RESOURCE CENTRE

Your EnterQuest Bulletin - 16 November 2005

In this week's issue:

• The importance of the 'small business feeling'
• How to make sure your online customer service measures up
• ID theft and Companies House
• Rootkits - a growing security problem
• The British Library website reviewed

Small business answers

If you have any questions about your business idea or target market, or need help tracking down a grant, subsidy or business support in your local area, then send an e-mail with your query to the EnterQuest information team and we'll do our best to help.

Send your question to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com.

To access over 800 factsheets, guides and small business reports, go to www.scavenger.net.

Weekly stir

The importance of the 'small business feeling'

A lot of people new to running their own enterprise often don't realise that operating a small business can offer you several advantages over the bigger firms in your sector.

Instead, too many new business owners begin trading while making assumptions like:

• "We can't compete with the prices offered by the big guys."
• "We haven't got the marketing reach or sales force to match them."
• "Their employees are better than ours."

Now this may be true, but it doesn't have to be. Of course it's a fact that bigger businesses have got economies of scale that smaller firms haven't, can afford more salespeople out in the field, can spend more than you to advertise in more places, and can tempt new employees with attractive career packages and benefits.

But that doesn't mean that they are any better than you.

In fact, with the right approach, a small business can beat its bigger rivals in many ways because there are advantages about having a small business that big companies simply cannot emulate.

And it's down to you, as the small business owner, to recognise what these advantages are and exploit them for all they're worth.

So what are these special factors that can give a small firm an edge to help them survive or even grow in often fiercely competitive sectors?

In his master work What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School, legendary entrepreneur Mark McCormack talks about the way that big companies strive to create the success factors that enable small firms to grab or generate market share and often grow very quickly.

He talks about the advantage of the 'small feeling' that is so unique to micro and smaller enterprises, which bigger firms will often desperately, but usually unsuccessfully, try to copy.

McCormack says: "There is no other feeling like that in business, or at least any that I have experienced. It's not just the excitement, although that is certainly part of it. It is more a sense of the immediacy and importance that everything takes on, the feeling that what you do from day to day matters, and generates a desire to do even more."

He also highlights how the anxiety suffered by an entrepreneur running a small business is often channelled into urgent and positive action, because it is impossible to be complacent in a micro enterprise when you are always aware that you might not be in business in six months' time.

This puts an edge on everything that you do, and this edge will also be picked up by every member of your team, provided you are encouraging this to happen, creating a 'spirit' that is unique in small and micro businesses.

McCormack refers to this in his book. "There is also an esprit in small, growing companies which is difficult to explain to anyone who has never experienced it. I suspect it is not unlike the feeling one gets from being the member of a champion sports team."

Which is where you, as the owner of a smaller business, have a real advantage over bigger rivals - because your employees can be made to feel like a big cog in the wheel that is your small business.

The advantages that this 'small business feeling' brings include the ability to quickly adapt and try out new ideas, as your employees will experience the satisfaction of being part of it happening. This is especially the case if you encourage your team continually to come up with new ideas, and to find different ways of doing things.

As a result of this, you will not only be able to react more quickly to customer requirements and changes in market needs, but you will also be able to proactively find ways to add more value to your business proposition and test this in your market before your rivals know what is happening.

Of course, to begin with, you might never be able to compete with your bigger competitors when recruiting new people to join your firm, in terms of salaries, career paths, and the fringe benefits and 'package' that they can offer.

But what you can do is articulate and offer that unique small business esprit and experience, and the sense of excitement and enthusiasm that people who are smart enough to realise it will regard as a real opportunity for career satisfaction.

And hopefully they will bite your hand off to accept your offer to come and work in your special little enterprise.

Marketing tip

How to make sure your online customer service measures up

People who've never bought from your business need reassurance that you are a trustworthy venture before they'll buy from your website. Part of this is ensuring you provide a 'real' phone number and business address online, to reassure customers you are genuine, but a lot of it boils down to the quality of your online customer service.

Here are a few things to consider when dealing with enquiries that come in via your website.

• Remember good e-mail etiquette. Set up a business signature file to attach to outgoing e-mails (visit the ICQ training resource for a tutorial explaining how to do this for different e-mail programs), and make sure your tone is concise and completely professional. There are tips on e-mail etiquette and how to construct professional messages at this resource.
• Clarify your response time. It's frustrating for customers to send an enquiry and then wait two weeks before getting a response. Decide how quickly you can respond to e-mailed queries, whether it's 24 hours or three working days, and say so on your website. And don't forget to stick to what you've promised!
• Publish frequently asked questions. Pull together a list of the most common troubleshooting questions your customers ask about your products or services, and post this as an instant checklist for customers on your website - this will save them the hassle of having to contact you.

You can find more tips about setting up an online store in our step-by-step factsheet. And if you're looking to develop your own business website to sell to customers via the Internet, why not check out the Small Business Builder, a unique tool to enable a complete novice to set up a website or online store.

Finally, you can find hundreds more practical tips and tactics to improve your sales and marketing efforts and results in the UK Small Business Marketing Bible.

Legal tip

ID theft and Companies House

You'll have heard of identity theft, a method used by fraudsters to empty people's bank accounts and take out big loans illegally. But businesses registered at Companies House have also been suffering from it.

