IQ-Magazine-Issue-1

ISSUE 1 : MAY 2012

It's 

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IQ welcome 

WelcomE to the first issue of IQ Magazine, 

a quarterly publication that is set to offer 

insight and inspiration to the SME business 

owner in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. 

With the budget still fairly recent, we have put together a series of articles on what this will 

mean for business owners in the region. Keeping a positive spin, there are many changes 

that will facilitate growth in the region which is great news as the area has already been 

championed for its economic improvements in comparison to others. 

Gemma TREBY 

gemma@iqmag.co.uk visit www.iqmag.co.uk 

for further stories and information 

IQ Magazine aims to be positive and support 

local business initiatives in the area. It’s fantastic 

to see so many positive reports adding weight 

to the idea that this area is a great place to do 

business and provide an environment where 

entrepreneurs can flourish. Recent research commissioned by 

the BBC by data analysts Experian found St Edmundsbury in 

Suffolk to be one of the top places for business ‘champions’. 

The report celebrated small but rapidly growing firms that 

show entrepreneurial skill, appetite for business risk and real 

international outlook. This is highlighted in our feature on 

business owners in the 30s (page 28), an article that provides 

real inspiration for those looking to expand their business. 

Cambridge has always stood above the rest for its commitment 

to science and innovation and this is once again put in the 

spotlight by new company Go Green (page 56). Go Green’s 

story is fascinating; they have designed and manufactured a 

new solution which helps companies save costs and benefits 

the environment too. This entrepreneurial spirit and pure skill 

will be what drives our economic growth forward. 

With this being our first issue, I welcome your feedback and 

any suggestions you may have, so please contact me personally 

using the e-mail address below. 

We hope you enjoy reading this, and that you will feel as 

inspired by its contents as we did as we put it together. 

FOLLOW ON US TWITTER twitter.com/IQBusinessMag 

issue 1 | page 05

issue 1 | page 07 

IQ contents

IQ showcase 

WHAT’S THE STORY? 

IQ Magazine is published by Cubiqdesign Ltd., one of the leading graphic design and 

web agencies in the East of England. Drawing on Cubiqdesign’s sales, marketing and 

design background, the company launched its publishing wing five years ago with the birth 

of Velvet Magazine, an award-winning lifestyle publication with a catchment stretching 

from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds. Velvet Magazine’s story of success has inspired the 

launch of IQ Magazine. 

“Knowing what works and what does not work in the world of independent publishing 

will ensure that our advertisers get a return on investment,” says John Treby, Creative 

Director. “It’s all about supporting local businesses and representing companies’ brands to 

the standard deserved; developing and caring for brands is what we do best.” 

The team behind IQ Magazine is a mix of creative copywriters, independent expert 

advisors and a design team with the capability to inspire readers. Gemma Treby, Editor of 

IQ, comments, “Information needs to be bite-sized for the SME business owner. After all, 

we do not have time for a leisurely read – we’re at work to do business! However, business 

owners still need to be kept up to date with information that will impact on their business 

for both the positive and negative. We promise not to waste your time - IQ will be both 

relevant to your business and inspirational!” 

THE TEAM 

John Treby Creative Director | Gemma Treby Sales and Marketing Director / Editor | Georgie Campbell Content Editor 

Rachel Lee Publication Sales | Rachel Preston PR and Marketing Executive | James Stubbins Publication Sales 

Jess Pack Designer | Tom Stedman Designer | Matt Cockerton Designer | Eugene Hector Designer | Sophie Barnes Designer 

Expert Contributors Carole Baker | Mike Worby | Deborah Cadman | Chris Ellis | Gary Morgan | Peter Wortley | Ian Clemson 

Chris King | Jim Doyle | James Pinchbeck | Ben Ramsay | Glyn Mon Huges | Kirsten Corrigan | Marion Treby 

Chris Coombs | Bryony Baines | Graham Abbey 

issue 1 | page 09

IQ business overview 

£45bn Corpora 

£102bn VAT 

Whilst business news is generally positive for the region, Glyn Mon 

quick to highlight the concerns 

Hughes is 

Anyone who regularly reads the 

business pages of newspapers may 

well have been suffering nightmares 

of late. 

As the chill winds of recession have 

blown relentlessly around the world, 

every day brings another story of 

doom from some quarter or another. 

It might have been the games of 

brinkmanship played over the Euro 

crisis, the threat of war in the Middle 

East or the seemingly unremitting 

battle being waged in Britain to bring 

public spending under control. 

With that as a background, there 

can’t be much about which to be 

cheerful in the Cambridgeshire 

area. 

That’s where John Bridge, Chief 

Executive of the Cambridgeshire 

Chambers of Commerce, is quick to 

correct the prophets of doom. 

“The economy is much more buoyant 

here than nationally,” he said. “The 

majority of businesses we’ve talked 

to are all doing well, and things are 

better than expected. Yes, there are 

concerns. People are particularly 

worried about the 5.6% increase in 

business rates which is on its way; 

the announcement of a reduction 

in capital allowances in the budget 

means there is less incentive to invest 

and, therefore, fewer incentives to 

take on new employees, especially 

youngsters. 

“Businesses are also concerned about 

fuel duty, something exacerbated by 

the recent stupidity over the tanker 

drivers’ dispute.” 

That’s a view echoed by the 

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). 

According to John Walker, National 

Chairman of the FSB, petrol prices 

remain a major concern for small 

businesses. “We would have liked 

some further action on reducing the 

level of fuel duty to help struggling 

firms,” he noted. 

The FSB broadly welcomed the 

£48bn Excise Duties 

recent budget. “We asked for a 

budget with long-term measures to 

help instil confidence, rather than a 

barrage of micro-measures that have 

a limited impact on the ground,” 

said Walker. “We are pleased with 

some of the actions to cut the 

burden of red tape, help to get out 

young workers into employment 

and measures to improve access 

to finance. Especially welcome are 

the proposals to simplify the tax 

system for the country’s smallest 

companies.” 

It appears that most business leaders 

are agreed that the way to nurse the 

ailing economy back to health is 

through tackling the budget deficit, 

and there appears to be broad 

support for the Government’s debt 

reduction plan. 

“The FSB welcomes the fiscally 

neutral budget and is pleased with 

the Office of Budget Responsibility’s 

positive revision to growth forecasts 

£130bn Health 

£32bn Public Ord 

issue 1 | page 10

£26bn Business Rates 

£39bn Defence 

£91bn Education 

IQ business overview 

er and Safety 

this year, along with forecasts for 

falling inflation,” said Walker. 

However, there was an element of 

disappointment with the Chancellor’s 

measures. 

“To ensure that businesses can be 

properly supported and to bring 

together the measures that have been 

announced, we are disappointed 

that there were no plans to look 

into setting up a Small Business 

Administration – a department to 

champion small firms at the heart 

of Government with a cabinet-level 

minister,” suggested Walker. “This is 

the missing link to ensuring that all 

initiatives have the maximum impact 

for small firms.” 

Back in Cambridgeshire, one of the 

key concerns is a lack of investment 

in infrastructure. 

“Successive governments have 

not invested in infrastructure and 

they’ve not invested in success,” 

said John Bridge. “We need to 

Glyn Mon Hughes 

visit www.iqmag.co.uk for further 

stories and information 

£22bn Transport 

see new investment in roads, in 

utilities and in broadband, and we 

need to get something done about 

the A14 between Huntingdon 

and Cambridge. The poor state 

of that road is one of the biggest 

growth inhibitors, so we need new 

certainty to devise a scheme, fund 

it and implement it. I know that 

many international investors who 

are prepared to invest in the region 

are concerned that we make sure 

all our infrastructure problems are 

sorted out. Then there are others 

who underestimate the scale of the 

problem, and there’s a risk that they 

will be put off investing once they see 

the problems for themselves.” 

Another key concern is how 

companies in the area respond to 

competition from elsewhere. “As 

business opportunities begin to 

increase, companies need a positive 

attitude towards competition from 

wherever that comes,” said Bridge. 

£207bn Social Protection 

“That can be particularly acute if it’s 

coming from overseas.” 

There’s little doubt that the new 

enterprise zone at Alconbury 

Airfield will help the economy of the 

region, and business leaders are keen 

to ensure that the right people can 

be attracted to the right jobs . . . and 

that there’s somewhere for them all 

to live. 

But, while the business news from 

the region is generally, positive, there 

are one or two warning lights on the 

dashboard of the economic drivers 

of the area. 

“While we all want to celebrate 

with Her Majesty, small businesses 

will be affected by the disruption 

of the Diamond Jubilee holiday,” 

said Bridge. “And then there’s the 

Olympics. We’re expecting a 0.6% 

growth in GDP this year, but we 

are expecting a flat period in the 

summer on account of the Jubilee 

and the Games.” 

issue 1 | page 11

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Journalist and brand strategist Kirsten Corrigan raises the issues affecting the 

local business community that others shy away from 

Business Link: 

good riddance or a 

tragic loss? 

THE scaling down of the 

local Business Link service last 

November is something of a 

hot potato and has provoked 

interesting debate among local 

SMEs. 

Feelings are mixed on the subject 

about whether the loss of this 

lifeline is truly catastrophic or a 

rather small puddle of spilt milk 

not worth crying over. When you 

learn that the cost of the national 

website platform was over the 

£100m mark, the astute business 

owner might ask whether the 

benefits justified the price tag. 

And rightly so. 

Many local company directors 

recognise the strengths of the 

former localised service and how 

this slimmed-down version might 

not adequately plug the gap. Jerry 

Pett, from Burnt Orange Designs 

sums it up: “Business Link used to 

be a valuable consulting service 

for small businesses and it appears 

to have turned into a library 

service and nothing more,” he 

says. “The real value of the 

service was the people involved 

with it who could talk to the 

businesses about their individual 

needs.” 

Another technology-based 

business, which operates from the 

growing site at Cambourne, is 

Adept Software Consulting. MD 

David Smith has a refreshing view 

about how to rise to the challenge 

in the absence of this resource. 

“It’s really important to work 

with other businesses,” he says. 

“There’s a lot of expertise in the 

Cambridge area. We need to help 

ourselves and luckily we have a 

large network to call upon. I have 

people I can turn to and share 

advice with. That’s so important.” 

Digging a little deeper there 

are others who are happy to see 

the back of the service, with 

criticisms ranging from cronyism 

to the quality of advice given. 

Some even suggest the service was 

counter-productive to enterprise 

with advisers taking a pessimistic 

view of self-employment. 

Whatever the reality, one this is 

certain: we need to look to our 

business peers for support and 

collaborative working is one 

approach that can help further 

the local agenda for sustainability. 

Two heads are always better 

than one. 

KIRSTEN CORRIGAN 

www.methodcreative.co.uk 

issue 1 | page 13


issue 1 | page 01


£20 million investment in superfast broadband 

2.95% Increase in Council Tax 

£540 million budget cuts 

Cambridgeshire County Council’s recent economic 

consultation highlights the divide between the social 

and economic agendas 

In October 2011 I attended a 

consultation led by Cambridgeshire 

County Council discussing the fiveyear 

£540m budget cuts, which 

invited comment from local business 

representatives. We were asked to 

outline where we felt funds should 

be prioritised to best serve the local 

business agenda and it set the wheels 

in motion for some lively debate 

both within the framework of the 

consultation and beyond. 

The findings of the research, which 

also involved the study of other 

relevant demographics, were released 

in late February and outlined the 

Council’s plans to reconcile the 

balance sheet. 

Leader of Cambridgeshire County 

Council, Cllr Nick Clarke defended 

the controversial decision to raise 

Council Tax by 2.95% in 2012 saying 

the priorities within the county must 

be for long-term prosperity over 

short-term savings. The rates are 

the 7th lowest in the UK, and even 

with the hike, remain lower than 

the equivalent for the neighbouring 

counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. 

Balancing the social and economic 

agendas is a tough challenge by all 

accounts, but I imagine it’s difficult 

for families on the breadline to agree 

that a potential £20m investment in 

superfast broadband is more relevant 

than a freeze on Council Tax. 

So how do we reconcile the 

commercial needs of our own 

businesses when our staff would 

greatly appreciate a payrise and we’ve 

also stopped the overtime? Does the 

calculator-wielding capitalist quickly 

silence the principled socialist within 

when faced with the issue of paying 

the bills? Tough times call for tough 

decisions and taking responsible 

measures might not always be the 

best move in the popularity stakes. 

Surely the mark of a great leader is 

the ability to plan for the future to 

ensure economic stability for those 

they support? My disgruntled inner 

socialist will have to ride the wave for 

now as I’m with Nick Clarke on this one. 

KIRSTEN CORRIGAN 

www.methodcreative.co.uk 

issue 1 | page 15 01


Local amenities provide 

key to health of 

Suffolk's rural economy 

Suffolk County Council’s Chief Executive Deborah Cadman explains 

how a bid to breathe new life into local post offices, shops and pubs has 

given the rural economy a much needed boost 

We introduced the Suffolk Rural 

Economy Scheme in 2007, partly in 

response to the closure of post offices 

in Suffolk, but also in recognition of 

the important role that small local 

businesses play in making rural 

communities more sustainable. 

The scheme was a small grant 

funding programme, funded by local 

councils and the East of England 

Development Agency, which provided 

a total funding pot of over £240,000. 

The idea was to support small shops, 

rural and urban post offices and pubs 

throughout Suffolk that wanted to 

diversify and provide a greater range 

of services. Applicants had access to 

fully-funded specialist advice from 

a rural retailer or Pub is the Hub 

consultant. 

Pub is the Hub is a national scheme, 

initiated in2001 by HRH The Prince 

of Wales, to encourage pubs to 

expand to offer everything from bed 

and breakfast to essentials like milk 

and bread. It has already found some 

success in Suffolk, with a countywide 

launch last year. 

The original Rural Economy Scheme 

proved so successful that we extended 

it for a further two years from 2009 

to 2011, thanks to support from Rural 

District and Borough Councils which 

contributed a grant funding pot of 

£137,500. 

Since then, the scheme has gone from 

strength to strength. 

This includes: 

• Delivering twice as much private 

and public funding as anticipated 

• Creating and safeguarding jobs 

• Establishing new businesses 

• Supporting local skills development 

A final evaluation showed that the 

schemes supported over 80 rural 

businesses to improve performance, 

and levered in well in excess of 

£730,000 of private sector funding. 

They also: 

• Delivered other public funding of 

£471,000 

• Safeguarded 30.5 jobs and created 

7.5 new ones 

• Created five new businesses 

• Helped 66 people with skills 

development 

• Carried out 18 capacity building 



initiatives 

• Assisted 19 voluntary organisations 

Given the constraints on public sector 

financing, we are now looking at 

new ways of supporting retailers and 

pubs in our rural communities in the 

future. 

We are also working alongside the 

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce to 

offer broader support to businesses 

in our rural areas. This applies to 

a network of 26 market towns, in 

addition to the three main urban 

centres of Ipswich, Lowestoft and 

Bury St Edmunds. 

Crucially, our Market Towns 

Development Advisor is seconded to 

the Chamber for two days a week. 

So far, the Advisor has been 

hugely influential by: 

• Negotiating a discount for rural 

businesses with the Action for Market 

Towns (AMT) initiative to access 

advice and best practice 

• Arranging a one-off contribution 

to support the creation of a business 

partnership between Leiston, 

Saxmundham, Aldeburgh and 

Framlingham. A project coordinator 

works with business associations in the 

four towns to increase membership 

and stimulate local tourism and 

commerce, including networking and 

training events plus access to services 

at membership rates 

• Working closely with District and 

Borough Councils and the town 

partnerships to put forward 15 

Suffolk towns for the Portas Pilots 

competition. We provided advice 

on market intelligence, best practice, 

sharing resources and funding and bid 

writing, as well as video production 

via Sixth Form Colleges. 

All of this work led to an innovation 

that I think may be unique to Suffolk, 

which we have called ‘the digital 

renaissance of market towns’. This is 

about using the internet to promote 

local shops by emphasising their 

unique strengths when compared to 

big high street competitors, in a bid to 

win business. 

We are using this idea to develop 

and share digital platforms between 

towns to keep costs down, and to 

provide help within formation, 

marketing and e-commerce. This is 

especially important for market and 

independent traders, and builds on 

best practice advice from AMT. We 

have a real opportunity to build on 

this to take on the big players. The 

recent £47m investment to bring 

better broadband to Suffolk can only 

help our cause. 

Ultimately, businesses must play an 

active part in growing and developing 

town centres. With this in mind, 

we have a duty to support town 

partnerships to grow and thrive, 

acknowledging that they are at 

different stages of evolution. To do 

this, we have set up a loan fund which 

these partnerships can access. 

I am delighted to see that the 

Government has followed our lead by 

announcing the creation of a similar 

fund, available at a national level, as 

part of their response to the Portas 

Review. 

All of this bodes well and gives me 

hope for a new renaissance in our 

rural economy. 

Supporting businesses 

Stimulating tourism 

Sharing resources 


IQ finance 

fitness to practice 

Employee 

benefits 

Ben Ramsay discovers how employee benefits may actually 

help the economy and your business to grow 

Employers looking for new staff are probably in the strongest position they have been in for years. High unemployment 

means that the job market is full to the brim with candidates looking for employment, but making sure you find the right 

people isn’t cheap. It’s not just the direct costs of recruiting staff, but the time and resources that are dedicated to this 

search. Finding the ‘right’ people the first time round, can be one of the best cost saving exercises a company can make. 

Attracting the right sort of candidate has taken on real importance, and for the candidates of today, the basic salary on 

offer is no longer the only deciding factor. The benefits on offer are now of real importance to prospective employees, 

with sick pay, critical illness insurance and private medical insurance topping the list of wants in the latest AON poll. 

However, the most recent data available from industry analyst Laing & Buisson shows a 3.3% fall in the number of 

private medical insurance policies paid for by companies, while cheaper, company-funded cash plans grew by 11.2%. 

And research by the policy provider Simplyhealth shows that, over the past year, 25% of employers removed health 

benefits altogether. 

Forecasts indicate that NHS cutbacks are set to continue; with this in mind the question must be asked how this will 

indirectly affect our already fragile economy. Steve Herbert, head of benefits strategy at Jelf Employee Benefits has 

commented: “Employers are by no means immune from the impact of the government cutbacks on the individual’s 

wellbeing – increased absenteeism is one obvious consequence that employers will have to face, as well as duties to those 

on long-term sick leave. Ensuring that key staff return to work at the optimum time – not before they are ready, but 

without huge delays – will be vital in keeping small businesses, and the economy, heading in the right direction.” 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. All these factors are additional costs to my company, taking money directly from the 

bottom line and reducing the profit it can make. Well, consider what costs your business incurs when an employee is 

absent. Do you need to cover their daily tasks? Does this restrict other staff members’ productivity? Crucially, do you 

need to bring in temporary staff to cover the absence? Imagine if your organisation fails to meet a deadline for a client, 

or makes an error that results in a loss of business; that in turn means you will probably be losing out not just initially but 

subsequently, when there would have been an opportunity for repeat business. Individuals and businesses spend years 

building strong reputations; why put that at risk? The only plausible answer is that it costs money to limit that risk, and, in 

the present economic climate, the majority of businesses are looking to decrease overheads. 

Mitigating those risks is now easier than ever, with more and more providers offering bespoke solutions to companies, 

whether these are sole traders or companies with over 250 employees. 

Looking at just one of those top three employee ‘wants’, private medical insurance, it has plenty of obvious benefits for 

both the employer and your employees. 

For the employer, it may help promote staff loyalty and therefore staff retention. As already discussed, recruiting is 

expensive, so keeping the right people means this is one expense you need not incur. Private medical insurance will 

also mean that, should your staff be injured or become ill, they may be treated faster than if they followed conventional 

treatment routes. Getting your staff fit and well and back being productive, is paramount. 

BEN RAMSaY 

ASL Mortages: ben.ramsay@aslmortages.co.uk 

issue 1 | page 19


issue 1 | page 01

IQ finance 

James Pinchbeck, Marketing Partner Streets Chartered Accountants, gives 

his opinion on growth in the current economic climate 

Despite the ever-increasing 

number of downgrades for growth 

projections in the economy, there is 

evidence that businesses can, and 

are, bucking the trend. Having 

attended a number of events and 

discussion groups recently, where the 

focus has been on business issues and 

concerns, there does seem to be a 

common thread emerging whereby 

businesses, even in some of the more 

challenging sectors, are doing better 

than their competitors. Some might 

even be bold enough to state that 

they are doing well. 

Needless to say, such reports and 

indications do then beg the question 

why and how? It would seem that 

one of the key overriding themes is 

that such businesses have decided 

to react to the economic conditions 

they face, as opposed to waiting and 

hoping for things to get better or just 

riding out the storm , which I fear is 

the default setting for the majority of 

businesses. 

As to how they are achieving more 

favourable results, it would seem that 

this is primarily down to leadership 

from the top, with clear vision and 

strategy being easily communicated 

and delivered across the organisation. 

Equally, renewed efforts, sheer graft 

and persistence also appear to be a 

part of the winning formula. 

Essentially there is only a limited 

number of ways to grow any 

business; however, such ways do seem 

to form part of winning strategies. 

Even in the most mature markets, it 

seems that businesses can increase 

margin and revenue from existing 

customers, or attract more of the 

same type of customers. One of the 

more common techniques, though, 

does seem to be to gain increased 

market share, and in some cases, 

geographical coverage, through the 

acquisition of competitors, perhaps 

those less favourably placed in the 

current economic environment. 

The idea of launching a new product 

or service in the current climate 

might fill some with dread, but the 

needs of customers and consumers 

continue to change and it would 

seem, not least for those who can or 

could supply overseas markets, that 

there has been no let up from those 

succeeding in the development and 

launch of new ideas. 

Whilst at the start of the downturn it 

was undoubtedly wise not to deviate, 

in many cases, from the marketing 

techniques and activities adopted, 

the last three years or so have, 

through necessity and developments 

in marketing, given rise to the need 

to consider the broader marketing 

tools and resources available to win 

and maintain business. Amongst 

those that seem to be doing well, it 

appears, is the trend to develop and 

implement a marketing strategy that 

recognises and exploits these broad 

changes. 

Finally, a common theme seems 

to be the recognition to review, 

monitor and control processes and 

practices in all aspects of delivery of 

the business’ goals and aspirations. 

Perhaps the slowdown in the 

economy has both allowed and 

necessitated such activity. 

From a wider perspective, there is 

growing demand for support and 

advice from businesses advisers, 

including accountants and tax 

specialists; the more successful 

businesses see such professionals 

more as part of the team, than as a 

necessary evil. 

JAMES PINCHBECK 

For more information visit www.streetsweb.co.uk 

issue 1 | page 21


issue 1 | page 01


PROFIT WITH THE HUMAN TOUCH 

Jim Doyle discusses how leveraging your traditional communication skills can put you 

ahead of the competition 

leveraging 

your traditional 

communication 

skills... 

A really 

effective 

communicator 

will have 

control of their 

non-verbal 

messages as 

well as their 

confidence 

Successful 21st century business 

require 21st century techniques to 

survive and something extra to be 

really successful. To stand out from 

the crowd we must do something 

different. 

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, “We 

can’t solve problems by using the 

same kind of thinking we used when 

we created them.” 

Today’s challenges for 

business include: 

• The growth of internet business 

and social media, which has 

transformed the business arena. A 

tiny start-up business can have the 

same impact as a large established 

company 

• Product life cycles are everdecreasing 

and low-cost imports are 

eroding margins 

• Our access to and receipt of a 

massive amount of information 

creates fatigue and reduces our 

effectiveness 

So where is the light at the end of 

the tunnel? It is a low-cost solution - 

the human touch! 

Our traditional human skills 

of presentation and personal 

communication are now more 

important than ever at all levels of 

business. Good communication skills 

move audiences, voters, and can 

certainly gain clients. 

Well-developed communication skills 

can generate extraordinary profits. 

Confidence in meeting and 

interacting with people can be as 

important as boardroom negotiation 

skills. When dealing directly with 

clients, empathic and effective 

communication will lead to increased 

sales conversion. People buy people 

– not products. 

In my experience, lack of confidence 

is usually an acquired skill. It can 

be easily un-learned and people’s 

natural confidence restored. 

Frequently quoted are surveys that 

report more people fear public 

speaking than death. As a selffulfilling 

prophecy this may be true, 

yet the route to confident speaking 

can be remarkably simple. 

Most conventional speaking training 

focuses on beating fears into 

submission by practice, practice, 

practice. If a large part of our 

communication is non-verbal, fear 

will influence how we are understood. 

Confidence and enthusiasm are 

contagious, as are nervousness and 

uncertainty. 

A really effective communicator will 

have control of their non-verbal 

messages as well as their confidence. 

Do your confidence levels affect the 

impact you make? How could you 

change that – and let your passion 

and beliefs shine through to reach 

your audience effectively, whether 

that’s one person or a thousand? 

If you choose, you can raise the bar 

of personal excellence by learning 

more confident communication. 

It’s the way to achieve increased 

profitability and business, as well 

as personal, growth – your unique 

human touch. 

Jim Doyle 

For more information visit www.speakingconfidence.co.uk 



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issue 1 | page 01


PENSIONS REFORM SET TO 

HAVE MAJOR IMPACT 

Chris King of St James’s Place Wealth 

Management keeps us updated on the 

pending pensions reform 

New rules designed to resolve the UK’s pensions savings 

crisis are set to have a major impact on employers and 

employees alike when wide-reaching reforms take 

effect later this year. 

With increased life expectancy, many people will face 

the possibility of funding a retirement that could last 

twenty or more years; therefore, to make it easier for 

them to start saving as well as discouraging them from 

relying solely on the State pension, the Government 

is getting employers to enroll their workers into a 

workplace pension as a matter of course. 

This automatic enrolment will allow people to decide 

whether to stay in or opt out of a workplace pension. 

Starting with the largest employers this will begin in 

October, and workers will automatically join and pay 

into their employer’s staff pension schemes; these could 

be new or existing schemes, to which the employer and 

the Government will contribute by way of tax relief on 

personal contributions, unless employees specifically 

opt out. Smaller employers and newly formed 

businesses will have until 2016/17 to comply. 

It is all designed to reinvigorate pension saving in the 

UK, create a simpler system to help people make better 

informed decisions about how much they need to save 

privately, and to make it easier to plan for retirement. 

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb has described the 

new reforms as “the start of a much-needed seismic 

shift in pension saving in this country” (Source: 

Department of Work & Pensions press release, 1st 

February, 2012). 

A fundamental principle is that the jobholder must be 

enrolled and will then be able to opt out. The success 

of the proposals will be largely due to apathy – where 

jobholders don’t get round to opting out. Employers 

will be banned from incentivising opt-outs. 

