Author - Eric Witheridge Traditional Telephone Switchboard (PBX) Sales Slide Further We've known that PBX sales worldwide have been falling for some time and a recent set of figures from analyst firm *MZA have confirmed this. *Far from any sort of recovery PBX extensions and licences have fallen by 9% year on year. There has been an 11% decline in the enterprise market. (Solutions with greater than 100 extensions/licences). This could of course be a natural shift driven by a global decline associated with the recession however, there is also a massive increase in the amount of Internet based telephony. So what does this mean for anyone making the decision to repair/replace a telephone switchboard? Simply this, question your telephone provider about the longevity of their solution? Should you really be investing in expensive hardware which may become redundant? Should you really tie yourself to a multi year contract? On premises equipment offering internet telephony is not the way to go unless you have massively quick broadband dedicated to telephony only. Also, this tends to be expensive and could lock you into the sort of handsets that are delivered with the system. Our advice is to try a solution to make sure it fits the business. We're happy to provide a free trial of our systems to help you make this decision. The wonderful thing is that we will not tie you into a lengthy contract and the handsets may be used with most IP or hosted telephone systems. * Figures courtesy of Channel Telecom magazine http://commsbusiness.co.uk/
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Entrepreneur and mother succeeds thanks to business networking Astute new entrepreneur, and mother, Sharifah Rahman, launched fashion startup business - Camellia McQueen this year in response to a family crisis. Now, thanks to a lively and very active local business network, she now spends her days creating stylish accessories from her home in the heart of the Forest of Dean. Sharifah talks candidly over coffee about life as a new business owner, a mother and her experience of relocating from Malaysia to the UK, revealing that she is an eternal student. “I am learning something new every day.” says Sharifah. She’s quiet and thoughtful, whilst being incredibly charming. Bend: don’t break! The family settled in England after her husband had to leave his high powered job overseas due to a sudden illness. So, Sharifah decided to take on the role of bread winner. However, the Forest of Dean isn’t renowned for its job opportunities, so she had to forge her own. Starting a business was the most logical response. Anyone can appreciate what a courageous step and huge achievement this is, especially after having been a full time mum for the past seven years. Eureka moment: let’s make fashion fun for boys Sharifah originally studied fashion design, and that’s where her passion lies. She had her eureka moment when she spotted a gap in the market. Women are spoilt for choice when it comes to dressing up, but men are sadly bereft in the accessory department. Sharifah wanted to inject some style and lots of fun in to her son’s wardrobe, but how? Her very first product was born - the bowtie. “The bowties in the UK are too safe and boring. I wanted something funkier for my son.” She started experimenting with patterns, colour and fabrics to create her own original, high-end range. Her friends were quick to compliment her skills. So, she registered her business and started hatching her master plan. Sharifah decided upon a methodical approach based on sound advice when launching Camellia McQueen. After spotting a local entrepreneur’s taster course, she embarked upon a steep learning curve and took the Forest of Dean Entrepreneurs Plus course. “This gave me the idea to expand my range to include men’s bowties, business card holders and purses.” It armed her with the necessary tools. A supportive business network and mentoring = success The course also convinced her of the power of quality business networking. Ideal for Sharifah, since it offered the opportunity for support from established local businesses as well as other new start-ups. By chance CAP Business Clubs founder, Paul James, was looking for an apprentice member following a suggestion from CAP member and photographer, Alison Ball, owner of Lemon Photographic. The two, inspired by the National Apprenticeships scheme, and supported by the other members offered “apprenticeship networking member” free to a new business for 6 months. A real cash saving and access to experience and knowledge for any new business can only be a good thing. Paul James is passionate about the power of networking and seeing local business succeed. Indeed this is one of the main reasons he started the CAP Business Clubs in the stylish business ready offices suite above Coleford Library. “It’s just nice to help people and it makes me feel good,” says Paul. “Membership also gives Sharifah access to people within the group who are trustworthy and reliable, either as clients or suppliers.” So pleased with the outcome of the scheme are all involved that Sharifah has no hesitation in joining as a full member after her apprenticeship ended and CAP Business Clubs are now looking for more new candidates. Next stop, Etsy, NotontheHighstreet.com and beyond Sharifah knows the power of good quality images in professional marketing online and Alison Ball of Lemon Photographic was already on hand to help her out with her product shots. She will now be looking at selling her products on the likes of Etsy and Not on the Highstreet.com as well as her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/camellia.mcqueen and her own website which will be launched. Online retailers can’t afford to have poor quality images and Sharifah needed to spend wisely to launch her business with limited finance. The support of other members and her own budgetary skills show her incredible ingenuity. Camellia McQueen: the story behind the name Camellia McQueen is an intriguing name, so how did she come up with this? Well, her favourite flower is the Camellia and she is inspired by fashion designer, Alexander McQueen. Her brand is stylish and fashion orientated. She made a conscious decision to avoid the ‘arts and crafts’ niche and pigeonholing her herself early on. Her ultimate goal is to design and make clothes for children, women and, perhaps, men. Balancing business and family life You’ll often hear business owners talk about their early starts. In fact, Sharifah has found this to be the key to success. “I am more creative and productive in the morning.” It is also a great way to balance work and family life. Juggling the two was difficult at first, but with help from her husband, she has established a solid routine. Sharifah had always dreamed of running her own business and the support from CAP Business Clubs members has helped her achieve her goals. She advises anyone who’s considering launching their own startup to throw themselves wholeheartedly into networking. “It’s not as scary as you think.” says Sharifah. Her success speaks volumes for CAP’s own development of the Apprenticeship Scheme and, in turn, they have gained a valuable member. For more information on CAP Business Clubs or to contact Paul James about apprentice members opportunities visit www.capbusinessclubs.co.uk Key questions for Auto Enrolment
Auto enrolment cannot be ignored; legislation clearly puts the responsibility firmly on the shoulders of employers to operate a Qualifying Scheme correctly for their employees. Failure to comply will result in a series of penalties and fines. So, as an employer (whether a company employing thousands or a sole trader with a single employee), while the resulting actions may be different, the key questions are the same: · When do I need to have a Qualifying Scheme in place? · Who do I need to enrol? · How much will this cost? · What choices do I have in selecting a Qualifying Scheme and, · Is there anything that can be done to reduce the cost? When do I need to have a Qualifying Scheme in place? The ‘staging date,’ is the date by which you must have established your Qualifying Scheme, it varies between October 2012 and April 2017 depending on the number of employees on your payroll as at 1 April 2012. There is an interactive tool available from The Pension Regulator at www.tpr.gov.uk/automatic-enrolment which enables you to find out your staging date. Who do I need to enrol? All employees, whether part-time, full-time or contractors age 22 and State Pension Age who earn over the ‘earnings trigger’ in a pay reference period (£192.00 if employees are paid weekly, £833.00 monthly and £10,000 annually for 2014/15) must be auto enrolled. Employees outside these parameters simply need to receive a communication about their rights to join the scheme. How much will this cost? The statutory minimum contribution into the scheme will be 8% of an employee’s ‘qualifying earnings’, made up of an employer’s contribution of at least 3%, member’s contribution of 4% and 1% from the Government in the form of tax relief. The ‘qualifying earnings’ will be total earnings falling within an earnings band of £5,772 to £41,865 in 2014/15. What choices do I have in selecting a Qualifying Scheme? There are a variety of different pension schemes that can be used for auto enrolment, from defined benefits schemes to personal pension plans. Your ultimate strategy for auto enrolment could be a multi-scheme solution with your workforce segmented into different schemes. Your solutions will depend on the answers to the following questions: · Do you have an existing scheme(s) in place for all your employees? If so, you can continue with this scheme as long as it meets the conditions for auto enrolment · Do you only offer pension benefits to some employees, eg senior management? If this is the case you can continue with the scheme for these existing members (as long as it meets the conditions for auto enrolment) however you will need to set up a new scheme for all other employees It is unlikely that you would want to start a new defined benefit scheme to satisfy your auto enrolment requirements. Where, on average, contribution levels are likely to exceed £100 per month per employee and you employ more than ten employees, you may want to consider setting up a group personal pension scheme. Alternatively, the offerings from NEST, The People’s Pension or NOW: Pensions may be an appropriate solution. Further information on these solutions is available on request. Is there anything that can be done to reduce the cost? While contributions themselves can be based on ‘qualifying earnings’ or ‘pensionable earnings’ (where different minimum contributions may apply), in addition to the level of contributions it will be advisable to consider ease of administration, as this will also be a contributor to cost. The scheme with the lowest contribution levels may substantially increase the administrative burden. Beyond this you could look at salary sacrifice. This is a method of using National Insurance savings to help fund part of the overall contribution for both you and your employees. Pension reform is coming and, even if auto enrolment may still be some time off for you, for many employers there is much to think about and plan for. The sooner you engage in this process the easier the process and cost will be to bear. The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances. The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances. Forester Business award for Kit & Caboodle
Kit and Caboodle Boutique are feeling pleased with themselves today ( if not a little fragile) as we won the Forester runner's up award for best retail business, last night at Forest Hills Golf Club. We were delighted to be awarded this as it is a brilliant recognition for all the hard work and effort that we have put into Kit & Caboodle over the last 10 months. The funny bit is that I completely missed the honour of being awarded this title, as I has just nipped out to the loo. So my poor daughter and part time business partner Natalie had to go on to the stage and collect the award on her own, she hasn't forgiven me yet! Luckily the levels of alcohol I had consumed enabled me to see the funny side of missing my own moment of glory! Louisa SMEs and Broadband
Are you capitalising on broadband connectivity? It has been revealed in a study by Go ON UK ad Booz & Co that an additional £1.8b can be generated by incorporating digital capabilities, but in a report by The Broadband Stakeholder Group there are many smaller firms who are failing to capitalise on this. The report has come up with a list of recommendations which could be used to better inform policy makers in SMEs on the benefits of using the internet and better internet connectivity. So far £1.7b has been invested in the broadband infrastructure and SMEs need to take advantage of this and boost their own productivity. Beta Telecoms 01291 620189 www.betatelcoms.co.uk |
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