Administrator, Author at Small Business Insider

How to plan ahead for your equity crowdfunding campaign

Posted on October 16, 2019 Written by Administrator

Equity crowdfunding campaigns can bring great rewards to young and growth-stage businesses. Much needed funds, key allies in the form of new investors and a significant boost in brand recognition really help to propel a business forward.

However, to hit your fundraising target, you’ll need to do some serious planning. Campaigns can be a long slog and take several months to prepare all the materials you need, pass due diligence with the platform and court investors.

There will be many different deliverables at various stages so, as well as planning ahead, you’ll also need to think on your feet.

Having helped run campaigns for more than 60 companies on major equity crowdfunding platforms, I’ve created a roadmap which will help you to manage your time effectively and give yourself the best chance of success.

• Phase 1

Gain insight from existing investors

Before you start working on any materials, it’s worth speaking to any investors to get informal advice about your idea. Investors know what to look for in an investment opportunity, and their feedback will be indispensable when deciding how to go about writing your pitch materials in the weeks ahead.

Start with a concise ‘elevator pitch’ and know your key numbers and market stats off by heart.

Prepare pitch materials

You’re going to have to produce a bunch of different materials to support your pitch. At the very least, you’ll need:

A pitch page, with text and images
A marketing plan
A press release (and distribution list)
A financial forecast, business plan and one-page executive summary
A pitch video

It’s worth noting that scripting, shooting and editing a video can take a lot of time, particularly when you need to chase up partners, clients and investors to film testimonials. You’ll also need to be sure it all fits together and gets across the messages you need to in a compelling way, so make sure you allow enough time for this.

Finally, it helps to have one or two ‘fresh eyes’ in your campaign team – people who haven’t been involved in creating your pitch page or documents – who can provide feedback.

Prepare your evidence for pitch page for due diligence

Once you’ve prepared your pitch materials, the equity crowdfunding platform will want to check all the claims you’ve made in your pitch page and video. This means you’ll need to provide clear and substantial proof for every claim you make in these materials as and when the platform asks.

All this should be done during the writing stage of your pitch materials and, as due diligence always takes longer than expected, it helps to gather all your evidence as early as possible.

Whether including your sales to-date, the employment history of your team or the characteristics of your market, make sure you have the materials to prove it. To save time, have the platform check your script before you start filming, providing a citation to every claim you make in the video.

• Phase 2

Begin pre-marketing

Now you’ll be ready to publish a landing page on your own website announcing your crowdfunding campaign, with a sign-up form to receive more information when the campaign goes live. Let as many of your contacts as possible know that you’ll soon be crowdfunding and direct them to this page.

You’ll probably want to contact your customers, partners, friends, family and others in their network to inform them of the raise and encourage them to invest and share news of the campaign. It’s also worth posting shout-outs on social media.

Meanwhile, use LinkedIn and Angel Investment Network to engage investors who might be interested in your proposition, with a key aim to find a cornerstone investor.

Prepare a content plan for your campaign launch

While there’s a whole lot of content to write and admin to take care of during the pre-marketing stage, at least you have time on your side. Once your campaign is live, however, the pace picks up. As such, it’s best to prepare your platform updates, social media updates, and PR stories well in advance to ensure you’ve got plenty of content to share and drive traffic to your crowdfunding page.

• Phase 3

Launch in private mode

Private live mode is the time when your cornerstone investors make their investment, giving you a significant boost towards your fundraising target and instilling confidence in other investors to back you. Private mode is also the time where anyone who has pre-registered for early access to your campaign is able to invest before the general public. Make sure you email everyone, who’s signed-up, with the link to access your page privately!

Launch campaign and send out a press release

Now you’re ready to make your campaign live to the public and share it with the world. A great way to do so is by sending out a press release with a strong newsworthy angle to present to journalists (the fact that you’re crowdfunding isn’t newsworthy).

I’d recommend hiring a PR professional, ideally with crowdfunding experience, to help you with this aspect. While this isn’t a cheap option, it pays to have someone who knows what they’re doing, has press contacts, and knows how to get great media placements.

In the meantime, make sure you’re answering all investor questions and posting regular updates.

• Phase 4

Hold an investor event

Anticipate a lull in weeks 2-3 of your live campaign once the initial buzz of your campaign subsides. Fortunately, there are a few ways to bring back momentum. To open yourself up further to investors, organise a webinar to give them a presentation first-hand, and allow them to ask you anything.

You might choose to hold an in-person investor event, but this brings extra expense, planning and logistics. Wherever you hold it will also make it inaccessible for investors that aren’t based nearby. So, holding a webinar event can be just as effective, but at a fraction of the required resources and cost.

Make sure you tell as many potential investors as possible and give them at least a week’s warning. You can do so via investor updates on your crowdfunding page, social media posts and an Eventbrite page. Also make sure your instructions on how to access the webinar are very clear for the less tech-savvy investors.

Send a second press release

Around the time you host your webinar, send out another press release. This must be fresh and not a rejig of your first one, as it won’t get past keen-eyed journalists. So, whether it’s a news-based piece written in third-person or an advice-based piece written in first-person, make sure it would be of interest to the readers of any publications you pitch to.

Launch your final push

As your campaign draws to a close, you have a final opportunity to direct as many potential investors to your page as possible and really emphasise a sense of urgency. Use all your available digital channels to nudge those who have shown interest but not invested, alert any others of the opportunity, and ask your network to share the opportunity with others.

