Simply Business Magazine issue 4 March 2022

A word from our CEO John

WELCOME TO SIMPLY BUSINESS MAGAZINE!

It looks like the pandemic is finally behind us, well sort of, we don’t have to isolate any longer unless we work in certain organisations, or unless this or maybe that!

Communication is key in every walk of life, wouldn’t it be great if we knew what was expected, what was happening in terms of testing and everything else Covid related moving forward.

Anyway, talking of communication, welcome to the latest edition of Simply Business Magazine. We are still banging the drum of collaboration and support, it is my firm belief that everyone will benefit from working together, there are going to be things in your business that you don’t offer or at least don’t like doing, wouldn’t it be great to work with other businesses who also have things they don’t offer, passing work between you means that you have put the customer first and they will be very pleased you have considered their needs, this will lead to referrals and more work.

Do you have anything to share, anything you feel is relevant? If so, please get in touch with us at the following places:

01843 627 001 info@simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk www.simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk

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What’s inside

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A Mental health solution in challenging times

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FEDEX small business grant competition winners announced

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simply business club update & member profiles

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Are you a trustee of a trust?

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Have you ever wished you could capture a special moment in time?

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Metrobank celebrate success during national apprenticeship week

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Printing predictions as the market looks like it is going green

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why it’s a mistake to stop marketing in an economic downturn

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email has revolutionised communication but is it secure?

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Educational Life CIC - Supporting the local community through good news & positivity

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outdoor experiences with simon pollard

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7 top tech tips - business apps and software

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5 exciting reasons to write a Business book

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Why are Sunday markets so popular with gen z

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WBS Celebrates 8 years in business

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Simply Business Club member benefits & Magazine rate card

If you are involved with a good cause and want them to be our focus in a future edition then please do get in touch. As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Simply Business UK has chosen to support Educational Life CIC and Community Driving School CIC, both offer amazing support to our local community.

If you would like to subscribe to this magazine, advertise your business or submit an article for inclusion in a future edition, please either get in touch with us or go to the SMB website.

We would also be very pleased to hear from you if you have any feedback either about the content or potential future ideas to improve the magazine.

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A Mental Health Solution in Challenging times A recent article in the Guardian was headlined.

‘Millions in England face ‘second pandemic’ of mental health issues.’

I quote ‘Millions of patients in England face dangerously long waits for mental health care unless ministers urgently draw up a recovery plan to tackle a “second pandemic” of depression, anxiety, psychosis and eating disorders, NHS leaders and doctors have warned.

The Covid crisis has sparked a dramatic rise in the numbers of people experiencing mental health problems, with 1.6 million waiting for specialised treatment and another 8 million who cannot get on the waiting list but would benefit from support..’

As CEO of TRE UK®, I was putting that headline out there over a year ago. Nothing has changed. Mental health is continuously spiralling out of control. There are two things I want to address in this article, the cost of using talk therapy and the savings that could be made with a simple solution that requires a different mindset.

‘The relative value of health and wealth depends on which one you have lost’. In my view, health is indeed our greatest wealth but don’t take my word for it. Take a look at some numbers. People make other common choices to deal with their problems, including medication, alternatives, and selfmedication. All come at a very high price.

This article looks at the costs relative to talk therapy.

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Written by Caroline Purvey The Woman to Watch In Wellbeing Counselling and Talk Therapy If millions are waiting for counselling, what is the cost of that, and who pays? Research reveals the average cost of a counsellor is anything from £20 a session for a trainee up to £200 per session, for between 45 minutes to an hour.

Eight million people would have a price tag of at least £400 million.

There are around 47k registered talk therapists in the UK. Assuming they are all working, which is doubtful and based on 8 million people on the waiting list, there is one therapist to every 170 people. Each client needs a minimum of six sessions. So, one person is responsible for delivering the minimum six sessions x 170 people = 1038 hours. Avoiding their burnout, they would sensibly see 25 clients a week on average.

Now our sum looks like this: 25 clients x 6 sessions = 150 hours One hundred & fifty hours / 20 (avg hours of casework a week) =7.5 weeks x 7 groups of 20 clients.

7.5 weeks x 7.5 (to see 170 clients) = 56.25 weeks All things being equal, to sum up, every counsellor would need to allow 56 weeks to see 170 clients for six sessions.

Who goes to the back of the queue? What is the deterioration of their mental health during that wait time? How many suicides will happen in that time?

The first thing Professor Gordon Turnbull, a world-leading Trauma Consultant Psychiatrist, said to me back in 2012 has always stayed in my mind. ‘We now know we have to get it out of the body because talking doesn’t do it. Knowing what I know and from my working experience with those suffering severe mental health problems, that stands true. Of course, there is a need for talk therapies, but when there is not a reliable solution and a clear lack of resources that work for the growing majority of those currently struggling, then there has to be a different way.

Poor mental health costs UK business £45 billion. This fact is also evident in the service sector, including the NHS. Losing a job or ending a career because of mental health issues costs not only the individual from loss of income but also impacts families and communities.

Simply Business Magazine

The Total Release Experience® is a self-help programme that teaches a life tool and a tool for life to release tension from the body. The tension goes deep to the Psoas muscle at the core of your body. As tension is released, the cause of the deep-rooted problems that can go back to childhood is released too. Freedom from physical, mental, and emotional pain is the prize. No more addictive behaviours. The ability and desire to work as energy levels increase, focus, concentration, and creativity return, which for many have been lost for years.

