Business Social Networkers thrive despite recession

The visibility, transparency and sharing offered by Social Networks will be a critical factor in the survival of small businesses during the recession, according to global business social network Ecademy. After reporting a 100% increase in membership during the past year, Ecademy founder Penny Power claims that members of social business networks are reaping the benefits from opportunities provided through their networks and as a result are increasing their sales despite an economic downturn and are becoming ‘recession proof’.

Power advised small businesses in a recent interview that maintaining a low cost base that is entirely customer focused is the only way to survive the forthcoming recession and that the use of Collaborative Virtual Teams will enable businesses to continue to grow despite reports of a slowing economy.

 “Members of social business networks are realising that once you have a great client, you need to nurture and expand that client by providing additional services and consulting through the Collaborative Teams in your network. In the current economic climate it is easier far to do that than try to find new clients”, explains Power, who built the UK’s first business social network Ecademy into a Virtual Business with a global reach into over 220 countries and successfully guided the company through the Dot Com crash eight years ago.

According to Power, 86% of new members are invited into the Ecademy network by its existing members and she believes that this is testament to the power of referral marketing and highlights the need for businesses to achieve this kind of advocacy for their business.

“Businesses must ensure that they are communicating their expertise in as focused a way as possible. Niche will win and the more niche a business skill is, the more identifiable and attractive it is. Everyone now is found through Google and business people must manage their brand on Google and ensure they are optimised. A good Business Social Network that is ‘open’ to Google will achieve this for them immediately and cost effectively.”

“I can’t afford to contact estate agencies all over the UK, but I can use it to get the message out” explains commercial property photographer Keith Cooper, who has been a member of Ecademy for eight years. “I’ve had enquiries from people that came indirectly from Ecademy contacts. The important bit is that they were indirect, which means people have (from my profile and chatting with me) decided that they are happy to refer me”.

“Ultimately, to survive the recession, businesses need to be able to put their head on their pillow at night as say to themselves, ‘am I more visible tonight than I was this morning’, and “have I gained an advocate today that can refer business to me and I, in turn, can help them”, adds Power.

For more information visit www.ecademy.com

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Editors Notes

About Ecademy

Ecademy connects business people all over the world. It is a self-development, business and branding tool, which enable business people to achieve immediate visibility. The relationships, advocates and knowledge subsequently shared through the network provides individuals with the credibility they need to grow their business.

Ecademy’s core intention is to help business people to be more successful and promotes the values of a business community who no longer wish to be broadcast to, but demand engagement and conversation

Founded in 1998 by husband and wife team Thomas and Penny Power, The Ecademy community has in excess of 275,000 members as at June 2008, with an average of 15,000 new members joining every month. Ecademy is now present in over 200 countries and has over 4,000 active clubs/networks.

Ecademy is privately owned and sustains itself through subscription, with only ten percent of Ecademy’s revenue coming from advertising and partnerships. The Ecademy business model is a classic example of a 21^st Century business, operating virtually, with minimal operational costs and just five staff members on the payroll.

For more information visit www.ecademy.com

For press information, hi res images or to arrange an interview please contact Jenna Gould on 01603 283 503 or email jenna@mediajems.co.uk

UK businesses falling behind in race to manage top talent

UK businesses are failling to dedicate sufficient resources to improving or leveraging talent according to leadership consultancy Dynamic Transitions. In light of the recent CIPD report ‘Generation Y – Unlocking the Talent of Young Managers’ it was indicated that global leaders placed talent management as their top priority, Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain is calling for UK businesses to be tougher on senior management who abdicate the responsibility to HR and stresses that ‘we must move to a world where senior managers are NOT rewarded or promoted if they are not actively developing their staff or leveraging their talent.”

Speaking in a recent interview Germain suggested that as the credit crunch takes hold, more and more talented young managers are being overlooked, mainly because of their tendencies and inquisitiveness are considered a threat by senior managers who have taken an instant dislike to the new age workers and their working habits.

The CIPD report reveals that young managers are more prepared to give up their personal lives for their work to some extent, with fifty per cent agreeing that they would make sacrifices in order to succeed in their careers. Also the career-focused elements such as developing new skills, challenge, and good career prospects were the dominant attractions for Generation Y when joining their current organisation.

“Generation Y workers tend to go by the ‘ask, learn and succeed’ approach whereas senior management (Baby Boomers and to some extent Generation X managers) are more akin to the ‘work long hours and learn approach’. But perhaps more importantly, we are finding that Generation Y workers are getting through their workload at a much faster pace than their predecessors when given the right support and focus, and this is also seen as a threat,” explains Germain, who specialises in managing Troublesome Talent ® in the workplace.

Germain believes that UK companies run the risk of slipping behind global companies if they continue to focus on things that can work counter towards improving the business through leveraging the talent. That there is a distinct mismatch between the priorities of HR in aligning leadership development with business priorities and performance management systems and what exactly is required by the business.

“There is lack of accountability for leadership development by senior management and UK businesses need to realise that it is not HR’s responsibility to develop individuals – it must be developed by senior management if it is to have any impact on developing and retaining talent” adds Germain.

Judith Germain founded Dynamic Transitions in 2005 and provides strategic mentoring for senior executives and business leaders and delivers innovative leadership programmes, leadership consultancy, training, coaching and mentoring to corporate clients. For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com

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Interim IT staff hold winning cards during credit crunch

With the credit crunch now starting to bite, many sectors are off-loading their IT staff at a rate of knots, particularly in the finance sectors. But according to Interim Management and Recruitment Specialist Phil Young, the winners at this time are more likely to be temporary staff, contractors and interims as companies try to “avoid adding full time employees to the company balance sheet but still need the work doing”.

In a recent survey of specialist agencies conducted by Phil Young and his consultancy Johnson- Young Associates, many were seeing certain sectors slow down on recruiting whilst other sectors still remained buoyant. However because of the amount of people seeking work, Young suggests that it is becoming increasingly harder to filter out the good applicants for the positions on their books.

Young also suggests that head-hunters are finding this a hard time primarily because the people they call are very reluctant to leave what they perceive to be stable positions, and as a result, Interims are once again benefiting by backfilling those roles that are being recruited for. 

“What we tend to see at times of recession are companies flexing down the workforce to save money but they often flex too far and this then means that they do not have the resource to move the business forward, this is when the market for Interims picks up, once the companies have bottomed out and realise they need people”, suggests Young, a former leading UK CIO with over 25 business experience.

Young’s report comes hot on the heels of recent news from AluimPartners which revealed that over 40% of the 1072 interim management executives they questioned had witnessed pressures of the credit crunch in their most recent client company.

“It doesn’t help that we are also now in ‘holiday silly season’, at this time of year a lot of decision makers are either away from the office or are demob happy and therefore are holding off on recruitment decisions. But in general, after a short lull, this could be a very good time for Interims” adds Young

Johnson-Young Associates Ltd provides consulting and troubleshooting services for SME’s and larger organisations, with particular expertise in Interim IT management and provider of interim, contract and permanent staff.  For more information visit www.j-ya.com

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Book Midwife urges Executives to ‘Be bold and opinionated or don’t bother’

Mindy Gibbins-Klein a.k.a ‘The Book Midwife’ left a lasting impression at the London meeting of the Professional Speakers Association on Saturday 19th July. Addressing over 30 of the UK’s top speakers about the importance of speaking, writing and publishing, she warned executives and business owners that unless they were prepared to voice their opinions boldy, they risk falling by the wayside as others take the limelight.

Speaking on the subject of  ‘How to be a REAL thought leader’, Gibbins-Klein explained how, particuarly in a downturned market, executives should be making a big impact by being bold and opinionated in order to stand out in an increasingly competitive environment.

During the 40-minute speech, she emphasised that business leaders and executives need to be able to share experiences and knowledge and more importantly be able to share their wisdom and views on key issues within the market if they are to rise above their competition.

‘If they don’t have have a speaking, writing and publishing strategy, they are not fulfilling their responsibility as leaders. In the current economic climate they need to be bold and opinonated and if not, they shouldn’t even bother,” said executive communications strategist Gibbins-Klein, who has helped over 300 business leaders write and publish their books through her Book Midwife brand.

Marketing Consultant and Author Rod Sloane was one of many attendees who praised her speech saying, “Mindy is currently the most imporant and best female business speaker in the UK.  Great content and delivered with fun and panache.  Not for the faint hearted.”

 “Your opinions and beliefs are just as important as, if not more important than any experience or knowledge.  You can’t be ‘wrong’ when you are stating an opinion. You only open yourself up for others to disagree with you if they feel like it, and as leaders it is important to be OK with that,” adds Gibbins-Klein who has spoken for a range of organisatons including Ecademy, Business Link, BNI, Everywoman, Vistage and the Women Writers Network .

Gibbins-Klein, who is an MBA graduate in International Business, as well as a trained coach and marketing consultant with over 18 years of experience, is also a founder of Ecademy Press  publishing and is one of the UK’s leading authorities on writing and co-operative publishing.

For more information visit; www.bookmidwife.com

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Editor’s Notes

Mindy Gibbins-Klein, better known as The Book Midwife™, has helped hundreds of experts get their message out into the market by writing and publishing the best possible books, ebooks and articles, and through delivering high impact, relevant presentations and key note speeches.

An MBA graduate in International Business, Mindy is a trained coach and marketing consultant with over 18 years of experience in the corporate world, largely running marketing departments.

Mindy established The Book Midwife™ in 2001 and has since helped over 300 business leaders to achieve their goals in writing their own books, articles and whitepapers more quickly and with better results.

Publisher and founder of Ecademy Press, Mindy is the UK’s leading authority on writing and co-operative publishing, and passionately believes that every book deserves to be written and published, but only if it is the best book it can be.

Mindy is also co-author of Amazon number two best seller BusinessWise, has published her own book A Dance in the Desert in 2001 and an e-book for people who are about to jump into self-publishing.

Mindy is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker and is a regular contributor to the business press on a variety of subjects, with an emphasis on the value of passing the expertise and experiences of current thought leaders on to the next generation of business leaders.

Press Release: Social Business Networking remains untapped by graduates

Social Networking will be at the heart of the extremely competitive business world of the future according to one of the UK’s most influential female entrepreneurs Penny Power. Speaking in a recent interview, Power claimed that understanding Social Networks as a business tool is now critical and that whilst graduates of today are well placed to adapt to this new marketing methodology, “they do not yet know the massive advantage this is going to give them in the workplace”.

In a brief interview last week, Power, who founded of the UK’s first social business network Ecademy ten years ago, urged graduates to use the online skills their generation had learned to create a brand for themselves that will adapt, grow and become their anchor in the business world, and eventually their legacy.

“Creating a profile on FaceBook and Ecademy can provide you with leverage and visibility. Start now, join a Business Social Network, share you story, care about your reputation, start a Club around your thoughts, Blog and encourage debates, create a following around what you are passionate about, around you and your thoughts” advised Power, who was recently nominated for 2008 XL Extraordinary Lives Award.

“Your influence within a network is fast becoming a required resource. This will be your point of leverage, your personal marketing tool, it will become your essential business tool, your Blackberry and your Social Networking Profile will take you around the world, give you access to great minds and give others access to you.”

Power suggested that Conversation Marketing within Social Networks is replacing Broadcast Marketing and that being immersed in Social Networks provides the foundation of knowledge, innovation, ideas, business development and critically, is the place where products can learn to evolve the way the consumer wants them to.

Power predicted that the future would be extremely prosperous for those who could grasp the full potential of the web in a business context, saying “wait for that moment that a graduate walks into an interview and shares that they have studied the company they want to work for and they know what the market is ‘saying’ about their product, both the good and the bad things that are being said”.

For more information on Ecademy visit www.ecademy.com

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See over for Editors Notes

 

 

 

Editors Notes

Ecademy connects business people all over the world. It is a self-development, business and branding tool, which enable business people to achieve immediate visibility. The relationships, advocates and knowledge subsequently shared through the network provides individuals with the credibility they need to grow their business.