Another option open to employers is the National 

Employment Savings Trust, or NEST, a centralised 

pension scheme being run by a Government agency 

(NEST Corporation) to ensure that employers, 

including those employing low to medium earners, can 

access pension saving and comply with their automatic 

enrolment duties. 

Pensions can seem a confusing subject, full of 

financial jargon and complicated rules, and the new 

reforms provide much food for thought. Certainly for 

employers, a proper strategy will be essential and most 

large scheme advisers consider that planning should 

already have started. The project will require an 

accountable manager and team. 

Employers should also be mindful of the requirements 

and restrictions of the Financial Services Act. They 

may invite an adviser to present to staff, and there is 

no problem in giving staff information that includes 

no recommendation or advice. In addition, there is 

no problem in recommending that employees join a 

scheme to which the employer contributes. 

Chris king 

To receive a complimentary guide to pensions, contact Chris King, Associate 

Partner of St. James’s Place Wealth Management via www.chriskingwm.co.uk. 



THE BUDGET 2012 : 

AN ENTERPRISE BOOST 

FOR THE REGION 

James Pinchbeck, Marketing Partner of Streets Chartered 

Accountants, gives his thoughts on the Chancellor’s Budget and how 

this may be a welcome boost to our innovative county 

There was much more to the Budget 2012 than was 

leaked during the run up to the Chancellor’s delivery. 

In fact, the torrent of announcements seemed more like 

a burst pipe than a leak; some of these ideas are more 

palatable than others, depending on who you are and the 

tax rates that apply to you. 

Overall, the announcements made would appear, at first 

sight, to be good for Cambridge and the East of England. 

Whilst the region as a whole may have fared better than 

some of its counterparts over recent years, any initiatives 

which help to underpin prosperity must be good news. 

The key upsides for the locality would appear to be 

around those announcements that support the area’s 

interest in life sciences, technology and innovation, as 

well as those businesses with export sales. 

One of the highlights must be the proposed reduction 

in the rate of Corporation Tax from the current 26% to 

24%. This move must be welcome for those businesses 

seeking to make further investment or looking to expand 

or recruit, or simply seeking a sense of reward for their 

enterprise. 

With many local enterprises, new starts and hive outs 

often dependent on external funding, then the expansion 

of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and the 

Finance Partnership can only be good news for our 

seed corn enterprises and embryonic ventures. For our 

budding young entrepreneurs, it will be interesting to 

learn more about the student equivalents of enterprise 

loans. 

For a city not short of new ideas and innovative new 

products, the proposed tax cuts on patents must help to 

stimulate creative ideas; hopefully, more of these ideas 

will become viable commercial opportunities in future. 

Supporting this too, are the proposed tax incentives for 

investing in University research facilities, and Research 

and Development Tax Credits. 

For the wider community, it will be interesting to see the 

detail on, and the impact of, the proposed Get Britain 

Building Fund, which, along with the mortgage support 

initiative the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme, aims to stimulate the 

construction industry and the housing market. 

Finally, the unprecedented increase in the personal 

allowance tax threshold, the point at which people 

earning start to pay tax, must be welcome to all those 

experiencing increased pressure on their household 

budgets from the cost of living. Equally welcome too, for 

those with children, must be the proposed changes to the 

starting point at which child benefit will be reduced - that 

is £50,000 of earnings - and ultimately, the ceiling of 

£60,000 at which it will be lost. No doubt the highest 

rate of tax payers, those currently earning over £150,000 

and subject to the current 50% tax rate, will welcome 

the proposed reduction to 45% in April 2013. However, 

many higher rate tax payers will find that the tax reliefs 

that they can claim will be capped in future years. 

It is still early days to be able to comprehend how 

this Budget is likely to fully impact on businesses and 

individuals. I am sure though, that many accountants 

will be whiling away the hours looking at the impact that 

the Budget has in store for their clients, and how best to 

help them take advantage of the changes, or mitigate the 

tax burden. No doubt the game is afoot. 

JAMES PINCHBECK 

For more information visit www.streetsweb.co.uk 



investigating the current 

tax landscape... 

Chris Coombs and Bryony Baines, of websters, advise on the light relief available 

especially for investors 

Businesses like to have certainty when 

it comes to tax to enable them to 

plan more effectively, and the Budget 

presents an opportunity to examine the 

current tax landscape. 

The Small Companies Corporation 

Tax rate has been steady at 20% since 

1 April 2011. However, the Main Rate 

(which becomes relevant for companies 

with profits in excess of £300,000) will 

reduce much faster than expected. It is 

currently 26% and will be 24% from 

1 April 2012, then 23% and 22% in 

subsequent years. websters’ view is that 

the aim is to merge the small and main 

rates, and in general to make the UK 

much more attractive to companies 

looking to invest. 

Investors who provide funding to small 

start-up companies already benefit from 

some generous Enterprise Investment 

Scheme tax reliefs, including relief 

against income tax of 30% of the 

Chris Coombs and Bryony Baines 

Contact websters at www.tax.uk.com. 

amount they invest and tax-free capital 

gains. The new Seed EIS scheme is 

aimed at particularly entrepreneurial 

investments, but the level of income tax 

relief is a remarkable 50%. There are 

a number of specific requirements for 

both schemes, so you should always seek 

professional advice before considering 

such an investment. 

The Annual Investment Allowance 

is designed as another incentive to 

invest, allowing an immediate 100% 

tax deduction of the cost of any new 

machinery - including vans. However, 

from April 2012, the maximum level 

of investment for which the Annual 

Investment Allowance can be claimed 

reduces from £100,000 to £25,000. 

From April 2012, purchases above this 

level will only be eligible for standard 

capital allowances at a rate of 18% per 

year. 

It has been widely reported that the 

issue 1 | page 01 27 

personal allowance will rise to £9,205 

from 2013/14; however there is a 

further detail that has generally gone 

unnoticed, which is that the higher-rate 

threshold has been gradually reducing, 

and, from 2013/14, this will be £41,450. 

People who pay themselves dividends 

from their own companies will find 

amounts of dividends subject to higherrate 

tax increasing significantly in real 

terms, and those with salaries above this 

level will also suffer. 

In last year’s Budget, the availability of 

Research & Development tax credits 

was extended to virtually all types 

of businesses, with further reliefs for 

the video games and TV production 

sectors being announced in the more 

recent Budget. Businesses of all sizes 

involved in Research & Development 

are well advised to see whether they are 

eligible for these wide-ranging 

reliefs.


Flourishing 

in their 30s 

IQ magazine looks at inspirational entrepreneurs 

in the region, who, by the time they reached 30, have achieved significant, 

recognised success in business. We discuss the highs and lows involved, 

and investigate the factors that have driven their business forward 



Business Owners in Their 30s 

What first led you to launch 

your own wealth management 

company? 

After working at a national bank as a 

financial adviser for many years and 

developing a client-focused service 

which they no longer wanted to provide, 

I decided to set Abbeygate Wealth 

Management up in order to not only 

continue to provide the high level of 

advice and service that they were used 

to, but also to offer this tailor-made 

service to anyone who required it. 

What obstacles did you have to 

overcome when first setting up 

Abbeygate Wealth Management? 

There wasn’t any one obstacle that was 

a problem when setting up Abbeygate. 

I guess the hardest part of setting up 

any business is always the same, and 

that is getting clients and the general 

public to notice you and use the services 

that you’re offering, so marketing was 

probably the area we focused most on 

getting right. 

As a specialist service focussed 

on client importance, how did 

you decide whom to employ when 

creating your team? 

Every member of staff has to be very 

personable and understanding with 

clients. Being able to communicate with 

clients in a clear and straightforward 

manner is essential to making the areas 

we deal with as simple as possible so that 

all our clients fully understand the advice 

being given. 

We focus heavily on giving advice and 

an ongoing tailor-made service, steering 

away from the old-fashioned 1990s hard 

sell image that most people associate 

with financial services. Therefore, all of 

our advisers and our support team have 

to have the skills necessary to focus on 

client service as a priority. 

What has been your biggest 

accomplishment to date? 

This would probably be growing to 

the size where we needed to open a 

second office in the centre of Bury St 

Edmunds to give us the boardroom 

and office space we needed to house 

the various administrative support staff 

for our growing team… and the Elite 

Concierge Package that we launched 2 

years ago. 

Has your business model changed 

since first launching in 2007? 

The way we do business and the focus 

on client service has always remained 

our priority, and that will never change, 

but the launch of the Elite Concierge 

Service required us to increase our back 

office support to allow us to maintain 

our high levels of service and advice. 

How do you monitor the success 

of your business? 

We hold various events throughout the 

year, in particular the Christmas party, 

which is exclusively for clients and 

their guests. Every year this has grown 

considerably in size, which is a great way 

of seeing the continued success of the 

business and has become an event that 

clients really look forward to and enjoy. 

As well as that, the number of new 

clients that we have walking through 

the door has increased, the majority 

of whom come from existing clients’ 

recommendations. 

Where do you see Abbeygate 

Wealth Management in five and 

ten years’ time? 

We hope to open an office in the 

Norwich area by the end of this year to 

support our Norfolk based team, and 

to compliment the Bury st Edmunds, 

Sudbury and London based offices. 

Going forward 5 -10 years, I would love 

to see this growth continue, with our 

high standards remaining firmly intact. 

Do you have any advice that you 

would give specifically to those 

wanting to enter into wealth 

management? 

Always focus on client service and not 

sales; wealth management is about 

giving clear, honest and accurate advice, 

even if that means that there is no new 

business for the adviser to conduct. 




You have grown up around 

your father’s business. Has it 

always been your dream to join 

the management team of The 

Highfield Event Group? 

Oh yes, but my father would not allow 

me to join the family business straight 

from school. He explained that I should 

learn the disciplines of business from 

someone else other than my Dad! 

I went to work for the Thoroughbred 

Breeders’ Association after studying 

at College. I worked hard, and was 

greatly influenced by Gavin Pritchard- 

Gordon, a former racehorse trainer. 

As Managing Director, what do 

you feel has been your strongest 

influence on the business? 

A fresh enthusiasm with new ideas. My 

father had done so incredibly well from 

humble beginnings to get the business 

to what it was when I took over the 

helm from him a couple of years ago. 

Social media and networking are 

so very important in the world of 

business today, but when my father 

first started, he didn’t have a fax, let 

alone a mobile telephone or email! I 

respect how technology has improved 

over one generation, and am amazed 

how, back then, websites had not even 

been thought of, and social networking 

was an unknown phase. 

Was there anything you wanted 

to change about the business 

model when you joined the 

management team? 

In a nutshell, I wanted the business 

to be bigger and better! We have a 

brilliant team whom I knew were 

capable of so much more. 

They have all responded to the 

challenges I set over the last few years. 

I wanted us to expand into whole event 

management as well as increase the 

number of events, including weddings 

and parties, which we organise during 

our out of season months in the 

winter time. In the last two years we 

have achieved and surpassed these 

objectives. We are now an all year 

round multi operation rather than a 

summer only business. 

How are you ensuring that the 

business continues to grow in the 

difficult economic climate? 

With good management, good staff 

communication and a great team, 

we have continued to ensure the 

very best experience for our clients. 

I have continued the family belief 

that recommendation is still the best 

form of advertising, and we are proud 

that repeat work accounts for a large 

proportion of what we do. We have 

for many years worked with great 

suppliers, and this now enables us to 

offer the very best in price and service. 

We have tightened up on everything 

we do, keeping wastage to the absolute 

minimum, whilst never risking the level 

of our service we provide. 

You are heavily involved with the 

marketing of The Highfield Event 

Group. How has the marketing 

strategy changed since the 

business started? 

My father has always been very 

dubious about marketing. 

Dad still feels that a good customer 

relationship, hard work and dedication 

will bring forth recommendations, 

which is the basis of a successful 

business. Whilst I totally agree with 

him on that, I also understand and 

appreciate how it is also very much 

about getting our brand noticed and 

‘out there’. I like our company to 

have a presence at as many events as 

possible, to showcase our services. We 

now have a fantastic website, thanks 

to Cubiqdesign, which has made a 

huge difference to our enquiries. We 

are delighted that clients are now able 

to view our website and see up to date 

information and ideas for inspiration. 

What do you feel is your biggest 


The biggest without doubt, I feel, is 

to be running a successful business 

through what has been and still is, a 

tough and testing economic climate 

for many businesses alike. It remains 

a daily challenge, but it is also very 

rewarding for me to watch the business 

continuing to grow as it does. 




Why did you decide to focus your 

business on the trade industry 

rather than commercial? 

We began with a furniture retail 

store, but saw a gap in the market 

for rattan garden furniture which 

was expensive to buy in the shops. By 

importing large quantities, we were 

able to drive the price down so that 

the product could become affordable 

to the masses. Supplying the trade 

allowed us to move larger quantities 

during the short season that we have 

to work with. 

What first sparked your interest 

in rattan garden furniture? 

We began with a trade stand at The 

Suffolk Show, selling just three models 

of rattan furniture. The interest in 

our product was incredible, so we 

knew we had something great to 

work with. 

How and why did you launch 

your business in Europe? 

We have been supplying more and 

more customers in Europe over the 

past couple of years, and this year 

have sent containers direct to Ireland, 

France, Portugal and Spain. 

Due to the short summer season in the 

UK and our unpredictable weather, 

we want to extend our season and 

even out our busy period. So Europe, 

where the climate is better suited to 

the product, is an obvious choice for 

us. We’re attending a trade show in 

Germany in September and hope 

this will act as a good platform to 

grow the European side of things. 

