakfast Networking May

The October B2B 25

Test Event 2

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Co.next PaddleBoarding

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon 11.30am

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon

East Norfolk Employers Networking Breakfast

One-Person Powerhouse: How Tech Can Multiply Your Productivity

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Hub Club Friday Breakfast Networking May

The October B2B 25

Test Event 2

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Co.next PaddleBoarding

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon 11.30am

Mentor Monday with Ian Hacon

East Norfolk Employers Networking Breakfast

One-Person Powerhouse: How Tech Can Multiply Your Productivity

LSIP Suffolk Skills Forum

Hub Club Friday Breakfast Networking May

Read

Questions for candidate representatives: Form the Future and Long Road Sixth Form College

Questions to the employer discussion panel: AstraZeneca, CBI, and Leeds City Council

Top 10 Takeaway Points

Key Comments

Candidate Representative: Anne Bailey, CEO and Co-founder of Form the Future

Candidate Representative: Steve Dann, Vice President of Long Road Sixth Form College

Employer Representative: Emma Wood, Talent Acquisition Partner at AstraZeneca

Employer Representative: Alex Hall-Chen, Education Policy Advisor at CBI

Employer Representative: Tracey Greig, Employment and Skills Senior Manager at Leeds City Council

Awarding Bodies Representatives:

Sophie Shepard, AAT

Lucy Randall, ICAEW

Aleksandra Zaronina, ACCA

Trevor Robertshaw, CIMA

Further Comments from the Audience

More applicants and lack of work experience

Fewer careers events

Skills gained

Concern for wellbeing