Business

This month’s article is about ways you can find and secure new customers for little to no spend. What’s not to like about that? What many people don’t realise is that the old payment model for software has completely changed so there is plenty of software available that doesn’t have to cost you a penny. SaaS and how it has changed the way we pay for software Largely, gone are the days when you paid for a software license. It came in a nice box with a manual and you owned it forever. Most software developers now prefer a cloud-based Software as a Service, or SaaS, model meaning you pay for the software monthly or annually and what you pay is based on the features you choose and how many people use it. The downsides to this are that you never really own it, the costs can change at any..

Destination Milton Keynes (DMK), the official visitor and tourism information provider for the city, is offering all businesses within the retail, leisure, hospitality, arts and culture sectors a free listing on their recently re-launched website. The visitor economy has been the hardest hit sector during the COVID pandemic with some businesses being shut for over a year. Yet pre-pandemic the visitor economy was worth more than £230 million to the Milton Keynes area, so it is vitally important that it gets back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. In an effort to help the recovery of this sector, DMK is offering all businesses looking to increase footfall from visitors a free listing on its new website. Businesses can simply head to the website, upload their details and an image to create their own free listing...

Two of the leading publishing businesses in Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire have joined forces to create a new ‘print powerhouse’. Lunar Publishing Ltd, which produces the monthly MK Pulse and NN Pulse lifestyle magazines, has relaunched the well respected and long-established Northamptonshire business publication Business Times earlier this year. Now it is to amalgamate Woburn Media Ltd, publisher of the leading monthly business publications Business MK and Business2Business, to create an unrivalled and powerful portfolio of titles. As the government begins to ease the lockdown restrictions, now is the perfect time for the publications to join forces to deliver matchless high-quality news, picture and feature coverage, as well as a peerless offer to advertisers of both the B2B and B2C markets across the three counties, printing over 70,000 copies each month, reaching a total of more than 210,000 readers. “When the opportunity arose to partner with Business MK and..

The world doesn’t stand still and neither should a brand. In fact, things change so fast nowadays that brands simply can’t do enough to keep up with the times and often miss major opportunities that can be exploited by a real shift in direction. This month’s article is about how your brand should evolve not only to survive but to prosper. Why your brand must never be static Let’s remember first exactly what ‘brand’ means. Your logo is not your brand. It is only a part of your brand, often referred to as your ‘branding’ or ‘brand identity’. The brand itself is every aspect of how you do you what you; the very fabric of your business, the values and beliefs that drive things from the inside and how every detail of..

A local digital marketing agency has been helping other businesses to come into the 21st century during the pandemic. As the economic effects of COVID-19 continue to bite, the team at Fracas Digital have been providing on-call support to firms who have been forced to start trading online.  This follows the news from Fortune that website hosting companies have seen a dramatic increase in their subscriber numbers during the pandemic. As shops have shut their doors, eCommerce adoption has accelerated and more firms are now doing business on the internet than ever before. Social media matters Speaking from the firm’s offices in Milton Keynes, Managing Director Zara Hall was keen to point out the importance of digital marketing for businesses that were perhaps coming online for the first time as a result of lockdown. “Its all about engaging with your clients and attracting new customers by showcasing what you can..

Midlands-based Gemma McMillan is pursuing her business dreams during lockdown as the demand for Virtual Assistant services continues to skyrocket. Gemma has just set up her professional business with the award-winning Alchemy Virtual Assistance (VA) team, who have reported a record number of client enquiries from businesses globally – with numbers having quadrupled since COVID hit. With decades of experience across various admin, sales, customer service and client liaison roles, Gemma says the time is right to leave her secure job at an international shipping firm to focus on her new venture providing flexible, remote admin and PA services to entrepreneurs, not for profit organisations and business owners. “Sure, there are lots challenges right now but there are also lots of opportunities as a result of COVID and Brexit, and many small businesses are thriving, especially those that are virtual,” said Gemma, who had been following Alchemy VA’s founder -..

Barratt and David Wilson Homes Northampton is continuing its positive work to support local employment, skills and training by creating two new apprenticeship roles to develop talent across the areas in which it builds. The leading housebuilder, which is based in Northampton, aims to recruit two new trade apprentices, one specialising in bricklaying and one in carpentry and joinery, to work across its operational areas. These could include: Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.  The vacancies come ahead of the 14th annual National Apprenticeship Week, running from February 8th to 14th, which celebrates the benefits of apprenticeships for individuals, businesses and the wider economy.  National Apprenticeship Week is a celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprentices across the country.  Throughout the 14 years, the awareness week has brought together apprenticeship supporters from across the country, with MPs, ambassadors, apprentices, training providers and top employers..

Internet advertising, often aggregated together under the term ‘PPC’, can be a powerhouse opportunity for anyone wanting virtually instantaneous product sales or service enquiries. At the same time, it is a minefield, so how you determine where your budget is best spent and avoid the common beginners’ scenario of it disappearing down a plughole with nothing to show? What is ‘PPC’ and how does it work? PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click (advertising). However, web-based advertising actually extends beyond this, for example Sponsored Search (paying to go to the top of Google search results), so it is very much a generalisation and also a misnomer. The theory behind it is that, on a given website, your advertisement(s) will be shown and you pay a variable price for each person that responds to your ad, usually by clicking on it. The variable price is calculated based on several factors: How much are other,..