Was it always an ambition to take 

Maze Rattan international? 

Yes, we have big and ambitious plans 

for the growth of Maze Rattan, and 

will try our best to achieve what we 

can. 

What has been your biggest 


We have secured two major retailers, 

Next and Furniture Village, which 

has been a real achievement. Working 

with these large companies helps us 

to keep on improving and growing. 

How do you monitor the success 

of your business? 

We have monthly management 

accounts so that we can keep a close 

eye on our incomings and outgoings, 

with monthly targets for the sales staff 

to keep everyone motivated. 

Where do you see Maze Rattan 

in five and ten years’ time? 

We would hope to have a strong 

European presence in five years’ 

time, with warehouse depots in 

various countries. We also hope to 

be able to build the direct container 

side of our business as well, in order 

to be able to increase the numbers of 

containers we import. In ten years’ 

time we might be selling the next new 

thing to replace rattan! 

What are the key differences 

you feel the furniture trade 

faces compared to any other 

industry? 

The furniture trade has been very 

up and down over the past few years 

like everything else, but garden in 

particular is largely seen as a luxury 

purchase rather than a necessity, so has 

done well considering the recession. 

The weather, public holidays and 

events play a major part in shaping 

the timing and length of our season, 

with events like the Royal Wedding 

and the Olympics determining when 

the public shop for garden furniture. 

Our industry is so reliant on the 

weather, which we have no control 

over, meaning it can be so frustrating 

and difficult to plan for the future. 

What advice would you give 

young business owners who are 

thinking of starting their own 

business? 

Go for it, but be prepared to give up 

your life whilst you build it; if you 

can’t give the business 100% in the 

early days, then you just might not 

make it. 

It’s tough out there and really hard 

work, but so rewarding when it all 

pays off. There’s no better feeling than 

looking back on your achievements. 




When and why did you first 

decide to start Liberté Fitness? 

The idea of Liberté Fitness was born 

following a holiday to Australia in 

2008, where I saw people exercising 

on Bondi Beach. I realised we just 

didn’t get outside enough back in the 

UK, and I wanted to get people back 

home out of the gym. 

Being a young business owner, 

what opposition, if any, did you 

face when first working on your 

idea? 

I didn’t receive much opposition 

from external influences. Most of the 

initial start up struggle was based on 

resources and budgets. Thankfully, 

we have really great relationships 

with the Councils, who allow us to 

use their parks for a fee. They have 

always been very supportive and, 

without their help, we wouldn’t have 

been able to get to this stage. 

Is there anything you would 

have done differently? 

I wouldn’t have wasted time 

exploring a pay as you go model. 

People who really want to see results 

in their fitness need the motivation 

of a regular monthly payment 

commitment. I was trying to think 

outside the box, but it was just too 

easy for people to bail out if they’d 

had a bad day at work. Now, with 

90% of the members on direct 

debit, they are focussed on attending 

all their sessions and are far more 

committed. 

What is your biggest 


Launching Liberté Fitness whilst 

holding down a demanding, full time, 

investment banking job in London, 

and investing everything I earned for 

two years in the business. 

How do you wish to see Liberté 

Fitness grow in the immediate 

future? 

We have 120 members, with projected 

forecasts for 600 by the end of 2012. 

I foresee there being no town or city 

in our region where Liberté Fitness 

isn’t based. 

The aim is to take East Anglia 

by storm, regardless of how 

many competitors set up generic 

‘bootcamps’. There’s nobody doing 

anything similar to us in the parks 

and on the beaches. 

The brand was developed to become 

regional and national, and it is really 

beginning to gain some depth, with 

members aligning themselves to 

everything it stands for and buying 

into the concept of a healthier, fitter 

and more fun lifestyle. 

We’ll be developing the ‘Ever Done it 

Outside?’ clothing range, launching 

beach fitness weekends along the UK 

coast line and launching more park 

locations. We’ll also be focusing on 

nutritional packages that members 

can bolt onto their monthly park 

membership, as we believe both 

fitness and nutrition are intrinsically 

linked. 

What advice would you give to 

other young entrepreneurs who 

are thinking of starting their 

own businesses? 

Don’t for one moment think it will be 

easy. The start up stage is unbelievably 

exciting when you see your dreams 

become reality, and you’re making 

key branding decisions that you’ll 

live by for the next 10 years. After 

the initial euphoria of launching the 

business, the real hard work begins. 

Whatever the size of your business, 

it will face growing pains which 

take you, as the business owner, on 

unbelievable highs and depressing 

lows. You’ll be challenged daily, with 

continuous problems to solve, and 

it’s by no means easier than being 

employed. Be prepared to sacrifice a 

minimum of 5 years before you even 

begin to see any really big gains. If 

you start off realistically and pace 

yourself, you won’t burn out when 

your business makes big demands 

on you. Despite this, it is by far, the 

most exciting thing you will ever do 

in your life. 




As a young business owner, 

what opposition do you face 

when pitching against more 

established design agencies? 

I think being young (ish) can be a 

benefit in some situations and a 

hindrance in others, and as people 

say age is just a number. I believe 

it’s how you portray yourself. In the 

creative industry clients are looking for 

driven, excitable people who can push 

their brand forward, so a tweed jacket 

wouldn’t get me a long way. 

In pitches we are normally backed 

up with a thorough presentation that 

maps out our thought process and 

ideas - this normally sells itself and 

shows our ability to work with the 

clients’ brand. 

How do you ensure Cubiqdesign’s 

identity stays intact when 

employing new designers? 

Every designer who joins Cubiq is 

surrounded by our extremely talented 

team and we work hard to make each 

designer fit the Cubiq mould, to a 

certain degree. We don’t have a house 

style as this limits your client base and 

is quite a narrow minded view when 

it comes to design. Our biggest asset 

is being able to grab any brand and 

instantly recognise its identity whilst 

stripping away what’s not needed 

and improving what is. I like to think 

you can always recognise our work 

as in my view there are a lot of ‘safe 

agencies’. 

What would you consider the 

company’s biggest achievement 

to date? 

Last month we celebrated the 

announcement of Cubiqdesign 

making The Drum’s Top 100 design 

agency list. The Drum is a creative 

trade publication and the Top 100 list 

is described as being a definitive guide 

to the best agencies in the UK. This 

has been my aim for quite a few years 

and really pleased we finally made it. 

How would you set Cubiqdesign 

apart from other design 

agencies? 

Our strong and established reputation 

speaks volumes, and is something that 

does not happen overnight or with 

ease. The fact we have around 400 

active clients shouts volumes about 

our reputation. 

We are focused on providing highly 

creative work for our clients that gets 

results. Our clients know we are honest 

and down to earth, not just a bunch of 

big words with nothing to back it up. 

600, 000 

We are a multi-disciplined team 

and have designers, developers, 

copywriters, photographers and PR 

expertise. Each designer has a niche 

of interest from equestrian, retail, 

licensing and the B2B market. This 

helps allocate the client to a designer 

who has an interest and understanding 

of the sector. 

How do you envisage the 

company over the next five 

years? 

Organic growth is the key to success, its 

safe (ish) and built on firm foundations. 

The past ten years have been about 

re-investing, and the next two will be 

about consolidation of that growth in 

terms of employing new staff. I feel 

that right now we have the best team 

we ever have had of people who all 

believe in our brand. 

By the end of 2013 I would hope we 

could achieve a turnover of around 

£1 million and a top 50 position in the 

UK for our agency. Five years from 

now, I would like to say that I envisage 

myself not working six or seven days a 

week, and maybe having a life outside 

our office. 

What advice would you give to 

young entrepreneurs who are 

thinking of starting their own 

business? 

Unless you are extremely lucky or 

have the idea of the century, it all 

comes down to pure hard work and 

commitment. Take advice but don’t 

always listen to it, make your own 

mind up and consider your gut instinct 

a powerful ally. 



BUSINESS DIARY 

The Very Early Lunch 

Club : Bury St Edmunds 

Hosting monthly business 

events on the fourth Friday of 

every month that are designed 

to be a fun and informal way 

to meet like-minded business 

people and potential clients. 

Date: 27th April 

Time: 7:30 – 9:30 

Venue: Nowton Court, Bury St 

Edmunds 

Organiser: VELC 

Booking details: www.velc. 

co.uk 

Best of Bury St 

Edmunds Coffee 

Mornings 

Join like-minded business 

people at this business coffee 

morning, held fortnightly. 

Date: 1st May 

Time: 10:00 – 12:00 

Venue: Benson Blakes, Bury St 

Edmunds 

Organiser: The Best of Bury St 

Edmunds 

Booking details: No booking 

required 

Informal Networking 

Evening 

An opportunity to raise your 

business profile and meet likeminded 

business people. 

Date: 3rd May 

Time: 17:00 – 19:00 

Venue: Holiday Inn, Impington, 

Cambridge 

Organiser: Cambridgeshire 

Chamber of Commerce 

Booking details: No booking 

required 

How To Grown Your 

Business With Email 

Marketing 

This session will cover the 

do’s and don’ts of email 

marketing and some of the 

more advanced features of the 

medium. 

Date: 3rd May 

Time: 17:00 – 19:00 

Venue: Suffolk Chamber 

Boardroom, Ipswich 

Organiser: Suffolk Chamber of 

Commerce 

Booking details: Booking 

required at www.suffolkchamber. 

co.uk 

The Very Early Lunch 

Club: Cambridge 

Hosting monthly business 

events on the first Friday of 

every month that are designed 

to be a relaxed and informal 

way to meet like-minded 

business people and potential 

clients. 

Date: 4th May 

Time: 7:20 – 9:30 

Venue: Anglesey Abbey, Lode 

Organiser: VELC 

Booking details: www.velc. 

co.uk 

Negotiate & Influence 

for Business Success 

This master class will enable 

you to use your influencing 

skills to negotiate more of 

what is important to you, and 

will supercharge your ability to 

get what you want. 

Date: 10th May 

Time: 9:30 – 16:30 

Venue: Menta, 5 Eastern Way, 

Bury St Edmunds 

Organiser: MENTA 

Booking details: www.menta. 

org.uk 

Safari Networking 

Breakfast 

One of the most popular 

networking events, safaris are 

great for anyone involved in 

sales, business development or 

the promotion of a company. 


Time: 7:45 – 10:00 

Venue: The Moller Centre, 

Storey’s Way, Cambridge 



Booking details: www. 

cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk 

Marketing for Small 

Businesses 

Planning your marketing is an 

essential step for success. This 

workshop helps you turn your 

bright idea into a product/ 

service package that your 

customers can’t resist. 


Time: 9:30 – 16:30 





org.uk 

Search Engine 

Optimisation 

This course is an in-depth look 

at all aspects of SEO and the 

key areas you need to address 

to build you rankings on major 

search engines. 


Time: 9:30 – 16:00 

Venue: Basepoint Business Centre, 

Ransomes Europark, Ipswich 



org.uk 

Can't Sell, Won't Sell 

Whatever business you are in, 

you are selling something. Do 



you feel confident enough in 

your product and how to sell 

it? This workshop is for those 

who have little or no sales 

training or need to refresh. 


Time: 9:30 – 16:00 





org.uk 

NDCC Business 

Awa r d s 

See which businesses are 

championed as one of the best 

local ventures at the NDCC’s 

annual awards. 


Time: From 19:00 

Venue: The Jockey Club Rooms, 

Newmarket 

Organiser: NDCC 


newmarketbusinessassociation.co.uk. 

Book Keeping & 

Financial Control for 

Small Businesses 

This workshop will explain 

how to structure and use 

financial records, develop a 

monitoring system and be 

aware of actions you need to 

take. 


Time: 9:30 – 16:30 

Venue: Kesgrave Community 

& Conference Centre, Kesgrave, 

Ipswich 



org.uk 

Coffee Means 

Business 

Morning networking meeting 

to introduce like minded 

business people. 


Time: 9:30 – 11:30 



Ipswich 



org.uk 

Chamber Golf Day 

Sponsored by Cambridge 

Golf and Conference Centre 

and John Letters, enjoy a great 

team building and networking 

event with fantastic prizes 

throughout. 

Date: 31st May 

Time: Tee off from 9:00 

Venue: Bourn Golf & Leisure 

Club, Cambridge 




cambridgeshire chamber.co.uk 

Celebration of 

Business 

An exhibition organised in 

partnership with the Ely 

Cathedral Business Group to 

help kickstart local businesses 

in Cambridgeshire. 

Date: 31st May 

Time: 14:00 – 18:00 

Venue: Ely Cathedral, Ely, 

Cambridgeshire 





How to Present like 

a Pro 

This master class will put you 

in a position to manage any 

audience effectively. 

Date: 15th June 

Time: 9:30 – 16:30 

Venue: Basepoint Business Centre, 

Ransomes Europark, Ipswich 



org.uk 

Speed Networking 

Breakfast 

Promote your business to a 

room full of people, broaden 

your network of business 

contacts and pitch ideas to 

potential business partners. 

Date: 22nd June 

Time: 07:45 – 10:00 

Venue: Wood Green Animal 

Shelter, Godmanchester 


Chambers of Commerce 



Social Media 

An introduction to social 

media for business. 


Time: 9:30 – 16:00 



Ipswich 



org.uk 

Suffolk 

International Trade 

Group Meeting 

A meeting that focuses on 

UKTI’s export guarantee 

dept. With guest speaker 

Partick Crawford, CEO of 

UK Export Finance. 


