Business
news - There's no place like home,
half million Poles leaving the UK
Since
2004 an estimated one million Poles
have settled in Britain, taking advantage
of the higher wages British employers
were prepared to pay. They became
so much a part of the country's life
that Tesco, Asda started stocking
Polish food and drink, and libraries
began to stock books and newspapers
in Polish. The young immigrants, most
of whom were aged between 18 and 25
, quickly infiltrated the building
and plumbing industries, drawing praise
for their work ethic and low prices.
But according to the Times for
the first time since they began
arriving en masse more UK-based
Poles are returning to their homeland
than are entering Britain. Studies
showed a slump of 18% with only
38,680 Poles signing up to the Government's
register of migrant workers in the
third quarter of 2007. Polish officials,
British employment agencies and
the Polish media all believe that
the tide of immigration has turned,
with the Warsaw-based think-tank
the Centre for International Relations
expecting half of the estimated
one million British-based Poles
to return home.
It seems that the Poles working
in construction aren't prepared
to wait for the construction boom
that's expected for the London Olympics
in 2012, also Poland is experiencing
an upturn, the zloty is at a high
and although the country is experiencing
inflation it's not as noticeable
in Poland because their currency
is strong. Poland is itself enjoying
- a construction boom as the country
prepares to host the 2012 European
football championships. An expected
500,000 visitors have led to a massive
renovation of the country's sports
complexes, road, airport and rail
infrastructures, and tourist facilities
making the Polish builders in high
demand.
In the UK the construction industry
needs to find 182,000 more workers
in the rush to complete buildings
for the 2012 London Olympics, an
industry body says. As well as Olympic
facilities and transport, the extra
workers are also needed for other
UK building projects. The Construction
Skills Network, which says the demand
will peak in 2011, is predicting
that there will be a need for 2.8m
people to be working in the construction
industry across the UK in the run
up to the Olympics. This projected
workforce will include 122,000 bricklayers,
161,000 painters, 211,000 electricians
and 189,000 plumbers.
China
is one of the fastest growing economies
in the world, with a history older
than 5,000 years, a population of
over 1.3 billion, with females making
up 48% of the population there is
great potential for women to pioneer
new social norms in China. The entrepreneurial
spirit has been found to have a dominant
stake in the working lives of many
Chinese women, women in China's cities
now bring in some 40% of family income.
Chinese Endeavors to Promote Equality...
When China began to reform its economy
20 years ago, many women saw an opportunity
for even greater freedom. The Communists
might not have been able to guarantee
complete equality - top government
positions still went predominantly
to men - but ordinary Chinese women
were given a new voice, almost overnight.
China has made active endeavours in
promoting equality between men and
women and safeguarding the legitimate
rights and interests of women, women
enjoy equal rights with men in state
political life. By the end of 1996,
the number of women cadres (similar
to civil servant) in government departments,
enterprises and institutions had climbed
to 13.28 million, making up 33.8 percent
of the total number of cadres in China.
The number was over 200 times that
of women cadres in the early period
after the founding of New China.
There are 626 women delegates to the
Eighth National People's Congress,
accounting for 21.03 percent of the
total. The number of women holding
leading posts at the various government
departments has also increased. The
number of female vice provincial governors
increased from 18 in 1994 to 21 in
1996, that of women mayors and vice
mayors grew from 174 to 225, and female
county magistrates and vice magistrates
from 1,329 to 1,540.
The economic, social and cultural
rights of women have also been guaranteed.
In 1995, female employees made up
about 44 % of the total employed people
in China. The number of women workers
in cities and towns increased from
54.65 million in 1994 to 57.55 million
in 1995, accounting for 38.6% of the
total workforce in the country's cities
and towns.
The number of women scientists and
technicians jumped from 8.097 million
in 1993 to 9.881 million in 1995,
making up 36.91% of the total. China
implements the principle of men and
women enjoying equal pay for equal
work. Women's work is under special
protection: women enjoy special care
during the menstrual period, pregnancy,
maternity leave and breast-feeding,
and women workers who give birth can
take a three-month leave of absence
with pay.
Women Entrepreneurs in China...
Studies reveal that the majority of
women entrepreneurs in China begin
in business in an age range between
thirty and fifty with 28% of them
in their thirties, 53% in their forties
with 16% over the age of fifty. Only
3% of the total surveyed under thirty
years old.
Research show that after the reforms
in business and public life in the
80's women entrepreneurs began to
prepare themselves for a life in business
through participation in work, study
and social practice. The motivational
factor for entrepreneurial start-up
for Chinese women was shown to favour
self-realisation at 80%, with nearly
10% of respondents attributing other
factors such as preparation for the
next generation, development of family
wealth and desire for cooperation
with family members. With only small
number just 0.4% of women claiming
that they wished simply to change
the fortunes of themselves and their
families through having a successful
business.