Here's an explanation of how it works and how to avoid it:

• The most common scam involves thieves writing to Companies House and changing registered details such as business addresses or directors' names. Companies House has no way of checking whether these changes are genuine or not. The thieves then order goods from suppliers to be sent to the new address, before selling them and disappearing.
• The most effective way to avoid being caught out is to sign up for the Companies House 'PROOF' scheme (Protected Online Filing). This involves first registering for the web or electronic filing service on the Companies House website.
• Once you're registered with PROOF, Companies House will only accept requests for changes to registered addresses and directorships made electronically. Requests arriving on paper will be rejected. Since electronic filing involves confirmed e-mail addresses and the use of passwords, PROOF offers businesses better security.

The Companies House website has more information about electronic filing, and details of the PROOF scheme.

And the UK Red Tape Buster has much more information about filing your accounts, changing your company name, appointing directors and dealing with Companies House.

IT tip

Rootkits - a growing security problem

The big technology news of this month has been Sony's use of software installed onto the hard drives of people who play Sony's music CDs on their PCs or laptops. The software is meant to prevent people from copying the CDs to their computers.

But it uses something called a rootkit - a program which doesn't appear in any Windows file listing - and it has already been exploited by hackers to install Trojans. Fortunately, Sony hasn't started selling this sort of CD in the UK yet, but the issue highlights the growing problem of rootkits.

A rootkit is a set of tools used by hackers to create easy access to a computer over the Internet, and to conceal the programs it uses. They can be used to steal passwords, bank account details or information. Some rootkits are even designed to evade virus scanners.

As yet, they're not as widespread as traditional viruses and Trojans, but seem to be growing increasingly popular with hackers and fraudsters. You can check for rootkits on your own system using Sysinternals' free RootkitRevealer tool.

New business idea

Each week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging business ideas in the UK.

Here is this week's idea:

• Hat Maker

Just one word

Regularly improving your vocabulary is not just about learning a new word and its meaning. It will improve your general knowledge and make you feel and act smarter in all sorts of personal and business situations.

Do you know what the word 'disburse' means?

a) dissolve or dismiss
b) legally separate
c) provide compensation
d) pay out or distribute

Answer at the end of the Bulletin.

Website review

The British Library (www.bl.uk)

Offering a number of valuable research resources for businesses, the British Library website should be a calling point for any entrepreneur planning to carry out market research. But how easy to use and accessible is the site?

• Navigation and presentation - the homepage is extremely well designed, with clear, easily navigable lists explaining exactly where to go if you are a business user, a researcher or a library professional. News and useful tools and links are clearly presented, and the site's search engine offers a comprehensive set of tips for how to get the most out of it.



• Accessibility - although the site doesn't feature text-only options or access keys, it does invite comments on its usability and acknowledges that it is working towards W3C compliance. There is also information on how users with disabilities can access the Library's information and buildings.



• Content and usefulness - there is a huge amount of information available through the site, and the Library provides a handy guide to what you can use the site to find. Businesses can benefit not just from a wealth of research resources, but also from access to a knowledge bank of patent information, legal expertise, images and dedicated sectoral information.

  

• Relevance - the news on the site is presented in bite-size chunks on the homepage, keeping everything looking fresh and topical. There are dozens of press releases, archived by year, and the Library has demonstrated how up-to-the-minute its services are through a recent deal with Microsoft which will see the development of a digital library resource.

  

We're confident that the British Library's site will feature at least one business information resource or tool that you didn't know about, and its helpful guides and clear navigation make finding these resources easy and enjoyable.

Our rating - 16/20

Did you know?

Our working culture could change - for the better?

Your employees could soon be working 48-hour weeks, staying up all night or working in the early morning, yet taking just as much leisure time or holiday as before, according to fascinating predictions from Standard Life Bank and consultants the Future Laboratory. The traditional five nine-to-five working days followed by a two-day weekend could soon become a thing of the past, as businesses increasingly allow staff to work at more convenient or productive times of the day.

Search, layout and clarity top priorities for disabled web users

Web users with disabilities say effective search, clear content and good navigation are their top priorities, according to new research from 'user experience' consultancy firm User Vision. The survey questioned over 200 web users with disabilities or learning difficulties, asking them to rank the factors that make sites easier for them to use. Simple layout and plain language were 'very important' to 88%, while only a third of respondents found text-only alternatives for images (ALT tags) helpful.

Worth a visit

Free guides about managing stress and bullying

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a free guide to help small businesses understand its guidelines for managing stress at work. The guide provides practical guidance on controlling and managing stress - which you are obligated to do under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Meanwhile, Acas has developed a free online training course to help businesses tackle bullying. The course covers how to recognise the signs, tips on tackling the problem, and explanations of the consequences of failing to do so.

Practical guide to preventing fraud in your business

The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) has produced a free guide to help small firms avoid becoming victims of fraud. It contains advice and practical suggestions on identifying and preventing different types of fraud, including credit card fraud and fraudulent bookkeeping.

Worth a read

A highly practical whistlestop tour through the essentials of search engine advertising, this book explains the basics of how Google's AdWords programme works, how to bid for and win relevant keywords, and how to monitor and understand the results of your advertising campaign. It's aimed at businesses of all sizes that are thinking of pay-per-click advertising, and is jam-packed with useful tips on issues like how to make the most of your advertising budget. Check out:

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Good luck

The EnterQuest Team

This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate.