The London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are already providing business opportunities for companies in the region.

Liverpool Chamber has created a specific category, Olympic 2012,  in its Liverpooltenders.com service to cater for tenders that are already being listed on the site. Maresa Molloy, Head of the Chamber’s Policy and Information Team said: “The speed and frequency of tendering opportunities is moving fast and furious. Current figures suggest that the 2012 Games will cost in the region of £3.3bn+.

“LiverpoolTenders.com is already tracking the tenders coming from the Olympics. Recently posted tenders have been identified for the transport, landscaping and sports industries. We have recently added a category that will alert registered companies to any Olympics 2012 opportunity.”

The opportunities identified that are specifically relevant to the NW are for supplying food and drink, green technologies, this is aims to be the most sustainable games, sport part of the existing supply-chain in NW, digital and creative as there will be a massive media requirement and visitor economy such as merchandising opportunities.

London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Olympic Delivery Authority will adhere to stringent public procurement regulations including H&S, environmental and equal opportunity regulations.

Maresa continued: “All contracts will be advertised on the London 2012 website and will be open to a global market place. This will focus on 1st and 2nd tier suppliers. At the tier 3 level there will be a stronger relationship-led component to main contractors use of their existing or newly developed supply-chains.”

If you would like more information about Liverpooltenders.com or need help adding new groups to your list contact, June Davies on 224 1864.

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce released the results of its first quarterly economic survey for 2007 providing a snapshot of business confidence and health across the city.

The results show that Liverpool business are experiencing a significant increase in confidence with 77% believing there will be an increase in turnover in the next 12 months compared to 67% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Orders and sales also appear buoyant, local firms say that domestic sales and orders have shown a significant upturn during the first quarter, with 59% of respondents reporting an increase from quarter four which stood at 37%. Domestic orders also increased in quarter one from 30% to 57% in the same period.

Export sales are also healthy showing a 10% increase from quarter four 2006.
Confidence that sales levels will remain the same increased from 50% to 62%. Export orders have also increased by 10% with confidence that this trend will continue increased to 62% from 43% in 2006.

Companies in Liverpool have increased their recruitment in the first quarter and are confident that they will continue to recruit throughout the year. There was also a decrease in businesses experiencing difficulty in recruiting staff.

Business cash flow has improved slightly in quarter one, with pay settlements falling and raw material prices dropping this has reduced pressure to raise output prices.

Competition remains the factor of most concern to businesses in the city. While, exchange rates only created a small increase in pressure for local companies, concerns about business rates rose sharply, up to 33% of firms polled expressed this as their primary pressure. Worries about inflation decreased by a significant margin from 31% to 24%, similarly, concerns about corporation tax decreased slightly in quarter one.

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Chief Executive, Jack Stopforth commented: “The recent rises in interest rates don’t seem to have had an effect on business confidence in Liverpool, the city remains optimistic against a more cautious national picture.

While the rises in interest rates and the strong pound are providing tougher trading conditions nationally, the positive economic conditions and business confidence that we saw in Liverpool throughout 2006 show no signs of slowing in 2007.”

Read the full QES Analysis here. [PDF]

Read an article on this at the Daily Post & Echo website.

With the official launch of LiveOne20 only days away, a great new travel deal has been added to the exclusive package of money-saving offers.

Thanks to our partner Merseytravel, LiveOne20 cardholders at Chamber member companies will now be able to enjoy free travel right across Liverpool city centre on the S2 and S3 services. You can find out more about the offer by visiting the LiveOne20 website’s travel pages.

The scheme is merely the latest reason to become a LiveOne20 cardholder yourself and take advantage of a package of exclusive savings worth £800 a year from Liverpool’s premier names in retail, health, beauty, food and drink.

Our partners also include some of the city’s leading names in leisure and entertainment. Secure a special membership deal with Picture House at FACT entitling you to cut-price tickets and invitations to premieres. Receive a £50 discount on room rates at the Radisson SAS hotel or take advantage of great two-for-one offers from the Yellow Duckmarine and Your Ticket for Liverpool as well as drink and event promotions at the DugOut Bar.

Principal contacts at member companies have already received their cards but firms have also begun buying additional LiveOne20 cards for staff at a minimal cost. They’re a great way of rewarding or incentivising staff and can be used after the system goes fully operational on May 1st.

To find out more information or to purchase cards, contact Livesmart’s account manager Daniel White by phone on 0870 055 3472 or by e-mail at liveone20@livesmart.biz

Managing Sickness Absence

Attend our Managing Sickness Absence event and pick up your FREE toolkit worth £95.

This seminar aims to show you how to improve workplace attendance culture and business performance, it includes strategies for changing work culture and improving business performance. We’ll look at

· What’s the cost of sickness absence to your organisation’s bottom-line?

· Just how do you create a high attendance culture to achieve better performance?

· How do you manage the commercial risk of absence related dismissals?

· Insightful case studies from best practice companies

Speakers include

· EEF Chief Medical Adviser and specialist in occupational medicine - Dr Sayeed Khan

· Corporate healthcare management expert - Dudley Lusted, AXA PPP Healthcare

· The Health & Safety Executive

· EEF North West’s Employment Law Barrister, Karl Nicholas and Head of Employee Relations, Jeff Nield

Added-value exclusive to delegates attending

· Receive a FREE copy of our innovative absence management tool kit worth £95

· A complimentary advice surgery from our specialist team.

The seminars take place in in two locations -  22 May in St Asaph and 27 June in Glazebrook, Warrington.

Call Leann on 0161 777 2510 to find out more or book online at www.eef.org.uk/managingsicknessabsence

More details on EEF courses can be found in this PDF.

Whether you are planning on writing and designing an advertisement yourself, or using the services of a professional advertising agency, there are a few simple guidelines to help you create the most effective messages.

Your answers to the questions below can start you thinking about what you are going to say and the design of your advertisement.

Who do you want to communicate with?
Are they non-users, potential users or existing users of your service/product? The message will vary according to which audience you are addressing.

What medium are you planning to use?
If you are a local store then a leaflet drop within a 1 mile radius may be more effective than advertising in a large circulation weekly newspaper. Alternatively if the number of potential customers is low then direct mail could be a better option.

What is the prime objective of your communication?
Is it simply to inform , or generate enquiries via coupon response, or sell off the page with mail order?

What information are you going to convey?
Make a list of all the information you think you want to include and then list it in priority.

What is the main benefit of your offering?
Sift through your information and identify what you believe will be the main benefit to the customer - not you.

What other benefits can you convey?
Customers want to have their needs satisfied, if you can offer them solutions than you are in business.

What method of response do you want?
This may be to reach for the phone, fill in a coupon, visit the website and call a credit card hotline. It is important that respondents know what to do.

Has it worked?
By following these guidelines you will be in a position to start thinking about the style and content of your advertisement. Often by testing particularly with direct mail, you will produce one advertisement you can keep using time and time again. This is often referred to as the banker.

Thanks to Gordon Jones of Gregory Jones Marketing Communications. For more information visit their website www.successfulmarketing.co.uk

Chester Zoo is offering an e-Bay item with a difference - a walk on the wild side with lemurs.

The zoo is giving one lucky bidder the chance to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get up close and personal with their pack of ring tailed lemurs whilst raising money at the same time.

The auction starts today and is open for 10 days only. The highest bidder will receive:

• Free entry for up to 4 people to Chester Zoo
• Trip on to Lemur Island to feed the Lemurs
• Lunch at Chester Zoo’s Oakfield Restaurant
• A Lemur Adoption
• One nights B & B accommodation, plus complimentary use of the Spirit Health Club, for up to 4 people at the Holiday Inn, Runcorn. For more information about the hotel please visit the Holiday Inn Website.

Make your bid and be in with a chance to experience Chester Zoo’s Lemur Island here.

More about lemurs:

Learn more about lemurs at Wikipedia.

The Lemur Conservation Foundation.

The funniest lemur photo ever.

Today (April 23) is St George’s Day, England’s patron saint.

The BBC reports on a growing campaign to have St George’s Day made a Bank Holiday in England, just as St Patrick’s Day is in Ireland. Scotland voted to make St Andrew’s Day a voluntary holiday, and Wales may follow for St David’s Day.

Could we do with another Bank Holiday? Or do you think we get enough days off? Is it wrong we don’t celebrate our national saint, or is it all a fuss over nothing?

You can cast your vote either for or against the holiday here.

Or you can have a good rant by leaving a comment below.

The British Chambers of Commerce has launched a new survey in collaboration with the RAC Foundation to look into the travel businesses make during the normal working day. The survey will run until Friday 11 May and will be followed by two focus groups. Once the results of each have been analysed they will be studied by an expert panel which will feed into the final report expected to be published in October.

We are seeking to understand how and by what method businesses travel during the day and what might be done to reduce this need. Technology is changing fast and already it is possible to use video or teleconferencing facilities that negate the need to travel. There are also many company initiatives designed to reduce car travel and to encourage the use of public transport. However, we are also aware that there are many barriers that currently exist such as the availability of broadband or access to bus routes which make car travel necessary.

You can complete the survey online here.

The survey will end on Friday 11th May.

The Compulsory Training Directive comes into full force in 2009 but preparation is necessary now. All organisations  that employ drivers need to be familiar with the Directive - the following links may assist in the understanding of the requirements.

The two organisations listed below are the sector skills bodies for Logistics (Freight) and public transport (passenger):

Skills for Logistics

Go Skills

Further contacts are available by searching the respective websites.  In addition you can find out more through the Employers’ Coalition. They are based at Number One Old Hall Street and have a full list of these organisations as well as a comprehensive network of others  that can assist.