Business is building

Another speaking engagement this week proved that I was on the right path with my change in direction caused by the economic climate. Twenty years as a business adviser working on government funded projects with new start and growing business came to sudden end last summer as the money ran out.
Having retired three times already and not finding it to my taste meant I had to find an outlet for my energy and found it in volunteering to help with a wildlife charity. Always having been a 'people person' with a passion to meet new people I wanted to make sure that visitors to the wild life reserve enjoyed their experience so worked hard researching the reserve history, geology, botany and ornithology to make my commentaries interesting.  You can read my blog about volunteering for the Wildlife Trust at www.brockholesvolunteer.com 

It worked so well I was invited to come and speak at various clubs about the work of the wildlife charity. Polishing my presentations proved fascinating and I quickly realised the business potential so have now developed illustrated talks about Venice, The Panama Canal, New Zealand and am working on a talk about the wild flowers of Lancashire.

More trips are planned to exotic locations that will give me the opportunity to take lots of photographs and provide material for new talks. My wardrobe is being revised from pinstripe suits with highly polished black oxford shoes to increasing numbers of easy wash mosquito proof shirts and trousers that will stand the rigours trekking along Amazonian jungle trails as well as sampling the best of South American wines at the finest wineries in the foothills of the Andes and Chile's Acongua Valley.

Visit johnballtalks.com soon if you would like to arrange a talk for your members.

It's the numbers that make the difference

Running your own business is never easy. The day-to-day management of the business can take all of your time and your effort; however, it is vital to keep your eye on the numbers.

Constantly checking the profit margins, the ratio between various costs and sales can make the difference between a business that is failing and one that is thriving. Assumptions are always dangerous, but I will assume that you have prepared a business plan and cash flow forecast in which you have set out your expected gross profit margin. That profit margin, of course, will vary from business to business but if it drops without you having made a conscious decision to reduce your margin then it time for urgent investigations.

Legitimate reasons for a drop in growth profit margin could be that you have had a sale, that you are heavily discounting to meet local competition, or you have suffered losses from unsaleable stock. If these have not occurred then it's time to look for reasons for the drop in gross margin; examples of these could be waste, in a manufacturing business mistakes could have been made and the evidence disposed of hoping you wouldn't find out. There are a host of reasons in a retail business such as members of your staff selling on to their friends at less than your marked prices, sticky fingers in the till, or what is euphemistically referred to as shrinkage. Shrinkage is nothing more than theft by members of your own staff perhaps smuggling out stock in shopping bags or delivery drivers sneaking your goods into their vans and dropping it off at home. In service businesses one of the major causes of loss of profits is time wasting, service people parking up in a lay-by is to read the newspapers instead of getting on to the next job.

Keeping good financial records and consistently checking your ratios are key tools in preventing these causes of the profit margins.

Monitoring the results of all promotional activity is also a vital check, it is so easy to waste valuable resources by continuing marketing activities that are not producing the expected results. It is always important to work out the level of sales you need to achieve from your marketing activity to generate the sort of profit needed just to cover the cost of the marketing activity.

If you are unsure of the maths needed to work out the sales or other ratios arrange a meeting with your accountant or with a suitably qualified business adviser who you could find through the Institute of Consultanting. Your business manager at your bank could also give you invaluable advice, if your bank manager asks you for a copy of your year-end accounts the reason will certainly be to check out this sort of ratio. It is not just good sales figures that will persuade your bank manager to provide a loan for new development but a combination of these key ratios that will be analysed when making a lending decision.

Beat the recession

As the recession seems to be biting deeper than ever with our politicians appearing to  be scurrying around like headless chickens talking the talk the talk but never seeming to get down to the nitty gritty of an answer to the crisis we are all facing.

As small businesses meet the problems of rapidly diminishing sales and tiny, if any,  profits corporate bosses, senior bankers and politicians continue to bank their salaries and many are believed to be salting it away in overseas accounts.

It would be so easy to give up, to try and sell what assets are left to us and walk away from the shambles that these corporate gamblers have created for us. As a nation, or even a nation of shopkeepers as Napoleon contemptuously dismissed, us we are  not known for giving up in the face of adversity.

