Business Live: for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs

Practical advice on e-commerce and business resilience from two expert guests.

Nicola Middleton-Groom runs Waxx, selling men's, women's and kids' underwear, swimwear and other apparel.

Her business has the UK distribution rights to this French firm's funky, fresh and colourful products. Nicola's involvement started while she was at University in Manchester.

Nicola discusses how she developed the brand in the UK – and built an e-commerce website from scratch to sell underwear directly to consumers. "Retail is where the fun is at for me," she says.

Nicola researched WooCommerce, Magento and Shopify before she settled on Shopify to build the Waxx website. She described why she chose Shopify and how she developed the site to include clear and simple navigation to make it easy as possible for people to buy.

She covers templates and their limitations, the pros and cons of Shopify, testimonials and integration with ERP and accounting systems. Nicola also explains why her business, with its own e-commerce site, has a presence on Ebay and Amazon.

Our other guest was Steve Knowles – the accountant with a heart and a soul – making a return visit to the studio.

It's always a pleasure to hear from Steve even though he came in bearing worrying predictions about the economy. But that's the point: don't stick your head in the sand.

In our chat today Steve discussed protecting your business from external events, a potential downturn or recession.

Steve runs through some excellent tips (to implement now) about credit control, strengthening and protecting your cashflow, building positive relationships with your bank, the importance of continuing to invest in training and marketing, and more.

Allen Holland on the Nessh Jacket, a high-tech jacket which smashed its crowdfunding target. For every jacket sold one is given to a person affected by homelessness. Plus manufacturing, product design, licensing and international business advice.

Most folk running a crowdfunding campaign might be nervous with 18 days to go. Not Allen Holland.

His Kickstarter campaign for "the warmest jacket in the world," smashed through its target within 24 hours.

Backers love the product. They also love the company's One Sold, One Given promise.

Allen explained how the business has worked with homeless people and charities to ensure the jackets they will donate are fit for purpose.

And he has superb advice for anyone intending to crowdfund. From planning to choosing rewards, pricing, creating a video, and selecting a crowdfunding marketing agency – listen and learn!

Plenty of folk talk the talk when it comes to business advice and motivation. Advisors, consultants or people in high-faluting business roles may be free with their opinions but some have never actually grown an enterprise of any sort.

But from teenage entrepreneur to the youngest ever President of the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Steve Manley has certainly “walked the walk.”

And in his interview on my radio show this week he told a lovely story of walking miles to work in the snow – which turned out to be a formative moment in his career.

A door-knocking experience through Young Enterprise while at college showed Steve how much the world of business – and selling products – excited him. He got a job with an office supplies business and was rapidly promoted, turning around performance. All went well until the business was bought by a giant corporate and Steve realised their values weren’t aligned with his own.

So Steve – who’d always had a desire to work for himself – and colleague, friend and now business partner Mark set up their own business – initially from the back bedroom of his parental home in 2002 – and grew it, Universal Office Products to a highly successful, multi-million turnover firm.

Absolutely passionate about increasing the diversity within the Sheffield Chamber further, and about supporting and encouraging young people, Steve has concrete, specific plans about how, as Sheffield Chamber of Commerce’s new President, he will do this.

It was a great pleasure to interview Steve and I think you’ll enjoy the podcast. Oh, and if you’ve every wondered whether to join a Chamber of Commerce: Steve has good reasons why you should.

Also on the show, and also a great pleasure to interview: Andrzej Kurpiel. Andrzej is behind Bee Blest, a newly launched social enterprise which “works with honey bees to help lift people out of poverty.”

Sales of Andrzej’s popular honey have already supported:

• a community enterprise project in Rwanda and the development
• and maintenance of beekeeping and allied projects in Sheffield, where disadvantaged and marginalised people are helped both to survive and also given a chance to thrive through working outdoors, making friends and developing new skills.

The hallmarks on gold, silver, platinum and palladium don't only prove the validity of precious metals. They tell a story.

