18th Apr 2012 / 9:28am
With all of the activity around social media and the internet it is sometimes difficult to believe that the 'old ways' still work. Print is not dead, it has just adapted to the new world!
As part of your marketing activity a good mix of media is always a good idea; website, blogging, eshots, as well as printed material such as newsletters, postcards, brochures and leaflets. Like the internet though it needs to be targeted. Sending out thousands of mailers in the hope that some may return gold just does not work - choose who you market yourself to.
We work closely with Baqus to help them create a consistent visual message across all of their marketing activity; website, social media, exhibitions and print.
We recently produced the first of a series of newsletters for Baqus Group. Each newsletter will focus on a regional office and the projects they have been involved in, as well as an overview of what the Group is up to.
It's also great to hear that Baqus love what we're doing ...
'Wilson Design worked quickly to set up the newsletter for BAQUS and were available to talk to throughout every stage of the process. Once the design was agreed, I went on leave and when I came back copies of the newsletter were printed and on my desk – it couldn’t have been better!' – Tom Evans, Business Development Manager – BAQUS Construction Consultancy
17th Jan 2012 / 2:58pm
‘Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is reality.’ This neat saying, known as the ‘Banker's Mantra,’ is everything a business needs to remember about financial control.
Here’s why. I’ll start with profit - the sanity. The reason for being in business is to make money, and profit is the measure of a business’s ability to make money .... or loss if it isn’t doing well.
Nothing in this life is ‘free’ so the Inland Revenue tax your sanity which is why some businesses may want to keep their reported profits to a minimum. However for the the purpose of this short blog I’m only focusing on operating profit, that is the profit earned from a business’s core business operations. It’s also known as EBIT - earnings before interest and tax.
As I’m blogging about profit and cash I’ll only mention vanity in so much as it’s all the revenue a business generates from its operations. As it’s the largest number in the profit and loss account it’s what companies can boast about
A business can’t focus on just profit and turnover alone because the process of generating revenue needs cash because:
-
creating the products of services it sells
-
getting these to market
-
employing staff
-
office facilities, office overheads
-
purchasing assets such as computers
all need cash.
These costs happen in advance of the product being produced and sold so cash is an essential ingredient. It doesn’t matter where the cash comes from - whether it’s generated by the business or provided by investors or borrowed from the bank, but without cash a business cannot survive.
Some business owners and managers think that if they are in profit they should have cash and can’t understand when they don’t. It’s sometimes caused by them focusing on the P&L, which doesn’t show cash movement, rather than looking at the balance sheet and cash flow forecasts.
The reason that profit and cash aren’t the same thing is timing. There are two aspects to this. Firstly cash is needed to produce and sell a product or service, and secondly accounting conventions use the tax date of an invoice as the moment the profit is recorded, not the payment of the invoice. For the majority of businesses the cash received for payment of an invoice is not on the day it is raised. Consequently there needs to be a buffer of cash to carry on the business.
Taking this a stage further a company can be highly profitable on paper but because of the disparity between paying the cost of sales and overheads and receiving payment for invoices mean the company has no cash. If the cash outgoings are greater than the cash coming in the company may go into receivership. It’s called overtrading.
Profitability is a function of the company’s ability to maximise revenues from their cost base - namely their direct and indirect costs and assets. Having sufficient cash in the bank to continue the operations that generate profits is the proof of management’s ability to:
-
minimise the amount of cash tied up in stock
-
cost control
-
minimise the time it takes for invoices to be paid - the debtors
-
generate a greater margin than depositing the same money in the bank
So - to answer the question - is cash or profit more important and why - cash is the most important as the business cannot continue to carry on day to day operations in the current market without. Banks will foreclose on overdrafts.
However the end game for any business is both - as profits are the purpose of being in business and these can only be enjoyed by the business owners if there is sufficient cash to distribute the profits.
If you need help understanding your business finance give me a call on 020 3286 7224 or 07718 584811 or send an e-mail to sarah@sfmconsulting.co.uk.
11th Nov 2011 / 12:46pm
I wanted to let you know about two half day workshops
I'm presenting next Wednesday at The Hive in Lewes,
in case you're interested in attending or know someone
who might be.
Both workshops are on
WEDS 16TH NOVEMBER:
10am - 1pm: Twitter for Business
Full details: http://www.thehivelewes.co.uk/?p=413
2pm - 5pm: Introduction to Blogging for Business
Full details: http://www.thehivelewes.co.uk/?p=415
These are small-group sessions so it's a great chance to pick
my brain on things. We'll do one or two exercises, complete some
tasks, look at good (and bad) examples and discuss some of the
key issues. Bring a wi-fi enabled laptop or tablet if you can as
you'll get more from it.
Each workshop costs £30 and can be booked by contacting
Claire Kirtland at the Hive, tel 07846 554316.
If you're interested in these (or other) workshops but can't
make next week, do please let me know because if there's
the interest it's likely we'll be running some more.
Many thanks, hope to see you, if not at the workshops then
maybe at our December First Friday Lewes!
6th Oct 2011 / 3:58pm
If you think, or say, 'I don't do numbers' and you run a business, or have management responsibilities, you can't be in control if you don't understand what numbers you need to measure and take notice of, and what they are telling you.
This autumn the Chichester Chamber of Commerce & Industry is running a series of workshops on management subjects and I’m delivering ‘Finance for Non-Financial People’. The aim of this workshop, on 23rd November, is to provide a general introduction to the finance function and increase the confidence and ability of non-financial managers and or staff to contribute positively when finance is being discussed and financial decisions are being made.
At the end of the workshop delegates will be able to:
-
Understand basic financial terminology and concepts
-
Navigate the main financial statements
-
Assess the financial health of an organisation using simple ratios
-
Prepare and manage financial budgets
-
Understand the tools used in the decision making process for capital investment appraisals
I’m not an accountant and before I was pushed into studying the ACCA Certified Diploma in Accounting and Finance I too was scared by numbers and unable to interpret their meaning so I understand your plight.
If you can’t afford to risk making bad decisions, or fail to manage the financial health of your business, then this is the course for you.
Numbers are limited so to reserve a place book here.
If this date is not convenient for you please contact the Chamber of Commerce on office@chichestercci.org.uk as if there is sufficient demand the workshop will be repeated.
5th Oct 2011 / 11:36am
The Moon pub and restaurant in Storrington is one of West Sussex's hidden gems and now thanks to their new website they can promote themselves to a much wider audience. The team here at WDA are looking forward to dropping in to see our new client very soon.
With terrific photography by Simon Hempsell, from The Photography Practice, the site gives a great online impression of this bar and restaurant, highlighting the value of including quality images on your website.
The recently launched site includes a full content management system enabling the team at The Moon to add their latest news, events, images etc. and an advertising panel provides them with an additional revenue stream.
You can view The Moon website by clicking here and if you want to find out more about how we can help you win more business for your pub or restaurant, simply contact us and we'll be in touch.
