We are delighted to announce that at the Spirit of Enterprise Awards 2013 we won the ‘Great Business to Business Service Award”
Now in its sixth year the prestigious awards ceremony which took place on 15th March 2013 at The Zest Rooms, Potters Leisure Resort is an evening of high-profile celebration of all that’s outstanding in business and enterprise in the Borough of Great Yarmouth. The awards focus on and recognise the achievements through innovation, entrepreneurial thinking and sheer determination of businesses of all sizes and from every sector.
Commenting on the award, Matt Buck, Head of Customer Experience at OneStream said “We are delighted to have won the Great Business to Business Customer Service Award at Friday night’s Spirit of Enterprise Awards judged by Bateman Groundworks. The awards evening was fantastic – really well organized by enterprise GY with a great venue, excellent food, great entertainment and good networking opportunities too!
“As I have previously said awards are so much more than a decoration for the company mantle-piece! Winning this award is independent approval for the hard work of our business and it’s people; it serves as a marker of what we expect of our organisation, and what others can expect of us; it has further boosted the spirit of the team at OneStream and crucially it will spur us to build on our hard work and achieve more.
“The quality of the judging businesses and fellow finalists across all of the award entries was impressive. For me, the Awards evening really drove home how Great Yarmouth has a great deal to offer and be proud of.”
Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) in Norwich hosted a fun-packed annual charity quiz night last Thursday (14th March) at the De Vere Dunston Hall Hotel, raising £1,897 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
40 teams from local businesses including Heinz, Lovewell Blake LLP and Anglian Farmers came along for the evening of friendly rivalry which was organised by Pure – one of the leading recruitment consultancy businesses in the East of England. It was the ‘Amnesiacs’ from Norfolk Community Health and Care that claimed the quiz crown, with each lucky team member winning a bottle of champagne. A raffle also proved popular with superb prizes including a round of golf for four people at Dunston Hall Golf Club, champagne and £100 of Next vouchers.
Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure, said: “The evening’s success surpassed our expectations and I’d like to thank all of the businesses that contributed to the event. Our 10-year partnership with EACH is very important to us and we are proud to be supporting seriously ill children and their families in the communities where Pure is working.”
Gary Cook, Norfolk Fundraiser for EACH, added: “On behalf of everyone at the charity, I’d like to thank the quiz teams and Pure for raising funds to provide care and support to local life-threatened children and their families. Fundraising like this enables us to deliver a range of services including short-break care, specialist therapies, end of life care and bereavement support.”
The quiz brings the total that Pure has now raised for EACH in the last decade to more than £49,000. Also, in January staff from the company’s Norwich office volunteered at the Quidenham hospice.
To find out more about Pure’s fundraising activity, contact Anna Hill, Marketing Manager on: 01223 209888 or [email protected].
Bigfork and By Design have created a new website for Norwich based printing services company, Saxon Digital Services. Saxon work with many great brands such as The National Trust, Joules, Harper Collins and the Natural History Museum. They needed a new website that promoted their expertise more effectively through better images, new copy, case studies and worthy testimonials. The new website is modern and professional, so take a look here www.saxondigitalservices.co.uk
If you need to improve your website then please contact Bigfork
Business telecoms specialist Comms Supply has formed a strategic alliance with Woodbridge based IT support company, React Computer Partnership. Working together, the two companies will be providing businesses across Norfolk and the East of England with a complete IT and connectivity solution.
React CP was founded in January 1997 by Richard Pledger and his brothers Alan and Francis. The company has established a great reputation for providing business customers across the East of England with a single contact point for all their IT needs: from hardware to software installation to comprehensive support.
Comms Supply was founded by experienced business telecoms specialist Karl Alderton in January 2012. The company provides a wide range of business telecoms services: from comprehensive phone, mobile and broadband packages to simple line rental; with an aim of delivering innovative and flexible communications solutions that really help businesses to thrive.
Richard Pledger explains the thinking behind the new alliance. “When we are recommending IT solutions for our customers it makes perfect sense for us to be able to supply broadband or any other type of connectivity, such as fibre connections, that they may require. In the past we have used large, well-known suppliers but they can provide a very one-dimensional service. Broadband isn’t always the right fit and our business is all about creating bespoke solutions for our customers; we needed a partner who works in the same way. We often recommend that customers have two broadband connections at one site so that they are protected should problems occur. Comms Supply can provide us with these options.”