And the story of hallmarks themselves (the "marks of the hall") and of how Sheffield's Assay Office came to be after an act of Parliament is absolutely riveting.

Sheffield's Assay Master, Ashley Carson joined me in the radio studio on Friday. There are only four Assay Offices in the UK (Sheffield, Birmingham, London and Edinburgh).

Ashley has served as Assay Master for 25 years and was the youngest-ever to be appointed at the age of just 32.

He oversees Sheffield's hallmarking: over 100 million articles have been assayed, tested and marked during his period of office. Anyone selling an item made of gold, silver, platinum and palladium must have it hallmarked.

What a captivating conversation this was. Ashley held listeners spellbound – do enjoy the podcast with him, below.

Ashley explained:

• the history of the Assay Offices in the UK,
• why Sheffield's Assay Office was launched in the 18th century,
• the international reputation of the Sheffield Assay Office, its specialism, and comparisons with the three other offices,
• how hallmarking has developed,
• what the symbols in hallmarks mean,
• how changing fashions and tastes and new technology have changed the way Assay Offices work,
• who can send articles to an Assay Office for hallmarking?
• the process of assaying, testing the purity, and then marking each article (this is absolutely fascinating),
• the skills of his team and how they've evolved,
• diversification into other testing and highly specialised services,
• his proudest moments of his 25 years as Assay Master,
• how and why Ashley started work in the Assay Office and developed his career,
• some leadership advice,
• his passions outside of his work.

I hope you enjoy this interview with Ashley, I was engrossed. Timings:

• 0 - 3:16 introduction and updates, including the opening of Boeing's factory next to the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield
• 3:16 - 51:42 Ashley Carson

"Young people are taught to be good at exams, but with very little context of how what they’ve learned will apply to real life," according to Jon Maiden, co-founder and CEO of Panjango.

That means, he says, they don't have the skills they need for work and society, for the jobs of today, and the new jobs of the future.

But serial social entrepreneur Jon has come up with a powerful, immersive and playful route for children to explore the sometimes mysterious world of work.

Jon joined me in the Sheffield Live radio studio this morning and brought with him Panjango's beautifully designed board and card games, The Panjango Game and Panjango Trumps.

They've been created thanks to support from The Young Foundation, and are now available to order via Kickstarter. The games look fantastic and are designed to enable give young people the knowledge, skills and experience to find their purpose and fulfill their potential.

Listen to the interview with Jon, below, to hear more about Panjango's games and the philosophy behind them – it was a wide ranging chat. We also covered:

• being "smarter than a 10 year old" and the balance between intelligence and imagination,
• developing "four dimensional skills" for the future, including for jobs which don't yet exist,
• Panjango Trumps are a world first – and they include metrics for the social impact of a variety of roles (which I loved), as well as other numbers you might expect to find on the cards,
• Jon's previous work as a social entrepreneur and development director of Point Blank Theatre Company, which bought The Riverside pub in Kelham Island when it was a struggling pub and ran it as a flourishing community venue with a diverse range of activities,
• access to funding for startup social entrepreneurs, with shout-outs for UnLtd and Awards for All.

This week's show is dedicated to Phil Baldwin, a much loved colleague and friend at Sheffield Live. We are all shocked and devastated by his passing. Thank-you, Phil, for your kindness, humour, support for your colleagues and ready wit, and determination to do things well. You will be missed.

Timings:

• 0 - 3:02 introduction and some words about our Phil,
• 3:02 Jon Maiden,
• 37:40 remembering Phil Baldwin.

What next?

• More about my Business Live radio show, and other podcasts with interesting guests.
• Panjango on Kickstarter, and on twitter.
• As mentioned in the show: The Young Foundation, UnLtd and Awards for All.

By writing "Rob the cartoonist" I'm not imploring you to go and mug an illustrator.

Please don't.

But do listen to this new interview with Rob Middleton, a cartoonist, illustrator and teacher based in Japan, on my latest radio show.

The programme also features studio guests James Barthorpe and Paul Simpson of Food Circle Supermarket.

