Now Extended for a further 10 days!!!!!!!

Launchpad@cemeis a fantastic new business plan competition for young businesses and entrepreneurs. The competition will help get young businesses off the ground and win a range of brilliant prizes worth more than £25,000. One lucky winner will receive an office or workshop space for one year at  CEME Innovation Centre, access to a business mentor and a package of support prizes. The competition finalists will receive a tailored package of workshops and business support.  To enter simply send us your business plan, the closing date for entries is  Friday 30th September 2011.  If you need help writing your business plan, attend a workshop to help you prepare an award winning Business Plan. For more information about the competition and workshop, please contact David Nix: +44(0) 20 8596 5142 or email d.nix@oxin.co.uk.  Visit www.launchpadceme.co.uk for more information and for full terms and conditions.

Last month the Mayor of London announced a £50m fund to
revitalise London’s high street  and after the riots there are now a
plethora of initiatives  ( including a new  £3m High St fund ) from organisation such as the Evening Standard (Save our shops), to the banks (RBS, Barclays & HSBC),  to local
councils such as “Wandsworth”, to new online initiatives such as http://www.delootlondon.co.uk.

All are expressing a long standing and persistent concern that the local high
street and independent retailers are in decline. The main culprits being
competition from the major retailers (especially the move of the supermarkets
such as Tesco’s to open convenience stores in every neighbourhood), the impact
of on-line retailers, the ridiculous high rents (a hang-over from property
bubble that in regards to retail freehold and rental prices has not yet being
popped) and our changing shopping  habits ( including the effect of the recession).

So what can be done to enable independent retailers strike back?
Here are my suggestions:

More New blood-
Perhaps over the medium term the most important factor to revitalise the high
street would be new blood. In particular, we need a new form of independent
retailer to enter the high street that can use the latest trends and technology
such as mobile retailing , with a modern “Bricks & Clicks” strategy  that can get most out of  a physical high street presence and an online shop. Capital Enterprise is hoping to be launching a “Bricks & Clicks”bootcamp (http://www.thebusinessbootcamp.org/bricksandclicks.html) in the next few weeks that will attempt to support this new blood to emerge.

Local is not enough
The problem for many independent retailers are that there only USP is
geographic- that they are the nearest place you can buy products that widely
available either elsewhere in the high street or on-line. The relevance of
distance as the major determining factor behind where we buy is increasingly
not relevant and even when it is ( fags, booze and milk) the increasing
dominance of the small express versions of the big supermarkets are driving out
the independent retailer from their last major market- convenience retailing.
Independent Retailers need to find new and better USP’s (quality, local
service, unique offers) or they will face being pushed out altogether.  I know it is hard but many local retailers need to up their game, get closer to their customers, understand their needs and change their offers. We are therefore in discussion with the Mayor of London to
develop some very intense and to the point workshops for existing retailers on
what they can do to improve the attractiveness and profitability of their business.

Evening All-

Most local high streets are only open during the week between 9-6pm and therefore
miss out on a whole audience of people (mostly people who have some disposable
income)who work during the day. Why not adopt the continental practice of
opening from 12 noon and closing at 9pm? The high street would not then be
dependent on a market based on stay-at home mums, OAPS, the unemployed and not
at school kids to survive. No wonder, given the market audience, that pound shops
and the like are now the most popular type of retail offer on most local high
streets.

Landlords need to “wake up and smell the roses”-  The
BPF may report that shop rents are more affordable now than 20 years ago but the
reality is when you do a simple break-even sales assessment of the
affordability of most high street shop premises you get a completely different
picture.  I ask anyone to go on to www.shopproperty.co.uk and do the
simple sum (of dividing the annual rent by the average retailers gross margin
and then multiplying by 100) to get to the sales income needed just to pay the
rent (never mind other overhead costs such business rates, utility bills and
labour) . The problem is that Gross Profit margins from retailers have fallen
significantly in the past 20 years across the board (with the possible
exception of fast food) because of enhanced competition especially from on-line
retailers and the big supermarkets. Today most retailers would struggle to
achieve an average GPM of 30% on the goods they sold and many such as book
stores and electronic stores would have to manage on much less.

More reasons to go and visit –

The principal problem of the local high street is that there is not enough foot fall- not enough reasons why people need to visit-not enough attractions that can incentivise people to come. Most council’s (especially those eligible for the Mayors Funding) have
been developing proposals to make their town centres more physically attractive
(new street furniture, more pedestrianisation, better litter/graffiti
management). To get more foot fall these measures are spiced up with the
occasional planned street festival or Christmas market. Although many of these
initiatives are welcomed, I wish that a little more hard research and
imagination could be used to produce solutions that can tackle the underlying
issues of making high streets work. We need solutions to how we get a better
retail mix, how we get high footfall  non retail activities ( such libraries etc) on to the high streets etc . Also, although it may seem unpalatable to some,  if the function and future  of shops in some areas is no longer commercial ( rather than a political desire to maintain or create social/ community cohesion) then these presently failing retail areas will need direct government or community subsidy to incentivise commercial activity. Personally I would like to see an increase in pop-up shops that can beused (albeit on a temporary basis) by new and innovative retailers and to this end will be supporting the soon to be launched  http://www.popupshopup.comwhen it is launched in about a month’s time.

Better Management-
Although many London Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) and town centre
managers do a good job (particular hats off to Camden Unlimited http://www.camdentownunlimited.com) many are hampered by the lack of engagement of landlords in themanagement  of the high street. The landlords have the most to gain long term from a thriving high street and wherethey do actively engage, manage and invest (as is the case with malls etc) they make a very big difference to the success of the retail experience. However, in many places they are nowhere to be seen and to rectify this I would sneak in to the Localism Act, that is presently passing through parliament, a legal
requirement for them to join and financially contribute to BIDS where and when
they operate.

More Investment-
There needs to be more investment by not only from landlords/ councils but also
from independent retailers to revitalise their businesses. One way to do this
would be to remove the restrictions that exclude retail businesses from receive
support or access to new finance from schemes such as Enterprise Finance
Guarantee scheme (http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/gsdDetail?itemId=1081834978  . Little things like this can go a long way.

Intelligent tax to make legitimate independent retailers more financially viable and competitive
If your profit margins are very tight and you are trying to compete against
the all-powerful supermarkets or serve a group of customers with unique needs
but not much money, then one way to survive is for your business to; not to pay
any payroll tax, not to register for VAT, to rely on cash in hand workers
willing and able to work for very minimum wages and to source goods for sale
from the black market. In certain parts of London this type of retail business
predominates to the detriment of more legitimate businesses.  I would like to see research carried out on whether we could find a way of both encouraging more legitimate retail businesses whilst at the same time giving a very real and valuable tax advantage to a
small independent retailer in their unequal battle with large retailers. I
would like to have a look at a fixed amount tax paid by all independent
retailers ( an equivalent to a buying an annual licence to trade) that does not
rise until sales break through a threshold ( say £500,000 p.a.) . I would make
the tax a replacement for all other taxes paid including VAT , income/ corporation
tax etc and make the levy significantly less than an average small independent
retailers pays now. I will allow only businesses who legitimately employ people
to be able to claim the tax break and I will create a quality mark that would
tell all consumers who is registered on the scheme ( and thereby abiding by the
rules) and who is not. The fact that these retailers will be exempt from
charging VAT on their goods should make them very competitive in certain good
categories against the big chains and supermarkets. The idea obviously needs to
be thoroughly researched, and as with any tax incentive designed to reward good
behaviour, there will be unjustified winners and losers and pleads for
exemptions and special cases (for instance are franchise businesses to be
categorised as eligible) but I think it is worth looking into.

Anyway these are some of my suggestions on what can be done
to revitalise London’s high street. Mary Portas ( http://www.maryportas.com/news/2011/05/17/the-future-of-the-high-street) is due to report back to the government on how to revitalise the high street
in the autumn. Maybe she will take on some of my suggestions.

Please find below some great new job vacancies at Capital Enterprise member NACUE… you will have to act quick as the closing date is the 19th August,

About NACUE

 Are you proactive, dynamic and eager to learn? Are you interested in making a massive change and meet with leaders in policy-making for enterprise? Are you looking for exposure to the UK’s start-up scene and interested in learning on the job? NACUE is your place.

The National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) is a fast-paced, grassroots charity that stimulates university enterprise by supporting, connecting and representing enterprise societies, enterprising students and student entrepreneurs in Universities across the UK.

Launched in May 2009, NACUE now engages over 70 university enterprise societies across the UK, supports over 85 universities in stimulating student-led activities and represents the views of over 40,000 enterprising students to policy makers in all levels of Government, Industry and Education.

NACUE’s society support mechanisms have been commended by the World Economic Forum and the United Nations; the charity has been recognised by Real Business Magazine as one of the ‘Champions of Entrepreneurial Britain’; and it’s Founder Victoria Lennox was recently awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion for her work in building the organisation.

Read more about us:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/8279664/Student-entrepreneurship-matures.html
http://nacue.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/nacue-founder-receives-queens-award-for-enterprise-promotion/

1. Bootcamps- Capital Enterprise’s sector specific bootcamps that will give entrepreneurs serious about starting or growing a high growth business an opportunity to get the insider knowledge, contacts and resources they need to get ahead. The Bootcamp extras are free seminars where you can meet funders and fellow entrepreneurs looking for money to start-up or scale their “brilliant” new business.
2. Guide to Raising Finance-  A list of links on available sources of finance for a growth focused business.
3. Free advice and support- Check out the members section of Capital Enterprise to find your local or specialist business support agency.
4. BootLaw – free events where you can get your legal questions answered (and be entertained, too!)
5. Microsoft BizSpark – startup community offering free Microsoft software
6. DrinkTank – drink beer with startup founders and occasional investors
7. Launch48 – meet potential co-founders and try to start a business in a weekend
8. Startup Weekend – meet potential co-founders and try to start another business in a weekend
9. Minibar – see entrepreneurs pitch their startups while you drink free beer
10. Start-up Britain- a good place to navigate yourself around new services and activities on offer for new entrepreneur and a great one-stop shop
11. London Business School Entrepreneurial Leadership Lectures – hear experienced founders talk
12. Knowledge Peers – get nuts and bolts advice from owners of small businesses
13. SeedSummit Term Sheets – see how the investment terms you’ve been offered stack up against ‘standard’ one.
14. Pop-up shops- Fancy a temporary shop to launch your company or this seasons collection then check out Rosie Canns excellent website.
15. Don’t Make Me Think – learn how to make your website easier to use
16. Visual Website Optimizer – run A/B tests easily and get more from your website
17. Google Apps (free edition) – host up to 10 email accounts for free
18. Ajax Whois – quickly check whether domain names are available
19. MailChimp – send mass emails and track what happens to them.
20. Viral Marketing – a nice article on the Maths behind viral marketing
21. Super Conversion Button – create good call-to-action web buttons
22. Load Impact – easily run load tests on your website
23. Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords – learn how to run Adwords campaigns
24. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – understand how to nudge people into doing what you want
25. TechCrunch Europe – read the European bit of the blog that every startup person reads
26. Fiverr – get small tasks done for $5 (try this out for fun at the very least!)
27. Lean Startup – methodology to help figure out whether you’re starting the right business
28. Mixergy – learn from interviews with successful entrepreneurs
29. Hacker News – read what techie startup people are finding interesting at the moment
30. Hacker News London – meet techie startup people in the flesh. Drink beer with them
31. Business Link – find official government information about business regulations
32. WordPress – build all sorts of websites quickly and cheaply (definitely not just for blogs)
33. Woothemes – get a great-looking theme for your website
34. Clicky – get realtime analytics for your website
35. SurveyMonkey – run surveys easily
36. Amiando.com- We use it to take on-line fees for events etc and can recommend them ahead of their arch rival Eventbrite.
37. SendGrid – make sure your emails get delivered
38. TechHub – work surrounded by fellow entrepreneurs at this startup-centric office space
39. Innovation Warehouse- London’s version of Plug and Play where you can receive  accommodation, support and investment.
40. Camden Collective- Free incubator space in Camden for creative start-ups. An opportunity to be at the heart of London’s Creative sector. Just to show that London is not all about Tech, if your a fashion businesses then check out CFE, Jewelry  business -Hatton Garden, a new Bio Tech company LBIC and  a new High Tech Manufacturing CEME if you want incubator space specific to their sector.
41. OpenSoho – have drinks with startup and digital media folks
42. HUB Westminster- The new incubator / accelerator for the ethical business.
43. Facebook Developer Garage – find out the latest goings-on in the world of Facebook
44. Mobile Monday London – find out the latest goings-on in the world of mobile
45. LRUG -meet smart Ruby developers and learn clever coding tips and techniques
46. TweetDeck – track lots of things at once on Twitter
47. Magento – set up a powerful e-commerce website
48. Bit.ly – see how many times people click on the links you share
49. British Library Business & IP Centre – get free access to market research reports