Before the Siege of Harfleur in 1415 William Shakespeare had Henry V make what is still the most motivation speech ever delivered. Starting with "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more" and continuing "Then imitate the action of the tiger, Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood"

Now is the time  to stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood, now is the time to re-look at the business model. Has the tried and tested model run its day? Does it meet the needs of businesses demographic? Is the pricing policy in line with the affordability of of cash strapped customers?

Many customers have sufficient resources to meet their needs  but, almost without exception, they are watching their spending in case things get even worse.

Evolution is the formula for survival, the dinosaur failed to evolve and became extinct but our close cousins swinging through the trees began to walk upright, began to use tools and eventually communicate becoming man.

A business may have survived and prospered for generations as butchers, bakers or candlestick makers but now may be the time to change track.  Look around you, who is prospering? Who has customer beating a path to their door?

The small business owner often is so involved in the day to day routine of trying to survive that they don't look out and see what the rest of the world is doing.  Now is the opportunity to take time out to look at the word around you and look to the future, perhaps wearing a different hat. The business owner is, of necessity, a very resourceful multi skilled person who can normally turn a hand to most tasks. If the skills are there to run one sort of business they are certainly there to run another.

Take the new idea, research the customers, the competitors and the costs of running the business and draw up a new business plan.  Define your customers, Forecast the potential sales and with the information from researching costs like rent, telephones, advertising, delivery, direct costs and wages produce a cash flow forecast to test the viability. Think the idea through properly, if the figures don't work in the first forecast look for opportunities to cut costs, increase sales or improve gross margins. When the figures are beginning to look good to you get someone to go through them with you.  You don't want a yes man, you want someone  you trust, with good commercial judgement, to challenge your forecast until you are certain the new business idea is right for you.

Speakers for your Club

Brockholes Conference Room

It can be a problem for speakers secretaries to find interesting speakers for club night but now the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire Manchester and North Merseyside has expanded its team of experienced presenters so that they can accept more bookings across the county.

The portfolio of talks include 'The Development of Brockholes - The Unreserved Nature Reserve', 'The Work of the Wildlife Trust', 'Red Squirrels' and 'Wildlife Gardening'.

The speakers are all passionate about nature and conservation with a wide knowledge of the Trust's reserves. One of our speaker team, a keen amateur botanist, is developing a talk on the'Wild Flowers of Lancashire' which will be available later in 2012.

All our volunteer speakers make presentations free of charge but donations, which are passed to the Trust in their entirety to help with  conservation work, are gratefully received.

You can arrange an entertaining talk at your club by contacting Clare Kenny at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust on 01772 324129, by email to ckenny@lancswt.org.uk or dropping her a line at:

 Clare Kenny, Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, The Barn, Berkeley Drive, Bamber Bridge, Preston  PR5 6BY

A gluten free day out

The Kingdom of Rheged covered all of the north west of England in the fourth century from its capital of Caer Liqualid, modern day Carlisle, and the Rheged Visitor Centre at Penrith hosted the 8^th Annual Food Festival devoted to gluten free foods on November 5^th.

Despite having been diagnosed as a Coeliac and suffering from a gluten intolerance for over twenty years ago this was the first organised event I had ever attended. What a surprise! Despite its location in the far North West of England the day attracted thousands of visitors and the huge car parking area was packed to bursting point.  I know that the Coeliac Society believe that as many as one in a hundred people suffer from gluten intolerance but until this visit I always felt that I was on my own.

The two exhibition halls were packed with visitors checking out the fantastic range of gluten free products on offer. What a change from my first diagnosis when the only source of gluten free foods was the pharmacy unlike the large range on the ‘free from shelves’ in the local supermarkets. The supermarkets mustn't get complacent, they are not there yet and need to look much more closely at some of the wonderful new small producers who are creating products with love and care..

Angela Murtagh of Freedom Deli was offering her range of frozen ready meals, products I am familiar with as I had advised her on starting up her business in Darwen, Lancashire. Sarah Hunter, ably supported by her mum on the stall was presenting her range of Hunter’s gluten free puddings. Can I tell you that her Chocolate Fudge pudding is just to die for.

