Transcript Time Management - Institute of Chartered Accountants in

Business Link
Yorkshire
“Real help for businesses”
John Fox
Strategic Partnership Manager
York and North Yorkshire
Business Link Yorkshire
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Established on 1 April 2008
Covering whole of Yorkshire and Humber
Funded by Yorkshire Forward
Part of the national Business Link organisation
Consistent high quality service across the
region
Focus on Business Link core role
Aligned with economic priorities
Business Link Yorkshire
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Working to:
– Stimulate a more entrepreneurial economy
– Instil a spirit of ambition and enterprise
– Help develop growth orientated businesses
– Raise the aspirations of existing businesses
– Help improve their productivity
– Add greater economic value to the region’s
economy
Our Services
• Objective
• Impartial
• Easy to use
• FREE!
Information Push
Free Hints and Tips factsheets on:
• Money Saving Tips
• Maintaining a Healthy Cash Flow and Getting Paid on
Time
• Restructuring, Business Finance and Diversification
• Sales and Marketing
• Writing Effective Bids, Proposals and Quotes
Events
• Enterprise shows, big ticket events,
seminars and workshops
Online Business Health check
Action plan is tailored to your individual requirements, you can
make it as simple or complex as required.
Visit: www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk
Adviser Services
• In depth adviser services targeted to work with local
businesses of importance where we can add real value
• Provide access to support and funding where
appropriate
• Our advisers have helped hundreds of local businesses
over the years
• Don’t reinvent the wheel. Learn from other people’s
mistakes and successes.
• We are a critical friend, a sounding board
How we work
• We work with clients to diagnose their needs
and business support requirements and seek to
introduce them to specialist services best placed
to service their needs and deliver most
added-value.
• We use a unique database of suppliers, the
Yorkshire and Humber supplier database
Supplier Database
• To register as a supplier of business
services in Yorkshire and Humber visit:
www.yhsuppliers.co.uk
• For more information on the Yorkshire
and Humber Supplier Database call
01483 408199.
Updated services Financial Health check
• Be based in Yorkshire and Humber with a minimum of 5
employees (or direct associates who wholly depend on the
business for employment), excluding owners or shareholder
directors and a maximum of 250 employees;
• Have been trading for more than 1 year and have a history of
profitable trading until last year when the economic climate had
an impact;
• Be solvent and able to demonstrate a viable future;
• Have a clear measurable goal which they need the health check
to help them achieve;
• Need to understand as a matter of urgency how
best to focus their energies;
• Be willing to share the content of the health check
with Business Link.
Financial Health Check Case Study
• Client is an old-established (50+ years)
family owned manufacturing business
• Employ over 50 staff
• Annual turnover circa £6m in 2008
• Projected turnover circa £10m by 2010
• 2008 NPBT circa £800k
Financial Health Check - Outcomes
• Confirmation that their business was in good financial
shape and with sufficient resources to fund their
ambitious growth plans
• This gave them the confidence to commit to investing in
a factory extension, they applied for financial support
under the Grant for Business Investment scheme, and
have just (last week) been offered a grant of £90k
towards the costs of the £930k project
• They reviewed their use of the R & D Tax Credit Scheme
(which they thought they were already using to maximum
potential) with experts introduce by BLY, and were
granted a net tax refund of £14k
What’s new
Innovation Vouchers - a scheme to offer
businesses academic support to help with the
development of new products and services. 350
companies have so far received vouchers worth
up to £3000 to help them stay more competitive
by investing in research and
development.
What’s new
Designing Demand - Workshops will be run
around Yorkshire and Humber for fledgling or
established businesses to identify how design
can help them grow and develop. Eligible
companies will receive free consultancy of up to
5 days with a design mentor, who will work with
them on establishing a project and
advise them on how to select the
right design agency.
What’s new - National Initiatives
Enterprise Finance Scheme (Replaces the
Small Firms Loan Guarantee)
A guarantee facility for SMEs intended primarily to
improve the availability of working capital through term loans
and the consolidation of overdrafts, while also supporting
lending for business growth and development, in cases where
a sound proposition may otherwise be declined due to a lack
of security. This will help good smaller businesses, who are
currently not able to access the finance they need, to secure
loans of between £1,000 and £1m through the government
guarantee
What’s new through UKTI
Passport to Export is designed to help small
and medium sized businesses completely new
to or just starting to export.
Gateway to Global Growth - is designed to
help innovative SME’s with between 2 and 10
years export experience to
increase sales overseas.
What’s new
In Yorkshire and Humber, the Skills
Brokerage Service is delivered by
Business Link Yorkshire and is also known
as Train to Gain. This is a national service
that supports businesses of all sizes and
in all sectors to improve the skills
of its employees to help improve
business performance.
What our customers say
• “Business Link has given me a lot of confidence to
believe in my own ideas. I feel I’ve had access to
very high quality expertise…”
Linda Barrie, Choc-affair
• “Cash flow is a nightmare for any small business and
Business Link helped me find ways to improve that”
Helene Iveson, Mulberry Bush
• Business Link has been instrumental in our
strong growth”
Robert Johnson, Craftsman Tools
What our customers say
• The seminars were really inspirational. I went to
ones on setting up a business and raising finance.
The best bits were the networking and bouncing
ideas around with other entrepreneurs”
Paul Moran, Broughton Laboratories
• Business Link was important in helping us to keep
the post office. We value their continued
advice and support”
Mike Popples, Marton cum Grafton
village shop
Summary
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Information
Online resources
Workshops and Events
Adviser services supporting businesses on:
Skills, Innovation, Raising Competitiveness,
Business Strategy, International Trade,
Access to Finance and so on.
• Referrals
Contact Details
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08456 048 048
•  www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk