Top tips, advice, case studies, blogs and advisory pieces to answer your questions about running, managing and developing your business and team
Suzanne Watson, Bradford Chamber President has been an owner manager of a micro business in Bradford for 18 years, and understands the complexities of running a business while delivering a service. Suzanne says “I couldn’t have survived without the support and guidance of the Chamber and its members.All content within our toolkit is provided by these very members – Bradford business community’s home-grown experts in sectors including finance, law, HR, marketing and export.
Bradford is a uniquely supportive business community with a work ethic and strength of spirit of which we are rightly proud. This toolkit is created by local businesses for local businesses so your feedback is essential in ensuring we are addressing the issues that matter. Please do share your thoughts, feedback and suggestions for content to ensure here at the Chamber we continue to facilitate the next chapter in the progression and productivity of Bradford’s thriving business community.
Marketing
PR Toolkit
Public relations is often considered a luxury and something that can be avoided until there’s budget available to ‘give it a go’.
But when reputation is everything and your customers want to do businesses with a brand which is socially aware, ethical and relatable, can you afford not to take reputation management into your own hands?
Internal Communications
Marketing and PR is about attracting customers and raising your organisation’s profile, but when it comes to internal communications it is just as important to put in the time and effort to communicate well with your workforce.
After all, employees are the heart of any organisation, and the more engaged they feel with what the business is doing the more positive the impact on productivity and customer service.
How to get the most out of video marketing
For anyone new to using video marketing you need to know where to start to make sure you are getting the most out of your video marketing efforts (including your budget) and ensuring that you are delivering content that your audience will value.
Getting Started with Facebook Ads
Before you create an ad or campaign, first consider what your business goals are. It’s important to know what you want to achieve in order to choose the right objective.
Finance
Getting paid faster and improving your business cash flow
Cash is the lifeblood of any business and getting paid on time is crucial to the success of a small-medium business.
Keeping on top of money flowing in and out and good cash flow management is important to ensure your business growth stays on track and knowing your exact financial position allows you to plan ahead and make informed financial decisions to take your business to the next level.
Business Succession Planning
When the inevitability of change occurs, having an effective business succession plan in place will help to secure certainty and stability. Here are my five top succession planning tips for business owners.
Manage your business financially
For smaller companies, remember profit doesn’t always equate to cash generation so whilst the bottom line may look healthy, if you are not converting this to cash you could quickly find yourself in difficulty.
Finance and Planning
Whether you are a start-up, or an established business, finance and planning are essential to success. Responsible finance providers like BEF play a key role in helping businesses access the finance they need to start, grow and flourish. In this short guide, we detail five top tips to help you ensure your business is finance ready.
International Trade
Exporting is, without doubt, one of the most effective ways of securing a long-term future for your business, riding out recessions, reducing costs and (of course) increasing profits.
Doing business overseas
Shipley-based precision engineering company, Produmax, is a global expert in flight control components and assemblies. Today it is an £8.5 million international business, employing a 80-strong team in Baildon and with exports now accounting for 70% of turnover.
Trading Globaly
Silsden-based hydraulic actuator engineering firm Advanced Actuators supplies oil, gas, water and power generation industries across the globe.
Achieving a 35% growth in 2019 and increasing its workforce by 10%, the company’s boost in business is attributable to an increase in exports and new projects in the Middle East and Far East.
Skills
Skills and People
Invest in training and developing your work force. Know what makes them tick as individuals and their aspirations for the future.
Work experience for employers
Undertaking work experience is often the first step towards helping young people understand the world of work and which career they might be inspired to choose as a result. It is also a great way for students to start developing key employability skills such as communication, organisation and using initiative.
Culture for business leaders
A recent study by James Heskett, Professor Emeritus at Harvard, suggested that half the difference in operating profit from organisation to organisation is attributed to culture. So, there’s little doubt, a positive business culture will motivate and inspire your people to do their best work and improve the performance of your organisation.
Wellbeing
Employee Wellbeing
Healthy, happy employees are more productive at work. Happy staff means satisfied customers. Employee wellbeing is about creating a positive working environment, where everyone can thrive.
Mental Health
Having a mental health and wellbeing support system implemented into your workplace is extremely important in promoting a positive work environment and ensuring your employees know that there is support available.
Mental Health Awareness
Making an effort to nurture our colleagues’ wellbeing as well as their business objectives is good for morale and builds an environment of trust which helps the whole team to be happy and productive.
Information Technology
Legal considerations around using technology in your business
Whether it be an e-commerce platform to sell your goods, a bespoke app to improve your service offering to clients, or the use of cloud technology to facilitate remote working, the harnessing of technology in your business can undoubtedly bring many benefits.
Business telecommunications
Telecommunications has always been important, however over the last 12 months it has become evident exactly how crucial a solid Internet connection and telephony is to all types of businesses and organisations.
Property
Property rental
The leasing of commercial premises can be complex with lease documents often running to dozens or hundreds of pages, however, there are key issues which form the important outline of any commercial letting and which we consider in this guide.
Property Rental
Finding the right place for your business to call home can be challenging. But getting it right can be transformative; leading to greater access to talent, investment opportunities, and chances for collaboration with a like-minded community. Here’s five tips to help you choose a space in which your business can thrive.