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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 5October. Latest published local government statisticsshow that the fire and rescue services attend over

10,000 serious fires annually at business premises.This not only has obvious life-threateningimplications, but is ruinous for the nation‟s economic

wellbeing, livelihoods and jobs.

Don‟t let your business become a statistic – comeand see how you can permanently improve theresilience of your business to the threat of fire.

This business liaison breakfast presents businesses

owners and managers an opportunity to avoidbecoming a statistic and set in place immediatepractical measures to improve the resilience of theirbusiness to the threat of fire.

For further details and booking arrangements, visit:

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

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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 & supportTeam. Cynthia will provide a wealth of advice on what'shappening in the tax, VAT and NI world, with aparticular focus on what‟s new for 2011. The event willtake place at 6.30 for 7.00pm at the Best Western EltonHotel, Main Street, Bramley, Rotherham, S66 2SF onMonday 4 October. Following a 3-course dinner, theevent 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  

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Business is Booming Seminar - Leeds 5 October 2010 Courtesy of the Federation of Small Businesses inYorkshire you are invited to enjoy a complimentaryevening with the World‟s Number One Business Coach andlearn 28 proven strategies to massively GROW yourbusiness. On October 5th 2010 the world-renowned

Australian entrepreneur, author and business coach BradSugars will be live in Leeds to explain exactly why

 “Business is Booming”. From the evening you will walkaway with the vision and drive to take your business to

the next level, an abundance of proven successfulbusiness strategies, the confidence in yourself and yourbusiness and the 5 most important metrics towards

financial improvement. We are expecting this event to sellout. 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/ 

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Enterprise Marketing Vouchers support marketing costsEnterprise Marketing Vouchers are a way of helpingsmall businesses based in Yorkshire and the Humberto access funding to implement marketing projects.

The funding may be used for developing coremarketing materials and tools such as logos,websites and literature. The funding is available tocompanies that are under 5 years old or are about to

start trading that have a clear marketing requirement that demonstrably has thepotential 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 theneeds of the business whilst providing top up funding to remove some of the cost. Itdoes not cover the cost of print or other capital purchases but can be used for mostaspects 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 businessesConnect Yorkshire is staging a

 “Right Funds 4U” seminar at 5.30 to8.00pm on 5 October 2010. The

seminar is aimed at companieslooking to fulfil their growthpotential by securing investment, and will examine the funding streams available. This isan 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 andbusiness angel finance options. There will also be an opportunity to network overrefreshments.

LA Piper, Princes Square, Leeds For full details visit: http://www.connectyorkshire.org/?page=Event&itemid=291843  __________________________________ 

Visit our Schools WeekThe 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

Brad Sugars

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October. Hundreds of schools and colleges have signed up to give businesses theopportunity 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 ShowcaseThe annual Business Showcase is returning toDoncaster once more on 13th and 14th October at

Doncaster Racecourse, this year promising to bebigger and better than ever before. The two dayevent will bring together people from across the

Borough and surrounding areas to promote theirbusiness, gain inspiration from keynote speakers andlearn the latest business skills from a range of workshops and networking opportunities. The eventis also an opportunity for individuals to find about the

help and support available in Doncaster and help turntheir 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/131010_141010_DN_Business_Showcase.asp 

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More competition needed in the banking sector - FSB

The Government must encourage morecompetition in the banking sector if the UKis to fully recover from recession, said the

FSB in its response to the consultation „Financing a private sector recovery‟. Adecade ago, the Cruickshank Report foundthat the four main UK banks held 83 per

cent of the banking market to smallbusinesses. It is vital the Government looksat new ways to change behaviour in thecredit market for small firms, as the

economy cannot return to business as usualwith current lending conditions, said the FSB. This is likely to be a hot topic as businessorganisations and Ministers rub shoulders during Party Conferences season. Over 40 percent 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 arebeing 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 innationalised and capitalised banks to other banks, promote financial intermediaries toviable small businesses unable to access finance, introduce a series of regional capitalmarkets 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 OfficeNetwork.

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

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SMEs urge Government to scrap costly and burdensome legislationResearch reveals that UK small businesses are concerned that theGovernment‟s agenda will not focus on the most pressing issueswhen it comes to protecting their interests and stimulating growthin the economy. Small businesses want the Government to focusits efforts around reducing regulation on the areas of Employment

Law and Health and Safety Law. A third of SME owner-managerscite Employment legislation as the area of business that mostneeds a reduction in Government regulation. The same percentagecites 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 UKhas 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 Junecompared with the previous three

months, the Payments Council said.Withdrawals from cash machines fell by£1.6bn compared with a year ago, a dipof 3.2%. Cheque usage also slumped as

people used debit cards for dailypurchases. The Payments Council has set

a target date of October 2018 for the phasing out of cheques, if adequate alternativesare developed.

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

New National Insurance contributions holiday scheme to encourage start-upsThe „Regional Employer NICs Holiday for New Businesses‟ offers substantial reductions in employer NICs for newbusinesses in those parts of the UK most reliant on publicsector 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 holidaywill last for the first 52 weeks the employee is in post (providing these weeks fall withinthe 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 yearsUK 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 theBritish Beer & Pub Association. This and other major changes affecting the UK beer

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market are revealed in the newly published BBPA Statistical Handbook 2010. There wasa sharp, six per cent decline in total alcohol consumption in 2009, making it the fourthannual decline in five years. UK drinkers are now consuming 13 per cent less alcoholthan 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 thatanxiety about looming job cutsand tax rises was making

consumers wary of overstretchingthemselves, with official figuresfor August showing a conservativepick-up in trade on the high streetbut a sharp decline in new car

sales.The British Retail Consortium said

UK retail sales increased 1% on alike-for-like basis during August – compared with a 0.1% decline inthe same month a year ago.

Separately, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported that 55,305 newcars were registered last month, 17.5% fewer than the previous year when consumerswere 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 onlineCharity shops have emerged as a

beneficiary of the recession, as hard-upshoppers looking for bargains turn theirbacks on commercial retailers. Profits inthe country's charity outlets increased by6.7 per cent last year, raising more thanhalf a billion pounds for good causes.However, charities are concerned about

the quality and quantity of donated stock,complaining that cheap modern clothes donot last well enough and that increasingnumbers of people are choosing to sell

their unwanted items online or give themto 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  __________________________________ 

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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. 

FSB GUIDANCE SURGERY

The Federation of Small Businesses has joined forces with Costco Wholesale to provide a weeklyBusiness 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!