Member News

Bukky Shonola will operate her new shop at 6b Brand Street, Hitchin alongside her existing practice in Letchworth.

Experienced accountant Bukky Shonola joined TaxAssist Accountants in 2018, after purchasing a franchise resale in Letchworth, thereby realising her long held wish to run her own practice. Working alongside husband Dapo, and four long-standing staff members, she has had a very successful first three years.

“I’ve really enjoyed running the practice, meeting with, and getting to know and help business clients around Letchworth,” said Bukky. “I have a fantastic team around me, and we are all ambitious to grow, which is why we have now chosen to expand the practice to a highly visible shop on the high street in Hitchin.

“The TaxAssist Accountants network really is one big family and their support for me and my practice has enabled me to expertly guide my clients through the pandemic. Many clients have been very worried about their finances, but by being part of a wider support network, I have a wealth of information and guidance to hand, which I am able to pass on to my clients, which I know they have greatly appreciated. Many have said we’ve made a real impact on their business.

“I’d encourage anyone interested in finding out more about our services to get in touch for a free initial consultation. We provide a comprehensive tax, accountancy and advisory service including business planning and cash flow forecasting. We can talk clients through a range of software solutions to help them to select the right package for their needs.”

For more information about Bukky’s services, please visit her website taxassist.co.uk/hitchin-central or call on 01462 682988.

If you are interested in joining the TaxAssist Accountants network, regular Virtual Discovery Days are being held, where you can find out more about the technical, marketing and business development support on offer. Call 0800 0188297 or submit an enquiry via the button at the top of the page to register your interest.

In this week’s Business Insights Chat, Ian Fitch speaks to Mark Ferguson, managing director of Castle Colour Packaging, a specialist packaging manufacturer in Norwich. They produce packaging for well-known brands including Pritt Stick and Eat Natural, among many others. The business has a focus on being the best it can be, while leading in sustainability and recyclable products.

Mark’s insights into lockdown offer a unique perspective in this series, as they were identified as an essential business at the start of the first lockdown. They were able to continue trading, albeit with new safety measures in place for staff, while also having to adapt to new and changing demands for their products. He describes how it was all about feeling safe at work and staying efficient.

Mark reflects on their government COVID spot check, and how the resilience and commitment of his team played a huge part in their successes during the last year. He also explains the measures that the company put in place to aid the wellbeing of the team.

He discusses the opportunities they identified for Research and Development through their work on sustainability; what his personal weaknesses are, and how he strives to make everyone around him better than him; the benefits of having a non-executive director on your board; how promoting from within is good for business; how running a business is like playing a game of rugby; and how experience outside family businesses is key, citing his time as a young man spent working for McDonald’s as a fantastic opportunity to learn about processes and discipline.

Mark’s personal journey, as a man at the top of a key part of the ‘pandemic economy,’ and the success he has had building Castle Colour, make for a fascinating listen.

You can listen to Business Insights Chat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. This is the last in this series of Business Insights Chat, so make sure you subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss out on the release of series 2 later on this year. 

Listen here!

Searles Leisure Resort are delighted to announce that we have been nominated for the Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year in the Norfolk & Suffolk Tourism Awards 2020. 

As the award is nominated by the general public, we are extremely honoured to have made the final four. Managing Director of Searles Leisure Resort, Paul Searle, had this to say on our latest award nomination:

“To be nominated by our customers for such a prestigious award is very humbling. Thank you to all our wonderful guests for their support and to our brilliant staff for all their hard work to help make this possible”. 

The nomination feels particularly special for everyone here at Searles as we were lucky enough to win the Best Holiday Park category at inaugural Norfolk and Suffolk Tourism Awards in 2018.

At the 2018 awards ceremony, Searles Leisure Resort was cited as a holiday park which

“Creates happiness for all ages, and offers a wide range of facilities to meet the needs of all its customers. The park performs well in all areas and keeps reinvesting to better the experience for its guests both throughout the summer season and with special events and themed breaks during the winter.”

The award has been updated in 2020 to include Camping and Glamping, both of which we’re proud to offer as part of the Searles Leisure Resort experience. 

In this special episode of Impromptu Business Chat, Mark and James pick the brains of marketeer extraordinaire, Damian Horner.

They draw out some amazing advice, tips and insights from Damian that are relevant to SME Business owners on the use of marketing and marketing strategies in the digital age. Damian has used the skills he acquired when building a career in a London marketing agency to not only advise global brands on marketing but also starts, grows and sells his own businesses. His current venture is that of founder and Chief Creative Officer for Real Vision, a global platform aimed at helping investors easily understand the complex world of finance.

Along the journey Damian has worked with the likes of JK Rowling, Damien Hirst and Stephen King.

This is an episode not to be missed!

You can contact Damian at damianhorner@hotmail.co.uk or www.damianhorner.com

You can check out the work of Real Vision here. 

Listen here!

As part of their Go Digital programme, Norfolk County Council have launched a Suppliers Portal which promotes digital tech suppliers and training providers to micro, small and medium sized businesses based in Norfolk. 

