Member Blog

Making the bold move to go it alone and start your own business can be scary. For many, this is unknown territory. Small business owners come from a variety of different backgrounds, and we each have our own skill set. Regardless of one’s area of expertise, there are certain things that every new startup needs to thrive. Whether you are a marketing guru, a creative genius or a tech whiz, here are a few things to consider when launching your startup:

Good Leadership

There is a huge difference between being able to manage people and being a leader. Management is an important part of running a business smoothly. However, having a good leader at the helm provides real inspiration for employees and instills a sense of purpose, giving people a reason to show up every day and be invested in the future of the company. Not everyone is a born leader, but this doesn’t mean that leadership skills can’t be learned. Whether it is at a formal business school or through reading relevant literature, it is possible to acquire and develop good leadership qualities.

A Clear Vision

Part of being a good leader is to have a clear vision for your business. Those that focus on micromanaging the day-to-day affairs of the business often forget the bigger picture. Having a clear vision for the business while remaining mindful of the details is important. However, this is often easier said than done if you’re in charge of sales, marketing and balancing the books in addition to leading an organisation. One way to circumvent this issue is to surround yourself with a strong team and delegate well.

Strong Branding

Building a strong brand that stands out from the competition requires investment. Don’t cut corners and try to do it yourself. Instead, hire the right people to design your logo, set up your website and manage your social media presence. Using reputable service providers such as Leiston Press to create promotional items or marketing material could also give your brand an edge.

Ethical Values

As a new business, you may not have the financial cushioning to be able to offer your staff lucrative employment packages and benefits, but it’s important to pay people fairly. Workers who feel taken advantage of are unlikely to stay loyal to their employer and won’t think twice about jumping ship as soon as a better offer comes along. Implement ethical company values  and nurture talent wherever possible. Employee loyalty will serve you well in the long-term.

Starting your own business can be stressful, but if you have all the right elements in place, there is no challenge you won’t be able to handle. It’s important to understand that it won’t all be smooth sailing, but establishing strong foundations will certainly assist your venture in thriving. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice from contacts and try to learn as much from the experience of others as possible.

Instagram. It’s great, isn’t it? It allows you to share lots of lovely pictures of your products and your team. But there’s a catch: You can only add one link on the site, and that’s in your bio… So what do you do when you want to share more than one link?

There are several solutions, but the most prominent is Linktr.ee.

In this article, we take a look at what Linktree does, how it works, and how to create an alternative that drives traffic straight to your site.

What is Linktree?

Linktree is a tool that allows you to share multiple links via Instagram.

What does Linktree do?

It basically creates a simple landing page that hosts multiple links. You pop the link to this landing page in your Instagram bio, in order to drive traffic to specific areas of your site.

How does Linktree work?

Linktree works by creating a landing page on their site, which features multiple links to your site.

You simply copy and paste your Linktree landing page URL into your Instagram bio to raise awareness of other parts of your site.

Is Linktree free?

There is a free version and a premium version, which (at the time of writing) costs $6 per month.

The free version has limited functionality and doesn’t allow you to add much branding. However, you can add a profile picture and change the colour of the background to one of their presets.

How to get Linktree?

You just need to visit the Linktr.ee website and create an account. When we tried it, it took about 5 minutes to set up, front to back.

Linktree alternatives

You don’t have to use Linktree to share multiple links. There is a bunch of other options out there but the best way is to create a landing page on your own site.

Yes, it’ll take you a few more minutes to do, but you’ll be directing traffic to your own site, rather than Linktree. Not does it drive traffic, but it’s free and gives you complete control over the branding.

How to make your own Linktree

You can create your own version of Linktree by building a landing page on your own website. Simply list the most important links on your site in order to direct users to specific information. For instance, you could feature your latest article, your newsletter sign-up page and your contact page. There’s no limit to how many you include.

Give it a short URL, like www.yoursite.com/instagram and then add the link to your Instagram bio.

Simple!

Tudor Lodge Consultants is very happy to announce that they are working with gin subscription company, 

●      Fixing landing pages: landing pages are what customers will see first when they arrive on the site. Therefore, making sure that these pages have relevant keywords, headings, and important customer information clearly on each page in an organised manner is highly important for SEO. This is something our dedicated team is working hard to update.

About I Love Gin

It was just days before the coronavirus lockdown, at a local networking event where I met Lucy Whittaker, founder and lead trainer of Alpha Vesta CIC, and after listening to her journey from spending many years working as a frontline domestic abuse practitioner, partnered with her academic study and her very strong ethos that ‘we need to do more in order to reach people sooner before their lives often reach crisis point and they end up embroiled in the criminal justice system and social care arenas’, that I realised how little I knew and truly understood about domestic abuse, and especially the impact of domestic abuse within the workplace, and here is where my journey to fill that lack of knowledge started. 