The programme which transforms lives has been adopted by Fire and Rescue, Police, Prison Services, and thousands of individuals globally. A popular option as it requires no talking, takes less than one hour a week and results are rapid. The Validation Report from Canterbury Christchurch University, states the four Module programme ’99 % improves physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and not by chance.’ Also, data from a police project where they were working with higher-than-average levels of anxiety and depression were analysed.

‘After the four-module programme, anxiety, and depression scores were down over 60%.’

There is a solution!

Because mind and body are connected, I have always advocated there are no mental health problems without associated physical and emotional issues. These include back pain to IBS, anxiety, depression lack of sleep, concentration, mood swings, high blood pressure leading at worst to stroke, heart attack, cancer, and suicide.

Would it surprise you to know that all these symptoms and more come from holding tension in the body from stressful, overwhelming, or traumatic life experiences that started at birth?

Imagine all the tension your body has held since the day you were born. When dealing with stress and trauma, chemicals from adrenalin and cortisol to enable fight/flight survival are released.

After any event, the tension and the residual chemicals should be released by humans in the same way animals do. Unfortunately, the action of allowing the body to tremor and release has been suppressed. Hence it stays in the body’s muscle memory causing unnecessary suffering. No amount of talking can release the tension.

Imagine if 8 million people could immediately start a healing journey that promises more than sticking plaster. A programme that provides education and support, can be done in the comfort of their own homes in their own time. Also a costeffective, and sustainable team-building solution for mental health in the workplace.

Imagine if all who were off work returned saving business £45 billion, what a gamechanger for the UK productivity and profits, to say nothing of staff’s heightened energy and creativity.

You can discover more in my book ‘Feel It To Heal It’. If you are looking for an ultimate solution for yourself or to support your staff by directly addressing mental health, let’s have a conversation.

Caroline is an award-winning transformational leader and No 1 The action of allowing the body to tremor and release has bestselling author of ‘Feel It To Heal It’. to been suppressed. Hence it stays in the body’s muscle memory buy the book click here. causing unnecessary suffering. No amount of talking can Visit www.treuk.com for your learning release the tension. options.

Email: caroline@treuk.com Call: 07767 114213 Find out more on www.treuk.com www.simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk

Click Here to book a call with Caroline Click Here to Connect on Linkedin

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FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, today announced the winner of its Small Business Grant Competition in Europe. byACRE, a Danish start-up that designs and produces mobility solutions, won the Grand Prize of €50,000 to help them grow and achieve their ambitions.

They were identified as the most innovative and passionate small business across Europe out of over 2,100 entries – the highest number of nominations to date.

BY ACRE Named Grand Prize Winner of FedEx Small Business Grant Competition in Europe

byACRE was founded in 2015 and is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their clear growth strategy and pioneering product were recognised by the jury as deserving of first place, an achievement they hope will help them dispel the stigma associated with mobility challenges and help people stay active without compromising their lifestyles. Through a focus on aesthetics and functionality, byACRE designs rollators for people, not patients, aiming to help many around the world rediscover their freedom of mobility and improve their quality of life.

In this year’s first-ever pan-European contest, three companies were also awarded the Judges Choice Award, receiving €15,000 each: Digital Excellence: eKuore, a Spanish smart medical devices company, was recognized for their clear digital integration. They developed the first digital sound scope on the wireless market that can be connected to a smartphone or tablet to record and store information to achieve more reliable diagnoses.

Sustainability Champion: MOYU, headquartered in Amsterdam, create sustainable writing products that are erasable and rewritable up to 500 times. For every notebook sold, Moyu has a tree planted – a sustainable solution that also gives back.

Apis Innovation’s Thermosolar Hive, an innovative anti-varroa mite beehive founded in the Czech Republic, won for solving a clear worldwide problem with their efforts.

The Thermosolar Hive facility kills off the varroa mite, the largest enemy of bees, helping provide ecological and economical solutions for beekeepers, who then produce healthier honey for their customers.

FedEx is also pleased to announce that it has given an additional €10,000 to each of the 15 small businesses from 15 countries in Europe that were awarded the People’s Choice Award, voted for by the public in their country (full list in Appendix). The total prize pool of nearly €250,000 has reached 19 small companies in 16 European countries.

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Established in the U.S. in 2012, the FedEx Small Business Grant Competition seeks to help businesses of 50 or fewer employees achieve their growth ambitions. In Europe, the competition was first launched in 2016 in three countries, building to five countries by 2019, and setting the stage for this year’s largest-ever competition. The contest continues to expand year over year around the world, recognising SMEs who show passion and innovation.

Helena Jansson, SVP Finance International, FedEx Express and one of the Small Business Grant Competition jury members, said: “In an uncertain time when small businesses need more support than ever, we’re thrilled to award and recognise the winners of this year’s competition. It was a tough choice given the outstanding quality of entries, but our four main winners showed exceptional ambition and innovation, and we’re excited to help them write their next chapters in 2022 and beyond.”

Images of the winners will be released in due course. For more details on the winners and the competition, visit www.fedex.com/grant.

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Simply Business Club NETWORKING WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS Online Networking is here to stay written by John Turner

I am delighted that online networking continues as we return to normality, one of the major barriers to people networking is the fact that it can be so time consuming if you include travelling.

However, on the flip side it is fabulous that we can meet again face to face, over breakfast, lunch, or beers & cocktails, giving us the opportunity to get out and about away from our desks and meeting other human beings.

“Networking is a lot like nutrition and fitness: we know what to do, the hard part is making it a top priority.” -Herminia Ibarra I totally get it, networking doesn’t appeal to everyone, however it is so important for your business and career not only now but for your future too.

Networking is also vital for our wellbeing, that is why it needs to be as important as nutrition and fitness. During lockdown I firmly believe that mentally I would have been in a very different place if it were not for the opportunity to network.

With all the options available now the world has opened up again, we should all be able to see that Networking is for everyone.

It shouldn’t be seen as an optional extra to be dropped if something more important comes along. Unless we invest time in networking, we are limiting our ability to achieve our full potential and the full potential of our business.

Building and sustaining a strong network around you will yield high returns throughout the course of your business and career.

Experts agree that the most connected people are often the most successful.

Without looking too hard you will be able to find your network, family, friends, colleagues at work, the guys down the pub…sorry gym! When this was cruelly snatched away from us at the height of the pandemic, many of us turned online to keep networking.

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Networking is about establishing and building long term relationships and essential in supporting you stay on top of your game.

It is never too late to start networking, As Nike says “Just Do It!” “the worst networking mistake you can make is not trying at all” Baikowitz.

Networking is a fundamental part of our lives, If you think about it networking opportunities are everywhere.

accomodate as many business people as possible, there are those that cannot make a breakfast meeting due to childcare or not being a morning person, then there is those who cannot do during the day due to being on the road from 9-10am, the times of our meetings are:

Monday 11am - 12.30pm Thursday 12.30pm - 2pm Friday 7.30am - 9am See you at a Simply Business Club meeting very soon.

Simply Business Club is dedicated to offering you the opportunity to ‘network without restrictions’ It is your business and you should be allowed to make the decisions that suit you and your business, in terms of joining, you can have two weeks free and then decide what works for you, join and make use of the awesome benefits on offer or carry on as a visitor and pay each time you come along.

Its the same with the timings, we offer 3 different meeting times to try and

The highlight of my networking week!

The Simply Business Club run by the wonderful John Turner, is full of like minded, supportive, collaborative people who work closely together to help each other. I love the flexibility of this group. Thank you to John and his co-hosts for making all the meetings a truly enjoyable and memorable experience without the added stress and pressure.

Phil Siddons PS Assist V.A. Services

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More Members overleaf

Join these businesses as a member of Simply Business Club to take advantage of these benefits: Free Online Meetings

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Details listed on website and in this magazine Weekly Member profile listing on social media

20% discount off further adverts

FREE advert within Simply Business Magazine* 10% discount off at Simply Design UK

*Benefits vary depending on package chosen Come along and see if Simply Business Club is as awesome as we think it is www.simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk

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SLS Wills and More Limited T/A SLS WILLS AND MORE 01304 577998 OR 07951 736021 sara@slswillsandmore.co.uk Company registration number 12384538

If so, do you know that you have certain legal obligations, and that there have been some new obligations that have been imposed?

Existing Legal Obligations include: • Holding regular Trustee meetings to review how the Trust is running, including investment performance and/or scheduled property maintenance that might be required. These should be held annually.

Are you a Trustee of a Trust?

This new legislation extends the deadline for trusts to be registered with HMRC. Trust Registration was originally motivated by the EU Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD).

Trustees will need to make sure they have all the information available before they start the process, as it cannot be saved to go back later to finish the process. The information required is:

• Keeping records of all decisions made by the Trustees, as well as financial records.

• Preparing an annual account • Submitting tax returns – particularly important if the Trust is a Discretionary Trust and Trustee Tax Rate is payable, or if there has been a disposal of Trust assets. The advice of an accountant would be imperative.

However, there is a new legal obligation that is being imposed under The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2022, which will come into force on 9th March 2022.

Information for the following categories need to be kept up to date and any changes must be completed within 90 days. The changes you can make include adding, amending, or deleting details.

Existing Trustees will need to register the trusts by 1st September 2022, which is now the new deadline. The idea about Trust Registration is to ensure that there is an effective anti-money laundering tool doe law enforcement purposes whilst trying to reduce the impact of the administrative burden on Trustees.

Trustees can register the Trust at https:// www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-yourtrusts-registration-service and can be used to update details of the trust, declare no changes, authorise an agent or close a trust on the trust register.

• To make sure the trustees and the trust comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

• If the trust need to get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) – for example, for filling in a SelfAssessment tax return for the trust, even if the trust is on the exemption list

You must register if the trust becomes or is liable for any of the following taxes: • • • • • • •

Capital Gains Tax Income Tax Inheritance Tax Stamp Duty Land Tax Stamp Duty Reserve Tax Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (in Scotland) Land Transaction Tax (in Wales)

Sara Sheppard TEP FSWW is the founder of SLS Wills and More Ltd, an Estate Planning firm based in East Kent and can help with Estate Planning including basic advice about Trusts, whether made during your lifetime or created under a Will. Visit www. slswillsandmore.co.uk for more information.

Wills & Lasting Powers of Attorney Lifetime Trust & related Estate planning

The following types of trusts must register even if they have no tax liability:

services

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Probate assistance through third party providers’

• • •

all UK express trusts — unless they are specifically excluded non-UK express trusts, such as trusts that: acquire land or property in the UK have at least one trustee resident in the UK and enter into a ‘business relationship’ within the UK.

If the trust is not resident in UK (non-resident trusts), you must register the trust if it becomes liable for tax on income coming from the UK or on UK assets.

01304 577998 sara@slswillsandmore.co.uk www.slswillsandmore.co.uk

HMRC guidance is clear and takes you through all the information that you will need to provide, but we would recommend that you should check with a solicitor, accountant, financial advisor, or other professional advisor if you’re unsure whether a product or arrangement is a trust which needs to be registered. www.simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk

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HAVE YOU EVER WISHED YOU COULD CAPTURE A SPECIAL MOMENT IN TIME? The joy of meeting your first grandchild? The sand under your feet on your honeymoon? The feather you found after saying a final goodbye to a loved one? If we don’t stop and pause, often these moments are gone in the blink of an eye. But what if you could keep these memories with you forever?

Roslyn is a talented metal clay artist and artisan jeweller who has been encapsulating life’s precious moments for families for over a decade.

Whether it’s reimagining your wife’s favourite flower as a beautiful gold pendant or turning your child’s first drawing into a bronzed work of art.

Making a keyring from an imprint of your pet’s nose or remembering a special holiday with a charm cast from a shell.

There is simple beauty in everyday moments we share with our loved ones. Let Roslyn Roslyn’s creativity and inspiration comes from the simple things which happen in our every day lives. A walk with our dog, a hug from a friend, a trip with our family. Roslyn helps people to stop and take notice of how those moments make them feel. By keeping small mementoes such as leaves, shells, sand and flowers and transforming them into pieces of jewellery, her customers can reignite those feelings time and time again.

“The jewellery Roslyn creates tells a story. It pauses a moment in time that was special to you. How many times do we say ‘I wish I could do that all over again’? Her jewellery encapsulates how that moment made you feel, the smells, the sounds, the tastes. All the things that would otherwise have been forgotten.”

A customer summed it up brilliantly when he said, “Ros, diamonds are valuable but memories are precious. What do you is priceless for people who want to keep those special moments close to their heart.”

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METRO BANK CELEBRATES SUCCESS OF ITS ‘HIRE FOR ATTITUDE, TRAIN FOR SKILLS’ DURING NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK The 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week is celebrated from February 7th – 13th and the UK’s community bank, Metro Bank has been an active supporter of apprenticeships since 2017 with 145 colleagues completing apprenticeship programmes.

Metro Bank is famous for its recruitment ethos – hire for attitude, train for skills and offers a number of apprenticeship schemes.

“Our apprenticeship schemes encourage everyone to consider a career in banking and build a career in the sector,” explains Carol Frost, chief people officer, Metro Bank. “We will be offering more apprenticeships than ever before in 2022.”

Aidan Moore, aged 24, is one of Metro Bank’s commercial banking managers working in the large commercial and specialist sectors team. Aidan joined Metro Bank in July 2015 as an apprentice cashier after finishing his A Levels.

“Before joining I knew very little about banking, other than my experiences as a customer. Working in store, I really learnt a lot from my colleagues and got a solid grounding in the services we offer our customers.”

After completing his apprenticeship, Aidan moved on to become a customer service representative. Aidan was then fast tracked through the local business manager programme which helped prepare him to step up into being a relationship manager. He was then fast tracked through the local director programme, when he was approached about joining the bank’s commercial team.

“As a relationship manager I honed my management skills and this was a great stepping stone to my current role.

The learning curve coming into commercial has been steep but the support has been great and I’m really enjoying the challenge.” It wasn’t an easy step, but with the help of those around me and my mentor over the following two years I grew in experience, helping me move into commercial.

“I would encourage anyone to consider an apprenticeship if they want to take on a new role and especially with a company like Metro Bank which places so much emphasis on looking to recruit people based on the raw talent they can see, rather than just what they have previously done.”

Customer services representative, Clarise Chivers aged 25 joined Metro Bank as an apprentice cashier in 2018. “I had no banking experience and wanted to work towards building a career for myself. Once I graduated from the year-long programme I become a cashier, before rapidly being promoted to a CSR role and then an Expert CSR. “Banking is so much more than I expected. My long term goal is to become an apprentice trainer so I can share my experiences through my personal Metro Bank journey and hopefully inspire new apprentices.”

For more information about apprentice roles at Metro Bank visit https://metrobank.avature.net/amazingcareers/

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WHY IT’S A BAD IDEA TO STOP MARKETING IN AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN Written by Lenny Wood

Congratulations! You’re a survivor!

Dependant on your age, you will have likely survived a number of economic challenges; high inflation, recessions, Brexit, petrol shortages, lorry driver shortages, a global financial meltdown, and a once in a generation worldwide pandemic thrown in for good measure!

This may be a wide range of very different challenges but they all have one thing in common, they damage confidence. Without confidence in the general economic outlook, consumers become more defensive with their spending which forces businesses to review their expenses and begin the inevitable cost saving exercises.

This is of course a sensible and required step, but when deciding what costs to cut marketing spend is usually first in the cross hairs and often without weighing up what impact cancelling this crucial activity has on revenue.

WHEN CONFIDENCE IS LOW, PROVIDE YOUR OWN In reality, it is precisely when the economy is waning and your competitors are battening down the hatches that you should seize the advantage and divert resource to your Marketing endeavours.

Cutting back on Marketing during a downturn inevitably leads to investing a much higher amount just to stand still when things 22

return to normal. Your brand voice slowly disappears from your marketplace leaving the door wide open for competitors to take advantage and fill in the gaps.

On the flip side, when you continue your marketing efforts despite an economic downturn, you are communicating to your audience a position of strength, leadership, and vision. These are exactly the qualities consumers look for during uncertain times.

You may know that you are not firing on all cylinders, but your clients and prospects will be attracted to any amount of stability of messaging you can provide. We are seeing exactly this with the present state of the UK energy market. Many providers are teetering on the edge, but are still providing their customers regular messages of reassurance to steady the ship and return confidence.

DON’T STOP, PIVOT Maintaining your Marketing efforts when all those around you are cutting back provides a tangible competitive advantage.

Your business will remain in the hearts and minds of both your customers and prospects and position your business to gain huge market share when economic confidence fully returns.

So, at this point I hope that you are thinking that maintaining a consistent level of marketing through good times and bad is the way forward, but what can you do to keep the plates spinning through the lean times?

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About the author: Bringing over 23,000 hours of Marketing experience to your business, Lenny has been a marketing professional for over 17 years and is Director of Marketing Outsource Limited.

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Contact details: www.marketingoutsource.co.uk info@marketingoutsource.co.uk 07734 664 877

Test, track and analyse

1.

Discover and divert

As we have already discussed, halting marketing entirely only serves to save money in the short term. This strategy will leave your business weaker and less profitable when emerging from the challenging period. Instead, look at the return on investment you get from each marketing activity.

This MUST be objective and data led, holding on to vanity projects here holds no value. Once you have identified the best performing initiatives, divert all available budget to these projects.

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Be consistent

We have discussed finding out what works and doing more of that, but how? Data. Tracking the performance of your marketing efforts will give you actionable data with which to analyse and draw crucial conclusions.

When the economy is firing on all cylinders, it can be challenging to cut through the “noise” and deliver your messaging. During a downturn, there is opportunity to break through and reach your target audience more easily.

This is where digital marketing earns it keep. Digital campaigns are precise, specific, and measurable leading to better and more quantifiable results, exactly what is required when budgets are stretched.

To take full advantage of this, brand consistency is key. A monthby-month marketing plan that focusses on your most direct channels to consistently place your brand front of mind. Regular messaging should deliver a clear message, emotionally connect to buyers, confirm credibility, create loyalty and motivate potential buyers to make a transaction.

Benefits are twofold with a digital approach, providing not only the tools to survive but also to grow your business.

Here are 4 tips for marketing during an economic downturn;

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3.

Revisit existing customers

Regardless of product, service, size of company or industry, a brands biggest asset is its existing customer base.

Refocussing some marketing efforts away from new business acquisition and in to retaining existing customers is key. Engaging with your client base and ensuring that they are happy with your levels of service and are being rewarded for their loyalty will pay dividends.

This approach often produces new recommendations and reviews, case studies, word of mouth referrals and the opportunity to upsell directly and add additional revenue.

Conclusion The reality is, any economic downturn will have an impact on your business. No matter what strategies are deployed. However, having a strategy in place to address the issues in hand will always provide a route to emerge stronger and in a great position to capitalise.

Covid-19 is just one of a number of challenges which have and will continue to impact our economic fortunes. Having a “Plan B” to focus your efforts in to cost-effective, consistent and data driven campaigns will ensure you stay ahead of the curve and come back stronger.

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EMAIL ENCRYPTION EMAIL HAS REVOLUTIONISED COMMUNICATION BUT EMAIL WAS NEVER DESIGNED TO BE SECURE!

Email revolutionised communication, especially at the workplace. Distributing faxes and digging through piles of mail to weed out the unimportant junk are no longer issues.

While spam still exists, employees can now categorise emails, block content/senders, and even send out automatic responses. But with this reliance on email comes a responsibility to maintain the integrity of electronically distributed information.

Email was never designed to be secure!

So here are 5 benefits of email encryption….

Privacy Encryption targets the integrity aspect of cyber security’s CIA (confidentiality, integrity, accessibility) triad. Every company and the government wants their information to remain private. Whether it be intellectual property or classified information, utilising encryption protects information from being viewed by unauthorised individuals.

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Cost-effective Depending on how your email encryption service is set up, it could save money.

If companies use an email service with encryption integrated into their email systems, such as FRAMA MAIL, they avoid clunky portals, and suspicious looking links on the recipients end. Client experience remains in tact!

Compliance Many compliance guidelines require encryption. GDPR for example, strongly recommends it. Not all regulations explicitly require encryption, but most state that if a risk assessment finds electronic Personal Health Information (ePHI), Personal Identifiable Information (PII), or Nonpublic Personal Information (NPI) to be at risk, companies should implement encryption.

Efficiency As stated above, if email is encrypted in the actual email platform such as FRAMA MAIL, employees don’t have to use additional programs to secure their emails. Instead of following a multi-step process to securely attach files, employees can type and send their messages more quickly.

Authentication Spam is alive and well, but using encryption can help employees identify an authentic sender. Utilising encryption in conjunction with digital signing shows the recipient that the sender is authentic and the message untampered. This method prevents spoofed emails from infecting a company’s system through an employee’s account. The FRAMA RMAIL RECOMMENDS feature avoids sending to the wrong recipients, whilst also being able to destroy certain information once sent.

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We all learn something

Written by Claire Turner - Managing Director of Educational Life CIC

Supporting your local community through good news and positivity Our Vision – Inspiring your community through Positivity, Advice and Wellbeing.

Our Mission – Educational Life CIC is a dynamic, forward-thinking, inspirational organisation with a positive ethos underpinning our drive to celebrate community life and wellbeing.

Educational Life CIC was formed in January 2017 with a dream to help our communities by sharing good news and positive advice and tips.

Educational Life CIC reinforces aspiration and ambition through learning and highlights the many and varied pathways open to young people via our varied articles about life for all age groups.

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As a community champion, Educational Life focuses on important aspects of life within the area, much of which is socially deprived with an above-average poverty index.

