Matt James runs fingerprint-recognition technology firm UKB Security »
James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
Phil Renton is managing director of North East IT empire Croft »
Matthew Rippon is an IP lawyer for BHP Law »
Accessibilty Champion Steve Wilkinson on the importance of inclusion »
Shared Interest Staff at Newcastle's fair trade firm blog on their latest international missions »
PR man David Honeywell on raising your profile in the right places »
Marion Bernard is from NorthStar Equity Investors »
Caroline Theobald is the Managing Director of Bridge Club Ltd »
John Barton of Renew, on the region's low carbon and sustainable energy agenda »
Paul Williamson is Senior Partner at Deloitte »
Stephen Hall is Tax Partner at Deloitte »July 2008 Archives
Sharing an International Interest
Posted by Andrea Wilkinson on July 1, 2008 3:57 PM
Guten Morgen (German), Buenos días (Spanish), Muraho (Kinyarwanda), Habari za asubuhi (Swahili)
There is a real buzz in the office today ahead of tomorrow’s Queens Award Ceremony (more on that later.) This is due to our overseas regional staff having arrived - Rachel from Kenya and Hugo from Costa Rica, and a producer customer of ours from Mauritius, Gabriel (Craft Aid Mauritius) which adds even more of an international flavour to the cultural mix we already have in the Shared Interest office with staff members from Germany, Ecuador and Venezuela.
I took the opportunity to chat to Rachel about the importance of involving the people we work with in every stage of our project. It turned into quite a lively discussion about the importance of involving beneficiaries in every part of our overseas work.
We aim to work closely with those people who will directly benefit from Shared Interest Foundation and its investment arm the Shared Interest Society (usually the farmers and the handicraft makers.)
At the beginning of each Foundation project, we start with a stakeholder meeting as local communities and businesses often have a clearer idea of the solution to their problems and are aware of any obstacles that need to be overcome before getting started.
For example, through the Shared Interest Rwanda project, we plan to run training in 10 districts throughout the country. However, before we can even set foot into many of these areas we need to seek approval first from the District Officers. We may not have known this unless we had the inside knowledge achieved from working so closely with people on the ground.
Rachel and I both agree that working closely with fair trade businesses in their own communities helps us to understand these types of issues including funding needs, as well as being able to evaluate the effectiveness of projects, plan for the long term future and target the most needy.
Although we talk quite often on Skype, it is great to talk to staff from our regional offices face to face like this and draw on their everyday experiences in Costa Rica and Kenya, which in some ways are very similar but in others very different to our own here in Newcastle.
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This is not just any economic downturn...
Posted by Andrew Hebden on July 2, 2008 10:55 AM
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse... Marks & Spencer this morning added to the woes of the Stock Market by delivering a profit warning.
The high street retailer's unexpected announcement only reaffirms that the current economic situation is dire to say the least - and things aren't going to get much better any time soon. As executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose put it: "This is more of a two-year problem than a two-month one".
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Monet and the bank manager
Posted by Matthew Rippon on July 3, 2008 11:18 AM
What has a water lily in common with your bank manager? More than at first might appear.
Last week, Le Bassin aux Nymphéas, a canvas from Monet’s water lilies series sold in London at auction for almost £41m (including taxes and commission). This was twice the previous record at auction for Monet, itself set only in May.
While the rest of the economy struggles under the weight of the credit crunch, the fine art market is powering away.The prices reached at auction for the key names are surprising everyone in the industry. Alongside the Monet last week, a bronze by Henry Moore sold for £4.3m and an early Degas pastel made £13.5m.
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A Royal Celebration
Posted by Andrea Wilkinson on July 3, 2008 11:31 AM
Yesterday was an exciting day in the history of Shared Interest as we officially accepted our Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
The only winner for Sustainable Development in the North East, and out of 800 businesses that applied nationally, Shared Interest came out tops for its dedication to sustainability over the last five years.
In the afternoon all of our UK staff - plus Hugo and Rachel from Costa Rica and Kenya – as well as supporters and partners of the organisation, headed up to the Assembly Rooms to meet the Lord Lieutenant for the ceremony.
Following on from this, Shared Interest MD, Patricia Alexander and our longest serving member of staff Ann Colquhoun have both been invited down to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen!
Although we all know that our work has vital impact in the developing world, it is a real honour to get the Queen’s stamp of approval.
After the official ceremony, staff celebrations continued into the evening to mark this very special event - on her Majesty's orders of course!
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ScS saved - but Journal's North 40 is shrinking!
Posted by Andrew Hebden on July 3, 2008 3:29 PM
It is great news that a deal has been thrashed out today to secure the immediate future of Sunderland sofa retailer ScS.
The deal - full details of which you can read in Friday's nebusiness section of The Journal - will see investment group Sun European Partners acquire the retail business for an undisclosed sum. It should hopefully secure the futures of most of the company's 1,300-strong workforce.
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Outsourcing your IT – Can it ever really be done over the phone?
Posted by Jonathan Wheatley on July 8, 2008 2:16 PM
I write this blog bleary eyed, fresh from pulling an all nighter repairing a broken server on a site in Darlington. A hard disk failure meant that the domain controller for a very busy site was offline. We were able to restore all files using a VM Ware image (see www.vmware.com) and then repair the original fault and we got to bed at 4.30am. The problem was identified at 9pm by text message to one of the MC Ware field engineers.
This got me thinking as to how this kind of problem would be resolved by having a telephone support contract with a national, so called IT supplier. When an IT system fails and with over a million components in a server it will at some time, I believe that firms want someone pulling into the car park with knowledge of the site and the people and can be assured that the problem will be fixed either by close of play or by the time the doors open in the morning.
What good is remote access if the server or internet connection is down? What are the chances of getting the same person who helped you a month ago? Does your contract cover you at this time of night or on a Sunday?
I strongly believe that IT support for local business has to be provided by local IT firms. I am not against outsourcing of IT, in fact it is the main revenue stream at MC Ware but it should involve weekly visits to site, preventative measures rather that emergency fire fighting. The benefits of this type of outsourcing include: -
No employment issues, no need for holiday cover, access to a full team in case disaster strikes, raise and reduce the level of support as necessary, no tax or national insurance employer contributions, no train costs, no office space needed etc.
I think that North East firms should think about what they would expect if everything failed at 9pm on a Sunday night rather than worry about it when it happens!
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Seven good years, and seven of famine!
Posted by Ian Brown on July 9, 2008 9:45 PM
I was an Ishmalite trader in Joseph at school, needless to say my daughter a generation later was the narrator, which is a more complex role - good genetic progress.
I am reminded this week of the pharaohs dream of seven good years of decadence and then a credit crunch which ran and ran with the threat of a recession just around the pyramidal corner. As farmers we know all about cycles and you just have to live on the averages.
I tell you why else I'm thinking deeply this week. Business is taught as we plan two massive expansions and a movement of assets to make it happen - at the same time as I have returned from a school leaving anniversary event marking 25 years.
So to serious commentary from a rural perspective.....the national economy has a habit of not being directly linked to the farming economy but perhaps with food and fuel at the centre of the political limelight it may be more entwined on this occassion.
Currency, weather, commodity prices, political favour, disease and pestulance. All are cyclical and not overly predictable. Greed and fear again I'm afraid for most of the population it drives us from pillar to post. The current credit crunch has shone a light on some crazy activities which now - the power of 20:20 hindsight you see - are seen as mad.....the emperor is naked again!
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Legacy of crisis will be fewer banks in High Street
Posted by Andrew Hebden on July 14, 2008 2:50 PM
The emergence today of a £1.26bn offer from Spanish banking giant Santander for high street rival Alliance & Leicester is the latest significant development in the troubled sector.
The deal seems to make sense for all parties - certainly for A&L and its shareholders who must have felt vulnerable in the current climate. A&L is far from the car wreck that Bradford & Bingley has proved to be over recent weeks, but even so its shareholders were probably watching events there unfold from behind the sofa.
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Rules of engagement
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- ebay
Posted by Andrew Mernin on July 14, 2008 5:28 PM
LAST month I set about creating my own retail empire.
After rummaging under my bed for old football programmes, vinyls and even a t-shirt I won many years ago on a kids TV game show I launched my ebay kingdom.
