Aspen Waite Magazine - Autumn 2017

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aspen waite Group GroupNews News Group News

July July 2017 2017 October 2017

Autumn:

A time for Reflection Targets: an alternate view Daily dose of innovation

PLUS

Company updates Kevin Ashman

Also in this issue:

Market Segmentation

Advice and Support for any sized business For us, it's about much more than offering outstanding professional services It's about being there for our clients every step of the way

Proudly supporting ambition Trusted Advisors

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A time for reflection Most of you reading this work really hard and are almost certainly emotionally attached in some way to your business.

Paul Waite - CEO I wonder, though, how many of you really understand: (a) (b) (c) (d)

Who you are and what makes you tick?

What do you stand for / values (if anything)?

What is your market position?

What is your market differentiation?

I have always thought I stood for something, values like fairness, chivalry, intellectual honesty, but I now realise it took me the best part of 24 years to really get it.

I do care about people and I am passionate about business and Aspen Waite has done a lot of fine work.

In management meetings I sometimes used to play a game; if we were a supermarket, which one would we be? A wide range of answers came out of this.

I remember meeting Erkan Ali of Be Collaboration and he was extolling the relevance of “love” in business. I simply could not accept this; compassion was as far as I would commit myself to.

To really find yourself takes a degree of courage and then confidence. One of the best things I ever did was to decide to write a book. When I started it, I found myself going on to a kind of auto pilot and writing about things I didn’t intend to write about.

It seemed to be dishonest not to tell the truth, good or bad so my book is very honest, indeed candid, and has been commended as such.

Lisa (wife and great writer herself) also made a big contribution – why don’t you explain how you felt when a certain event happened – so I did.

The reaction to the book has been incredible, particularly so from women – “It is rare for a man in your position to be prepared to demonstrate emotional vulnerability”.

Buoyed by these positive comments, I decided to be braver and to really say what I thought.

My political opinions have always been extremely eclectic, a true liberal on the one hand but a

passionate believer in the free market economy on the other.

I believe all people deserve to have an equal chance to succeed, particularly with education. The world is a hard place, though, so some people will succeed and others will struggle. The successful should be encouraged, as should the less successful, but in different ways.

Aspen Waite believes that all businesses deserve to have an equal chance and receive the best advice, from the very smallest to the very biggest. I am not aware of any professional services company that positions itself anywhere near our position.

As someone who is self-taught in marketing but understands its importance, we have disrupted the market to a point where arguably we have no competition.

I called this article “a time for reflection” as the rate of progress has been such that my brain is “fried”.

I used to say to people that I felt like a man sitting on a highspeed train that never stopped. Days are a blur but there have been a lot of changes in my role, absolutely essential if we are to achieve our potential.

My future lies mainly in face to face communication and a lot of training.

It has been a good period for recognition with our securing 2 finalist positions at this year’s British Accountancy Awards – Best Firm in the South West and Best Project. The former is obviously extremely gratifying as the leader with our entry down to Ross.

The best project award submission was written by myself; in fact, whilst sitting outside my room in The Villa Costa, Scala, Kefolonia. The project is, of course, “The Complete Business Growth Service”.

As there are many thousands of accountancy firms, even being shortlisted is a tremendous honour and really helps with credibility.

Tru s t ed Adv i s o r s So far this year we have successfully processed well over £7m of claims without any HMRC questions at all. This is testimony, I believe, to the ever-increasing quality of our work. Our achievement is even more remarkable as we work in sectors where others fear to tread, Care Homes being a great example.

We are looking to do our first Nightclub claim and, thanks to Tina Dulieu, working on our first classic archetypical Drugs Research Company. One of my favourite sectors is Food and, alongside award winning meat and bread/pastry products, we are now acting for a fabulous company that makes “Chai” products but with a Western customisation.

Since the last News feature, we now have a dedicated company in Wales with David Scheeres as Chief Executive. David has put together a superb team with Gurnos Rees and Stuart Morgan, now joined by CFO Darren Talbot, someone who David and I have worked with for over 3 years.

Mark my words, this is an exceptional team – Pembroke, Llanelli, Swansea and Bridgend is some coverage.

The Welsh lads very kindly went to the last Somerset Vikings match with Lisa and I and they proved their impressive drinking prowess. Gurnos was the sole representative at our annual Bristol drinking day and his behaviour that day has already guaranteed him a place in Aspen Waite history!

The cider boat did not disappoint with the highlight for me being the Rhubarb Cider; sensational.

The Vikings ended the season mid table and could and probably should have done better. They are a good bunch of lads and I hope next season they get a few breaks. Through Gary’s patronage, the ground at Heybridge Swifts (Vanarama League South) is now called Aspen Waite Park, something to be proud of.

Next year is our 25th anniversary so I have started thinking about how to mark the occasion!

The Brexit talks do not seem to be going well with the EU determined to scold us while showing no little amount of contempt. This is no way to treat a member of the family and considerable trading partner. I fear the divorce bill will reach €50 billion so it will then be up to all of us to make the “G” in Great Britain even bigger.

In Sportland, I am agonising over Widnes Vikings staying up in the Rugby League Premier League. It’s nail biting stuff. After being down and out Somerset won 4 out of their last 6 matches to condemn Middlesex to relegation.

Issue 2 A tremendous display of character.

Bath have played 3 of the last year’s top 4 already and having regard to their injury list have done wonders to win 2 of them away.

Our back line is sensational and supplemented by one of the best back rows in World Rugby.

I think we are going to have a lot of fun at The Rec this year. Johno and JP are also joining Lisa and I at our customary visit to London Irish in November.

