BusinessXchange Business Magazine

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ISSUE 1 FREE

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Hello and a big welcome to our first BusinessXchange magazine! In our first issue we wanted to

give you a full insight into how networking online can really benefit your business. As well as taking

advantage of some business offers to save you and your business a pretty penny!

Our vision of 'connect, collaborate and grow' has attracted 10,000 business members to

www.businessxchange.co.uk The purpose of BusinessXchange is to both encourage and foster

collaboration between businesses, universities, local, regional, national and transnational agencies

and organisations, by greatly increasing the speed and ease by which they can easily identify

potential partners and business opportunities.

We hope that our new quarterly magazine will add value to you as a entrepreneur, business person

or enterprising person within an organisation. The added benefit to our online business network is

that it is free for everyone to join!

In this issue you will get to know a couple of members, including David Armstrong from Purchasing

Auctions.

For those that don't know, I launched BusinessXchange a couple of years ago, following the continued

success of my online designer shoe shop, Kindred Sole that launched when I was 21 years old. I

spotted another opportunity in the marketplace for a business to business website to connect

suppliers and clients to collaborate and grow together.

If you would like to be featured or interviewed in our next issue we would love to hear from you!

Thanks for taking the time to read our first issue! Stand by for issue two as we have some exciting

news regarding doing business with the Commonwealth!

Lizze

In This Issue

Contact

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.businessxchange.co.uk

Tweet: @Businessxc

Page 3 : Mind Your Own Business

Pages 4-5 : Offers

Pages 6-7 : Member Interview

Page 8: Events

Pages 9-10 : Grants

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It is acknowledged that there are 5 steps to grow your business online. You are already part

of a 10,000 strong business network on BusinessXchange that can help you generate leads,

traffic and sales. Here we give you an insight into features to grow your business with

BusinessXchange and how you can grow your online marketing strategy

1. Stand out from the crowd

Update your BusinessXchange profile so it is as strong as it can be

with all relevant information. Ensure your brand message is

consistent across all of your online marketing.

2. Give to receive

Send a star to business' that you have worked with that you would

recommend. Don't be afraid to ask your clients to do the same for

you.

3. Promote yourself

Add offers and discounts to showcase your business. This is a great

way to generate new sales leads. Social media is becoming more

and more powerful for your business. Is your business active on all

of the relevant social media platforms?

4. Regularly engage your network

Use BusinessXchange to connect to customers, partners and

suppliers. You can let them know your latest business news. We

know how hard you work so ensure you get the recognition you

deserve! We all love a good catch up.

5. Aim for 'Top of the League'

Once you have become a free member to BusinessXchange you will

start seeing the benefits of this growing 10,000 strong business

network. You then have the opportunity to become a premium

member to benefit from additional services to grow your business.

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On your behalf we have negotiated some excellent deals that you can benefit from straight

away. Remember you can add your own offers to promote your business to over 10,000

businesses by upgrading.

Exclusive £10 discount on the

iZettle chip and pin reader.

Normal price is £59 inc VAT but

as a BusinessXchange member

you get it for £49 inc VAT.

10% off Q Park Prebooking service with exclusive discount code: businessxchange

With over 60 car parks across the country including Birmingham, London and Manchester as well as airport parking you are sure to benefit from 10% off Q Park Prebooking service.

Complimentary HR health check for your company by Martin Kaye LLP. This is an

exclusive offer for BusinessXchange members. Simply quote: BXC

Buy Offer >

Buy Offer >

Buy Offer >

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Benefit from the bulk buying power of BusinessXchange & Thomson James for :-

Professional Indemnity Insurance Employers Liability Insurance All other Commercial & Domestic Insurance

With over 30 years experience in Commercial and Personal High Net Worth Insurance Broking, Brendan Mulligan of Thomson James is able to offer solutions for your Insurance or Risk Management requirements.

Thomson James is able to provide both wide, rapid, market access together with a real one-to-one personal service. Once we understand your needs we will recommend the most appropriate level of cover and premium. To get the best quotes available, complete the short questionnaire, and a representative from Thomson James will be in touch.

