Volume 194 Circulation: 1608 24 September 2010

Your business might be ablaze with innovation, but don’t let it go up in smoke!
South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, in conjunction with
the Federation of Small Businesses, is staging a free
business liaison breakfast at 8:30am on Tuesday 5
October. Latest published local government statistics
show that the fire and rescue services attend over
10,000 serious fires annually at business premises.
This not only has obvious life-threatening
implications, but is ruinous for the nation‟s economic
wellbeing, livelihoods and jobs.

Don‟t let your business become a statistic – come

and see how you can permanently improve the
resilience of your business to the threat of fire.

This business liaison breakfast presents businesses

owners and managers an opportunity to avoid
becoming a statistic and set in place immediate
practical measures to improve the resilience of their
business to the threat of fire.

For further details and booking arrangements, visit:

www.fsb.org.uk/070/assets/syfr%20seminar%20flyer.pdf
__________________________________

Tax doesn’t need to be taxing

The next “In Focus” members evening will feature our
special guest speaker Cynthia Chamberlain of H.M.
Revenue & Customs‟ Business Education & support
Team. Cynthia will provide a wealth of advice on what's
happening in the tax, VAT and NI world, with a
particular focus on what‟s new for 2011. The event will
take place at 6.30 for 7.00pm at the Best Western Elton
Hotel, Main Street, Bramley, Rotherham, S66 2SF on
Monday 4 October. Following a 3-course dinner, the
event will give the lowdown on everything small
businesses might realistically expect from the taxman for 2011, followed by an
opportunity to ask questions from the floor.

For further details and booking arrangements, visit:

www.fsb.org.uk/070/assets/flyer5.pdf
__________________________________
Business is Booming Seminar - Leeds 5 October 2010
Courtesy of the Federation of Small Businesses in
Yorkshire you are invited to enjoy a complimentary
evening with the World‟s Number One Business Coach and
learn 28 proven strategies to massively GROW your
business. On October 5th 2010 the world-renowned
Australian entrepreneur, author and business coach Brad
Sugars will be live in Leeds to explain exactly why
“Business is Booming”. From the evening you will walk
away with the vision and drive to take your business to
the next level, an abundance of proven successful
business strategies, the confidence in yourself and your
Brad Sugars business and the 5 most important metrics towards
financial improvement. We are expecting this event to sell
out. Make sure you reserve your place early to avoid disappointment.

For further details and free registration (using the Member Code YKLKSJO006), visit:
http://www.businessisboomingemea.com/
__________________________________

Enterprise Marketing Vouchers support marketing costs

Enterprise Marketing Vouchers are a way of helping
small businesses based in Yorkshire and the Humber
to access funding to implement marketing projects.
The funding may be used for developing core
marketing materials and tools such as logos,
websites and literature. The funding is available to
companies that are under 5 years old or are about to
start trading that have a clear marketing requirement that demonstrably has the
potential to generate more business. For a minimum company investment of £1,000, the
scheme is designed to match businesses with a creative agency who can deliver the
needs of the business whilst providing top up funding to remove some of the cost. It
does not cover the cost of print or other capital purchases but can be used for most
aspects of marketing implementation and will come with coordination support.

For further details or to make an application, visit: http://www.emvouchers.co.uk/

__________________________________

Funding seminar for Yorkshire businesses

Connect Yorkshire is staging a
“Right Funds 4U” seminar at 5.30 to
8.00pm on 5 October 2010. The
seminar is aimed at companies
looking to fulfil their growth
potential by securing investment, and will examine the funding streams available. This is
an interactive seminar which is fully subsidised for companies in Yorkshire and will be
presented by four industry experts who will cover debt, venture capital, grants and
business angel finance options. There will also be an opportunity to network over
refreshments.
LA Piper, Princes Square, Leeds
For full details visit: http://www.connectyorkshire.org/?page=Event&itemid=291843
__________________________________

Visit our Schools Week

The FSB is actively supporting a drive nationally to get more businesses to engage with
schools and colleges during the “Visit our Schools” week which will run from 18 – 22
October. Hundreds of schools and colleges have signed up to give businesses the
opportunity to go into the school for two hours to talk about their business.

Businesses interested in taking part can find full details at:

http://www.visitourschools.org/schools-and-colleges/index.htm
__________________________________

DN Business Showcase
The annual Business Showcase is returning to
Doncaster once more on 13th and 14th October at
Doncaster Racecourse, this year promising to be
bigger and better than ever before. The two day
event will bring together people from across the
Borough and surrounding areas to promote their
business, gain inspiration from keynote speakers and
learn the latest business skills from a range of
workshops and networking opportunities. The event
is also an opportunity for individuals to find about the
help and support available in Doncaster and help turn
their business dreams into a reality.

For further details or to pre-register for your free visitor pass, visit:
http://www.successdoncaster.co.uk/events/October_2010/DN_Business_Showcase/1310
10_141010_DN_Business_Showcase.asp
__________________________________

More competition needed in the banking sector - FSB

The Government must encourage more
competition in the banking sector if the UK
is to fully recover from recession, said the
FSB in its response to the consultation
„Financing a private sector recovery‟. A
decade ago, the Cruickshank Report found
that the four main UK banks held 83 per
cent of the banking market to small
businesses. It is vital the Government looks
at new ways to change behaviour in the
credit market for small firms, as the
economy cannot return to business as usual
with current lending conditions, said the FSB. This is likely to be a hot topic as business
organisations and Ministers rub shoulders during Party Conferences season. Over 40 per
cent of small businesses use a bank loan, overdraft, leasing or factoring for major credit
purposes. And those firms which do use the banks as their main source of finance are
being penalised by high interest rates at a time when the base rate is at an all time low.

