Q: I want to start up a business selling goods over the Internet. What legal implications are there?

Alan Pike Head of Management Information at the Intellectual Property Office replies:

A: Ideally you need to ensure that your brand, i.e. your trade mark, is registered with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). I note that you are already trading and if you are thinking of expanding throughout the UK then you must already be quite successful. Your trade mark is a critical asset and must be protected. Don’t forget, until you have registered your trade mark it is possible that a third party could register it. Where would you be then? You may have to pay licence fees or change your mark!­

Registering your trade mark is relatively simple process. You can apply only on-line and receive a fee discount. This means that an on-line application for a single class of goods or services will cost only £170. When you consider that a registration is valid for 10 years the cost of registering your trade mark equates to £17 per annum. Think of it as insurance protecting your property, your intellectual property. To be registered your trade mark must not describe your goods or services. Think of distinctive marks such as Mars, Kit-Kat, Ikea, Kodak – they are totally invented and mean nothing; perfect trade marks. Trade mark protection rights date from the day you file your application so it is important that you don’t delay your decision to file for trade mark protection. For guidance or information contact our Central Enquiries Unit on 08459 500 505 or by e-mail at centralenquiries@ipo.gov.uk.

Q. I want to start up a business selling goods over the Internet. What legal implications are there?

Marlies Hoecherl from Capital Law replies:

A: Internet trading provides a brilliant opportunity to start up a business with relatively few running costs. You can trade without having to rent a shop or employ sales staff and you can trade 24 hours anywhere in the world.

But there are also a lot of snags. For example, if you sell goods over the internet, you have to comply with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 which specify that you need to provide a written confirmation of any order placed which must include your name, a description of the goods and the customer’s right to cancellation.

When you sell over the internet you enter into a legally binding contract with your customer. You should make it very clear on your website at what point the contract becomes legal and allow your customers to check an order. You should also have customised terms and conditions on your Website and make sure that the customer accepts these before any order is placed.

There are numerous other legal issues such as data protection, domain names, protection of intellectual property, payment over the internet or jurisdiction. If you want to ensure that you don’t fall foul of the law, best consult with a legal expert first.

Q: As a sole trader starting off in business with very few leads do you think I should do things for free to get the ball rolling?

Max Taylor, head of business marketing, T-Mobile replies:

A: Beyond using mobile devices for keeping staff in touch with customers and colleagues through voice calls, texts and mobile email access, the ways that mobile technology can help businesses manage their mobile workforce and improve processes are becoming increasingly diverse. One of our customers, an engineering company called Firstline Digital, recently implemented some innovative mobile technology to make a real impact on the efficiency and success of its business. The company developed software for its fleet of vehicles to monitor each one’s location, speed, fuel consumption and driving style, communicating the information back to head office through Mobile Broadband. Tracking information such as estimated times of arrival has helped Firstline to offer its customers better service, as well as identifying areas where efficiency can be improved.

Mobile technology is moving beyond its communicative functions to become a way of tracking, storing and sending valuable business information, helping businesses to improve their level of service and differentiate themselves from competitors. To benefit from these advanced mobile technologies, get in touch with your network operators and software suppliers, who can work together with you to develop appropriate systems and ensure your business gets the most out of its mobile devices.

As a sole trader starting off in business with very few leads do you think I should do things for free to get the ball rolling?

Carl Hopkins from Kloog Business Development replies:

A: I think it’s a good thing to do things for nothing, however, I wouldn’t advise you make a habit out of it. In your situation as a start up with ambition, energy drive and time on your hands, I see no harm in pursuing it as one option in your business acquisition strategy. You have to simply remember that your time, your services, experience and knowledge have a value; a value to yourself that hopefully will turn into revenues very soon but also a value to the people you are working with. Your offer of ‘free’ work should therefore be specifically targeted and not ‘broadcast’.