Zipcar is the UK’s largest pay as you drive car club giving you access to cars and vans parked near you when you want them. You can take a Zipcar from as little as £4.79 an hour or a Zipvan from £8.13 an hour (exc. VAT), with prices including insurance, 60 miles of free fuel, and the Congestion Charge.

Based in London, Oxford, Bristol, Cambridge and Maidstone, use the additional time on the train for planning and preparing for your meeting before picking up your Zipcar from one of thousands of convenient on-street locations, and arriving in style.

Workplace Pensions regulations add a new level of administration to employing staff. Are you like most employers - aware of workplace pension legislation but unsure of your obligations, duties, deadlines and options? We can help you prepare, now, for FREE!

Buy Offer >

Buy Offer >

Buy Offer >

Would Your Business Like to Promote An Offer?

Get in touch! This could be on the website, in our next magazine, or even both!

Email: [email protected]

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Q. Tell us about Purchasing Auctions A. The company is owned by Jonathan Rollason former President Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) in the UK and Vice President of the Government Purchasing Association in the USA. The backbone of our company is a Reverse Auction platform (sometimes known as an e-auction). Jonathan designed our platform to support procurement teams and make their life easier, in effect as one of our clients said ‘our system has been ‘designed by purchasers for purchasers’. Whilst we are a small company, we are currently operating in the UK, South Africa, Australia & the USA and we are looking to expand into other countries. Q. What are reverse auctions, what can be reversed auctioned and what are the benefits? A. Reverse Auctions are a mechanism used by buyers to achieve the most competitive product or service prices. They work in the same way as a traditional auction except suppliers reduce their prices to win your business, the ‘reverse’ of the traditional auction.

We have auctioned goods & services valuing from £1000 to over £30,000,000 and our average savings over all the auctions we have conducted is 30% vs. previously benchmarked costs.

The minimum we have saved is 10%! We have not yet discovered all the goods and services that can be auctioned, but so far we have auctioned anything from raw materials to tractor tyres to travel services.

Whilst a major benefit is the savings the concept delivers to our clients, Reverse Auctions also speed up the procurement process, add transparency for both suppliers and our clients and can, used properly, build strong partnerships with suppliers.

Q. Surely buying the cheapest is not always the best? A. We agree! Whilst the Reverse Auction concept will achieve the best market price at any given time, all other criteria that would normally be in place to ensure sustainable supply should still be valued. Our statistics show that only 30% of the time the winning bid gets to supply, it just so happens that the winning suppliers auction price is, coincidentally, 30% lower on average than previously benchmarked costs.

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COMPANY STATISTICS

Established in 2008

Founded by Jonathan Rollason

Completed reverse auctions valued in excess of £150M

Q. Are auctions difficult to set up?

A. It takes only 5 minutes to set up an auction and invite suppliers to participate. The whole principle of our service is based on keeping the

Q. How much does a reverse auction cost to set up? A. We guarantee that our costs will never exceed your savings which makes any auction risk free for or clients. Fees will vary depending on the size and type of commodity being auctioned. Q. Has there been a 'stand out' product that has been auctioned whether it be for price or originality? A. The £1000 auction I referred to earlier was for a pair of curtains, which I can honestly say we had never done before or since! The most common commodities auctioned are stationery, closely followed by fleet, although we are getting more and more enquiries for raw materials. The last auction we conducted was for travel services and I am pleased to say that delivered a 52% saving for the client.

Q. Have you always been in this industry? A. No, I worked in the fleet industry for 20 years selling Contract Hire & Leasing into large corporates before becoming Head of Procurement for a £100m T/O company. It was there that I became a customer of Purchasing Auctions, I liked it so much I joined the company! Q. What are the plans for the future of Purchasing Auctions? A. World domination. I passionately believe in our concept both in its simplicity and the value it delivers. What other service can you think of that delivers an average of 30% savings with no risk. We make heroes. If we save our clients’ money they look good, if we don’t they have bench\marked their current suppliers for free. Q. Would you recommend Premium Membership of BusinessXchange to others? A. In a word: Yes! It's a way of promoting your business very quickly to your target market.

