University of Bath Workshops for Small businesses

Roger and Derek are offering a couple of open workshops this Spring for the University of Bath.

27 Jan 2010 - Building ideas into business opportunities
31 March 2010 - Using creativity techniques with business

Both will be at Carpenter House.

Here is the press release for the first one:

New Year, new start - turn your dream into reality

The University of Bath is offering people the chance to turn their dreams about starting their own business into reality.

The New Year brings new horizons for many, and the University’s Division for Lifelong Learning is offering people the chance to realise their ambitions with its new one day workshop, ‘Building Ideas into Business Opportunities’.

Rachael Selley, participation manager for the Division for Lifelong Learning, said: “A New Year often makes your mind turn towards new horizons and resolutions."

Maybe you’ve just been made redundant, thinking of a change in direction, or your children have just started school or moved out.

“This workshop will cover the key actions and stages to develop your business idea whilst minimising any business risks.”

The course includes how to:
• Carry out quick and dirty research to define your market space.• Develop an offering that customers want.
• Develop a business model that works for you and your customers.
• Build marketing and financial systems to make your business robust.

Everyone who attends will take away a free business plan guide and template to help them develop their business idea.

This workshop will be run by Roger Croft who has delivered University programmes on Enterprise and Leadership and Management since 2002. Roger has an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Business Venturing as well as certificates in Coaching and Mentoring and Action Learning. He also runs his own business PRD Partnership Ltd.

Former student, Paul Horan of Yapp Brother Ltd, said: “Roger is a gifted tutor. The content and style of the course was a revelation and I gained a considerable amount to take away with me. The course is very much recommended.”

The ‘Building ideas into Business Opportunities’ workshop takes place on 27 January at Carpenter House in Bath city centre and is being offered at the special rate of just £25 including a buffet lunch.

Subsequent workshops will cost £43. To take advantage of this special offer and register your interest, please contact Delia Slucutt on 01225 384414 or email.

wood pelleting plant tender

As advertised on OJEC - but if you could not find it!!