According to the survey, although
these highly successful business women
account for 41% of the sector, business
ownership was not seen as their main
activity. These women were senior
executives, with chairwoman or general
managerial status, in SOEs and had
gained stake and share options. They
were women who had built up their
companies using their own skills and
capital outlay and had successfully
converted them into large successful
companies. These were women who also
had completed their studies abroad
or had just graduated from domestic
Chinese universities. A number were
women who had started to develop their
business without any great business
intentions. Finally, there were women
who had maneuvered themselves, as
either technologists or executives
in foreign funded or domestic enterprises,
into the position of establishing
a business. This they did using considerable
expertise in management and other
areas in order to go into business.
Female entrepreneur tops China's
rich list
“Make way for the Big Momma of the
Billionaires’ Club,” says the Daily
Express. In 1985 Yan Cheung had
a business idea importing waste
paper into China. She set up a company
in Hong Kong, using $4,000 in savings.
"At that time people in China
didn't have name cards, and I carried
around an introduction letter,"
she recalls.
She has become the richest self-made
woman in the world, and China's
wealthiest person, according to
the rich list. The 49-year-old head
of Nine Dragons Paper, is said to
be now worth $3.4bn (£1.8bn) after
a nine-fold rise in her fortune
in just a year. In comparison, JK
Rowling was worth nearly $1bn while
Oprah Winfrey earned a staggering
$200m .....
* Freedom - make your own decisions
* Fulfilment - do something you love
and get rewarded for it
* Flexibility - choose your hours
and make work fit within your other
commitments
Working for yourself has some big
advantages. But, whether you have
just started or you are just starting
to think about whether it could
be the right move for you, it can
also be daunting. Especially in
difficult economic times.
Arming yourself with good advice,
tailored to your needs and the current
economic climate, and talking to
other women in similar circumstance
is a great way to equip yourself
with the knowledge and confidence
to take your ideas forward and for
your business to survive and thrive.
What's Stopping You? is designed
for any woman interested in the
idea of working for herself, even
if it is just a few hours a week,
or who has been running some form
of business for less than a year.
The event will include:
* expert advisers ready to answer
your questions big and small
* helpful seminars
* do's and don'ts
* discussions
* networking opportunities
* motivation and inspiration
What’s Stopping You? When and
Where?
2008
19th November Oxford, Oxfordshire
26th November Fareham, Hampshire
27th November Reading, Berkshire
2009
4th February Milton Keynes, Bucks
5th February Slough, Berkshire
12th February Cowes, Isle of Wight
25th February Basingstoke, Hampshire
26th February Farnham, Surrey
Seminars designed for women in
South East England interested in
working for themselves or who have
started some form of business in
the 12-months. The aim is to help
women successfully start up, sustain
and survive in the current economic
climate. The events are run by Business
Link and funded by SEEDA (South
East England Development Agency)
with the objective of releasing
the untapped potential that more
women in business could offer the
economy and local communities. More
details about the events are on
the website www.whatsstoppingyouevents.co.uk
or call Tel: 01732 878 00.
Must
Read - Get Entrepreneurial to Survive
an Economic Downturn
A business is usually run in a
cyclic manner, and an economic downturn
is a part of the cycle. It actually
predicts the decline of the economy
of a nation and marks that the growth
period of the business cycle has
come to an end. When an economic
downturn hits a business the levels
of production and consumer purchase
reduces considerably, that's the
major characteristic of a downturn.
The effect of a downturn hits every
business, small or big; but the
smaller ones are usually the worst
hit. The small business segments
actually use lesser resources, with
minimum diversification and constricted
focus on business; when an economic
downturn hits them, they actually
are left with very limited options
to save the business. A wide spectrum
allows more space for expansion
and during crisis; they have the
opportunity of closing down the
loss-making segments. But the small
ones do not have the option and
they try to cut down every possible
cost, to continue the business.
In Britain, most of the small sized
and medium sized businesses do not
have written plans and papers and
is a great hindrance for their prospect
in the near future. With no valid
documents of business, these companies
are likely to face huge losses during
an economic downturn. With the recent
turmoil in the financial markets
of the UK the economic downturn
businesses should plan their survival
strategies and follow it hard.
Identify your goals:
The prime goal of a business owner
should be his survival strategy
when the business meets a downturn.
Plan and develop a subtle, efficient
and effective mode of operation;
that's the first step. Secondly,
allow the business to grow even
during the downturn.