Ecademy’s core intention is to help business people to be more successful and promotes the values of a business community who no longer wish to be broadcast to, but demand engagement and conversation

Founded in 1998 by husband and wife team Thomas and Penny Power, The Ecademy community has in excess of 275,000 members as at June 2008, with an average of 15,000 new members joining every month. Ecademy is now present in over 200 countries and has over 4,000 active clubs/networks.

Ecademy is privately owned and sustains itself through subscription, with only ten percent of Ecademy’s revenue coming from advertising and partnerships. The Ecademy business model is a classic example of a 21^st Century business, operating virtually, with minimal operational costs and just five staff members on the payroll.

For more information visit www.ecademy.com

For press information, hi res images or to arrange an interview please contact Jenna Gould on 01603 283 503 or email jenna@mediajems.co.uk

Press Release: Leading sales trainer helps local businesses beat economic slowdown

In the face of recent economic conditions, local businesses are being warned of the importance of defending prices of products and services by leading sales trainer Andy Preston. Speaking to over fifty business owners, consultants and salespeople at a Breakfast event in Stockport, Preston warned that “companies who fail to do this adequately may well not be around in 12-18 months time”.

Speaking at his latest monthly Sales Training Breakfast Club earlier this month at Stockport County Football Club, Preston shared tips on how they could negotiate better and defend their prices in the face of a slowdown in the economy.

The event attracted over fifty local professionals with many describing the event as “very rewarding” and one attendee even commenting, “anyone who can make getting up at 6am so worthwhile has to be impressive!

Currently hosted exclusively in Stockport, The Sales Training Breakfast Club is designed to help small business owners, consultants and salespeople get more sales and more customers every month.  Launched in March of this year by Stockport-based Preston, director of sales performance training company Outstanding Results, The Sales Training Breakfast Club was created specifically to help give back something to local businesses in his hometown.

“After speaking all over the UK, Europe the USA and Canada, I wanted to start something so that local businesses could benefit regular practical advice and tips on how they can grow their business”, explains Preston, who has over a decade of experience and success in the sales industry, working his way from sales representative to sales director in less than twelve years.

“Most people are terrible at negotiating prices for the products and service, preferring to ‘’give away” what they do for fear of losing the business. I felt that is was particularly important for local businesses to gain the skills necessary to survive any impending downturn in the economy to enable them to sell more of what they offer for the prices that they deserve” adds Preston.

The next Sales Training Breakfast will be held on Wednesday 16^th July at Stockport County Football Club, starting at 7.30am. A London event will launch in September and other locations are planned for later in the year. For more details or to book a place please contact Andy Preston directly on 07968 481729 or visit www.outstanding-results.co.uk.  Places are in high demand so early booking is recommended.

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Editors Notes

The Sales Training Breakfast Club is the best value Sales Training event in the UK and the largest regular sales event in the north west. It is held by Stockport based world-renowned sales trainer Andy Preston, who wanted to give something back to the businesspeople in his hometown.

Unlike many business networking events, the club doesn’t command a membership fee and involves a full English breakfast and thirty minutes of dynamic and challenging sales training delivered by Preston, director of sales performance training company Outstanding Results.

Preston has over a decade of experience and success in the sales industry, working his way from sales representative to sales director in less than twelve years.

More information on Andy Preston can be found at www.andy-preston.com along with more information on The Sales Training Breakfast Club. The next event is on Wednesday 16th July at Stockport County Football Club.

For press enquiries please contact Jenna Gould on 01603 283 503 or email jenna@mediajems.co.uk

 

 

 

Press Release: Business owners risk selling themelves short during economic downturn

As the credit cruch continues to take hold, many thriving businesses are starting to feel the pinch in profits as the cost of operating rises, yet the need for more staff seems inevitable. Dr Lisa Turner PHD is warning that business owners across the country are at  risk of selling themselves short by not capitalising on the extent of their own abilities before taking on extra staff and as a result may be “putting the very survival of their business at risk”.

Speaking at a recent workshop, Lisa Turner suggested that the most common solution for an increasingly busy business was to bring on extra staff to cope with the rising workload, but that the credit crunch had impacted on the affordability of this option.

Turner revelaed that many business owners were not maximising the potential of their internal threshold, and that by doing so would be able to cope with more and have greater clarity and focus on managing their business through tougher times.

