Rural Retailers Conference 2009

How to Strengthen Your Business in the Recession

 

Thursday 24th September

The Lion Hotel, Bridge Street, Belper

1.00pm - 4.30pm

 

Downloand the event flyer for more information.

 

To book call 01629 824797 and ask for Helen.

 

Own a village shop? Want help finding customers? Thinking about a new shop layout? Want to increase profits? Need to improve your cash flow?

 

If the answer is YES,

then the Derbyshire Rural Retail Programme may be able to help.

 

FREE training opportunities for you and your staff

• Specialist training and advice
• Confidential and friendly service
• Available in your work place at a time convenient to you

To find out more please contact

Bob Thorne on 07976 260904

Litton Community Shop has been named DDEP Rural Retailer of the Year 2009 following a competition to find the best of Derbyshire’s village shops across five districts of the county. The winner will now benefit from £1,250 to invest in its business.

The competition recognises the important contribution and service village shops provide to rural communities. Supported by Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DDEP) and organised by Derbyshire Rural Community Council (DRCC) in partnership with the regional Business Link service, the competition is part of the Rural Retail Intervention and Support Programme (RRISP).

Village shops from across the DDEP area of Amber Valley, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak and South Derbyshire were invited to enter. Winners were chosen by a three-stage process in which the shops had to tell the judges why they should win, then a survey of customers for their views on the shop and, finally, a visit from a mystery shopper.

Competition judges were looking for a well run, attractive business providing an excellent service to their rural community.

“Litton Community Shop is a thriving business located in the old village smithy, run by 20 volunteers under the guidance of a full time shop manager, The shop opened in 1999 following the closure of the village shop. It offers a mouth watering range of local produce and a café, as well as everything else you might need from a local shop,” commented competition organisers, DRCC, about the winner.

Second prize went to Ironville Stores in the Amber Valley, a very busy shop where its owners Balvinder and Sam have time and a friendly word for everyone that pops in, and provide a service greatly appreciated by the community.

Winster Community Shop took the third prize of £500 to invest in the business. The Winster shop was set up in 2004 by a group of local people after the local business closed, leaving the village without a proper shop. It is a much welcomed service in the village, as one local resident testifies, “It’s fantastic that it’s here. I do all my shopping there and it’s also enjoyable to meet people there and have chat.”

The fourth prize of business mentoring was won by The Village Shop at the Sycamore Inn, Parwich. Pub landlady Janet Gosling took on the challenge of hosting the village shop within a few months of the old one closing. Competition judges said, “Against the odds, Janet has created a beautifully presented shop which is a real asset to the community.”

To find out more about RRISP and how DRCC can help your village shop call Joe Dugdale on 01629 821924 .

The first ever DDEP Rural Retailer of the Year competition has launched to find the best of the local shops serving Derbyshire's rural communities.

 

There is a top prize of £1250 for the winner to invest in their business, followed by second and third prizes of £750 and £500 respectively for the businesses to invest. There is also a fourth place prize offering the winner a place on the Mentoring for All programme (worth £250).

 

Judging will take place in three phases:

• an application from the shop itself (you can download the form at the bottom of the page),
• a customer and community survey, asking community members to feedback on the shop, 
• finally, a visit from a mystery shopper.

Shops wishing to enter the competition must be within the RRISP programme and be a member of the Shop Club. Those wishing to enter must also notify Helen Faraday at DRCC on 01629 824797 by 1st June so that the community survey can take place.

 

The competition closes at noon on Thursday 18th June 2009 and the winners will be announced on 10th July 2009.

 

A shop application form can be downloaded here, together with a promotional poster to put up in your shop.

• Applicaton Form - RRAF (PDF)
• Promotional Poster (PDF)

The new calendar of events for Shop Club members is now available to download from the Shop Club page. This is also being sent out to all shops in the RRISP programme area of Derbyshire.

 

The calendar is has a whole host of events for members to take part in including shop visits, wholesaler visits, and marketing seminars. Details of national events are also provided, many of which the Shop Club will be taking members to.

 

Id you're not already signed up, do so today. It's free and easy - just click here.

Derbyshire's annual Food Festival gets underway next month and organisers Derbyshire County Council are calling for businesses to take part.

The event runs from 16th May to 25th May and is backed by celebrity chef Brian Turner.

The festival kicks off with the Derbyshire Food and Drink Fair at Bolsover Castle on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May.

Restaurants, cafes, shops and food producers from across the county took part last year with a whole host of events, including tasting sessions, cookery demonstrations, tours, competitions and talks.

"We know many businesses are having a tough time at the moment and we hope that by taking part in these events it will give them a boost," commented Cllr Geoff Carlile, county council member for regeneration.

Businesses wanting to take part should call Steph Walsh at Derbyshire County Council on 01629 585964 or email stephanie.walsh@derbyshire.gov.uk

 

 

HM Revenue & Customs Advice is holding a series of workshops in Derby and Alfreton to help employers with all the basic information required to operate a manual payroll.

 

The workshops are free of charge and take place in an informal, friendly environment led by experienced staff.

 

Workshops taking place include:

• Paying Your Employees
• Statutory Pay & Leave for Maternity, Paternity and Adoption
• Statutory Sick Pay
• Calculating National Insurance for Directors
• Paying Expenses & Giving Benefits
• Employers Annual Returns (P35 & P14)
• End of Year Expenses and Benefits (P11d & P9D)

 

To find out more and book a place on a workshop visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/bst or call 0845 603 2691.

 

Derbyshire WellConnected is a new initiative providing ICT support to small and medium businesses across the county.

 

Whether you have embraced new technologies wholeheartedly and want to take the next step, or are teetering on the brink of finding out what it all means, Derbyshire WellConnected can help.