Giant bakers, Warburtons, have introduced their range of gluten free breads and the sample loaf was put to good use the following day with a bacon sandwich for breakfast and a packed lunch for later in the day, as I was leading a guided walk around the Brockholes Nature Reserve. Absolutely delicious! How wonderful to eat fresh bread rather than always having to be ‘refreshed’ in the microwave before being edible.

There was so much to see and taste; cakes, tarts, biscuits and other baked products from a host of suppliers. Shaws Meats of Cumbria were there with their range of Gluten Free Salamis, Cured Meats, Game,  Sausages, Burgers, Black Pudding and Haggis. I have been buying their sausages from Barry Shaw at Farmer’s Markets for many years and can tell you they have raised the humble sausage to a new level.

The day was completed by a meal at No 17, a new restaurant that has just opened in Park Road at Milnthorpe just off the A6. The restaurant has been beautifully refurbished and has a huge car park close to the entrance. The kitchen under Chef Graeme Shuttleworth, late of the Brown Horse Inn, famous for its fine foods, in the Winster Valley close to the south of Lake Windermere saw no problems in providing for a gluten free diet. Everything was managed with care including the provision of specially prepared gluten free gravy that was so good I emptied the gravy jug.

A big thank you to all the team at No 17,  you gave us a warm welcome, prepared and served our meal with care and skill so we left your wonderful new restaurant with a warm glow and a vow to return as soon as possible.

Let's talk about it

Never one to to simply sit still and let things happen partial retirement has given me the opportunity to indulge my passion for travel, for photography and for natural history.

Extra time has provided the opportunity for trips to far off destinations with enough time to spend there to absorb the culture and visit those places never possible on a fortnight's summer holiday.

The first on our list was New Zealand, probably inspired by a love of Tolkien's Hobbits and their adventures in Middle Earth but reinforced by Kiwi film director Peter Jackson setting his trilogy in his homeland.

Taking over 6,000 photographs during the sail out to Auckland through the Panama Canal and an 8,000 kilometre drive round North and South Islands led me to prepare a film show for friends.
Little did I know that would lead to a request to give talks and that my love of Natural History would result in becoming a guided walk leader at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust's new reserve at Brockholes with yet more request to give talks.

A new business was born, John Ball Talks with a website outlining the range of talks. If you would like to hear more about my adventures visit the website and perhaps I could deliver a talk for your organisation.

If you want to know more please give me a ring, all the details are on the website at www.johnballtalks.co.uk

Now is not the time to give up

OK, so we seemed to be surrounded by whining politicians and journalists who seem intent intent on drowning us all in a sea of misery but that's no reason for us to throw in the towel  and wait for disaster to strike.
If we listen to the Jeremiahs of this world things will never improve to it's up to the business community to do what we always do, think of other ways for us to pay the bills and keep our businesses afloat.
Let's look at our product or service and make sure we are delivering something that meets our customer's needs in these straightened times. Think about them in terms of price, service and specification. Can we change our product line to meet changing needs?
Look carefully at those customers, has their needs changed, have the people changed, is your contact list up-to-date.
How are you reaching your customers? Are you using the most cost effective ways of promoting your business?
I have to admit that I remain astonished at the number of businesses who still haven't embraced the power of the Internet to increase their market place. We can't bury our heads in the sand much longer as the service provided by companies such as Amazon are dragging customers away from the high street at an alarming rate. We certainly can't beat them so let's join them and use the Internet to our advantage. We already have premises, stock and a business so let's utilise them and make the whole country our high street and take advantage of the 24 hour increased footfall we can win from customers sitting at home.
We need a blog that provides the sort of information your customers are looking for in way that keeps them coming back for more.
We need good copy, words that attract attention,words that sell, words that keep customers coming back for more. We can use them in blogs, websites and sales letters
We need good pictures, photographs that show your product or service to advantage, that make them stand out as the best in their class.
I can help. As a blogger with years of experience and having worked with websites since the early nineties and a photographer from the days of the Box Brownie roll film camera I can give you the help you need at prices you can afford.
Drop me an email at john.ball@criticalmarketing.co.uk and tell me about your problems and I will give you some ideas of how I could help and how little it need cost you.