The FSB is urging the Government to refrain from selling its shareholdings in
nationalised and capitalised banks to other banks, promote financial intermediaries to
viable small businesses unable to access finance, introduce a series of regional capital
markets and community investment trusts and turn the Post Office into either a solely
state owned bank or as mutual or trustee bank for small firms by utilising the Post Office
Network.

Read the full FSB report at: http://www.fsb.org.uk/News.aspx?loc=pressroom&rec=6617

__________________________________
SMEs urge Government to scrap costly and burdensome legislation
Research reveals that UK small businesses are concerned that the
Government‟s agenda will not focus on the most pressing issues
when it comes to protecting their interests and stimulating growth
in the economy. Small businesses want the Government to focus
its efforts around reducing regulation on the areas of Employment
Law and Health and Safety Law. A third of SME owner-managers
cite Employment legislation as the area of business that most
needs a reduction in Government regulation. The same percentage
cites Health and Safety legislation as the area that the
Government should focus on first.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.iris.co.uk/media_resources/news__press/news_folder/
smes_urge_government_to_scrap.aspx
__________________________________

Shoppers turning to card payments

The number of cash machines in the UK
has fallen and withdrawals have dropped
as shoppers turn to cards, figures show.
As retail stores closed, the number of
ATMs fell by 440 between April and June
compared with the previous three
months, the Payments Council said.
Withdrawals from cash machines fell by
£1.6bn compared with a year ago, a dip
of 3.2%. Cheque usage also slumped as
people used debit cards for daily
purchases. The Payments Council has set
a target date of October 2018 for the phasing out of cheques, if adequate alternatives
are developed.

See the full story at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11233827

__________________________________

New National Insurance contributions holiday scheme to encourage start-ups

The „Regional Employer NICs Holiday for New Businesses‟
offers substantial reductions in employer NICs for new
businesses in those parts of the UK most reliant on public
sector employment, which includes Yorkshire and the
Humber. Under the three-year scheme, eligible businesses will be able to take a „holiday‟
for each of the first 10 employees they hire in their first year of business. Each holiday
will last for the first 52 weeks the employee is in post (providing these weeks fall within
the three-year holiday period).
New businesses who take advantage of the scheme will be able to save up to £50,000 in
employer NICs – £5,000 per employee, up to a maximum of 10 new employees.

Read more about this scheme at:

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx?
ClientId=257&NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=415317&SubjectId=36
__________________________________

Biggest fall in UK alcohol consumption in 60 years

UK drinkers are continuing to reduce their alcohol consumption, with 2009 seeing the
sharpest year-on-year decline since 1948, according to newly published figures from the
British Beer & Pub Association. This and other major changes affecting the UK beer
market are revealed in the newly published BBPA Statistical Handbook 2010. There was
a sharp, six per cent decline in total alcohol consumption in 2009, making it the fourth
annual decline in five years. UK drinkers are now consuming 13 per cent less alcohol
than in 2004. UK consumption remains below the average for the EU.

View the BBPA figures at:

http://www.beerandpub.com/newsList_detail.aspx?newsId=355
__________________________________

Consumer caution sees only small rise on high street as new car sales slide
There is fresh evidence that
anxiety about looming job cuts
and tax rises was making
consumers wary of overstretching
themselves, with official figures
for August showing a conservative
pick-up in trade on the high street
but a sharp decline in new car
sales.
The British Retail Consortium said
UK retail sales increased 1% on a
like-for-like basis during August –
compared with a 0.1% decline in
the same month a year ago.
Separately, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported that 55,305 new
cars were registered last month, 17.5% fewer than the previous year when consumers
were able to claim a £2,000 discount by scrapping an old model.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/07/consumer-caution-spending-
constraints
__________________________________

Charity shops boosted by recession – but we sell best stuff online

Charity shops have emerged as a
beneficiary of the recession, as hard-up
shoppers looking for bargains turn their
backs on commercial retailers. Profits in
the country's charity outlets increased by
6.7 per cent last year, raising more than
half a billion pounds for good causes.
However, charities are concerned about
the quality and quantity of donated stock,
complaining that cheap modern clothes do
not last well enough and that increasing
numbers of people are choosing to sell
their unwanted items online or give them
to family and friends instead.

There is more on this story at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/charity-shops-
boosted-by-recession-ndash-but-we-sell-best-stuff-online-2074221.html
__________________________________
 FSB GUIDANCE SURGERY
The Federation of Small Businesses has joined forces with Costco Wholesale to provide a weekly
Business Guidance Surgery to answer any questions members – or businesses in general – may
have about the FSB or more general business issues.

The surgery will take place in the store cafe at Costco Wholesale, Parkway Drive,
Sheffield, S9 4WU each Monday morning from 10.15–11.15am (register at the enquiry
desk).

If you cannot attend at this time, ring 0114 261 7132 for an alternative appointment.

The FSB guidance surgery may provide the perfect answer to that pressing problem that
has been causing you sleepless nights!

This free newsletter is for information only. The content is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but you
should make suitable checks before acting upon it. Content does not necessarily reflect the views of the FSB.
Reproduction or copying of the information in this bulletin is strictly forbidden without prior written permission.