Objectives:
An entrepreneur's basic objective
should be - conserving enough cash,
protection of assets, reduction
of costs, improvement of efficiency
and growing customer base. These
are the major rules one should follow
when starting off a business. An
economic downturn, though predictable,
needs a ready back up. That helps.
Don't Panic:
An economic downturn is a common
issue now, and historians believe
that it doesn't last too long. This
situation is to be handled very
calmly and with enough patience.
Behave rationally and focus on your
future plans of expansion.
The director of Scottish Family
Business Association Martin Stepek
says, "Don't precipitate anything,
because what appears to be a downturn
or what is a recession is an average
of different industries and different
businesses". Also a member
of the Stepek chain of electrical
retailers and travel and agency
family, he says, "Your particular
business or situation may not be
as affected as others. The first
thing to do is try and assess where
you are in relation to the average.
Then just play everything cautiously.
Don't stop training or marketing
- as some people are prone to do
- but be a bit more watchful about
making any major decisions."
Take hold of every opportunity:
An economic downturn is usually
accompanied by several opportunities
for growth. The Head of the corporate
at Dundas & Wilson law firm,
Michael Polson says, "Don't
lose your appetite for growth."
Look for areas that you can
probably control:
The opportunities can include many
pertinent business activities; you
need to focus on these aspects than
being restless and hyper. These
situations need to be handled with
ease.
Maintain records of payment:
See that you are being paid in time;
delay in payments can hit small
and medium sized businesses very
hard. It is one of the earlier symptoms
of a downturn.
Look ahead, think positive:
Try to analyse why the situations
are so difficult? What is making
it so difficult? Identify the root
cause and plan your back up. Don't
just pay heed to the media; they
sell useless material to generate
revenues. Seek an expert's opinion,
there's many online giving free
good advice.
Communicate: Don't just be over confident
about yourself, if you want to save
your business, you'll need everyone
to help you out, your employees
categorically. Also not to forget,
your suppliers, customers, lenders
and your advisors. Keep the communication
process on and be honest and consistent.
Negotiate:
Sharpen your negotiation skills
that help you expand your business.
Be careful when you are dealing
with the sellers, don't expect a
win-win situation all the time,
and look for better opportunities.
Evaluate your capital:
You need to manage your cash flow,
keep track of monthly inflows and
outflows. It will be a great aid
in planning your monthly expenditure.
Maintain the statements of cash
flow and include it in your financial
report at the end of the month.
Try to have a healthy financial
system that will help you prioritise
your course of action in case of
an emergency.
Customer satisfaction:
Customers act as lifeblood in any
economic condition. When your business
is going through a downturn, your
customers will keep you going, serve
them well. Pay heed to their needs,
ask for a feedback and improve your
business accordingly. We exist because
of our customers and their loyalty
is like oxygen for our survival.
Review the business plan:
If everything tumbles down, quickly
revise your business plan. Focus
on the minute details and look for
loopholes, if any. Modify those
points and make necessary alternations.
Update your business techniques
with new and advanced opportunities.
Have thorough knowledge about recent
investments, ones that you've made
and the ones that you've earned.
Bank and lawyer:
Seek the help of your bank, they
can provide you best information
on finance and other related issues.
You should also have a lawyer at
hand to sort out legal matters.
An economic downturn is a critical
situation for every business, but
that doesn't mean you stop investing.
It happens with every economy and
we are no exception. Take it up
as a challenge and face it, there's
no other way, practically. But then
it also facilitates the expansion
of your business and indicates a
rise in the market share. While
there are too many negative sides
of a downturn, we cannot also ignore
the few positive aspects. Concentrate
on the positive points and go ahead.
Women
& Money - Bartering your way out
of the credit crunch
As
the economy slows, a growing number
of consumers are trying to find a
wider market for their goods and services
by offering to barter them. Local
newspapers and Internet sites are
seeing a sharp rise in postings by
people willing to swap their used
cameras or baby-sitting services for
other people's electric drills or
guitar lessons, rather than taking
cash.
Small business owners are showing
more interest in barter because they
can attract new customers and get
goods and services they need for themselves.
Bigger businesses already have such
capability, often exchanging goods
and services through established barter
exchanges.
Bartering has been done successfully
for thousands of years and can also
be done on a smaller scale - you can
trade advertising for products or
services. There are hundreds of ways
to do it without large cash outlays.
On the Oprah show a young woman told
how she had paid for a $40,000 wedding
by trading her company's moving services
to many of the vendors through a barter
exchange program.