I never realised how incredibly complex domestic abuse is.  Not all domestic abuse is characterised by patterns of coercive control, and some incidents of domestic abuse are characterised by underlying vulnerability and a toxic mix of unmet needs that occasionally spiral into some form of emotional abuse and violence.

Did you know that one in four women and one in six men will be affected by domestic abuse at some point during in their adult lifetime (HM Government, 2019) and the NSPCC have released a report this year estimating one in five children are growing up in a home where domestic abuse in occurring (NSPCC, 2020).

In a Home Office study released last year on the Social and Economic Costs of Domestic Abuse is estimated to be £66 billion per year with £14 billion of that as a direct cost to the economy in terms of lost economic output. 

High absenteeism, lateness, impact on mental health and wellbeing sit very prominently but studies have also shown that one in two victims of domestic abuse said their work colleagues were also affected, and one in ten will have to leave their job due to the abuse (Opinium Research commissioned by Vodafone, 2019) and broader patterns of poor career progression (KPMG, 2019), high recruitment costs, low staff morale and productivity have also emerged.

With one third of a working adult’s life being spent in work, employers are in a unique position to create a supportive workplace with a culture that encourages all health and wellbeing needs and to help break the silence around the domestic abuse issue.

With the funding Alpha Vesta have received from the Essex Police Fire and Crime Commissioner, the Essex Community Foundation and The National Lottery, Lucy has been able to deliver fully funded online awareness sessions and training workshops to put into action Alpha Vesta’s strong foundation and mission statement of ‘Breaking the cycle of domestic abuse through awareness, prevention and early interventions in the Workplace’.

For more information about the impact of domestic abuse in the workplace, please visit www.alphavesta.com

To book on one of Alpha Vesta’s events please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/alpha-vesta-cic-30277303852

S Potter Talent Ltd working in collaboration with Alpha Vesta CIC.

Apprenticeships, you don’t need an apprenticeship strategy, you just hire a young person and sign them up to college – don’t you?

Well yes, you could adopt this approach, but I strongly recommend you don’t.  Would you be this flippant with purchasing a new piece of equipment for your business, I doubt it, so why would you take this approach with hiring an apprentice?

Hiring an apprentice is an investment and like any other business investment you would carry out due diligence, and the same approach needs to be applied to your apprenticeship programme. 

Grab yourself a blank sheet of paper and start by looking at:

 

* taken from the House of Commons Library, Briefing Paper Number 06113, 9th April 2020 – Apprenticeship Statistics by Niamh Foley

1. Apprenticeships must be aligned with the business strategy

Take a strategic view of your business needs for the future to enable you to identify the skills you require.

2. ‘Mind the Gap’

How can you prepare for the future if you don’t know where your current skill gaps are within your business? The results from carrying out a skills analysis will identify the training required to fill these gaps.

3. The integrated approach

Take a look at your existing training programmes and map these to the available apprenticeship standards. This will enable you to see which courses, you would normally have to pay for, can be replaced by using the apprenticeship standards whilst taking advantage of the apprenticeship levy.

If you don’t pay the apprenticeship levy, that’s ok, you will only need to pay 5% of the cost of the standard!

4. Finding the right training provider for your needs

Take the time to compile a broad range of questions for the training provider, having this information will enable you to assess if they will be able to meet your needs.

5. Communicate and engage your employees

Running apprenticeship programmes is a team effort, it is so important to make sure the support is there throughout the business, and it is key to engage your employees from the outset and keep them up to date with how things are going.

If you are keen to find out more about running an apprenticeship programme within your business, please feel free to contact Sue via the website or info@spottertalent.com

We are all coming to terms with the very real impact of the Covid pandemic with more cases in Norfolk and the third lockdown in place. Whilst much of the pandemic feels out of the control of individuals, there are legal provisions which individuals can make to protect their interests and wishes if circumstances arise in the future should they fall ill and be unable to make decisions for themselves. This is true for all ages including young people.

As reported in the Dereham Times, a 25 year old woman who had tested positive for coronavirus, went to sleep at home on December 31 2020 and woke up in intensive care on January 3 2021. In Private Client terms, this is referred to as a temporary loss of capacity. Other potential causes of loss of capacity can happen at any age including accidents and brain injury, mental health problems or drug addiction.

As explained by our Private Client Paralegal Rachel Frammingham, ideally young people should consider putting legal protections in place to protect against loss of capacity – including Lasting Powers of Attorney and a Will – whatever their age.

Do young people need LPAs?

The existence of a Lasting Powers of Attorney can appoint someone to make decisions for you in the event you are unable to make those decisions yourself. We can assist you in creating Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA).

Whilst they are traditionally considered for older individuals with capacity issues in later life including dementia, anyone over the age of eighteen is legally entitled to set up an LPA given they have full mental capacity at the time.

If an individual has registered LPAs in place, these kick in upon incapacity so the individual’s appointed Attorneys can act on their behalf whilst they are incapacitated:

1. for their health and welfare decisions (medicines, medical treatment); and

2. for their property and financial decisions if needed (more appropriate for the longer term where bills need paying etc.)

Then, in situations of temporary loss of capacity, after the individual regains capacity, for example after coming out of a coma, they can manage their affairs normally again.

The two types of LPA are independent of one another. Oftentimes, an individual may consider putting in place a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, whereas the Health and Welfare LPA is also very important – especially given the current pandemic.

Without an LPA, the Court of Protection exists to make decisions on financial or welfare matters and appoint Deputies to make required ongoing decisions for the incapacitated individual. This can, however, become a long-winded and expensive process. Creating your own LPA to a time schedule that suits you gives you the control.

Crucially, your LPA must be set up before you lose mental capacity – so if you are young and in good health, now could be a good time to consider appointing your Attorneys who you know well and trust to carry out your wishes should you ever lose capacity in the future.

Do young people need a Will?

It is important to have a legally valid Will at all ages, and many of our clients set up their Will at the same time as making an LPA. As with LPAs, you can make a Will from age 18 if you are of sound mind. A legally valid Will allows you to choose your own Executors and Beneficiaries rather than your possessions and financial assets automatically passing to those entitled under the Intestacy Rules whom you may not want to benefit. Particularly if you have had children, a Will can include a guardian clause naming your chosen legal guardians if you were to pass away.

If you have children under 18 and die without making a Will, although your estate/money will pass to your children under the Intestacy Rules, that child’s parent (whether you are still with them or not) would be the person to administer your estate and hold the money until the child is 18. We often act for clients who are no longer with their child’s other parent to make Wills appointing someone else (such as another member of their family) to act as executor and to look after the money until their child is old enough.

Rachel Frammingham is a Paralegal in the Hatch Brenner Solicitors Private Client team. Contact Rachel via rachelframmingham@hatchbrenner.co.uk or call 01603 660 811.

Read more: Can you help me write my will?

Reference: https://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/news/woman-25-three-days-unconscious-with-covid-6888924

We’re very much aware of the importance of good mental health, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of their Impromptu Business Chat special interview episodes, James Lay and Mark Curtis recently spoke to Louise Newby, from Three Eggs, on this interesting topic, particularly for business leaders. It’s important to look after your teams, but who is looking after you?

Louise is an experienced educator in the world of mental health, with a Masters from Cambridge. She has seen, first hand, the detrimental effects that poor mental health and lack of training and support can have on business leaders and their teams. In this valuable and important discussion, the panel look in depth at what leaders can be doing to build their resilience during these turbulent times. Off the back of this chat, James Lay has also written a blog – We all have mental health – where he goes into further detail about his own coping mechanisms. He provides further resources that many other leaders just like him, may find helpful whilst navigating the ongoing pandemic and its challenges, both personal and professional.

The podcast chat with Louise is available on Apple Podcasts, You Tube, Spotify, or wherever else you find your podcasts.

You can find James’ blog here.

If you have any questions on this topic, or if you would like to get in touch with James or Mark, please email enquiry@larking-gowen.co.uk

To learn more about Louise’s work, you can visit Three Eggs  here.

These last few months have seen innovation and adaptation on a grand scale. Who would have thought, in those hazy days B.C. (before Covid), back at the very start of the year, what changes we might see?

In just six months, companies have evolved in ways perhaps not previously conceived: who would have thought that getting whole or even partial workforces operating remotely might have been possible? Or moving a whole business online to allow it to continue to trade? Or hosting entire conferences on Zoom? Or diversifying a product to meet the needs of people and society: I’m thinking, for example, of those manufactures who switched up their production to deliver much needed ventilators.

Wherever we go, we can see evidence of this ability to adapt. The screens, the sanitiser, the signage, the posters, those brilliant domes that allow people to dine outside in pods.

And then there’s us as individuals. The mask-wearing, the distance-keeping, the virtual-socialising, the reaching-out with care and support. People have been doing incredible things during these last few months to support each other, delivering efforts that have made a difference for family, for neighbours, for communities.