To approach a would-be client and offer yourself for free, will create goodwill and it can give you new experiences within a new sector or discipline. And let’s not forget there may well be a PR spin off, so is that a bad thing? All of those possibilities are, to me, real returns on my investment of time.
It’s also worth considering whether offering yourself free to a desirable client or sector is any worse than some time-wasting prospect offering a dozen businesses the chance to pitch? I would rather that my business had the ability to choose who, and when, to offer its time to for free, as opposed to simply chasing every ‘pitch’.

If you do decide to go down the ‘pro bono’ route, there are, however, a couple of golden rules for you to bear in mind: (a) set a value on the services or time you are offering and (b) set a time period that the offer is available for. Both of these parameters will manage everyone’s expectations and ensure that you are not expected to offer yourself for free all of the time...and to everyone.

Hopefully by taking this approach you are not simply creating awareness of your new business and yourself, you are also creating trust and trial of your services. Good luck.

Q: I’m looking at expanding my customer base, and thought that a partnership with another business might help. How do you find the right company, or the right deal?

Wendy Tan White, Founder of Moonfruit replies:

A: To begin with, it’s important to get a feel for the other companies who are in your industry, and those who target similar customers to you, by networking.

This doesn’t mean schmoozing at every envelope opening, but attending relevant events for your industry or customer base to get a feel for what other companies are doing. You will quickly become aware of the possibilities out there, and you’ll often be inspired by interesting ideas or approaches taken by different companies.
Networking doesn’t just have to be at events, either. I am a big user of social media, and many recent opportunities for Moonfruit have started through conversations online. For example, we recently agreed an alliance with MOO, which started from conversations I had with Simone Brummelhuis, founder of The Next Women on twitter, through Simone I met Bindi Karia, EMEA lead for Microsoft Bizspark and kept in contact through twitter who in turn introduced me to Richard Moross, the founder of MOO. Many people are sceptical about social media, but it can be a very easy and cost-effective way of starting conversations and developing relationships.
 
Throughout the conversation, the key attributes you should be looking for are complementary customer bases, products and company cultures. One of the main strengths of the Moonfruit and MOO alliance is that we both have a common business approach and ethos, we both target similar types of people, but our products don’t overlap. Because our approaches are so similar, it’s almost like MOO is an extension of the Moonfruit service, and vice versa.
 
In short, partnering with a company whose customer base and product complements your own can be an extremely effective way of garnering a new set of customers quickly and easily. While finding that fit can be challenging, it’s important to put yourself out there to get the wheels in motion. Once a relationship clicks, you’ll know it, and the results should start to show.

Q: Is now a good time to start a Social Enterprise?

Phil Levermore Managing Director and founder of Ebico (the UK's only not for profit energy supplier) replies:

A:When I started Ebico ten years ago, the idea of running a company with the aim of providing a social good was still a fairly radical concept. These days entrepreneurs like Jamie Oliver and George Davies, who run the Fifteen restaurant and Give clothing brand respectively, have made non-traditional business models very fashionable. We are about to see an increase in the number of social enterprises and Community Interest Companies (CICs) being set up in the UK.

Consumer anger at what they perceive as the excessive profits of big business is not going to go away anytime soon and companies offering a different approach could prosper. There will be a need for new organisations to emerge to fill gaps created by cuts to public services which have to be made after next year’s general election

There are approximately 62,000 social enterprises in the UK with a combined turnover of at least £27 billion accounting for 5% of all businesses with employees and contributing £8.4 billion per year to the UK economy.

CICs are hybrid organisations that exist primarily for the benefit of the community but can also issue shares that pay a capped dividend to investors. The cap is set by the CIC Regulator.
Currently, half of social enterprises fail within the first three years of their existence. Ebico stands as an example of how, if run in line with normal business principles, they can endure and provide quality services to customers while also contributing to a worthy social aim.

