Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce

Issue: June 2008

Free IT Workshops
50,000 Reasons To Enter Chamber Awards
New Funding Source Launched
Speakers Announced For Premier Business Event
Grant Opportunity
EMDA Seeking Board Members
Out With The Old Laws
Is It For You?
TV Company Seeks Successful Entrepreneur
HR Focus: Healthy Business Advice
Business Link Update
Forthcoming Chamber Events

If your company would like to help the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce continue to provide this informative e-newsletter Good Morning Leicestershire and raise the profile of your own business at the same time then please talk to Sharon Jeffrey on 0116 204 6618 to discuss sponsorship opportunities, preferential rates are available for Chamber Members.

CHAMBER NEWS

A series of free IT workshops, designed for SMEs and supported by Business Link, are scheduled for the coming months. Details are as follows:

Date: Breakfast Briefings:

24 July        Breakfast Briefing – ebusiness Law
18 Aug       Breakfast Briefing – Google at Work

Date:         Workshops:

10 July      ICT & Information Security (AM) half day
12 Aug      Lets Start Blogging (AM)
12 Aug      Understanding Microsoft VISTA (PM)
26 Aug     Successful Search Engine Optimisation

In addition a number of web academy clinics, funded by Leicester Shire Economic Partnership, will be running at the Beauchamp College Training Centre. The clinics will run one day a week over a 3 week period and you will need to commit to all three dates. The clinics are free for delegates to attend but only companies based within Leicestershire, with a Leicestershire postcode, will be eligible to book. Details are as follows:

Web Academy Clinics – Online Marketing

Date: 20 Oct / 24 Oct / 4 Nov
Time: 8.30am – 5pm

Web Academy Clinics - Online Marketing

Date: 11 Nov/ 17 Nov / 25 Nov
Time: 8.30am – 5pm

For more details contact Kam Atker at Leicestershire Chamber on Tel: 0116 204 6614, Email: atker.k@chamberofcommerce.co.uk or visit the Ebusiness website at: www.ebusinessclub.biz

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is encouraging UK businesses to enter this year's Chamber Awards, for the chance to win £50,000 courtesy of the RBS Group. Now in its fifth year, the Chamber Awards 2008 sets out to identify outstanding business achievement within the UK business community. There are eight different categories of awards and companies can enter as many as they wish. The categories comprise:

Most Promising New Business
Award For Innovation Through Technology
The Green Award
Entrepreneur Of The Year
Achievement In International Business
Award For Excellence In People Development
Business Of The Year
Award For Excellence In Customer Service

The top prize of £50,000 will be awarded to the company that the judges agree should win the overall Award for Outstanding Business Achievement and will be announced along with the national winners at the gala dinner and award ceremony on 27th November 2008 at the Natural History Museum in London.

The Chamber Awards will be judged in two stages at both a regional and national level. The closing date for entries is 27th June 2008.

Entry forms and judging criteria can be obtained by visiting: www.chamberawards.co.uk. All entry forms must be completed and submitted electronically. The awards are open to all businesses who are members of an accredited chamber of commerce.

OTHER NEWS

Aspiring entrepreneurs who have encountered problems raising finance for their business ventures are set to benefit from the launch of a new initiative by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA).

EnterpriseLoans East Midlands, which will be unveiled in June, will provide funding support for both existing and budding entrepreneurs.

EnterpriseLoans East Midlands aims to help 1,000 businesses over the next ten years, by offering loans of between £3,000 and £20,000. The loan fund is specifically designed for those people who are unable to access finance from traditional sources such as banks.

Enterprise Loans East Midlands will be managed for emda by First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA). “We are confident that through this new fund we will be able to create and grow many businesses,” says Quamar Zaman, FEBA Chief Executive. “There are many entrepreneurial people who struggle to obtain finance, perhaps due to a poor credit history or because they do not have assets to use for security against loans. These are the people that this initiative is designed to help.”

Existing entrepreneurs or individuals who are thinking of starting up in business and who require further information about Enterprise Loans East Midlands should telephone 0115 970 4882.

The premier event for small and medium businesses in the Leicestershire region Leicester Business Event (LBE) 2008 will provide all the expertise entrepreneurs need to help increase their business potential.

The free conference will feature a number of high profile keynote speakers, well-known business owners and experts on the issues that entrepreneurs face while developing their business.

Speakers include Alastair Campbell entrepreneur behind the award-winning Ideal Marketing Company who will present the seminar entitled Marketing Breakthrough – the 17 key marketingareas to put your time, money and effort into. Learn how to gain more media coverage, improve direct mail response rates and convert more prospects as well as a host of other important marketing topics in this informative and fast moving seminar.

The conference will also feature an investor presentation showcasing a selection of businesses looking for investment to take their business forward, aimed at young, fast-growing companies. This session is a must attend for investors and funding providers. Any companies wishing to present should call 0116 240 2330.