Close campaign and collect funds

As your campaign draws to a close (successfully, I hope!) you’ll need to start collecting the money committed by investors. This can take a while, as all platforms are required to complete anti-money laundering checks on investors and perform the final due diligence checks on your company before they release the funds to you. These can include anything from verifying loan agreements, reviewing contracts or checking IP rights, getting SEIS/EIS Advanced Assurance (if it hasn’t already come through), and receiving money from direct investors who are investing via the platform.

You should expect around 3-4 weeks minimum if your campaign is with Crowdcube, less if you’re with Seedrs (assuming all the back-end due diligence is completed and no direct investments are made).

Bonus tips

Call for backup

Running a crowdfunding campaign is not a one-person job. So, try to have at least four people supporting you with your campaign. This will make it far easier to prepare your materials, respond to questions from investors within a few hours and manage the rest of the workload.

Questions can come in 24/7, so it’s a good idea to work in shifts to manage forum activity. That way, everyone gets a break and there’s no danger two people answering the same question and contradicting one another.

Make sure your colleagues have the capacity to help you and call in an agency for support if you feel you’ll need backup. Remember that you’ll need to manage your day-to-day business workload as well. So, if your company is seasonal, don’t plan your crowdfunding campaign for your busiest time of the year!

Use social tools to plan and communicate

We use Trello to set out tasks and deadlines, upload the relevant materials, and assign tasks to different colleagues. In its noticeboard-style, Trello is a great visual tool to help teams plan ahead. There are also some great alternatives like Asana and Basecamp.

Another tool for great organising and communication is Slack – a team collaboration tool that lets you instant message your colleagues easily. You can set up multiple chat channels to manage different elements of your campaign and even link up social media feeds to see your messages come in.

As you can probably tell, the equity crowdfunding process is more of a marathon than a sprint. There’s little doubt that it takes some meticulous planning, but keep to the above and you’ll have a far easier time staying on top of things. Best of luck!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Auckland is a crowdfunding specialist and founder of TribeFirst, a global equity crowdfunding communications agency that has helped raise in excess of £25m for over 60 companies on major equity crowdfunding platforms, with roughly a 90% success rate.

TribeFirst is the world’s first dedicated marketing communications agency to support equity crowdfunding campaigns and the first in the UK to provide PR and Marketing campaigns on a mainly risk/reward basis.

John is also Virgin StartUp’s crowdfunding trainer and consultant, helping them to run branded workshops, webinars and programmes on crowdfunding. John is passionate about working with start-ups and sees crowdfunding as more than just raising funds; it’s an opportunity to build a loyal tribe of lifelong customers and supporters.

See: http://www.tribefirst.co.uk

Twitter: @Tribe1st

Tips for buying reconditioned commercial dishwashers

Posted on October 14, 2019 Written by Administrator

Installing or upgrading a commercial kitchen may prove expensive – the appliances and kit you need to buy do not come cheap.

Not least of your investment is likely to go on the dishwashers and glasswashers you need. Instead of buying these brand new, however, you may save as much as 60% on their cost if you choose reconditioned commercial dishwashers.

If you want to go down this route, there are several things you may need to look out for. So, here are some tips for buying reconditioned commercial dishwashers.

Choose your brand

There are dishwashers – and then there are dishwashers. If you are going to buy a reconditioned machine, it is worth selecting a well-known make or brand.

Leading brands have been manufactured to the highest standards and quality. They are designed to last and provide many years of unstinting service. Reconditioned models, therefore, make ideal candidates for receiving a new lease of life at the hands of expert tradesmen skilled in refurbishing such appliances.

When was the machine first manufactured?

It is important to know the age of any machine that has been reconditioned.

The technology employed in modern dishwashers changes over time and the more recently the machine was originally manufactured, the more likely you are to have one that incorporates the latest and most efficient technology available.

Water treatment

Whether you are installing an undercounter or pass-through dishwasher, one of the keys to the efficiency with which it works is the quality of the water used.

Some of the higher-grade machines have in-built water-softening and treatment systems to ensure that every washing cycle uses only the best quality water to do its job. In hard water areas – and that is most of England and Wales – using any dishwasher without its own water softening treatment facility is almost certain to reduce the useful working life of your machine.

Together with the rinse pump, this helps to ensure the maximum cleanliness at which your reconditioned machine is working, and the general standards of hygiene maintained in your commercial kitchen.

Chemicals

Your second-hand machine will have been expertly reconditioned, and, in the process, possible past misuse is likely to have been identified and remedied.

One of the more common misuses your machine is likely to have encountered is someone using a regular dishwashing detergent rather than the cleaning chemicals and detergents specifically recommended by the manufacturer. The use of inappropriate chemicals may again shorten the life of your dishwasher – residues from regular detergents may have baked on to the heating elements – and, so, need to be avoided.

Appearances

If you have opted to buy a reconditioned commercial dishwasher, you know that you are not going to install a brand new machine – you’ve chosen tiptop working performance over mere appearances.

Yet appearances may give some clue to the age, past use, and care with which any dishwasher has been reconditioned. There may be signs of wear and tear – as you might expect from any refurbished piece of equipment – but you need to decide the limits and the extent to which appearances might affect the hard work expected of your reconditioned dishwasher.

Cost effective ways to safely backup your business data

Posted on October 13, 2019 Written by Administrator

What will happen if you have a critical failure and lose some, or all, of your business data?

