Member Blog

What does the term Corporate and Social Responsibility (CS&R) mean to you? Chances are it is something that you associate with large scale companies who have budgets that enable them to make generous donations to good causes or are able to allow employees time off to do charitable work. However, there is plenty that even a sole trader can do to fulfil their own CS&R ambitions, which can be equally rewarding both for the business and for the recipients of their goodwill.

As a self employed florist and balloon decorator I deal with lots of requests on a regular basis asking for support in various forms. Having done a three year stint on our local school PTA I know only too well how difficult it is to generate support from local businesses to help boost often very small scale fundraising events. As a result, I choose to support certain local good causes in 3 different ways;

Raffle prizes with discount vouchers

With so many requests for raffle prizes, I now support a number of small scale events near me with a balloon arrangement and a discount voucher. A table of vouchers which may have considerable value on paper, can look quite uninspiring so by donating something visually attractive it can really encourage raffle ticket sales. It has even more impact when the charity gives permission for their logo to be replicated onto a balloon! The inclusion of a voucher also encourages the lucky recipient to redeem it against my products at a reduced rate.

Paid balloon décor with a charitable discount

For bigger events, larger scale décor is more appropriate but not so cost effective for me to just give away. Instead, I can apply a percentage discount which allows the charity to WOW their guests with some impactful décor at a more affordable price. Personalising balloons with the charity logo really brings the décor to life, and reinforces the branding message during the entire event.

  Free balloon décor

This year I have had the privilege of working with two amazing local good causes, whose stories have really touched me; littlelifts.

I first met Oa, who founded littlelifts, at a networking meeting where we took part in a comfort box packing event. Oa was diagnosed with primary breast cancer at just 28 years old. Having received lots of little packages and gifts during her treatment, Oa decided to give something back by creating comfort boxes containing items that help with the side effects of chemotherapy and other products that give a ‘little lift’ at a very difficult time. These boxes are now distributed to women at the start or during their treatment at various hospitals across East Anglia, and the boxes are funded as the result of money raised at various events.

At Easter, littlelifts ran a cupcake decorating workshop. I donated two balloon bouquets (including the littlelifts logo) and a stuffed rabbit raffle prize which drew a lot of attention! This event raised £500 which is enough to support 12 women facing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

To find out more about littlelifts and how you can support them, please go to www.littlelifts.org.uk

The other good cause I have chosen to support is Sunshine and Rainbows, a not for profit scheme run by local photographer Shellie Wall. Shellie offers free photography sessions for families with a child who has a life limiting or life threatening condition, and some local businesses contribute something towards a gift box that the family receive. I donate a personalised helium balloon which Shellie uses as part of the photoshoot, and whilst donating a single balloon is a small gesture for me, the impact on the children (who have all adored their balloons) is far, far greater. The smiles on their faces are priceless and melt my heart, and the photos themselves become absolutely priceless to the whole family if things take a turn for the very worst.

If you can donate anything to help Shellie keep this truly wonderful service going, please head to https://shelliewallphotography.co.uk/sunshine-rainbows/

Being able to give back is very important to me, and I truly believe that if all businesses could give a little something to a local cause, we could soon make an amazingly positive impact in our local communities!

If you’ve enjoyed this blog, why not have a look through some of my other Blogs!

Claire Carney is an independent florist, a Certified Balloon Artist and NABAS Approved Balloon Décor Instructor based near Norwich, Norfolk, UK.

If you are among the business owners who are worried about the strategies that can help your business get well-known enough that people know about your product, you do not need to worry anymore. There is a technique through which a lot of small businesses have got an advertising benefit as well.

That is a technique known as pay per click advertising. There are a lot of companies in the business world that utilise this form of marketing. If you look on Gogle alone and simply search for ‘specialist PPC agency in London‘ you will find countless companies. There are a lot of benefits of a PPC agency. 

PPC boosts the traffic on your website

If you have spent a lot of time creating an attractive and user-friendly website, but no one knows about it, what benefits are you getting out of it?

It is always better to use the techniques employed by a PPC agency, and that is that the paid advertisement of your company would appear on the very first page that you open on the search engine and that is how people will get to know about your website. The more the traffic is on your website, the greater the chances that someone will purchase the product that you offer. 

You only pay for clicks

PPC is a cost-effective marketing technique as you do not have to pay for anything unless someone clicks on the ad. When someone does so, it means that the ad is getting a degree of recognition and therefore so is your company.

