Not only can SME’s not get bank funding, they are too afraid to ask!

Well – it’s not a good situation is it. SME’s who need funding cannot get it – that’s of course unless they actually don;t need it – ie they are a 100% safe bet. Or unless they are prepared to put their house and everything else they own on the line – for what might be only a 5 or 10k loan.
That is the reality of the current economy.
And that’s bad enough.

But actually – what is worse is that they are even afraid to ask. They are scared that if they flag a potential change in their financial situation then they will be putting at risk the arrangements / loans / overdrafts, that they already have.

From personal experience with the Co-op bank – who we had been with for several years – I think they are right to be worried. In our case we had a 10k overdraft arrangement. We have always had this since we opened the business many years ago. I don’t think we had ever used it. Then came 2009 and we needed to. And what did the lovely Co-op bank do? They wrote to us and said

“Ah, we can see you have finally had to use this overdraft that you have paid us £150 a year for and never previously used. Therefore, we are withdrawing it £500 a month until it is cleared”

Well – actually they said

“We are pleased to renew your overdraft agreement at £10,000 at a reducing rate of £500 per month beginning October” or something similar – but it amounts to the same thing…….

We NEEDED it – so they took it away.

Thanks Co-op. I will remember to never use you in the future for any of my businesses.

Meanwhile – thank God for my new bank manager at the NatWest – Gemma Kirby.

So – you are right to be worried SME’s. I hadn’t even flagged that we had cashflow issues – but obviously using the overdraft I had paid for, for years – was the only flag the Co-Op needed.

Read more from the Telegraph here http://tgr.ph/n0KFu2

Linked In – critical mass achieved

Question of the day…. Are you on LinkedIN?

Statistically you are way more likely to respond positively to that than you would have been 12 months ago. LinkedIn has seen growth of 65 % increasing from 48 million members to 79 million in the year to March 2011 (now at over 100 million). In roughly the same period LinkedIn staff numbers went from 500 to 1000.

Over half of the members are outside of the US – proving the network is truly global

Not bad considering the network started in early 2003 – but the signs were always there from the start with 4500 members joining in the first month. I can only hope my women in business group has a fraction of that membership this month – our first month (check out GMCWomen under Groups in LinkedIN and @GMCWomen on Twitter)

Nice touch from the boss too when they reached their 100 million member marker. I (and quite a few others) got an email from Reid Hoffman – founder of LinkedIN – thanking me for being one of the first several thousand members back in 2003.

So – how can you use LinkedIn to best effect?

Well – it is an amazing tool, that can be used for research, for launching new products, for great CRM, for meeting other like minded people. But – it is only as good as the effort you put into it and the size and quality of your network.

Now there are some LinkedIn trainers and “experts” out there who will tell you to only link with people you know.

Well – that’s a bit like going to a network meeting and only speaking to people that you already know. If someone wants to link with you – start a conversation with them and yes – accept them in your network – why wouldn’t you??? You obviously should not recommend people you do not know – but what is the problem with having them in your network? You never know who they know and who they can put you in touch with.

Also – you MUST have a photo on your profile. Using the example of the networking meeting again (because that IS what LinkedIn is – an online place to network) – you would not go to a network meeting with a bag on your head would you?

We are entering a new era – where social media and the voice of the people has a much bigger effect than it ever has. You want people to be talking about you and in a positive way – and you want to maximise the referrals and recommendations you get.

So, make sure your profile reflects this. Tell people what you do – and think about how you use your profile info. Instead of saying you are a Director of a printing firm for example – say – you specialise in helping people brand and market their business effectively in printed media, or you help your clients make a “wow” impression with their business cards when meeting new contacts.

This makes you more interesting straight away and starts to differentiate you from your competition.

Have you got clients who love you? Then make sure they have all given you testimonials – if someone checks out your profile and it has 20 testimonials on it – all from real people (because you can’t give an anonymous testimonial on LinkedIN) – and your competitor doesn’t have a single testimonial – or doesn’t even have a profile – which company is most likely to receive the enquiry.

Need a list of all the purchasing managers in the North West – you can do that through LinkedIn.
Need to hire someone with very niche skills – you can get a list of those from LinkedIN.

There are so many ways to use the system – but it starts with opening your mind, understanding that LinkedIN has reached critical mass and is now seen as an essential business tool – and like the Lottery – you have to be in it to win it.

