Seminars

The Capital Cardiff conference, held on 29th February 2012, included a full and varied programme of seminars.  Full details of the topics and presenters can be found below.

9.30am - 10.30am

10.45am - 11.45am

Mobile Marketing - The Future for Business

Mike Bailey, The Platinum Marketing Group

Export Ready

Andrew Pimblett

Make the Competition Irrelevant!

Tim Smith, Winning Pitch

  

Two Faced Networking

Bernie Jackson

Two Faced Networking

Bernie Jackson

Business - The Basics

Jay Palmer, Business In Focus

Confused About Funding

Cardiff Council/HSBC/Charity Bank/Welsh Government

Social Media

Allan Blair-Beaton, Social BIIB

  

Lunch Break: 12.00pm - 1.00pm

Keynote Seminar with Q&A: 1.00pm - 1.45pm
Allister Frost, Head of Digital Marketing Strategy, Microsoft 

2.15pm - 3.15pm

3.30pm - 4.30pm

Raising Business Angel Investment

Paul Bryant & Meredydd Jones, Beer & Partners

Raising Business Angel Investment

Paul Bryant & Meredydd Jones, Beer & Partners

Selling to the Public Sector

Dr Kath Ringwald, University of Glamorgan
and Steve Robinson, Cardiff City Council

Selling to the Public Sector

Dr Kath Ringwald, University of Glamorgan 
and Steve Robinson, Cardiff City Council

How to design services your customers will love

Paul Thurston, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Three things your company should be doing with Social Media right now

Mike Snelgrove, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Business - The Basics

Jay Palmer, Business In Focus

Confused About Funding?

Cardiff Council, HSBC, Charity Bank &Welsh Government

Make the Competition Irrelevant!

Tim Smith, Winning Pitch

  

Seminar Content:

 

Business - The Basics
Presented by Jay Palmer, Business in Focus

This session will focus on the key ingredients needed to start a successful business.
These include:
  • Evaluating the business idea
  • Legal structure, insurances tax etc.
  • Customers –who are they and how can you sell to them
  • Suppliers – choosing the right ones
  • Finance – cash flow, profit and loss
  • Location – shop floor or working from home  
Jay has a lifetime of experience managing his own businesses and advising new business people through his work with the Wales COOP service and now Business in Focus. Jay has specific experience of being an owner manager in a number of retail outlets and care homes. Jay has supported a diverse range of private sector businesses and social enterprises through providing advice, guidance and business skills training. 

Confused About Funding?

Are you confused about funding?
Don’t know what’s out there and what you may be eligible for?
 
Come along to this seminar and obtain an overview of the different schemes currently in operation, whether it be direct grants, loans, investments or softer support for training or apprenticeships. Each of the organisations represented in the seminar will provide a quick overview of their schemes and a Q&A session will follow. Some of the organisations currently signed up to the seminar include Welsh Government, Cardiff Council and HSBC .
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make the competition irrelevant!

Presented by Tim Smith, Winning Pitch Ltd

Fresh! How to create new uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant

In this session, Winning Pitch will challenge everything you thought you knew about high growth strategies.  The traditional strategic approach of competing head on with competitors is no longer enough to create sustainable growth.  Instead of battling competitors for an ever-shrinking profit pool, companies should instead look to develop Value Innovation based strategic moves to create new market spaces, which render competitors obsolete.

If your company is stuck in a low growth/no growth industry, this frame-changing 45 minutes will provide you with a systemic approach to re-construct your industry and tap into brand new streams of profitable growth.  

The session is brought to you by the Gazelle Business Competition.  The competition looks to identify pre-start or young businesses (under three years old) who have the demonstrable capacity to exceed cumulative turnover of £750,000 and employ at least 10 people within three years.  The Gazelle Business Competition is funded by the Welsh Government and European Regional Development Fund through the High Potential Starts project.  

Entrepreneurs and young firms interested in finding out more a should contact Peter Gaunt, Project Manager, Winning Pitch on email p.gaunt@winning-pitch.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Faced Networking - Building Business Through Relationships
Presented by Bernie Jackson, Bernie Jackson Business & Legal

Building effective business relationships does not come naturally. Hence, the skills need to be learnt and practised like any fine craft. The key is to identify the networking road blocks which are usually unique to individuals and to help them to manoeuvre comfortably around them.
This seminar will give you the confidence, tools and tips for successful networking.
How you benefit
Effective networking involves far more than just turning up to an event and talking about your business. You will gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to become successful networkers.
Seminar Outline
The Two “Faces” Of Networking-   How to blend your personality into your professional profile
  • Your "YouPrint"™
    How to find the uniqueness in you and weave that into your networking
  •  Understanding Personalities – We all have our “Mountain Ash” moments
    - How to turn blunders into opportunities
    - Recognising the different personalities within the marketplace
    - Learning to speak the “language” of the people you meet 
  • The Law of Recognition - Put that “hammer” away!
    - Recognition is the key to maximizing opportunity
    - Don't try to drill a nail or pound a screw
    - Confidence BVuilding Techniques
  • The Three stages of Networking
    - Understanding the value of staged outcomes
    - How do you prepare
    - Techniques in the room
    - Follow up
  • Networking faux pas: Practical examples- Role plays / actors’ videos
  • Questions
  • Wrap Up
Sessions will be interactive and supported by active role play using videos with professional Actors.

 

 

 

 

Mobile Marketing - The Future for Business
Presented by Mike Bailey, The Platinum Marketing Group

Over 70% of all mobile searches are acted upon within one hour. Google suggests that if you do not have a mobile compliant website it will directly and negatively affect your search engine rankings.

The majority of people in the UK take their mobiles everywhere with them and they are not afraid to use them to search for things whilst on the move.
If you are serious about your business, you have to embrace mobile marketing and you have to embrace it right now. Why wait for your competitors to gain the lead (again) and play catch up for the next few years?
What have you got to lose? 50 minutes of your time.
What have you got to gain? A massive business advantage
Mike Bailey of The Platinum Marketing Group specialises in Mobile marketing strategies. He develops mobile compliant user friendly mobile websites, hugely effective SMS text marketing campaigns, QR codes strategies, Mobile paid search, mobile paid ads, social media strategies, mobile coupons and discount vouchers for instant gratification, location based laser targeted marketing strategies and much more.

 

 

 

Social Media
Presented by Allan Blair Beaton, Social B2B

Allan Blair Beaton is the M.D. of leading South Wales social media consultancy, Social B2B Ltd. Allan’s company works with and on behalf on both private and public sector bodies. Social media is not a new phenomenon any longer, but Allan is great at being able to constantly adapt to new changes to the various social platforms and the applications to enrich the user experience. The process of engagement can be terrifying for some business owners, but Allan takes a very hands on approach to educate, train, and manage B2B and B2C relationships for his clients. Follow Allan on Twitter @allanbbeaton
 
Allan is also the CEO and Founder of What’s Next? The Social Media Event, which brought social media leaders from the four corners of Britain and the world to Cardiff on Feb 6, 2012. The South Wales Chamber of Commerce were pleased to sponsor What’s Next? The Social Media Event’s Google + Seminar at the University of Glamorgan’s Atrium. Details of this event can be found at www.whatsnextevent.com or join the conversation on Twitter and follow @whatnextevent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rasing Business Angel Investment

Presented by Paul Bryant & Meredydd Jones, Beer & Partners

In any one year in the UK, business angels invest £60million into 300 start-up or early stage businesses, from over 9,000 funding applications. Angel funding, filling the gap between “friends and family” funded businesses and Venture Capital funded businesses is clearly extremely hard to come by and this seminar will address:
  • The state of the business angel market in the UK
  • Where angel funding is appropriate
  • How to find and secure angel funding
  • Pitfalls of angel funding and what to look out for.
An angel investment case study will also be presented.
 
The seminar will be presented by Paul Bryant and Meredydd Jones of the UK-wide business angel network, Beer & Partners.
 
Paul is based in South Wales and has angel investment experience as a fund-seeker, an investor and an adviser. In the early 2000’s, he successfully raised funding for two start-ups he founded in the insurance industry, both of which he has subsequently exited. Since 2008, Paul has been advising companies on raising investment, exit strategy planning and company disposals and has been an active business angel investor himself.
 
Meredydd has over 25 years banking and financial services experience, is a former Regional Manager of the London Stock Exchange and specialises in grooming companies for external investment or flotation. He provides strategic support for fast growing companies including external advisor selection, business diagnostics, board structure, and business development. He is a founder director of Stratadigm Consulting, a management consultancy providing part time executives, corporate finance and strategic management support to companies undergoing transitional change.
 
Beer & Partners provide the largest access point for ‘Business Angel’ finance in the UK and specialise in capital raisings between £100k and £3m. With over 2,000 registered investors, Beer & Partners raises £12m-£15m each year for its clients. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling to the Public Sector
Presented by Dr Kath Ringwald, University of Glamorgan & Steve Robinson, Cardiff Council

Dr.Kath Ringwald is a Senior Lecturer in International Supply Chain Management at Glamorgan Business School and Head of Employability in the Faculty of Business & Society.
 
For twenty years Kath had a career as a Buyer and Supply Chain Manager in the public sector before becoming an academic in 1995. Her research into SMEs and public sector procurement dates back to 1999 when she was commissioned to investigate the links between SMEs and the public sector for Newport City Council, followed in 2001 by a similar but much larger study for the WDA. She has continued to research in this area, presenting papers at national and international conferences. In 2009 Kath was project leader and co-author of the ‘Barriers to Procurement Opportunity’ report for Value Wales (WAG) and continues to work with Value Wales on research into the links between public sector procurement and SMEs.
 
Dr.Ringwald is currently working with Value Wales on a study of the implications of increased advertising by public sector organisations in Wales. She is currently developing a project which will investigate the ways in which public sector procurement can enhance economic development across the Commonwealth.
 
Kath makes regular contributions to BBC business and current affairs programmes on radio and TV.
 
Steve is Cardiff Council’s Head of Commissioning & Procurement.  In an era of reducing budgets and increasing demands for public services it is imperative that Cardiff Council effectively and efficiently manages the £316million that it spends annually on buying goods, services and works.  The Council’s Commissioning and Procurement Strategy 2011-2015 sets out the Council’s strategic direction and how it will change the way it manages its expenditure.  The Council will look to work more closely with suppliers and service users to ensure that as it changes the way that it does business, and looks to generate savings of over £18million by 2014/15, it will continue to deliver quality services and utilise local suppliers wherever possible.

 

 
How to Design Services Your Customers Will Love
Presented by Paul Thurston, Cardiff Metropolitan University
 
Paul Thurston is the programme manager of a KTC project run by Design Wales. It’s called the Service Design Programme and it’s a new approach to adding value to your business. Whether you’re a product or service company, using a set of established service design tools could help you innovate and design new offers for customers. Since joining Design Wales Paul has worked with leading manufacturing and design businesses across Wales to support the implementation of service design expertise and projects. Prior to joining Design Wales Paul was head of design at the leading service design agency thinkpublic, consulting for organisations such as NESTA, The Design Council and The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. Paul has also lectured on service innovation at The Royal College of Art, Central St. Martins College of Art & Design and Kingston University.
 

 

 

 

Three Things Your Company Should Be Doing With Social Media Right Now

Presented by Mike Snelgrove, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Mike is a Senior Lecturer in the Cardiff School of Management, primarily teaching Strategy, Project Management and Small Business Start-up on the MBA, having entered teaching in 2000 after a career in product and project management in the software industry.  By inclination, Mike’s commercial background inclines him to an applied approach to his teaching and research, and looks for every opportunity to work with businesses to ground his activity and create a mutually beneficial dialogue.
 
Most recently, this quest for dialogue with business has led to an involvement with Coup Media - a Social Media marketing consultancy company based in Newport and run by Paul Shepherd, Mike’s co-host at this event.  They have been collaborating on the development of a range of Social Media short courses for business, and the creation of 'Social Mash', a business-focused community aimed at building social media skills and excellence across Wales.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Export Ready

Delivered by Andrew Pimblett

  • Pre-requisitesAttitude, approach & business expectation. What do we want from an export market?
  • The Strategic Fit
    Adding on or integrating an export function
  • First Steps
    Market knowledge, key personnel, the research toolkit 
    Communication and client culture
    Commitment; making it work
    Exit or holding strategies
  • Taking the plunge
    Export infrastructure ; Finance, Administration, Tariffs, Document Control
    Credit and insurance
    Shipping and logistics
    Legal issues
  • Managing growth
    Direct or indirect control
    Who to manage
    What to manage
  • Market adaptation: the export learning process
  • Lessons and rewards
  • Who to speak to next
Andrew has worked in export in the UK and Germany in for over 17 years up to and including board level.  His experience spans sales and marketing and project management in the Construction, Automotive, Print and Rail sectors and he has promoted and developed export businesses across the EU member states, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
 
From making the first tentative steps into a foreign market to establishing a mature export operation Andrew has experienced first hand the opportunities and challenges that businesses find when entering new territories and the complexities of building and maintaining market share abroad.
 
A language graduate speaking fluent French, German and Spanish, Andrew is also a qualified commercial lawyer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Media within the workplace: A practical guide for HR

Delivered by Iestyn Morris, Capital Law

Find out more about how organisations can practically manage and handle social media within the workplace, covering the following topics:
  • Monitoring emails and internet use: what is legal?
  • Excessive use of emails/internet for personal use: disciplinaries
  • Abuse of the internet/emails:
    • discrimination
    • bullying/harassment
    • bringing the employer into disrepute
    • defamation
  • Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn etc., who owns the IP and how can the employer control it?
  • Outside the office: vicarious liability
  • Confidentiality and privacy: lost laptops and other problems
  • Best practice: prevention is better than cure

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