In a successful social enterprise like Ebico, decisions are made in a context that is both financially disciplined and faithful to the social objectives of the enterprise. In my experience these dual disciplines, whilst sometimes challenging to apply together, result in better business decisions. Social enterprises are extremely rewarding to run and work for and I believe they are a business model with enormous potential for the future.

Q: How can I maximise my server security and gain customer trust?

Oliver Chivers, T-Mobile Head of Business Acquisition replies:

A: I believe that the Android operating system and phones remain an untapped resource for businesses, with the potential to deliver real benefits. As 3G networks offer increasing levels of high-performance internet connectivity, it makes sense for businesses to consider using this technology.

Far from being purely social tools, the Android handsets currently on the market have many resources that are explicitly business orientated. These include Scan2PDF Mobile, which allows you to take photos of documents and turn them into PDF files, and Note Everything, an application for taking notes in audio, visual or written form. Furthermore, the devices are designed to make it easy to use web-based productivity tools such as Google Apps.

With so many useful functions, Android technology is fast becoming a major resource for companies looking to enhance their employees’ mobile working experience and is certainly worth considering for your business.

Q: How can I maximise my server security and gain customer trust?

Jim Pearson, Abel & Imray replies:

A: If you value your trade mark application/registration and wish to have enforceable legal rights in the associated brand, care needs to be taken over how the trade mark is used:

Ensure that your trade mark stands out from its surroundings. For example, write the mark in block capitals and/or using italic, bold or coloured lettering, or an unusual typeface. Be consistent though, as frequently changing the presentation of your trade mark could lead to brand dilution or confusion amongst your customers.
Before the trade mark is finally registered, use the ™ symbol next to your trade mark. This symbol has no legal status, but is an effective way of indicating to third parties that you consider a particular term or logo to be a trade mark.

Once your trade mark is registered, use the ® symbol next to the mark. It is an offence in the UK falsely to represent that a mark is registered - and similar laws exist overseas - so care should always be taken when using the ® symbol.

Use the trade as an adjective, and not as a noun. For example, write, “you’ll never regret your purchase of a DOOZEY fridge freezer,” rather than, “you’ll never regret your purchase of a DOOZEY.” Trade marks used as nouns run the risk of becoming generic – just think of how we now use the words escalator and linoleum (both previously registered trade marks). Whilst a flattering sign of its popularity, if a trade mark is allowed to become a generic word for the relevant goods or services, the associated trade mark registration will effectively be rendered unenforceable.

Q: I have filed a trade mark application and wonder what advice a trade mark attorney would provide on how I should use my trade mark?

Jim Pearson, Abel & Imray replies:

A: If you value your trade mark application/registration and wish to have enforceable legal rights in the associated brand, care needs to be taken over how the trade mark is used:

Ensure that your trade mark stands out from its surroundings. For example, write the mark in block capitals and/or using italic, bold or coloured lettering, or an unusual typeface. Be consistent though, as frequently changing the presentation of your trade mark could lead to brand dilution or confusion amongst your customers.
Before the trade mark is finally registered, use the ™ symbol next to your trade mark. This symbol has no legal status, but is an effective way of indicating to third parties that you consider a particular term or logo to be a trade mark.

Once your trade mark is registered, use the ® symbol next to the mark. It is an offence in the UK falsely to represent that a mark is registered - and similar laws exist overseas - so care should always be taken when using the ® symbol.

Use the trade as an adjective, and not as a noun. For example, write, “you’ll never regret your purchase of a DOOZEY fridge freezer,” rather than, “you’ll never regret your purchase of a DOOZEY.” Trade marks used as nouns run the risk of becoming generic – just think of how we now use the words escalator and linoleum (both previously registered trade marks). Whilst a flattering sign of its popularity, if a trade mark is allowed to become a generic word for the relevant goods or services, the associated trade mark registration will effectively be rendered unenforceable.

Q: My business is proving to be a success; profits are up and I am thinking of taking on staff and even offering more products. What key change should I make to ensure my business can manage this growth?

Alan Gleeson, Palo Alto Software replies:

A: Business planning plays a vital role in helping you to grow your business and to reach your targets. In existing businesses, planning is often about allocating resources to ensure that you are focusing on the key activities that are most likely to generate the greatest return.

In an increasingly time pressed work environment, people can be very reactive to actvities, meaning time can often be spent on administrative tasks, and managing growing email volumes. Business planning helps ensure you are proactively working on the key objectives for your business, displacing those tasks that are of secondary importance, so you can concentrate on the areas that will help you reach your targets.

Software products like Business Plan Pro 11.0 from Palo Alto Software can really assist you with this. Business Plan Pro is designed specifically for business planning and can save you huge amounts of time as you do not have to reinvent the wheel producing a plan in Word and Excel. The software leads you through the process step by step, guaranteeing no sections are omitted, as well as ensuring that the financials can be produced in an easy and clear manner. In short, Business Plan Pro is the fastest and easiest way to write a business plan.

Q: My business is proving to be a success; profits are up and I am thinking of taking on staff and even offering more products. What key change should I make to ensure my business can manage this growth?

Laura Rudman, Founder and business trainer Red Apple Consulting
www.redappleconsulting.org replies:

A: In short, you need to ensure you are changing your business’s structure to cope with the expansion and ensure you are changing your leadership & management style to facilitate the growth your business is experiencing.

There are generally 5 stages in a Small Business Life Cycle. The first stage is of course, Establishment, which is the most uncertain stage of the life cycle. The second stage is Growth, where a business moves from negative profits to break even or profit. The second to last and last stages are Maturity and Decline. During Maturity, the business is stable enough to overcome most challenges or unforeseen circumstances. The fifth stage, Decline, is the easiest to reach and is the point where the business profits start to decline or the business ceases to exist. However the third stage, which is the stage your business is about to encounter, is the most pivotal stage that sets-ups whether your business is more likely to mature or decline (or how long you can ward off decline or reverse a decline). This stage is Expansion.

During expansion your company will more than likely take on staff, expand the office space or locations, deal with a larger base of clientele or produce more products. At this stage you’ll find that you have to change your business’s objectives, strategies, technology and processes but what can be easily neglected is the organisational structure, decision-making and leadership style changes that also need to be made.

At establishment, your business has a very simple organisational structure with centralised authority. Now that your business is expanding your structure needs to become more sophisticated and the authority decentralised. This means you have to change your company’s organisational structure and your leadership, management and decision-making style to allow direction, delegation, coordination, and collaboration to grow your business.

I would recommend you consider taking a course on growth & organisational lifecycle models and leadership techniques. Red Apple offers a ‘Grow Your Business Course’, which gives our delegates the ability to recognise each stage of their business life cycle and the proficiency of skills to facilitate and manage the expansion stage successfully.

Is investor confidence in the property market finally growing, I want to know if it’s a good time to get back in the property market?

Nick Clark, Managing Director of the Property Investor Show replies:

A: Investor confidence in the UK and overseas property market has risen significantly according to research conducted by the Property Investor Show with investors saying it has increased by 43.3 per cent in the last three months with 32 per cent of respondents attributing this change in attitude to positive media reports and 20.7 per cent to the greater availability of different finance options. While bank finance remains an issue, 17.7 per cent of investors are still able to secure bank loans to fund investment, having enough liquid assets to cover the current LTV ratio, 32.4 per cent have access to savings and 32.5 per cent are able to use the equity from existing assets. The boost in confidence and renewed hunger in UK and overseas property has been signalled by reports that UK property prices have stabilised and the first signs of permanent job rises being reported.

There has also been a strong shift in the market with savvy UK investors beginning to re-explore overseas opportunities as they search for sound investments with better returns than the other poor performing investment vehicles such as bank savings and the stock market. The Property Investor Show and OPP Live, is the only major property investment event taking place in the UK this autumn and is a good way of scouting the market.