Time: 5pm-7pm 

Venue: Ipswich Novotel, Ipswich 

Organiser Suffolk Chamber of 

Commerce 


suffolkchamber.co.uk 

Newmarket Festival: 

Festival Ball 

A much anticipated event 

with guest speaker Olympic 

Silver Medalist Steve Cram, 

MBE. The event starts with a 

champagne reception, followed 

by a 3 course dinner, charity 

auction and live music. 

Date: 7th July 

Time: 7pm - 1am 

Venue: Newmarket Racecourse 

Organiser: NDCC 


newmarketbusinessassociation.co.uk 


IQ magazine offers businesses a platform to advertise their company to a 

variety of organisations throughout Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. IQ will 

be regulary read by key influencers and decision makers in the region’s 

business community. The publication will be delivered free of charge 

directly to over 2,000 company directors in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. 

Two key messages will resinate throughtout IQ Magazine - The SME 

and locality. IQ Magazine is here for businesses to do business.


BENEFITING FROM 

BUSINESS EXHIBITIONS 

IQ takes a look at the benefits of exhibiting at one of 

the region’s most successful events, the Two Counties 

Business Exhibition 

Marking one of the most important 

local events in any business’s 

calendar, the Two Counties Business 

Exhibition returned once again to 

Newmarket’s prestigious Racecourse, 

signalling the end of the first quarter 

of 2012. 

With businesses of all sectors, 

expertise and stature sharing one 

central hub, visitors to the exhibition 

were encouraged to explore and 

interact with the variety of exhibitors, 

while enjoying the benefits of topicspecific 

seminars held throughout 

the day. 

Understanding the benefits of 

business exhibitions can be a 

somewhat difficult task when faced 

with the initial costs involved, 

manpower required and unasserted 

lead generation, yet, for most, the 

Two Counties Business Exhibition 

lived up to its reputation as one 

of the most popular events in the 

region. 

Travelling from Norwich for the 

event, St. James’s Place Partner Ian 

Farrant said, “Grabbing clients’ 

attention can sometimes be hard, 

but it is important to not let people 

just walk past without speaking to 

them.” 

“Everyone has different techniques, 

but it’s vital you get the conversation 

flowing, otherwise it’s a waste of 



Ian Farrant 

time being here. We’ve attracted a 

few leads and even caught up with 

one or two existing clients.” 

Putting each and every business on 

an equal platform, the Two Counties 

Business Show encouraged a direct 

flow of traffic, ensuring that each 

exhibitor was able to interact with 

and engage with as many people 

as possible throughout the all day 

event. 

Offering a series of seminars 

throughout the day, including 

brand surgery techniques and speed 

networking, both attendees and 

exhibitors were able to benefit. 

Attending the event for the second 

year running, NWES Encouraging 

Enterprise Exhibitor John Clarke 

said, “It’s not only about those who 

have attended the event, the other 

exhibitors really count. Helping 

one another out can lead to even 

further business leads and personal 

recommendations which can mean 

a lot more in the world of customer 

service and business reliance.” 

“It’s about networking and getting in 

front of people. You could sit in the 

office and hope the phone rings but 

it’s not exactly the most practiced 

marketing plan.” 

“Meeting people in a situation 

like this enables you to pick up the 

phone later in the week to continue 

your conversation. You will have 

already broken the ice and aren’t 

then phoning as a stranger.” 

Of course, business events will 

not only benefit established SMEs 

and larger local businesses, in fact 

far from it. Providing the perfect 

platform for new business ventures, 

the Two Counties Business Show 

offers one-on-one interaction with 

a specific localised audience to all 

those in attendance. 

Enabling companies to broaden 

their marketing mix and providing a 

direct link with likeminded business 

owners, business exhibitions offer an 

established networking opportunity 

to new entrepreneurs and business 

minds on both a commercial and 

business-to-business level. 

Launched in 2011, Business Plan 

Services Cambridge (BPS) is one 

such business, who attended the 

Exhibition primarily to promote its 

John Clarke 

business brand as well as searching 

for new custom. 

BPS Exhibitor and former Business 

Link Adviser Roger Hetherington 

said, “Events like this are the perfect 

platform for new businesses to 

distribute literature and really start 

to build the brand recognition all 

companies strive for.” 

“As a new company, we’ve primarily 

Roger Hecherington 

attended to raise our profile, trying 

to build up a presence in the 

Cambridge area, yet we’ve benefited 

from the service considerably, and 

have already made a couple of 

leads.” 

Attracting a strong following from an 

expanding mix of local enterprises, 

it seems that business exhibitions 

like this will continue to play an 

important part in all local marketing 

plans no matter what size or sector 

your company may fall within. 

Benefiting all that attend, whether 

through direct lead generation or 

business interaction, it appears the 

value of face-to-face interaction will 

never be replaced. 



network to meet, connect and grow 

The nine commandments of networking... 

Networking expert Ian Clemson offers advice on how to achieve the best results, 

and ROI from your networking activities 

A business networking event.... or to give it an alternative description, 

connecting with people. You and I need to connect with the decision 

makers, person to person, and networking is not a ‘one off’ hit – it is about 

relationship building – like, know and trust. 

There are a myriad of networking events in and around the Cambridge, 

Newmarket and the Bury St Edmunds areas. These are a mix of yearly 

subscriptions, ‘pay as you go’ and some are free. Your first question to 

yourself is what do I want to achieve? Profile building, brain building (peer 

support) or referral building? Set yourself clear goals and ask yourself, and 

the networking groups, how strong they are in each of these areas. Whichever 

networking group you choose, ensure that it works for you. 

Many people ask me how to start a conversation. The easiest way is to 

look for someone on their own or to join an open group, and ask if they 

would mind if you joined them. Of course, once you are in a conversation 

and you feel it’s time to move on, there are two easy ways to do so. Ideally, 

you can introduce the person you are talking with to someone else, or if 

you are in a group, close the conversation just as you would close any other 

conversation. 



network to meet, connect and grow 

The nine commandments of networking... 

1 

Volunteer and get 

involved in running 

and participating the 

event. It raises your 

profile – and it does 

get noticed! Be 

consistent. 

2 

Book it as you would a sales or 

prospects meeting. Turn up on 

time, or even better, be early. Leave 

yourself time after the event too 

– that’s when you can talk to the 

contacts you have made. 

Take your diary! 

3 

Listen more 

and talk less, 

so that you get 

to know the 

person. 

4 

Keep an open mind 

and assume nothing. 

Talk to as many people 

as possible – you never 

know who they might 

know. 

5 

You’re informing 

and building 

relationships, 

rather than selling 

to the room or to 

the person you’re 

speaking to. 

6 

At many network meetings you’ll 

have the opportunity of a short 

pitch, so make it interesting, 

inspiring and memorable. Ask 

a fellow member to give you 

constructive feedback. 

7 

Keep an eye out for 

people you can build a 

rapport with. They 

will remember 

you, recommend 

you and work 

with you... 

8Act on the raft of business cards 

you’re sure to collect. Put all the 

details onto a CRM system and 

follow up, at least with an email 

and preferably a telephone call, 

within 24 hours.Contact the people 

you ‘hit it off with’ first. 

9This is a long term project, so give 

it the time and effort it deserves. 

When working out the cost of the 

event, include your travel time, 

your hourly rate, fuel and the event 

cost. Then evaluate your monetary 

return, whilst remembering the 

relationship return too. 

Ian clemson 

For more information visit www.velc.co.uk. 

Lastly, enjoy it, smile, be positive and speak well of 

others, especially the competition. 



In the CLOUD 

IQ asks if the hype surrounding cloud can match up to the expectations of the SME 

more 

affordable 

and more 

consistent 

technology 

We all know that our IT systems 

are a critical part of our business, 

but also one of the most costly, 

with cloud computing being 

hailed by many as our saviour. 

Yet, organisations are still unsure 

of what cloud computing is, and 

how to take the first steps. 

In a nutshell, cloud computing 

is the delivery of computing 

as a service rather than a 

product, where you gain access 

to IT resource, software and 

information over the Internet (or 

“cloud”). Externally managed 

cloud services can help lower 

operating costs by effectively 

outsourcing complex and time 

consuming areas of IT and data 

management to trusted service 

partners. 

The hype surrounding cloud 

computing is obscuring the very 

real sea-change taking place, 

as the way in which we pay for 

computing is changing forever. 

Public cloud services typically 

have no initial capital outlay, 

giving immediate on-demand 

access to the services you need. 

In addition, most services are 

available on a monthly or 

quarterly model, where you pay 

for what you use, turning IT 

into a utility model. 

Plus, with service providers 

investing heavily in skilled and 

highly qualified engineering 

staff, organisations don’t need 

to bear the significant costs 

associated with employment, 

training and support. This 

ability to pay monthly for core 

IT services, coupled with a 

lower cost of ownership, can 

have a dramatic effect on an 

organisation’s running costs, and 

help aid positive cash flow. So, 

in essence, technology becomes 

more available, more affordable 

and more consistent. 

A prime example of this is 

data backup. Effective business 

continuity planning is critically 

important to any organisation, 

but it can be challenging for small 

businesses where experienced 

IT staff are often in short 

supply and backup procedures 

are rarely fully implemented. 

Cloud computing could be the 

answer as an affordable way to 

backup critical data off site, and 

so protect the business against 

future data loss and the potential 

damage this could cause. 

A word of warning before 

proceeding down the cloud 

route; organisations must think 

long and hard about their 

choice of cloud partner and be 

prepared to research key areas 

such as service levels. Take some 

time to find the right fit for your 

business before signing on the 

dotted line. 

Mike Worby 

ALVEA Cloud Services, COMPUTERLINKS 

issue 1 | page 42

fix it with feedback 


“Feedback is data – it is a gift – it offers an opportunity to learn” Lothian, A. (1995). 

Peter Wortley of Performance Through People gives his advice on how feedback and effective 

communication can produce tangible improvements for both the individual and the organisation. 

Organisations which create open, 

positive and constantly learning 

cultures are the ones most likely to 

survive in the ever changing climate 

of the future. A critical part of 

creating this culture is the ability of 

the people within the organisation to 

give and receive feedback, which most 

of us miss out on. 

I am often faced with clients who 

are somehow reticent about giving 

feedback to their teams, for fear 

of offending or upsetting them. I 

challenge them to look at feedback 

differently. 

By withholding your feedback you 

are withholding the gift of a learning 

opportunity to others. Feedback is vital 

if we are to understand the impact of 

our actions upon others, if we don’t 

receive it, how can we improve our 

behaviour and performance? 

Even if it doesn’t come wrapped in 

fancy packaging it still might have 

value to us. As with any gift, we 

can then decide what we do with it 

afterwards, we can keep it and use it 

to make adjustments, or decide that 

it has little value to us and throw it 

away. 

In my experience, those who are 

most successful in life actively seek 

feedback to enhance their own 

performance and provide feedback 

to others to inspire them to perform 

better. 

There are two types of feedback, 

“acknowledging” feedback which 

reinforces good performance and 

behaviours and “developmental” 

feedback which corrects or improves 

poor performance and behaviours. 

Some psychologists recommend 

that children be given ten pieces of 

“acknowledging” feedback for every 

one piece of developmental feedback. 

I ask, would a similar balance at work 

be unreasonable? 

Positive feedback is vital, so that 

people know that they are performing 

to standard and understand what 

specifically is good about their work. 

Receiving praise is also motivational, 

and, as it is rare for a person’s work to 

be entirely perfect, providing positive 

feedback creates an opportunity to 

then comfortably discuss the areas 

for improvement. 

So the question is, if feedback is 

so great, why don’t we all do it? 

Effective feedback takes time and 

consideration - it takes a lot less 

time to simply dictate that a task has 

not been done correctly. If you are 

uncomfortable with giving feedback 

then these golden rules may help: 

Giving Feedback: The golden rules 

Give feedback as close as possible to the event to which it refers 

Take into account your ability to give the feedback – is there sufficient time, are you relaxed and confident, and do you have all the facts? 

Consider the recipient’s ability to handle the feedback at that moment – is the individual overloaded, under pressure or very emotional? 

Explain the specific behaviour which was good or bad and the resulting effect of that behaviour on the performance of the team and the 

organisation. Keep the feedback objective wherever possible 

Help the individual to understand the behaviour you desire or expect and how that might improve performance 

Give the individual the opportunity to share their ideas and concerns, or ask for help and listen attentively 

Always give a balance of feedback, and where possible start and end a meeting with positive feedback 

I challenge you to change the way you give and receive feedback. Opening up this communication channel can have 

a dramatic effect upon the relationships and morale within your team, while developing sustainable performance 

improvements within your organisation. 

Receive your free comprehensive guide to giving and receiving feedback, by emailing info@ptpp.co.uk or 

visit www.performancethroughpeople.co.uk 

issue 1 | page 43


issue 1 | page 01

can telesales offer 

the competitive edge? 


Getting back to basics and making friends with the telephone again, 

Gary MorgaN encourages us to consider staff training in this field 

The most common situation I come 

across in business is people who 

don’t have the skill or confidence 

to generate more business through 

use of the phone. It’s quick, cost 

effective and allows the sales person 

to gain far more information on a 

prospect that a conversation over 

e-mail. E-mail makes life easy, who 

could argue with that? However, it’s 

worrying that many sales teams have 

become comfortable with e-mailing 

and not recognising the value of 

a courteous, good old-fashioned 

telephone call. Believe it or not, 

this trend is souring, and companies 

who get telephone sales right will no 

doubt have a competitive edge over 

the competition. 

What is actually more interesting is 

that when I show clients the solution 

through training and consultancy, 

they struggle to justify the training. 

This is because they fail to do a simple 

calculation, which is “How many 

sales orders do I need to make in a 

month to break even on the training 

spend?” More often than not, the 

answer is less than one, before they 

see the value and return on their 

spend. Most of the time people think 

of the spend/activity rather than 

the outcome. A recent example of 

this came from a computer supplier 

business. After a positive discussion 

on the phone, I received an e-mail 

acknowledging that the firm ought 

to invest in a more structured sales 

response, but that at present it 

couldn’t justify the cost of instigating 

the training programme. 

To train or not to train ... some points to consider... 

Average order value 

Work out your average order value and 

then how many sales orders you would 

need to break even on the training 

spend. 

Trainer’s credibility 

Does the trainer have a track record in 

the subject they are training? Ask for a 

biography of the trainer’s background, 

as this provides you with an opportunity 

to see if your instructor is a good fit for 

your business. 

References 

Do they have genuine testimonials? 

Ask if you can contact one or two to 

get feedback. It’s a good idea to contact 

GARY MORGAN 

www.milestoneexperts.co.uk 

other companies who have used the 

training provider’s services. Ask what 

the company liked, and what they didn’t 

like about the service they received. 

Doing this will help you make a well 

informed decision. 

Training companies credibility 

Are they doing what they train? For 

instance, if they are training your staff 

on telephone techniques, are they using 

the phone correctly in their business? 

Call them and find out before you 

engage their services. 

Training style 

Some companies are happy to sit 

your team in front of a powerpoint 

presentation and bore them to tears. 

In my experience participants get 

more out of the training when it is 

interactive, fun and can be used in their 

job roles. Decide what style will best 

suit your staff. 

Continuous development 

One-off training sessions are fine for 

refreshing knowledge and to motivate 

your staff. However, if you really 

want to get the full benefit of your 

investment, consider a monthly or 

quarterly training programme. I do this 

with many of my clients, and they say 

this is where they get real value, as they 

can see the continuous improvement 

their staff are making. 

issue 1 | page 45


Marketing Consultant Chris Ellis encourages businesses to think big 

when formulating marketing strategies and brand direction 

Probably the biggest challenge 

facing small businesses right now 

is the need to create and maintain 

sufficient marketing momentum. It’s 

not easy when there is no ‘Marketing 

Department’ or dedicated resource 

and the cost to the business is seen as 

high in percentage terms, relevant to 

hard won revenue. 

So what steps do superbrands 

take, that small businesses can 

follow to improve their marketing 

effectiveness. 

The common denominator has to be 

the need to plan. All businesses need 

a strategic marketing plan (or, if it 

makes you feel more sales focused, 

call it a Business Development Plan). 


The plan acts as a road map, helping 

you get from A to B. Don’t make the 

mistake of thinking you can make it 

up as you go along – or that ‘hope’ is 

a viable strategy. At the very least you 

should have a marketing calendar that 

drives weekly / monthly activities. 

Big businesses need detailed plans 

because there are so many functions 

and people to control. That doesn’t 

mean they can’t distill them down 

to an easily understood mantra. 

Roisin Donnelly, Marketing Director 

for Proctor & Gamble 

summarises their digital 

marketing strategy in 

just three words: ‘catch, 

connect, close’. 

Big brands are expert 

at segmenting their 

customer groups, 

identifying what satisfies 

their needs and motivates 

them to buy. Then, 

once they’ve understood which the 

best channels to use to connect are, 

they’re never shy in encouraging a 

sale or two (for-one). 

As the owner of a number of 

superbrands Proctor & Gamble can 

also teach SMEs a thing or two about 

the need for consistency. Inconsistency 

is the enemy of brand-building and 

yet so many small companies are 

inconsistent with their positioning 

in the marketplace and with brand 

management. Consistency actually 

helps lower the cost of marketing 

and increases the effectiveness of 

branding. 

When it comes to marketing, 

superbrands and small businesses 

have one thing in common – both 

can transform the value of their 

businesses on the back of a big idea. 

This might be an over-arching brand 

idea, such as BMWs The Ultimate 

Driving Machine, or just a brilliant 

PR idea that ends up getting you 

national coverage, like start-up 

bespoke tailoring company A Suit 

That Fits. Their campaign to get 

people to donate old suits to homeless 

people going for job interviews was 

launched with Eddie Jordan and 

Jenson Button donating suits at the 

inconsistency is the enemy of 

brand-building, yet so many 

small companies are 

inconsistent with their 

positioning in the marketplace 

and with brand management. 

press launch, one week before the 

F1 season started. Brilliant timing, 

brilliant idea, great cause – great 

coverage. 

Sometimes the ‘big idea’ is really 

just the bravery needed to be 

different in your marketplace. If it 

gives you a sustainable competitive 

advantage, go for it. Look no further 

than LINGsCARS.com for a great 

example of creating value by being 

different. Ling Valentine turned 

down the Dragons (and got approx 

£250,000 of free publicity off the 

back of her appearance) and by 

being the champion of the customer 

she’s turned the vehicle leasing 

market on its head. LINGsCARS. 

com now leases out over £3.5m 


worth of vehicles each month. She’s 

pretty good at publicity stunts too – 

the Chinese army missile launcher 

parked next to the A1, complete with 

website branded missile pointing 

skyward is hard to ignore. 

Not only can the internet reward 

disruptive businesses, social media 

channels allow you to connect and 

engage with potential customers 

quicker and cheaper than ever 

before. Digital platforms propagate 

big ideas and achieve awareness 

levels way beyond what 

a small company could 

afford in conventional 

advertising terms. 

The four cornerstones 

of contemporary 

marketing are; content 

marketing, search 

marketing, social media 

and PR. The good news 

is, the internet levels the 

playing field for all businesses across 

these activities because the main 

investment needed is purely time. 

The bottom line is, if you are in 

business, you’re in marketing. Some 

observers believe that the approximate 

effective time allocation for successful 

businesses should be: Marketing 

55%, Making/Distributing 35%, 

Managing 10%. 

Time is clearly a precious commodity 

for owner-managed small businesses 

but by investing in smarter marketing 

and acting as if you were a lean startup 

with little or no sales revenue, you 

might find that taking a lead from 

the superbrands and out-thinking 

competitors pays dividends in the 

long run. 

CHRIS ELLIS 

Contact Chris Ellis at www.thebriefingroom.co.uk 



THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL 

MEDIA FOR BUSINESS 

PR and Marketing Executive Rachel Preston takes an 

in-depth look at the importance of online business relations 

The ways in which a business can communicate have radically changed over the past 5-10 years. The days of talking at 

people are far behind us; now we talk to and with people. A novel concept, I know... but the ways in which we can talk to 

people have radically expanded and can be done instantaneously from anywhere in the world. 

We have evolved from communicating through posters and print to radio and TV, with the latest and most up to date 

development being online communication via social media. 

All types of businesses need to ensure they are part of this, as it is not a fad, but a development in the constantly changing 

way that we communicate. For businesses, an online presence on social media is vital in continuing to communicate with 

your clients and target audience. If you are not there talking about what you can offer, be in no doubt that someone else 

will be. If you’re not there and your competitors are, they will have exposure to your target audiences when you don’t, so 

it’s advisable to have a presence in this environment, to monitor your reputation and brand reception if nothing else. 

If you’re going in cold, it can present a minefield of jargon and new pathways, so here are a few helpful tips that can 

guide your online presence on your social media channels: 

Be interactive Once you have 

found the correct balance of self 

promotion and intriguing content, 

this will inspire action and can be 

really instrumental in using social 

media appropriately. Take some 

time to comment and interact with 

your current and prospective clients 

to show that you’re there and that 

you care about what they’re saying. 

A simple tactic is to ask questions 

that inspire a response, comment on 

current affairs or get involved in a 

#tag discussion. 

Post different types of media 

Social media users are interested 

in fresh new ways of presenting 

content as well as ways that they can 

share it with their own networks. In 

fact, certain forms of media such as 

infographics or videos and images 

have a tendency to be much more 

sharable and appealing, as it’s not just 

dry text-based conversation. 

Make content searchable I’m 

going to be bold and assume that 

you have some sort of optimisation 

in place for your website. Keep the 

same strategy in mind for your social 

media content. If it can be searched 

it can be optimised - so, whether that 

is #tagging or optimising text, make 

sure you’re doing it. 

Stay calm and carry on You 

really don’t need your social media 

intern “Sarah” having a meltdown 

at the first sign of something 

unfavorable being said about your 

brand on social media. By keeping a 

level head and having an emergency 

plan ready should disaster strike, you 

will be able to tackle the issue calmly 

and rationally. P.S. Ignoring it doesn’t 

count as a plan. 

Customise the content If you’re 

like us, you have multiple audience 

members to provide information to 

online. Do your homework; find out 

which sites your different audience 

members participate in and which 

topics/sectors are of importance to 

them. 

Be innovative You don’t have to 

be cutting edge to run a successful 

social media programme. However, 

it doesn’t hurt to have your eyes 

and ears open to the latest trends. 

Experiment with your strategy to 

find new and interesting ways to 

present the same information to your 

networks. 


Some stats for 2012... 


These strategies are all well and good for business to 

consumer companies, but what about those of you 

whose day to day business life consists of numbers, 

legal issues and financial forecasts? 

The above points can still apply; you just need to be 

inventive and creative with what you post. Here are a 

few ideas for you to think about: 

• Make sure you’re up-to-date with recent 

changes in your sector, such as news or changes in 

procedures, laws and methods. 

• Sign up for e-newsletters and RSS feeds for the 

top publications in your sector. That way you will get 

sent their headlines on a daily basis, which will help 

you keep up to date with the above points. 

• Comment on these headlines, and link them 

into things going on at your place of work. 

• Follow ‘leading lights’ and ‘Gurus’ in your 

sector - see what they are posting about and join in. 

• Sometimes current affairs will tie in with 

what your business is about. For example, an 

accountancy firm would post their opinion on the 

recent Budget revelations, along with any helpful 

hints that may help their customer base. 

• Generally try to make your business and its sector 

more accessible to the general public. For 

example a solicitor’s firm could offer a series of 

myth-busting posts on a specific and complicated law. 

The more you help customers, the more you will be 

seen as approachable and someone to do business 

with. 

• You can be human too. Customers like to see that 

the company they’re doing business with has a 

personality. Good news stories, such as a partner 

of the company doing a charity walk across Mt 

Kilimanjaro or the celebration of a member of 

staff’s 10th year with the company, are great insights 

to share with your customers. 

41-46% of businesses using 

social media will have acquired a 

customer/client through a social 

media channel 

Marketers across the 

world plan to increase 

their social media 

budget by 64% 

In 2012, 90% of social network users 

will be on Facebook 

The number of mobile 

shoppers will reach 72.8 

million 

88.1% of internet users 

aged 14+ will browse and 

research products online 

Source: Hubspot 

The number of 

mobile internet 

users will reach 

113.9 million 

The number of 

online shoppers 

will reach 184.3 

million 

As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, it will no doubt trend towards more and more interactive, 

two-way communication between consumer and brand. Companies which can provide value and can engage 

customers in meaningful and exciting ways, stand to reap tremendous rewards in the coming years. 

RACHEL PRESTON 

For more information visit www.cubiqdesign.co.uk 



John Treby, Creative Director of Cubiqdesign Ltd, gives 

advice on how to make the best use of your web presence 

For any proactive business these days, having a functional website is no longer enough. Making sure your 

on-line offering holds your business in good light is great, but does it also get you the limelight you require as 

well as giving you back the information to analyse and correct any areas that are under performing? 

For me the easiest way to break down your web offering is into three categories... 

A brochure site, used to back up any word of 

mouth referrals with little presence on-line. This is 

fine if your business solely relies on word of mouth 

referrals and does not look to generate new leads, but 

consider using your website to generate new leads 

too. (Example: qualitycommunications.asia) 

A content rich brochure site which 

generates new leads on-line and is used as a lead 

generation tool as well as merely a window to the 

world. (Example: cubiqdesign.co.uk) 

An e-commerce site, used as a way of 

driving income and sales to your business. 

(Example: designrattan.co.uk) 

Each of the above needs to perform well and portray your business in the best possible way. With 

the amount of competition businesses face, the difference between your website and those of your 

competitors can pretty much be the determining factor by which clients make their decisions. 



With any website, some clear pointers need to be considered and addressed to make sure you’re grabbing new 

clients; your website can be the first point of interaction they have with your business, so make sure it’s right. 

Key areas to consider are: 

Look and feel 

Does the website portray your 

brand properly, and is the imagery, 

colouring, communication and 

feel on brand? Think of it as your 

on-line client meeting room, or 

for retail your shop window so 

it should scrub up well and look 

polished! 

Optimisation 

For those businesses looking to 

drive traffic, a good optimisation 

plan needs to be in place with clear 

avenues of traffic address, from 

organic search engine optimisation 

and on-line advertising to pay per 

click and affiliate marketing. Each 

of these can generate huge amounts 

of traffic and revenue, but need to 

be constantly measured and refined 

through the use of analytics. 

usability 

Think of yourself as the client, 

and make sure you can get to the 

information you need in one to 

three clicks. People are typically 

lazy on-line, and want to see what 

they need instantly; imagine them 

as goldfish with a three second 

memory, and make sure you don’t 

lose them before that three seconds 

is up! 