“It was a mutual interest in football that first got me talking to Karl at a networking event, but once we’d finished chatting about sport we moved on to IT and telecoms,” Richard continues. “It became clear very quickly that Karl and his team share the same ethos as we do and there is a natural synergy between our two businesses. Delivering exceptional service to our customers is our priority and if we don’t feel we can do a job properly we won’t take it on; Karl shares this view. Comms Supply can provide connectivity through a range of channels and they are committed to continuous development of their product range. This clearly adds value to us and our clients.”
“We are extremely excited by this new alliance as we’ve found a third party supplier that meets our high standards,” adds Richard. “I’m happy to say that the service we’ve had from Karl and his team has been excellent”
“Forging this alliance with React CP is a great way to mark the first anniversary of Comms Supply,” says Karl Alderton. “We’ve expanded into larger premises in Norfolk but are committed to growth in Suffolk and across the East. Suffolk is an extremely exciting market place for us. There is a varied business landscape with some innovative start up businesses working alongside established, high-profile organisations.”
“Like React CP, we will only recommend products that are right for the customer and we never attempt to oversell or tie people into longer than necessary contracts. We know from experience that this openness and transparency is what fosters customer loyalty. Our priority is building long-lasting relationships with clients and partners so that we can create a sustainable, reputable business,” concludes Karl.
To find out more about the range of IT services that React CP can provide visit www.reactcp.co.uk, telephone 01394 387 337 or email [email protected].
Vicki Mitman and Ed Savory of Leathes Prior’s Franchising team provide their thoughts on franchising your business
When you think “franchise” you probably think of a fast food restaurant like McDonalds or a coffee shop like Costa. There is in fact a huge variety of businesses which have successfully franchised which together contribute a staggering £13.4 billion to the UK economy (source: Natwest bfa Franchise Survey 2012).
These businesses range from having franchisees running high street outlets in the fast food, retail, fashion and beauty sectors, to office-based, “man-and-van” and part-time or home-based franchises. The range of sectors in which franchises operate is vast including healthcare, retail, domestic and commercial cleaning, educational & sports coaching, theatrical performance & arts, fashion & beauty, computer services, signage, business cost reduction, accountancy and bookkeeping, automobile services, lawn care, landscaping and gardening, home improvement, exercise & weight loss, estate & letting agency, pet care and pest prevention.
The type of business you own may have already been franchised but you should not be put off by that as it may be the ideal way for you to expand. If you own a business, there is a good chance that it could be franchised.
But the question is whether you should franchise. In order to successfully franchise your business you should ask yourself the following questions:
1. Is your business financially viable and would it still be viable for your franchisees if they had additional costs of 5-15% (which would typically be payable by the franchisees to you, as the franchisor)?
2. Is there long-term demand for your products and/or services as most franchises are granted for at least a 5 year term?
3. Are your business processes easily replicable? To ensure that all franchisees operate in exactly the same way, your systems and processes need to be easily communicated and repeated by your franchisees.
4. Can you easily train a person who is unfamiliar with the industry or concept to run the business?
If the answer to each of these is “yes” then you are on the right track. The first step may be to review your business in order to prepare it to franchise. From there you will need to create a franchise business model which is clearly defined in a manual (a “How To Guide”) and put in place an effective legal structure through which to operate it. Of course, not all businesses are suited to franchising and there are a range of expansion options which will be available to your business including organic growth, acquisition, agency and/or distribution.
Our team has extensive experience in advising businesses on expansion through franchising and other means. If you would like to discuss the potential expansion of your business with a member of our Franchising team, please call us on 01603 610911 and we will be happy to help.
Leathes Prior’s Franchising team provides a full range of services to franchisors both nationally and internationally across a broad range of business sectors, from brand protection to drafting franchise agreements, together with advice on property, employment, data protection, commercial arrangements, corporate matters, international expansion and dispute resolution. The firm is an Affiliate member of the British Franchise Association.
The Business Shaper Group have announced the appointment of Victoria Myhill as Group Sales and Marketing Director to support the our growing team of consultants and the national rollout of the franchise network.
Since the launch of the Business Shaper Group in 2011, the company has seen turnover double year on year and service offerings increase, with the introduction of a further 6 consultants to the group. Victoria will become an important member of the management team having previously worked as an International Account Director for IT publishing company, VNU Business Publications. Her experience of working with international brands such as Dell and Hewlett Packard will be invaluable to the Business Shaper Group as they go through 2013 and beyond.