Q: I’m a fairly new start up business. How can I grow my business opportunities with very little budget?

John Dunsmure, British Chamber of Commerce replies:

A: Networking online is a cost effective channel when working with a tight budget, allowing you to deliver key messages, raise your company profile and drive sales on a national or even international level, with minimal cost.

For many businesses, start-up or existing, the most valuable commodity of all is time. Many business owners generate sales through word of mouth and believe there is nothing better than face to face meetings. But realistically few of us have the time to do this.

If your business has little budget, time is probably also scarce. This is where online business networking sites such as Linked In can help, allowing you to develop and build strong contacts and help crystallise your business ideas without putting on a business suit. These sites ultimately allow you to reach more people with less effort, to identify and connect with the right people more quickly and easily - as well as reduce travel time and expense on sales visits.

Previously, these sites have offered either business networking or tendering. However now there is a site which offers both in one place, the Business Network Online (BNO) – www.thebusinessnetworkonline.com.

Developed by the British Chambers of Commerce Chamber Network, BNO takes the best from existing business-orientated networking and tendering sites but adds one crucial new function - realistic opportunities in the form of tender alerts so companies can pitch for and win new contacts, covering both the private and public sectors.

Here each contact you make has a realistic prospect of making a meaningful impact on your actual business, from solid advice to mutually-beneficial working.

BNO will not only help your business search for more competitive quotes from a wider trusted supplier base more easily, it will also help open up new markets and explore new ideas via responsive networking opportunities both locally and across the UK.

Online sites like this will also help take the worry and often the guesswork out of future sales and provide a solid platform on which to market your products and services as well as your own business-to-business skills.

Q: Which international payments provider is right for my business?

David Sear, Divisional Managing Director, Travelex Global Business Payments

A: One of the big issues facing any new business trading internationally is managing its overseas payments. Whether importing or exporting, there can be significant costs incurred when transferring money to suppliers or beneficiaries in other countries. While it may seem simpler to use the foreign exchange services of your existing bank, it can actually prove less complicated and more cost effective to use a bespoke, alternative payment provider.

One of the key benefits of being a start-up or established SME is an ability to move quickly and nimbly to exploit niche opportunities in new markets compared to larger, more established institutions. However, there is a risk that SMEs can lose this advantage by opting for a ‘one size fits all’ service from their international payment providers.

In future, true innovation in payment services will be driven by partnerships between the big banks and the specialist payment providers who have found new revenue streams in existing and emerging markets. Rather than viewing market leading alternative payment providers like PayPal, Checkfree, Obopay, NyTango and Travelex as competitors, the banks are seeking partnerships with them to stay ahead of the pack.

Today’s SME customers have their own unique set of payment needs, not all of which can be properly met by the banks. That’s why we’re particularly proud that our GlobalPay international payment platform was ranked number 1 among 16 competing platforms from across the world by independent payment analysts TowerGroup earlier this month.

The solutions offered by non-bank payment specialists are well positioned to respond to the diverse needs of the growing international SME market. Business owners would do well to look beyond their obvious supplier to find a partner who matches their own business needs.

Q: I’m finding a significant proportion of visitors to my transactional site drop off at checkout. How can I increase conversion rates?

Cameron McLean, PayPal UK replies:

A: Your website and the messaging you put out to buyers does influence the understanding that the buyer has of the actual purchase they are making and will have an impact on the final conversion rate. Online buyers are much more discerning when making purchases today, so although a buyer may fill an online checkout basket on a website, it only takes finding the identical item possibly cheaper on an alternative e-commerce website such as eBay for them to abandon that purchase. This will be then reported as a non-converted sale in website statistics.

Buyers can drop off an online checkout process at many different stages but what PayPal does is streamline the payment flows and minimise the
payment drop-off points.