The exhibition will feature leading specialists in small business management with superb solutions to help businesses increase their efficiency and improve their profitability and develop sustainable growth. Professionals including accountants, lawyers and small business support services will be on hand to advise visitors on all aspects of developing their business.

LBE also wants to address a number of issues and practicalities that affect business owners, ranging from tax and law matters to financial advice, and so anyone who would like to take part should contact Elaine Vandelli on 07802 492348.

To find out more information about speakers and exhibitors at LBE visit www.leicesterbusinessevents.co.uk

The Leicester Business Event is open from 9am on Wednesday 1st October 2008. For tickets call the hotline on 0116 240 2330 or email: info@hi2events.co.uk

The regional development agency emda have recently launched a funding call to the businesses of theEast Midlandsvia the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce.

Emda are offering a new technology grant designed to support new technologies specifically for market validity or feasibility studies. This first call is focused on Biotechnologies/Therapeutics and Information and Communication Technologies as part of the Technology Framework for theEast Midlands. For more information visit: www.eminnovation.org.uk

Capita Resourcing is assisting the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to recruit board members for seven of the English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

The RDAs are non-departmental public bodies with a primary role as strategic drivers of regional economic development. They help businesses compete and create opportunities for employment. They facilitate innovation and promote sustainable development and they improve regional infrastructure, revitalising both urban and rural areas.

RDA board members use their strategic awareness of the complex issues affecting their regions, as well as their strong communication skills and credibility within their sectors, for the greater good. They join other men and women who represent a wide range of interests – business, education, local government, the voluntary sector, and trade unions – to ensure good governance and oversee each region’s economic strategy.

The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) will have positions available for three board members, one representing business, one representing trade unions, and one representing local authorities. These members will need to commit a minimum of two days per month for an initial period of three years. New board members are recruited on a yearly basis. Further information and an online application process will be available at www.rdaappointments.co.uk . Applicants without access to the internet can contact 01256 383745. The deadline for applications is 26 June at 4 p.m.

In May this year many descriptions, pricing and other trading laws were replaced with the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which introduce a general prohibition on traders treating consumers unfairly. In particular, the regulations will require businesses:

not to mislead consumers through acts, omissions or the use of 31 banned practices
not to use unfair or aggressive commercial practices such as high pressure selling

This autumn should see increased rights for your business when you are the customer. There are many other areas where law is changing: credit, food, estate agency, safety, energy efficiency and fair trading to name a few.

The Leicestershire Trading Standards Business Advice Line on 0116 305 8000 is available free to all businesses in the county area if you’re unsure about any aspect of trading law, alternatively you can email: trading-standards@leics.gov.uk

Business Link has launched a series of free events across the East Midlands to give local people an opportunity to discover what it really takes to run their own business and learn from those within the local area who have already taken the first important steps on the route to success.

Designed to inspire and motivate, the Is It For You?series of events will show how others have started out on their own successful business journey and provide access to Business Link Start-Up advisers who themselves have collectively helped thousands of other people turn their business dreams into an actual reality.

Each local event will consist of:

An inspirational guest speaker
A short case study of how a local company, with the help of Business Link, successfully started out in business
An opportunity to discuss your business ideas with professional advisers over freel ight refreshments.

The Is It For You? event in Leicestershire will take place on 28 June at the Walkers Stadium, Leicester, between 10am and 12 noon

For more details call Business Link on 0845 058 6644, email info@businesslinkem.co.uk or visit the award winning website www.businesslink.gov.uk/eastmidlands.co.uk

A top TV production company is seeking successful businesspeople for a documentary. Betty, is an award-winning independent production company owned by Liz Warner, who has a strong track record in making and commissioning high-end popular documentaries (she was responsible for commissioning Grand Designs for Channel Four).

Betty is making a major three part series for Channel 4 focusing on the lives of successful, wealthy business people inBritain. The idea has come about as a reaction to the constant media barrage about the credit crunch and impending doom and gloom. The company want to make an upbeat, glossy and aspirational series looking at the lives of successful people in an attempt to discover the secrets of their success.

They are looking for inspirational stories, people who have been incredibly successful in business, who have worked hard for everything they have achieved, and deserve the wealth they have accrued. The ideal candidate would be successful in business (worth at least one million and perhaps 'bounced back' from tough times), relatively young (30-50 years old), works and plays hard in equal measure (is proud of the lifestyle they have forged for themselves) and a good talker.

For more information contact Ben Cook at Betty TV on Tel:0207 907 0860, email:

ben.cook@betty.co.uk or visit www.betty.co.uk

Should a company encourage a healthy lifestyle amongst its work force and if so how?

Absenteeism costs the UK economy many millions of pounds a year in lost production and sick payments. HR functions can help promote a better and healthier lifestyle and hopefully benefit staff to a longer and better life whilst providing better work input.

Many companies still provide some form of subsidised drink or food facility whether it’s a drinks machines, snack machine or a part funded cafeteria. Where a company provides these facilities it should explore ways of extending the offering to its staff. Schools are taking the lead in promoting better food habits in school children to reduce the prospects of obesity and employers could follow suit.