UK-Swindon: machine tools for working wood
Publication date: 18/03/2009
OJEU Ref: (09/S 53-76466/EN)
CONTRACT NOTICE
Supplies
SECTION I: CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
I.1) NAME, ADDRESSES AND CONTACT POINT(S): Swindon Borough Council, Enterprise Works, Units 1A & 1B, Gipsy Lane, Attn: Dave Rowland, UK-Swindon SN2 8DT. Tel. +44 1793616288. E-mail: enterpriseworks@swindon.gov.uk. Fax +44 1793542235.
Further information can be obtained at: As in above-mentioned contact point(s).
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained at: As in above-mentioned contact point(s).
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: As in above-mentioned contact point(s).
I.2) TYPE OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY AND MAIN ACTIVITY OR ACTIVITIES: Regional or local authority.
General public services.
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no.
SECTION II: OBJECT OF THE CONTRACT
II.1) DESCRIPTION
II.1.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority: UK-Swindon: Energy2work.
II.1.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Supplies.
Purchase.
Main place of delivery: Swindon.
NUTS code: UKK14.
II.1.5) Short description of the contract or purchase(s): Enterprise Works, which is part of Swindon Borough Council are looking for an organisation to supply a wood pelleting plant utilising new / used equipment. This procurement is limited to a maximum spend of 211 000 GBP for the purchase of the equipment, the delivery, installation, commissioning, operator training, technical advice and 1 years warranty and maintenance of the plant.
II.1.6) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV): 42642100, 50530000, 43810000.
II.1.8) Division into lots: No.
II.1.9) Variants will be accepted: Yes.
II.2) QUANTITY OR SCOPE OF THE CONTRACT
II.2.1) Total quantity or scope: Estimated value excluding VAT: 211 000 GBP.
II.2.2) Options: Yes.
Description of these options: There is a provision in the contract for the option to extend the maintenance agreement for 2 periods of 1 year each (1 + 1 for a maximum of 2 years).
II.3) DURATION OF THE CONTRACT OR TIME-LIMIT FOR COMPLETION: Duration in months: 12 (from the award of the contract).
SECTION III: LEGAL, ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION
III.1) CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE CONTRACT
III.1.4) Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject: Yes.
Please refer to the Request (tender) for further information.
III.2) CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
III.2.1) Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: (a) is bankrupt or is being wound up, where his affairs are being administered by the court, where he has entered into an arrangement with creditors, where he has suspended business activities or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws and regulations;
(b) is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for an order for compulsory winding up or administration by the court or of an arrangement with creditors or of any other similar proceedings under national laws and regulations;
(c) has been convicted by a judgment which has the force of res judicata in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of any offence concerning his professional conduct;
(d) has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authorities can demonstrate;
(e) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority;
(f) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which he is established or with those of the country of the contracting authority;
(g) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required under this Section or has not supplied such information;
(h) has been the subject of a conviction for participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2(1) of Council Joint Action 98/733/JHA;
(i) has been the subject of a conviction for corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Council Act of 26.5.1972 and Article 3(1) of Council Joint Action 98/742/JHA3 respectively;
(j) has been the subject of a conviction for fraud within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention relating to the protection of the financial interests of the European Communities;
(k) has been the subject of a conviction for money laundering, as defined in Article 1 of Council Directive 91/308/EEC of 10.6.1991 on prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering.
Please refer to the tender documents for further information.
III.2.2) Economic and financial capacity: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: (a) appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance;
(b) the presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established;
(c) a statement of the undertaking's overall turnover and, where appropriate, of turnover in the area covered by the contract for a maximum of the last three financial years available, depending on the date on which the undertaking was set up or the economic operator started trading, as far as the information on these turnovers is available.
Please refer to the tender documents for further information.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Please refer to the tender documents for further information.
III.2.3) Technical capacity: Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if requirements are met: (c) an indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the economic operator's undertaking, especially those responsible for quality control and, in the case of public works contracts, those upon whom the contractor can call in order to carry out the work;
(d) a description of the technical facilities and measures used by the supplier or service provider for ensuring quality and the undertaking's study and research facilities;
(h) a statement of the average annual manpower of the service provider or contractor and the number of managerial staff for the last 3 years;
(i) a statement of the tools, plant or technical equipment available to the service provider or contractor for carrying out the contract;
(j) an indication of the proportion of the contract which the services provider intends possibly to subcontract;
Please refer to the tender documents for further information.
Please refer to the tender documents for further information.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Please refer to the tender documents for further information.
III.2.4) Reserved contracts: No.
III.3) CONDITIONS SPECIFIC TO SERVICES CONTRACTS
III.3.1) Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: No.
SECTION IV: PROCEDURE
IV.1) TYPE OF PROCEDURE
IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Open.
IV.2) AWARD CRITERIA
IV.2.1) Award criteria: The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated below:
Price. Weighting: 60 %.
Method Statements for Maintenance cover. Weighting: 25 %.
Method Statements Machinery Training / Support. Weighting: 10 %.
Area utilised (Floor Sq.Mtr). Weighting: 5 %.
IV.2.2) An electronic auction will be used: No.
IV.3) ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
IV.3.1) File reference number attributed by the contracting authority: energy2work 0109.
IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document: Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 8.5.2009 - 12:00.
Payable documents: no.
IV.3.4) Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 11.5.2009 - 12:00.
IV.3.6) Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up: English.
SECTION VI: COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
VI.3) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: GO reference: GO 09031629/01.
VI.4) PROCEDURES FOR APPEAL
VI.4.1) Body responsible for appeal procedures: Body responsible for mediation procedures:
URL: www.swindon.gov.uk

Sunday Times - Gadgets of the Week

Hubert Dias put together what is now the Orbitsound T12 last year. It is now on sale in Harrods, John Lewis, and Amazon. Reviews have been very positive, including the following from the Sunday Times."WHAT IS IT? This British-designed speaker system provides stereo sound from a single speaker housed in a smart bar-shaped cabinet. Many rival television sound bars employ digital trickery to provide the illusion of surround sound from a single cabinet that contains multiple speakers, but the Orbitsound does not take this approach. Instead, it reengineers the principles of stereo reproduction to provide a true stereo sound field from a single compact enclosure that is uniform throughout the room rather than having one sweet spot. This, of course, sounds like nonsense, but InGear has tested one and it worked well, whether connected to a television source or using the built-in iPod dock. SHOULD I BUY ONE? If you opt for a sound bar to sit under your TV, it’s academic exactly how many speakers are housed within it. Even so, this innovative, well-made kit is powerful yet easy on the ear.