PayPal makes it very simple and efficient in terms of a buyer authorising a purchase. Ultimately, however, the retailer owns the way the website interacts with the buyer, and therefore they need to continually invest in improving their website to satisfy online buyer needs.

Q: I am keen to introduce more flexible working practices to my company but I’m unsure how I should proceed. Are there some easy steps that I can implement in order to make working out of the office easier?

Koen Van Praet, Easynet replies:

A: More and more, companies are reassessing their working practices to align, where possible, with the needs and wants of their employees. One way of ensuring that a workforce is happy, productive and efficient is by enabling them to work in the way that best suits their lifestyles. Flexible working gives business that ability.

Mobile working has become the norm in today’s business environment and it is essential for employees to be able to quickly and easily have internet access at home, on the train or at an offsite meeting. So it’s important that business leaders are aware of how flexible working business arrangements can be negotiated and sustained. First and foremost introducing flexi-time, handheld multi-functional communication devices and home working options as standard will make a big difference, however your workforce also needs to be safe and secure in the telecommunications and technology that they are utilising.

Solutions like the Easynet Global Services new Mobile Data service that offer flat rate, unlimited Internet access via 3G networks are enabling business customers to significantly increase their productivity away from the office. The Easynet Managed Mobility Portfolio now also allows workers to easily and securely communicate whilst on the move, delivering significant cost savings and increased productivity.Furthermore, the advantage of the Managed Mobility Portfolio is that it ensures mobile communications are fully protected by corporate VPNs and firewalls, helping alleviate concerns about data protection.
The service is fully supported 24/7 which avoids any downturns and admin for the IT department.

Q: I have a website for my small business but I don’t know how successful the website is or what I should be doing to make it better. What can I do?

Martin Oliver, Red Apple Consulting, replies:

A: Most small businesses have recognised the importance of having a web presence, and creating a company website site is often one of the first tasks a new business owner undertakes. In the past it has been difficult to understand the success of the website and the value it brings to your company. Web Analytics, or as Google calls it, Google Analytics, is a statistic gathering tool that is registered against your company’s website to provide insight into the usage of your website and to ultimately provide you with information. To improve the success of your website and often provides interesting information about the behaviour of your customers.

Web analytics gives you answers to questions like:
• How many ‘potential’ customers have visited your company website (aka how many hits does your site get)?
• What geographical area did the visitor originate from?
• How did the visitors navigate to your site?
• Trends as to when your site is most visited?
• Are your visitors new or repeat visitors?
• How much time do visitors spend on your site?
• How long do people spend looking at various pages of your site?
• When people leave your site where do they go?

It is important you get appropriate training on how to interpret the collected web analytics data (as it can be quite ‘techie’) so that you can work with your web designers to make the ‘right’ improvements to your company’s website. Your website often determines your customer’s first impression of your company, so it is a necessity to have a strong company website (you should be budgeting for continuous website improvements). Understanding & using the information provided by Web Analytics guides you to make informed and focused improvements to your website, this ensures you are investing wisely and maximising the value your website is returning to your company.

Red Apple has a dedicated course, ‘Connect Your Business’, with the objective of teaching our clients how the online world works and the benefits your business can gain from using online technologies properly. Web analytics is covered extensively in this course and working with our partner wed design company we can enable web analytics (amongst other tools) to a new or your existing websites. Log on to www.redappleconsulting.org for more information.

Q: I have a small budget but need to take charge of my online marketing and increase my SEO. Can you give me some quick easy tips to get me on my way?

Stuart Spice, Mr Site replies:

A: Sure, you have to:

Plan
Get a notepad out and plan each page of your website. Build each page around one or two keywords or phrases. On the homepage, situate the most important content at the top of the page. Remember to include your keywords or phrases in the page titles, meta-tags, image ALT-tags and filenames.