James and Paul cover:

• Food Circle Supermarket is an online retailer purchasing surplus food from manufacturers, which would otherwise go to waste, and selling it to consumers at a discount.
• The business has grown at least 10-fold since March, and this week won the Hallam Enterprise Award.
• How the business has progressed, highs and lows of the last few months.
• Understanding their customers' requirements and figuring out a marketing formula which works.
• Testing, tracking (but avoiding vanity metrics), learning and refining.
• "Not everything works first time. It took us a few months to find the formula that works; now we've found it we're experiencing significant growth."
• Developing partnerships.
• Help from Business Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and RIDO.
• Other winners in the Hallam Enterprise Awards.
• What Paul and James can do with their £5,000 prize.

Rob Middleton covers:

• Rob's journey from financial advisor to illustrator and from Lowestoft to Japan via Budapest.
• His influences as a cartoonist.
• Creating resources for use in the classroom.
• How feedback from children changed his cartoons.
• Rob's work illustrating books for authors all over the world.
• How he's secured clients, his previous "half hearted" approach to marketing, and what's working now.
• A lightbulb moment: "If I'm making some money by people finding me by accident, if I actually learned how marketing worked, I would get more customers."
• Doing (business and marketing) courses doesn't lead to results unless you implement what you've learned and take action.
• The importance of accountability to freelancers and small business owners – not in doing what you sell and are good at, but in taking action to develop your business.
• Gerald the Goat.
• The social media approach that works for Rob.
• How to give a designer or illustrator a tight, specific brief.
• Living and working in Japan.

Timings:

• 0 - 3:01 introduction and updates, including Sheffield named third best city in the world in which to start a digital firm; Sheffield Business Awards shortlist revealed; reminder about new Social Enterprise UK research,
• 3:01 - 17:52 James and Paul, Food Circle Supermarket,
• 17:52 getting in touch with the show,
• 18:25 - end Rob Middleton.

PLUS new report reveals £60bn contribution made by social enterprises to the UK's economy and other facts and figures.

It's International Translation Day this Sunday. What better time then for a radio interview with consultant translator Sarah Silva.

Sarah is a chemist who translates science into sales for international clients and the author of "Small Island Big Business – The Insider's Guide to Success in the British Market."

She joined me on my latest Business Live radio show, broadcast on Sheffield Live this morning (with the podcast available below), to discuss:

• her work, translating from German to English with a specialism in chemical information,
• whether machine translation is disrupting her industry,
• international perceptions of the UK market,
• useful tips if you need translation, how to go about it and what to look for,
• international business and differing approaches to communication in different cultures (with SUPERB advice if you want to do business with German customers),
• the impact of Brexit,
• International Translation Day,
• advice for developing a career or business as a translator

I really enjoyed talking with Sarah. You'll enjoy the podcast! Timings:

• 0 - 2:10 introduction and updates
• 2:10 Sarah Silva
• 46:54 news about the £60bn contribution made by social enterprises to the UK's economy with other facts and figures from the new "Hidden Revolution" research and report
• 49:48 end

This week's Business Live programme covers winning government contracts, writing a business book, undertaking education as an adult and more. The podcast is below – guests are Emma Jones and Peter Byrom.

Emma Jones founded Enterprise Nation, a network helping people to start and grow small businesses, and is the SME Crown Representative, working with Government to hit a target of spending one pound in every three with small firms.

Peter Byrom looks after people's hearing. He runs Peter Byrom Audiology and has extensive experience fitting hearing aids, within the NHS and in private practice; he's helped numerous business people who need to interact with clients and are worried about their hearing.

Emma talked about:

• Enterprise Nation's mission and history and how it helps members,
• What her role as SME Crown Representative means in practice – how is the Government going to achieve the objective of spending more with small businesses?
• How business and social enterprises can win government contracts (and contracts with large suppliers to Government),
• The importance and value of getting involved with "early market engagement" exercises,
• Advice for business leaders who want to write a book (Emma has published 7),
• Protecting your business against factors you can't control but which will affect you,
• Who’s inspired Emma, why and how?