Founded by Sandra Vassallo, e-Bility
Pty Ltd has a section on it's site
to SWAP Shoes, the service is for
Australians requiring single shoes
or shoes for different sized feet.
The UK Swapcycle site http://www.swapcycle.co.uk
lets you swap something you don't
want for something you do! If you
are in need of a holiday and have
a limited budget then you could consider
'Home Swapping' . HomeLink International
established in 1953 leads the way
in home exchange holidays. You can
exchange homes, cars, lifestyles they
have 12,000 members worldwide. http://www.homelink.org.uk/
Bartercard has over 55,000 businesses
in 12 countries around the world with
over 4,000 in the UK member businesses
can exchange goods and services with
other Member businesses, saving cash,
without having to engage in a direct
swap of goods. Each member is issued
an account number, a transaction card,
an interest free line of credit and
access to Bartercard's printed and
online business directory, offering
members a world of trading opportunities.
Members use their Bartercard transaction
card to trade anything from stationery
to real estate, Bartercard operates
similar to the common credit and debit
card systems, as operated by VISA
and MasterCard. Members earn Bartercard
Trade pounds for the goods and services
they sell and this value is recorded
electronically in the member's account
database. The service can offer particularly
benefits to - small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) - which are often faced with
fluctuating cashflow, slow sales growth
and high business financing rates.
Bartering definitely has it advantages
and disadvantages, before going into
any negotiations or paying for services
do some research, ask questions, check
that it will suit your products or
services. If you have stock that you
need immediate cash flow back then
having credits from a Barter tool
site such as Bartercard may not be
the best option, as you can only spend
the credits on what other members
are offering, perhaps selling stock
on ebay would be a better option in
this case.
One of our members bartered directly
with an architect offering him five
times his fee if he drew plans now
and waited for payment, once a brick
was laid he would get paid. Our
member could make £1.7 million on
selling the land with planning permission,
and millions more if she developed
and sold the houses. Another member
offered her services free to large
company in the morning, they accepted
her offer, she then used this to
secure large contract the same afternoon
using working for the large global
company as a recommendation. A very
successful business women started
out by signing up for a trial of
an industrial cleaning machine,
got bookings before having the equipment
on trial to clean carpets and with
the monies she got she put down
for the deposit for the equipment.
When needs must women will always
find a way……. ……!
Must
Visit Site - Learn or teach a language
online from the comfort of your home!
»Learn or teach a language online
from the comfort of your home with
Myngle!
Since December 2007, Myngle has
been bringing together language
teachers and students from all over
the world enabling live lessons
or conversational practice over
the Internet. Myngle offers a solution
that provides the possibility of
teaching or receiving live one-on-one
classes from the comfort of your
home for practically any language
and level from any type of teacher.
Myngle
since last December has had almost
20,000 users registered for teaching
or taking language lessons.
If you are looking for additional
revenue then when not sign up as
a teacher! w: http://www.myngle.com
»I-resign.com
I-resign.com
is a careers-advice website
aimed primarily at users who are
thinking about quitting their job.
They provide a huge range of content
and resources including resignation
letter templates, articles about
career-change, how-to guides, tax,
lifestyle, holiday and commission
calculators with a popular blog
and discussion forum.
Women
Mentors Webchats - Get A Bite of the
$400 - Billion USA Government Spends
»Listen
to the Give Me 5% Teleconference
Give Me 5 derives its name from
The Equity in Contracting for Women
Act (2000) in the USA, which stipulates
that federal contracting officers
award 5% of all contracts to women-owned
businesses. With women presently
receiving 3.4% of federal contract
dollars, Give Me 5 aims to increase
the representation of women-owned
businesses that win government contracts
by providing resources and information
to make it easier for women to register
their businesses with the Central
Contractor Registry (CCR), a requirement
to gain eligibility to apply for
federal contracts.
WIPP and American Express OPEN
are making strides to increase the
number of women that are registered
to do business with the federal
government. Find out the details
on how you can register your business
to get a bite of the $400-Billion
that the government spends each
year. To watch the Video click
here
At
the Office - Use Video Conferencing
To Beat Costs...
With
video Conferencing, the world has
shrunk; the entire world is in front
of you. Technology has been evolving
at a rate faster than the speed at
which you read this article and amongst
numerous things it brings forth a
technology, so innovative, that it
makes your presence felt in the other
parts of the world whilst you sit
sipping coffee in your own office.
Can save time and money!
Video Conferencing as a technology,
in today's extremely fast paced
corporate world accomplishes the
most important factor of saving
money and time which in turn translates
into money. Video Conferencing enables
a real time communication and is
possible between two participants
and as large as 8 participants each
initiating the call from an entirely
different geographical location.
