Are You Ready To Manage Your Credit Efficiently?

An article in today’s (15 march 2010) Daily Post highlights the dangers faced by small businesses when their customers or partners go bust:

New research by small firms’ online service CreditPal claims that 43% of small companies have been affected over the past two years

Its research estimates that the cost to the small firms sector could be as high as £5.3bn.

CreditPal chief executive Chris Poll said: “The amount left owing to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) as a result of company liquidations is shocking and threatens the survival of some UK businesses.

“It is imperative that companies take every step to mitigate their exposure to the risk of defaulted payments, especially as the economy climbs out of recession when the need for cash is even greater.”

He urges firms to regularly use credit reports and referencing tools to establish the credit-worthiness of their trading partners.

Read the full article in the Daily Post here.

But how can you go about learning the tricks of effective credit control and management?

Liverpool Chamber members can access an exclusively discounted package of credit management tools and resources from CMG UK, one of the region’s most experienced credit management companies.

The package includes:

• credit risk reports
• credit limits on potential or existing customers
• advice on how to effectively chase up late payments
• step-by-step guides on everything from managing the order-to-cash cycle to successful applications to the Small Claims Court.

Members are also entitled to a free seven day trial of the service. Can you afford not to?

Find out more and sign up for your free seven day trial here.

Chamber member Ice Cube Fashion Accessories suggest you might like to treat your mum to jewellery this Mother’s Day.

They have a new range of great pieces available on their website www.icecubefa.co.uk.

You can also pop into their city centre store at Suite 109, Imperial Court, Exchange Street East, Liverpool L2 3AB.

With the London Olympics just two years away, the Team GB hopefuls are now midway through their training programmes.

As a proud sporting city, Liverpool regularly produces world class athletes. Local boxer, James Dickens is a multi-award winning flyweight, with a European Youth Championships Gold Medal and Golden Belt Championship among his many wins and is a realistic Olympic champion

James started boxing while at school and joined Salisbury Boxing Club in Everton. He explains: “I really enjoy it, I love the buzz of training and sparring.” He has a natural talent for the sport and at the young age of 18 he had already captained the England team in a match against Ireland.

James is now focusing clearly on the London Olympics in 2012, he has been looking at opponents and says: “I’m looking forward to 2012, I’m ready to box at that level, I know who I’ve got to beat and I know I can do it.”

James has represented Britain in competitions in Italy, Hungry, Germany, Poland and India, he says his best boxing memory is winning a European bronze medal for England at the European Championships in Hungary. Describing his international matches, James continued: “It feels great to be boxing for England and Great Britain in UK fights, I’m really proud to represent Liverpool. My aim is to turn professional after the Olympics.”

Talking about his sporting heroes, he said: I admire Mike Tyson for his strength and Ricky Hatton as a successful British fighter.” James is keen to emulate Ricky’s success and his ambition is to fight in Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden, New York, the top venues for professional fighters.

He takes his training and his Olympic goals very seriously and is committed to success in his sporting career and is an extremely focused and disciplined athlete.

To continue his training James needs your support and is looking for part time paid employment to work around his training camps with the British Team. Adecco are assisting James free of charge in his hunt for work - for further information contact David Wafer at Adecco premier on 0151 243 5900

‘Clatterbridge your cancer centre’ are appealing to readers of the Echo to start collecting tokens from the newspaper. As one of the charities chosen for the ‘Wish 2010 Campaign, they will receive a share of a £50,000 cash pot and every token matters.

For eight weeks starting Monday 15 February, four tokens a day will be printed in the Echo. The more tokens the charity collects, the bigger share of the funds they will receive.  Every penny raised will go towards improving the facilities for patients at Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, and make a real difference to people’s lives.

They need your help to collect as many tokens as possible and return them to us at the address below by Monday 12 April 2010.

Fundraising Office
Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology
Clatterbridge Road
Bebington, Wirral
CH63 4JY

For more info, please contact Deb Ferns on 0151 482 7948 or deborah.ferns@ccotrust.nhs.uk

Public Access Workshop classes
from 13th February 2010 

Free taster session
Monday 8th February
6pm

• Do you ever visit the theatre and think ‘I wish I could do that’?
• Would you like to speak with more confidence in public?
• Do your inhibitions ever hold you back?

If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then the new season of workshops
from Lodestar Theatre Company, the producers of The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival are for you.

