Business Matters
issue 26 summer 2009
Contents
Page 1 Page 2 and 3 Page 4 Business Headlines Tips to Beat the Recession Business Agony Aunt
The Business Headlines
Train to Gain - Leadership and Management Skills
As part of the Train to Gain Government Initiative, small businesses can now attain funding for training in leadership and management for their directors and senior management. More details in the Agony Aunt Section of this publication.
New Statutory time off rights for workers from April 2009
As of 1st April 2009 all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks (for full time employees) paid annual leave, this is capped at 28 days and includes bank holidays. Part time workers must receive 5.6 times their usual working week as paid annual leave. More details can be found at www.berr.gov.uk
VAT Registration Threshold increases
From 1st May 2009 the VAT registration threshold increased to £68000. This means if your turnover was £68000 in the last 12 months or you think your business will reach this threshold you must be registered for VAT. More details can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat
Minimum Wage set to rise
In May the government announced that the Minimum Wage will increase in October 2009 to £5.80 an hour, with the rate for 18-21 year olds increasing to £4.83 and 16-17 year olds rising to £3.57. It has also been announced that from October 2010 the adult statutory rate will apply to 21 year olds. 1
Tips to Beat the Recession
Childcare Businesses are no different from other businesses when it comes to surviving a time of recession, but a lot of Childcare Businesses have never been through a time of recession before, so we are entering unknown territory. Many business websites and organisations provide information on how to survive the recession. The best of the information available has been summarised to create this guide on surviving the recession. As you read these points you may want to score your business out of 10 to see how successful your business is in each area, 10 being consistently good, 5 being OK and 2 being much improvement to be made. This will help you measure how ready your business is to survive the recession and what you need to do to improve it.
an agreement between your business and the parent regarding payment of fees and the consequences of not paying. It is only effective however if you stick to the contract and act on late payments. More information on this is available on the business pages on the Young in Herts website.
Would the parents who use your service say you provide excellent customer service? That doesn’t mean that you allow them not to pay their fees but to provide an efficient service and excellent care. Are you listening to what parents want, and where possible meeting their needs? One question is when was the last time you asked your parents what they want from your service? By asking what the customer can you provide that excellent service which will allow your business to stand above your rivals?
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Provide excellent customer service
Do you know where your business’ finances and cash is month by month even week by week? Most businesses fail because they are not mindful of their finances. You should know exactly what cash you have available and your current creditors and debtors. Knowing exactly where your finances are allows you to measure how the recession is affecting your business and will allow you to be proactive instead of reactive.
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Watch your cash flow
In recession money tends to be very tight, so don’t spend too much attracting new customers instead invest time and effort in retaining the clients who already use your service. This could be in the form of discounts for a full week’s bookings or parent consultations to establish what your customers (the parents) want. Sometimes it is hard to hear but a lot of customers do not care what you do; only what you can do for them.
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Retain your customers
The payment of parent’s fees is the lifeblood of your business, without these fees most childcare businesses would not be able to survive. In order to make sure you receive fees on time from parents have a ‘parent’s contract’ in place. This is
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Secure payment of fees
Customers are changing, the way they look for services and the way they chose services is altering. Newspaper advertising can be very costly and does not always have a high rate of return, make sure you monitor the return from this type of advertising.
Be smart when marketing
Push/pull marketing when you send out lots of flyers and posters for just the business of one customer is expensive and ineffective. Customers would rather be marketed to personally with a service built just for them. Bearing this in mind utilise new media, such as websites, social networking and mobile phones. More and more people use these new media to research services so make sure you are present on them.
When was the last time your business reviewed its operation and the costs involved? Are you over staffed and are your staff concentrated in the right area? When was the last time you reviewed your energy or insurance costs? Look around for the best deals as there are many deals to be had at the moment and don’t be afraid to negotiate costs.
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Streamline your operation
If you run a number of services as part of your business monitor which services are successful and making a profit. If you run a breakfast club as part of your service and it is not attracting numbers that allows it to breakeven then stop it you may not have the resources in the future to sustain it from other areas of your business
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Concentrate on services which make profit
There are many places locally you can get free business support, advice and training to help in this time of recession, including your local District Partnership Teams and the Pre School Learning Alliance. Don’t forget to use it.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Resources Available
Investing in your workforce will see you investing in some of your greatest assets. Training can produce productivity and will motivate staff to work hard. There are a number of different training opportunities in both childcare and business that you can access for a low or no cost, so take advantage of them.
Develop and train staff
To obtain a free copy of ‘Business Essentials; Recession Survival Guide’ call Business Link on 08457 17 16 15 www.businesslink.gov.uk/east/healthcheck To register free for the ‘90 day recession buster’ by Bizvision including free newsletters and podcasts go to www.bizvision.co.uk or call 01670 51 80 80
CONTACT DETAILS
Business Information Websites
www.hertsdirect.org/younginherts
www.businesslinkeast.org.uk
www.hmrc.gov.uk
Business Support Contacts
District Partnership Teams – www.hertsdirect.org/younginherts PSLA - www.hertsdirect.org/younginherts Enterprise Hertfordshire (SBI) for the East of the County - www.enterpise-hertfordshire.co.uk, Tel: 0845 078 0600 Business Link East - www.businesslinkeast.org.uk, Tel: 08457 17 16 15 WENTA for the west of the County - www.wenta.co.uk, Tel: 0845 371 0891 WENTA do charge some of their services
Free Business Training Providers
Enterprise Hertfordshire (SBI) for the East of the County - www.enterpise-hertfordshire.co.uk, Tel: 0845 078 0600 Business Link East - www.bookevents.org, Tel: 0845 601 1000 HMRC - www.hrmc.gov.uk, Booking line for courses 0845 6032691
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Agony aunt
Q
A
I am an owner of a small After School Club business and I have heard about the Management and Leadership Skills funding from Train to Gain. Could I qualify for this training and where do I go to access this training?
same. Applicants should pay their training provider first and they can then reclaim the funding either after or part way through the course. To access the funding go to www.tchc.net and following the training services links and complete an application or call Bev Wallman (Specialist Skills Advisor) at TCHC for more information and courses and training information at 07814 760 796 or email: bev.wallman@tchc.net for more information.You can also check out: www.traintogain.gov.uk
In order to qualify for this funding you need to be a business which employs between 5-249 staff or volunteers. The funding allows owners, directors and senior managers to develop their individual management and leadership skills, by attending training. Other criteria can be obtained from ‘Train to Gain’ and TCHC (the brokerage service for this strand of Train to Gain funding in the County) The funding can be used to pay for training courses in Leadership or Management or a qualification like the NVQ level 5 in Management ran by local training providers. You can claim £1000 in support. The £500 requires no client contribution but the second £500 is given on the basis of match funding. Therefore if you put £450 extra towards training, Train to Gain will do the
Have you got a business question that you would like to know the answer to? Then email: childcare.businesssupport@hertscc.gov.uk and mark your email Business Agony Aunt. Please note not all emails will be answered or published.
Disclaimer
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Please note that the websites and organisations mentioned in this publication are not endorsed or recommended by Young in Herts and Hertfordshire County Council. Young in Herts and Hertfordshire County Council does not guarantee the quality or accuracy of information from any of these companies. We also realise that there are other business advice companies which are not included in this publication where you can go to get comprehensive information. This briefing paper is for guidance only and is no an authoritative statement of the law.