It can be either Circuit Switch
based or IP based, though the latter
is a much preferred option as it
utilises the transport mechanism
in the most effective manner, thereby
saving cost. The technological evolution
also presents various collaboration
tools, like White Board, Application
Sharing etc thereby transforming
a Video Conference into a full fledged
meeting.
By virtue of Video Conferencing,
businesses get the advantage of
removing geographical boundaries
and restrictions. Meetings which
may have taken thousands of pounds
in costs to organise the logistics,
travel accommodation etc and so
many days of planning with regards
to the availability of the conference
room can now be concluded at the
drop of the hat with the minimal
cost involved. The benefit that
a video conferencing has over an
audio conferencing is that it facilitates
a face to face meeting; as humans
that makes a lot of difference as
we like to see people and their
expressions whilst hearing them
- it makes the communication complete.
By virtue of the technology it is
possible to use visual aids during
the meeting or presentation and
thus it obviously expedites the
process of explaining and sharing
information.
There is no doubt that with Video
Conferencing adopted as an inherent
part of the ways of working of an
organisation has a certain positive
impact on the organisations operational
efficiency. It makes it simpler
for managers to conduct regular
meetings and be in touch with their
teams which may be geographically
spread. Online collaboration becomes
very effective as decisions can
be made there and then with the
inputs gathered from all the participants.
It finds its use in education wherein
the professor can be sitting in
one location and the students can
be geographically spread out; at
the same time the class room feel
prevails as the technology is fully
interactive. It also finds great
use in telemedicine, security and
surveillance, defense and recreational
activities. With the advent of such
technology the rate of dissemination
of knowledge and information has
increased exponentially.
There are organisations which provide
Hosted Video Telephony as a part
of their Hosted PABX/Telephony option.
These services are chargeable and
make sense for a corporate organisation
as their needs are driven by quality
and availability
Free Video Conferencing
Video Conferencing is available
free of cost on the internet. Off
course it is limited in terms of
the features and to a certain aspect
in the quality aspect. On a personal
front it still makes a lot of sense.
In today's dynamic world when family
members are staying far away from
each other, attributable to study,
job and various other reasons, video
conferencing is a boon and it very
effectively manages to bridge the
distance. Its utility is limited
to your imagination.
Easy to install software
Easy to install software, which
works on most of the Platforms and
equally simple to install hardware
ensure that it is available as an
option to your organisation the
day you want it. The initial investment
for such a system is not high either.
Web Cam for as little as £15
or less, Use Msn, Skype or AOL...
For personal or prefessional use
all that is needed is a mere web
cam which can be bought for £15
or less. As webcam capabilities
have been added to instant messaging
text chat services such as Yahoo
Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger
(AIM), Windows Live Messenger, Skype,
iChat, Paltalk (now PaltalkScene),
Ekiga , Stickam, and Camfrog. Indeed
most of the instant messengers support
video conferencing. AOL Instant
Messenger, one-to-one live video
communication over the internet
has now reached millions of mainstream
PC users worldwide. Increased video
quality has helped webcams encroach
on traditional video conferencing
systems. New features such as lighting,
real-time enhancements (retouching,
wrinkle smoothing and vertical stretch)
can make users more comfortable,
further increasing popularity. Features
and performance vary between programs.
Low CAPEX and even Lower OPEX are
factors that are reason enough to
drive an organisation towards using
Video Conferencing on a more regular
basis. The ease of use and flexibility
in teams organising meetings makes
this technology a favourite with
all the users. It helps build up
an environment of a virtual office
or maybe a virtual classroom and
facilitates brainstorming and information
sharing. With 3G and HSPA technologies
available on the Mobile networks
it is even easy to initiate a video
conference on your phone while you
are on the go.
Video Conferencing is the last
frontier in shrinking the world
and bringing it is a mouse click
away!
Women
and Travel - Whose bagging all the
money from sky high petrol prices?
Who
bags all the money from sky high petrol
prices?
An extraordinary amount of profits
were racked up by oil giants, according
to Sky Money two of the world's largest
oil firms, Royal Dutch Shell and BP
racked up a whacking £7bn in profits
during the first three months of this
year alone. Shell's profits were reported
at £3.9bn in the first three months
of the year, up from £3.45bn a year
ago, while BP saw its own profits
rise 48% to £3.31bn. But Britains
30 million drivers are not quite as
delighted at the news of the oil giants
mega profits as petrol and diesel
prices have reach record levels, with
some service stations charging upwards
of £1.20 for a litre of diesel. Oil
companies bagged more profits when
oil prices reached $120 a barrel doubling
the price of two years ago and they've
also seen profits jump from 'upstream'
extraction and exploration.
Over 50 pence fuel tax on every
litre of petrol
But let's not forget that a large
slice of the money we pay for our
petrol is eaten up in taxes indeed
the UK Treasury are the main beneficiaries
of the oil price crisis as the huge
profits made by the oil companies
yield tax bonanzas for the government.
UK is one of the World's largest
producers
The UK remains for now one of the
world's largest producers, currently
in 13th place although North Sea oil
stocks are declining.
According to one of the industry's
trade bodies, Oil & Gas UK, an
additional petroleum revenue tax delivered
another £1.5bn to the government's
coffers. There is a further 'supplementary
corporation tax' charge of 20% on
profits from North Sea oil and gas.
This delivered another £2bn to the
Exchequer, although a breakdown between
oil and gas is not known.
The Association of British Car Drivers
report that the government takes around
50.35p fuel tax on every litre of
petrol, and that Britain are taxed
nearly seven times more than drivers
in the USA, and that's without VAT!
VAT is applied to every element of
the sale, in effect, VAT is a tax
on tax and the combined total amounts
to about 70% of the total cost of
petrol you buy.
How do we work it out whose making
the money?
So how do we work it out according
to Sky Money if you pay £1.10 for
a litre of unleaded
- Of that price, about 32p is the
actual cost of the petrol itself,
as it is pumped into your car.
- Another 8p-9p is how much the service
station operator might earn from the
transaction. Out of that come staff
costs, the upkeep of the forecourt
and other buildings, heating, lighting,
and tax.
- The government takes another 50p
per litre or thereabouts. This is
its fuel tax and it remains fixed,
no matter how much the cost of petrol
goes up.
- The government also takes another
17.5% in VAT
Figures compiled by the AA show that
the average British motorist now pays
more than £1,800 annually in car tax,
fuel duty, VAT on petrol and other
levies - an increase of more than
50% in just over a decade.
Notes
The standard
oil barrel of 42 US gallons (159 L)
is used in the United States as a
measure of crude oil and other petroleum
products. Elsewhere, oil is commonly
measured in cubic metres (m3) or in
tonnes (t), with tonnes more often
being used by European oil companies.
International companies listed on
American stock exchanges tend to convert
their oil production volumes to barrels
for global reporting purposes, and
those listed on European exchanges
tend to convert their production to
tonnes.
Business
Mentor - How do you compete with the
Big Boys?
We only have to look at how Vodafone
- then a small part of Racal Telecom
competed with telecom giants BT
in the early 80's and made the UK's
first mobile call at a few minutes
past midnight on 1 January 1985.
For the first nine days of 1985
Vodafone was the only firm with
a mobile network in the UK. Within
fifteen years, the network was the
largest company in Europe and the
largest of its kind anywhere in
the world. By the turn of the century,
almost every second UK citizen had
a mobile - and a third of them were
connected to Vodafone.
The Vodafone story is one of how
small can compete with the big by
having 'can do attitude' - driven
by wanting to be first - being innovative
- having the desire to give great
customer service. The Vodaphone
team beat off competition in spite
of their size. It was the focus
on customer service by the small
team of Vodaphone that they developed
a computer programme to research
the best areas around the UK to
locate the mobile network aerials.
BT on the other hand having properties
throughout the UK at their disposal
just put up masks on their existing
buildings. The Vodaphone team which
seemed at the time disadvantaged
by not having BT's resources positioned
aerials on where they should go
to give them the best network. So
BT may have been the goliath in
the early 80's it had thousands
of employees, over 10,000 properties
at its disposal it still lost the
race, it wasn't until January 10th
1985 that BT launched its network,
Cellnet (now O2) .
When phones were launched they
were the size of a briefcase and
cost about £2,000 and had a battery
life of little more than 20 minutes,
despite that they were hugely popular
in the mid-80s they became the yuppies
must-have status symbol. It took
Vodafone almost nine years to rack
up its first million customers then
only 18 months to get their second
million. Up and until 1993 Cellnet
and Vodafone were the only mobile
phone operators in the UK, then
came One2One (now T-Mobile) launched
with Orange having its UK launch
in 1994. Both newcomers operated
digital mobile networks and now
all operators use this technology.
The analogue spectrum for the old
phones has been retired. Called
Global System for Mobiles (GSM)
this is now the most widely used
phone technology on the planet and
is used to help more than 1.2 billion
people make calls. The advent of
digital technology has helped to
introduce all those things, such
as text messaging and roaming that
have made mobiles so popular.