All the invoicing data, Excel spreadsheets, CAD documents, images and more.

Recovering individual documents, such as a Microsoft Word file, when your PC crashes is much easier than it used to be, with the advent of functions such as Autorecover[1]. Other software applications have similar functionality, such as Autosave within Photoshop[2]. But these won’t recover large numbers of documents in the event of, for example an office fire or backup failure.

Let’s briefly review why having a secure backup solution is needed, then look at your backup options.

The necessity of effective backup

Recent research by Beaming suggests that over 4 million[3] of the UK’s 5.5 million businesses risk losing critical data through poor backup provision. With data suggesting that 70% of small businesses, which experience a major data loss, go out of business within 12 months[4]. You shouldn’t need any additional reasons, but let’s throw in two more…

Microsoft Office 365 is not backed up in any way. If, like over 120 million businesses around the world, you use Office 365 for your day to day computing needs, you need to protect the information you have and the data/documents you have created. Whilst Autorecover will help you restore a document you were working on, it cannot restore something that was deleted, whether deliberately or accidentally, from your account.

Insurance companies expect you to have cloud backups, for all cyber-security policies and for many business policies, dependent upon the cover selected, of course.

Business backup options

Let’s look at basic back up option and the more sophisticated options available plus their pros and cons.

External hard drives

Normally used by single person businesses to provide a backup solution. This is a really basic solution and something we never recommend as a complete solution.

Hard drives are a physical device and can fail, leaving you with no way of recovering the data
As hard drives get smaller and smaller, they are easy to lose
They aren’t always connected to your devices, so you have to remember to manually backup each time
They are often kept in the same location as the device they are backing up. If that device is stolen, lost, burnt or broken, so is the hard drive.

A hard drive does mean you can instantly restore, but the downsides to this option make it a bad idea. With solution providers such as VEEAM[5] providing SME backup solutions for as little as £25 per month, it makes sense to use more than just a hard drive.

On-premise Solutions

As businesses grow and develop an on-premise server network, the obvious solution is to have an on-premise back-up solution, usually based around network attached storage (NAS) devices. Solutions such as Microsoft System Center[6] will provide everything you need to build an on-premise solution. There are, of course, pros and cons to this as well…

Recovery times can be quicker than using a cloud solution when a document is identified as missing or corrupted, but it depends on when the last back up was taken. We recommend that multiple retentions take place each day to maximise the opportunity to restore the right information.

Some on-premise solutions provide you with the option, in the event of a major failure, to build a cloud-based server, with your data, but you have to budget accordingly if you want this level of failover capability.

Having your backup, either the actual data or the ability to restore, in the same location as the original versions is rarely a good option. What happens if:

There is a fire in your office?
There is an incident that means you are unable to get into your office to work?
There is a burglary?

If you are still taking hard drives (or even tapes) off-site each day to mitigate this risk, they can still be lost or stolen. Don’t forget that taking these off-site is highly likely to breach your GDPR commitments.

Cloud-based backup

Backing up your data to a cloud provider delivers far more benefits than issues.

Although you are highly likely to be paying on a per Gb basis for this solution and that may add up to a higher cost than an on-premise solution, the benefits, and convenience, outweigh the costs…

Never having to worry about upgrading/replacing storage hardware
Being able to keep multiple copies of your data for prolonged periods of time
Knowing the data is being replicated to further protect your business
Having the ability to restore that data to wherever you need it to be
Knowing the security around it is far higher than your budgets would normally allow
Never having to remember to back up.

All the major players provide a cloud solution, from Microsoft Azure[7] to Veeam[8], so there is plenty to choose from. Whatever solution you choose, there is one thing you need to do on a regular basis to ensure your business really is protected: check your backups. An absolute worst-case scenario would be you get to a situation where you need to restore data, only to find that it isn’t there. Most cloud providers provide you with regular reports on the success, or otherwise, of your backup and may give you reports on a more granular level, showing what machines are missing and how much data.

Your internet connection

Getting your data into the cloud regularly throughout the day will use a fair amount of your available bandwidth. If you are still relying on ADSL connections, your backup is going to take a very long time. Even the incremental backups (taken after a main data upload) will take time. For this reason, we recommend you invest in, at least, a fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) solution. The faster data speeds, both up and down, will mean your backups can occur when you need them and they won’t slow down other uses of that connection in the meantime. If FTTC isn’t available in your area (although >90% of UK premises are now covered), you may have to look at fewer data sets. One backup a day, scheduled overnight is an option, but not recommended.

You’ll need to judge the level of investment to be made in the backup solution for your business. As outlined a range of options is available to you. Make sure you have something in place so your business can safely backup and restore data if problems occur.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Ianiri is from Redsquid, one of the UK’s leading independent providers of business Voice, Data, ICT, Cyber Security and IoT Solutions. Redsquid is not tied to a single supplier but rather helps clients boost productivity, reduce costs, and protect and grow their business by creating bespoke solutions from the best technology available in the marketplace.

Web: www.redsquid.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redsquidcomms/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/redsquidcomms

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/redsquid

[1] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot/word/recover-lost-document

[2] https://hetmanrecovery.com/recovery_news/recovery-adobe-photoshop-files-psd.htm

[3] https://www.beaming.co.uk/press-releases/four-million-uk-businesses-vulnerable-losing-company-data-research-shows/

[4] https://www.backupvault.co.uk/blog/over-50-of-uk-businesses-are-risking-their-data

[5] https://www.veeam.com/smb-vmware-hyper-v-essentials.html

[6] https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/cloud-platform/system-center-solutions

[7] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/services/backup/

[8] https://www.veeam.com/cloud-connect.html

Lunch break activities for stress reduction and increased afternoon productivity

Posted on October 8, 2019 Written by Administrator

You only need to look at the figures. The number of working days lost to stress rose staggeringly last year, by almost a quarter in fact, from 12.5 million in 2017/18 to the current figure of 15.4 million.

