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Who really has the ear of SMEs in the UK? Who do they turn to for advice?

Jul 15, 2008 by dompannell | Posted in Small Business

I'm thinking of companies with 1-25 employees, so micro-companies really. Several bodies (FSB, high street banks, Intellect...) clearly reach out to small companies, but I wonder how successful they are.

If you are a small business owner and I want you to notice me, who should I foster a relationship with so that they might recommend me?

Business owners listen to the recommendations of other business owners. Banks, FSB and FPB (Forum of Private Business) all have links with companies who pay for those. All our business life we've been FPB members but we don't use any of the companies that they "recommend".

I have a lot of time for FPB as they lobby well on behalf of private SME's. They've given us press coverage and they've had some impact on government legislation that affects us.

If I'm going to pay any attention to your company, I'll either approach you direct, provided I can find you, usually through an internet search, or I'll ask my network for recommendations. For example, I wanted an accommodation address for one of our businesses. I found it through someone in my network. Similarly, it was through that network that we found a better way of conducting our foreign currency transactions.

To be recommended you have to work hard at building a relationship of trust with the people who are going to recommend you. The service you deliver needs to be outstanding and consistent. Nobody can wave a magic wand that drives people to your door.

Work out in greater detail who the people are that you want to target. There's a lot of companies out there with 1 - 25 employees. Are your products or services particularly relevant to a group within that - accountants, architects, photographers, for example? Where do these people gather, physically or virtually? Get yourself known there or to people who have contacts in those areas.

For example, one of our target markets is the holistic practitioner. I, therefore, network on and off-line with groups of practitioners. I'm approached to speak to them, I write on-line to them and when I'm holding an event for them, they recognise me and attend based on the worth that they've derived from what I've done to date.

Good luck!

How should i deal with my boyfriends need for independence?

Jun 29, 2010 by Girly | Posted in Singles & Dating

I just turned 36, he is gonna be 35 next month. Dating for 3 years, 1st year wasnt too serious. Before we started dating and for that 1st year he was a "playboy" who was going partying to Vegas 4-5 times a year, going to Hamptons in the summer 4 wknds to a singles share house. As our relationship got serious i couldnt tolerate his trips any longer. He "compromised", which took a lot of fighting, that he is not gonna go away by himself on the holidays, but yet, he still goes to Hamptons on his own (singles share house with 50 single guys and girls). He "compromised" that out of 4 wknds im allowed to go with him twice (he is an engineer and he looks at everything in numbers, so in his mind 50/50 is a compromise in this case) He claims that he just wants to spend time by himself, that his friends dont act the same around me (again, there are girls and guys there and we r in our mid 30s). I dont mind him going there since he loves it there so much, all i ask is to take me there with him. Yes, Im jealous, cause Im not allowed to go there all 4 wknds and I have to pick the 2 wknds; jealous that im being excluded...he wants to be just with his friends, which includes girls and not just guys...Im not only his gf, but im also his friend, more than others and its hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that since other girls are there, why cant i? its not a matter of trust, cause if he wanted to cheat, he can do it without leaving town, it can happen any time any place. It hurts my ego A LOT that im being told that im not welcomed somewhere where we can both have fun and i have to choose wknds when im allowed to go. Mind u, we see each other only on the wknds. I dont mind if he goes out with his guy friends for a drink, but leaving me for a wknd to go to Hamptons to party, and telling me that i cant go, really hurts me. He tells me Im demanding, controlling and possessive. We have a lot of fights over it. he claims that it has nothing to do with me, that he just needs his alone time (and he says it, while he goes to a share house). His other argument is that he spends every wknd with me and he can get away at least for 2 wknds during the summer. Well, he offered me to live wiith him last September, i declined and this was one of the reasons. If we spend only wknds together and he still needs to get away, what would happen if we actually lived together?? He also insists that he has to go away on vacations on his own at least once or twice a year. He stopped going on multiple vacations like he did before, which took a lot of fighting. And As I mentioned we spend every wknd together, on which occasionally he tells me that i dont have to be there every wknd, cause he needs time for himself. I cant comprehand this, since he was the one who suggested for us living together last year. Am I really being too demanding? too possessive, controlling? Please advice!

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Men and women make known us who they would turn to for retirement planning advice. RS-17959-00

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