Widnes gave me a lot of worry but convincingly kept their place in the Rugby League Premiership in the end with excellent away wins at Catalan Dragons and Leigh Centurions.

Pride of place though goes to Heybridge Swifts of the Bostik League, Northern Division. Aspen Waite have sponsored the Swifts from the start of the season, given that a certain “Gary White” is the Chairman.

They now play at “The Aspen Waite Arena” and have done us proud winning though to the 4th and final qualifying round of The FA Cup. I’m praying for a home draw in the final qualifying round.

I am writing this in the Belmond Hotel in Sicily, perched next to the 2,500 year old Greek Amphitheatre and above the Straits of Messina. A wonderful hotel with service to match, although you do pay for it. An unforgettable experience already!

In closing, I would like to thank all of our introducers and clients for making us what we are. One of our new initiatives is to put even more effort into these vital relationships through our Business Development team, as those of you in those categories will see.

We are, I believe, the fastest growing firm of accountants in the country and I forecast will become a Top 50 firm in the not too distant future.

As our “Keeper of the Soul” I will ensure that we never forget who we are and where we came from.

Economics Corner This is the start of a new feature, with a bit of politics thrown in!

The country is in a bit of a mess at the moment! After some initial anger with Theresa May I am feeling rather sorry for her. No leader deserves to preside over such clear disloyalty. I have lost all respect for Boris Johnson. Come on guys, the big bad world is on the other side!

Interest rates are going up that’s for sure, albeit slowly. For the moment I am going to assume that the current government manages to stay together. If it doesn’t, make no mistake a Corbyn Government would create a Venezuela type government. I would be feeling very bullish about prospects but weakness creates uncertainty so I expect to see Mrs May atone for her recent disasters and for others to stand beside her, in the best interests of our great country.

It has been pleasing to see such a great son of Somerset Jacob Rees-Mogg becoming such a big player on the political stage. A new word has been born “Mogmentum”!

Jacob is dear to our hearts in the Waite family as he has been very kind to our Sam, acting as something of a mentor. A man of principle, proven business acumen, huge intellect and a real patriot.

We have the 2017 budget coming up and I believe we will see a few measures put in, driven by Corbyn.

Keeping your company flowing smoothly.

Let us look after all your filing requirements.

On time, every time.

Company Secretarial

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Welcome to Top Selling Author: Kevin Ashman Many of you will know that I am a passionate book lover and writer.

So, it was a real thrill to be introduced to Kevin Ashman (not to be confused with the genius Egghead of the same name) I read a lot of historical based novels notably all the Bernard Cornwell books, most recently about a character Uthred (now serialised on BBC The Last Kingdom) so Kevin’s brand really goes down well with me.

His book covers are also fabulous and even better courtesy of his son, as you can see.

Kevin’s recent books have been based on authentic Welsh history in the period following the Norman Conquest. As someone who is decidedly anti-Norman I have no problem siding with the Welsh characters.

Kevin has been kind enough to read my own book and enjoyed it, especially my style of writing, to the point where he is helping me to put it on Kindle. He is encouraging me to write a fictional book and I am up for it given his support.

Ind ustry News

I am going to write a book from the perspective of a minor Saxon noble whose world is turned upside down after the Norman Conquest. Let’s see how far I get with this!

I am fortunate to act for a number of people whose businesses are of great interest to me and for me it doesn’t come much better that acting for a top author.

It would be great if we could see Kevin’s work on screen and he has a decent chance.

I don’t believe it is a coincidence that we are doing so well in Wales. For me South Wales at its best is all community so I think South Walians really get what we are doing.

To find out more about Kevin and his works, visit http://www.kmashman.com/

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In si ght - Busi n ess Devel o p me nt

How do you innovate on a daily basis?

You could be Innovating in your business on a daily basis. The opportunity is staring us all straight in the face, in all our businesses!

Samantha Clyde - Chief Commercial Officer

Really?

Innovation generally refers to changing or improving processes or creating more effective processes, products and ideas and doing things differently!

So given that there are over 58 million references on google as to how to write a ‘to do list’, there are a lot of employers and employees that obviously use them - and on a daily basis Creating a list helps us simplify, and make sense of the complex world around us. Whether it’s as simple as the weekly grocery shop or the mundane ‘to do list’ at work… making a list helps us feel less overwhelmed more organised and able to increase our day-to-day productivity.

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However, I have yet to find anyone who cherishes the idea of getting stuck into their ‘To do list’.

So why not look at it in a different way…

When you review the content of your ‘ to do list,’ there are probably a lot of tasks on the list that could be evaluated as needing to improve your existing services / processes OR could create the opportunity to innovative the task in order to save time or be more efficient so it doesn’t need to be a tedious task next time.

For example: Combining tasks

A PR initiative that you have been putting off...Investigate Twitter follower programmes and investigate linked in blogging platform for a PR project. Sounds boring if you are not inspired by the thought of doing this. However, the research will be increasing your social media knowledge and you could create a one pager ‘how to’ and ‘benefits’ for other members of the team, so next time you can delegate and give training using your ‘ how to’ sheet for someone else to own.

Getting lunch

Plan to use the time to do something else on the to do list like planning a meeting. Use the time while walking to get the lunch to immerse yourself in deep thought about strategy session and coming up with a list of ideas to expand on when you are back in the office.

Review Group

Get a few of you together and review certain tasks that may overlap and could be reviewed and developed as an updated process that will benefit everyone, therefore taking it off a number of to do lists.

Inspire yourself

Stimulate your creativity and inspiration at the beginning of the day by listening to your favourite song or read your favourite blog to kickstart your day and fuel your imagination. It will provoke a very positive and creative attitude.

I have no idea what is on your to do list, but whatever it is look at it in a different light tomorrow and see how you could innovate your day!

Time is precious and in short supply when you have much to do in a day, so making best use and most productive use of that time, can only be beneficial.

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Targets?

A different perspective‌

By Johno Harris -Business Development Executive

Targets , Targets, Targets - we are constantly told without targets we cannot make plans to achieve.

All well and good some may say, but what happens when we work hard and hit our targets - did we set them too low??? What happens when we work hard and fail to hit our targets? What cost the stress of trying to hit (often unrealistic) targets?

How about a different perspective? Instead of setting targets around outcomes, what if we set our targets around activities? If we find certain activities generate roughly predictable outcomes then imagine focussing our energies on these activities until they become our strengths, imagine scheduling these into our weekly and daily routines to bring fulfilment to our roles and generate measurable results.

What would happen if every member of the team focussed on what they enjoy, worked to their strengths and understood the resulting benefits from this.

For example - as a business development person my favourite role is meeting my business introducer and clients, going out for a bite to eat with them, and finding out what makes them tick. Always leaves both of us with a sense of belonging, and more often than not something beneficial arises for everyone.

In conclusion - why not try a different approach to your targets. Think about what your “High Pay-off� activities are, and reserve yourself daily or weekly time slots to ensure you get a chance to do them. You could be pleasantly surprised by the resulting experience.

This could be so powerful it could change your entire business model.

It certainly has at Aspen Waite!

Convert your Bright Ideas into Cash R&D Tax Credits

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“Quoqunque Jeceris Stabit” “Whichever way you throw me, I will stand”

Did You Know?

By Paul Waite

1. Sicily shares the Triskelion symbol with my father’s birthplace – The Isle of Man.

2. My direct paternal descendant, John Christian (Il Dhone), was Governor of the Isle of Man during the English Civil War and sentenced to death by the restored Charles II. Despite being pardoned, he was shot by firing squad before the notice arrived on the island. Even more ironically, another ancestor, Thomas Wayte, was one of the signatures on the death warrant of Charles I. 3. Over 1m live in Sicily and to this day it retains many features from the Greeks who colonised it.

The port of Syracuse was one of the most influential ports in Europe for hundreds of years.

4. It is estimated that the population in Britain in the 4th Century AD under Roman occupation was almost double that of 1066 when the Normans invaded. By 1250 the population had risen to its former level.

5. 95% of Saxon names had died out within 50 years of 1066. Names that prevail today include Edward, Alfred, Edith and Harold.

6. For over 200 years effectively the Normans and the English lived side by side but not in an integrated fashion; the Normans being very much the masters. This greatly influenced the development of the English language with words that related to the field remaining English, such as cow and sheep, but once they appeared on the table they became French, hence beef and mutton. Old English words such as Cwyn became Queen and Scip became Ship. Interesting the word King was retained. Roi became the influence though for the word Royal.

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Guest Feature

Target Marketing Segmentation

Denise O’Leary Managing Director Purpol Marketing Limited

What is target market segmentation?

Target market segmentation is vital for an effective marketing strategy. It is a core.

Market segmentation is based on the simple principle that customers differ and have diverse needs and buying behaviour. This means that different customers will expect different features and benefits from a business, and some may not be interested in your business at all.

The key to any businesses success is, therefore, to ensure their products or services fit the needs of their intended customers as closely as possible. Target market segmentation is the logical way to handle this diversity as it subdivides the market into groups with similar traits. This builds a competitive advantage for any business as marketing energy can be focused on specific sectors rather than spreading efforts thinly over a wider portion of the market.

Effective market segmentation requires a business to have a strong knowledge and understanding of both their customers and their buying habits. Segmentation is often divided into three stages: segmenting, targeting and positioning.

Segmenting Segmenting identifies and divides the market into different segments. Customers are grouped into segments based on variables; those who have similar buying needs and buying behaviour will be placed into a segment together.

The variables used to segment customers must be appropriate in order to reveal their specific requirements.

These segmentation variables are numerous and the choice of which to use depends on the products and services your business offers and whether your businesses products are aimed at consumer or business markets.

While psychographic and demographic segmentation are perhaps the two most commonly used ways to group individuals, listed below is a range of approaches that can be taken to market segmentation.

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Demographic Segmentation – Age, gender, marital status, social class, race, ethnicity, religion, family life-stage, occupation, income and education level.

Or, for business markets; the type of business itself, industry, sector, size, competitive set and the location and age of the business.

Psychographic Segmentation – Personality, general attitudes, values, behaviours, emotions, perceptions, beliefs, motives for purchasing or consuming, lifestyle aspirations and interests.

Geographic Segmentation – Countries people live in, their regions within a country, whether people live in urban or rural areas, the type of urban area and type of housing.

Occasion-Based Segmentation – The time of year,

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type of occasion, days of the week, time of day.

Benefit Segmentation – Groups people based on the benefits they seek from purchasing, consuming or owning a product or service.

There is no ‘correct’ way to segment customers and the decision on how best to do so will vary from business to business.

Targeting Once the quality of the segments has been assessed, your business can proceed to make decisions on which segments the marketing and sales efforts will focus on. It is not normally viable or sensible for a small business to target every segment. Understanding how many segments and which ones should be targeted is important in order to make your marketing strategy most effective.

When deciding how many segments should be targeted, your business must take into consideration your available resources, financial performance, brand standing, the activities and positioning of competitors, available product portfolio and developments in the market.

Mass marketing, single-segment and multi-segment are the three options available when deciding how many segments should be targeted.

Mass Marketing – A single product or service is presented to most of the market.

Gues t Feat u re Single-Segment Marketing – All sales and marketing activities are concentrated on one single segment of the market.

Multi-Segment Strategy – A business will have differ-

ent products that are targeted at different segments of the market.

The next step is deciding which segments should be targeted. This decision is made through an examination of the attractiveness of each segment and must be made in conjunction with the decision of how many segments a business will target, a decision that needs to look at a business’s financial capabilities and resources. A segment should be considered attractive if your business: • • • • • • • •

Has enough resources available to target the segment.

Can afford the costs involved in targeting the segment.

Already holds an existing share in the market.

Has expertise or relevant experience in the product or service being offered.

Will be able to meet customer needs and expectations Knows and has considered the size of the segment, its structure and growth.

Knows the level and nature of the competition now and what it could be in the future.

Understands market trends and market environment, knowing what issues might positively or negatively affect the segment’s potential.

Your business might not fulfil every single criterion, but making sure that these points have been considered and that you can meet a significant amount of them will provide a greater chance of success.

Positioning

Positioning is concerned with identifying a clear, distinctive and desirable place for the product or service your company is offering.

This position might be relative to a competitor’s positioning, but must differentiate itself from already established competitors thereby creating a competitive advantage.

When creating a newly established market sector, first mover advantage may mean there is no current competitor positioning.

Good positioning also relies on the creation of a product or service that fits the needs and expectations of targeted customers or business customers as closely as possible.

This means that a product will:

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Have attributes that are relevant to the target market segment Utilise a method of customer service that fits the needs of the segment Be an appropriate price matched to value proposition Use the most convenient distribution channels for the target market

Customer perception of a product or service is at the core of positioning. The perception of the product / service must match the experience for the customer both pre-and post purchase. Failure to do so means the perception of a product in the eyes of the customer base will be severely compromised as there has been a disconnect between expectation and actual delivery.

Using target market segmentation effectively means a business will be better able to meet their customer’s needs, maximise and optimise resources, demonstrate commercial strengths over rivals and enable a more effective and better-targeted marketing programmes to be developed.

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Magnificent Marketing is an online step by step course that helps you build your marketing plan. Based on Purpol’s Review, Acquire, Promote, Retain model, the course combines videobased learning with unique practical exercises and worked examples to develop your understanding of marketing.

This is accompanied by our Magnificent Marketing Plan template which is populated in stages as the course progresses.

As well as the marketing plan template, we also provide two fully completed example marketing plans showing a B2B Manufacturing Business and B2C Fitness Coach business to act as a reference. As a bonus, you also get a marketing strategy eBook full of helpful hints on practical application.

Our Short video provides an overview of how the course works - https://youtu.be/3xkGtdWbFxo Buy the course at http://purpolmarketing.co.uk/ product/magnificent-marketing-training-course/

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In si ght - Un d ersta n d i n g Pa yroll

Auto Re-Enrolment

Liz Atyeo Payroll Manager

What you need to know Every three years employers will need to re-enrol certain workers back into the workplace pension even if they have opted out, left the scheme or stopped contributions. Employers have a duty to re-enrol eligible employees back into the pension scheme every three years under the government’s automatic enrolment legislation.

As postponement cannot be used for re–enrolment, the dates chosen for re-enrolment can be three months either side of the three-year anniversary of the original automatic enrolment staging date. However, the re-declaration of compliance deadline is still within 5 months of the third anniversary of your original staging date. Employers are required to complete the redeclaration of compliance with the pensions regulator even if they do not have any staff to reenrol.

Re-enrolment and re-declaration are your legal duty and if you don’t act you could be fined or occur penalties.

Opted Out or Ceased Have any employees opted out or ceased active membership of the penison scheme •

If there are no changes to your pension scheme and the employees who are enrolled on the workplace pension scheme then all you need to do is complete the ‘Re-declaration of Compliance’. This must be completed within five months from the third year anniversary of your original auto-enrolment staging date.

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If employees have opted out or ceased active membership you will need to re-assess their eligibility

Eligibility Have any employees previously been eligible jobholders •

If not complete the ‘Redeclaration of Compliance’

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Assess your workers to check if they are eligible job holders, if the employees that have previously opted out meet the eligible jobholder criteria they will need to be re-enroled.

Age Are any of the employees aged at least 22 but less than the state pension age •

No- Re-enrolment does not apply to these workers. A letter detailing the right to opt in or join should be issued to the employee.

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Yes- then they should be assessed to see if they are eligible job holders

Qualifying Do any of the employees earn enough to qualify for auto-enrolment •

If the employees are entitled workers who do not earn enough to qualify, send a letter detailing their right to opt into or join the pension scheme. complete the redeclaration of compliance

YES – Have any workers: • Ceased active membership of the scheme in the last 12 months before the re-enrolment date • Given or been give notice to end their employment • Been paid a winding up lump sum in the 12 months before re-enrolment date whilst in employment and then ceased employment but was then re-employed by the same employer • Been granted tax protection on their pension savings • If your workers are , a director, or a member (partner) of LLP, or qualifying person for cross border legislation.

• If NO to all of the above then re-enrol these workers from the re-enrolment date • If YES to any of the above redeclare Compliance

What to do Next Here are our tips on what to do next to help you understand the re-enrolment process Choose Re-Enrolment Date • • • • •

Re-enrolment occurs every three years Re-enrolment is a single separate event that is in addition to the auto enrolment assessment which takes place every pay period It is a process that employers must follow to re-enrol eligible jobholders who decided to opt out or ceased membership after the staging date.

Choose you re-enrolment date -example -if your three year anniversary falls on the 1st March 2018 then your window is from the 1st December 2017 to the 31st May 2018.

Postponement cannot be used for re-enrolment and employers can only have one re-enrolment date which must apply to all payrolls.

Assess and Re-Enrol Staff • • • • • •

You should do this on your re-enrolment date You only need to assess staff that have opted out of your pension scheme Left the pension scheme after the opt out period Stayed in scheme but chose to reduce the level of pension contributions to below minimum level, but meet age and earnings criteria If you have staff to re-enrol, you must follow the re-enrolment process If you do not have staff to re-enrol you can complete your declaration of compliance

Write to staff you have Re-Enrolled • •

You must do this within six weeks of your re-enrolment date It is your legal duty to write to each member of staff you have put back into your pension scheme

Complete Re-Declaration of Compliance • • • •

Re-declaration must be completed within five months of the third year anniversary of either their staging date or previous re-enrolment date.

Redeclaration applies whether there are employees to re-enrol or not.

Employers will need to update the existing information that the Pensions regulator holds.

See Example:

Make note of the following information, needed to complete re-declaration • Re-enrolment date • Number of employees re-enrolled • Total number of employees • Number of employees assessed for re-enrolment but not re-enrolled as eligible jobholders • Number of employees already in a qualifying pension scheme

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In si ght - Busi n ess Devel o p me nt

29% OF EMPLOYEES ARE ENGAGED IN THEIR WORK – WHICH MEANS 71% AREN’T

By Steve Jones, MD of Skills for Business Training Ltd Effective leadership and management unleashes ‘people potential’ When reviewing some major client projects, I had a light bulb moment. It struck me that, whenever I have the opportunity to involve clients’ leadership teams in training or development for their business, the return on investment (ROI) is invariably higher.

This is due to a few simple factors. From the start, concepts covered are clearly aligned with strategy; managers are fully bought in; follow up and other interventions are enthusiastically and consistently implemented; and the learning is thoroughly embedded into processes and day to day activities.

This all contributes to a high level of sustained motivation and team building within these companies - and to higher performance, due to significantly enhanced employee engagement.

This led me to development of an intensive 4-day Engaging Leadership Programme, delivered in bite size days over several months, designed by myself, based on my experiences of working with leadership teams and my time as Co Chair of the Government Task Force Team who researched Employee Engagement in the UK. This programme has proved to be so popular and successful, that in addition to running it for clients in-house, it will be available in open format and facilitated via our partners.

What is exciting to me is that there is a growing awareness about the importance of employee engagement across the UK. And there is even funding available to help some leaders and managers to achieve it!

If you look at the statistics in the UK on Employee Engagement you’ll quickly understand the need for leadership training.

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Only 1 in 3 employees are engaged in their work, meaning two-thirds are disengaged.

If we were all working to our full capacity we’d all be doing a four - day week – wouldn’t that be nice?

We are ranked 14th behind some third world countries in Europe on our motivation levels Finally, the scary thought that employees don’t quit their jobs they quit their bosses.

None of this need be if we learn to give our leaders the skills sets needed.

With SME’s being so reliant on human capital and creative, entrepreneurial talent, leadership training could not be more appropriate for the SME market.

In 2010 the UK Government commissioned TheMacLeod Review and entitled ‘Engaging for Success enhancing performance through employee engagement’ The conclusion was that Engaged employees are 16 times more productive, leading to 12% more profitability.

However, they also did something really smart, they looked at companies that were harnessing the full potential and capabilities of their people to drive success and it boiled down to four key enablers that allowed this success I took these four enablers and built an ‘Engaging Leaders Programme’ designed to enable leaders to be able to harness the full potential and capability of their people.

The result were staggering, the first two clients through the programme both won innovation and growth awards, which recognised the contribution of leadership and employee engagement.

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SUPPORT for South West MANUFACTURERS Funding is available to supports established manufacturing SMEs in the South West, helping them to understand and develop their capability and capacity to improve and grow.

Grant Funding of up to £2,500 is available for Leadership training and/or to support Business Strategy, Design & Delivery of bespoke in-house company training.

Funding is matched at 25% of the total project cost and capped at £2,500.

Therefore, ideal project spend of £10,000 is required to maximise the grant contribution.

For more information please contact Steve Jones.

About Steve Steve Jones is a well-known business coach, public speaker, trainer and consultant. Steve is an expert at creating ideas and strategies that build businesses, drive revenue and improve business position & performance. He has a passion for making companies and their products the best in their product category.

Steve’s unique understanding of leadership and management, team building and motivation in business, coupled with his understanding, drive and enthusiasm, clearly set him aside as an expert.

Steve gained his knowledge and expertise firstly by being part of the management team of one of the UK’s most phenomenal business success stories.

Steve was part of a management team at Fitness First PLC, which went from a handful of health clubs on the south coast to become the largest Health Club Chain in Europe and then the world, taking the AIM and FTSE by storm, all in a seven year period. Steve freely admits: ‘one of the keys to our success was putting together robust systems and teams fast!’

Steve followed this by joining International Coaching Giants, Shirlaws International - specialist in

SME Coaching – again a company that had an amazing success story, before setting up his company, Skills for Business Training in 2002, where his main focus has been helping businesses and teams strategically grow.