Competition
Do a search on your keywords/phrases and see which other companies are listed. Are they in the same category as you? Which keyword/phrases have they used? Use your browser to view the source of the page and look at their search words. Look at their content, images, meta-tags and titles. What can you learn from them?

Site maps
Create a sitemap or use Google sitemaps, which will encourage search engines to revisit more and give your site higher results page listing.

Links
The more genuine website links you have, the higher your site will be ranked. Just one incoming link could be all it takes to get a boost. Avoid link farms (a website that’s only purpose is to hold links to other websites) or sites that appear nothing more than spam.

Images
Flash animation, video and images cannot be read or indexed by search engines as there is no text for them to pick up. Code inside JavaScript is also harder to read. Pages containing only images are likely to get either a low or no listing at all. It’s best to avoid images on their own or otherwise balance them with a reasonable amount of text describing each image.

Cheating
Don’t ever try to cheat search engines, e.g. white text on a white background or repeating the same words over and over again. Most search engines now have strict policies about this and you’ll find your site penalised and slipping down the results pages.

Growing pains
To enjoy steady growth avoid making sudden changes to your website. Organic optimisation is slow and takes commitment but it’s definitely worth doing. You’ll soon see your site move up the results page.

Q: I want to create a more flexible working space for my company and encourage some members of staff to work remotely. Is this a good move?

Jennifer Brooke, Executive Director of BCA replies:

A: A national survey from the Business Centre Association (BCA) has revealed a growth in demand for serviced offices and managed workspace. Key findings in the BCA survey of its 750 members show an increase in the number of enquiries, a rise in average occupancy periods and a shift in the types of sectors seeking flexible space.

Sectors demonstrating an increased demand for flexible workspace include IT, media, retail support and insurance, while there has been a decrease in enquiries from sectors hit hardest by the recession such as construction, property and recruitment. Centres reporting a significant increase in enquiries were those operating in a ‘niche’ environment. Those nurturing specific sectors in particular: technology or design, or those offering lifestyle facilities such as gyms, bars, restaurants and break-out facilities. The survey suggests that the flexible space sector is weathering the recession, as companies, be they start-ups or established businesses looking to downsize, are minimizing risk by moving away from the encumbrance of a traditional lease into flexible managed workspace. Evans Easyspace lets business accommodation on flexible easy-in, easy-out terms and reported a record number of lettings in March 2009. Businesses do not want to take space on a conventional lease in the current risky economic climate. This, coupled with business downsizing and an increasing number of entrepreneurs entering the market, has resulted in the highest number of new lettings during the first quarter of this year in our serviced space throughout the UK.

Business centres account for approximately three per cent of total office space in the UK, so there is still room for significant growth. I predict growth in the sector will come from the many SMEs who are moving into business centres due to the appeal they offer when compared with to conventional leases. So you are not the only one thinking to do this and it’s probably a wise move to keep your cost levels lower.

Q: Continuing to be productive is difficult after making staff redundant. How can I still get the job done without having to do it all myself?

Paula Wynne, Founder of Remote Employment replies:

A: Outsourcing! Simply put, outsourcing means someone else does the jobs you shouldn’t be doing. Outsourcing also means an entire new department in your company who work outside of your company - a team full of additional skills without actually having the staff there on site. Online recruitment services, such as Remote Employment, offer companies the chance to access a wide pool of talented working professionals across the UK who outsource all manner of office tasks, from admin and data capture to highly skilled creative or marketing gurus.

Have a quick peek at our site and find out how you can save costs by working with remote workers and home workers to keep your office mobilised and productive. And if you may find this modern way of working suits your business down to the ground!

Q: With the economic downturn biting into revenues, I’m very interested in expanding my company’s e-commerce site to sell to a global audience. However, I’m worried about the complexities of managing multiple currencies and different tax-laws. Is there an easy way I can extend my geographic reach?

Craig Sullivan, VP International Products, NetSuite replies:

A: In a recession, we’re all looking for new ways of generating revenue, and online channels represent a valuable tool for reaching new markets. For growing businesses, the holy grail is reaching a global audience - but this has traditionally been made very difficult to manage, because of the challenges of adapting e-commerce sites to take account of multiple currencies and tax laws, and the complexities of managing several web stores.

Advanced, subscription-based e-commerce software is now changing this, giving SMEs a cost-effective way of targeting overseas customers. This can provide the ability to create as many separate web stores as you want, anywhere in the world, and manage them all from one single, integrated account in the UK. Local tax laws and language translations can be taken care of automatically, while all global sales can be consolidated and reviewed in sterling, meaning financial management is also kept simple. With visibility into global warehouses and stock, you can also easily keep track of inventory, with any changes made in the back-office automatically reflected in the stores. Before functionality like this was available, it was very difficult for small businesses to truly compete with their much larger and longer-established global competitors. Now though, forward thinking businesses can begin to target foreign markets, without incurring large up-front costs.

Q: What is the difference between Factoring and Invoice Discounting?

John Wilde, SME Invoice and Finance replies:

A: Both services, Factoring and Invoice Discounting, provide a high percentage of finance secured against your invoices. Typically, this is set at about 85% of invoice values. Factoring provides the additional advantage of a full sales ledger and collections service under which the Factor takes on the responsibility for your sales ledger. Under an Invoice Discounting service, you continue to administer the sales ledger and the funding relationship can be completely confidential, so that your customers are unaware of the facility.

Q: How can I attract more people to my website?

Martin Oliver, Red Apple Consulting, Technical Trainer replies:

A: Most small businesses have a website and some use web analytics to track visitor volumes and behaviours to their sites. I discussed web analytics in an answer to a question in last month’s issue. So, in addition to web analytics, search engine optimisation is another way to increase traffic flow to your site. Unless your potential clients already know about your website you’re going to be dependent upon search engines to direct people to your site. The issue is your site is the equivalent of a needle in the largest haystack on the planet. To get potential customers to view your website opposed to a competitor’s site, you have to get the various search engines to display your site towards the top of their search results.

It’s important to keep in mind that a top return is not instantaneous, it takes time to get your site returned at the top of results but there are a few techniques that can help.

You should …
Understand the basics of how search engines work so you can target your efforts. Understand which search engines use which search indexes. Thankfully most share indexes, so start with the most popular indexes. Form and work towards a search engine strategy. Understand ‘Pay Per Click’ advertising and decide if this will work for your business. Remember, there isn’t quick fix solutions so don’t be swayed by adverts offering quick fix services. Defining an online strategy, which must include your planned search engine strategy, can be a daunting task; contacting a businesses like, Red Apple Consulting, is one way to take positive action towards understanding the online world and how you should be using this knowledge to move your website and company forward towards greater success.

Q: I want to benefit from the best technology and product deals for businesses, but how can I do so without committing to long term contracts?

Oliver Chivers, Head of Business Marketing, T-Mobile UK replies:

A: It is no surprise that many small businesses are wary of making long term commitments within the current unstable economic context. Such commitments don’t always suit investment strategies at the best of times, but agreeing to a multi-year deal may well prove problematic when finances are strained and the future seems uncertain.

However, an inability to commit should not stop companies from having access to the very best services and technology available – as many suppliers are increasingly aware.

There is a wide variety of high quality offerings available to businesses on a short term basis, which provide business-critical resources without tying companies down to lengthy contracts. These range from rolling 30 day mobile contracts such as T-Mobile’s Business Unlimited offer to temporary staff, car lease deals, pay-as-you-go web conferencing and the hiring of office electrical equipment. You can even rent framed artwork on a daily basis to enliven reception areas and board rooms for important meetings.

When coping with the recession, businesses can ill afford to function at anything less than maximum productivity. And the aforementioned types of contract go some way in helping them to do this, without the financial burdens so many of us are keen to avoid.