"http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article5252031.ece

They do identify the key problem about new technology - when you explain Airsound to someone you can get:

Its not possible (and I know my stuff)
or
I don't care (I dont listen to sound, and I am not that interested)

As the article above says - it worked well - but if you need to hear a demonstration and you don't live near to Harrods, we would happily arrange one for you if you live in the Wiltshire/M4 corridor.We do have an offer on the T12 at the moment. To find out more visit

Recession - What Next?

Many companies will be experiencing negative growth over the next 2 quarters. If not us, then we will know someone else. The recession seems to be global, with many countries experiencing reporting a downturn and AC-DC returned to the top of our charts in October. ("People crave something uncomplicated and dependable in a time of uncertainty, and rock music has never produced a band so uncomplicated and dependable as AC/DC." The Guardian)

Creative Destruction is the idea that innovation of processes or products or services will destroy the traditional way of doing things. This process can be wealth generating, but depending on where the innovation is, can also have a negative impact.

For many people the advent of the PC was wealth generating. Both in terms of something new to make, it also allowed us to do things differently. Work smarter, do things differently, and therefore earn more income. GSM and the mobile phone was also “life changing”, with the industries springing up around improved communication. The result was more jobs directly and indirectly.

Whilst the advent of the Internet has changed our lives, it is also a destroying influence. You can buy anything you want online. Traditional retail is losing jobs and this will change the makeup of our cities, towns, and retail parks in the future. Has the advent of the Internet meant more jobs or more wealth in the UK?

Its all Free!!!! One game that is being played out is the software that runs our PC's and phones, and can be so easily distributed over the Internet. For instance http://portableapps.com/ provides much of the software that you need to run a professional small business. It will all work from your memory stick. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/portable-software-usb/ gives a list of 15 different types of software that will work from your memory stick, and by default will also work on many phones, and of course your PC. Whilst you can work smarter, its all free, and not wealth generating in a production or service sense. The apps are so well productized you don't even need a tame geek to make them work. So you can get a PC and memory stick on ebay for less than £100. You can put up a website with ecommerce using OS Commerce without paying huge amounts for webdevelopment – after all the logical end for software is that it will be free, and also useful, and therefore easily customizable.

Phones are also starting to become “open” so not only will you be able to put on lots of applications, but with wireless the potential for communication to be “free” also exists on a wide scale. http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Main_Page explains how you can get an “unlocked” phone with free software, that can tap into wireless for free. Whilst this may improve our lives as consumers, it doesn't create production jobs. From a helicopter view, jobs will be lost. Google maps will work on my phone “its not GPS, but its pretty close”, places me 15 miles from my front door, not so good if I am lost on foot! So perhaps we have a way to go.
Protection debates will rage on. There are those that do not want to earn money from copyright, patent or trademark, but most talented businesses and people do. AC/DC refused to release their recent album on digital down load, and very quickly 400,000 downloads through torrents followed. This represented about a third of their sales. Mama Mia has grossed between $5-600k in the cinema. Distribution of DVD's for purchase and rental have been worth between 3-5 times as a multiple. My family were excited and I pre-purchased on Amazon for £11.99 back in the summer. It is £8 in Tesco, and freely available to download for free on hundreds of torrent sites. There are albums that I had on vinyl, tape, cd, and now digitally due to wear, misplacing, and digital remastering. How many times should we pay for copyright in the future? How do you achieve a balance?

Whilst the Internet is a wonderful tool, it may not directly lead to jobs. We will see further reduction in barriers to entry, increases in efficiency, but less jobs.

So whats ahead?

