Will you? Can you take advantage?

13/01/2013 by 2 Comments

So, the snow is coming?

I was chatting to someone in the pub the other day and the discussion came up that snow was forecast and the cynics amongst us believed that certain things will go up in price because….well because the snow was coming!

Snow shovels, currently at half price (or were when we had the conversation) would become full price again. Rock salt would become a premium product, instead of buy one get one at half price they would be at full price. De-icer wouldn’t be hidden at the back of the store, they would be at the front, at full price!

Is this right – should businesses take advantage of the weather and start to make extra profit?

Should the natural forces of supply & demand be allowed to increase the cost of items that become essential during periods of necessity?

Are you in a business where you can take advantage of the situation? Will you take advantage of the situation?

Of course we should – big business would have no hesitation in taking advantage, so us small businesses should to – shouldn’t we?

Filed Under: General Business Tagged With: , ,

North Devon Council council tax benefit consultation

17/08/2012 by Leave a Comment

The government is making dramatic changes to the country’s welfare system. This involves local councils being asked to come up with new local council tax support schemes to replace council tax benefits. At the same time, the government is cutting the amount of money each district is given to pay for this council tax support.

As a result of this, North Devon Council is encouraging local residents to have their say on the major changes being proposed, which will directly affect working-age people who currently receive council tax benefit.

North Devon Council also invites businesses to express their views on the proposed council tax support scheme, as the impact of these changes could affect customers.

The major changes will need to take into account a 10% reduction in what North Devon Council has to pay for council tax support. It is proposed this will mean people of working age will face a reduction in support from April 2013, while pensioners and some other vulnerable groups are protected from the cuts.

An eight-week consultation is now taking place, with a general survey available at  www.northdevon.gov.uk/benefits, as well as a copy of the full draft scheme. If you would like to share your views, please go online and complete the survey before Monday 1 October 2012.

 

Filed Under: North Devon Business Tagged With: , , , , ,

When did you last update your blog?

12/07/2012 by 2 Comments

When did you last update your blog?

Until I few months ago I was not really aware of the power that blogging has on business opportunities but since I was introduced to a “blogging website” I have been preparing a number of blogs and waiting for the right moment to start publishing them! That moment has arrived and it is all because of The Empower Network and also the North Devon Business Alliance Blogging Competition!

The Empower Network was only introduced to the world of online marketing opportunities last October by Dave Wood and Dave Sharpe Co-founders.

When did you last update your blog?

Now there is every incentive to blog daily or as regular as possible as the results can be explosive! What does strike me is how some blogs never take off and have only one or two entries whilst others have not been updated for months.

It can often be difficult to find time to blog when everything seems to happen all at once and you don’t get a moment to relax, let alone writing any blogs. If you are blogging for business, it is most important to add new content regularly to maintain readers’ interest.

Now the Empower Network is able to support and inspire businesses to write blogs. As well as promoting you, your business and your products and services, blogs can also generate more web traffic and can be very effective.

When did you last update your blog?

When people do find the time to blog, their thoughts, stories and insight are often both fascinating and instructive. Ideally you should spend up to one hour a day blogging even if you do not finish it. Let it become part of your time management – “practice makes perfect!”

So if you have started a blog and not updated it recently or if you want to start a blog, please add content as there is an audience here waiting to read it!

The Empower Network is a home-based business opportunity embracing how entrepreneurs make money blogging from home. You say some people like a blogging system and others don’t but initially it took me a while to get my head around blogging but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. There are so many sources of reference out there on the Internet to help you with content and develop blogging as a way of life. Blogging is a sure way of attracting leads!