Facebook.com/businessxc @BUSINESSXC

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IOD: To celebrate the fourth

anniversary at the IoD

Birmingham Hub in Brindleyplace,

John Phillips, invites IoD

members to join him and fellow

members for a drinks party.

Showing you the methods and

reasons for theft and fraud but

how you can investigate

lawfully, covering techniques

and equipment, covert vehicle

and asset tracking.

For employees looking to

redress the balance of power,

Trade union membership and

the offer of collective

protection.

It is recognised that despite the advance of Social Media, there are advantages in attending traditional

events - whether it be networking, information giving, or the promotion of specific services. We have

teamed up with organisations that we think will benefit your business if you attend. Below are dates

for your diary. More details of these and others can be found in our Events section.

Membership of www.businessxchange.co.uk allows you to add your own events to the site - these

can be ones that you have arranged yourself, or ones that you regularly attend and are looking to

gain more attendees. We have over 10,000 registered members, so you'll be reaching a large

audience. Simply login and click 'Add Your Events'. Become a premium member and add an advert!

Do you run Hotels, Conference Centres or Caterers?

Get in touch! You can benefit from promoting your services to over 10,000 businesses!

Email: [email protected]

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We are delighted to introduce a fantastic opportunity for businesses to secure a

grant to double their business consultancy budgets.

Funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Innovation Voucher

Scheme allows small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the West Midlands to

apply for a voucher worth £1,500 to directly link to knowledge base providers. The

project aims to build links between universities and SMEs by creating a demand-led

approach to supporting the innovation process.

The scheme also provides the opportunity for free support in the form of workshops

to help companies to become more competitive and manage growth effectively. The

workshops, run by academics from Aston Business School, include advice on

accessing and raising funds, utilising support through envisioning the future and

understanding management requirements

.

Would your organisation benefit?

Get in touch to request an application form or more information!

Email: [email protected]

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BusinessXchange can also connect you to the Grant Funding options below:

Growth Vouchers - Worth up to £2,000 and must be match-funded. Only businesses that have been

running for at least a year, have fewer than 50 employees, and have not paid for strategic external

advice in the past three years can apply. There is a 5 in 6 chance of being accepted and the

application process only takes 3 minutes online, with a follow up meeting to validate the claim.

Black Country Gold - The European Regional Development Fund is offering small to medium sized

enterprises in the boroughs of Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton the opportunity to

apply for revenue and capital grants and receive tailored advice to help them exploit growth

opportunities. The £1.96 million project, being delivered by Wolverhampton City Council on behalf

of the Black Country local authorities and the University of Wolverhampton, will allow firms to apply

for a grant for up to £16,000, which they must match fund, to invest in their businesses.

Business Development Programme - Providing comprehensive business support to existing SME’s in

the following areas: East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth, Birmingham, Solihull,

Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest. This is a grant of between £10,000 and £15,000 is available

representing 45% of eligible project costs, and will support marketing and branding expenditure.

Business Innovation Programme (BIP) - A £8.7 million package of support, funded by European

Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which will run until June 2015. BIP aims to stimulate innovation

within Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to encourage and enable existing businesses to

invest for the future, to lever private sector investment, create new and safeguard existing jobs. The

programme offers grant based financial assistance to support existing SMEs which have been trading

for 6 months or more and are ready to undertake investment in innovative production processes.

This must lead to new products, which are 'close to market'.

Applicants are encouraged to incorporate a combination of one or more of the following:-

Capital Expenditure

New Product Development

New Marketing Development

Business Innovation Mentoring

Each application will be required to demonstrate viability, need, job creation, sustainability and new investment being linked directly to the creation of new jobs and safeguarding of existing jobs.

Would your organisation benefit?

Email: [email protected]

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Thank you for reading!

NEXT ISSUE AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 2014

For any enquiries:

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.businessxchange.co.uk