Not difficult to produce

It is not difficult to have a PPC ad per se. You can make it yourself or even hire a professional to make it. And with the time you can have that ad running, that too is not a lot of time.

You can analyse the performance in real-time

With other marketing strategies, the results are unknown until the marketing strategies are applied and the work has been ongoing for some time. However, in the case of PPC advertising, everything happens and runs in real-time, from the number of clicks to all other real-time data. That is better for a small company so that one can easily analyse how the company is performing and if they need to improve their methods in advertising or to get people as their loyal customers.

A warrant control is a legal document that is given by the court if you have any debt and it is the type of document that allows the agents of warrant control to have a check at your place, and they are allowed to get control over the things you own. Whatever they seize will typically be sold at auction to collect the debt that is required from you. It is necessary that the warrant of control is given by the court, and the court has the right to file such warrants against you if you have not paid a fine charged within the country of the court judgment.

What are Bailiffs?

Bailiffs are also known as enforcement agents, who are hired by the court and may be allowed to enter your home if do not pay your debts on time. The court will first send you a notice to pay your debt within a set period of days or weeks and if you do not clear the charge fined on you then the bailiffs may be allowed to enter your house, and may well be allowed by the court to take certain posessions from your place without your express permission.

Can a Warrant of Control be Stopped?

It is advisable to get rid of the CCJ payment as soon as possible to avoid getting into the situations which may lead to the issuing of a warrant of control, but if you are late then you can still get rid of this warrant by applying for the necessary paperwork from the court. This paperwork will likely help you to get rid of this warrant as soon as possible.

What Bailiffs Can and Cannot Take

There are certain rules under which the bailiffs are required to work:

What Can Bailiffs Seize?

• Luxury items including TVs, vehicles, bicycles
• Any money, cheques, securities, stocks, offers, and pawn tickets that have a place with you
• Vehicle claimed by you and kept at your home, business or open interstate

What Can Bailiffs Not Seize?

• Another person’s assets
• Things that are required for your work or belongs to your workplace
• Things that are the basic requirements for your essential needs such as garments/cooker/furniture
• Anything that is owned by a child

If you have any further queries regarding bailiffs or the warrant of control, you can simply view this website for more information.

Health and safety policy cannot be effective without good communication and trust between lone workers and their employers. What tools are available to help employers and staff take responsibility for their health and safety, and how you can you build a better safety culture in your organisation? Find out more here: How can employers and lone workers share responsibility for health and safety?

Being a lone worker can be fulfilling and exciting, especially for self starters who enjoy working without close supervision. Lone workers have legal rights to receive adequate protection so they can operate safely. Find out what responsibilities your employer has to you as a lone worker, and what you can do to be a safer lone working employee here: What are my health and safety rights and responsibilities as a lone worker?

Employers are morally and legally responsible for the health, safety and welfare of all their employees, especially those that work alone. In this article Safepoint explores how organisations employing lone workers can better protect their staff and company, and what some of the ramifications are if they get things wrong. Read more here: How should employers protect lone workers – and what are their liabilities?

There are more than six million lone workers in the UK – around 20% of the workforce. As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) points out, a lone worker is someone who “works by themselves without close or direct supervision.” Learn more about the varied field of lone working and how lone worker safety and productivity can affect your business here: Who is a Lone Worker – and Why Should You Care?

Whether it’s a beer garden bumble or a full blown outdoor extravaganza, there’s something about summer in Norfolk that makes you want to get exploring the opportunities to take work…and marketing for that matter, outside. With so many fantastic examples of events leveraging the outdoors as their energizing venue from the Norfolk Show to Norfolk Enterprise Festival, to Fresher than a Fayre, we’ve extended our range of outdoor products ready for the summer events season.

From high flying flags and portable pop-up banners, to full customizable marquees and parasols, we’ve sourced a full range of products that cater to pretty much every outdoor event need. 

We’re committed to quality and recently launched our campaign for better portables, which we have considered in our choice of outdoor products. So if you or your business are looking to take events outside, there’s more to us than meets the eye and we’re always on hand to offer no obligation advice on getting the most of outdoor events as well as offering a full design, management and production service for all your further needs. 

If you’re looking to plan your own outdoor event or have a product in mind, get in touch today to ask how we could help.

We have all perused news articles exposing the vulnerabilities of specific mobile phone applications and social media sites. These pieces will often mention the threats posed by spyware, malware and similar types of malicious content. In fact, your information might have even been compromised in the past. Do these very same dangers extend to a small Norfolk-based retail website? Certainly not, as cyber criminals only target big businesses and credit card information. This is actually more of a myth as opposed to an accurate observation. You may be surprised to learn that a growing number of smaller businesses have experienced serious data breaches in recent times. Why is this the case and how can trusted ecommerce platforms be of assistance?

A Larger Threat than You May Have Realised

Cyber criminals are extremely intelligent and one of the main issues faced by security teams is that their methods evolve at a breakneck pace. This makes thwarting the latest threats exceedingly difficult. In fact, many software patches are only created once a flaw in a system has already been exploited. These situations tended to be limited to big businesses such as Amazon and Apple in the past. However, cyber criminals are now targeting smaller firms due to the fact that the majority do not have the proper protocols in place.

So, it is relatively easy to steal your data. Perhaps more worrisome is the fact that the personal information of your customers (such as home addresses or credit card numbers) can become compromised. This would irrevocably damage the reputation of your business and there is no doubt that a great number of customers will be lost as a result. So, what can you do to protect yourself from such emerging risks?

Ground-up Protection from the Digital Age: Better to be Safe Than Sorry

The first step is to use your website in synergy with a trusted e-commerce application such as Shopify. As there is a great deal of antivirus technology already built into this software, you will be provided with a robust firewall. It is also possible to adjust many of the associated settings so that your platform can become fully customised (such as blocking access from a certain portion of the world or identifying sources of spam).

Another excellent suggestion is to use a professional antivirus software bundle such as Norton or Avast. This architecture is updated constantly, so the latest threats are able to be quarantined and removed before they can cause any real damage. Check to see if these services can be used in conjunction with your website, as coding issues can occur on occasion.

Please note that this article was not intended to exhibit an alarmist flavour. It is instead aimed at educating local Norfolk businesses in regards to the online threats which currently exist. A bit of preparation goes a long way in this sense. If you believe that your portal might be at risk, it is better to take a proactive approach as soon as possible.

It’s fair to say that when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO), there are a number of grey areas. With Google keeping their cards close to their chest, it’s left to SEO specialists to figure out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to improving the ranking of a site.  

Through research and case studies, SEOers ultimately create a series of best practices that other industry experts follow and adapt to get the best results.

Whilst there’s agreement on the general principles of SEO, there are some subjects that seemingly avoid a conclusive answer. One of the most hotly contested arguments in this murky area of SEO is the discussion about how many words should make up a webpage.

You’ve got some respected SEOers insisting that pages should contain more words than your average novel, whilst other similarly respected experts champion the idea of short reads.  

At Nu Image, we think content is all about answering questions that users are asking. This means that sometimes we’re creating long reads and at other times we’re creating content that only requires a quick glance.

Take two of our clients for example. Specializing in coach tours, Grand UK Holidays and Sunrise Direct each produce blogs which describe the itineraries they offer to holidaymakers. In order to do them justice, they tend to feature fairly lengthy articles that go into great detail about the kinds of attractions and activities which take place on the trip.

When Google bots crawl these blogs, they report back to the search engine that the site contains useful information relating to coach tours. This helps them perform better for relevant searches and brings in relevant traffic.

But it’s not only rankings that this type of content helps with, but conversions too. Think about it- would you be more inclined to book a holiday if you knew all the ins and outs of it, or if you just had a snapshot to go off? Obviously, you’d be more confident making a booking if you had a clear idea of what to expect.

Ultimately, longer content allows you to provide value to readers. It’s a great opportunity to properly explain the benefits of your services and products. Naturally, when it comes to sales, this is key. What’s more, Google really likes this and will improve the ranking of any page that it thinks is a better fit for users.

However, not every subject lends itself to an article that stretches over 2,000 words, and Google doesn’t reward waffling. Its bots are sophisticated enough to recognise when you’re yammering on simply to increase the length of a post.

Instead, you should spend some time thinking about the nature of your content and how much detail users will really require. If, for example, you’re creating a checklist for passing a MOT test, you don’t need to produce a novel for it to be handy. In fact, it’s far more likely to be enjoyed and shared around the web if it makes its point in as few words as possible.

On the other hand, if you’re creating a blog dedicated to the history of the Roman empire, you’re probably going to need a few thousand words to give users what they need.

Returning to the question posed at the beginning of this post, it’s clear that appropriate content length is what improves SEO. This makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it- if Google is committed to giving users the most useful information, it’s going to recognise that sometimes brevity is more helpful than length.

In summary, you need to consider the needs of your users when it comes to content creation. If they’ll benefit from a comprehensive guide, write a comprehensive guide. If they just need some information that can be provided in bullet point form, then get to making those bullet points.

Most businesses fail due to financial issues. 42% of companies don’t make it to their fifth birthday. Even though the idea is profitable, many fail because of poor leadership. Lack of planning, poor financial decisions and poor sense of direction creep into such businesses. All these lead to financial problems and subsequently, complete business failure.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The success of your business is directly linked to its financial health. To maintain healthy finances, you must adopt certain practices and make wise business decisions. It begins with you as an entrepreneur to nurture and cultivate the right models and values. So, how can you maintain healthy finances and subsequently realize success? Let’s look at six ways to do this.

Avoid Excessive Debt

Acquiring funds from lenders is a conventional way of capitalizing a business. However, excessive debt will limit the growth and profitability of your business. Not knowing where to stop with debt has put many businesses in a financially difficult position which they do not recover from most of the time. Some dangers of debt include the following:

No Flexibility: Excessive debt means you are unable to make timely monthly payments on your loans. This makes you liable to pay high-interest rates and late fees. With this record, you’re not flexible to grow your business because lenders and investors cannot look your way.

Bankruptcy: This is the worst possible danger to your business due to heavy indebtedness. It means the demise of your business. It gets worse if the business is linked to your personal finances-personal bankruptcy.

How to Avoid Too Much Debt

Fund Your Business Account – The first and most important rule for keeping clear of excessive debt is regularly setting money aside. Several business owners fund their business accounts with a fixed amount from their income at least once a month. Rather than borrow money, you can use that money for certain business expenses.

Use Appropriate Debt Financing – The popular debt financing methods are small business loans and business credit cards. Each of these tools has pros and cons. They can each work well for you depending on your business and requirements. Small business loans are generally more affordable and can paid in installment up to $2,500 per month, while business credit cards are perfect for certain expenses. If the card has a 0% APR for a year or longer, make your purchase early and pay without interest provided it’s all paid off during that period. They also come with rewards like office supplies, Wi-Fi and others.

Don’t Move Too Fast – Some businesses borrow too much money in the beginning. This is the time to use as little as possible and grow slowly but surely. You can only spend more or borrow more if you have realized a decent return on investment.

Pay off Debt with Small Business Loans – Business owners should consider this option to avoid too much debt. It also ensures that your credit score does not plummet. In case you need a working capital loan in the future, you should have a stellar credit record. A single missed payment can ruin your credit.

Maintain a Low Working Capital – Working capital is important for the daily operations of a business-like salaries, overheads and minor purchases. The best way to improve working capital is to collect receivables as early as possible and delay the payables if possible. Many businesses experience the reverse instead and end up with insufficient cash.

How to Improve and Maintain Working Capital

• Limit Transactions with Debtors
• Don’t provide goods or services to customers who already owe you money or have a track record of non-payment. Take immediate action with debtors and provide incentives to paying customers.
• Payment Monitoring
• Train a collection team to handle debtors and reward those who collect.
• Make Timely Payments
• Automate your systems to make sure debt payments are made in time. Delays will attract penalties.
• Manage Inventory
• Avoid overstocking and ensure that finished products are sold off. Stop any products or services that are not selling.
• Resolve Disagreements with Vendors and Customers on Time
• If you leave disputes to linger, your company could be sued. If you end up in court, sort it out quickly to limit legal expenses.
• Make the Most of Tax Incentives
• They save you lots of money which can eventually be directed into the working capital
• Recurring Invoicing
• Recurring invoices not only streamline your payment process, but they also improve cash flow which keeps the business financially healthy. They automatically charge customers for a specific amount on a monthly basis.
• Benefits of Recurring Invoicing
• Steady Cash Flow

These factors ensure a steady cash flow each month to cover business expenses. Also, you can easily project your cash flow for the months ahead.

Quick Payment

Sending regular invoices motivates your clients to make regular payments. Since it is tied to a customer’s credit card, you are assured of prompt payment.

