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If anybody knows the importance of people to a business, it has to be Norfolk Chambers Member Katrina Massingham.

Katrina is the  owner of Technique Recruitment Solutions,  a niche recruitment agency specialising in the engineering, manufacturing, packaging, oil and gas, and pharmaceutical sectors.

As a recruiter she sees the complete picture, because her business has two vital sets of customers. She has to find the right people for employers looking for staff; and she has to find the right jobs for people who are looking for work.

It’s a tall order and it’s helped Katrina frame her views on some important issues.

Recruitment is a legendarily competitive market sector. ‘It’s a little publicised fact that there are almost 30,000 recruitment agencies in the UK and growing every year’ says Katrina, who readily acknowledges, in those circumstances, that every recruitment business has to ‘up their game’.

‘Without doubt’ she says,’for our business, and most other businesses, this year the key challenge is two-fold: boost retention of staff and recruit for talent’.

That’s where investment becomes important. Yes, there is financial investment in hiring new, and retaining and motivating existing, staff but there’s more to it than that.  In Katrina’s view it means internal promotions and further training.  It also means introducing bespoke employee benefits such as flexible hours, innovative holiday entitlements and childcare; all things that put the smaller independent business on a par with larger organisations.

These, often intangible investments are what brings out the best in people. When they feel valued, supported and engaged they deliver commitment. And it’s a high  level of commitment that creates the essential point of difference, which in Katrina’s world of recruitment, is outstanding customer service.

‘Small independents have the advantage of being closer to their customers enabling them to meet their needs more accurately and to offer a more individualised and bespoke service’ is what Katrina says.  Creating the atmosphere in which those levels of service can be attained only happens when the team has been invested in; when the people feel like they matter.

A financial investment will, wisely made, bring a return. So too will an investment of trust, motivation and the promise of career development and a future. It brings a return of loyalty, purposefulness and focus.

‘So yes’, says Katrina, ‘we are in challenging times but it’s all about focussing on any opportunities that the changes in the recruitment landscape brings. Technology develops constantly, there will certainly be changes coming out of Brexit. It’s about analysing and maximising on those opportunities’ and using a recruitment agency can greatly enhance finding the right people, at the right time, particularly during a process of change.

The same values apply to all of the businesses in the sectors in which Katrina’s team operates. We all, now more than ever, have to be positive, see the opportunities and grasp them. That can’t be achieved by any business unless you’ve recruited and retained the right team. You won’t do that unless you’ve invested in them. And perhaps the biggest investment, giving the biggest return, is not the financial one.

It’s all those other things that let them know, that you know, they matter. As people.

Running any business is tough, running a small one, in a competitive market, is really tough. To succeed you need to be in the right place – physically and mentally.  Norfolk Chambers member Mark Flowers knows all about that because he runs a small business, in a competitive market – and it’s all about physical and mental health. Motiv8 Exercise and Fitness Ltd is family run and that, Mark says, has real positives. ‘It makes us stand out from the big gym chains, and it means that we know all our members and their goals’.  Mark sees his company’s role as helping people on their fitness journey, and believes firm-ly that the extra level of attention they deliver, as a small business, makes Motiv8 a better bet than some of his bigger competitors. Mark is very clear about his mission. It’s ‘to educate about the importance of health, fitness and nutrition’ is how he sees it. He especially wants to highlight the importance of mental health.  ‘I believe we offer something completely different, we are more functional fitness based’ he says. But he’s more than aware of the challenges.  He freely admits that  ‘Living in a small town with lots of other gyms in the area was never going to be easy’. Which is why he can identify with the stresses and strains faced by the owners of other small to medium size businesses. ‘It’s demanding’ he says. ‘You work long hours and, no matter how positive you are, you worry’. Stressing about finances, sorting out taxation issues, keeping all the admin up to date – they all take their toll on a business owner’s well being. ‘Exercising doesn’t only leave you with a healthy body, but also a healthy mind. Exercising has a positive impact on depression, anxiety, stress and more.  In today’s commercial environment good physical and mental health are essentials.  “I see it like this’, says Mark, ‘you, as a person, have to be like your business. Fit for pur-pose. We believe with motivation and education we can help people get fit and run their businesses with real purpose”. This article was recently featured in the Lynn News as our Chambers Column. Tell us more about your plans and what’s on your mind.  e mail [email protected]

There’s no doubt that the  current political climate is affecting business confidence. It’s also a certainty that whenever such nervousness sets in the first budget to be cut is advertising and marketing. That’s a worry for even the big agencies, so how does a small one survive, let alone succeed? Meet Norfolk Chambers members Greenwood&Bell.  They call themselves a Micro-Agency. They are convinced that ‘an old fashioned ad agency in a large office with a large staff’ is not the only way to create successful marketing.  ‘We want to show that only two people, using all the advantages of modern tech, can do pretty well everything that a big agency does’. And do it all, as Mark Greenwood says, ‘from a converted barn in rural Norfolk’. The strength of Greenwood&Bell is that even though they are just two people competing with the ‘big boys’ – they have a five point plan as the cornerstone of a strategy. Their thinking is rooted in five pieces of advice they’ve received over five years of trading. ‘These are thoughts that remain constant’, says Mark Greenwood. ‘They have proved valuable to us. Here they are -‘

1. Think different. When you start, be clear about what makes your business different.
2. Stay flexible. Be prepared to flex your business plan, product and promotion to suit the reality of your market…….
3. ……But stay true to your principles. Stick to your core principles, they’re why your customers will keep coming back.
4. Keep moving. As your business develops, it won’t always be breaking new ground. So make things happen – invent an event, sponsor a charity, launch an initiative.
5. Keep the faith. If, like me, you sometimes doubt what you’re doing, remember to trust yourself, trust your skill, trust your sheer bloody-mindedness to make your business a success.

There is ample evidence of their sticking to their strategy. ‘Right now we are  upgrading our own marketing programme, including a new Greenwood&Bell website, up soon’, says Mark. ‘We’re also developing our own innovative design product. It has just come through the research stage with better than expected response from the target audience’.

So, against their five point checklist they’re ticking all the boxes. Different, as a micro agency, they are flexible in evolving their marketing plan in a shifting climate. Their principles of creating innovative marketing ideas are unshakeable. They are certainly always moving – they are about to introduce new product. As to keeping the faith, they’re here to prove that their tenacity has brought them success. As a micro agency, in times the are challenging for their more sizeable competitors.

Mark encapsulates the company’s positivity when he says, ‘The challenge is not to complain about the cards we are dealt, but how to best play our hand’.

Everything they believe in, and practice, the hand they are playing, is of course applicable to any business, in any sector. Which means that Greenwood&Bell really are a micro agency  – with macro ideas.

We’d love to hear your views on the issues facing business today. If you want your thoughts expressed in this news column let us know. email [email protected] This article can also be found on page 4, in Wednesday 4 September, 2019 EDP The Business section.

2020 will be Captain Fawcett Ltd’s 10th anniversary. ‘Moving from the kitchen table to international markets has been an extraordinary journey’ says founder Richie Finney.

Based on the Hardwick Narrows in King’s Lynn, and a West Norfolk Chambers member,  Captain Fawcett is both a supplier and manufacturer of simply ‘First Class Gentlemen’s Grooming Requisites’. As the Captain’s alter ego, Richie admits that he didn’t initially set out to found a leading men’s grooming brand when he started making his own moustache wax on the kitchen stove at his home in Terrington St Clement.

Once the ball was rolling though the business model developed organically. It was, says Richie, ‘about balancing risk, opportunity and collaboration while staying absolutely true to the integrity of the brand’s figurehead, Captain Fawcett himself’. He adds that the Captain has always been grateful for the support of both the DIT and Chambers of Commerce.

 A couple of years ago things began to plateau. Being in the middle ground position the company was unable to take advantage of the discounts that come with purchasing larger quantities. So other measures were necessary to increase sales and profitability. 

The Captain is a talented strategist. Measures were taken.

‘The first action was to find distribution partners who were willing to get behind the brand and support its growth with the existing pricing; secondly Captain Fawcett began to enable more cost-effective purchasing and the locking in of reliable suppliers, a process which is ongoing’.

 The Captain has outstanding powers of delegation and his next step was to send Richie on a journey to some 19 countries seeking new distributors and strengthening relationships with Captain Fawcett’s valued customer base. These travels were in part supported by assistance received from the Department of International Trade in a bid to further the growth of export markets. 

 Investment secured in 2018 has enabled the development of 24 new products being launch in 2019 and 2020.

A sound strategy and a firm commitment have resulted in Captain Fawcett being on gentleman’s lips worldwide. Hundreds of loyal customers, barbers and retailers  – including Harvey Nichols and Selfridges – tag him in their social media posts each and every week.

 Captain. We salute you.

We’d love to hear your views on the issues facing business today. If you want your thoughts expressed in this news column let us know. email [email protected] This article can also be found in Friday’s 27 September, 2019 Lynn News.

It’s not a familiar predicament. Most businesses are fighting competitors for a bigger share of the market. But what do you do when the market is so tough that the  com-petitors have disappeared? In 1933 there were 33 light aircraft manufacturers in the UK. One factory alone employed 3000 staff. Today, The Light Aircraft Company Limited is  the last company standing. Norfolk Chambers Member Paul Hendry-Smith sees the glass as definitely more than half full though. Yes, he admits that there are some pressures on the market, but what he sees for his business, The Light Aircraft Company Ltd, is huge potential. So why has this market proved so difficult? For a start, the demands made by current regulations, let alone future changes from, among others, the Civil Aviation Authority, have been too much for some companies to bear from an administration standpoint, and an excessive cost burden for others. Paul says that The Light Aircraft Company Ltd are addressing the demands ‘with a lot of hard work, innovation in design, changes of airframes for better handling, nurturing staff which at the end of the day are the life blood of the company, and producing a quality product which is recognised throughout the UK, Europe and in many other parts of the world’. And if that’s not enough they’ve expanded with two new designs. Looked at objectively the idea of a market so ferocious it’s removed the competition is downright alarming. But, in the global picture, aviation is developing and survival and success will come for those who see the challenges as opportunities. So, with the dramatic changes afoot in the EU and UK regarding aviation, what are the challenges facing The Light aircraft Company Ltd? ‘We have 2 new designs that we have to upgrade, we need to ensure our raw material and assembly costs under control through careful purchasing and man management. We make every effort and even pay a premium for UK produced raw materials.  We must protect our manufacturing industries come what may. The key for us now and in the future is twofold, to get more of our aircraft out into the flight training school arena, because people buy aircraft that they train in; and we need to find the right dealers for our aircraft in other countries. That’s the biggest challenge. When we are looking for the right people and companies to partner with we need to get along with them well, they need to have the passion for aviation, they need to “get” what our aircraft are about, they have to understand their market in their country.  The list is endless and the nights sleepless at times’ says Paul.  Identifying the objectives is essential. It’s about focus. And with this level of focus, yes, you can make your business fly in a market where even the competitors have flown! We’d love to hear your views on the issues facing business today. If you want your thoughts expressed in this news column let us know. email [email protected] This article can also be found in Wednesday’s 2 October, 2019 EDP News.