50. Out-law.com – find legal information about IT and e-commerce
51. 99designs – get a logo designed
52. 2 Display.com- The cheapest place on the web to get display stands. I was going to recommend the cheapest place to get good quality business cards and stationary but it changes so often you are best place searching for yourself.
53. London Business Angel Network- The first, the biggest and one of the best Angel Networks in the UK. Not far behind is Envestors and Oxford Innovations
54. SeedSummit – find seed investors
55. Indiegogo.com – A paste and wait investment site where creative with ideas paste up their projects to attract 100’s of small scale investors to fund their new ventures.
56. The E-myth Revisited – learn why you should create a system
57. Getting Real – read how to build web apps faster and more easily
58. The Ultimate Sales Machine – read ideas about how to sell more effectively
59. Passport for Export- Guides and support offered by the government funded UKTI to those in the UK looking to sell overseas.
60. Appsumo – save money on stuff for your startup
61. Enterprise Nation- Emma Jones is one of the best UK bloggers on all things connected to running your own business.
62. Google Alerts – find out whenever someone mentions your startup online
63. SEOMoz Search Ranking Factors – learn what’s important for appearing high up in search engine results
64. The Four Steps to the Epiphany – read the original bible of the Lean Startup movement
65. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development – read the cheat-sheet version of the Lean Startup bible
66. Ogilvy on Advertising – understand advertising better
67. Linkedin- Probably the best B2B contact list – join me and maybe I can get to 500+ and be officially a well networked person.
68. Twitter – it’s big already. Follow me if you’d like to hear about more resources like this
69. Paul Graham’s Essays – pick up entrepreneurial wisdom from the guy behind Y-Combinator
70. Futuristic Play – learn more about online marketing
71. A Smart Bear – absorb entrepreneurial wisdom from an experienced founder
72. Adwords Keyword Tool – find out how many people are searching for something
73. oDesk – hire people on the other side of the world
74. PickyDomains – challenge people to find you a great domain name or slogan
75. Enternships – hire entrepreneurially-minded interns
76. HELO- Get a team of students from UCL and London Business School to carry out a research or development project for free. Great if you want a business plan developing, an idea beta-testing or your competitors checked out.
77. Mentors- The BBA has set up a portal called Mentorsme for inexperienced entrepreneurs looking for a mentor willing to share their experience and insights. If you are in London then check Capital Enterprise who will try to find you a mentor from amongst our members.
78. Seedcamp – get money and coaching in return for a share in your business
79. UserTesting – find out whether anyone can use your website
80. PSD2HTML – convert that slick PSD your designer created into CSS and HTML
81. Sedo – buy a decent domain name
82. VirtualBox – run a virtual Windows machine so you can test old and annoying versions of IE, even if you have a new and shiny Mac
83. Dropbox – share documents with your co-founders
84. Google Docs – share documents with your co-founders and edit them together
85. ProductTank – hobnob with product managers
86. London Startup Digest – get a curated email of London’s startup-related goings-on
87. Social Innovation Camp – do something good with your talents
88. London Funding Conference- Not quite sure the difference between crowd funding and angel funding then check out here for an explanation and giuides on where to go.
89. Marketinvoice.com- A relatively new venture set by our friend Anil Stocker that has a host of funders looking to forward fund your working capital needs.
90. Toastmasters – become more confident talking in front of an audience
91. Soft Loans for Business Growth- Mainly for businesses with trading history but well worth checking out organisations such as ELSBC, GLE and HBV to see if you could be eligible for these £2000-£50000 loans.
92. Enterprise Finance Guarantee – get backing from the government to help you get a loan
93. The Gary Halbert Letter – improve your copywriting
94. PatternTap – web UI design patterns
95. Technology Strategy Board – enter funding competitions and apply for grants for Research & Development.
96. R&D Tax Credits- If you have not worked out that you could be eligible to get back 200% of the money you are spending on R&D then what are you waiting for?- Cjeck out Terry Toms guide and book for a free consultation.
97. The Equity Kicker – read views from Nic Brisbourne, a London VC
98. Looking for a grant?- Check out J4B- the best place to see if there is grant available in your sector or postcode.
99. Dragon’s Den – entertain your friends and family by pitching your business on TV
100. OpenCoffee – attend weekly coffee meetups and mingle with budding entrepreneurs

A presentation given by John Spindler at the Business Bootcamp Extra on 29th July 2011, detailing all the sources of finance and support available

To download this PowerPoint presentation click here Bootcamp Extra Guide to Sources of Finance & Support