Reporting to Chief Executive Gary Douglas-Beet, Victoria assumes overall responsibility for the Business Shaper Group’s national rollout programme and the development of the Groups brands locally. Her immediate focus will be on developing and enhancing the presence of the Business Shaper Groups existing brands Business Shaper, HR Shaper, Marketing Shaper, Design Shaper and PR Shaper.
Victoria joins the Business Shaper Group on 18 March after spending the last few years bring up her young family. “I’m really excited to be joining Business Shaper Group at such a pivotal time for the company and the broader development of the national franchise network. With such a strong portfolio of key local businesses they have helped, the Business Shaper Group is in a unique position to develop an even stronger business proposition for SME owners” said Victoria. “I am confident that my broad experience in the corporate world will bring real value to a company that is already driving innovation in the consultancy world. I look forward to being part of the future success of the Business Shaper Group’s team”
Think Mobile Media is delighted to be working with Break and the GoGoGorillas project coming to Norwich Summer 2013.
We will be providing the trail app, custom QR codes (which will be visible on all the sculpture bases), and their mobile optimised website. Watch out for the app launch and NFC ‘tap’ technology too!
Come and see us at 2013 Opportunities and win a free QR Code.
To celebrate we are offering all Chamber Members the chance to win a free QR code Simply Scan the QR Code for details.Come and see us at Opportunites 2013
Our Matt has been listed in Building Design Magazine’s ‘Top Ten Architects to Follow on Twitter’. The ‘BD Twitter 100’ uses an automated ranking device called Peer-Index to list architectural Twitter users according to their connectedness and level of activity, but the ‘Top Ten’ also includes a hefty slice of subjectivity from the magazine’s editorial staff.
‘Twitter has opened up the possibilities for architects to share knowledge and opinions, open up independent discourse on architecture, and expand their influence and visibility, and over the last two years large numbers of architects have really embraced it’, explains BD’s Anna Winston. ‘For our top 10 we chose the architects we thought were a good combination of entertaining, influential, responsive, engaging and knowledgeable.’
Matt Tweets mostly as @ruralise, in connection with his website www.ruralise.co.uk
We recently entered the Aviva Broker Community Fund to win financial support for one of the regions leading charities, the East Anglian Air Ambulance. After many hours of filming and production, we were able to enter a short video detailing the service the charity provides to our community and how they would spend further funding.
The good news is that nearly 200 brokers entered the competition and we are one of the few that have made it into the finale.
Thrill-seekers will once again have the opportunity to scale new heights for charity as East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) offers fundraisers a rare opportunity to abseil down one of Norwich’s tallest buildings.
EACH has launched a charity abseil event which will see participants descend 150ft down the Norfolk Tower. It’s one of the city’s tallest buildings offering participants breath-taking views across the whole of Norwich.
The abseil is very kindly supported by MAHB landlords of the Norfolk Tower, who have again offered EACH the use of the building free of charge.
The event, once again being managed by the Norfolk Army Cadet Force, will take place at The Norfolk Tower, Surrey Street, Norwich on Sunday April 14 between 10am and 4pm. It costs £25 to register and participants are asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship. Only 60 places are available and are expected to be taken quickly so wewould urge anyone interested intaking partto sign up as soon as possible.
Entrepreneurs in the county are now able to realise their business dream, thanks to ‘Enterprise Norfolk’, an exciting new support project for business start-ups. The programmeoffers practical help and support to anyone wanting to start new businesses in the county.
Enterprise Norfolk is led by Norfolk County Council with an investment of £400K over 2 years, working with Norfolk’s district, borough and city council partners. The aim is to help local residents realise their business potential and to create 150 new sustainable businesses in each year.
Local councils will be delivering services to residents in their areas. Service and activities available will include: – enterprise awareness events, one-to-one support sessions, enterprise workshops and business surgeries and clubs.
Delivered at a local level, Enterprise Norfolk allows greater coverage and access to individuals living in rural areas. The money will address the ‘full enterprise journey’, with support for existing businesses in the county and well as new ones.
Liz Young from Dereham has previously been supported by Norfolk County Council when she was trying to start up her two businesses Sparrow’s Rest and Steaming ahead which are a respite care business and an ironing company respectively. She said: “Getting business advice and help from the county council was invaluable at the time when I was considering what to do and how I could turn my ideas into reality. It gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to start out on my own and I haven’t looked back.
“The Enterprise Norfolk scheme is a fantastic idea and I would urge anyone who’s thinking about starting up a business to get in touch with the County Council as it certainly worked for me.”