Pitney Bowes, the mailing and communication giants, are celebrating the success of the European launch of their latest product. Designed for business and organisations with the need to produce and send high volumes of mail, Pitney Bowes have used their expertise and skills to cleverly create a product many companies will find it hard to live without. Using the Drupa 2012 print and media fair in Germany to launch the product, Pitney Bowes were able to target thousands of industry experts, fellow exhibitors and journalists who not only hold a strong interest in products such as this but will also be able to support its growth and popularity within the industry. The new Mailstream Wrapper Productivity System, combines integrity and efficiency with regards to mailroom solutions. The new system can be cleverly integrated within existing mailing and printing techniques. Working alongside Sitma Machinery, Pitney Bowes have been able to present the perfect mail and printing based product suitable for any office-based environment. This product also comes with its own service and support team for users to contact at any time, regarding any issue they may be having with the equipment. “This product is crucial to businesses where mail plays a strategic role in customer communications. The item simply builds on the expertise Pitney Bowes has. The service and support team allows users to be able to use the product in the right way at all times and, on the rare occasion there is a problem, the team are there to fix it immediately.”
Mark Seton, Pitney Bowes.

The Mailstream Wrapper Productivity System is available to purchase now.

For more information on the way in which Pitney Bowes can help you and your business visit http://www.pitneybowes.co.uk.

A leading recruitment expert is urging companies, especially SMEs, to start preparing now for automatic enrolment and taking the time to understand what is required.

Janette Withey, Managing Director of Docklands-based Quay People and Chair of the Docklands Business Club, says it’s not too early for even small employers to make sure they understand the implications of the new pensions legislation.

“The largest employers in the country will have to comply with the new duties from October 2012, although government has said that companies with fewer than 50 workers won’t be affected until at least June 2015. But, even if you are not affected yet, it makes sense to do some forward planning especially if you are looking at renewing your payroll or other business systems,” Janette explained.

Recruitment agencies are an employer under the new legislation and auto enrolment will be the responsibility of the agency rather than the company where the worker has been placed. What will be especially challenging, Janette says, is working out whether people have earned more than the threshold to be automatically enrolled when their pay fluctuates from week to week.

“To qualify for automatic enrolment workers have to earn £8,105 annually but this is not straightforward as earnings have to be assessed over whatever period the worker is paid, for example a weekly or monthly pay period. The challenge will come when you don’t know at the beginning of the pay period whether someone will earn enough to qualify,” Janette said.

The key, stresses Janette, is making sure your payroll system is be able to automatically identify whether workers have earned enough – if it can’t, the additional administrative burden could be expensive for employers.

Janette has seven tips to help companies prepare for automatic enrolment.

1) Make time to look at the guidance and use the interactive tools at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers.aspx 2) Know your ‘staging date’ – the date when your size of business will have to act
3) Start talking to your payroll system provider now
4) Assess your workforce – how many workers are over 22 and earn over £8,105?
5) Review your pension arrangements – do you already have a scheme you can use?
6) Sign up for updates and follow The Pensions Regulator on Twitter and Linked In for the latest news
7) Communicate the changes to all your workers – make them aware of the new legislation and what is coming.

The penalties for not taking the new legislation on board are worth noting. Companies who fail to comply with the new regulations may be subject to fines. If they wilfully fail to comply it is a criminal offence.

There is more information at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers.aspx Janette Withey owns and manages www.quay-people.co.uk, a highly successful, independent recruitment service, tailored to the needs of London Docklands and surrounding areas. Janette has more than 30 years’ experience in the recruitment industry and an innate understanding of Canary Wharf and the London Docklands.

ENDS

For further information contact Suzi Christie at Blueberry PR on 01435 830031 or email suzi@blueberry-pr.co.uk

After more than 30 successful years in the wallpaper and paint business, the directors of North West-based decorating centres, Discount Wallpapers Ltd, are launching a new online business to target national customers and overseas.

Home Flair Decor – www.homeflairdecor.co.uk – will launch in May and feature more than 1000 products, including wallpaper, cushions and non-electrical lighting.

Company director, 28-year-old Simon Livesey, who has more than thirteen years in the industry, said that the decision to launch a new online company was due to a shift in customer purchasing patterns.

“Over the last few months we have noticed that a lot of customers were coming in to have a good look through the pattern books, then choosing to purchase online,” said Simon.

“Because we know there will always be a need for a retail environment, we took the decision in late 2010 to launch a new online business that could offer competitive prices on a national platform.”

Working with fellow company director and interior design graduate, Kelly O’Neill, Simon, who holds a degree in Business Information Systems, knew exactly what he wanted and gave Preston-based web specialists, Bespoke Internet, the job of getting the business online.