Baker Brothers Diamonds is celebrating its sparkling success in the prestigious Billboards Awards 2020. The family-run, Bedford based jewellers was announced as the winners of the Most Eye-Catching Campaign category in the national awards. The business, run by successful sisters, Lizzie McAuley and Rebecca Church, was awarded the accolade after the billboard campaign, which featured illustrative characters, was voted the best by the public, including Baker Brothers customers. It was the first time the business had been in the running in the awards process and follows Baker Brothers decision to try a very different visual approach with their advertising artwork, created with the help of marketing and PR agency, Rocket Creative.  Baker Brothers Director Lizzie McAuley said: “We are delighted to be announced as winners of the most eye-catching campaign in the Billboard Awards 2020. We hadn’t realised we were contenders and had been nominated in the national competition until..

Get Staffed are providing a free and secure gateway to access government funding, helping businesses to secure a £1,500 grant and a six month funded work placement, for free. Bedfordshire based online recruitment specialist Get Staffed are proud to announce their participation in new government scheme to become a Kickstart Gateway; an organisation to represent small businesses and employers, accessingwork placements for young talent and training them for future employment.  The Kickstart Scheme allows businesses to help young people (aged 16-24) who are currently on universal credit to develop the skills and experiences needed to find work via valuable 6-month  placements on a 25 hour-per week contract. The government will fund 100% of every placement; 25 hours per week at Minimum/National Living Wage (pending employee age), plus employer National Insurance and pension contributions, meaning the schemes are 100% cost neutral to employers. In addition to this, the government will give..

An act of kindness by staff at local accounting firm RSM UK will mean that those working at Willen Hospice over the festive period will be gifted a Christmas meal when on shifts.  The company raised more than £600 by holding a dress down day before the pandemic. The money will more than cover the cost of a festive meal, with the extra donated will help fund vital Hospice services. While most people look forward to a break over the Christmas period, Willen Hospice nurses, catering, and other vital members of staff will be working ‘business-as-usual’, caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses and at the end of their lives, while supporting their families to make sure they can enjoy precious time together at Christmas.  Tracy Priest, RSM UK Tax Manager, and Willen Hospice Ambassador, said: “Willen Hospice can only support the local community with the fantastic work they do if,..

This month’s article is focused on some winning ways to approach B2B (business-to-business) selling. There are so many different ways to find prospective customers but, when you have someone you would like to work with, how do you get them over the line? One good customer can be better than a bunch of bad ones You will have expended a great deal of time, energy and probably money to get your business to where it is now (unless you are just starting out). In order to progress and grow, it is not about the volume of customers you have but having the right customers. Always remember this; we all have experience of the ones that take up most of our time, can be a little painful to deal with and expect to pay as little as possible… and we have all needed those customers to progress in our journey. However,..

December 2020: A former journalist from Northamptonshire is gifting one lucky business or charity an eight-week PR and communications support package – a free present in time for Christmas. Jessica Pilkington, who runs PR, marketing, and social media company Pilkington Communications, is preparing to launch a new ‘Adapt, Recover, Rebuild’ Public Relations (PR) and communications Covid support package in the New Year. Before that though she plans to give one organisation an early Christmas present – £2,750 of PR support for free. This eight-week package has been designed specifically for organisations that have been negatively affected by the pandemic and that desperately need support – whether it is to redesign and write a website, plan a social media campaign, generate lots of press coverage, design and run campaigns, enter business awards or create short films. Jessica, who worked in print journalism before moving into PR nearly 20 years ago, said:..

The situation with Coronavirus and Covid is arguably the worst challenge many businesses, and we as people, have had to face in a generation. In a time like this, it can be easy to lose sight of the way forward and to worry about what the future may hold. This month’s article is intended to provide business owners and managers with some positive guidance to help get you through these tougher times. Be clear on your responsibilities Your obligations, as an employer, are to provide a safe and compliant working environment for your staff and for any visitors. That has always been the case just with some added complications. In simplest terms, you need to put sufficient measures in place to minimise the risk of Coronavirus entering the workplace and, in the event it does, from spreading among your employees. To summarise, you need socially distanced workspaces, staff informed to..

HR Solutions, which provides outsourced HR services to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK, is expanding with the acquisition of Crispin Rhodes Limited, a human resources consultancy in Milton Keynes. This latest acquisition is the company’s second in Milton Keynes following the successful acquisition of HR Services (UK) in 2017 and shows further investment in the area. Greg Guilford, CEO of HR Solutions, said: “We are very pleased to announce this latest acquisition as it provides HR Solutions with an ever-increasing footprint in the Midlands and will likely to see additional job roles being created as the combined company continues to grow. “We were actively looking to acquire like-minded HR consultancies and, with Crispin Rhodes being such a well-established HR consultancy in Milton Keynes, it made sense for us to make an approach. “I am very excited about this deal and the future working relationship we will have..