Latest news 

Keeping latest news and current 

news up to date is the most 

important area that can be 

overlooked. Agreed, we’re all very 

busy, but if your latest news dates 

from 2009, potential clients are 

going to assume that you’re either 

out of business or have been 

drinking cups of tea and waiting 

for the phone to ring for the last 

three years! 

Testing 

With mobile usage on the 

up, making sure your site is 

compatible across all platforms 

is key. Having a mobile version 

of your website is extremely 

hip, but, for businesses with 

smaller budgets, making sure 

your existing site is compatible 

means you’re not losing that 

huge percentage of clients via 

mobile. 

The all important copy 

The information provided on 

the site needs to be concise and 

punchy; no one has time to 

read pages and pages of drab 

copy. Get the hierarchy of the 

information balanced on every 

page, back it up with client 

testimonials and include a clear 

list of services you offer. 

Analytics 

Do you know the difference between impressions and conversion rates? It can be difficult to keep track of how your website is 

performing, so below are some terms that you need to know: 

Bounce rate: this is used to determine the least effective pages on a website, and gives the percentage of visitors entering the page 

who left the site without going to any other pages 

Conversion rate: this determines the effectiveness of a web page in converting visitors to sales or leads 

Impressions: this gives the number of times a page is displayed 

Page views: this is used to convey the relative popularity of pages within a site, and the number of pages successfully loaded from 

visitors to your site 

Visits: this measures the number of people who come to your site, typically, doing so in a 30-day period from the first visit 

Considering your website as an effective sales arm of your business will help to gain you new leads, 

improve your image and your presence. 

JOHN TREBY For more information visit www.cubiqdesign.co.uk 



Food Glorious Food... 

and Drink! 

IQ focuses on successful regional businesses whose taste has gained them national recognition 

Aspall continues 

to grow 

Growing demand for Aspall cider and 

vinegar products has prompted this 

Suffolk-based producer to restructure 

its management team and expand 

production facilities. Aspall, which 

sources the majority of its apples 

from local orchards and works with 

the region’s apple growers to ensure 

long-term sustainability, recently 

invested £750,000 on a new vinegar 

bottling line and cider fermentation 

and storage tanks; over the next two 

to three years, it envisages investing 

a further £4 million in its plant and 

equipment. This includes projects 

to improve fruit management and 

pressing. 

According to company chairman 

Barry Chevallier Guild, these 

investments will ensure that Aspall 

will not only keep pace with its 

growth, but will also lead the 

premium cider and vinegar markets. 

Aspall has expanded its vinegar 

range to 11 different products, and 

is also driving development of the 

cider market. Its Suffolk cider is now 

available in the Australian, French 

and Irish markets as well as in the 

UK. The company, which now has a 

workforce of more than 70, has also 

launched a new online consumer 

shop. 

Recognition for Powters’ 

rebranding 

Newmarket-based Powters, which 

has been making sausages since 

1880, and currently supplies 

local independent butchers and 

mainstream supermarkets as well 

as Harrods, has recently undergone 

a rebranding exercise designed to 

raise its profile and maximise what 

Managing Director Grant Powter has 

called ‘its strong national potential’. 

To appeal to modern taste, Powters 

has extended its range with five 

spinouts from the Newmarket 

sausage, including spicy Spanish, 

low fat, gluten free, and Real Ale 

varieties. Powters has also redesigned 

its packaging, using colour coding 

and a distinctive pig silhouette cutout 

to achieve maximum stand-out and 

on-shelf recognition. The design’s 

blend of tradition and innovation 

earned it The Design Strategy award 

at The Drum marketing awards 

ceremony in 2011, enabling Powters 

to reposition their offer to buyers in 

major multiples. 

Grant Powter said: “The new design 

has led to increased interest from 

buyers and sales growth.” 

Powters is also an accredited rare 

breeds butcher, currently grassrearing 

its Pedigree Welsh Black 

Beef on its organic farm in Suffolk, 

for the specialist market. 

Greene King 

more than a brewery 

Despite the challenges the pub and 

beer industry faces as government 

cutbacks continue to impact on 

consumer spending power, Suffolkbased 

brewery group Greene King 

remains confident, due to its strong 

Retail expansion strategy and groupwide 

operational performance, driven 

by its ideals of value, service and 

quality. Producing such iconic ales as 

IPA and Old Speckled Hen, Greene 

issue 1 | page 52


King continues to invest in its core 

ale brands, as evidenced by its new 

Scottish brewhouse. It also owns and 

operates Hungry Horse and Loch 

Fyne Restaurants, and, as part of its 

strategy to increase its share of the 

growing eating-out market, recently 

acquired Cloverleaf Restaurants. 

Other recent acquisitions include 

Realpubs in London. 

In addition to its strong brand 

identity promoted by sport-linked 

national advertising campaigns, 

Greene King recgonises that its 

customers need ‘affordable treats’, 

so continually seeks to add value to 

what it offers. 

With its continued focus on 

controlling costs, its finances 

continue to look good, with an 

increase of 6% in revenue, a rise of 

4.6% in EBITDA, and an increase 

of 7.4% in dividend. 

Sweet success for 

Hotel Chocolat 

When it comes to sourcing its raw 

materials, Hotel Chocolat has clear 

ethical concerns. From its Rabot 

Estate on St. Lucia, as well as in 

Ghana, it runs engaged ethics 

programmes. In Rabot, accepted 

practice is overturned with other 

locals involved in the supply chain 

to add value; As Hotel Chocolat 

doesn’t just buy and export cocao, 

it’s finished product really is St. 

Lucian chocolate. 

Recent successes include expanding 

the company’s Cambridgeshire 

chocolate factory; opening a second 

USA store in New York; introducing 

the Chocolate Tasting Club in which 

customers can vote for preferred 

chocolates and suggest new products, 

and, as BAFTA’s official Chocolate 

Partner, making a 100kg chocolate 

and carat-gold mask. 

In a recent survey of over 6,000 UK 

shoppers, Hotel Chocolat was ranked 

fourth in the Top 10 brands, and was 

the only British brand listed. Angus 

Thirlwell, Hotel Chocolat CEO, said 

‘For your customers to recommend 

you [...] is the greatest accolade a 

company can hope for. Our entire 

company ethos revolves around 

making our customers happy with 

exciting products and a distinctly 

British brand’. 

Something’s 

brewing at Adnams 

Southwold-based brewer Adnams’ 

wine and shops business is on the 

up; 2011 shop sales are 22% up, and 

trading is 14% ahead. In a difficult time 

for retail, this isn’t just a good result – 

it’s the best growth rate the company 

has seen in five years. Adnams has 

grown staff numbers in preparation 

for further retail expansion, actively 

seeking new shop sites. 

Adnams’ take-home beer business 

has grown overall by 17%, with the 

company’s own beer products not 

only selling well, but the volume sold 

growing by 2.5%. With the UK’s beer 

consumption falling year by year, the 

continued growth of Adnams’ directly 

delivered beer business reflects well 

on its brand, beers, and standard of 

customer service. 

With expansion in mind, the company 

has invested in new distillery products, 

and is particularly pleased with the 

sales of one such product, limoncello. 

A new Adnams food range is also being 

developed. 

Despite volatile consumer spending and 

an uncertain retail market, Adnams 

sees itself as here for the long term and 

will act and invest on that basis. 

by Marion treby 

issue 1 | page 53

Follow Cubiqdesign on twitter twitter.com/cubiqdesign 

we know what works 

WHEN IT COMES TO BRAND COMMUNICATION 

Website Design SEO services Ecommerce Advertising Print Design 

Brand Design Point of Sale Design Packaging Design PR Services 

www.cubiqdesign.co.uk 

An award-winning creative agency 

www.cubiqdesign.co.uk | info@cubiqdesign.co.uk | 01638 666432


Finding the balance 

Health expert Carole Baker speaks to IQ on the shifting priority towards health in the workplace 

We are all looking for balance in 

our busy lives. For employers, this is 

about looking for a balance between 

ensuring that their staff are working 

to their maximum effectiveness, 

but also offering them some way of 

reducing their stress levels and thereby 

improving their long-term health and 

performance. Not addressing the latter 

can result in a ‘burn out’; the situation 

can be summarized in a simple 

equation: Stressed out staff = Increased 

Sickness Days + Lost Productivity + 

Low Morale. The primary reason 

that companies fail to take note of this 

equation is cost, including cost to the 

service provider and cost in staff time. 

The issue is certainly high on the 

business agenda as the Suffolk 

Chamber of Commerce have labelled 

2012 its year of ‘Health in the work 

place’ 

John Dugmore, chief executive, warns 

if the health issues are not addressed by 

Suffolk businesses, it could hit the local 

economy. 

“Whether it’s for a minor cold or a more 

complex, long-term issue, absenteeism 

has always been a challenge for 

business,” he said. “While being 

unwell is all part and parcel of life, 

there are things that can be addressed 

by employers and employees in the 

knowledge that if not dealt with there 

could be a huge financial burden.” 

There has been much press coverage 

recently on the death warrant of sitting 

in a chair or car all day, and latest 

statistics show that the average Briton 

spends 14½ hours seated during the 

day (and that doesn’t count sleeping!) 

So what can employers do to help 

their staff counteract the effects of this, 

and ensure that it does not impact the 

bottom line? 

Stress and back pain are the two main 

causes of sickness and absenteeism; 

the new buzzword around HR 

departments is “presentesim” often 

defined as “the lights are on but no one 

is at home” where staff are present at 

work but are not engaged or working 

at their full level of capability, often as 

a result of not having the tools to deal 

effectively with stress, or because of 

physical / mental health ailments. 

Last year’s study by the Sainsbury 

Centre for Mental Health reported 

that presenteeism due to mental ill 

health costs businesses almost twice the 

£8bn caused by absenteeism. At the 

Self Centre we have noticed a huge 

mind shift in employers now wishing 

to take the matter seriously, because, 

quite frankly, it is affecting profits. 

We offer a corporate programme 

called the Self-Strategy; it’s a 

bespoke programme of mind/body 

exercise and complementary therapy 

workshops, classes & taster sessions 

to prevent health issues and improve 

performance in the workplace. The 

Self-Strategy is particularly effective, as 

it encourages staff to take responsibility 

for their own health and wellbeing. 

We understand that flexibility is 

required, and therefore, sessions can 

take place in the work place, or at 

the Self Centre. Taster sessions and 

workshops are tailored to individual 

employees, taking into consideration 

their job role and physical/mental 

stress level. 

It is refreshing to see that many 

companies now have health in the 

work place high on the agenda, as the 

Self Centre has recently been working 

with solicitors, school staff and housing 

associations – a mix of both the public 

and private sector. There is also a noted 

trend for companies to set up regular 

self-funding classes or part-subsidised 

treatment days as a result. 

Carole Baker 

For more information visit www.the-self-centre.co.uk. Contact carole@the-self-centre.co.uk or call 

01284 769090 for further information 

issue 1 | page 55


Go Green 

Restoration has 

formed to provide 

effective window 

solutions to improve 

overall efficiency 

whilst maintaining 

the original 

materials and 

appearance 

Go Green restoration takes a look at the 

latest glazing technologies to meet our 

demanding carbon emission reduction targets, 

and the steps that must be taken for adoption... 

issue 1 | page 56

The problem of climate change 

has been acknowledged, accepted 

and understood, but sadly, not 

resolved. It has become clear that 

necessary actions must be taken 

to address the issue, and, in a first 

attempt, the UK government has 

committed to meeting the Carbon 

Emission reduction targets for a 

34% reduction in greenhouse 

gas emissions by 2020 and an 

80% reduction by 2050, as set 

out by the Climate Change Act, 

2008. To tackle these aggressive 

targets, reductions in demand 

and increase in low carbon 

emission supply are required, 

both of which can be achieved 

by behavioural changes and an 

increase in awareness. 

Over a third of the UK’s carbon 

emissions are from heating and 

powering homes and buildings. 

To reduce emissions from this 

major sector, new legislation 

has been put in place on the 

performance of new buildings, 

through improved insulation 

and higher efficiency windows. 

This, however, does not address 

how we improve the majority 

of buildings which are already 

built. In areas such as Cambridge 

where the historical significance 

of buildings is a focal point in the 

city, this is of particular concern, 

as many of these buildings still 

have windows with single pane 

glass and poor insulation. 

Go Green Restoration (GGR) 

has being recently formed by 

scientific and construction experts 

to provide effective window 

solutions to improve overall 

efficiency whilst maintaining, 

where possible, the original 

materials and appearance. One of 

the key drivers is the development 

of window technology that has 

enabled double glazed units to 

become thinner, sufficient to 

directly replace single 

pane glass within 

existing wooden and 

metal frames. 

Two approaches have 

been taken to reduce 

U-value (the amount of 

heat transported through 

the glass unit), moving 

to heavier gases such 

as Krypton and Xenon 

to replace the standard 

Argon gas. The heavier 

gases are better insulators, so 

reduce heat loss. This technology 

is rapidly maturing with products 

offering warranties of up to 10 

years and total double glazed 

unit thickness down to 10 mm, as 

opposed to conventional double 

glazed units, which are typically 

greater than 22 mm. 

An alternative route to thinner 

units has been adopted by 

Pilkington, one of the world 

leaders in glass production, who 

have completely removed the air in 

the glass cavity. A perfect vacuum 

does not conduct heat, so can lead 

to dramatic reductions in heat loss. 


Ultra thin units are possible with 

an overall unit thickness of 6mm. 

This unit achieves a U-value of 

1.4, compared to a single glass 

that has a U-value in the range 

5-6, so enabling a factor of up to 

4 less heat loss. 

GGR have restored a sash window 

Over a third of 

the UK's carbon 

emissions are 

from heating and 

powering buildings 

in Downing College Cambridge 

with new high efficiency glazing 

and the latest draft exclusion 

products. On completion, the 

renovated window retained the 

appearance of the traditional 

sash window whilst significantly 

reducing the energy loss through 

the window. For listed buildings, 

further restrictions are often 

placed on the windows, which 

include the manufacturing 

process for the glass. For this 

market, double glazed units are 

now also available with glass 

made with traditional techniques 

such as hand drawn and cylinder 

glass, which have their associated 

imperfections to match the 

original glass. 

Energy efficient window solutions 

are becoming available on the 

market at cost effective prices. 

What is requried to accelerate 

adoption is an improved 

understanding of the materials 

and technologies available, and 

an increase in public awareness of 

the long term benefits of moving 

to environmentally friendly 

products. 

Go Green Restoration 

For more information visit www.gogreenrestoration.co.uk or telephone 01223 420252 

issue 1 | page 57


CONFERENCING VENUES 

IQ takes a look at the region’s top conferencing venues 

The Jockey Club Rooms, 

Newmarket 

Offering a conference venue 

steeped in equestrian history, The 

Jockey Club Rooms makes a truly 

prestigious alternative to a hotel 

or dedicated conference centre. 

Augmenting its excellent facilities 

for presentations or meetings, it can 

also offer guests after dinner tales of 

the rich and famous racing gentry, 

private tours of its art collection 

and early morning tours of the 

training gallops. 

The Jockey Club Rooms, 101 High Street 

Newmarket. Tel: 01638 664151. Visit 

www.jockeyclubestates.co.uk for more 

information. 

Madingley Hall, Cambridge 

Set in magnificent gardens just 

four miles from the centre of 

Cambridge, and a mere 60 minutes 

from London, Madingley Hall 

provides a memorable setting. 

With 11 conference and syndicate 

rooms accommodating between 

5-100 delegates, the Hall is one 

of the few University buildings to 

offer all year round availability for 

both residential and non residential 

events. 

Rooms are prepared to exact 

specifications, each with Internet 

access and the full range of AV 

equipment. 

University of Cambridge, Madingley 

Hall, Madingley, Cambridge. Tel: 01223 

746222. Visit www.madingleyhall.co.uk 

for more information. 

The apex, Bury St Edmunds 

The apex offers a modern multipurpose 

venue, catering for anything 

between 40 and 750 people. Its 

flexible and versatile spaces can be 

adapted to suit all requirements, 

with unique and innovative floors 

and seating structures. 

With three studios equipped for 

smaller meetings, conferences and 

break out areas, The apex can 

accommodate all business needs. 

Technical support and equipment, 

including laptops, projectors, 

microphones, PA equipment, 

lighting and a lectern are all 

available, with additional catering 

options on hand. 

The apex, Charter Square, Bury St 

Edmunds, IP33 3FD. Tel: 01284 

758100. For more information visit 

www.theapex.co.uk/conferences. 

The Granary Estates 

One of the region’s newest 

conferencing and business venues, 

The Granary Estates lends itself to 

any business event, no matter how 

large or how small. Offering two 

venues, The Granary Barns and 

The Dullingham Polo Club, the 

Estates encompasses a blank canvas 

for your event. 

To completely tailor your occasion 

to your needs, The Granary Barns 

offers you a choice between a large 

or a smaller barn; alternatively, you 

can use or erect a purpose-built 

marquee within The Dullingham 

Polo Club. 

The Granary Barns, The Granary 

Estates, The Courtyard, Hill Farm, 

Dullingham, Newmarket, CB8 9UT. Tel: 

01638 508062. Visit thegranaryestates. 

co.uk for more information. 

issue 1 | page 58


Crowne Plaza, Cambridge 

Crowne Plaza offers one of most 

exceptional conferencing venues in 

the heart of Cambridge city centre. 

Hosting events from as few as 35 

to as many as 350 participants, the 

Hotel’s four event suites provide the 

perfect venue for you and your team 

to hold a stimulating training session 

or product launch. 

Utilise the impressive facilities on 

hand, including a DVD player, 

projector, flip chart and markers, 

group and event packages, lectern, 

microphone and whiteboard. 

Crowne Plaza, 20 Downing Street, 

Cambridge CB2 3DT. Tel: 0871 942 

9180. For more information visit www. 

crowneplaza.com. 

Hotel Felix, Cambridge 

The hotel’s four meeting rooms, 

all with natural daylight, can 

accommodate up to 36 delegates 

boardroom style and 50 delegates 

in a theatre style set up. Its elegant, 

stylish and relaxing surroundings 

are ideal for conferences and private 

dining; high levels of service and 

dining, as well as free parking, 

complete the picture, making 

Hotel Felix the perfect choice for a 

conference with character. 

Hotel Felix, Whitehouse Lane, Huntingdon 

Road, Cambridge CB3 0LX. Tel: 01223 

277977. Visit www.hotelfelix.co.uk for 

more information. 

British Racing School, 

Newmarket 

East Anglia’s most unique 

conference and training venue, The 

British Racing School offers high 

quality facilities in a location with 

a difference. Its facilities include 6 

meeting rooms, a state of the art 

training theatre and a training suite 

equipped with 12 computers. To 

discuss your requirements further, 

contact Lissie Mitchell on 01638 

669040. 

British Racing School, Snailwell Road, 

Newmarket, CB8 7NU. Tel: 01638 

665103. For more information visit www. 

brs.org.uk. 

Tattersalls, Newmarket 

Tattersalls Park Paddocks, one of 

East Anglia’s most unusual and 

characteristic venues, is an exciting 

location in which to meet your 

corporate objectives. Parties of all 

sizes from 20 to 600 people can be 

accommodated, and the variety 

of rooms available for hire, which 

include the unique Sale Ring and the 

Reception Room, gives flexibility to 

the style and format of your event. 

Contact their professional team to 

organise a personalised package. 

Tattersalls, Terrace House, Newmarket, 

CB8 9BT. Tel: 01638 665931. For more 

information visit www.tattersalls.com. 

Tuddenham Mill, Tuddenham 

Tuddenham Mill makes the perfect 

conferencing and meeting venue for 

anyone looking to truly inspire their 

team. The impressive Terrace Room 

allows delegates the opportunity 

to relax and unwind in a chic, yet 

functional, private meeting room. 

Catering for 30 people, the venue 

offers excellent facilities including 

the latest screening technology, 

projector, DVD player and surround 

sound to make your meeting run 

with ease. 

Tuddenham Mill, Tuddenham, Nr 

Newmarket, IP28 6SQ. Tel: 01638 

713552. Visit www.tuddenhammill.co.uk 

for more information. 

issue 1 | page 59

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BOOK REVIEW 

Business Blogging 

for Beginners 

by helen lindop 

Available in Kindle format only. Priced at £2.99. 

Bio: Helen Lindop is the writer of 

the e-course Earn What You Deserves 

as a Mumpreneur and co-author 

of the book Start a Family Friendly 

Business. She blogs about growing 

a business around a young family at 

BusinessPlusBaby.com. 

Review: Written with small to 

medium start up businesses in mind, 

Business Blogging for Beginners truly 

does what it says on the tin. Split into 

two helpful sections to help those firstly 

start their blog, and secondly grow and 

maintain a strong following, Lindop 

engages with the function of blogging 

and how best to make it work for you 

and your businesses. 

Explaining the search engine 

optimisation benefits of blogging on 

a basic level, Lindop’s straightforward 

guide is the perfect stepping stone for 

local businesses looking to strengthen 

or begin their online presence. 

Revealing the importance of blogging 

as an interactive tool on an otherwise 

static website, Lindop encourages 

further promotion through social 

media avenues and offline sources, 

as well as the importance of goals, 

frequency and audience impression 

on a simplistic level. 

Detailing ways to make money from 

blogs, as well as the importance of 

brand consistency, Business Blogging 

for Beginners is certainly a pocket-sized 

start up guide to businesses looking to 

strengthen their portfolio and bring 

their business into the modern world. 

Somewhat lacking in details on how 

to advance your blog once a strong 

following has gathered, this e-book is 

certainly a guide for beginners and not 

for those looking for a beginners guide 

to business online. 

Stretching into the bounds of 

confident editing, tips on headlines 

and the all too common mistakes 

made by inexperienced bloggers, 

Business Blogging for Beginners is 

an engaging and to-the-point read 

some local businesses will benefit from 

digesting. 

Review by Georgie Campbell, Content Editor, 

Cubiqdesign. 

issue 1 | page 61


issue 1 | page 01


BOOK REVIEW: THE NEW 

RULES OF MARKETING & PR 

rachel preston, Pr & marketing executive at cubiqdesign 

reviews the latest book by d.m . scott 

The main theme running through 

this book is how vital it is to 

understand the growing irrelevance 

of marketing’s “old rules” when 

competing in the new media arena. 

In a relatively short period of time, 

the ways in which we communicate 

as businesses, organisations and in 

general, has radically changed, so 

marketing and PR has had to keep 

up. Scott explains that the internet 

is not so much about technology 

as it is about people; he goes far 

beyond technology and explores the 

ramifications of the internet as it 

pertains to people. He explains the 

rules and how to negotiate them to 

the best effect, so that organisations 

can launch communication 

campaigns by using the far reaching, 

long lasting tools of social media. 

His book is an invaluable guide for 

anyone who wants to make a name 

for themselves, their ideas, and their 

organisation. 

Marketing used to be about 

pushing messages to convince 

people to take necessary action. 

Now, marketing is about engaging 

in conversation with prospects 

and leading, persuading others to 

take action largely because of the 

overwhelming power and influence 

of the web and other electronic 

communications. Scott’s book 

explains that the waning influence 

of traditional print publications, 

radio and direct mail is good news 

for lots of smaller companies and 

independent professionals who need 

to reach niche markets cheaply and 

effectively. He also sees this as good 

news for consumers: the online 

culture of integrity and information 

tends to produce quality content for 

less. 

Scott has provided the non-technical 

amongst us with a thoughtful and 

accessible guide to cutting edge 

media arenas and formats such as 

RSS, vodcasts and viral marketing, 

without neglecting the fact that 

technological wizardry can’t 

substitute for a well thought out 

marketing programme. Therefore, 

it’s a fact that you still need to 

define fundamentals such as your 

target audience, to acknowledge the 

ethos and etiquette of the internet, 

and to encourage content that is 

both useful and unobtrusive. This 

book takes a really good look at the 

basics of ‘new age’ marketing, and 

will be found useful by anyone who 

perhaps isn’t that technologically 

savvy, but wants to be. 

RACHEL PRESTON 



your Chamber 

wants you 

This month, Graham Abbey, Chair of Newmarket and District Chamber of 

Commerce (NDCC) explains more about the benefits of belonging to the Chamber and 

the start-up programme, the Enterprise Engagement Programme 

NDCC is a business membership organization which 

covers the Forest Heath Region. The organization is 

affiliated to Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and brings 

members every benefit of belonging to this larger 

County Chamber. We bring together companies from 

all over the county, of all sectors and sizes to promote 

local business relationships. Our regular meetings 

provide a platform for our members and those of the 

wider Suffolk County membership to develop their 

own businesses and knowledge through networking and 

professional presentations on current and local areas of 

interest. 

To give you a taste of our events, the next meetings 

include a Business Breakfast with which brings together 

members of NDCC and Haverhill Chamber of 

Commerce. We also will offer a purely networkingfocused 

event, a tour of the very successful Newmarket 

Equine Hospital and a social event focusing on the 

Newmarket July meeting together with a stable tour, 

linking with another local networking group, VELC. 

Details of all our events and much more are available 

on our website, www.newmarketanddistrict.com. Of 

course, as a Newmarket Chamber member you can 

go to any Suffolk Chamber of Commerce event as a 

member (see www.suffolkchamber.co.uk/events) 

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, with which NDCC is 

affiliated, has a range of services helping businesses grow 

regardless of their development stage. For those thinking 

of starting a business, or with new businesses less than 2 

years old, the EEP is a perfect choice. The idea behind 

the EEP is to help nurture and develop your business at 

what is most commonly its most crucial development 

stage. We offer a range of tailored advice and tools to 

help you reduce your company’s expenditure, all of 

which focus on the needs of a newly starting company. 

For more established businesses, membership is available 

for the sole trader right through to the larger, national 

business. 

Benefits include: 

• Promotional opportunities including networking, 

sponsorship, advertising, inclusion into the Suffolk 

Business Directory 

• Business discounts including cost reductions and 

heightened benefits on a range of services 

• Business information including up-to-date intelligence, 

such as credit checks and data provision 

• Representations. NDCC provides a local voice to 

influence government 

• Training and support to help improve your skills and 

those of your workforce 

• International trade assistance 

• Business and social networking to help build your 

business by referral and spreading the word 

• Developing and building supply chains and business 

relationships 

If you are about to start a new business, or have an 

established business and would like further information, 

or would like to attend an NDCC event, contact Claire 

Elbrow, NDCC secretary, on 01638 731513 or at info@ 

bluelizardmarketing.com. 

Graham abbey 

For more information visit www.newmarketanddistrict.com. 

issue 1 | page 65

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