Acting for Everyone
Tuesdays from 16th February 6pm – 8pm

No experience necessary – all you need is a passion for performance. You will learn how  to build a character,  take control of your body and voice and develop your own ‘method’. Along the way you will receive regular,  in-depth feedback, advice and direction from Lodestar’s key creative team.

Shakespeare for Everyone
Mondays from 15th February 6pm – 8pm

If you would like to develop your confidence, improve your speaking-voice or simply learn more about  Shakespeare  then  this course  is  for  you. Using entirely practical methods you can learn how verse works, how to approach it in performance and a whole  range  of  practical  techniques  designed  to make  performing  Shakespeare  easy and fun.

Impro’ for Everyone
Saturdays from 13th February 11am – 1pm

This class is for anyone who would like to lose their inhibitions, be more spontaneous or  improve  their confidence  in an entirely  fear-free environment.  Starting with  the simplest games, you will quickly and effortlessly develop your  skills until before you know it, you will be improvising the blues, inventing terrible jokes – which get laughs!

Any single session £15
Ten sessions (one course) for £125 (£12.50 / session)
Twenty sessions (two courses) £200 (£10.00 / session)
Thirty sessions (all three courses) for £250 (£7.50 / session)

Places limited to 20 per session.

All sessions will be held at the Contemporary Urban Centre, Liverpool.

To take part please email learning@lodestartheatrecompany.co.uk  or call CUC Box Office 0151 7083529

Chamber charity member W.I.R.E.D are looking for a business development manager: 

Business Development Manager

Salary range for the post is £32,000 to £38,000 dependent on skills and experience.

Inclusive Access UK Ltd was formed in 1998 as the W.I.R.E.D. trading arm and is a leading social business providing advice, consultancy and training in a range of areas.  We have recently become an accredited learning centre for City & Guilds Qualifications and are expanding our workforce to take full advantage of this exciting development. 

Do you enjoy working in a busy, challenging environment?  Do you have experience in developing new business leads and increasing sales, particularly in the training, advice and consultancy fields?

Closing date for applications is 12 noon 18th February 2010

To apply you must complete an Inclusive Access Application Form.�
CV’s will not be accepted.

Please visit the following website for full person specification, application form download and competencies framework http://www.wired.me.uk/jobs.html

Interviews will take place Tuesday 2nd March 2010

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Research has shown that people who learn first aid start to lose their skills quite quickly after attending training. Skills fade occurs. This happens even when the initial training has been delivered by a provider who uses the latest educational techniques to make the experience memorable.

Garry Joynes, Training Delivery Co-ordinator with St John Ambulance explains: ‘During the St John Ambulance first aid courses, students are given a lot of time to practise and immerse themselves in first aid as a subject. However once the course is over, students can get very few chances to use their first aid skills, and therefore because first aid is such a practical subject, can forget some of what they have learnt on the course. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recognises ‘skills fade’ to be an issue, which is why they now strongly recommend business first aiders do an Annual refresher course to keep their skills in tip-top condition’.
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In our litigious times, St John Ambulance is advising Chamber members to ensure their first aiders complete the Annual refresher course with a HSE-approved provider.

The St John Ambulance Annual refresher course is fully HSE compliant and has ISO 9001: 2000 accreditation. It gives First aid at work and Emergency first aid at work students an essential opportunity to practise and update their skills during their three year period as a qualified first aider. The course covers:

• severe bleeding
• communication and casualty care
• emergencies at work
• the primary survey
• seizures
• shock
• unconscious casualty
• adult resuscitation
• and updates on any new first aid procedures and protocols

St John Ambulance’s refresher course is being praised by the local business community.

For more information visit www.sja.org.uk/training or call 0844 770 4800. 

Chamber of Commerce members are entitled to a 10% discount off St John Ambulance’s scheduled courses and on-site training in the North West. 

What will the event cover?

This four week, practical workshop will cover all areas of trade credit management and the ‘order to cash’ process.  Hands on help and guidance will be given to the delegates to enable them to write and implement a credit policy to suit their business needs.

Writing On The Wall literary festival celebrates 10 years as a radical, cutting edge festival, by launching ‘Rebel Rants’, a series featuring some of the most high profile, outspoken, controversial writers and campaigners in the UK today.

These  include:

• Journalist and former independent anti-corruption MP, Martin Bell,
• Radical Feminist, writer and commentator, Germaine Greer,
• Radical lawyer, Michael Mansfield QC, activist, broadcaster and columnist, Darcus Howe
• Writer, critic and social commentator Bonnie Greer.

Events

Democracy Down the Drain?
With Martin Bell & Stuart Wilks-Heeg

Date: 27th January 2010

The ‘Rebel Rants’ kick off with Martin Bell, famed war correspondent, anti sleaze campaigner and former independent MP, talking about his latest book - A very British Revolution: the Expenses Scandal and how to save our democracy.  With the coming general election, after four years in which MPs of all parties have been stuck in the mire of sleaze and corruption, this Rebel Rant asks the question – Will there ever be a Parliament for the people?

Martin Bell’s 30 years reporting from 80 countries and covering 11 conflicts made him one of the most respected journalists of his generation. His uncompromising style won him the Royal Television Society’s Reporter of the Year award in 1977 and 1993. In anger at the state of politics he stood as an independent and stole the show in the 2001 election campaign with his anti-sleaze battle against Conservative MP Neil Hamilton. He is currently an ambassador for UNICEF and is an outspoken critic of the state of journalism and politics today.

Martin will be joined by Stuart Wilks-Heeg, lecturer at the School of Social Policy at University of Liverpool and Director of Democratic Audit. Stuart has conducted extensive research into the state of local democracy and his 2007 study ‘Purity of Elections in the UK’ revealed significant deficiencies in the UK’s electoral system. He is currently leading the process of producing the fourth Audit of democracy in the United Kingdom, using the internationally acclaimed Democratic Audit framework.
We are delighted to be presenting this event in partnership with News from Nowhere.The event will be BSL signed and the venue is fully accessible.

Democracy Down the Drain?
With Martin Bell & Stuart Wilks-Heeg
The Bluecoat
Date: 27th January 2010
Time: 7.30pm
Cost £8/£5 concessions.
Tickets available from the Bluecoat box-office:
Tel: 0151 702 5324. Online: visit www.writingonthewall.org

For more information and press tickets call Madeline Heneghan 0151 703 0020

Keep It In The Family – A Family Office
By Gaynor Lyth of Alchemy Advisory Services

Gaynor Lyth, Chartered Financial Planner at Alchemy

Starting, leading and working in a family business can bring valuable benefits compared with other businesses - from greater trust between staff to increased flexibility. However, without careful management there can also be problems.

It’s estimated that only one in 10 family businesses survive beyond the third generation and in many cases, it’s not only the business that can disappear, it can be the wealth too.

By setting up a Family Office, businesses can put safeguards in place that will effectively transfer established wealth across generations.  Its sole function is to centralise the management of a significant family fortune, typically managing investments, taxes, philanthropic giving, trusts, and legal matters.

However there are some high profile examples of families who have got it wrong.  Had they had a Family Office in place and the necessary governance to protect their businesses, things could have been quite different.

A fortune frittered

Frank W Woolworth started out as a meagre potato farmer and later went on to become one of the wealthiest men of his time as the founder of Woolworths.

When he died in 1919 the business was worth over US$55m (equivalent to £1billion today) but within three generations his family had blown it all.   It had taken the Woolworths company more than 100 years to reach its pinnacle but a fraction of that time to ruin itself. The reason?  The family never learned how to deal with its wealth and didn’t have any governance in place to protect itself.

So how do you set up a Family Office and what are the key things to consider?

Review your business structure

Before you can set up a Family Office you need to have a thorough understanding of the business structure – not just in its current form, but also anticipating who might be involved in the future.

Taking the time to consider who’s involved, long-term business aims and the wants and needs of all concerned will help to anticipate future sticking points and importantly, set up the right Family Office structure.  Every family grows and therefore needs a structure in place to control the growing complexity of the needs of all concerned.  Initial structures can be simple family arrangements and from this foundation the whole concept of Family Office can grow.

Education

Examples like that of the Woolworths family show that financial education should be part of any family business’s long-term financial strategy.   This education should extend to everyone, including spouses and children, to encourage responsibility and financial confidence.

The younger generation in particular needs true family governance. The level of structure is entirely personal but it might include encouraging children to read the financial press or even allowing them to a make a case for funding for their own business idea.  These suggestions not only develop valuable business skills but financial acumen too.

Partners

Family office is not just about having a wealth manager investing on a family’s behalf, it’s about having the right adviser team working together to cover all aspects of financial planning including family governance and risk management.    If family businesses don’t take heed, they could quite literally lose everything.

Alchemy Advisory Services is a leading financial and lifestyle planner and works with High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and family businesses across the north west.  For more information please contact Gaynor on 01745 585474 or visit www.alchemyadvisoryservices.com