 “It is proven that the more responsibilities we have, the more stressed we are, escpecially when it comes to our workload. Everyone has an inner threshold which is completely individual and based on their own personal experiences and personality. There seems to be a finite limit to how much we can deal with and this is determined by our clairty of thought.”

“Some people have inner conflict caused by conflicting roles. For example you want to run a successful business and be a good parent. In most cases this can be the result of limiting beliefs about what is expected and what is possible” explains Turner, who has studied the mind for over fifteen years and founded her own business and personal transformation company Psycademy in 2004.

According to Turner, typical signs of an overloaded threshold include problems concentrating, lack of focus, being clumsy and accident prone, poor sleep, inahability to relax, minor illness, irritabilty or aggression.

“Low internal thresholds can easily be raised up by simple thechniques such as; healing the emotions from the past or even thinking about what tasks at work are vital and will get you closer to your goal. Simply by deleting the cluttered tasks, you will raise your spirit, allowing you to think clearly and remember the neccessities” advises Turner.

To raise your threshold you could heal up emotions from the past. Turner strongly advises releasing them using a proven technique, rather than simply suppressing (ignoring) or expressing (talking about them).

“Although suppression or expression are more common they have been proven to be ineffective at raising your inner threshold. Unresolved events from the past also affect your threshold as you will always have that particular event replaying in your mind and you will sometimes find it occurs at inappropriate times e.g. at work, in a meeting, or during a speech “ adds Turner.

For more information please visit; www.psycademy.co.uk

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Press Release: Top tax man reveals frustrations with the tax system as main reason he no longer gives tax advice

Mark Lee, a past Chairman of the ICAEW Tax Faculty has revealed that his frustrations with the tax system led him to move away from giving tax advice two years ago, despite having reached the top of his profession.

In an extended ‘Comment’ article in the current issue of Taxation magazine, Lee, who is a Fellow of both of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, explains that his frustrations were a direct consequence of three key developments in the tax system, some of which Lee felt were in danger of bringing tax law into disrepute.

“The ever increasing complexity of our tax system has caused inequalities and inconsistencies and this is not helped by the ‘doublespeak’ of politicians and civil servants with regards to our tax system. Combine this with the prospect of increased powers for HMRC without adequate safeguards for taxpayers and things become very worrying indeed” says Lee.

But despite his reservations about giving tax advice directly, Lee still retains a passion for supporting other accountancy professionals and last year, at the age of 50, he founded the UK’s first independent specialist tax advice community – the Tax Advice Network. In just over six months the Tax Advice Network has grown to over 1,000 accountants and other registered users, who regularly use the network to source quality and up to date tax advice from tax specialists across the country.

Taxation magazine editor Mike Truman commended Lee for his contribution by saying  “Mark is probably one of the few people who can write about this from the inside, because he is no longer giving advice, yet is still closely involved with the tax scene.”

The Tax Advice Network is the UK’s first independent network of tax specialists. For more information visit www.TaxAdviceNetwork.co.uk

Editors Notes

1 – Taxation magazine, published by LexisNexis, was founded in 1927 and is the leading authority on tax law, practice and administration in the UK. The current issue appears on Thursday 3 July.  Full copies of the 2,800 word article are available on request (see below).

 2 – Mark Lee has been a tax partner at both BDO Stoy Hayward and at Horwath Clark Whitehill. He remains chairman of the Personal tax and finance committee of the ICAEW and vice chairman of the London Society of Chartered Accountants tax committee. He is a well regarded speaker and a respected commentator on the tax scene.

3 – The Tax Advice Network is a free to use online search facility that helps you find the specialist tax adviser that you need.

It is the UK’s first independent network of tax advisers and was the brainchild of Mark Lee, a former Chairman of the ICAEW Tax Faculty. He has ambitious plans for the network drawing on his many years of experience in the profession and his involvement in both offline and online membership communities.

The Network provides accountants and other regulated advisers with the ability to choose who provides them and their clients with specialist tax support.

Our tax specialist members expect to enhance their businesses through the benefits they gain within the network. These include the additional exposure they get to their target audience and from being part of a supportive community of tax advisers.