Simon continued: “Bespoke Internet was personally recommended to me and we were really impressed by what they had to offer. They understood our brief perfectly and came back with some fantastic visuals that gave the website the neat, professional and quality look we wanted.

“This new venture has been 18 months in the planning and we are looking forward to seeing how it becomes reality.”

Home Flair Decor will provide a sampling service and online customer support, up to 12 hours a day, seven days per week, providing new home and home improvement customers plenty of opportunity to browse and purchase at their convenience.

To aid the customer experience the website will feature a handy roll quantity calculator to help customers price their orders more accurately, along with a style finder to quickly find the ideal wallpaper or cushion for their home.

Steve Brennan, managing director at Bespoke Internet, added: “Simon and Kelly have more than 30 years’ industry experience and had a very clear picture of what they wanted to achieve through Home Flair Decor.

“People will always have a requirement to decorate a new or existing property and I think that their know-how, combined with the large product portfolio on offer through the website, will be an extremely appealing offer to the modern consumer. I wish them the best of luck in their new venture.”

In a recent discussion with The Managing Director of Fundraising4change we stumbled across the topic of supporting various charities. Now I was aware that this was going to be a delicate subject as I knew that Fundraising4change not only supported charities but worked alongside non-profit organisations. But I wasn’t going to let this affect my stance, and the reasoning behind why I didn’t donate to charity. I certainly didn’t have anything against those that did donate to charity, but felt it was just persons with excessive amounts of money to spare that did donate, be it for tax relief purposes of large companies. As the conversation continued, The Managing Director of Fundraising4change explained their reasoning for wanting to help others and why they worked alongside charities which I found commendable, but I was still adamant it was not going to shift my belief, I did not donate to charity because I didn’t believe that the money went to those in need; and that directors and marketing campaigns etc took up huge chunks of the donation and a minuscule amount went to the actual sufferers. The Managing Director of Fundraising4change hadn’t tried to persuade me that I needed to donate; I just think it was a defence mechanism that made me blurt out my attack on non-profit organisations. What was surprising was that The Managing Director wasn’t shocked or defensive, she merely smiled and reassured me that she understood, and that it hadn’t been her intention otherwise to alter my stance, but for her this was something that she valued and would continue giving to charities. I on the other hand was cross; I could not understand why she was throwing her money away to such organisations especially as I had just told her that most of it goes to, as I put “The Big Cats”. Afterwards the Managing Director of Fundraising4change sat with me and shared with me her knowledge and understanding of how the procedure actually works, I thought I had better take note as I had just tried to force my opinion on her; it was only manners to listen especially as she worked closely with such companies so I would suspect she had some insight. The Managing Director of Fundraising4change explained that like any other organisation, charities have management and support costs, which ensure their development and effectiveness and in any typical year would expect to spend around *5% of their general income on overheads such as finance, human resources, IT, and central management. Charities have employees that need to be paid, bills, and other costs associated with running and marketing that need to be taken care of. Charities are usually very clear about how your money will be spent and what percentage actually goes towards the needy. Some even allow you to track how your money is spent. The Managing Director of Fundraising4change understood my concern and without trying to sound condescending as she put it, felt maybe I was being a little naive to think that the Charities would be able to pay 100% of money given straight to the needy. She explained that yes a lot charities have volunteers who give up their time to support a great cause, but that employees were still required to ensure that the right causes and campaigns were being helped, but that all of the profits once expenses are covered go 100% to the cause. I felt slightly deflated my huge rant about charities keeping all the cash for themselves was clearly just a rant, and maybe possibly something which I had just clung to, in order to justify to myself why I didn’t want to help others. The Managing Director of Fundraising4change hadn’t wanted to make me feel bad, she just enlightened me to the facts; yes of course some money has to go to cover expenses, and yes, some of those expenses are for employees, and some is for marketing. But without those employees and marketing campaigns the message would never reach anyone, and no support would be given.
I guess the message reached me too, if it means that a small percentage of my donation had to go towards overheads and expenses in order for the charity or non-profit organisation to continue to help millions of people then sure that’s an amount I was willing to give, so that it keeps running and keeps helping those who need it most.

Fundraising4change accepts that a charity fundraisers role is primarily to increase the contributions of individuals and groups to a charity by building relationships and exploring new fundraising opportunities. Charity fundraisers raise funds from various sources and tend to be categorised according to who they fundraise from. The main categories of fundraiser are: community, corporate, legacy, major gifts, trusts, and events. In larger charities, the role is likely to specialise in one particular source. In smaller charities, a single fundraiser may cover several sources.

Fundraising4change understands the unifying feature of all fundraising roles is building successful relationships with supporters, so the ability to network is crucial. Fundraisers also work to raise awareness of the charity’s work, aims and goals.
Fundraising4change looks at the expectations of a fundraiser.

Fundraising4change realises that work activities vary between types of fundraising, but typically include:
• motivating and facilitating supporters to maximise the funds they raise;
• inspiring new supporters to raise money, while maintaining and developing relationships with existing supporters; • developing new and imaginative fundraising activities, many of which will be events-based;
• raising awareness of the charity and its work, at both the local and national level – this may involve giving talks to groups or dealing with the media;
• organising traditional activities, such as house-to-house collections of donated goods and money;
• developing and coordinating web-based fundraising, online auctions and merchandise sales;
• working with all forms of media, and producing supporting materials such as posters, websites and newsletters to promote, market and advertise forthcoming events;
• increasing funds by researching and targeting charitable trusts whose criteria match the charity’s aims and activities;
• developing and implementing a strategy for individual and corporate supporter recruitment and development;
• overseeing corporate fundraising, including employee giving and matched giving from employers;
• managing and updating databases to record donor contact and preference information;
• preparing mail-shots and correspondence;
• writing applications and mail-shots, using direct mailing to reach a wide range of potential and current donors;
• recruiting organising and managing volunteers to fulfil various functions within the charity;
• Making risk analyses and balancing time-cost ratios to focus effort upon the most appropriate fundraising activities with the highest chance of success.
• Fundraising4change have discovered that whatever the expectations or specific role that the Fundraiser has to follow the most important is to represent the charity correctly. At all times to maintain professionalism, and pride in the brand that they represent. Ensuring that this process is enthusiastic without the pressure of an aggressive hard sell, in contrast provide informative beneficial information, providing the specific charity with quality customers who have a genuine interest in helping said charity.

Global risk management company commit to UK identity verification specialists

Leading providers of consumer data intelligence, Tracesmart have announced a long term cooperation agreement with CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd, a company specialising in the provision of decision support, fraud detection and fraud prevention solutions. Based in the UK, it is part of the CRIF Group, which operates across Europe, America, Asia and Africa. CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd has been supporting the UK insurance industry for over 15 years and is a provider of the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register (CUE). The partnership will see Tracesmart provide CRIF with their UK identity verification and consumer profiling solutions, which will enable CRIF to enhance their current product offerings and complement their existing portfolio. The integration of Tracesmart’s IDU service into the CRIF platforms will provide the company’s customers with a broader set of tools to support the “know your customer” cycle, including quotation, underwriting, claims, and fraud prevention stages, as well as supplying powerful subject verification and anti-money laundering applications to a wide range of users, including insurance companies. Sara Costantini, Director at CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd, explained the rationale behind the partnership with Tracesmart. “On identifying the need for a provider of United Kingdom identity checks it became apparent that Tracesmart would be able to provide us with a well rounded suite of products in a technological environment that met our criteria. In addition to providing products that are in the vanguard of identity verification, their service, support, commercial proposition and ease of establishing a good working relationship made them the ideal partner.”

The IDU service is a robust identity verification and due diligence solution which calls upon an extensive collection of consumer information, including public data, to verify identity and analyse the risk associated with an individual. Mike Trezise, Managing Director at Tracesmart, believes IDU’s wealth of data helped propel it into the winning position, “At Tracesmart we’ve long believed that the more reliable data our identity solution can interrogate, the more robust the identity check, and have therefore invested heavily in a continual data procurement program. This commitment has helped us secure the contract, as both breadth and integrity of data were key concerns for CRIF.”

Tracesmart has a long history of partnering with companies who exhibit synergies and these types of relationships continue to help nurture the company’s success. This developmental process has been driven by senior management at the Cardiff based business, and one of the key members, Chris Rothwell, Tracesmart Sales Director, believes the partnership is a positive reflection of IDU.

“We are delighted that CRIF have signed an exclusive agreement to use our IDU service. It is a testament to the product and team behind it that we have been able secure this contract, and we are very much looking forward to working with CRIF over the coming years.”

Notes to editors:

About Tracesmart
Established in 1999, Tracesmart Ltd is a leading provider of consumer intelligence services. It specialises in the provision of both online tracing and identity verification software. Prominent in the pensions, legal, financial and retail sectors, their fraud prevention and anti-money laundering solutions are employed by a growing legion of businesses ranging from SME to FTSE 100 companies.