The idea is that people who decide to join The Empower Network will have the ability to market anything they want on a blog that is highly ranked and has thousands of visitors daily. Your website will be there – just add your name and photograph. The benefits also include:-

• Low cost entry level to the program to get you started
• It will help existing businesses and is a business opportunity in itself
• Online marketing pays 100% commissions directly into your account immediately , (no waiting 30 or 60 days to get paid)
• You can leverage your Empower Network system to grow your income
• No complicated technology and set up arrangements
• You don’t need to be an expert blogger
• You can generate more leads by blogging straightaway
• It does not matter whether you are new to the internet or not.
If you’re ready to take massive action, learn REAL marketing skills, get real results, and decide to change your life”…
…welcome to The Empower Network     

TO VIEW MY BLOG AS IT APPEARS ON MY EMPOWER NETWORK WEBPAGE PLEASE JUST COPY AND PASTE AND GO TO:-

http://www.empowernetwork.com/barton1/blog/when-did-you-last-update-your-blog/

 

OKAY! NOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CLICK HERE:-

 

Please let me have your comments as below.

 Regards


John Barton

Tel: +44 (0)1237 476 068

Skype: jowbarton

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/noahsark10

Source of reference: Robert Zarywacz and Naomi Chapman

 

Filed Under: All Blogs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

What can networking achieve?

23/04/2012 by Leave a Comment

Some aspects of life seem pretty grim at the moment. In many countries, too many people are chasing too few jobs. However good they are, the competition is tough. Even those in work can be worried about the future, while many business owners are not as confident as they would like to be. And what about young people? What future can they look forward to?

Against this, it’s heartening to see the occasional glimmer and even better when we can help directly, even if it’s passing on a contact and wishing someone success.

I was delighted to hear today that someone to whom I had passed details of a job vacancy was starting work. I also heard that several new businesses who had asked for help have started to receive professional mentoring.

Now, all I did was pass on information. However, to me it demonstrated the power of networking: listening out for people’s individual needs and knowing where to direct them for the appropriate help and support.

When millions are out of work, it’s important to remember that each one of those millions is an individual and that millions of individual acts of support can help them. I think that sometimes smaller acts can achieve greater results than some large regional or national initiatives.

To me networking is far more than working a room to get any piece of business that is going at any price. Giving and helping others is just as important as getting a big, juicy contract.

It’s a question of balance.

What do you think?

 

Filed Under: Networking Tagged With: , , , , ,

If things are bad, make them better

20/03/2012 by 1 Comment

Recently, I have been very IMpressed by the North Devon business community.

I’m impressed by a number of businesses I’ve seen investing in and improving their operations. I’m impressed by young people who are eager to find jobs and who are doing impressive work in schools. I’m impressed by people I see working very hard to improve the economy.

Yet when I look at the many things that are wrong, I could easily become DEpressed.

Like everywhere else, the problems are big: unemployment, disconnected young people, empty shops, red tape and more.

I see a choice: moan about how bad things are – so they’ll stay bad – or work to improve them.

I choose the latter, even though I know any action taken now is likely to take several years or more to have a visible effect. Is that a reason not to do anything?

And who is going to do it? It’s not going to happen by itself.

I guess it’s up to us.

Many of us are already working hard to develop our businesses, but we need to improve the business environment in which we operate.

If we want to have up-to-date infrastructure such as superfast broadband, it’s up to us to demonstrate the market need. If we find council planning departments are obstructing economic development and deterring investment, we need to let councils know. If we find bureaucracy is stifling enterprise, we need to let our MPs know.

The voice of one business is unlikely to change anything. The voices of a hundred businesses won’t necessarily change anything either. Perhaps hundreds or thousands of vocal businesses can start to create a stir and continued lobbying by these hundreds or thousands of businesses over weeks or months will start to be heard.

Is it worth it?

Today I have been so impressed by the work of school students that it has inspired me to write this blog. These talented young people will soon be making career choices and the North Devon economy needs them to regenerate the local workforce. But it takes a lot of effort to create job opportunities and fund training. I think that these young people deserve the best chance possible and that we need it to achieve prosperity in years ahead.

I am impressed with the potential for the future in North Devon . . . even if it requires a lot of very hard work.

What do you think we can do to make things better?

 

 

Filed Under: North Devon Business Tagged With: , , , , ,
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