Brits make a reported 132 million
mobile phone calls a day, the UK's
communications industry has indeed
come along way since Vodafone made
the first call from St Katherine's
dock to its head office in Newbury,
which at the time was over a curry
house!
»Pension
top-up offered to stay-at-home women
Thousands of women who took time off
to look after children will be able
to boost their state pensions under
a top-up scheme announced by the Government
today. Work and Pensions Secretary
James Purnell is proposing an amendment
to the Pension Bill enabling people
to buy up to an extra six years of
National Insurance contributions. ..read
this article in full .... »Margareta
Pagano: You really think tokenism
works?
I feel as though I've stepped back
into the dark ages. First came the
news that David Cameron had hired
spin-mistresses to help capture more
women voters. Then a group of really
tip-top British all-male industrialists
wrote to a national newspaper this
week calling for more women to join
the boards of our big companies in
such a desperate tone that it reminded
me of those war-time conscription
adverts: "Your Country Needs
You."... read
this article in full »Redressing
the balance: Business schools need
to do more to attract women
Listen up employers and MBA directors:
women are your workforce, and it's
time you started tailoring your courses
and jobs to their needs.Six out of
10 university graduates across the
developed world, and in some developing
countries, are women. Given that three
major studies have concluded that
having a better gender balance at
the top levels of a company bring
in greater profitability, it is time
women stopped having to develop their
career in their male superior's image.... read
this article in full....»UN
says sexual discrimination is rife
in Britain
British women are under-represented
in Parliament, paid less than men
at work and increasingly being sent
to prison for committing minor offences,
a report on sex discrimination has
found. The report, which was published
by an influential committee of the
United Nations, paints a damning picture
of daily life for women living in
the UK who continue to fight for a
fairer deal in society. Calling on
Britain to do more to improve the
standing of women, the committee argues.....read
this article in full »Malaysia
limits women's travel
Malaysian women's groups reacted with
outrage to a government proposal to
impose restrictions on woman planning
to travel overseas on their own.
The mainly Muslim country is considering
requiring women to obtain the written
consent of their families or employers
before being allowed to travel alone
outside the country, state news agency
Bernama said on Saturday, quoting
the foreign minister.... read
this article in full
»Leading
article: Put women in the picture
We are used to complaints about
the lack of women in British boardrooms,
despite evidence that companies
generally perform better if the
board is more representative of
the real world. Now the Culture
minister, Margaret Hodge, has highlighted
the absence of women in the upper
echelons of the arts establishment.
She is entirely right to do so...
read
this article in full
»Mum's
the word for SMEs
An increase in mothers returning
to work due to the recession could
represent a cost-saving opportunity
for small businesses, says an employment
site. Mandy Garner, spokesperson
for WorkingMums.co.uk, tells Smallbusiness.co.uk:
' The benefits to small businesses
are particularly obvious as the
shift in more mothers returning
to work represents an opportunity
to employ skilled workers and save
money through flexible working patterns.'...read
this article in full
A
£10 million fund has been established
which will finance loans, training
and mentoring for aspiring female
entrepreneurs.
Networking community Enterprising
Women is offering its members the
chance to apply loans of up to £30,000
from the fund, which has been set
up in partnership with Lloyds TSB
with the aim of helping women make
the most of their business ideas.
Bev Hurley, chief executive officer
of the company behind Enterprising
Women, remarks that women often
take a more cautious approach towards
risk and debt than men. Another
challenge faced by both male and
female entrepreneurs is formulating
a realistic business plan, she adds.
Hurley says: 'Many entrepreneurs
... still don't robustly test and
validate their business plan against
... commercial reality. Lack of
knowledge about the challenges,
costs and timescales of getting
customer revenues can lead to struggling
and unsustainable businesses.’
The UK government-backed Women's
Business Development Agency says
that encouraging women to found
their own firms is 'vitally important'
for the economy.
Dubai resort The Atlantis stages
most expensive launch party ever,
ignoring the depressing economic
downturn, Dubai lit up its skies
at the lavish launch of one of the
world's most luxurious hotels. Australian
pop star Kylie Minogue made her
Middle East debut over night as
the headline act at the lavish opening
of an exclusive Dubai hotel.
Making her red-carpet entrance
to reportedly the most expensive
private party ever staged - Minogue
confessed to a few pre-performance
nerves.
ARE YOU GEARING UP TO START A B&B
BUSINESS FROM HOME? IF SO, WE WANT
TO HEAR FROM YOU NOW!
The BBC is looking for homeowners
who have plans to start a new B&B
and are willing to have their business
plans scrutinized by our expert.
If you've decided you have the right
location, a head for business, can
rustle up a full English, and are
about to take the plunge - why not
get in touch with us about taking
part.