As an organisation we reflect the positive aspects of community life and achievement, supporting the area’s ongoing desire to improve and achieve.

Your News

A safe place for anyone to share positive and inspiring news, where you know Good News and positivity is the only news we share.

Your Views

We want you to have a voice and an opinion on what you think matters, especially if you have a positive solution to an issue. Here is your safe space to share those views.

Your Life

We offer advice, tips and support on everyday life matters, health and wellness.

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g new every day.

whilst out and about in the beautiful surroundings, we live in. Some people are in desperate need of this opportunity but cannot afford it and working with some local partners we would like to fund their places on these opportunities, where we all learn something new every day.

that not only are you getting a great chance to promote your business to our readers but you also have the chance to help us to reinvest in offering a positive side to the news which is proven to have a positive impact on the mental health of those who look at positive things on a regular basis.

Benefits of advertising with or sponsoring Educational Life CIC.

1. Our demographic is made up of families and workers within educational establishments including decision-makers within the schools.

We have a large number of followers and our reach digitally and across social media is large, we are active on our website and social media daily with articles often going well over 10,000 views.

We need your help so we can continue to offer and even expand our service, please! The 3 ways we are looking for support are: 1. Your News: Each day we update our website with the Good News articles that come in; the website, its maintenance, and the staff to upload the articles, all cost money.

We need help to cover the costs of this service, we cover some of these costs via paid advertising .Following your feedback, people want a website with regular updates and advice and tips, but we need your help to keep this fully maintained and up to date.

As a Community Interest Company (CIC) ALL advertising revenue goes back into the company to help us grow and support YOUR community It is, for this reason, we cannot allow advertising within our FREE editorials. we would be more than happy to discuss this if you wanted further clarification.

Our website advertising offers a unique opportunity to promote your business or event and we always like to point out

2. We talk to the schools frequently and can promote your business to the right people.

3. We share events and info including promotional material on our social media channels for the duration of your booking.

4. On a Sunday, we have our “Supporters Sunday” initiative which is an added bonus for advertisers because we dedicate our Facebook timeline to them – all day, this can be events or promotional updates or just an awareness shout out whichever is your preference and this time is ring-fenced for all financial supporters of Educational Life CIC whether that is through advertising, sponsorship or donations

Let us tell people you are looking to help us and make a positive change to our local community

2. Your Views: We want to give our community a voice, especially our young people, we offer a safe environment for people to express themselves and share their views.

To help support and facilitate that we offer workshops, talks, and after school clubs in schools and community groups. We need help to continue to offer this service, support staffing costs and fund awards and certificates for young people.

3. Your Life: Wellbeing is so important, we offer 5 senses walks, where we can learn about being mindful and try to combat anxiety www.simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk

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WHEN PEOPLE COME ON OUR OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES, THINGS HAPPEN! If you’ve ever heard me talk about our experiences you’ll have heard me say this, a lot. But it’s true, they do.

A comment I regularly hear is, ‘you’ve made me think about our world in a totally different way’, or ‘I never realised that!’ Or when talking about ‘quantum mechanics’, yes we do!

The comments are often quite staggering: ask me!

Like anything in life, it depends on what you bring with you, an open mind will bring its own rewards, but it’s wonderful to watch people get drawn in as we explore the countryside, the way it works and the way that we are connected to it. For the way it has affected those that come then you need look no further than to go and read the increasing number of what are the most amazing reviews. Our participants talk about freedom away from our busy world and our mobile phones, peace, wonder, time out, happiness.

But it works both ways, the benefits I get from taking people on countryside odysseys are pretty awesome too, both currently and for most of my life.

I love watching people get drawn in as we go through the experience, we’ve had all kinds join us and everybody with an open mind will find the experience profound, our most recent review described the experience as an ‘epiphany’. We’ve had the just plain curious who have become massive devotees. That’s wonderful. One even stated, ‘what happened next I can only liken to Avatar’. What a comparison! We’ve those come along who were

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scared out of their wits about just being out, in defiance of their anxiety. But found the reward massive.

‘I’ve found the first few hours of peace I can remember for a long time’ Speaks for itself.

It is so rewarding to help people find what they need.

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As a result of that I am also now a qualified, Mental Health First Aider. It was a participant who suggested to me I should be, I never knew such a qualification existed before. I listen better to people who come on our experiences now and can put them in contact with those who can help them further if need be. That’s special.

When people realise how powerful the experiences are, they want to help spread the word and that is just awesome too. I am now on the Board of Directors for Educational Life CIC, The existing members came out and realised to potential of our experiences and are now helping to apply grants so that we can really help those who need us and can’t afford to come along themselves. That’s powerful and came from a walk.

We have great contacts with Dover District Council, Social Enterprise Kent, Land owners, Two have actually contacted me about setting up experiences on their farms which is amazing, check out the events at Frasers Egerton as an example.

Can’t wait for our first experience from there. The lovely people at Kent AONB are also helping us to get the word out and we are currently in negotiations with a TV celebrity

I’ve written and blogged about my anxiety and massive benefit I get from spending healing time in our own fresh air many times, but the last few months have been profound for me too. It was taking a group on an experience that allowed me to realise what I’ve struggled with all my life was anxiety.

I never had a name for it before, but so many of the incidents in my life made sense with that realisation. I mange my anxiety pretty well these days and know how to manage it.

Generally, the first step, is out into the countryside.

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simon@simplelifeltd.co.uk 07970414784

UTILISE ALL 5 OF YOUR SENSES

But I get so much more than that.

