Fireworks on the sea front signal the start of the main holiday season. Hotels fully booked, restaurants buzzing, lots of visitors to our shores.

All the major indicators are showing slow improvements, but that is fine. We know this is going to take a long time, steady growth without a winter dip would be preferred. Hope you got your business rates and tax credits sorted before 1 August – the door is now closed.

Lots of training available via our office on Oldmixon Crescent – Advertising & Promotion, bookkeeping, business start up courses to name but a few.

North Somerset Business Club – one of the most cost effective networking groups in the region. Get your tickets for the Charity Ball on 2 October – being held on the new Grand Pier. Come and look around and support local business and local charities.

Remember to visit the money saver before any big purchase – I would be surprised if Martin Lewis cannot save you money on most of your shopping, including holidays and flights.

Look for new opportunities at all times, but never forget your regular customers – look after them first.

Quote of the week:

“Be careful of reading health books – you may die of a misprint”

Tax codes are a changing – HM Revenue has recently introduced a new National Insurance and PAYE system and is using it to issue notices of tax coding for the first time. This should lead to a more accurate result. If you are concerned your code is wrong, ring 0845 3000 627. It needs to be correct for 6 April 2010.

New rates are still filtering through. Some surprises have been experienced which may need help to rectify. However, some businesses may experience a reduction ie workshops and factories.

There is a lot of reasonably priced and subsidised training to be had across North Somerset – call 01934 418118 for details and dates.

BUY LOCAL – We are being urged to support our local shops. Buying on line is a novelty, but when all the shops are shut down it will be too late to support them, so think about them now, give them your support – use your STAR card for discounts.

Banks are opening up a bit – good business plans and budgets will get a fair hearing on loans and overdrafts, which is progress and good news.

“A problem shared etc” is just as important now as it ever was and proprietors should consider talking to the Enterprise Agency, their bank manager or their accountant.

For the business people who like to gamble – take a look at Penny Sleuth – Google will find it. Some of the shares floated there make 300% profit in two months – of course, some also make big losses.

Lots of good causes coming up:

RNLI Charity Auction and Dinner. To be held on Friday 5 March at The Cove Restaurant, Weston-super-Mare. Tickets £30 per head to include 3-course dinner

Charity Football match for the Children’s Hospice South West. To be held on Sunday 21 March at Clevedon’s Hand Stadium

New business directory being released through North Somerset Council next month. Also business support link on the Council website coming up soon

And finally:

Senior Citizens are officially the nations leading carriers of AIDS:

Hearing aids
Band aids
Walking aids
Medical aids
And finally – monetary aids to their kids!!

Terry Gilbert is Business Support Manager for the North Somerset Enterprise Agency www.northsomersetenterpriseagency.co.uk as well as being the director for the Weston Town Centre Partnership and Chair for Weston 200 and Weston Arts Social Enterprise.

You’ve probably heard people talk about ‘the Cloud’ and ‘Cloud Computing’ in recent months, and perhaps wondered what they were talking about. More and more software used in business today runs online in your web browser and Cloud Computing promises to revolutionise the way we use computers. By running everything in a hosted cloud environment (better known as the internet), you save the costs involved with expensive servers and software.

Experts in the I.T. industry believe up to 70% of businesses will benefit from these services in the next five years and is starting to take off faster than any product or service we’ve seen before. With many low cost packages available now is the time to throw out those expensive servers and migrate your software into the Cloud!

New car sales are up by 40% in the last 12 months. Well done to whoever thought of the 10 year £2,000 scrapage deal, which has been more effective for our local motor industry than anyone could of hoped.

For more information on local business network events please call Business Link on 01934 418118.

And finally…

Life without a chequebook is on its way, you heard it hear first.

Terry Gilbert is Business Support Manager for the North Somerset Enterprise Agency www.northsomersetenterpriseagency.co.uk as well as being the director for the Weston Town Centre Partnership and Chair for Weston 200 and Weston Arts Social Enterprise.

I wish you all a happy and, more important as there is a direct link, prosperous and healthy new year. There has been a nice steady recovery of the FT index, a strange indicator of market confidence. We are also witnessing a steady increase in property value, which is also very positive.

We need to explore Martin Lewis’s money saving webpages – there is something there for everyone and, if you can afford a holiday, I would start with Martin’s advice.

Sorry to repeat myself, but we need to plan our new year with an eye on marketing and more networking – do nothing and that is exactly what you will get!!

And finally:

Let’s all do something for charity – don’t throw your Christmas cards away, drop them into the North Somerset Enterprise Agency offices on Oldmixon Crescent and we will organise recycling for the Last Resort Dog Rescue, amongst others.

Terry Gilbert is Business Support Manager for the North Somerset Enterprise Agency www.northsomersetenterpriseagency.co.uk as well as being the director for the Weston Town Centre Partnership and Chair for Weston 200 and Weston Arts Social Enterprise.