It seems clear that companies would benefit from employees taking time out to invest more in their physical and emotional health.

A weekend break or the odd day off can do the trick for a while, but luckily there are plenty of other quick fixes that can fitted into our working day to boost our ability to cope better. For example, there are plenty of things you can fit in to your lunch break to re-energise and re-direct your mind and help you sail through that mid-afternoon slump:

Cranial Drainage

This must be done by a highly trained therapist but it can be experienced one-to-one in the office and is gentle and relaxing. Manipulation is carried out on the stress nodes from the neck to the top of the head, using a light touch to relieve the extra fluids that gather in that area. The technique involves gentle massage (without oils) focussing on pressure points. Taking only around eight-minutes, this treatment reduces stress and helps build energy, helping the body to restore itself. It is suitable for anyone of any age and perfect for relieving the pressures of day-to-day stresses that can easily be triggered by technology and pollution. When the body slows down during a session it can begin to untangle itself and re-balance, thereby letting go of accumulated physical tensions.

Dry Neck and Shoulder Massage

It may not sound like a lot but an eight-minute neck and shoulder massage through your clothes is enough to relieve stress and leave you feeling relaxed. It’s fast and convenient, there’s no need for messy oils that might get into your hair which can be a problem when you need to go back to work. It will leave you invigorated and able to take on the rest of the day.

Eyebrow Threading

Having the eyebrows shaped can awaken the face and the very process of making you look more awake can make you feel more awake too. Traditional methods can leave you with red marks that can take a while to fade. Threading is an ancient Indian hair removal technique that is fast and convenient, leaves no marks, is not at all messy and can temporarily have the same effects as a mini facelift. The method of twisting cotton through the eyebrows can feel a bit like tweezing multiple hairs at once and can be a slightly eye-watering, but it’s bearable pain and it’s so quick, at around ten minutes, there will be plenty of time to compose yourself before facing your colleagues.

A Tabata workout

High intensity interval training (HiiT). This is a quick-fire session where you work hard for 20 seconds doing either squats, push-ups, burpees or kettlebells and then rest for 10 seconds Don’t be fooled by the shortness of this workout, it will feel like a long time due to the intensity. The aim is to get the heart rate up which gets the body moving more oxygen and blood around the body and releasing endorphins which will lift your mood. It’s perfect for people short on time and it can be done in the office with a trainer.

Discovered by Japanese scientist Dr Izumi Tabata in Tokyo, the study found a 28 per cent increase in the anaerobic system (muscle) in the group following HiiT who worked out four days a week, for two weeks, at 4 minutes and 20 seconds each time as opposed to the moderate group who worked out five days a week for six weeks. Just eight minutes of Tabata is the equivalent of a thirty-minute workout. While there might be a little bit of sweat worked up on the skin, a small towel is all you need to freshen up and be raring to go back to work.

Fast Yoga

Otherwise known as Rocket or Power Yoga, Fast Yoga is a derivative of traditional Ashtanga, but it has been modified for the West.

You can do in ten minutes what would normally take half-an-hour as the rigidity of the classic yoga practice has been broken down and it’s all about stretching and using your hands to reach out and achieve those cobra silhouettes with the concentration on breathing. One breath per pose builds up heat and energises the body. Moving through these rapid transitions with a trainer will push you to do more, faster than you would do on your own, burning more calories per minute and increasing muscle activation and leaving you feeling good.

Cryotherapy

This literally means cold therapy. It has been popular with athletes for years but has recently found its way into mainstream health and fitness. A major calorie-burner, the technique exposes the body to extremely cold temperatures for a very short burst of time, often less than two minutes. The idea is to shock the system into re-starting itself and it is known to have a variety of health benefits. As well as helping with weight-loss it can reduce migraines and help with chronic pain and mood disorders.

The cold temperature causes physiological and hormonal responses and releases adrenaline, noradrenaline and mood enhancing endorphins which combats anxiety and depression. The effects are quite substantial and you will feel a lot more energetic and invigorated when you leave.

With most of these treatments costing between £10 and £30 and considering how much that quick lunchtime blast could energise and improve productivity, I think it should almost be written into the working day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isla Knight is the founder of JustUWellness. JustU is a booking service, accessed online or via the JustU App, that gives you the power to book a wide range of wellness treatments with the click of a button. JustU links users with professional salons and lifestyle providers.

Web: https://justutime.co.uk/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/JustuWellness

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/justuwellness/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JustUWellness2019

LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/justu-wellness-644675182/

How can small businesses get their telecoms, broadband and mobile at lower cost?

Posted on October 3, 2019 Written by Administrator

When did you last review your business telecoms costs? If the answer is: “Several years ago” you are not alone. For some reason business owners will review pretty much every other cost on a regular basis:

Rent at every lease review
Insurance costs are reviewed at every renewal
Even, staffing costs are reviewed regularly – usually at pay rise time

But fail to review their telecoms to see if they can save money. This may be because there is a belief that the savings are likely to be so insignificant that it’s not worth the time. Let’s see if we can pin down some evidence on what is happening in the market.

Consumer Telecoms spend

Between 2017 and 2018, the average consumer household spent 8.5% less[1] on their telecoms. If anything, the consumption of telecoms is going up (more data, more calls etc.) so this strongly suggests that it is costs that are dropping. And this applies to businesses too.

Operator revenues have dropped

Operator reported revenues[2] between 2012 and 2017 dropped by 8% but the number of fixed phone lines stayed the same and the number of fixed internet connections increased by 19%. By definition that means unit costs are falling.

Mobile Data costs

Consumer and business mobile data tariffs have plummeted over the last few years. In 2015, the cost of 1Gb of data[3] was about £10. Today you can get business deals for data at less than £1 per Gb and, even, Unlimited data for £30 per month.

Unmonitored costs

We have any number of case studies where we have saved somewhere between 30% and 80% for companies and schools.

Recently released data from Onecom shows that SMEs are spending, on average, £2,052 per year on telecoms. Is 30-80% of that figure worth doing something about?

Ways to save money on your telecoms

Call Patterns

Do you make lots of very short calls or do you tend to make long calls? Fixed line call tariffs are, generally, either cost per call- or cost per time-based. If you make lots of calls and pay per call, you are almost certainly paying much more than you should and would be better off using a cost per second tariff.

Too many lines?

If you have an ISDN-based phone system, how many lines are you paying for? If your business has changed significantly you may be paying for lines you no longer use. If you are still in contract, you may not be able to change that number, but if you are past your minimum term, you will be able to.

Don’t switch to standard terms

Many telecoms contracts are for an initial term, perhaps two years. After that, the terms, and prices, can often change for the worse. Make sure that you review your options before the contract’s initial term finishes. Make sure that your review takes place in sufficient time that, if necessary, you can give notice to your current telecoms supplier. Many companies try to add long notice periods so that you are tied into them for the long term.

Switching to VoIP

Openreach aims to stop all ISDN-based services by 2025, so you will have to switch relatively soon, but the benefits of VoIP mean you are highly likely to be able to save money by switching sooner rather than later:

Lower call costs
1. Ability to change line count, up and down, as needed
1. Making maximum use of your internet connection will also deliver economies of scale.

Consider the airwaves

If you are in an area with poor internet connections, look at alternatives that are air-based. Line of site, satellite and 4/5G are all options to consider. Some may be short terms options until a bigger line is installed. Others may only really be suitable for smaller businesses – but don’t automatically take the Openreach controlled option. There are alternatives, and they are often just as suitable, if not more so, and cheaper.

Do you need unlimited calls?

Many businesses take out unlimited call contracts for business mobiles just in case people make huge numbers of calls. You may not be making the savings you expect by doing this. It’s like an All You Can Eat at your local Chinese or Indian restaurant; they rely on the fact that you will eat far less than you expect. It’s the same for the mobile operators.

When you’ve paid off the hardware cost…

Once you reach the minimum term on your mobile contract, you have paid off the hardware part of the monthly cost. If you don’t yet need to upgrade the hardware, you should talk to your mobile operator about only paying for the calls, texts and data.

Best price for phones?

The mobile operators are not always the best people to get your phones from, particularly if you are buying in bulk. Better deals can, almost always, be found elsewhere. Even if you don’t want to add this to your Capex (capital expenditure) spend, you can always ask the mobile operator for the hardware fund. You can then spend that elsewhere, and pay it back to the operator on a monthly basis.

Productivity costs

Most of what has been discussed above is based on the cost of the telecoms connections. However, it is also worth looking at productivity costs too. Saving money on an internet connection by installing a slower connection may save you a few quid per month, but if it means your staff cannot work effectively, you are losing money on productivity. Sometimes cheaper isn’t better.

The school mentioned above hadn’t reviewed its telecoms costs for almost 10 years, and the average business hasn’t done so for nearly five years. Given the general rule that the longer you’ve left it the greater the potential savings, is it time your business undertook at review? Assuming the answer is “Yes” find an expert to guide you and you may be pleasantly surprised by the savings you can achieve.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Young is Director of independent telecoms brokerage Equinox. Gary works with companies, charities and other organisations to help them choose the right telecoms packages for their needs and thereby reduce their costs. He is particularly knowledgeable on the integration of IT and telecoms in business.

www.equinoxcomms.co.uk

Twitter: @CommsEquinox

[1] https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/07/average-uk-spend-on-home-telecoms-services-falls-as-data-use-rises.html

[2] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/117256/CMR-2018-narrative-report.pdf

[3] https://community.giffgaff.com/d/16668509-how-much-does-it-cost-for-1gb-of-data/3

Who do you choose, and how, when going to court – McKenzie Friend or Paralegal?

Posted on September 30, 2019 Written by Administrator

Whether on behalf of themselves or their business, many people believe when attending court that they must hire a solicitor or that they need to instruct a direct access barrister to progress their case for the desired outcome. However, this is no longer true. Since 2013 with cuts to legal aid and the average person unable to afford to hire expensive legal professionals, a new type of “lawyer” has arisen; the McKenzie Friend and the Paralegal. Although neither are actually lawyers (in the sense that a layman may understand the term), they can help people with legal issues. For example, both can help litigants with court proceedings. However, beyond that, they are very different.

This article addresses the differences between McKenzie Friends and Paralegals.

