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Britain is reacting to the recession by starting up more small business and working from home, new sales figures have revealed.

Demand for home office equipment has jumped by over 200 per cent in the past year alone, says supermarket Sainsbury’s.

The move may be welcome news for Chancellor [...]]]>

More people working from home

Britain is reacting to the recession by starting up more small business and working from home, new sales figures have revealed.

Demand for home office equipment has jumped by over 200 per cent in the past year alone, says supermarket Sainsbury’s.

The move may be welcome news for Chancellor George Osborne who believes that the answer to the UK’s debt problem may lie in encouraging enterprise and commerce at a grass roots level.

“There’s no doubt that working from home is going to the future for thousands of workers all over Britain.”

The trend towards home working may also be good news for the environment, reducing the need for commuting and fewer car journeys.

Workers who have been made redundant are deciding to go it alone, using their knowledge and skills to form their own fledging companies rather than seeking employment elsewhere.

In addition, larger companies, seeking ways to reduce costs, are now actively encouraging more employees to work at home rather than occupying expensive office space.

A further push is coming from employees who see working from home as a much better way to create a life-work balance rather than facing the daily commute.

With the arrival of high-speed/low-cost broadband, ever increasing capabilitues of home computing and a growing trust and belief in web-based enterprises. It is now easier than ever to setup your own business on-line and it looks like this recession my change the face of our economy and British enterprise for good.

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For the reasons of simplicity this article will refer to the organisation who [...]]]> Putting a supply contract or service agreement out to tender is a popular process these days, with many private and public organisations utilising the tendering method. The reasons for this line in aspects of negotiation, which essentially a tender is part of.

For the reasons of simplicity this article will refer to the organisation who has put the contract out to tender as the Tender and the organisations who are applying to win the contract as the tendees.

The Tender gives themselves a number of advantages through the use of this process, two of which are the fact that Tendees see themselves in competition, a bad thing as competition oftens lures people to pay more or sell for less than either the true value or what they can afford. The Tendees mentality in a competitive environment is to win and at all costs.

The second major advantage is that this competition is directed at other Tendees and not at the actual party they should be negotiating with… The Tender. By deflecting the focus away from themselves the Tender can stoke the feeling of competition between Tendees even more. In fact an unscrupulousTender could feed the Tendees false or exgrated information… “Party A is significantly lower on price then yourselves in the first round, they are in pole position at the moment”… If the Tender went to both parties with this information they could stimulate un-required price drop on both sides.

If you don’t believe that rational business people allow the element of competition to drive them to irrational decisions that don’t make commercial sense just look at the results of the UK 3G network license tender. The headlines are as followed…

The British Treasurywanted to sell off licenses for the 3G network to the highest bidder, they set a number of ground rules for this process all of which where designed to prevent collusion and to stimulate an environment of competition between the telecoms company’s. The result was the sale of the licenses are levels far above the estimation of the either Government or the telecoms firms. So high in fact that it was fairly non-viable as a commercial deal once the numbers were crunched. The company’s involved where some of the largest in the UK with some extremely intelligent and competent managers, they simply became distracted and wrapped in the element of winning at all costs.

So if you find yourself in the process of being a Tendee try to focus on the following:

1> Work out your break points – what is the level which you can not sell below or pay more than.

2> What are your alternatives – Often there will be a cheaper/better alternative out there. Knowing these options willl also help you work out your break point.

3> Avoid being competitive – Remain objective, focus on your business not others. Always think does this make commercial sense. Ask someone else who is impartial before submitting your bid.

If you would like advise about a tender or negotiation please contact Limeminds via email consultants@limemind.com

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Now the arrival of a severe economic downturn and un-relenting pressure [...]]]> Over the last 10/15 years the pressure on independent retailers has increased as the dominance of the supermarkets has expanded. The numbers of independent retailers are at an all time low and those who are surviving are finding profit margins squeezed more than ever.

Now the arrival of a severe economic downturn and un-relenting pressure on the high street, will independent retail survive?

Supermarkets have changed the retailing landscape for ever and the dominance of the big four is greater than ever – 1 in every £3 spent in retail is spent in Tescos. Price wars have eroded profit margins and independent stores just can’t compete with the stack em high, price em low mentality that the grocers are displaying.

Its been a painful trend for the small shopkeeper and it doesn’t look like improving much in the near future, so what can the independent retailer do to survive in this market?

1> Understand your role – What role does your shop play in the consumers routine? Are you mid-week top up? Weekend beers and snacks for a big night in? Tobacco and a  paper on the morning walk to work? Find out what the majority of your shoppers use you for and make sure you have the products and the layout to make the most of your consumer demographics.

2> Don’t go toe to toe with the supermarkets – If Somerfield down the road are hammering the price on beer and wine, don’t throw all your profit away by trying to compete head to head on price. Look for a point of difference, range, pack formats, service. Whatever you can make your USP use it.

3> Make the shopping experience a pleasant one – It might sound basic but the number of independent retailers who have dirty shelves, cluttered aisles or a confusing layouts is astounding. Today’s shopper expects high standards, don’t let your shop disappoint, and remember your personality and attention to your shoppers needs will make you stand out from the supermarkets – make the most of it.

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