Steve is qualified to the highest level, being a Licentiate Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning – a qualification afforded to the few - a master ‘train the trainer’ in NLP, a master licensee for ‘Motivational Maps’, Thomas International DISC Profiler, an accredited trainer in ‘Performance Coaching’ with Newcastle College, and accredited in ‘Leading & Developing High Performance’ programmes. Steve also holds the ‘Diploma in Management Studies’ (DMS) graduating from ‘Henley Management College’ recently voted in the top ten management colleges in the world.

More recently Steve has been invited onto the Government's Employee Engagement Task Force team where he is now co-chair and has been contributing his knowledge in the areas of team building, motivation and performance improvement, whilst at the same time running a series of workshops for Grant Thornton’s Growth Accelerator Programme.

If you’d like to know how you can put your leadership team through this programme, please contact me: Steve Jones – MD, Skills for Business Training – steve@skillsforbusinesstraining.co.uk – Tel: 07971 882628

Issue 2 Changes in Paying for Childcare

Ta x- Free Chi l d ca re Sche me The tax and NI exemption thresholds are as follows:

It is a more than considerable expense for which support is available but until recently the only option for financial assistance has been the Childcare Voucher Scheme, sometimes referred to as EmployerSupported Childcare.

However, in April 2017 a new Tax-Free Childcare scheme with increased availability became available to parents whilst the existing Voucher Scheme will be closed to new entrants in April 2018. Both of these options are available in addition to the 15/30 Hours Free Childcare schemes. What are the differences between these two options, which scheme will offer the best value and what are the qualifying requirements? It’s time to make a decision, before the choice is removed.

CHILDCARE VOUCHER SCHEME This is an employer administered scheme where the employee sacrifices salary which instead is used to pay for childcare. The advantage for the individual is that no PAYE or National Insurance is deducted from the sacrificed element of their salary. For a basic rate taxpayer this can save up to £933 each year.

Employers also benefit financially as the National Insurance due on the sacrificed salary is also waived, saving up to £402 for each claimant.

The payment is made by the company either through Childcare Vouchers provided by a specialist company (attracting a 2% - 5% premium) or by contracting directly with the childcare provider.

ELIGIBILITY FOR VOUCHERS The criteria are reasonably simple.

Parents must be working 16 hours a week and earning above the national minimum wage after the sacrificed salary is deducted.

Vouchers can be claimed up to 1st September following the child’s 15th Birthday, or 16th if they are disabled.

The childcare provider must be registered and there are restrictions for relatives looking after children when the care is provided in the child’s own home.

If direct payment is made, invoices must be made out in the name of the employer and not the employee.

Normally any contribution to childcare costs would be reported to HMRC and taxed as a benefit in kind.

However, the scheme allows for contributions to be exempt if they are within the set limits. The maximum amount which an employer can contribute without triggering tax depends on your income.

If you currently claim Child Tax Credits then you would still be eligible to claim Vouchers but the amount you can claim maybe reduced.

Visit the Governments ‘Better off Calculator’ gov.uk/childcare-vouchers-better-off-calculator to see which option is more favourable.

OVERVIEW Vouchers provide a tax saving on childcare costs by avoiding payroll taxes on an element of parental salary. There is no upper income limit to prevent a claim although higher earners save less. Claims can be made by each parent even if separated and the vouchers are widely accepted.

A claim by one parent does not affect the other parent in any way. A claim by one parent does not affect the other parent in any way. As this is an employment related scheme it is not available to the self-employed.

From April 2018 no new joiners to the scheme are allowed but it will remain in place for those parents already signed up. No date to remove the scheme has been announced.

Tax-Free Childcare Scheme

Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) is a child based system rather than a tax deduction claimed by a parent. As such employers have no role in the scheme and make no savings. Parents open an online Childcare account and pay their nursery through this. The government tops up the account with 20% of the costs up to £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 for disabled children). The financial assistance is claimed per child with no maximum number set. As it doesn’t involve salary sacrifice it is available to the self-employed.

Eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare The criteria are slightly more complex.

The same requirement for assistance to be provided through a registered childcare provider and not by relatives in your home are in place.

To qualify for this scheme all parents must work for at least 16 hours per week and earn above £120 per week but under £100,000 a year.

Ta x- Free C h i l dca re S c h e me If the biological parents of a child no longer live in the same household then the household where the child resides has to meet the above working criteria. This means that if the biological parent of a child has a partner, then the partner must also be working for the claim to be eligible. Single parent households are eligible.

The scheme will be available to parents on paid sick leave and paid and unpaid statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

The scheme ends when a child reaches the age of 12 or aged 17 for children with disabilities. Parents are required to re-confirm their eligibility for the scheme every 3 months using a simple online process.

TFC is not available at the same time as claiming Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit or Childcare Vouchers. Parents would need to stop claiming these before applying.

Should circumstances change or parents no longer wish to pay into the account then they’ll be able to withdraw all the money they have built up. However, the government contribution does not form part of the funds available for withdrawal.

The scheme does offers additional flexibility as payments can be made as and when desired. Anyone can pay into the account for example grandparents, other family members or even an employer (although this is a taxable benefit). The criteria are harder to meet as both parents must work and as this scheme is administered by parents rather than an employer, the responsibility resides with them.

The age limit is reduced to twelve from fifteen years so after school club costs will not be funded into the teenage years.

The TFC scheme rate of relief is equivalent to basic rate tax (20%). The voucher scheme provides relief at 32% at the basic rate for employees and an additional 13.8% for employers. However, the total amount of relief is capped for vouchers at £932 per claimant whilst TFC offers £2,000 per child per year.