Membership of the Network is limited to tax specialists who are able to satisfy our membership criteria and are willing to make a commitment to the Network and the members thereof.

For press enquiries please contact:

Mark Lee, Chairman of the Tax Advice Network

Tel: 07769 692 890  Email: Mark.Lee@TaxAdviceNetwork.co.uk

Jenna Gould, PR consultant

Tel: 01603 283 503    Mobile: 07958 283 708   Email: jenna@mediajems.co.uk

 

Press Release: Inadequate training leaves Recruiters out in the cold

With the credit crunch continuing to tighten the corporate purse strings, the pressure to recruit the right people into an ever-shrinking job pool has never been higher. But many recruitment organisations are failing to maximise the potential of their consultants by not investing in adequate training, according to recruitment sales training specialist Andy Preston.

After speaking at this latest Sales Breakfast club on 18^th June, Andy stressed that most recruitment training was based on how the market was ten to twenty years ago and that modern recruitment organisations needed to adapt their training programmes to capitalise on a downturned market.

“ Many recruiters assume that the credit crunch has reduced the amount of job vacancies in the pot and so they can’t possibly be expected to meet their targets, so just stop trying. But ironically, it is those who approach the market as if there is nothing wrong who will prosper as they will win business from those who have already accepted defeat” argues Preston, founder and head trainer of sales performance training company Outstanding Results.

Preston believes that most recruitment organisations don’t invest in appropriate training as they don’t feel it is a valuable investment, at least until they know which consultants are likely to remain in the organisation. And those that do remain are often left alone to get on with their job and never learn how to do the job well.

And recent research indicates that many recruitment consultants are aware that they lack the skills they need to succeed, with Perriam & Everret revealing that almost a third of the 1200 consultants they surveyed were not satisfied with the level of training they received.

“There is a definite sink or swim mentality in the recruitment industry and so the assumption made by management is that if you are no good at it, you wont be around for long, so training isn’t really needed. But this couldn’t be further from the truth; I mean how can recruiters be expected to deliver results if they aren’t equipped with the right skills from the onset? adds Andy, who’s clients include Antal International, Evolution Recruitment and Workforce Recruitment.

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Press Release: Generation Y causing trouble at the top for Talent Management

Many organisations risk losing their most talented employees as the credit crunch takes hold, according to leadership company Dynamic Transitions. Speaking at HR Director’s Talent Management Breakfast at the Lord’s Cricket Ground last week, Dynamic Transitions MD Judith Germain warned that the emergence of Generation Y is “spelling further trouble for organisations who continue to adopt a one size fits all approach to talent management”.

Addressing attendees at the exclusive breakfast event on 26^th June, Germain suggested that many of the most talent employees were likely to be selected for redundancy due to their perceived troublesome nature, when in fact, with the right management techniques, these individuals could become the top performers in the organisation.

Germain argued that Troublesome Talent® made up 20% of the top performers in an organisation, but accounted for 80% of the problems and urged attendees not to use redundancies to kick out the business’ best talent.

“The reality is that too many employees prefer to keep their head down and follow rules and procedures that don’t work simply because it is easier and acceptable to do so. Troublesome Talent® however, are prepared to stand up for what they believe in and will tell managers the flaws in the company’s policies and the issues they face. As a result, their employees are often singled out as trouble makers,” said Germain.

Germain revealed that whilst Troublesome Talent® had emerged in Generation X as people started to demand more flexible working and concentration on their individual desires, the emergence of Generation Y (Birth dates between 1980-1994) has meant that organisations need to re-examine their talent management techniques and adopt a more individualistic approach.

“Generation Y employees do not believe in the ‘9-5’ and are more focussed on themselves and their development. They are more likely to question authority and are more entrepreneurial and extrovert than their Generation X predecessors. Organisations need to realise that traditional command and control management techniques just will not work with them,” said Germain.

Germain founded Dynamic Transitions in 2005 and provides strategic mentoring for senior executives and business leaders and delivers innovative leadership programmes, leadership consultancy, training, coaching and mentoring to corporate clients. For more information visit www.developing-leadership.com

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