Peter covered:

• Whether reluctance to wear a hearing aid holds people back in business,
• Leaving school with one O-Level then working on a building site led to his own hearing loss – and an enduring interest in audiology,
• Studying for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees later in life,
• Managing tinnitus and hearing loss, and a crucial discovery,
• The transformative impact of looking after your and your employees' hearing,
• Developing his audiology practice, listing your business on directories and the power of positive reviews.

Timings:

• 0 - 2:15 introduction and recap of last week's show,
• 2:15 - 28:13 Emma Jones,
• 28:13 - 48:00 Peter Byrom,
• 48:00 - end (50:40) forthcoming events and wrapping up.

Two super guests joined me in the Sheffield Live radio studio this morning: Madge Woollard and Steve Pipe. The podcast is below. It covers:

• why using business as a force for good, for positive changes NOW and without guilt-tripping (but with smiles) is great for the world and great for your business,
• learning to play piano with a person-centred approach; finding a piano teacher; and building a piano teaching studio (while competing with lessons on YouTube).

Piano teacher Madge Woollard has been teaching for over twenty years. She works in schools in Sheffield and operates a practice from a studio at Hagglers Corner.

Madge gives lessons which focus on her individual pupils' needs. Whether that's entering an examination or learning to play pieces they love, she ensures her students – adults and children – get the most from their lessons.

In the interview Madge described her approach to teaching, discussed what she loves most about music, why she became a music teacher, and gave some advice for people learning music. She also flagged where she draws advice and inspiration from and give some tips to music teachers. And Madge highlighted the forthcoming Diversity Fest in Sheffield at which she will perform.

You can use your business as a force for good. And good business makes business sense, according to multiple data sources, and according to Steve Pipe.

Accountant (and father, guitarist, tennis player) Steve is well known in business having written seven books. He told me about B1G1, enabling businesses of all sorts to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Steve covered rational decision making (not the normal behaviour for most people and business owners!) and how business leaders can (and right now) create life-changing positive impacts in the world.

This could be about access to clean water or education, alleviating poverty, positive action for the environment, reducing inequality or one or more of the other UN Goals which B1G1 enables businesses to transparently support. B1G1 has already enabled over 150 million life-changing giving impacts.

He also makes the point: we should be doing this anyway. But even if business leaders don't think it's their – our – responsibility, it makes absolute sense to use your business as a force for good because it makes the world better and pays commercially, increasing loyalty, word-of-mouth referrals, productivity and increasing businesses' sustainability.

Steve shared how you can access a free and tailored-to-you "Giving plan," a written report to show how you can build impact into your business.

On the programme today:

Ashley Martin, Michael Hudson and Felix Barr, 3 members of the Sheffield Vulcans Rugby Club. Since launching last year, the Vulcans have had an action-packed first season as a club.

Sheffield Vulcans is a member of International Gay Rugby. Ashley, Michael and Felix told me about why and how the club was founded; their ethos and values; their first season's successes on and off the pitch; how the club has recruited a number of high profile sponsors and their hopes for the next season.

Jay Bhayani of Bhayani HR and Employment Law was back on the programme today giving the latest updates about employment law.

It's always a pleasure to hear from Jay on her regular slots on the programme in which she shares valuable advice.

Jay covered GDPR, sexual harassment, a new Women and Equalities Committee Report and its recommendations, proxy voting in parliament, ageism and more. Essential listening!

Also essential: get yourself to events where you can meet other business and social enterprise leaders. And Tom Sutton of the Sheffield Chamber gave a heads-up on three key dates for your diary this autumn.

Timings:

• 0 - 5:47 introductions, recap of last week's show and updates
• 5:47 Sheffield Vulcans: Michael, Ashley and Felix
• 26:23 Jay Bhayani
• 43:08 Tom Sutton
• 49:13 to end wrapping up