Genuinely talented individuals will always earn a good living. From entertainers to “clever” people in most walks of life, we will want to see the best or use the best available. The problem with the “best” is that it implies a few or not many people. “Public” goods and services are safe, but not life changing. At least “public” makes up over 40% (42.9% and rising) of this countries wealth at the moment. The bets on new beneficial areas of technology that “need” help are:
Intelligent Transport Systems ServicesLow Impact BuildingsAssisted LivingNetwork SecurityLow Carbon Vehicles

You can see why each has been chosen. There is a social benefit, economic benefits, and may well help the government in their programmes (and not freely available on the internet). If genuine progress is made in these areas then there is a chance of wealth generation. Ie more jobs.What is certain is that for all the government intervention, growth will built on progress that generates wealth ie employs people. Governments are notorious in not predicting markets very well, and so it is equally likely that progress will come from somewhere else.
During a recession there is a temptation to cut costs, and if you are wasteful, then it may be a good idea to take stock. Cutting the marketing that gets you sales is possibly a bad thing to do, but M&S have done it. Training budgets are being cut all over the country at a time when individuals need to be more competitive. Holding your nerve is difficult for even the largest and most successful.

A phone call from a broker last week saying it was the best time to invest if I was liquid. The stock market has never been lower. My “no” came back quite quickly – an indication that I don't see the opportunities out there at the moment (although a railway company developing Intelligent transport systems might be undervalued at the moment.........). It is difficult to pick winners - who would have bet on AC-DC over the Kaiser chiefs or Mama Mia (Costing $52m) over the Dark Knight.

Somewhere there are companies considering new products and services and whether this is the best time to invest. Creative destruction suggests that innovation is not easy, and it takes a special sort of person or team to be able to innovate and then educate the market when everyone is blasting AC-DC out loud.

Notes:
Britain's Highway to Hell1973 - AC/DC form
Economy: Start of the oil crisis, which saw the price quadruple
1980 - AC/DC release breakthrough album Back In Black
Economy: Inflation in UK reaches 20% and unemployment nears 2 million
1990 - AC/DC score comeback with The Razor's Edge
Economy: Recession in UK imminent
2008: AC/DC top UK album chartsEconomy: Biggest world recession in decades looms

10 ways to ensure company failure before Christmas

Focus on cutting costs
Marks & Spencer announced it's slashing its marketing spend by 20 per cent (7 Nov 2008)
Cut your marketing budget so there is less chance of people finding you or understanding your offer. With any luck your customers will completely forget who you are and what you do. In the present unstable environment they may be asking “are they still in business?” or “I haven't heard from XXX for a while”. Falling sales are inevitable
You may as well cut training as well as it wont matter if you are capable of doing the job. Why develop your people if you are going to let them go?


Develop a healthy paranoia about your competitors
“Shooting is too good for my enemies”.
Spend your time plotting a masterful end for the company that pinched a contract (or market share) from under your nose.
“The artifact which is the source of your power is kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity.”
All your time is spent making sure you fully protect your computer systems, your intellectual property, and you scan the papers looking for other companies passing off your product as theirs. Now you have stopped marketing you find you have more time for these activities

Carry on believing you are an expert in your business
"I AM INVINCIBLE!!!"
You are a superior being – therefore you prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or gloat to your weaker enemies to show they pose no threat.
“You are seen flying into a rage and killing an advisor who brings you bad news just to illustrate how evil you really are.”
Employ advisors that you like and ensure that their opinions will be the same as yours.
“Porsche expected to take control of VW” (23rd October Daily Telegraph)
Never believe what you read in the newspapers. Never look for new information. Just keep taking advice from your advisors. They in turn are too petrified to give you anything other than good news, or news that you are right and everyone else is wrong.