If you need any help with your LinkedIN profile, how to use it to build your personal network, generate new business or do research – contact carole@beresources.co.uk – we can put you in touch with a colleague who generates ½ million quid a year through LinkedIN.

How do we boost the economy and create new jobs TODAY?

As I said back in May, when I put my suggestion to Vince Cable at the Greater Manchester Chamber Annual Dinner – instead of offering an NI holiday to start up businesses who employ staff (how many start up businesses do YOU know about who start up and immediately employ 4 or 5 people?? That’s right – NONE – we are NOT in the dotcom boom for goodness sake) ..why not give the NI holiday to established small businesses? An established small business has the infrastructure to grow, it has been waiting for the economy to pick up a little and given the extra incentive (and therefore short term risk removal) of the NI holiday many more small businesses would be encouraged to employ, and fill the gaps left by the sweeping cuts in the public sector.

Well – perhaps not. Yes – if you want small business to create more jobs giving the NI incentives to start ups is NOT the way to go. Small established businesses ARE the ones who are more likely to create the jobs.

But will they employ all the overflow from the public sector? Will they heck. I have a family member and several good friends who work for the public sector and most of the people they work with would not last 2 seconds in the private sector. How many people who run a private business have time off sick??? I think I have had 4 days in 11 years and 2 of those were for a serious injury. How many staff in small businesses have lots of time off sick? Very few – and probably largely because a) they don’t get paid for it b) they are working in a culture where it is not acceptable and c) they don’t get paid for it. Yes – I know I said that one already.

Meanwhile the CIPD shows that sickness in the public sector is up to 55% higher than in the private sector. However, if their statement that ” The best cure for absence, they say, is someone being afraid of losing their job and turning up to work regardless of whether they are ill.” is correct, the current climate of public sector job losses might instigate an increase of people going to work this year.

In any case – its not just the poor attendance record of many in the public sector that puts off employers. And let me just say at this point I am not referring to ALL public sector workers – I do know that there are many very dedicated professional people in public sector life, but the figures are facts and speak for themselves.

The other reason that many of these redundant workers will struggle to find jobs in the private sector is the mindset and culture is completely different. In private sector each customer is very important, each order vital, each prospective new client needs to be treated well and each existing / repeat customer made to feel important. Is that your experience of dealing with public sector employees? If you ring your local council to make a complaint about the bins or the parking for example – do you feel like they are genuinely glad you rang and can’t wait to get off the phone so they can go solve your problem for you?

If you do – please tell me where you live cos I want to live there. My experience of dealing with council employees is a) no-one ever answers the phone until maybe the 40th ring b) when they do answer it feels like they have just uttered a long sigh as you are yet another interruption to their busy day c) there is nothing they can do about your issue – cos that’s just the way things are done around here.

With that as their experience of how you do things, plus the inevitable red tape and paper pushing – and tick boxing that goes on, some public sector employees are perhaps not best placed to understand the speed, agility and decision making needed in a small business. My family member worked for me for a short while some years ago and he found it eye opening and enlightening and believes it made him a much better employee when he returned to working for the public sector.

But the point is – even where there are individuals who have the right attitude and skills to work effectively in a small business – the perception is that they will not be suitable. They may be seen as more suitable to a large corporate where job roles might be more defined – but not a small business where a more flexible, accountable and problem solving approach is essential. And perception is everything!

So – I applaud the CIM’s statement this week – it is exactly what I said 8 months ago and if enough other business leaders and business organisations say the same thing – maybe George Osborne and Vince Cable will do something about it. But whether it will provide the jobs for ex public sector workers…..well that’s another question.

Lord Davies’ boardroom gender targets ignored by most UK firms

All but a handful of the UK’s biggest companies missed last week’s deadline to set out their plans to put more women on their boards. Only eight companies in the FTSE 100 have announced how they aim to meet the target of 25% women directors set down by the government.

Proportion of women on boards is only 14.3 per cent of total directors
FTSE 100 firms have been slow to announce their targets to boost the number of female directors they employ, despite Lord Davies’ six-month deadline, which expired this week.

Two different sets of research suggest that fewer than 20 firms set and announced gender targets for their boards before the September deadline.

In his report, Women on Boards, published on 24 February, Davies recommended that FTSE 100 companies should set their own targets for boosting the number of female board directors. He also set a deadline for the firms to publish their goals within the next six months and that time limit would officially end on 24 August or ‘by September’.