About CRIF
CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd was established in the UK in 1997. The company provides decision making and fraud prevention solutions to the financial services industry, IFA monitoring systems for life assurers and the management of general insurance claims databases for insurers/compensators. CRIF is a global company specialising in the development and management of credit reporting, business information and decision support systems. Established in 1988 in Bologna (Italy), CRIF has an international presence, operating over four continents (Europe, America, Africa and Asia). www.crif.com Sara Costantini Appointed as director in 2011 after ten years overall experience in the Insurance Industry, she strongly believes in innovation, in data enrichment and in CRIF Decision Solutions Ltd becoming a competitive 360° service provider to the Insurance Industry. Mike Trezise
Founder and Managing Director at Tracesmart, Trezise has extensive experience in tracing and fraud analysis and prevention; knowledge which provides the company with a distinct competitive advantage.

Chris Rothwell
Heading up the corporate sales team, Rothwell has an insightful knowledge of data analysis and tracing. This understanding allows him to direct the development of products designed specifically to fulfil these requirements and provide the company’s client base with progressive technology.

After researching successful entrepreneurs Dominion Acquisitions realised that to be successful you have to believe in yourself; and your dreams. Know what you want to achieve, visualise that goal, surround yourself with the right people, never give up and you can accomplish anything.

Dominion Acquisitions shares they guide to obtaining your dreams.

1. They have an end in mind
You feel lost when you do not have a destination to move towards. People who achieved great success have an end in mind. They know what they want and they commit themselves to achieve it.

When you have a goal, you have something to focus on. If you do not have a goal, you will be wandering around feeling lost. Having an end in mind can help guide you towards your destination.

2. Have a reason
Having an end in mind is only one part of the story. Winners have a reason behind their goals. They know their purpose behind achieving their goals.

The journey towards your goals is full of obstacles. Most people gave up half way because they lack reasons behind their goals. However, those who have strong reasons behind their goals have higher chances to move past those obstacles.

The likelihood of giving up is drastically higher if you do not have reasons behind your goals. If you have a goal to lose 20 lbs but lack reasons behind it, you will find it hard to achieve this goal. However, if you have a strong reason such as you want to lose 20 lbs in 3 months time because you want to look your best during your wedding ceremony, the likelihood of losing weight is much higher.

When you have a compelling reason to support your goals, you drastically increase the possibility of achieving it.

3. Have a support group
It is easy to give up when you are alone on this journey. Form a support or mastermind group to help you along the way.

To form your own support group, find like-minded people who want to achieve similar goals. Keep your group small with only four to ten people. You need to choose your peers carefully. Choose peers who are positive, goal oriented and are pursuing similar goals to yours.

4. Be particular about how you spend their time
If you do not know how you spend your time, you will waste most of your time away. Time is one of our most precious resources. You can waste your money and still manage to earn it back but there isn’t any way for you to get back your time if you waste it away.
You have to be aware of how you spent your time. If you want to achieve your goals but you are spending 70 percent of your time watching TV and hanging out with friends, most likely you will not reach your goals.

Keep a time log. Use your preferred time log to get a clear picture of how you are spending your time and make the necessary adjustments. If you are serious about changing your life and achieving your goals, spend more time on the essential tasks instead of time wasters.

5. Try fast, fail fast, keep trying and never give up
It is hard to hit the target with your first try. This is why winners try fast, fail fast, keep trying and never give up. There are many things that you don’t know how to do it and trial and error is one of the ways to help you pick up new stuff.

You can learn faster by trying faster and failing more times in a shorter period. You learn at a slower pace when you are too slow to take action. When you take action to try fast, you will learn at a faster rate and know what things work and what don’t.

You can make the necessary adjustments along the way to make things right and move closer to your goals. If you are slow to take action, you jeopardize the whole process and slow down your progress.

You may face many frustrations during your learning process. However, don’t give up. Keep on trying out new ideas that you had picked up. Keep doing those that work and kick away ideas that don’t work.

There is a short cut to this process. Get yourself a mentor or a coach. Whether you want to lose weight or start your own business, a mentor who has been there can help you move faster towards your goal.

Since they have already reached where you want to be, they will know about the challenges that you will face and what will work for you. Borrow their knowledge and you will achieve your goals in a much shorter amount of time.

The Managing Director at Dominion Acquisitions applied this process, in order to achieve her own goals, she now runs a successful marketing company in central London, her biggest advice would be to act now, so many people procrastinate and keep putting off what they could start right now to tomorrow, until eventually it is too late. The Managing Director at Dominion Acquisitions still has many goals and dreams which she wants to achieve and will continue following this path to obtain the success that she desires.

Deepak Kale and Jerram Dawes have acquired Autocom and Starcom from private shareholders Tony Starling and Alun Jones

The companies specialise in the design, manufacture and supply of motorcycle communication and entertainment systems. Autocom and Starcom are both recognised as leading worldwide brands with systems such as Starcom Digital and Autocom Logic targeted largely at the sports-touring bike market.

Systems are available for sole rider, rider-to-passenger as well as bike-to-bike communication. Innovative and superior noise cancelling capability allows crystal clear sound at very high speeds with the ability to interface simultaneously with a mobile phone, sat nav system or music via an iPod.

Both Autocom and Starcom have an extensive and loyal customer base within the UK while exporting 50% of systems overseas through a global network of distributors.

Jerram and Deepak bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from previous senior positions held within niche world-leading electronics companies. In particular, they have considerable expertise in developing brands globally via dedicated dealer and distributor networks.

Commenting on the deal, Deepak Kale said, “We are delighted to acquire two iconic British brands within the motorcycle industry. We are committed to ensuring these companies remain at the forefront of motorcycle communication technology and continue to offer world-leading systems to our customers”.

Tony Stairs of PEM Corporate Finance, PEMCF, which advised on the deal, said, “We were honoured to help Deepak and Jerram with the negotiation of this deal and with due diligence on the target. We wish them every success for the future – Autocom and Starcom have very strong positions in their markets and it is an ideal business for their combined skill set.”

ENDS

Note to editors

PEM Corporate Finance (PEMCF) is part of Peters Elworthy & Moore, a full service award-winning accounting and tax practice with 14 partners and over 130 staff also based in Cambridge. PEMCF works primarily with owner managed businesses in East Anglia, the Home Counties and London, advising on all aspects of corporate finance transactions, from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and company sales to management buy-outs (MBOs).

For further information visit the following web pages:
www.pemcf.com
www.autocom.co.uk
www.starcom1.com

Ben Gainey is appointed Senior Web Developer at Mobas, one of the fastest growing agencies in the East of England

With expertise in delivering for clients such as Krispy Kreme, Shell, West Cornwall Pasty Company, Diageo, and Pearson, Ben Gainey has been appointed by Cambridge-based integrated agency Mobas to develop high quality software and websites for clients. Ben brings extensive experience to his role within the Mobas agency team, gained as Senior Software Developer at Edelman’s digital media department (Spook Media). Edelman is the world’s largest independently owned brand, PR, marketing and digital media firm.

Peter Chaloner, Mobas Director of Digital, says: “Ben is a welcome asset to the Mobas team. His strong pedigree, agency knowledge, experience and delivery is impressive. Mobas digital is thriving and we look to exceed client expectations by providing the very best talent”.

Ben concludes: “I am looking forward to working in a dynamic new environment and sharing my mobile and social media experience with the Mobas team. This role provides an opportunity for me to face new challenges and work with an exciting agency that is surging forward to create the very best”.

- Ends -

Mobas: Brand. Design. Digital. PR.
W: www.mobas.com
T: 01223 841699

Writing a book is a massive job and authors should get what they deserve for doing an excellent job. An author gets his work printed and sends the final product to the market for selling. He contacts a printer and signs a long contract and also surrenders all his rights regarding his work to the printer. The printer finishes the work and sells it in the market. The money goes to the printer and the author gets just a fraction of the profit. “Traditional printers don’t favor authors hence writers are looking for online printers that respect the writers and provide them what they deserve”, said a reputed online book publisher.

Internet printing could be a new thing for an author as the publishing industry is ruled by traditional printers. In online printing, the author is the king. He decides the layout and has the final say in the presentation of his work. “We keep writers in high esteem as they do a remarkable job. Readers wait for good work from eminent authors. We help authors get their work printed online and send the digital books to reputed online stores like Amazon.com”, said the online book publisher. The printer further maintained that he didn’t strip the writers of their rights.

Online printing is highly rewarding for an author. “We offer up to 50% royalty on each retail sale and 25% on wholesale”, said the online book publisher. It is a huge amount and one can’t expect this much royalty from a traditional printer who want to retain the lion’s share and give authors just a fraction of the profit. “It is the author who produces a masterpiece and he must get right prize for his masterpiece”, maintained the printer. Authors work for royalty and there could be no denying to this fact. They can even take fight with printers to settle the royalty issues. Traditional printers make authors sign long term contracts to take advantage of their bestselling works. In short, they try to make authors their employees.

By signing with us, the authors would get freedom of expression and they can take their books to anywhere for printing, promotion and selling. “We don’t force authors to pay high annual charges to keep their works with us. Also we give them substantial author discounts if they want to buy their books and sell them on their own”, said the online book publisher.

For more information,please visit :

http://www.maplecreekmedia.com/