Develop uncharacteristic new strategies
Employ your girlfriend (or boyfriend) to develop your new products or services rather than the experts you have carefully trained for the last few years.
“Microsoft Bob was designed for Windows 3.1x and Windows 95 and intended to be a user-friendly interface for Microsoft Windows, supplanting the Program Manager. At one point, the project was managed by Melinda French, who at the time was Bill Gates' girlfriend (the two later married).” Wikepedia
“I have a cunning plan” Baldrick
Put your energies into a plan for “the big one” that will solve all your problems. When that doesn't work you look for an “even bigger one”.You normally have some typical work that comes your way. It doesn't pay that well, or sort all your problems out. Why continue paying attention to it. Its hard work. So dump it.
And lastly never take your own medicine. If you advise people and always say the same things to them, don't actually do it yourself!
“On camera, a man was demonstrating the proper forklift safety techniques. Unfortunately, he did not practice proper forklift safety precautions. He was thrown from the forklift while exceeding the proper forklift speed and of course, not wearing a seatbelt.” Darwin awards 2000
If your business is still running after taking this advice, please tell us.

The future's bright - what does it look like?

The best way to ensure that your business not only survives, but thrives, is to know what the future holds. Many people profess to do this already but what is it exactly that they are doing? From your existing management information you might be able to predict the amount of resources required (both human and material) as well as the features of your competitive environment. How far in the future can you do this without resorting to sticking a wet finger into the air? The answer is probably less than 12 months.

The question is, how far can we look into the future and with what certainty? The answer is anything from 5 to 30 years is possible, and that would certainly help with crafting strategy and changing the direction of even the largest multi national business if this is required. But how?

Most people are familiar with the passage of a ship on the ocean that leaves a wake behind. By examining the wake and knowing how much time has passed, one or more experts could tell you something about the ship, its speed and course. Now imagine that you are at the tail end of the wake but you are in the present, the ship is in the future and not visible to you. If you could pick up all of the bits of information that are present, look at the patterns, and have access to experts then it is possible to gain sufficient information to predict the future for your company.

Predicting the future has developed into a whole new topic known as … Futures. Most gurus will use prediction, based on facts, certainty and giving you answers. It sounds safe but its usefulness over time is limited and it does not deal with the uncertainty of the future. Futures uses a degree of imagination, stories (or scenarios) and a whole lot of questions to rigorously examine the future and it can look decades ahead.

Businesses might wish to use futures to quantify risks and opportunities, craft strategies, inform investment decisions and fuel their innovation programmes. Government and other public sector bodies have broadly similar aims – creating policies, identifying areas for intervention, investment and education needs.

To find out exactly how this can be achieved you will need to wait for the next article in this series. If you cannot wait then get in touch now.

Technology patented by telecoms giant Vodafone

The mobiu is gaining more interest in the media and why not!

With the SIM assured technology patented by Vodafone the Mobiu is the only access key that provides two-factor authentication that leaves no footprint on a PC. In the same way that mobile phones are connected to each other during a call, users can create an unbreakable private network where they can share data.

Posted earlier today on Sky News

Gadget Lets You Take The Office Anywhere
Updated:00:46, Wednesday June 25, 2008

The ability to access your work from anywhere has taken another step with the launch of a new device.

Mobiu's USB deviceThe Mobiu is a USB storage device which uses technology patented by telecoms giant Vodafone.

Plugging the device into a computer brings up a simple interface which allows people to access files on a remote server using pre-installed software.

This means that when the device is removed from a computer, no trace of that activity is left.



The Mobiu has a SIM card inside it, and if it is lost or stolen, it can be deactived straight away.

Adrian Burholt, CEO of the Key Revolution, which is behind Mobiu, said that the device responded to customer need.

He told Sky News Online: "What worries people is concerns over their data.

"We found that people like the idea of something in their pocket that reassures them that their data is safe and no-one else can get their hands on it."

He said that ease of use was also very important for people, adding: "We've designed it so anyone can pick it up and use it."

Mobiu enters an increasingly crowded marketplace for remote working, and with services such as Microsoft's Live Mesh on the horizon, which allows computers to synchronise and share information across the internet.

Stuart Miles of Pocket Lint said that the Mobiu launch was similar to U3 sticks, which came on the market last year.

These USB devices also carry data and software, though do not have the same SIM-card style security.

He told Sky News Online: "A U3 drive is like your desktop being carried around."

If you are in the education sector in the UK and you would like to find out out more about how the Mobiu could benefit you, please contact us