Small businesses are reminded to submit applications for Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) before the end of the month.

The SBRR is available to ratepayers who occupy single properties with rateable values below £15,000 (or £21,500 in London) and offers reduced payments of up to 50 per cent for small firms. The deadline for applications for the 2006/7 financial year is 30 September.

It also applies to those who occupy multiple properties which each have a rateable value that is below £2,200, where the total value is less than the above threshold.

Previously, businesses could apply annually for rate relief but due to government changes, the next round of applications will not be until September 2010.

Ratepayers need to notify their local authority within four weeks if there is an increase in the value of any business property located outside the council area which provides their SBRR discount. They must also notify their local authority of any additional properties they occupy.

Philip Moody, Senior Member Services Representative at the Forum of Private Business, said:

“Many business owners will be unaware of this deadline. It does not apply to everyone, but they need to check their rates to see if they are eligible, and get their applications in if they are.”

Source: The Forum of Private Business, 13/09/2007

Businesses across Wales are set to reap the benefits of up to £3 billion in European Union funding.

West Wales and the Valleys has become the first region in Britain to have its EU Structural Fund programme legally adopted, leading the way for massive investment during the period 2007 to 2013.

Around £570 million will be ploughed into a Convergence programme for West Wales and the Valleys, as a successor to the previous Objective 1 funding programme carried out between 2000 and 2006.

The European Development Fund (ERDF) will also provide an additional £856 million to support research and innovation, tackle climate change, and regenerate deprived communities.

Other new initiatives in the pipeline include the East Wales Regional Competitiveness scheme and an Employment programme.

Announcing the windfall in Swansea, First Minister Rhodri Morgan, said:

“We are now in a position to move forward with a seven-year plan to continue Wales’ transformation into a dynamic, thriving nation.

“In line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg agendas of sustainable jobs and growth, we will be taking action to encourage full employment with quality jobs, as well as helping to ensure the growth and expansion of our businesses.”

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, said:

“Our aim is to ensure that Wales continues to progress towards competitive, sustainable economic development.

“We want to create long-term, high quality jobs as well as providing the right environment to enable businesses to flourish and expand.”

The first round of projects set to benefit from the funding are due to be approved within the next couple of months.

Previous rounds of European Structural funds had seen more than £1.5 billion allocated in Wales to almost 3,000 separate projects.

Source: Welsh Assembly Government, 20/09/2007

More on Grant Funding

John

We have relaunched our blog as a means of bringing you useful tips and up-to-date information that is relevant to the SME market.  Fund raising for business growth will be a major focus for us as we have a wide and varied offering including business angels, small firms loans, asset finance, factoring and invoice discounting, property finance, trade finance, grants and many more.

We will bring you examples of success and ideas for fund raising solutions so be sure to subscribe to our feed as you never know when this information might be useful for your own business!

Another topic we will talk about in some detail is search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and other internet marketing strategies.  This information will be aimed at anyone interested in learning how they can make more money online.  Here you will find posts that explain the basics so that you can get an apprciation of how SEO works and how you can better take advantage of the opportunities the internet provides to grow your business.

If there are topics you would like to see included here feel free to email me at kath@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk.

Thanks to Kay for her scripting skills and for revitalising our blog!

Why do I need a business plan?

A business plan is necessary for three primary reasons:

• It gives business owners a current assessment of the business as well as a roadmap for the future.
• It helps a business grow, both organically and through outside funding.
• It is essential to have an up to date business plan in order to secure financing, ranging from an overdraft facility or bank loan to venture capital and business angel funding.

A business plan is a tool for decision making - remember this and remember who it is written for - then design it to suit.

The business plan is a living document that should be continuously reviewed in light of the business environment and actual performance. This enables the directors to oversee business performance.

When to use outside help

For a business plan to be effective those who will have to implement it should own it. So, it cannot just be delegated to a consultant. But an experienced business facilitator can add value to the process, whilst ensuring that ownership is in-house.

Objectives

The objectives of the business plan are first to develop and communicate a plan of action that will achieve the company’s strategic objective. Then to provide a means of monitoring progress towards that objective and of stimulating alternative action if the objective is unlikely to be met by the original plan. These cannot be achieved unless the plan defines the strategic objective and includes benchmarks or performance measures at key stages during the year.

The planning process

The planning process is a valuable and exciting exercise that can be a major contributor to team building and a means of developing ownership/commitment to the plan. Involve people, it should end up as “our plan” not “their plan imposed on us”. There are various exercises that can be helpful in the planning process:

• Analysis of current year financial results
• SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• MOST analysis
• Brainstorming - for alternative scenarios, opportunities, strategies
• Profit & Loss and Cash flow forecastsIf the company provides different services or operates in different niche markets these exercises should be checked for each.

John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

It is a question we are often asked and the short answer is that there may be several different options available to raise money for your business.

You may be eligible to apply to the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme - if your business is under 5 years old and you have no (or very few) assets available to use as security then contact us for a FREE assessment of your eligibility.  We can help with applications above £30,000.

Perhaps you would prefer to have Business Angels Investment in your business - this is when a high net worth individual (Private Investor) or a syndicated group puts money into your business in return for shares.  Business Angels investment typically ranges between £50,000 and £1m, you will need a strong management team and an investor-ready business plan.