The McKenzie Friend

The right to a McKenzie friend was established in the 1970 divorce case of McKenzie v McKenzie. Ian Hanger, who was qualified in Australian law was not allowed to practise as a barrister in London as he did not have any English Legal Qualifications. Mr McKenzie instructed Mr Hanger to represent him, which the court would not allow as Mr Hanger was only qualified in Australian Law. The court, however, did allow Mr Hanger to sit as an observer taking notes and advising Mr McKenzie during adjournments. Mr Hanger proposed he should be allowed to sit next Mr McKenzie and take notes and advise quietly, which the local county court denied.

When Mr McKenzie lost his case, he appealed to the Court of Appeal stating he was denied the right to reasonable legal assistance which lead to him losing his case. The Court of Appeal ruled a “McKenzie Friend” could be allowed to all Litigants in Person (LIPs) who are unable to afford legal assistance. Furthermore, a judge should only deny a McKenzie Friend whom they deem unsuitable. Due to this precedent the role has evolved and many Litigants in Person (LIPs) hire a McKenzie Friend to attend court with them if they cannot afford a solicitor.

Today there are various types of McKenzie Friends assisting litigants within their court proceedings. One type is a Professional McKenzie Friend. This is usually someone who charges for their services or someone who is legally qualified and does not know the litigant in any capacity other than as a client. Most Judiciaries only classify a Professional McKenzie Friend as someone with a recognised legal qualification.

Another type of McKenzie Friend is an agency worker, for instance a Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker or a person appointed by the Citizens Advice, who may not have any professional qualifications in law nor is charging the client.

Sometimes a McKenzie Friend is a family member assisting their child, sibling or parent etc. throughout the court case. Technically, a McKenzie Friend can be anyone that the judiciary finds appropriate – and that person doesn’t have to have legal expertise or experience. They are there to provide moral and emotional support, and a second pair of eyes and ears.

The Paralegal

A Paralegal is somewhat different. A Paralegal can be someone who assists a law firm or a solicitor in preparing cases for court or running legal duties within the firm. Or they can operate on their own, i.e. not within an existing solicitor practice. Paralegals were first established as legal assistants and have now progressed into a profession in its own right. The term Paralegal was originally generic as the Paralegal Profession was unregulated until 1987 when the National Association of Licenced Paralegals (NALP) was formed and later (in 2003) the Institute of Paralegals (IOP). Both bodies are self-regulated membership organisations, with NALP being the only body to offer Ofqual qualifications for Paralegals.

Paralegals can do almost everything a solicitor can do – with the exception of what is known as ‘reserved’ activities. These remain the preserve of solicitors.

Mostly, the judiciary will only recognise someone as a Paralegal if they are qualified through education and experience and have completed a recognised course, like NALP’s Level 4 Diploma in Paralegal Studies, and belong to a membership body, like NALP. Furthermore, the court will usually only allow a Paralegal to represent in court if they are retained by solicitor whilst being supervised and the court deems them fit to conduct litigation. This is not an automatic right for the Paralegal who is working within a solicitor’s firm and it’s up to the court to decide if the Paralegal should be allowed to speak.

A lot of Paralegals now attend court on a regular basis to represent clients in small claim proceedings or smaller cases and act as a representative if they belong to a regulated firm which is a part of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). However, it can be challenging for an independent Paralegal Firm to obtain the same rights. Although most Paralegals who run their own practice have at least three years’ experience, have an Ofqual recognised qualification, and a Licence to Practise – meaning they have been vetted and proven competent – the judiciary will still treat them in accordance with the McKenzie Friend Practise Guidelines, limiting what an experienced Paralegal can do!

So, if you are hiring a Paralegal – what do you need to know? Firstly, ensure they belong to an organisation, like NALP, and they have a Licence to Practise. Secondly, check their qualifications; a “Qualified Paralegal” is someone who has undertaken a certain level of professional Ofqual recognised training and understands their level of law in-depth. Thirdly, understand whether the Paralegal is attached to a Law firm or if they are an independent entity and can assist you through the court process.

A McKenzie Friend, even a Professional fee-charging one, can be someone who is not professionally qualified nor had any other experience besides litigating their own case in the past. Some McKenzie Friends have obtained relevant legal qualifications or they may be an ex-practising solicitor. You can find a list of qualifying McKenzie friends via The Society of Professional McKenzie Friends (SPMF) which vet and attain McKenzie Friends who are qualified to at least a A-Level/Level 3 in law. Other organisations, like the McKenzie Friend Organisation, have a variety of McKenzie Friends some qualified and some not; their aim is to allow the consumer the widest choice.

In summary, the one key difference between a McKenzie Friend and a Paralegal is that a McKenzie Friend (Professional or Not) can be anyone. Whereas a Paralegal is a legally qualified person who can perform most of the same tasks a solicitor can – with the exception of reserved activities. They may be able to represent you in court if the court allows, or if they are supervised by a solicitor.

Many independent Paralegals are asking the judiciary to consider them separate and different from the usual McKenzie Friend roles. It is hoped that in the near future there will be separately drawn up regulations (like Solicitors and Barristers have) which will help progress the professional further.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Craig Johnson A.NALP, from Johnson’s Paralegal Services, is aNALP Senior Licensed Paralegal and a Professional McKenzie Friend. Craig is a Member of the National Association of Licensed Paralegal (NALP); a Full Professional Member of The Society of Professional McKenzie Friends (SPMF) and a Fully Professional Member of The McKenzie Friend Organisation (MFO).