5 SENSE WALKS AND TALKS

To book onto a walk go to www.simonpollard.uk or to contact Simon about his walks email or call him on

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7 Top Tech Tips - Best Business & Productivity Apps and Software Provided By David Meares - Virtec IT Solutions Each month we ask the guys at Virtec for some IT tips and advice, this month we asked if they could tell us their best business and productivity apps and software to help businesses.

We all need to focus on our business first and foremost, but sometimes organising or structuring

what we are doing to achieve our goals can be slow and cumbersome. Thankfully, there are some fantastic applications and software on the market that can assist us with this! This month we will look at some of these products, with an aim to increase our productivity and in turn our profitability!

2. Trello 1. Frama-RMail – Do you need to need to get documents signed electronically?

Do you need to send encrypted/ secure emails? If you answered yes to any of these questions you need the little red button in your email platform that can do all of these things!

Think of Trello like a bunch of sticky notes, all organised into categories of your own creation, with handy tick boxes to mark when done or mark off list items.

You can also collaborate with other staff or groups.

3. FlashBack A great piece of software for recording your screen. This can be used to show staff or clients how to do something, create guides or to simply share something you have found.

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4. WeTransfer Require sending large documents or files over the internet? Look no further than WeTransfer! With the free version allowing up to 2gb of files transfers and the paid version offering 1tb, this should be plenty for anyone’s requirements!

6. Canva Need to create or design a presentation, social media post or video in a flash? This is the platform for you! Quick and easy to navigate and use, you’ll be designing things in a flash!

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5. Clockify Need to keep track of time?

This will let you track your working time to ensure your billing clients correctly, keep track of your own time and even schedule your time depending on your diary. It’s time to start tracking your time!

7. Microsoft Teams The key to any business is communication! Microsoft Teams is one of the best team communications software out there. If you just need to send a message, create a collaborative group, share files, or quickly create a video chat can all be done on the platform!

Your Teams await!

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Five exciting reasons to write a business book Written by Karen Ince aka Mrs Write

Have you ever thought about writing your own business book? I’m obviously biased but I truly believe it’s something that every businessperson should at least consider.

I’m going to share with you five out of the many excellent potential benefits.

Strengthen your confidence As you plan and write your book, you get a fresh perspective on your own expertise.

You have to decide what to include and what to leave out (or keep for a future book). You have to organise the content in a way that works for your target reader.

You have to revisit everything you know on the topic. In the process you realise and find a new appreciation for your own deep knowledge and experience.

Market positioning Having a book of your own positions you as an expert. You need to pay attention to all the different aspects such as getting the title and cover right for your market, and of course having first-rate content, but this book is an extension of your business. It tells people at a glance what you do and what your specialist niche is.

It’s the AUTHOR part of authority.

diagrams, charts—that you will reuse elsewhere.

You find new analogies to explain complex ideas simply. Suddenly you find you’ve expanded your everyday toolbox.

Creating social engagement You don’t need to wait until your book is complete and published before talking about it on social media. It’s a great topic to post about, giving you a fresh way to address some of the information you want to share, while stimulating interest from potential readers in advance. As you work through the content of your book, you can use spin-off material. Need to double check an assumption you’ve made? Run a poll. Running out of news to post? Give an update on the book.

Not sure what to call it? Ask your audience for suggestions, with a prize of a signed copy to the winner.

Extending the content While you’re busy working on your book, you can already be repurposing the material.

Is there a course to be created? Run out of topics to blog about? Thinking about a YouTube channel?

With good planning, you can use the book outline as a course outline, a list of blog topics or a YouTube series outline. Then as you write each chapter or section, you are creating the first draft of your book AND the raw material of your course or other product.

I hope you’re feeling inspired to write your business book.

If you need some guidance to get started I’m offering a free workbook to help you. Download it here

Improving Communication As you work on your book, writing and rewriting, refining your message, and ensuring that you create coherent, jargon-free content, you improve your communication skills. You find the process of polishing your text rubs off on other work you do. You discover new, more precise or creative ways of explaining concepts to your audience. You create ideas for illustrations—models, 32

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Why Are Sunday Markets So Popular with Gen Z? The Sunday market is a longheld tradition in many local communities. Far from the hustle and bustle of high street megastores, local markets provide the opportunity for people to get their shopping fix in a more relaxed setting, and often in a stimulating outdoor area.

There are few experiences that can compare.

In recent years, local markets have been difficult to organise; however, they are coming back in a big way with the support of an unexpected ally: Generation Z. Younger generations are turning back to their roots and revitalising the landscape of the Sunday market to suit younger demographics.

No longer is the Sunday market a place solely dedicated to buying and selling groceries. Now, markets have been elevated to accommodate a whole host of services that have transformed markets into something far greater than their humble beginnings.

Credit for the article to Fentimans fentimans.com Gen Z is unique among the generations for a number of reasons, and the individuality of this generation means that they are seeking grassroots alternatives for purchases. Here, we’ll be looking at a few of the reasons why the younger generations are perfectly suited to spending a day browsing the Sunday market.

Diverse food and drink On the whole, Gen Z is particularly keen on spending time socialising and indulging in things that they enjoy. Naturally, a part of this indulgence is food.

Markets have, for a long time, been a space for local food artisans to showcase their delicious offerings and handmade arts, and the same is true today. In particular, markets are a hotspot for street food.

The UK has marked the seventh-highest regional interest for the search term ‘street food’, making it clear that we are a nation that likes to enjoy street food as part of our eating habits. As our world becomes more connected, markets don’t solely showcase regional dishes. Current street food trends rely on customers being able to sample a range of global cuisines, such as Greek, Mexican, Turkish, and more.

Gen Z is pushing the boat out and embracing diversity in food and drinks. Whether they are interested in enjoying an authentic shawarma wrap or choosing from a range of non-alcoholic cocktails, a Sunday market is likely to have something to tickle their fancy. Given their adventurous desire for new tastes, it’s no surprise that younger audiences are being drawn to markets by diverse food options.

Coming back from the pandemic Sunday markets, as with many other events and industries over recent years, have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent

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lockdowns in the UK. There have been periods where markets were simply not permitted, and many people have been hesitant to attend gatherings of crowds.

Global travel restrictions have put an end to many holiday dreams. For Gen Z, this has stumped perhaps their first opportunities to travel abroad independently.

While long-distance travel is prohibited, many have begun to seek fresh experiences within their local area. As a result, many would-be travellers have been turning their eyes towards nearby events rather than abroad, and a trip to the market presents a unique way to see a familiar location.

Since markets largely take place outdoors, they are also relatively safe places to gather for those who are more conscious of COVID-19. They provide an opportunity to spend a day outside that simply wasn’t possible during the height of the pandemic.

Andrew, 24, from the North East of England, spoke about how lockdown changed his opinion of markets: “It’s something a bit different from a Sunday lunch or nursing a hangover - a good difference. I can see my friends, walk the dog, and enjoy some really good local food and drink. Especially in the past couple of years when outdoor spaces have been so important, I’ve got a newfound appreciation for a Sunday market.

It’s literally a breath of fresh air.”

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Ethical consumption is more popular than ever before as more people are searching for sustainable ways to spend their money. This is particularly true of Gen Z. According to a study by The Digital Fairy, members of Gen Z said that ethics and politics were the main indicators of a good brand.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that Gen Z is choosing to shun mainstream commercial outlets in favour of alternatives such as purchasing items in markets.

Even Gen Z fashion trends reveal this shift, with retro and vintage fashion becoming popular in recent years. Purchasing trends show that Gen Z is even willing to spend a few extra pounds if it means they get an ethical product.

A Sunday market shopping trip fulfils many of the desires of Gen Z shoppers. They can communicate directly with vendors about the ethics of their products to ensure that they are investing their money in businesses with which their views are aligned. Plus, for those of Gen Z who are particularly interested in revitalising their region, a Sunday market presents the perfect opportunity for them to engage with local traders.

You might think of markets as quiet occasions filled with antiques, but Gen Z is enjoying the realities of the Sunday market for what it is. Markets are a great source for younger generations to find what they want, whether that is exciting food or vintage clothing, and know that their money is being used ethically too.

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When w e f i r s t started out in business it came off the back of a long career in the printer industry, the stories we could tell and the things we saw where, lets say, interesting. We wanted to offer service with a difference.

Now 8 years has gone by and we are being referred by a lot of our customers and we are growing because we do what we say we will do. We know how important a printer is to a busy office and to have it down for 10 minutes can be a problem so when it turns into days or even weeks we feel that is unacceptable and we go the extra mile to make sure that you are without for the shortest possible time.

On the 18th March WBS will be celebrating 8 years in business and we are having a gathering to show our thanks to those who have supported us over the years and to meet people again or for the first time after what has been a torrid time because of Covid. We are meeting at the Innovation Centre, Millennium Way, Broadstairs between 11.30am - 2pm, if you are local then we would love to see you and get to know you. Meet some of the engineers and Ian & Jamie Wade for a small get together.

We know that scanning is a big plus for many businesses and so making sure our machines are not only working but talking to the computers is imperative,

Working From Home We know that one of the main things to come out of the pandemic is the flexible working conditions and we have seen across many of our customers that we need to help in this area with smaller printers to help those working from home but do not have the space or desire to have a large office machine in the small home office.

We are now working with smaller A4 machines which help to take the pressure off the company if their 36

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staff need to be able to print but work from home some or all of the time.

Does your company spend more than £25-£30 per month on ink? If you are doing then it would be worth having a chat as we believe we could be able to not only save you money on your printing but also the hassle of buying the inks. WBS has an offer that means all you have to do is literally buy and load the paper, our monitoring agent can tell when your machine is running low on toner and we will automatically order a new one for you without you even needing to know it was running low.

A great example of our customer service came in the form of a review recently, when one our clients had their toner run out, we had already shipped a replacement out to them and so, the old toner was taken out and the new one inserted, although it didn’t work, it was a faulty toner, sadly these things can happen and we will not know about it until the time the toner is opened and attempted to be used. The customer got in touch in a bit of a panic as they needed to do some printing to tell us of the www.simplybusinessmagazine.co.uk

problem a n d within 30 minutes of the call we had dropped a replacement to them and they were printing their important documents.

And Finally...

We are always on the lookout for unethical contracts, we want to help as much as possible and work with some people to try to get companies and schools out of these unethical and sometimes illegal contracts. If you are in a contract with a provider, always make sure to thoroughly check anything before you sign it. We have been made aware of times when a small maintenance call out has resulted in an add of years onto the contract or a machine upgrade before the end of the contract has resulted in effectively paying for two machines. Or a fault on a machine

that ends up being a broken spring which would cost 18pence plus labour to change, but your machine is written off and you are forced to replace it under the terms of your contract.

If any of these things happen to you and your business or if you think your contract might not be quite right, then talk to us and we will happily see if there is anything you can do.

There is a rumour going around...

Print, Copy, Scan...Ian’s the man!

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