The portal will;

1. Promote Norfolk digital tech suppliers and training providers to local businesses
2. Provide businesses with a tool to find the right supplier for their digital transformation projects.

To sign up, all suppliers need to do is click here to access the portal then click through to the upload form.  This is a straightforward sign up process and once completed, goes through a final check from Go Digital and is then made live.

Join the other digital providers already on the platform!

MHA Larking Gowen is pleased to support the Every Child Online campaign, spearheaded by Norfolk County Council and the Norfolk Community Foundation, with a donation of £3,300.

The campaign was launched in January 2021 to make sure every school age child in Norfolk has a digital device and internet connection, so they can embrace online learning from home.

Claire Cullens, chief executive of Norfolk Community Foundation, says, “As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our young people are having to learn from home, which is hard enough without a teacher and friends alongside you. But it’s impossible if you don’t have access to an appropriate computer or connectivity. 

“So far, the Every Child Online campaign has delivered nearly 4,000 devices to Norfolk schools, with more on order, to ensure that every school age child will have the technology they need.” 

Businesses and individuals have been asked to donate money to the campaign, so that new equipment can be bought, or to donate pre-used equipment, which can be refurbished. The devices are provided to schools who distribute them to the children in their cohort who need them. 

Whilst the campaign has achieved massive success since its launch, there’s still some way to go. “We’re continuing to uncover more and more need, with many of our young people still struggling with online learning because they don’t have proper access to a suitable computer or tablet,” adds Claire. “For example, we spoke to one teenager who was having to wait for her mum to return home from work so she could use her smartphone to get online. This is simply not fair.”

Julie Grimmer, managing partner of MHA Larking Gowen, comments, “Providing support to our local communities is a key part of our ethos as a business and we’re always looking for ways to help. Every year we employ trainees straight out of sixth-form, so we understand the challenges that young people face. These challenges have been hugely exacerbated by the pandemic and subsequent closure of schools and colleges. We’re proud to play a part to make sure that no child in Norfolk is disadvantaged because they don’t have access to the technology they need for online learning.”

If you’d like to make a donation to the Every Child Online appeal, please visit the Norfolk Community Foundation website. Alternatively, please make a cheque payable to Norfolk Community Foundation (referencing the Every Child Online campaign) and send it to Norfolk Community Foundation, St. James Mill, Whitefriars, Norwich, NR3 1TN, or telephone us on 01603 623958.

MHA Larking Gowen has also donated £1,500 to the Suffolk Community Foundation and Essex Community Foundation.

MHA Larking Gowen, chartered accountants and business advisors, is pleased to announce the launch of their new podcast series, Tourism Business Chat, where tourism specialist, Chris Scargill, interviews successful business owners and leaders from the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 

Each week, Chris’s special guests share the challenges their business and the sector overall are facing; what they have learnt from the last year; and how they plan to structure their business in the face of lockdown challenges, and beyond.

The tourism, leisure and hospitality industry is a key sector in the East Anglia economy, and has faced huge disruption during the COVID-19 lockdown. Being in business can be a lonely place, and this open discussion will hopefully help those in the sector plan for growth, as the region aims to rightfully hold its place as a key destination for visitors in the UK.

In the first episode, Chris Scargill talks to Andrew Hird, General Manager at Woodland Holiday Park, and Chairman of Visit North Norfolk Coast & Countryside. They discuss how it’s important now, more than ever, to have cohesion with local DMOs; how this is essential for promotion; and how businesses must work with the residents in their community.

Andrew also highlights how a potential downturn in the high street could mean that the skills of those workers can transfer into the tourism sector and help such a vibrant and crucial part of the economy. Andrew believes that recruitment is key, moving forwards, and emphasises that “meaningful careers with good pay are available if you work hard.”

Future guest, Philip Turner, from Chestnut, echoes this, with the hope that one of the positives that will come from lockdown closures will be a change in how people view careers in the sector; “There will never be a greater opportunity for us to find people who will look at the hospitality sector through different eyes.”

Chris hopes that these conversations will inject some much needed optimism into the sector. In light of the recent government update regarding the roadmap out of lockdown, he believes that the reflection of these leaders is invaluable to others.

Chris said: “One of the underlying themes of each of the conversations I have had, has been a passion for the sector. These inspirational business leaders have a love for what they do, and not only do they want to get back to normal, they want to remind people that their capacity to trade successfully is not only important to the economy of the area, but also to the wellbeing of their staff, their customers and our communities.”

These conversations are a unique insight into the thoughts and processes of some of our region’s key sector leaders, running hugely successful and renowned businesses. Their insights are invaluable for anyone thinking of getting into the sector, or for those already leading their own business, looking to the light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

You can listen to Chris’s chat with Andrew Hird here. 

You can subscribe to Tourism Business Chat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.