National Association of Licenced Paralegals (NALP), a non-profit Membership Body and the only Paralegal body that is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual (the regulator of qualifications in England). Through its training arm, NALP Training, trading as National Paralegal College, accredited recognised professional paralegal qualifications are offered for a career as a paralegal professional.

See: http://www.nationalparalegals.co.uk and https://www.nalptraining.co.uk/

Twitter: @NALP_UK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalAssocationsofLicensedParalegals/

How blockchain is helping drive change in Customer Loyalty programmes

Posted on September 30, 2019 Written by Administrator

There is clearly something about the idea collecting points and gaining rewards that has continued to be popular over the decades that loyalty programmes have existed. 77% of the UK population belong to a loyalty programme, and nearly half of them believe their membership encourages them to be loyal to the brand. Over the last five years, to take another example, enrolments in loyalty programmes in the US increased by 40%.

However, the industry has stagnated with a large number of look-alike programmes causing customer boredom. One primary drawback with current loyalty points is that it takes too long to reach the redemption threshold and the value is too low to excite customers. Despite huge participation and increasing memberships in loyalty programmes, customers are generally not satisfied by the way rewards can be redeemed and find it difficult to earn a meaningful reward. Moreover, the current methods of loyalty points exchange are very limited and expensive and there is little opportunity for a customer to pool points for a higher-value redemption.

Over $360bn worth of points lie unredeemed worldwide. Programmes are suffering from account inactivity, low redemption rates, and time delays – all adding to the disappointment felt by customers. High transaction costs, system management and customer acquisition costs mean loyalty schemes don’t always deliver the best return for the business either.

What customers want are personalised, easy and hassle-free experiences. They want to feel truly rewarded for their loyalty and enjoy the power of choice and flexibility.

There is scope for innovation and the opportunity to deliver a cost-effective and efficient way to manage loyalty programmes, and a significantly improved customer experience.

What needs to change?

Customers also want to manage all their loyalty cards in one place, to view their available offers, vouchers, and gift cards, and to exchange and pool points for a higher-value redemption; for something they really want, something that feels like a genuine reward for their loyalty.

To facilitate this loyalty programmes need to go fully digital. Most of the small and independent businesses use paper cards and stamps to reward their customers, but customers tend to lose the physical cards or forget they had one. Additionally, paper loyalty cards don’t generate any insights about your customers. They can’t tell you what products they favour or how receptive they will be to various offers, for example. A digital loyalty programme and/or loyalty app can give you this information.

A way to re-engage customers through loyalty programmes could be to provide flexibility and more options on redemption by allowing exchanging points between programmes. Let’s take the example of a small independent café in Shoreditch. The café allows its loyalty points collected from coffee purchases to be exchanged for a spa day, Airmiles or money off their supermarket shop etc.

By allowing an exchange, this café increases the perceived value of their loyalty points, offering greater value to its customers and driving improved brand loyalty.

However, exchanging loyalty points has, to date, been time-consuming and expensive. Platforms offering loyalty point exchanges tend to charge hefty exchange fees, requiring customers to sacrifice a lot of their points’ value. But with recent technological advancements, such as blockchain technology, this will change.

Introducing blockchain

Blockchain allows the creation of a secure network of loyalty programmes, which would facilitate the instant and effortless exchange of points. Every participating business would benefit from reduced costs of transactions and higher transparency and flexibility. It would also provide them with meaningful insights into their customers wants and behaviours, allowing them to create targeted campaigns.

For example, solutions like LoyalT use blockchain technology to cost-effectively integrate any business, of any size, from any industry into a single loyalty points exchange network. These solutions allow businesses to extend more value to their customers with a real-time loyalty points exchange facility while marketing their business to customers beyond their own programme members. Our Shoreditch coffee shop can offer Airmiles, or points of another business by opening up to an exchange.

The benefits for business

In return for offering an exchange of points, businesses will benefit from deep insights on customers’ shopping habits, helping generate more customer engagement through precision marketing.

SMEs especially can gain from being a part of an exchange solution for loyalty points. Not only will they be able to access a massive pool of customer data to help run precision marketing, but they can also get set up quickly and easily, facilitating point exchanges with huge global businesses at a very competitive cost. As such, small businesses, such as our Shoreditch coffee shop, can set up a digital loyalty programme and almost immediately start offering loyalty points on every purchase and open up exchange to some of the highly-desirable loyalty programmes.

Data and security

Data use and privacy are hot topics. The joy of a loyalty network running on blockchain is that businesses own and control the data of their customers, minimising privacy concerns. Blockchain in itself is highly secure and the data is encrypted. Further, advanced digital contracts keep information secure and private.

Meanwhile, the network is a bridge between the business and its customers. A good way to describe it is to say that loyalty points are currencies and businesses are loyalty banks. The loyalty network facilitates the exchange, just like payment networks facilitate the transfer of money between customer accounts. Since blockchain automatically creates an unalterable ledger, it is impossible to falsify, making employee and customer fraud a thing of the past while keeping points wallets incredibly secure.

After decades loyalty programmes are undergoing a transformation. Large businesses are augmenting new technologies like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, etc. to improve their marketing strategies to make programmes more desirable.

By rethinking their approach to rewards SME will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that technologies such as blockchain are offering. By opening up an exchange SMEs and their customers will benefit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Animesh Ghosh is an industry thought leader and expert in Blockchain, AI and IoT solutions with over 22 years of experience as Consulting Partner Architect and higher, in global companies like Lloyds, RBS, Wipro, Infosys, Virgin Atlantic, etc.

