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Bank of Ireland “Understanding Local Businesses” Seminar
26th April 2010
Bank of Ireland South Belfast Local Market Planning Group recently organised a breakfast seminar in Balmoral Golf Club. The objective of this seminar was to position Bank of Ireland as proactively supporting Northern Ireland Small Businesses achieve their full growth potential in 2010. It was an opportunity for Bank of Ireland to engage with 70 local businesses in the South Belfast region and demonstrate their commitment to NI businesses.
Bank of Ireland South Belfast Local Market Planning Group recently organised a breakfast seminar in Balmoral Golf Club. The objective of this seminar was to position Bank of Ireland as proactively supporting Northern Ireland Small Businesses achieve their full growth potential in 2010. It was an opportunity for Bank of Ireland to engage with 70 local businesses in the South Belfast region and demonstrate their commitment to NI businesses.
Bank of Ireland Head of Economics and Research, Alan Bridle opened the seminar with an in-depth insight into the changing economic and banking landscape for small businesses. Director Maria McAllister followed Alan and delivered an informative presentation on credit markets in NI, changing finance, capital conditions and what is required for a banking proposal, endorsing the fact that the Bank is “Open for Business”. The highlight of the seminar was the Seven Top Tips of Success presented by Bank of Ireland business customer and owner of Framar Health, Paul Maconaglie.
Attendees heard from successful business owner and Bank of Ireland Customer Paul Maconaghie from Framar Health that has continued to grow significantly through innovative management and advice from Bank of Ireland experts on funding growth. The seminar also provided the opportunity for firms to meet with other ambitious local companies, potentially to discuss mutually relevant issues or to make business contacts.
Paul Maconaghie, Framar Health stated:
“I have been running my business Framar Health on the Lisburn Road for the last 29 years. For my sins, I have been asked this morning to say a few words about the experiences and survival of a small independent retailer during the last few years of this recession. Well I can tell you that the previous years in business did not prepare me for years 28 & 29 – these are indeed tough times for the independent retailer.”
“On a personal note I have had my business with the Bank of Ireland for many years and have always received great advice and support from them, which has enabled me to grow my business. I have always found that if you present them with a well thought out business plan they are always very willing to help. I would also like to take this opportunity for thanking our hosts this morning – the Bank of Ireland – for all their help and support with LRBA especially Jeffery Harrison and Ruth Knight from the Lisburn Road branch.”
In Paul’s speech he emphasised to the 70 attendees that after reading an article by Nik Davis, he was prompted to make changes in his own business and therefore created 7 Top tips for success that helped his business continue to grow and succeed through the recent recession. Although these were implemented because of the tougher retailing environment, it is generally good business practice and like so many other businesses when times were good there was never the same urgency to take a closer look at your business. Pauls Top 7 tips are
- Produce regular forecasts– these should be at least quarterly but Paul preferred a monthly report with cash flow being the most important. This has been invaluable information as it has allowed Framar Health owner to see a much more accurate picture of the business on a monthly basis thus prompting a cut in quite a few overheads and costs that had built up, so making the business leaner which would enable Paul to cope better if there was a dramatic down turn in business.
- 80/20 Principle: focus more on core business that is the products and services that make the most money. This is where the 80/20 principle had to be strictly applied – you know the theory 80% of your income comes from 20% of your customers. The EPOS system which Framar Health had put in place a number of years ago really helps in giving this information.
- Do not hold on to old stock now – old stock ties up working capital, so if it is not selling discount the price and get rid of it! During these tough times cash is king!
- Setting realistic banking arrangements – Paul stated: “I felt this should reflect the true risk of my business. I think it is really important to keep the bank informed and up to date about my business affairs because if I didn’t and I broke any arrangements I had with them I would quickly lose their confidence – your bank manager should be your best friend”.
- Make a few smart changes in how you market and advertise your business. Paul provided an example of how he achieved this in his speech: “In the past I would have had a budget for press and magazine advertising, but in the last 2-3 years I have cut that spend directly by roughly 90%. Now some people would say that you can’t afford not to advertise, but what I did was to change how I promoted and advertised my business and I made it a lot more personal – as a business we now go out into the community several times in the year to give lectures and workshops, I also produce a Framar Health quarterly news sheet and I am putting a lot more work and emphasise into the Framar website. The cost of these changes to the business is a fraction of what it used to cost me for advertising in the press and I am seeing much more of a return directly to the business.”
- Invest in your Staff: staff are a huge investment for any business and they are promoting your business on a daily basis, so it so important that they are well trained not only in product knowledge but on retail skills and communication skills. To date Paul put all his staff through a certificate in health food retailing run by our national association, which he is also a member of. Currently Framar Health Staff are also enrolled for a course in retail skills with apprenticeships NI, which is being funded by the Department of employment and learning. All these things not only have given Framar Health better trained staff who are representing the business but it also helps to motivate the staff and make them feel part of the business.
- Regularly research your competition: Paul has become a lot more alert and aware of competition and constantly keeps an eye on any changes that they may make whether it is on price, product mix or services. Paul emphasised: “If I am aware I can respond a lot quicker to any changes I need to implement.”
Paul continued to speak on the importance of working with other businesses in NI to help the local economy:
“These are only some of the changes that I have made in my business, which has helped to consolidate my position. But as a small independent business there is only so much I can afford to do, especially about marketing the area where my business is located, and so there is a bigger picture and that is - the Lisburn Road.”
“A number of retailers realised that we had a gem of a shopping area in Belfast on the Lisburn Road and we needed to promote this endless retail boulevard, but we could only do so as a collective group. So we formed the LRBA (The Lisburn Road Business Association) – It is really important for retailers to understand the great importance of unity. Our strength is in numbers, rather than thinking independently. The Lisburn Road already had a powerful branding and it made sense for us all to work together to consolidate and strengthen that.”
“We also continually lobby local councillors and politicians about concerns for the business community regarding parking, rents, rates, crime etc; All this would be impossible for a small business to achieve on it’s own, but as a collective group of businesses we are able to do so much more – especially now during these tough times for the commercial community on the Lisburn Road and it may just be the difference between survival and failure for many small businesses”.
Bank of Ireland Relationship Manager and South Belfast Local Market Planning cluster leader Ruth Knight stated:
"Enabling and equipping our small business sector to become more innovative in order to achieve sustainable growth are perhaps the greatest challenge and the biggest opportunity facing the local economy. The seminar created the opportunity to ensure the attendees that Bank of Ireland is open for business and address the issues that matter to small firms. It is vital that Bank of Ireland help equip them with the best information and knowledge to become more innovative and achieve real growth.”
End
© Bank of Ireland 2012
