Could the Welsh shop their way out of the recession

I visited Cardiff this weekend, and as a born shopper, I took the opportunity to visit the biggest department store in Wales. The new John Lewis store, it's biggest store outside of London we are told, opened for business in the Welsh capital last week.

This new shopping meca is part of a £675m retail development in the centre of the city next to the new library building and only a stones throw from other attractions that the ever developing city has to offer.

And boy was it busy in town, shoppers clutched their smart John Lewis bags as they shunned the more tired and dependable department stores they have visited time and time before. The question is can Cardiff sustain this 280,000 sq four-storey John Lewis store. Already other stores like House of Fraser are discounting lines and running special offers.

Will the nearly 800 staff employed in this clean white shopping palace still be smiling when the shoppers start realising the opening of the queen of all department stores in Wales does not mean that the recession is over. In deed shoppers disposable income is not likely to be any healthier however beautifully laid out the goods are in the aisles.

But the ring of the tills were clear this weekend and whilst bags didn't look overly packed it may be that some Welsh shoppers are trying their very best to raise Wales out of recession through retail therapy alone.

Recession sees sharp increase in demand for women’s enterprise support

Prowess the UK association of organisations and individuals who support the growth of women's business ownership has reported a sharp rise in demand for business support by women. However it also reports that women are delaying starting businesses until the economy stabilises.

After surveying 130 Prowess members, who provide business support to 180,000 women they reported that those providers also report a significant reduction in the availability of bank finance and that it is having a devastating effect on businesses.

"Prowess members are calling for the female dimensions of the recession to be reflected proportionately in programmes of support. Based on the many roles women have, support networks and long-term holistic support will be key in this economic downturn not just for their businesses but the consequences and effect it will have on families and individuals." says Prowess

This comes after this enterprise model was championed by Germaine Greer as she addressed the Prowess 2009 conference, urging women to avoid taking a masculine approach to business and condemning the reckless behaviours that have led the world into economic crisis.

For more information visit Prowess web site

I always knew I could twitter now it brings me business

From a very young age I remember being told to stop twittering. I think I used to annoy my family and friends with the constant twittering and jabbering. But now twittering is becoming not only socially acceptable but a useful business tool.

What am I talking about, well the online micro blogging site twitter of course. If you have never seen or heard of it (I wonder were you have been) then its well worth a visit just to discover the world of tweeting and tweets.

I’ve really lost you know haven’t I and you are asking, what is twitter? Well twitter is a simple micro blogging service. This means you can blog as I am doing here in this article, but the blogs are only very short updates or messages, in fact they are a maximum of 140 characters. These messages are sent out as tweets to your followers.

People select to follow you and then receive your tweets, you in turn can follow them or other people to receive their tweets.

You can twitter about anything you like from what you had for breakfast to how to invest in property in the current climate. Some people tweet for fun other for business or self promotion. Many business users like myself do it to raise their profile. I can tweet my followers and let them know about forthcoming events, talks and training and share my expertise in short useful tips. I can also use it to inform about products but this can be off putting to followers.

The main aim of twitter is to forge links, share knowledge and raise awareness of you, your business or your brand. Selling should be a side product from the promotion of your business. For example I may send tweets about starting in business and people may enjoy reading them and so visit my blog or web site and this in turn may lead them to buy from me. That of course is always great.

Research by mashable.com a leading authority in social media states their are currently over 12 million users on twitter and with istrategylabs.com reporting that 46% of twitter users have a degree and 17 % having a post grad degree it shows a mixed bunch of people using it on a regular basis. In fact women account for 53% of the users and 78% of users are aged between 18 and 49. If these include your target demographics then twitter may well work for you.

Remember, twitter is about linking with others, helping them by sharing knowledge and as with most things in business making connections. Businesses of all sizes are using twitter to connect with their target markets and celebrities use it to keep their fans linked to them. Whatever you use it for twitter can be both fun and informative. Go on give it a go follow me on twitter Rebecca Jones
Want to know more about twitter visit twitter marketing

Women rule the world

I hear tweeting do you

Well I have spent some time last week and this on twitter. Now all I can hear is tweeting although it could be something to do with the bird feeder outside my office window.

The idea of twitter is a message system using your phone or internet connection to send short messages (140 characters to be exact) to those who have chosen to follow you. What messages you send are entirely up to you. Mine are mainly business related and give you links to great web sites I have found and all that great stuff I just know and I think you may like to.

The difficulty is if you start to follow others you then get their tweets and if you don't control it you can spend all day reading about Aled from Wales campaigning for his local theatre and Stacey from the states who loves food and sharing food ideas with you. All very interesting you may think but the value to me is what. Well from my twittering I have learnt bout projects which can benefit my clients, found a guy who can help me with a commercial mortgage I need and generally been entertained by the antics of others.

Want to join me go to http://twitter.com/Rebecca_Jones and select follow and then you to can enjoy hearing about me and my life.

Want to understand how twitter could help you in your business visit http://www.theresultsacademy.com/75-ways-to-use-twitter/

A step too far – is business start up for you?

Are you a would be business owner? Always planning, considering business ideas, developing adverts and designing the logo? Yet you haven’t actually given your notice in at work, taken the lease on a shop, or signed that contract for your first business enterprise yet.

It’s hardly surprising in the current economic situation that you are considering your options very carefully, re-planning, re-calculating and generally wondering if going it alone would suit you.

I have learnt that, for some people, their business idea really is only a dream. They have no intentions of ever starting it up, but the dream itself is enough to give them the escapism they crave.

You now need to decide, will you always be the dreamer, or do you want to be the boss? I believe that now is as good a time as any for most business start-ups. At least this way you would be in control of your destiny rather than waiting for the boss to hand you your redundancy package.

Firstly, what you need to do is start looking at the reasons why you want to be your own boss; and you can then concentrate on these reasons when doubts creep into your mind. Look at the benefits of being self-employed; you know there are downsides but concentrating on them won’t help you make this leap from employment to self-employment.

Secondly, review your skills. Concentrate on what you are good at, not potential failures. Most business owners don’t know everything; that’s why they read books, share with each other, employ staff or ‘buy in’ support when they need it.

Thirdly, know your market. Having a brilliant business idea and no market place is a common business error. Find your market, then identify its needs and offer them what they want.

Finally, if you want to run your own successful business you will need to take that decisive step at some point and, if you have done your research and planning, you will need to make the move at some point. Accept that only you will really know when the time is right, don’t ask family and friends as they are likely to answer how they feel about the idea and it’s not them starting a business its you.

Good luck on your enterprise journey.

British Women wealthier than men

It is estimated that British women will be wealthier than men by 2025, owning 60% of the nation's personal wealth

Go girls

Banks don't consider the people behind a bank account

It seems almost a weekly occurrence now for me to hear about how another business owner I know of looses the battle to keep their business afloat because of the banks.

In general many of these businesses are not bad they actually could be and often have been successful. Experienced staff, orders and a good customer base isn't enough to keep the bank of your back for many business owners.

If a bank decides almost overnight to call in your overdraft its fairly inevitable that you will loose your business and all it means to you, your family and your staff. Its usual for many business owners to have a business overdraft for times in the year or month when expenditure rises above income. Over the year this often sorts itself out. But without an overdraft it can mean paying staff or suppliers is not possible.

If banks are unwilling to consider supporting your business even with a full order book it seems many businesses will have to go the same way. I wonder just how the government's current schemes for business owners will help in these situations.

Maybe banks need to be a bit more supportive to these business owners and help them by giving them the support and advice they need to make their businesses more stable during this unsettled time. Every time a business ceases to trade their staff loose a job, any suppliers owed money will have an impact on their business and the owner will have the difficulty of coming to terms with the upset and personal loss.

Mind you last week I tried to open a new business account with my business bank of over 10 years and they cant even be bothered to call me back so with customer care like that its no surprise they don't care about the real people behind a business bank account.

When will banks get it right?

Hay girls we have never had it so good says pants man

Sir Stuart Rose Chairman of Marks and Spencer's tells us how girls have never had it so good. The best thing Marks ever gave me were good quality pants but Sir Rose tells us women in his workplace have no glass ceiling to worry about although they still do moan about it.

Talking of his staff he says one has 2 or 3 children (well its hard to remember actual facts) and has made her way up the ladder. So obviously no glass ceiling then. Telling the Observer newspaper women had it all and what else did we want then, Sir Rose seems to think having one female fighter pilot who has now joined the red arrows shows just how far equality has come.

Gosh maybe he should spend some time in the shoes (sorry pants) of some of the women I work with.

to read more visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8075642.stm

Degrees of seperation still for girls

The Independent newspaper reported how female university students beat male students in everything. With more women than men studying at university, less of them likely to drop out and more of them leaving with a better degree. Yet despite this the women leaving higher education are likely to earn a lower salary than men who are leaving with the same level of qualification.

Why is this? Well we are being told it could be down to the fact that women choose subject areas which are likely to lead to lower salaried positions. For example teaching or creative industries.

What should be done about this? I wonder who is to blame, do girls tend to choose sectors which pay less or are employers paying less because they know they can. Additionally what can be done to encourage girls into other sectors.

With a daughter planning on entering university this September I know how difficult the decisions can be about the course and career route to take. Our daughter has chosen a non traditional route for a girl yet she has had little encouragement or support for this.

I wonder if we are doing enough to open up the eyes of our young people in general to the opportunities out there and to encourage them in the choices they make.