Davies recommended that FTSE 100 firms should set a minimum goal of 25 per cent female board members by 2015. In addition he called for FTSE 350 employers to set out percentage goals for female directors.

Research from law firm Pinsent Masons suggested that only eight FTSE 100 firms have set out their women-on-boards targets. They were Centrica, Marks & Spencer, Land Securities, HSBC (25 per cent), Anglo American (30 per cent), GlaxoSmithKline, National Grid and Vodafone.

However, initial research from Ruth Sealy, a senior research fellow at the Cranfield School of Management and a member of Davies’ panel, gave a higher figure of at least 15 firms announcing targets. Her final total will be published in October.

Pinsent Masons’ report did highlight other companies, such as BAE Systems, Morrison Supermarkets, Aviva and RBS, which had used their annual reports or other documents to highlight their plans to increase female board member numbers, but which had stopped short of announcing the boardroom goals Davies had requested.

RBS, for example, said: “We are currently looking for new directors and hope that we will be able to identify women of appropriate quality.”

Pinsent Masons also said that a further 32 companies had between 15 and 25 per cent women directors, which means that 46 of the FTSE 100 have already got to where Davies wanted them to be by the end of 2011.

However, the law firm’s report said: “A percentage measurement is not always a fair reflection of what is happening as it inevitably depends on the total number of board members.

“Burberry, for example, has the best ratio in the FTSE 100 with 42.9 per cent, achieved by having three women on a board of seven, while Prudential scores only 18.8 per cent with the same number of women on a board of 16.”

The number of women on boards has increased overall from 88 at the end of 2010 to 156 by August 2011, representing an increase from 12.5 per cent to 14.3 per cent of all FTSE 100 directors, the report said.

source www.peoplemanagement.co.uk and The Times.

Manchester is in The Top 3 for Business!

Something we who live and build businesses in Manchester know already is that Manchester is one of the top places in the UK to run a business.

There are a number of reasons for this – the fact you can get anywhere in the North West in under an hour from Manchester and you can get directly to all other major UK and European and most international business hubs helps. So does the good old Mancunian tough attitude. We will NOT be beaten and no-one is going to tell us how to operate in a recession. We are an eminently positive and optimistic lot!

It is nice to see, therefore, some factual back up for these strongly held beliefs!

Accountancy Group UHY Hacker Young has published research which shows Manchester is 3rd, in the top 50 Cities in terms of ability to create new businesses. The UK average in the year to Dec 31 2009 was 7 businesses per 10,000 people closed their doors. London lost 6 businesses per 10,000 people in 2009.

In Manchester it was just 1.5.

Only 2 Cities did better – Aberdeen and Oxford (not necessarily in that order!).

Whilst the recession was tough for everyone in Manchester (and everywhere!) – we can be a little proud of that figure.

Politicians – beware. Don’t think this means you can be complacent about Manchester now. Things are still tough – and you still need to do more to ensure the public sector cuts do not harm Manchester’s business community.

Cut waste – not jobs. And if you need any advice on that – I know plenty about the waste in Manchester City Council. Come speak to me about what you can cut without cutting services to the community.

Burka Ban in France – a Political Smokescreen ??

Burka Ban in France – a Political Smokescreen ??

There has been much media noise around the ban on the Niqab in France that came into play this week. There are very passionate arguments on both sides – at the bottom are a selection of comments taken from the BBC website – all of whom make good points.

Being married to a Frenchman I know a thing or two about France.

On the downside – their levels of bureaucracy and “jobs worthness” surpass any I have experienced in the world. Their superiority is also pretty annoying – but I guess the same could be said about us. They can speak English but they pretend they can’t.

On the plus side – they stand up for themselves. They strike if they don’t like things. They like being part of Europe but they put France first – there could be a lesson in that for us Brits. They make great wine! And they have a strong secular society that they fought for (including killing off their royal family!).

So whilst they are now banning the Niqab and Burqa – which are the ones that cover the face, they are not banning the Hijab – which covers the head but not the face, so lets be clear – they are not banning Islam – just what they see as extremism in any form. It should be remembered that they also already banned the wearing of large crosses or other overtly religious “in your face” stuff.

They are a secular society, people,
– they don’t like any overt shows of religion – from whatever quarters.

But there are 2 points to bear in mind here – firstly the cross wearers don’t make as much of a fuss – but it is just as fair or unfair to them (depending on your point of view).
Secondly – to my knowledge, the police DON’T actually arrest people who wear a visible cross.
My guess would be that they will pretty much ignore this latest addition to their job role also.

So – what’s it all about?

My opinion – and it is only my opinion – put together one VERY unpopular President with an issue that many people in France do feel strongly about – and perhaps 2 + 2 might make people forget what a low poularity poll rating Sarkozy has when they next have to vote?

Call me cynical….

In my opinion, the law appears to be against individual liberties. I am a Muslim but I don’t wear a head scarf as I think it’s not faithful to my principles. However, this ban will certainly stigmatise Islam. This practice concerns a small number of Muslim women in France and in that way it appears extreme and unfair, because these women will tend to be confined at home most of the time. The consequences will be socially disastrous. Through this law you can see that Islam in France is perceived as a threat to French values and society. Sabrina, Lille, France

As a Muslim living in Paris, I’m so glad that this new law is here, for there has been a growing problem for some time now in Paris, with the radicalisation of young Muslims. Some of the more extreme Muslims have begun to use dress as a symbol or statement against French society. I feel that the extreme example of the Muslim faith works against all that Muslims in France stand for. That is, that we can live in harmony side by side with other religions and faiths. Jean Paul Baptiste, Paris, France

At last a law that protects the dignity and the human rights of women. This is not a racist law, it is a brave and progressive law that aims to put an end to the scandalous persecution of women in the Muslim community. I am not Sarkozy’s biggest fan and I wish someone else was leading my country, but I support this law 100% as the plight of women having to wear this garment around the world really saddens me. Rachel Sword, Aix en Provence, France

I agree with this law. The women who walk around in public in the burqa, cause feelings of both fear, and pity. I have often heard that these women complain of being totally ignored by those around them – hardly surprising, really. Hiding your identity causes others to become wary and suspicious. Fiona Ricard, Gailhan, France

Despite being a human rights lawyer, I have mixed feelings about the law. Freedom of religion dictates that people should be able to manifest their faith how they wish, though it can be restricted by the state if there are strong reasons and it is proportionate. I think it should not be banned outright and that it is excessive, but it should perhaps be restricted in the case of employment or other areas of society. Whilst the state has to respect the diverse values of its population, immigrants also have to respect the values of the society they have chosen to live in – and France is a secular state. Andy, Strasbourg, France

Some good news on the Economy at last with inflation falling against the odds

Well, its about time isn’t it. Dear dear, not good news for the media and doom mongerers. Inflation has fallen – against all predicitons of it going up to 5% it actually fell to 4% in Feb.

Quite obviously nobody should be getting overly excited about this – it is still too high, but at least it does back up what the governor of the Bank of England has been saying for sometime now – that inflation will naturally fall after the effects of the VAT hike etc even themselves out – and that inflation will come down without the need for interest rate rises.

Thank goodness for someone with some fiscal sense – because if there is anyone out there who thinks the average householder has too much spare cash in their pockets at the moment and can afford for their mortage to start going up again – then think again.

Things are still tight – consumer confidence has not yet returned – though business confidence seems to be on the up. Lets see the average person happy to go out and spend again before we start putting pressure on their purses with a rate rise.

Long may they remain low.

Vince Cable is going to discuss me with George Osbourne – apparently!

Let me explain.

2 weeks ago I was interviewed (not just me) for a Radio 4 show which was aimed at asking the businesses of Greater Manchester what the government need to do to support business in the North West.

I raised a point about the new initiative on employer NI – which says that start up businesses who employ up to 10 staff can do so without any employers NI (up to a limit of 5k per employee) for a 12 month period.

My point was that the scheme was good in theory but not in practice as the reality is that the VAST amount of new start ups do NOT take on staff in their first 12 months in business.

Furthermore I added, the growth in jobs the government wishes to see can ONLY come from the private sector and only by bringing back the confidence of SME’s to hire again. Businesses like mine which got leaner during the recession but are now in a position to grow again are likely to grow at a higher rate if there was an incentive to do so, rather than the current disincentive of Employers NI – which is of NO benefit at all to business owners.

The point was lost on the interviewer who put my question to Vince on the Radio – as she changed the fundamental meaning of my question and so I had a second chance last night, to put the question to Vince again.

Last night was the highly successful annual dinner of Greater Manchester Chamber – which was made memorable by a number of things, including an appearance and set from John Bishop who had some of the audience rolling in the aisles (or was that the wine?), and a short speech by Vince Cable which actually wasn’t boring – always a bonus when listening to politicians. Though it was not as entertaining as last years speech by Lord Adonis – who should consider a career in stand up. No seriously – he was intentionally funny!

But back to Vince Cable.

Vince strikes me as a very genuine man – who actually listens to what is said and has some sound financial understanding of what is needed to stop the rot and grow the economy again.

He listened to my point – that the NI relief should be aimed at all SME’s not just start ups. He had the grace to admit the take up of the scheme had not been over whelming, – no surprise to those of us who actually run small businesses and remember the difficulties and risks faced in the early years of running your own business. And he made the point that perhaps the Chancellor might consider the cost to be too high to implement for all SME’s.

I would like both Vince and George Osbourne to recognize that by creating a job – the small business owner has immediately created a revenue flow of 35% of that persons salary straight into the revenues coffers – money that it would NOT have – had some brave small business person not decided to put their neck on the block and take the risk of employing someone.

Therefore – the incentive to hire can only increase the amount of new hires – which will increase the coffers of the revenue. After all 35% may be less than 49% (employee tax and NI + employer NI) but 49% of nothing is still nothing. Personally I think 35% of something is a better deal!

Better totake a long term view – which is – in Year 1 we (HMRC) will get 35% and then from year 2 onwards we get the additional 14%. Yes that’s right folks – for every person we business owners employ we have to pay 14% on top of their salary to the government – for what? Just for the privilege of employing them I guess! Lucky us!

The thing that pleased me the most was that Vince stated that the point I made was very valid and a good point, and that he would take it back and discuss it with the Chancellor. And I believe he will.

Whether anything will come of it we will have to wait and see – but at least there is one politician who is prepared to be honest – and to listen and more importantly to hear.

Thanks Vince – come again anytime!

Political Correctness Gone Mad…otherwise known as Health and Safety!

We are used to this aren’t we?

People in ivory towers with nothing better to do than make up stupid regulations which do nothing but make people’s lives more complicated than they need to be. It is a mad world where you have to regulate and legislate for things that should be common sense.

OK – I accept the point that not everyone has common sense these days – but that doesn’t mean we need regulations about the jingles on Ice Cream Vans, or bells on push bikes. Because when you do that – you then create little Hitlers. People who think it is their moral duty to implement the petty regulations and God HELP anyone who dares to step out of the boundaries. (If you know me well – you will know what I think about boundaries and other self limiting beliefs).

So – get to the point Carole, I hear you say.
OK I will.

Today – a close personal friend – who shall remain nameless in case the pc police at their workplace are reading this Blog – told me the following.

Yesterday they were walking down the corridor with an A4 sheet of paper with some organized dates of social events to put up in the kitchen so everyone would know when they were.
Seems like a good idea to you and I? Everyone goes in the kitchen at least once a day to make tea / coffee / lunch etc It would seem the perfect place to put up a small poster reminding them of stuff they may want to participate in.

Apparently not.

Well – not with cellotape anyway!

As this friend walked past the office managers room, out came the words “and where do you think you are going with that?”. “To the kitchen?” replied my friend. “not on my watch you’re not” – came the response (or words to a similar effect).

Apparently – now listen carefully all you business owners with kitchens cos this will apply to you – APPARENTLY CELLOTAPE IS UNHYGIENIC and therefore cannot be used in a kitchen.

So – my friend got a nice shiny, hygienic, metal stand (which obviously costs a lot less than a roll of cellotape) to put up their social agenda with.

Help me….please, someone help me……….

New Website to Tackle Business Regulation.

A new website to be introduced by the Government will give the people their opportunity to say which rules and regulations should be chucked out.

Politicians will have 3 months to justify the rule / law, or it will be removed.

David Cameron has pledged that the Coalition will be the first government in modern history to leave office with less regulation than it started with, he wants to “free businesses” to compete and create jobs and give people “greater freedom and personal responsibility”.

He said: “Of course we need proper standards, for example in areas like fire safety and food safety. So where regulation is well-designed and proportionate, it should stay.

“But it is hard to believe that we need government regulations on issues such as ice cream van musical jingles. That’s why I want us to be the first government in modern history to leave office having reduced the overall burden of regulation, rather than increasing it.”

The stock of more than 21,000 regulations will be published on the website in phases, with those affecting retailers the first to appear, followed by the hospitality and food and drink industry.

Well – I can’t wait till they get to those covering offices.

See my next blog for the reason why……