If your company has assets - perhaps plant or machinery - or stock it may be possible to raise money through sale-and-lease-back or asset finance.  Asset finance and leasing is likley to require security or personal guarantees.

Factoring or Invoice Discounting could improve your cash flow and provide your company with additional working capital that can be used to grow your business organically.  Factoring works by raising funds within 24 hours of raising an invoice rather than having to wait the 30, 60 or 90 days for your creditors to pay.

If your business supplies goods to a purchase order then trade finance may be a solution you want to consider.  If you are purchasing the goods from overseas or the orders are seasonal and larger than you usually handle you may find it difficult to find the working capital to pay for the goods upfront.  Trade Finance works much like factoring but at an earlier stage in the process. 

If you think that any of these finance tools could be of use to you then call us for a chat on 0845 838 0936 or email us.

business finance, business angels, unsecured business loan, factoring, invoice discounting, trade finance, asset finance, leasing, business funding  

The “Investor Fair” is held in London every Spring and Autumn. The next Investor Fair will be held on Tuesday 9th May 2006. Contact us now for more information.

This prestigious event has recently drawn nearly 200 active investors to meet with clients on the day. Investors are likely to be syndicate members, VCT’s, small institutions and some wealthy High Net Worth individuals.

Last Autumn’s “Investor Fair” was filmed by BBC TV for the “Working Lunch” business programme. One client at that fair received two offers of investment, and that was before the company was subsequently featured on BBC TV’s “Trouble at the Top”. Fair clients have also appeared on BBC2’s “Dragon’s Den”.

The “Investor Fair” is limited to 30 clients, who can be from any sector and at any stage of development, on a first come-first-served basis.

The “Investor Fair” can be a stand-alone method of reaching potential investors or, even better, used as part of the full Business Angel service which gives you access to nearly 1500 angel syndicates, VCT’s, small institutions and HNW individuals in the largest Angel network in Europe.

www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk/angel-investor-fair.htm

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

Funding: BUSINESS ANGELS - SMALL FIRMS LOAN GUARANTEES - GRANTS
Marketing: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION - MARKETING - NEW PRODUCTS
Strategy: STRATEGY - BUSINESS PLANNING - WORKSHOPS

investor, fair, investment, funding, UK, London, VC, venture capital, business angels, Dragon’s Den, Working Lunch, Trouble at the Top, BBC, TV, VCT, syndicate

Plans have to be angled differently according to the target readership, and this is true more of the Business Angel market than anything else. They have buttons that need pressing…do you know what they are?  The guide is FREE, no strings. Just email me at john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk with your email address and I will email the guide by return.

Extra! When the plan is drafted, I will review it FREE and let you know whether I think Business Angels might be interested in investing. No obligation to use me or my company.

John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk/business_angels.htm

business, angels, funding, finance, plan, free, investor, investment

Dear Introducer,

Thank you for your interest in Strategy Consulting Limited. Our website will provide you with an overview of the services that we are able to offer your clients, and I invite you to browse around and familiarise yourself with them.

I have personally been a Company Director of SME’s for over 25 years, and I have used the services of various intermediaries. I have learned that quick, efficient and knowledgeable service, together with good communication, are the keys to client satisfaction.We work with many different types of introducers - from consultants and lawyers to accountants and entrepreneurs.

We like to work closely with our introducers in order to provide the best service to your clients, whether that be for finance or consultancy advice. Needless to say, we provide a share of our income to our introducers and have an efficient in-house tracking system which will keep you updated and ensure that you are paid.

I hope that you will accept my invitation to try our service and that it delivers you the ability to generate extra income and offer additional products to your clients, helping you to offer a complete service for most circumstances.

My friendly and efficient team responsible for liaising with introducers is lead by my Marketing Director, Kath Dawson MBA and my Sales Director, Stephanie Iles. More details of our Introducers scheme is available from Kath or Stephanie on 0845 838 0936 or you can simply click here and one of them will call you.

I look forward to working with you and I hope we exceed your expectations. John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

introducer, introduction, commission, fees, funding, finance, strategy, marketing, business, angels, SFLG, bank, loan, consultancy, SEO

REALITY SHOW: The Apprentice
Channel: BBC 2 102
Date: Wednesday 22nd February 2006
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (starting this evening)
Duration: 1 hour.
Series in which 14 candidates compete for the position of apprentice to multi-millionaire Alan Sugar. Alan sets a series of tasks designed to push some of the brightest and best young businesspeople in the country to the limit. With the candidates divided into teams of men and women, the first task is to sell fruit and vegetables on the streets of Hackney. The winners are the team who can make the most profit in just one day of trading.
(New Series, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described)

Excerpt taken from DigiGuide - the world’s best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=15092
Copyright GipsyMedia Ltd.

Show biz it may be, but it’s a very watchable TV programme! I’ll be watching, will you?

John

J. G. Courtney, Chairman
Strategy Consulting Limited
john@strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk

Funding: BUSINESS ANGELS - SMALL FIRMS LOAN GUARANTEES - GRANTS - PROPERTY FINANCE - FACTORING
Strategy: BUSINESS STRATEGY - BUSINESS PLANNING - WORKSHOPS - NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
Marketing: MARKETING STRATEGY - NEW PRODUCTS - TELEMARKETING - SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
apprentice, TV, sugar, amstrad, business