Words of advice on success

OWNERS of small and medium-sized companies in Oldham are inviting other businesses in the area to discover the secret of successful word-of-mouth marketing during International Networking Week.

Despite the worst ever UK recession, members of Business Networking International (BNI) have reported an increase in sales, with some business owners saying they may not have survived without the business they received through BNI.

Barry Lewis is the operations director for Oldham based Reel Appeal, a company specialising in providing labels and mini-leaflets to businesses.

A member of the BNI group that meets at the Smokies Park Hotel, Ashton Road, Bardsley, he says: “BNI offers high-quality training. I have developed the skills I need to continue to grow my business.

“After attending some of the training I found that I was more confident about presenting myself, my business and our products. I have since been in front of L’Oreal, Jaguar and Bighams Food producers and have won business from all three. I put most of this down to my BNI experience. My presentation skills have greatly improved and helped me focus on our unique selling points.”

He is keen to help stimulate economic growth in the Oldham area by encouraging other business owners or managers to find out how BNI can help generate more business for them, adding: “We encourage people to visit our group and decide for themselves whether it can work for them.

“We allow only one representative of each profession to be a member of each group so competition for places can be fierce, which is understandable given that last year we generated just under £200,000 of business for each other.

“If people give me a ring on 0161-620 6764 I’ll be happy to provide more information.”


Call for cut in VAT

HOWARTH Timber and Building Supplies is joining forces with the Builders Merchants’ Federation (BMF) campaign to Get Britain Building by calling for a VAT cut to 5 per cent on home improvements.

The company, based in Shaw Road in Oldham, is supporting the campaign at a time when the construction industry is at the sharp end of an unprecedented economic recession.

Management believes a reduction in VAT will stimulate the building sector and help arrest the alarming rate of job losses, estimated at 450,000 over a two-year period in the UK alone.

“The Howarth Group fully supports the aims of the BMF for a number of reasons, not just for the sake of our own business,” said branch manager Geoff Cosslett, adding: “The industry is in dire need of support to halt its alarming decline.

“Without direct and swift assistance many of these jobs will never return — and that has a direct impact on customers, merchants, product manufacturers and tradespeople, as well as on the economy as a whole.”

Precedents have been set in EU countries. In March, 2009, EU finance ministers agreed to allow member states to lower VAT rates permanently for certain sectors, notably labour-intensive services such as building repair and maintenance.

In France, the rate was cut from 19.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent last July, and the main beneficiaries have been the restaurant, tourism and leisure trades, while Germany cut VAT from 19 per cent to 7 per cent in January.