News From Newbusiness.co.uk

Moonpig Founder - "My Business Advice"

As the founder of Moonpig, the online greeting card company that is dominating the online card market, Nick Jenkins knows how to start up and run a successful business. His company have 90% of the online card market, three million customers and once sold 99,000 cards on a single day. He talks exclusively to New Business about how to grow a firm sustainably, managing staff effectively and the importance of establishg a recognisable brand.

Raising money

"It helps if the person who is setting up the business is prepared to invest some of their own money, because what's not very exciting is when someone wants you to take all the risk for their idea but they're not prepared to take any of the pain themselves," Jenkins comments. "You accept that not all entrepreneurs starting out on their first business have very much money to invest and risk, but they need to be in a position where it really would hurt if it went wrong."

Growing a business

Moonpig started off with ten staff and now employs 65 people. This has led to some challenges, with Jenkins having to change both his own mindset, and that of the company.

"Managing growth and changes has been tricky, because you have to go from a mentality of trying to save every penny that you possibly can to changing round and starting to invest in growth," he admits.

Jenkins believes that knowing "when to put your foot on the pedal" is a critical issue for all growing businesses. "There were a few bold steps that we took. We invested quite heavily in 2004 in new printing equipment even though this was before we had actually made any money. It was a risk, but it paid off."
 
Managing your staff


Jenkins dislikes management styles that are aggressive and abrasive and believes that this is not the best way to encourage employees.

"Whatever business you're in, you need to get the best out of the people who are working for you, and you need to understand how to achieve that," he says. "There are lots of companies where people are not working at their optimum, and that is just a waste of resources. You want a roomful of people that are doing the very best that they can do, not sitting there stuffing envelopes when they could be running the marketing team."

Letting go

"Creating management structures is critical to growing your business. You must have a layer of people under you that can take decisions without you, otherwise if you try and keep control of all the key decisions then you only grow to the extent that you can take decisions," says Jenkins.

He is practising what he preaches, and now has a management team of five that oversee the running of the business on a day-to-day basis. This allows him to look at the bigger picture of where the company is going. "But a lot of people don't let go at that stage and that's the critical thing - knowing when to let go."

Branding

It is true that 'Moonpig' is the childhood nickname of its founder. While this is an oft-repeated snippet of information, it was not the reason that Jenkins chose the name - he chose it because it fitted perfectly into his business plan.

"I wanted a domain name that was simple, phonetic and engaging, and I wanted to find two words that would go well together but were not normally used with each other," he says. "If you put Moonpig into Google in 1999 nothing came up, there was no use of the word at all. Now there are lots of references, but they are all references to us. When I was going through a list of all the different words that I could have chosen Moonpig came up and was available."

The firm's logo also reflects the message that the business is pushing out about its brand. "It's fun and cheeky and a lot of what we do is making fun and cheeky cards," says Jenkins. "Having a little Moonpig character with his cheeky grin works very well, and having a character rather than an inanimate object works well as it injects some personality."

Article taken from http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/articles/entrepreneurs/moonpig-founder-%E2%80%98my-business-advice%E2%80%99

Hire Smarter With Social Media

A recession might seem like good news for employers looking to hire: with unemployment rates up, you've got more people to choose from and the opportunity to hire at a lower price.

While the current economic situation might make this a great time for you to expand your team, it can actually make hiring more expensive. Post a job ad and you're likely to be swamped with potential applicants; and if budget is tight on your end, you've probably got limited capacity to screen a large pool.

Social media can help you focus your recruitment efforts to get great results in any economic climate. Here's how you can use social media tools to make the most of your next hire:

Reaching potential applicants

If you want to attract a thousand applicants so you can spend a week reviewing résumés, go ahead and post on Monster. To make efficient use of your time and attention, reach out through the social networks you and your employees already use, and through the online channels that reach your key audiences. Your online networks are likely to skew young, reaching applicants who might not hear of a job through traditional channels, and if you encourage people to forward, blog about, and tweet your postings, you can extend your reach into specific communities (e.g. minority groups, young women) who may be under-represented in your firm.
Post your job on your Facebook page or as a status update. Tweet the URL of your posting; people love to retweet job ads, so you're likely to get lots of free PR as your URL gets forwarded.

Finally, post your job on your own blog, and send the posting to leading bloggers who cover your industry, and to bloggers for communities you want to recruit into your company.

Screening applicants

Online tools can support your screening efforts by asking applicants to provide their details in a structure that is easy for you to review, by giving you a window on your shortlist before you even meet, and by enabling effective collaboration during the interview process.

Wufoo lets you create online forms that you can embed in your own web site, and gives you great behind-the-scenes tools for tracking and annotating incoming applications. For each kind of skill or experience you're seeking, ask applicants to provide at least one specific example of relevant work history. Empty boxes — or examples that really stretch the definition of relevance — will make it easy to identify qualified applicants.

Once you have a shortlist, don't just google them; look them up on Technorati (to find their blog posts or comments), Twitter and Facebook. Don't rule someone out just because they once posted a drunken picture; you'll quickly rule out most hires under age 30. Look for patterns of good or bad judgement; an upbeat or a complaining personality; writing style and issue knowledge; and most crucially, positive or negative comments from other people who talk about them.

Validating your choice

Once you've got a preferred candidate or a couple of top contenders, it's time to do your due diligence. That means giving your candidate an even more thorough review, and just as important, giving them a chance to get to know you and assess the potential fit.

When you're getting to know a potential hire online, you need to strike a balance between respecting your employees' privacy and doing your due diligence. Asking for the passwords to someone else's online accounts is a no-no;asking to see them online as they are visible to others is just good sense. You can strike a balance by asking prospects to friend you for a limited time (24 or 48 hours) on any social network where they're personally identifiable, so you can see how they present themselves online and make sure there aren't any examples of bad judgement or online comments that could come back to haunt you (for example, griping about one of your clients). Once you've had a look, it's appropriate for your prospects to un-friend you so that they can have a personal life online and outside of work.

If your prospects aren't comfortable sharing their personal profile with you, talk with them about your specific concerns — for example, have they ever written something about one of your clients' products? — and don't insist on access unless their online profile is germane to their work with you (for example, if they are going to be managing your social media presence).

Finally, a test assignment is a great way to assess a prospect's skills. One of our favorites: asking for a summary of our own company's online reputation. This gives us a snapshot of our applicants' research, analytic and writing skills, and gives the applicant a chance to find out what other people say about our team and our work. If your company attracts positive attention online, this assignment will also strengthen your hiring position by making your applicant eager to work for such a well-respected organization.

Social media can't guarantee a great hire. But the smart use of online collaboration and social networks can help you make effective use of your key resources — your time and your employees' wisdom — so that you recruit the very best from today's applicant pool.

Alexandra Samuel is CEO of Social Signal, a social media agency. She helps companies and organizations increase revenue, build brand and strengthen team relationships by creating compelling online communities and social web presences. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/awsamuel

News From Newbusiness.co.uk

This year small firms that prosper will implement remote working an try and foster improved customer loyalty, writes Martin Lyne, Director for small and medium business at Orange UK

Small and medium-sized businesses serve as the backbone of the UK economy, accounting for just over half of the UK's GDP. In fact, in 2008, there were 4.8m SMEs in the UK, providing 47% of the UK's private sector employment and 36% of turnover. It is no surprise then, that their contribution to the UK's current and future success is crucial. While 2009 will not doubt go down on record as a tough year for many businesses, recovery and success in 2010 will depend on the innovation and business acumen of SMEs around the country - not only to stabilise the UK economy but also to provide a valuable source of employment.

1 Small businesses will lead the charge out of the recession

The growth of the UK economy in 2010 will be greatly influenced by the success of UK entrepreneurs and small firms. The Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) recently claimed that 51%of SMEs intend to continue developing their company this year. In fact, in our 2009 research on the 'Essence of the Entrepreneur,' which surveyed entrepreneurs and the general UK workforce on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, nearly three quarters felt the economic climate of the past few years will see a new breed of entrepreneur rising up from the ashes. The strength and energy that SMEs offer to society and the economy as a whole will help drive the nation on its road to recovery in 2010.

2. SMEs will have the freedom to work where suits them best

For a lot of us, our ultimate dream is a life away from the hustle and bustle of the city in exchange for a more rural setting. Our Value of Connectivity report showed that the South West of England could see a population increase of more than 150% by 2015. This will be a result of universal access to reliable and fast fixed and mobile broadband - as outlined in the Government's Digital Britain report - which will allow more people the flexibility to live and work in a place of their choosing.

However, while for many of us this is only a dream, the flexibility of SMEs makes them natural candidates to work from home or access their offices remotely. As economic pressures stay high in 2010 and cost savings remain a priority, being able to work from home and save on rent will be a big advantage to smaller businesses. The ever increasing sophistication of mobile technology such as smartphones and mobile broadband, has also made it easier for businesses to tap into all the resources they need, no matter where their location.


3. SMEs will have increased support from Governments and industry


Following the Government's announcement that it intends to cut regulation costs over the next five years, 2010 is likely to see a continuing reduction in red tape for SMEs. This move will no doubt be welcomed by the small business community who regularly tackle tight cash flows to ensure wages and their own suppliers are paid, and to keep their credit rating strong. This move should herald new business efficiencies over the coming twelve months.

4. Small firms will have to strive for customer loyalty online

In 2010, small firms will have to focus their energies on nurturing online advocates for their products and brand. As customers continue to seek the best deal and supplier loyalty remains low, SMEs can't afford not to engage with their customer base online. With the phenomenal growth of social networking sites such Twitter, LinkedIn and other online communities, companies have an open global forum to compliment their brands and products as well as interact directly with customers. Learning from the success stories of other larger organisations, SMBs will embrace social networking even more throughout 2010 as a way of building online customer advocates in a cost effective way.

5. SMEs will use mobile technology to make their working lives simpler

Time-saving technologies, such as mobile banking, hold the potential to greatly reduce SMB's administrative chores. As businesses increasingly use their mobiles like a mini-office, they will also undertake traditionally arduous tasks, like paying bills, from their mobiles. Advanced security functionalities make it quick and safe for SMEs to check invoices and pay suppliers directly from their phones, eliminating the risk of incurring charges from unseen bills.

Conclusion

As we look towards 2010, there are both opportunities and challenges on the horizon - for instance the general election, increased competition from abroad and a fragile economy. However with grit and determination, the UK will no doubt continue to be a strong breeding ground for budding entrepreneurs as we head into 2010 and beyond.

For more information please visit http://www.business.orange.co.uk/