 

The support programme includes a telephone advice line, a dedicated website, a series of events and ICT grant funding.

 

For free advice call 01773 318064 or via Business Link on 0845 058 6644.

Visit www.derbyshire-wellconnected.co.uk for self-help guidance, details of events, grant funding, top tips and regular news.

 

Further information can also be found in the WellConnect leaflet, available to download here.

 

Derbyshire WellConnected is funded through Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DDEP).

This year's Fairtrade Fortnight takes place from 23th February 2009 until 8th March 2009.

 

The event is an excellent opportunity for traders that stock fairtrade products to promote the lines and to highlight the reasons for choosing fairtrade.

 

Shops can take part by setting up special displays, tastings and promotions, amongst many other things to tie in with the event. You can find lots more ideas and resources on the Fairtrade Foundation website at www.fairtrade.org.uk.

 

You can read more about the business case for fairtrade and source fairtrade suppliers by clicking here.

 

Are you an enterprising young Brit? Do you know someone who should be in the spotlight? 

The fifth Daily Mail Enterprising Young Brits Awards is now open and calling for entries so if you or someone you know has made their idea happen in a new, innovative or inspiring way, what are you waiting for?!

Part of the Make Your Mark campaign and supported by the Institute of Directors, the competition is open to anyone aged 30 and under. If you want to be in with a chance to win £1,000 and money-can’t-buy profile for your venture, please visit www.makeyourmark.org.uk/youngbrits for more information and to enter. The closing date for entries is 27 February 2009.

The categories are:

• Business Entrepreneur - For enterprising individuals who have started their own business, large or small.
• Social and Community - For ventures combining the principles of a successful business with an emphasis on the social and environmental benefits it can provide.
• Teen - For anybody aged 13 – 19 who is making an idea happen.
• Creative - For enterprising individuals, businesses and endeavours that have shown creative flair or that are based in the creative industries.
• Going global - For businesses that are successfully operating in the UK and abroad.

BOOKER's 'Thank You' events
Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd January
Booker are treating their customers to two days of special offers and events at all their branches this week. They promise- mega deals, product tasting and even free stock !

To find out more contact Booker on www.booker.co.uk

The chancellor announced yesteday changes to VAT on all products and services charged at 17.5% to take effect from December 1st

The new rate is 15% and will be in place for the next 13 months.

 Just in case youve forgotten here is a quick guide to working out VAT:

How to deduct VAT from a price - (15% and 17.5%)

In the UK, VAT stands for Value Added Tax. We have to pay VAT on most of the things that we buy. People can often add VAT to a figure, but when it comes to taking it off they go-a-bit-la-la interrogating teachers, kids and old folks until they find an answer. So here it is...

Taking-off VAT (Tax) from a price

This is the calculation you need to use when:
you know a price after tax (the Gross price)
but want to find out the price before tax (the Net price).

15% (from 1st December 2008)

If we assume that VAT is at a rate of 15%... Gross price divided by 1.15 = Net price Price after tax divided by 1.15 = Price before tax

17.5% (up to 30th Nov 2008)

If we assume that VAT is at a rate of 17.5%...
Gross price	divided by	1.175	= Net price
Price after tax	divided by	1.175	= Price before tax

The My Shop is Your Shop  campaign encouraging customers to think Global, Shop Local is giving independents a window poster, telling local shoppers how many miles they will walk in a year. The poster informs shoppers using the store of the carbon emmissions they are not producing by ditching the car and walking to their local shop.

The poster is available as a download from their website: www.myshopisyourshop.co.uk

The individual shop carbon-saving figure is calculated on averages produced by MSYS research carried out in June when 20,000 shoppers recorded the distance they walked to their local store.

source: independent retail news November 21 - December 4 2008

Grants under the Rural Retail Intervention & Support programme must be allocated soon.
Grants are available for eligible shops for improvements to thier business, but hurry, because they have to be spent before March 2009.
Contact Business Link East Midlands  here:

The contract to operate the Post Office Card Account (POCA) will remain with Post Office Ltd until 2015, the government announced last week.
This is great news for rural post offices in Derbyshire, who depend on POCA for a substantial part of their business.
The government had intended to put the contract out to tender, but perhaps because of the intense pressure from MPs of all parties, and because of the extraordinary times led to the turn-around last week.
One of the contenders, Paypal, have already expressed their dissatisfaction, but we understand that they and others who have spent time and money preparing tenders will be recompensed.

The Derbyshire Rural Retailer web site goes live today, Friday 14th November.This brand new resource for rural traders throughout Derbyshire is edited and compiled by Derbyshire Rural Community Council as part of our service to rural communities.

The site will provide information and specialist help to rural businesses,and will also become a place for exchanging news and ideas between 'shop club' members. 

Up to 3000 independent retailers could be recruited to operate as part of a short term parcel storage scheme.

ParcelPark.com's customers pay a small fee for a parcel to be delivered to storage point, such as their local convenience store instead of to their home.

ParcelPark.com is looking for independent businesses to sign up, they will be eligible for 46p per parcel commission, but the business must have an Internet connection in-store to take part.

NOTE: There are no collection points in Derbyshire at the moment!

see www.parcelpark.com for details.

The Sycamore Inn in Parwich has been named Community Pub 2008 for its role as host to the village shop. The award was presented to Janet and Steve Gosling, the pub landlords, at an event in London on 18th September.

Judges were unanimous in declaring the Sycamore as epitomising the Pub is the Hub initiative. The pub has become the focal point of community life in Parwich and is the home of a number of local organisations. Janet has converted a room in the pub to become the village's only shop. The Sycamore also offers a laundry service and Janet will take in parcels for villagers who are at work.

and in case you would like to provide a parcel collection point service - for a fee