Due to the situation regarding the coronavirus, as a business owner your team may be working from home for the time being. With less social interaction and face to face support in the workplace during this time, it’s vital to look after your mental health as well as your physical health. Now more than ever it’s important to ensure that your team are looking after their own mental health too.

So how can you support the mental health of your team while working remotely?

• Keep in touch with your team and let them know that you care. Understandably, your team may be feeling worried and anxious about what the future may hold. You can help to ease these feelings of uncertainty by staying in touch and letting your team know that you’re there should they need support.
• Encourage team collaboration. When working from home, there can be a tendency for communication to drop off between your team as they’re no longer seeing each other face to face every day. Encouraging your team to utilise technology such as video conferencing means that they’re still able to work collaboratively and maintain a level of social interaction.
• Read the mood of your team and be aware of negative mood change. It’s completely normal for people to experience mood changes during periods of significant change. Tuning into the mood of your team and looking out for signs of negative mood change can help you to adapt your communication and provide the appropriate levels of support to the employees that may need it.
• Listen out for distress and struggling in things people say and in their tone. Some members of your team may feel comfortable openly talking about their feelings. However, others may have a tendency to keep their emotions bottled up and try to deal with them themselves. Be alert and listen out for distress and struggling in the things that your employees say and their tone.
• Look out for behaviour changes. Is a team member replying to emails in the middle of the night? Or have you noticed on a conference call that an upbeat team member is unusually quiet and upset. This may indicate that they’re struggling and may need additional support.
• Use your instinct. When you work with your team every day, you get to know them. You should therefore trust your instincts – if someone in your team doesn’t seem quite right, have an honest conversation with them to find out if there’s anything you can do to help.
• Promote any support that is available. If you provide support services for your team, ensure they know how to access them should they need it and that they’re clearly signposted so they know that help is available.

​You may be well accustomed to having your team work from home, or it may be a brand new experience for you. However, making sure that you’re staying in regular contact, prioritising mental health and maintaining a positive work life balance are steps that can help to ease the pressure of remote working.

By Eugene Farrell, Mental Health Lead at AXA Health

In this week’s Business Insight Chat, Ian Fitch talks to William Coe, managing director of Coes, an independent company of department stores, who have been trading since 1928!

This chat offers an incredible insight into how a prominent local business has learnt, and continued to grow during a tough time for retail, and is not to be missed.

William speaks openly about a variety of issues that the business has had to deal with during lockdown, stating that the first lockdown “Couldn’t have been worse timing for clothing businesses”

He speaks candidly about the initial worry over suppliers not trading; how being told they had to cease trading might impact them paying their suppliers; the potential decrease in demand for some of their top products; planning ahead for trends and events (such as weddings) that may never happen; the frustration over how some businesses suddenly popped up as ‘essential traders’; the rollover of stock, and much more.

William also discusses the acceleration that COVID has had on how shop-based retail is adapting to technology and habits, and what this means for the future of the high-street. He offers fascinating insights into what he thinks businesses, councils and the government need to do in order to preserve the high street, including a focus on business rates and VAT; and what can be done to invest in Ipswich in particular.

He also reflects on the positives of the last 12 months, and how he has learnt to ‘fail quickly and learn fast’, and how his team have shown great resilience. He discusses how they improved their online offering, transferring what customers experience in store, online; and how they plan to keep their stores and website working together, and not in competition, post-COVID.

You can listen to Business Insights Chat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss out on the next episode with Mark Ferguson from Castle Colour Packaging.

Listen here!

In our latest blog we explore the Pantone Color of the Year and share our top home furniture picks to refresh your home office in 2021.

Whether you’re working from home or your office, it never hurts to refresh your surroundings every once in a while. And, with so many great new trends around this season, there’s never been a better time to do it.

Pantone’s Color of the Year is undoubtedly the biggest trend for this year. Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has named a Color (or Colors) of the Year to reflect the current zeitgeist. From Cerulean (blue) to Tangerine Tango (red-orange), the Pantone Color Institute picks a shade that reflects a sense of calm or vibrancy, wellbeing or joy in line with what we feel or what we need.

Read more here

We are pleased to share with you Together We Can, our latest summary of partnerships activity from the last year.

The school is committed to making a positive impact in our community and Together We Can is a celebration of the different ways in which we seek to make a difference.

Our thanks go to the many charities, organisations and schools who have made all of this possible and we are grateful to the members of the Norwich School community who have shown a true dedication to helping others.

As ever, if there is a way in which the school could support a community partner, we would encourage them to be in touch with us.

More information about our current partnership projects can be found by clicking here.

In this week’s episode of Impromptu Business Chat, James and Mark chat about the benefits of sleep for business leaders and their teams, and share 3 top tips on ways to improve the quality of our sleep. They discuss what does and doesn’t work for them, and along the way refer to Ruari Fairbairns and Andy Rammage of One Year No Beer, Jon Kabat-Zinn of Full Catastrophe Living fame and The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tight Fit!   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Whilst you are there, please like us, and leave a comment. We would love to hear what you are enjoying about the podcast, and it helps others to find us!

Listen here!