What these last few months have reminded us is that people are amazing. Not just in our ability to respond and adapt to the slings and arrows that life has hurled at us, but in our capacity to withstand such like. We are innovative, we are resilient.

And yet, if we had been asked if we could do all the things we’ve done a year ago, even less, our answer, I suspect, might have been very different. ‘It’s not possible.’ ‘We can’t do that.’

But we can do that. Circumstance has forced us to be creative, to find solutions, to make changes – wholesale in some cases. And look at what we have achieved.

And so, when I think about what we take forward from this time, I fervently hope that it is self-belief. I hope that we have come to realise the true extent of our capacity and our abilities and that when we focus on our goal, we really can achieve it. I hope too that we come to see the barriers that might have held us back from pursuing new ways of working, of progressing, of developing are there to be removed.

Because one day this will be over and I hope that what is left behind is that belief in ourselves which will provide the catalyst for so much more creativity and innovation. As the saying goes: believe in yourself and you’ll be unstoppable.

Out of sight most definitely isn’t out of mind and with more and more staff working remotely, authentic, sensitive, and effective engagement by managers is vital. For many employees, working from home will be an extension of normal working patterns – whilst for others, it will turn everything they know about work completely upside down. And likewise whilst many will find the assimilation between home and work life easy, for others it will be a much trickier transition.

And so, we need to be attuned to our people’s needs and the external and internal factors which will be impacting upon them. This will be logistical things – such as balancing looking after children whilst juggling workload as well as emotional challenges: fear, worry, dread, sadness, all these feelings which this period in our lives keep throwing up. Here are some principles that can help us to stay connected and engage our people when we are working apart in this difficult time:

1. The first thing is person before task. However herculean our efforts might have been to maintain a level of service during this time, we cannot pretend that this is ‘business as usual.’ And so checking in with how people are feeling, how they’re doing, before conversations about the job in hand is vital. 2. Offer support. And with checking in it is important to know what support you can offer to someone who might be struggling either logistically or emotionally, whether that’s access to a helpline, or helping out on a task. 3. Give choice. We know that in all of our engagement activities, people respond to different methods and approaches. Although the conduits for communications open to us might have reduced somewhat, we can and should still give choices. Skype? Telephone? Zoom? 4. Manage expectations. We can do this through setting time aside for catch-ups, diarising these and sticking to them wherever possible. This will help to give some structure and focus for the employee, and maintain a level of normality in an ever changing sea of change. 5. Look for opportunities to connect. Wherever possible, keep the connection open between teams and with the organisation. Many people may find it isolating to be working remotely and so look for ways to remind people that they are part of something bigger – that they are not alone, even if physically they are. And, this could have a social element to it too – Zoom quiz anyone? 6. Show appreciation. And more of it. Let people know that they are doing a good job even if it’s what they would describe as ‘just my job.’ With distance and in a climate that can feel overtly negative, people need to hear messages of positive reinforcement more than ever. And, make this recognition authentic and frequent. 7. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, show trust. This should be a fundamental strand to our engagement with remote workers. Show people that you trust them to do their role through setting clear objectives, being available to offer support, then letting them get on with it. Indeed, a concern around being mistrusted may be even driven by the employees themselves, keen to demonstrate that they are still working hard in the unusual confines of their home. We absolutely need to let people know that we trust them as they settle into this new way of working.

The seeds we sow now with our people, in these terribly difficult circumstances we all find ourselves in, will blossom when life has reverted to some normality – whatever that might look like. And whilst distance might keep us remote from our staff, how we engage can in fact create closer connections.

As I read the email from my usual supermarket, the third I had received in as many weeks, it struck me that a month ago, I would probably have simply deleted it as irrelevant when it landed in my inbox. How times have changed, and with it, our thirst for knowledge.

They say knowledge is power and indeed, it can feel like it in these unprecedented times. The more access we have to relevant and factual information, the more able we are to make the right decisions and do the right things to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. And the more able we are to make a difference for society as a whole.

And so now, more than ever, organisations need to engage people through effective communications. As well as giving people the information they need – such as the Tesco CEO is doing in letting me know how can I pick up the food my family needs safely – we also need to take people with us, including on the journey that we all now find ourselves on.

So how can we engage people through our communications, keeping connected to our staff and customers, through this and beyond? Here are some key principles:

• Make it consistent: striking a balance between information overload and too few updates is important. We need to maintain regular channels of communication, and ensure that a communications void doesn’t open up between us and our staff and customers;
• Make it factual, clear, and accessible: we need to be really clear on the facts, particularly at a time when there is so much confusion, false messaging, myths and legends around. Through clarity – including and especially in language use – we can make our messages accessible to the widest possible audience – which is vital. We have a duty to not exclude anyone from the messages we are sharing;
• Be positive: we know that things are tough right now but it’s ok to be positive in our communications. We can be hopeful, which leads us onto…
• Reassure: people are desperate for reassurance and whilst we can’t and shouldn’t give false hope we can give reassurance around what we can and will do;
• Invite feedback and questions: people will want more information, and may have questions, and this is important as communications and engagement isn’t a one way street, it’s a two way dialogue. But – and this leads us on to…
• Be realistic: our customer service, and indeed other services – understandably – may be creaking at the seams. It’s ok to say so and manage expectations around response times;
• Be collaborative: our communications messages should at all times, and now more so than ever, have an equality to them. We are working together in partnership.

Perhaps though one of the most important qualities which comes through the best communications at this time is authenticity, the human touch. We are all going through something which is at turns confusing, scary, and upsetting. Sharing company messages with a human touch instantly allows us to connect to others: and we all need to feel connected, especially now.

May you stay safe and stay well at this time, knowing this too shall pass.

Grabbing your customers’ attention is the holy grail of in-store marketing – and the creation of an effective POS display is key to achieving that. By catching your customer’s attention, you can start to generate engagement, sales and loyalty.

In this article, we explore some of the key considerations behind creating an effective POS display, so your business can achieve its aims. POS Goals First up, does your point-of-sale display align with your marketing objectives? Your signage is, after all, part of your marketing activity. As such, it should be part of a wider campaign that works towards your overall objectives. For instance, if you’re launching a new product, you might want to raise awareness with shoppers using an introductory offer. Aisle-end displays are a great way of doing that. They ensure your product is visible to potential customers, which, in combination with promotional pricing, could drive awareness and sales. Alternatively, you might aim to increase your customers’ average basket value. As such, you could highlight related products or services at the till point. For instance, if you have a DIY store, you might display leaflets at the checkout promoting installation services and ongoing support. Know your Audience Who are your target customers? By knowing their needs and wants, you can craft messages and visuals that appeal to them. While it might be tempting to say that everyone is a potential customer, you run the risk of being too broad and appealing to no one. Consider your ideal customer and what you know about them.

• What previous behaviours have they displayed?
• Do you know how your audience has previously engaged with POS displays?
• Are they interested in premium products? A luxurious display with gold foil and enticing messaging might appeal. Or maybe they’re into gadgets, so something high-tech and interactive will get their attention. Or maybe you’re appealing to children, so choose to use vibrant, bright visuals that draw their attention. 

If you’re not sure, carry out some market research. Ask your customers about what they need and what they like, so you can steer your designs in the right direction. Is it eye-catching? Often, the most effective POS displays are bold and attention-grabbing. They stand out from other materials in the store, so customers can’t help but look. Quirky, novelty and unusual displays help. Think about your brand and how you can play on that. For instance, an ice-cream brand might decide to create a 5ft display in the shape of an ice-cream cone to draw customer attention to a freezer cabinet next to the till. Not only is the design bold, but it reminds them of the flavours and joy of eating their favourite treat. What’s the competition doing? It always pays to have an idea of what other players in your sector are doing. Not only can you learn from their activities, but it can also help you stand out at the till point. By being deliberately different, you can hook your target customer. Take note of what you see in shops, on forecourts and at the till for inspiration. What do you want customers to do? Ask them to do it. A clear call to action (CTA) tells your audience exactly what you want them to do when they see your POS display. Do you want them to buy your product? Do you want them to take a leaflet? Do you want them to visit your website? Ask them clearly and concisely. Phrases such as ‘find out more’, ‘visit the website’ or ‘take a sample’ are clear and concise and readers will know exactly what to do when they read it. Is your POS display fit for purpose? Ensuring that your promotional display is up to the job is essential to maintaining brand perception. If it gets scuffed, looks dirty, becomes dogeared or breaks completely, it can reflect on your brand, causing more harm than good to your reputation. If you have concerns about the durability of your display, speak to a POS expert. Here at BDH Tullford, we will happily look at your idea and give our professional feedback on achieving the best effect. We’ll give you the benefit of our knowledge, explaining the improvements we’d make and why, while making recommendations about construction. How are you going to measure effectiveness? The only way you’re going to know if your POS display is effective is by measuring performance. Consider using a unique URL or phone number in your call to action, for instance, so you can gauge interest in your display. Or monitor how many times you need to refill leaflets and materials held at the till point to see how many get taken. If it works well, you can repeat the activity.  Need Help Creating An Effective POS Display For Your Business? From crafting an initial idea through to manufacture and installation, we’ve got the expertise you need to create effective POS displays. Call us on 01603 620780 today.