Save Valuable Time

Instead of wasting time chasing down customers for payment, this works automatically. Also it takes time to create invoices, let alone processing and tracking them. You could spend that time performing other important tasks.

Improves Customer Relations

You no longer have to engage in uncomfortable ‘where’s my check?’ conversations. Also, the customer perceives you as part of them and their budget.

Protect Your Company with Insurance

As a business owner, you are prone to risks the moment you start a business. A single lawsuit or unfortunate event can result in losing thousands of dollars or worse still shutting down your business. Insurance is non-negotiable. Some types of business insurance include:

Liability Insurance – This protects your business from claims of negligence that caused harm because of failure to perform or a mistake. Different industries have unique policies for this.

Property Insurance – Does your business own or lease its space? It doesn’t matter, you still need property insurance. It covers company equipment, inventory and furniture in case they are burnt in a fire, destroyed by a storm or stolen. Massive natural disasters like earthquakes are generally not covered.

Workman’s Compensation – As soon as you employ your first worker, this is a must-have. It covers disability, medical and death in case of injury or death of an employee while carrying out his duties.

Car Insurance – Your company vehicles must be comprehensively insured in case of an accident. You can never foresee what might happen. Car repairs cost a bomb and if there’s another car involved; the company will suffer damages for both.

Product Liability Insurance – Business owners that make their own products must acquire this insurance. No matter how safe you consider your products to be, one single product can cost your business lots of money in a lawsuit.

Get Better Pricing and Discounts from Your Vendors

Review your vendors once or twice a year. Ensure that your contract does not obligate you to renew automatically but allows you to decide. Get better pricing from your vendors by letting them know that you’re reviewing the contract and comparing their prices with their competitors. They don’t want to lose you as a customer. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll get better prices from them. Take your staff through negotiation training on how to obtain massive discounts from vendors. Recognize and incentivize team members who pull this off. This strategy will bring down your business expenses by as much as 10% and save you thousands of dollars.

Have Regular Finance Meetings

Schedule a weekly finance meeting with relevant team members. Checking in on the finances regularly is a good practice and helps you assess how you’re doing. It keeps you organized and up-to-date. It’s easy to get so busy with other tasks that the finances can get out of hand. If you don’t know what’s happening with the finances, things can go wrong quickly. By the time you realize it, there’s a lot of damage that can barely be undone. When you’re up to speed, you can sort any issues out quickly and get back on track. 

No business owner wants their company to end up in a financial bind. It’s not only detrimental to the company but to you as an individual as well. Financial problems in the business can also cause the same in your personal life. We hope that these six steps can help you maintain healthy business finances for ultimate growth and success.

We are delighted to be working with Equity Release Online (https://www.equityreleaseonline.co.uk/) helping them maximise their SEO rankings on Google.

We were approached by the firm after specialising in finance and mortgages (see our case study from Magnet Capital) and here are our main is gain increased visibility on Google for search terms such as equity release, lifetime mortgages and home reversions.

About the product

Equity release has become increasingly popular in the UK and you may have noticed more adverts on TV promoting it. It essentially allows people over 55 to release money from their home. If they have spent years paying their mortgage, they would have built up equity and now they can sell off this equity in exchange for one large cash sum. This can be very useful to pay for lifestyle costs, supplement a pension, home improvements or consolidate debts. Borrowers usually release around £65,000 to £80,000 and they can continue living in their home until they die or go until long term care, and then this is when the lender claims their equity in the home and ideally gains from an increased property value.

What work we are doing for them

Starting fresh with a brand new site, we really needed to bulk up the content and have since created a number of landing pages for the different types of equity release products (lifetime, drawdown only, home reversion) and also a number of very specific guides to tick off a lot of key terms and things that people might be searching for on Google. Ideally, to create a lot of relevance and authority around the brand Equity Release Online. Content titles include:

• How many equity release mortgages per year
• Average loan size
• What is the industry worth
• Is it safe?
• What are the alternatives?

Links, links and more links

Getting links pointing back to the site is essential to build up authority and trust. We have placed a number of links on news sites, to create relevance, and also sites that discuss mortgages, property, finance and business – to show a nice mix and range. We have to be careful in terms of what text we use to link because Equity Release Online is an exact brand match and linking the word equity release too many times could be overkill, so we have incorporated other terms such as click here and read more.

Whilst it is very early days, we are very excited to show some real progress for ERO and expect to see some strong results in 3 to 6 months!