Hot on the heels of LikeMinds came Exeter’s Twestival… How did you participate? What did you get out of it? What did you contribute?

It’s the second one run in Exeter after a successful inaugural event in 2009.  Boy was there a buzz in the room with 300 of so “social web people” there.  Every third participant seemed to be live streaming it from their iphone back to their blog and if you weren’t tweeting at the same time then you may as well have had a sticker on your forehead saying “old school tie”.

So how do business owners use social media?  Can they use it as a business tool rather than as a toy.  Are they just kidding themselves that it is time well spent or does it really add value to their business.  I had my own views, but I was curious to see what the experts had to say now that social media tools have matured and evolved.

The majority of speakers and panellists convinced me that SM does have a place in B2B marketing and is not just B2C or for frittering away your time.  Follow the #likeminds tweets for a sense of the mood.  For me the message was clear: ask yourself regularly what the ROI is on your investment in SM tools and time.

The speaker and participant list was impressive with the following topics up for discussion:

Keynote: ‘Making Connections – an outsiders view of Social Media’ with Jonathan Akwue

Panel: ‘How are we changing the way we communicate?’ moderated by Daren Forsyth, with Glenn Le Santo, Heléna Holt and John Harvey.

Like Minded Endeavour: Leap Anywhere, with Malcolm Scovil.

Keynote: ‘Time for a Strategy: Beware Social Media Tokenism’ with John Bell

Panel: ‘What are the key components for Social Strategies?’ moderated by AJ Pape, with Maz Nadjm, Charlie Osmond and Gemma Went

Like Minded Endeavour: Hospiscare with Amy Kilburn.

Keynote: ‘Emergent media for Person-to-Person Communication’ with Joanne Jacobs

Panel: ‘What are the tactics, tools and methods for engagement today?’ moderated by Lloyd Davis, with Ilicco Elia, Madlen Nicolaus and Andrew Davies.

Like Minded Endeavour: Twestival, with Aren Grimshaw.

Keynote: ‘Integrating People-to-People’ with Olivier Blanchard

Panel: ‘How can organisations take the first steps towards integrating People-to-People?’ moderated by Andrew Gerrard, with Steve Bridger, Benjamin Ellis and Gabrielle Laine-Peters.

Keynote: ‘Social Media and B2B: How to Build Outstanding Advocacy’ with Yann Gourvennec

Panel: ‘How can dying business models innovate through people-to-people?’ moderated by Vikki Chowney, with Kevin Anderson, Edward Barrow, and James Whatley.

Like Minded Endeavour: The Have A Heart Appeal, with Matt Young

Keynote: ‘Building People-to-People Communities and Networks’ with Chris Brogan

Panel: ‘Where are the forward thinking organisations going next?’ moderated by Trey Pennington, with Molly Flatt, Kate Day and Kristian Carter.

Final Words

With founders Andrew Ellis and Scott Gould.

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The Code aims to promote fairness in commercial leases, and recognises a need to increase awareness of property issues, especially among small businesses, ensuring that occupiers of business premises have the information necessary to negotiate the best deal available to them.

The Code is voluntary so occupiers should be aware that not all Landlords will choose to offer Code-compliant leases. The Government, however, takes a keen interest in ensuring the property industry complies with this voluntary Code.

The Occupier Guide is not a substitute for professional advice and tenants are encouraged to seek professional advice as soon as possible.  Truelegal can advise you on its suitability and assist with its drafting.

The Code consists of three parts:

• 10 point requirements for landlords in order for their lease to be Code-compliant;
• a guide for occupiers, explaining terms and providing helpful tips; and
• a model Heads of Terms (which can be completed on line and downloaded).

Download the entire code (PDF 544Kb).

The Code for Leasing Business Premises is endorsed by:

Source: www.leasingbusinesspremises.co.uk

Even though you work just down the road you may have come across our site through the internet.  This website – although in its early stages having launched in 2009 – does just that: Local Solicitor.co.uk

Using a local solicitor can be very convenient.  We act for businesses from all over the country, but some of our best clients are those just around the corner.  Swapping notes over a coffee or pint is often helpful and means our client gets some “free” help and we get to reinforce our reputation with the client.

Now you’ve arrived here, ask us any questions using Ask a Solicitor enquiry form or just pickup the phone. Hey, if you are really that local just pop down the road and look us up. We’re next to Lloyds Bank…

Truelegal is proud to be a founder member of “Spectrum”, an innovative group of specialist law firms, each one dedicated to a specific area of law.  Spectrum’s ethos is to bring together lawyers who are practical, commercial and highly experienced in their chosen field.

Our members focus on providing exceptional service to businesses nationwide at a highly competitive cost.

(1) Ignore, Pray, Worry – keep your head buried in the sand, it might just go away

(2) Act , but DIY – surely you could work this out yourself …

(3) Contact an Expert

The law of averages says that your luck will run out eventually.  You may have got away with making choices (1) or (2) for months or years.  But in the long run choice (3) should be what a successful entrepreneur automatically makes.

Now, you’re thinking (3) is the expensive option. You’re going to be paying fat-cat lawyers, accountants, consultants to tell you what you already know.  Their fees are going to outweigh the benefit 10x.

Well, I don’t believe that is the way you should be thinking about the expert. Or at least that’s not how we think.  Your business lawyer should be honest and straight with you.

So if it’s a legal claim, the cost benefit analysis should be done right at the outset – and don’t just count the £££ cost, factor that management time and opportunity cost in too.

The same argument applies to other areas of your business. Proactive, well-delivered and executed advice on restructuring a group, new investment or a revised finance package, or on implementing correct contractual documentation (not just small print for small print’s sake!) can save your business £1,000s or £10,000s.

Ask any business agent what adds 10-30% to a business’ value and the ease with which it can be sold and exited,  tidying up your legals and processes will feature at the top of their list.

Have you considered how you will exit your business? Have you considered a legal audit of your business’ needs?  If not I would encourage you to do so.

Please do contact us now to set up a free no obligation review to increase the value of your business by investing some time and money now.

Kind regards

Martin Truman

Truelegal – Law for Entrepreneurs

What you enjoy most is the big picture – the “on” the business stuff, not dealing with the everyday ”in” the business issues.

Many of the issues you face as a business owner or senior manager are outside of your comfort zone or expertise.  You may find yourself spending hours or even days resolving (or losing sleep over)something which actually is quite simple – but simple only to those who have done it before.

As a lawyer advising business owners for many years I find my greatest satsifaction comes from helping entrepreneurs see the wood from the trees by providing guidance on the red tape, legal or quasi-legal stuff that gets in the way of sales and making money.

Truelegal has a tight circle of entrepreneurs as clients with whom we work very much as their “legal director”/”in-house counsel”/commercial adviser or however they chose to badge it.  It comes down to us providing cost effective legal advice at board and senior management level.  Available on site, or at the end of a phone out of hours.  This frees up their creative and operational juices and takes the weight of the “legal millstone” off their backs.  When they analyse our relationship they tell us that we have been able to allow them to focus on what they are good at and enjoy.

And the net effect is that they work more efficiently, and hey presto, they get their work-life balance back to.

Do what you’re good at and delegate the rest.

To talk to me about Truelegal removing that burden, please click here for contact us details.  We can chat through or exchange emails about your concerns. And if you want to explore further I or a colleague will arrange to meet up at your business and guide you through how we can help and save you time, money and worry. 

Take that step now!

Martin Truman
Truelegal – Law for Entrepreneurs

… so many questions to ask, and so little time.  Have you been putting off those “problem” issues or losing sleep over something you haven’t done or don’t really understand?

Who? What? Where? Why? When? How?

Truelegal is a one stop firm for legal answers and advice to business owners and entrepreneurs the UK.

Contact us now (no clock running, no obligation and confidentially): click here

If we can’t help you, or we think you’d be better off using someone else, we’ll tell you.

Kind regards

Truelegal – Law for Entrepreneurs

As a small to medium-sized enterprise, you may have viable business plans that need funding and for which a loan would be appropriate. However, you may be struggling to access the finance or working capital required because of the additional risks arising from the economic downturn. The newly announced Enterprise Finance Guarantee is intended to overcome this by providing lenders with a government guarantee, mitigating their risk exposure to just 25 per cent of the loan value. The Guarantee is part of the government’s Solutions for Business portfolio and is (supposedly*) available to businesses throughout the UK through approved lenders. *Supposedly, I say, because we have only just started to see evidence of it at the coal face with bank managers.

Participating lenders administer the eligibility criteria and make all commercial decisions regarding borrowing. The decision whether or not to use the Enterprise Finance Guarantee with any loan rests with the lender and follows their commercial assessment of the proposition. You can find out more about the Enterprise Finance Guarantee on the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) website.

The main features and criteria of the scheme are:

• a guarantee to the lender covering 75 per cent of the loan amount, for which the borrower pays a 2 per cent premium on the outstanding balance of the loan, payable to BERR (the first year premium will be 1.5 per cent)
• the ability to guarantee loans from £1,000 to £1 million and with terms of up to ten years
• availability to qualifying UK businesses with an annual turnover of up to £25 million
• availability to businesses in most sectors and for most business purposes, although there are some restrictions

The government has also introduced a package of support and further financial measures as part of its Solutions for Business portfolio. This has been designed to provide help for businesses through the economic downturn. You can find out more in a guide published by Business Link about the support offered by the government’s Real Help initiative.

Subjects covered in the Business Link guide are:

• Introduction
• Loans
• Where to look for a loan
• Obtaining a loan and offering security
• Overdrafts
• Loans from friends and family
• Providing a guarantee for your loan
• Enterprise Finance Guarantee
• Here’s how securing the right loan helped my business develop

This is an Insider’s Guide written by Martin Truman, a solicitor who has worked in the legal sector for 15 years.  Here’s the contents page to give you a flavour of what he has to tell you:

Introduction

When should you use a business lawyer?

Finding the right lawyer
# Tip 1 Where to look?
# Tip 2 What to consider?

Questions to ask
# Tip 3 Preparation for the first meeting
# Tip 4 Expertise and Experience – Honesty and straight-forwardness
# Tip 5 Costs
# Tip 6 Agree a timescale
# Tip 7 Communication
# Tip 8 Technology
# Tip 9 Risk and analysis
# Tip 10 People
# Tip 11 Lawyer’s or Law firm’s style and personality
# Tip 12 Scope of work, assistance and advice
# Tip 13 Confidentiality, legal privilege and conflicts of interest
# Tip 14 Complaints and client satisfaction
# Tip 15 Balance, perspective, perfection and the bigger picture

Download Now… To download your free copy of “How to find the right solicitor”:  Click Here.