Companies that offer free tea, coffee and water machines should seriously consider investing time and money to explore other ways in which they can encourage healthy eating within the workplace. The provision of some free fruit, supplemented by more healthy food machine options, is a way of promoting the healthy lifestyle and make a contribution to reducing absenteeism and obesity.

As we move from a smoking nation employers need to help and assist those remaining smokers to quit. Employers need to look at the positive benefits of providing nicotine patches to help reduce the smoke addiction while restricting access to opportunities to smoke. Employers should adopt a firm view on smoking breaks. If you do not have any recognised breaks other than lunchtime stop the unofficial breaks. Consult and then act to end these opportunities for smoking.

The last thing businesses should do is encourage poor diets by allowing excess time for smoking or supplementing the "burger/bacon bap" run to the local van or shop. Bear in mind that we live in a litigious society so if you encourage or pay for such poor dietary supplements then at some stage an employee who later suffers ill health may want to blame someone and that someone could be you!

Alan Hunt – Qdos Consulting Limited providers of ChamberHR

For more information visit the website www.chamberhr.co.uk or telephone the ChamberHR advice line on Tel: 02920 349614

BUSINESS LINK UPDATE

Winning a contract to sell to a big company can be just what you need if you are going to grow your business, but getting your foot in the door can be nigh on impossible.

Whether you are an independent food manufacturer trying to win an initial order from a supermarket or a small IT firm pitching to supply a major banking group, securing your first big order can be a real turning point.

As well as the obvious financial rewards, doing business with a large firm will bring you credibility and the confidence to grow quickly. Once you have sold to one large organisation, it becomes easier to get a foot in the door with the next one.

For more information visit:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=5001034768&site=140

Leicestershire based Lestercast Ltd manufactures high quality, precision investment castings in a range of metals and alloys for numerous industrial and commercial applications.

You can watch the video case study of how Lestercast worked with Business Link to develop their staff.

For more information visit:

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=CASE%20STUDIES&site=140&itemId=5001030005

CHAMBER EVENTS

Date: 4 July
Venue: Westfield House Hotel, Blaby
Time: 12 noon – 2pm
Cost: £25.00, one price only

Join the chamber and guest speaker Andrew Robathan MP for the latest in the series of popular area luncheon events

Date: 8 July
Venue: Beedles Lake Golf Club, East Goscote
Time: 8.30am – 2pm
Cost: £40 includes breakfast and lunch

Are you a novice golfer? Would you like to learn? Then why not join us on this new venture to find out the fundamentals of golf? This great day will include practical tuition by the club’s golf professionals and tips & techniques, what clubs to use, weight, style and size, plus the opportunity to network amongst other business women.

Date: 19 August
Venue: Highpoint Conference Centre, Leicester
Time: 12 noon - 2pm
Cost: £20 includes glass of wine or juice and BBQ food

The Chamber's Summer Networking Luncheon provides a wonderful opportunity to enjoy an informal summer barbeque in the inspiring setting of Highpoint, who are kindly hosting this event. Attendees will be able to network and exchange company literature over a glass of wine and a buffet barbeque

Date: 21 August
Venue: Leicestershire Constabulary HQ, Enderby
Time: 6 – 8pm
Cost: Free

Almost all businesses are affected by fraud in one way or another and as statistics show, a downturn in economic growth, such as that which could be ahead for 2008, often leads to an increase in fraudulent activity. The fraud forum will provide an excellent way to bring together all the relevant agencies to tackle fraud and identify the benefit of the public and private sectors joining together.

Date: 9 September
Venue: Leicester Tigers Ground, Leicester
Time: 7:30am - 9am
Cost: Chamber Members £25 / Standard £35

Join us for this highly informative seminar, one in a series of seminars by Julian Middleton MA LLM, Managing Partner in Commercial Litigation at Freeth Cartwright Solicitors

Date: 7 October
Venue: Spice of India, Syston
Time: 6pm – 8.30pm
Cost: Chamber Members £25 / Standard £35

Leicestershire Chamber invites you to a networking evening with an Indian touch at one of Leicestershire's well-known Indian restaurants. The Spice of India will be providing a delicious buffet banquet, with several Indian starters and main courses, you can eat as much as you like and go back for more as many times as you want.

Date: 7 October
Venue: The National Space Centre, Leicester
Time: 8am – 10.30am
Cost: Free

This short presentation will give you tips on how to grow your business and deal with those every day challenges. This educational, informative & inspirational seminar will also show businesses that there is another way of doing business. Everything around us has changed, computers, cars, phones, yet we are still doing business in the same way as we would have 10 years ago. The market places are changing and the way a consumer buys has changed, this seminar will show businesses how to combat all of these challenges.

For more information on these Chamber events please call Kam Atker on Tel: 0116 204 6614, email: atker.k@chamberofcommerce.co.uk or alternatively you can visit the Chamber website at: www.chamberofcommmerce.co.uk and select What’s On/events