Animesh is also founder and CEO of KornChain ‒ a technology company that is building a global blockchain network for the loyalty marketing industry.

Animesh and his team have recently launched LoyalT. KornChain’s LoyalT® seeks to be a global loyalty point exchange network powered by Blockchain & AI. Customers can earn, spend, exchange & consolidate points in real-time while businesses benefit from customer acquisition, repeat-sales and deep insights. On-going implementation with large clients.

https://www.kornchain.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kornchain/

Sources

Making blockchain real for customer loyalty rewards programs, Deloitte
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/loyalty-is-it-really-working-for-you
Jeff Berry, “The 2015 COLLOQUY Loyalty Census: Big Numbers, Big Hurdles,” COLLOQUY, February 2015.
https://info.bondbrandloyalty.com/2017-loyalty-report
https://medium.com/@vjkrish.ram/you-are-not-alone-globally-360-bn-worth-reward-points-go-unredeemed-each-year-3ad3469e094e
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/11912823/Shoppers-waste-6bn-of-loyalty-reward-points.html

Apps to help you manage your business more efficiently – and get your life back

Posted on September 30, 2019 Written by Administrator

Are you spending so much time running your business that the rest of your life is suffering? If this is the case you need to take a look at some of the apps that can make a difference; apps that can help you with a range of tasks from keeping track of your finances to rescheduling meetings.

There a are a wealth of apps to choose from and app advisory services offered by professional advisers in your industry. So, why not review what you currently do and discover how you can use apps to help streamline your processes?

Let’s look at some apps that will help with this – and give you back your life:

Receipt Bank, Auto Entry and Expensify

It can be time consuming for you to collate and record all those invoices and receipts. And if you send them to your accountant in a shoebox, they will spend additional time reviewing and sorting them which means more costs. There are some good apps including Auto Entry, Expensify and Receipt Bank that allow you to capture these receipts on the go and send them directly to your accountant. You can even ask your suppliers to send their invoices to the app to free up your inbox a bit. Think about the headspace you will find with less in your inbox.

FreeAgent, Quickbooks and Xero

The likes of FreeAgent, QuickBooks and Xero have truly transformed the way bookkeeping and accounting is done. And if you combine this with regular bookkeeping reconciliation services, you no longer have to spend time and energy at year end worrying about the books. You can see how your business is doing on a monthly rather than yearly basis.

People HR, Breath HR etc.

Do you still spend time on paper forms or excels or legacy desktop systems to keep your HR records? Do your staff have to submit forms or send you other manual requests to book their holidays? How long does it take you to check whether the business will have sufficient staff during a holiday period and then to approve the holiday? Try any of the above tools and see the time, money and effort they can save your business.

Toggle, Clockify, Hubstaff and Time Doctor

Where did the time go? it’s not uncommon to ask yourself this at the end of the day. Well now you can automatically monitor how you spend your time so you can identify where and how to be more productive. You will be amazed how much of your time gets diverted away from important tasks. And these tools also help you get organised.

Spotlight Reporting, LivePlan, Profitsee etc.

Do you know the key numbers that matter in your business? Are these presented in a useful way that helps you make business decisions? And are you able to look forward and predict what your cashflow would look like in, say, three months? If you’re spending a lot of time and energy on your numbers or you simply don’t know where you’re at with the finances try the above tools either independently or through your accountant for free.

Business Operation and Management Apps

There is a whole list of other great apps that could be discussed here depending on your industry. For instance, if you’re retailer, restaurant or you hold stock, then an apps like Vend, Izettle and others are worth looking at. If you’re a Nursery, then review Blossom educational, EY log, Procare software and others. And for other businesses, tools like Zoho CRM, Infusionsoft, Trello, Monday and Asana can really save you time and help you find that creative space.

GoCardless, IntegraPay etc.

You’ve done the work, spent time and sweat to please the customer and you’ve probably incurred staff and materials costs. You now wait for 30 days and then wait more and still no sign of that promised cash. You’re now dashing for cash or frantically calling customers at the 11^th hour to get assurance that you will be paid just so that you can, at least, meet those bills including payroll. Pretty stressful experience.

Why not avoid all of this and use an online direct debit app so that you and your customer can now agree when you will take payment? Easier and quicker for everyone – and certainly less stressful for you.

Calendly, Acuity Scheduling and Timetrade

Going back and forth with clients and stakeholders to schedule appointments, reschedule, and then reschedule again can be time consuming. Avoid email and telephone tag when arranging meetings. With any of the above tools, people can now access a version of your diary that shows them all of the slots that you have decided to make available for meetings.

Workato, Zapier etc.

With all these apps, it’s important to ensure they integrate and talk to each other to avoid further waste and chaos. Apps like Zapier and Workato allow you to link two systems together without any coding or programming skills. A key selection criterion for your apps should be whether the App has what is called an API to enable it to link to other systems.

I hope you’ll find apps above that will be useful for you. Of course, there are others you may also want to use. What’s most important is that you recognise that help is at hand. If you use tools of this kind to automate as much as you can, you’ll find you also have your life back.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jonathan Amponsah CTA FCCA is an award winning chartered tax adviser and accountant who has advises business owners on business streamlining apps and processes to make business less taxing. Jonathan is the founder and CEO of The Tax Guys.