Please email hth@bbc.co.uk or call
0161 244 4353 (standard rates apply)
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE but no later
than Monday 17TH November 2008.
Trying
to get new business? What about government
contracts?
Figures show that public sector
spending is expected to exceed a
staggering £175 Billion within the
UK alone. This market represents
a fantastic opportunity for SME'S(*)
to ensure continued growth through
uncertain economic times. Unfortunately
women owned businesses in the UK
do not enjoy legislation such as
The Equity in Contracting for Women
Act (2000) which is in force in
the USA.
Small businesses in the UK face
many barriers when bidding for contracts
irrespective of how innovative they
are or if they are leaders in their
field. There are many hoops to jump
through with a wrath of conditions
to adhere to, not to mention that
private sector firms bidding for
government contracts will have to
publish details of their diversity
policies. Many firms do not welcome
more bureaucracy to wade through
in the process of tendering for
public contracts where it is already
very difficult, particularly for
smaller businesses, to break through
and get government work. They see
addressing high unemployment in
some ethnic communities is not by
race quotas but by equipping workers
with the skills businesses need.
The Federation of Small Businesses(FSB)
who has over 200,000 members say
that the government should rapidly
develop proposals to ensure a greater
proportion of public sector contracts
are awarded to SMEs offering best
value for money. This will benefit
the wider business community, the
economy and local communities, three
of the UK’s major business organisations
say.
* Over three quarters of SMEs believe
it’s still difficult to find out
about government opportunities;
* Over half of SMEs feel that the
tendering process and timescales
require too much resources to respond
effectively;
* Nearly three quarters of SMEs
feel that there is a lack of responsiveness
and too much formality in the procurement
process.
Enterprise statistics
* At the start of 2007 there were
4.7 million businesses, over 950
thousand (25%) more than in 2000.
* 99.9% of UK businesses are SMEs
(at the start of 2007).
* SMEs employ 13.5 million people-
59.2 per cent of the total private
sector workforce.
* SMEs contribute as much as large
business to UK output (50 per cent
of Gross Value Added) and turnover
(51.5 per cent).
* The World Bank ranks the UK second
in Europe, and in the top ten economies
(out of 181) on measures of the
ease of doing business.
»
Tendering Resources:
Download 54 Page PDF document -
Tendering
for Government Contracts A Guide
for Small Businesses . The Small
Business Service (SBS) and the Office
of Government Commerce (OGC) produced
this guide jointly. The guide covers
where to find opportunities within
the public sector. Secondly, it
will explain how you can bid for
work. Thirdly, it will advise you
on the further contacts you may
need to make.
»
CompeteFor CompeteFor is the chosen site
of London 2012 for the publication
of Games-related contract opportunities.
It acts as a brokerage service between
buyers throughout the London 2012
supply chain, and potential suppliers.
CompeteFor also provides access
to business support services; building
skills and capacity to ensure that
businesses across the UK can access
opportunities linked to the hosting
of the London 2012 Games.
»
Supply London Supply London is a business
support programme funded by the
London Development Agency and delivered
by a team of experienced business
procurement professionals. Supply
London work with the Capital’s small
businesses providing practical assistance
to enable them to become successful
suppliers, whilst also acting as
a source of new suppliers in London
for major public and private sector
organisations. If you are a business
in London that employs less than
250 people and has a turnover of
less than £34 million, then use
this website to find out more about
the free support that is provided.
Diversity Works for London. w: www.supplylondon.com/
Diversity Works for London (DWfL)
is the Mayor’s flagship campaign
whose vision is for a London where
businesses harness the benefits
of a diverse workforce and supplier
base and provide excluded Londoners
with a chance to share in the city’s
opportunities and prosperity. Its
three objectives are to:
* Champion the business case for
diversity by seeking out, promoting
and sharing good practice
* Engage and work in partnership
with the private, public and voluntary
sectors in promoting equality
* Campaign for and enable London’s
businesses to reflect diversity
in capital's diversity in all levels
of their workforce and supply chains
(*)What is an SME?
Small medium-sized enterprises and
small and medium-sized businesses
are often referred to as SMEs. These
are companies whose number of employees
or turnover falls below certain
limits. The EU defines companies
with fewer than 50 employees as
small, and those with less than
250 as medium-sized.
Our
newsletter shares helpful news and
information with women entrepreneurs
around the world designed to keep
the business women in touch with key
events, relevant research and, most
importantly, each other!
We provide news, events, and online
resources that will involve, inspire
and inform you and others like you.
Myngle
since last December has had almost
20,000 users registered for teaching
or taking language lessons.