However, my dreams of becoming the next Mike Ashley - minus the pressure of shareholders and the Alan Smith shirt - were short lived.
As the ten-day selling period drew to a close, I was left with virtually nothing. No late bids came in for the footy merchandise and even the Frank Sinatra record couldn't tempt the online masses into parting with their cash.
In fact I was actually left 90p in the red due to ebay charges, and in a matter of days my online shopping empire had collapsed like a pack of cards.
But apparently I am not alone in my ebay woes. And for some online businesses where the stakes are higher than my tin-pot operation, ebay is becoming an increasingly difficult place to do business.
Last week I spoke to a number of North East entrepreneurs who have built their companies around the internet auction site and the common consensus has been one of frustration.
The main gripe is the fact that buyers can leave negative feedback for sellers but sellers can't do the same in return. According to ebay this rule was introduced to stop people abusing the feedback system and to thwart so-called 'feedback bribery'. For some, however, the new rule puts sellers at a disadvantage.
Other complaints include the increasing difficulty that some dealers are finding in getting their goods on display in other overseas market - mainly the lucrative US territory.
According to ebay this problem is being addressed although it may take a while to persuade some disgruntled punters that the US market has been completely unlocked.
There's no doubt that ebay remains a fantastic online trading tool, especially in these tough economic times when money for old rope can help pay for increasingly expensive fuel and food.
But, for those building a business around the site, the changing rules mean the game may have become that little bit harder.
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Great to hail so many success stories
Posted by Andrew Hebden on July 16, 2008 10:50 AM
So it's hats off to Nissan for being named the North East's number one business at the Top 250 launch this morning.
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The clock ticks, and the advice is received ...
Posted by Jonny Harrison on July 16, 2008 3:28 PM
The clock has been ticking steadily down, the preparations on the boat have been coming along, and the handover period at work has been hectic! However, we are now only 2 days away from casting off our lines and sailing over the horizon (well, the Irish Sea initially!).
Its a very strange feeling to be leaving so much behind and stepping outside the comfort zone of your job and the known elements of your day. Sailing, especially ocean sailing, has so many unknowns, the day can start out a gentle sail on a calm sea and end in stormy weather with a failing engine or faulty water pump (just the thought is scaring me!). However, true to form I have been busy preparing both myself and the boat to mitigate against such risks for a long time now and feel as confident as I can be that we will be able to handle things.
In the midst of the many goodbyes we've been saying for the last couple of weeks, and I'm sure more to come in the next couple of days, I've had lots of advice from "watch out for whales" and "try not to sink" to more purposeful and useful; "look after the boat and the boat will look after you", "20 years from now you will regret more the things you did not do than the things you did", "keep a weather eye", "try to be prepared for what you least expect". All humbling and thought provoking (although how I achieve the last one I'm still not sure!).
I suppose the next update will come from the boat.
Jonny
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New man at the Rock
Posted by Andrew Hebden on July 23, 2008 1:59 PM
It can't have been the easiest recruitment job in the world, but Northern Rock chairman Ron Sandler got his man today when he named Barclays director Gary Hoffman as the bank's new chief executive.
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Going down the garden...
Posted by Andrew Mernin on July 23, 2008 3:35 PM
WHEN I was knee-high to a grasshopper the boredom of Sunday afternoons was not complete without a seemingly endless episode of The Waltons.
Time almost stood still as the trials and tribulations of Jim Bob, John Boy and Mary Ellen played out on the small screen - although at least it prolonged Monday morning and the school work that came with it.
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Should we penalise firms that price-fix?
Posted by Jez Davison on July 24, 2008 9:43 AM
IN TODAY'S so-called free trade market, JEZ DAVISON questions the wisdom of punishing firms for price-fixing....
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Mixed sentiments as 800 told to go by Rock
Posted by Andrew Hebden on July 30, 2008 5:57 PM
The news that 800 compulsory redundancies are to be confirmed at Northern Rock cannot, in any sense, be regarded as welcome. Ever since the scale of this crisis first emerged, the prospect of a major jobs cull has been on the cards - but that doesn't make it any easier when the worst is confirmed.
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