For the self-employed TFC is the only available choice, but a significant improvement over no help at all. The requirement to have both parents work 16 hours a week or perhaps the income cap of £100,000 may force parents towards vouchers.

Example David and Tina both work for the same employer, are basic rate taxpayers and have a son in full-time childcare at a cost of £700 per month. Currently they pay for their childcare out of their after-tax income.

Issue 2 If they opted for the Childcare Voucher scheme, both would agree to sacrifice £243 per month of their salary in exchange for vouchers. The annual savings would be: • •

David and Tina would save £1,866 (£243 x 12mths x 32%), and The employer would save £806 before administration costs

If instead they opted for the new Tax-Free Childcare option: •

David and Tina would save £1,680 from the government paying one-fifth of their childcare; • There is no saving for the employer.

• This represents a total loss of relief under the new scheme of £186 in the year.

If David and Tina had two children in full-time childcare at a cost of £700 each per month, the voucher saving is unchanged at £1,866 whilst the TFC saving is £3,360.

This represents a total gain under the new scheme of £1,494.

The government’s childcare calculator can estimate how much help you can get (gov.uk/childcarecalculator).

Which Route to Follow?

If you meet the criteria for both schemes it will be your personal circumstances and the level of your childcare costs which determine your choice. The potential saving is higher with TFC but the requirements are more stringent and the rate of relief can be lower. A key aspect is what happens when parents join the TaxFree Childcare scheme then subsequently fail to meet the criteria at some point after April 2018, perhaps through unemployment or retirement. Unfortunately if the TFC criteria are not met then the parent(s) cannot make a claim and the financial assistance is removed. Benefits may then become available depending on circumstances but even if this is the case, parents may be left worse off.

We recommend that parents looking for ongoing childcare support consider the new Tax-Free Childcare system carefully before making a decision. Please contact us to plan and avoid any potential pitfalls.

Be aware that the schemes can be more complicated than expected. This article is only an overview, so be sure to read the guidance carefully and take appropriate professional advice whilst both options are still available.

By Tom Keitley and Michelle Wiseman from our Southwick Office

Issue 2

In si ght - Busi n ess Devel o p me nt

The Myth of the Natural Salesman

It is rare in these times to meet consistently exceptional sales people. According to statistics presented in Sales and Marketing Management magazine, 80% of successful sales are credited to only 20% of the entire sales team.

Glen Williamson - Group Sales Director

This indicates a serious issue in the area of appointing the right people in the sales profession.

The myth around great sales people having or knowing something very different to the rest of the team still exists. Sales people often tell me that this person is a ‘natural salesperson…’ or that person is …’more of a salesperson than I am!’

Mostly, when I meet these natural sales people, and analyse their results, there is not a great deal of difference between their results and those who have put them on a pedestal. In their assessment of these naturals they seem to have conflated charisma and the ability to develop strong rapport to create opportunities with the ability to sell consistently at acceptable margins.

The idea that certain types are naturally better sales people than others doesn’t stand up to scrutiny when. Once the sales team is equipped with a certain perspective about what a sale is and why a buyer buys, all of them can be highly effective in delivering good quality revenue for your business.

We are made to sell, it is how we exist and survive. We sell all the time, in and out of work. The same skills, used over and over again, honed and refined over a lifetime.

I believe there are two critical dimensions of sales success. 1) The degree to which we are genuinely interested in helping our customers succeed and 2) The level of integrity the sales person has within themselves and through their actions.

We simply need to realise that there is an unbreakable correlation between integrity and the extent to which a sales person wants a customer to succeed, and the ability to sell consistently at high margins.

So, lets stop worrying about who is a natural sales person and who is more of a sales person than another.

It’s a myth. Lets stop trying to find the holy grail of sales and placing unrealistic expectations on the shoulders of sales people. Let’s stop employing sales people on the strength of their extrovert personalities.

Instead, let's just do this: • • • • • • • • • •

Find a candidate who is personable, responsible, high on integrity and genuinely interested in people and what they do. Someone who cares about helping people to succeed Train them so that they are experts in your product and market.

Train them so they understand how your target market buys and the main challenges your customers face in maintaining their systemic integrity, as it relates to what you do.

Develop powerful value propositions that speak directly to your customers’ problems, issues and challenges Ensure they have at least an intermediate level of business acumen, the modern sales professional must understand business drivers in their target market Train and continuously coach them on value based, consultative selling.

Coach them in taking consistent actions and ensuring they are strong at follow up.

Coach them so that they are resilient, and demonstrate emotional courage in the face of no’s.

Teach them how to create powerful context in the first phase of the sale Show them how to help prospects to fit your product/service into their businesses/lives

This person will consistently outperform their peers, even the ‘naturals’.

Make sure they plan their work and work their plan.

Then watch them soar.

Glen Williamson As an Interim Sales Director, Speaker, Sales Trainer and Accredited Master Coach (CSA), Glen Williamson is passionate about helping SME business owners and sales professionals of all levels reach new height of sales performance delivery. Taking his 30+ years of experience in sales and business development, Glen founded GWC Sales Training in 2011 to deliver consultancy and training for clients across a wide range of sectors including logistics, financial services and oil and gas.

Meeting the needs of our increasingly complex and competitive business environment, Glen’s “Master The Sales Conversation Masterclass”, and Complete Target Account Selling Program create interactive opportunities to embed new ideas and techniques for consistent, predictable sales success. Glen believes that sales is a collaborative process, part of who we are and how we survive, and at its core, should be a desire to ‘help’, not ‘sell’. You can contact Glen @ glen@glenwilliamson.co.uk

Issue 2

Insi d e Asp en Waite

5 Essential Things to consider with your brand What your brand is

Your branding represents how people can perceive everything about your business, from its customer service, it’s general image, right the way through to reputation.

Having a good solid brand can increase your business value, have a positive impact on your workforce giving them more vision and direction. It is also key in bringing in new customers.

Communicate clearly

Identify your buyer persona – who are your customers, what do they do, where do they go? Once you understand that, tailor your message to suit each one individually. Keep your core message clear and defined – you might know what you do, but do your customers?

It’s not all about the logo…

A brand is much more than just your logo, however it is often the first thing a potential customer will see so it’s important to get it right. If you stop and think about the world’s leading brands, logos are instantly recognisable and can create an instant impact. It is vital that if you are thinking of changing your image, you ensure you come up with a solid brief that fully explains your ethos and direction.

Consistency is key

Your brand should come across consistently in everything you do – whether it’s colour, font, or the language you use.

A strong advertising strategy plays a key part in supporting your brand. So, whether you place an advert online or in a paper, or if you’re looking for visually impactful banners and posters - be sure to have a clearly defined message that supports your core values.

Tell a story

Strong branding makes an impression in people’s minds to ensure that they buy from you. It is important to remember you are selling your business story and your values. Start with the why

As pen Wai t e i n t h e Com m uni ty

Issue 2

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Access Fast, Affordable Business Finance with our new Partnership As part of our commitment to supporting British businesses, we are pleased to announce a new partnership between ourselves and the innovative funding platform Funding Circle.

Funding Circle is the world’s leading lending platform for business loans, where people and organisations can directly lend to small businesses.

Having used the service ourselves in 2014, when the platform was in its infancy, we can say with certainty that it works. Having access to a reliable source of funding – released in as little as 4 days; can provide a much-needed boost to cashflow when expanding, to support large jobs, or invest in training and staff.

Begin your application today For more information on how you can benefit, speak to Aspen Waite who can explain more, see if you are eligible and connect you with a dedicated Funding Circle account manager.

Swifts through against Frome FA Cup third qualifying round: Heybridge Swifts 2:1 Frome Town Swifts once more delivered a superb performance to beat higher ranking rivals when they won a thrilling encounter against Somerset rivals Frome Town at the Aspen Waite Arena on Saturday. The visitors, from the Evo Stik Southern Premier Division were unbeaten on the road in their 4 league games so far this season, having won 3 of their matches and were expected to provide stiff opposition for Swifts, who in reality should have won by more.

Swifts dominated play early on with Luque once again looking dangerous on the left, cutting in and shooting, bringing out a good save from the visiting keeper Kyle Phillips who had a busy afternoon. Luke Callander was then sent clear on the left but scuffed his shot and the keeper saved comfortably.

Danny Sambridge in the home goal then tipped over a fierce drive from 20 yards from the dangerous striker Mitchell Page and then saw a header at the far post go just wide as the visitors started getting back into the game. Harrison Chatting in midfield proved what a good find he has been with a series of excellent runs and crosses and he saw a good long-range effort curl wide on 25 minutes.

You sensed a goal was coming and sure enough it did on 28 minutes when star man Luque cut in from the left, turning the full back Miller inside an out, before firing home a superb curling shot into the far corner off the post to make it 1-0. Luque nearly made it 2 soon after when a another great ball to him saw his firm half volley saved by the feet of keeper Phillips.

Swifts domination continued early in the second half and good play by Callander saw his cross leave Luque clear on goal but the keeper made an excellent save.

This came just after the visitors had a header flash just wide of Swifts’ goal. Sam Bantick then fired over from the right when squaring it to Luque may have been the better option. The strngth of Swifts’ current squad was typified when looking at the subs bench, with Lewis Dark and George Cole, current and last season’s skippers both coming on late in the game.

Ryan Henshaw, commanding as ever at the back then came up for a corner and saw his firm header saved superbly by the keeper. Swifts showed no signs of tiredness after Tuesday’s gruelling encounter with Met Police but the visitors started to push forward in search of an equaliser, bringing a great save from Danny Sambridge from a deflected effort, down to his right. From the resulting corner the visitors grabbed an equaliser as the Swifts lost the second ball and Chas Hemmings scored from close range on 74 minutes.

A mid-week trip to Somerset for a reply was looming large, but only for 4 minutes, when great passing between Luque and Chatting saw the latter’s excellent low cross converted firmly at the far post by Sam Bantick.

The Swifts managed the last 12 minutes of the game really well and restricted the visitors to some longrange efforts or long balls and dealt with them all well.

Breaking away, Swifts could in fact have added to the score to make it comfortable but achieved another memorable victory to send the decent crowd of 255 home happy. They now go into Monday’s draw for the fourth qualifying round in the knowledge that they remain the highest scoring side in the competition, and could face National League opposition in the next round, before the professional clubs join the competition in the round after.

For Jody Brown, Swifts manager it was a bumper weekend for more reasons than just football as his wife Sam gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Autumn, the night before and managed to keep it quiet, announcing his news after the game. What a weekend for him! All at the club wish him and his family congratulations and we also presented him with the Bostik League North manager of the month award for August.

London Office Update

We Have Moved After opening our first office in the big city back in July, we have had a very successful three months of growth which has led us to make the decision to relocate to a bigger premises.

Working closely with tech companies and start-ups, our new location is in the ideal position for this purpose.

If you are in London, pop in and meet the team, they would love to say hello.

1 Primrose Street London EC2A 2EX 020 3880 7314

01278 445 151 info@aspen-waite.co.uk www.aspenwaite.co.uk