Yossa's Blog

Wallets take a pounding

In these austere times it’s no surprise that Poundland is doing well, but it is a little surprising just how well it’s doing. Profits are soaring and it’s planning to create up to 2,000 new jobs.

Poundland is, perhaps, at the apex of simple ideas . . . everything for a £1. That was the vision of the founders in 1990, and that vision still stands.

In the year to 28 March, turnover has climbed by nearly 30 per cent to £510 million and operating profit has rocketed by over 80 per cent £21.5 million. Thanks to these attractive figures, the big cheeses are looking to open 50 new stores that will create thousands of new jobs across the country.

As with every good business idea, there’s always someone looking to piggy back on it and even undercut you, hence the creation of 99p Stores Ltd by Nadir Lalani in 2001. As of March it had a total of 129 stores and it has Poundland in its sights.

So who will win the pound-for-pound battle? A penny for your thoughts . . . .

2010-08-19 | Author: Yossa

Entrepreneurs confident about UK

It was good to read this week that entrepreneurs believe that the UK is fertile ground for business opportunities.

The research from Investec Specialist Private Bank and the Entrepreneurs' Organisation UK questioned some of our land’s most successful business men and women about their thoughts for the 12 months ahead and 62 per cent said that the current economic climate in the UK represents a business opportunity for them

In fact, only 21 per cent see the economy as a threat to their operations or business ideas.

It looks like entrepreneurs are certainly not battening down the hatches and holding what they’ve got, but are doing what they do best  . . .being entrepreneurial and looking to build.

Around 70 per cent of the entrepreneurs questioned have plans to launch new companies or products and one in three said that it is likely they will try to launch a new company or product between now and May 2011.

2010-08-04 | Author: Yossa

Costly car wash

One smart entrepreneur has found an idea that will help him clean up . . . quite literally. Flicking through the Metro this week I saw that Gurcharn Sahota has launched Britain’s most expensive car wash.

For £7,200 he’s promised to get a car looking showroom new by spending 250 hours washing and cleaning your car. As my car probably costs around that amount, I don’t think I’ll be looking up his details . . . .

2010-07-22 | Author: Yossa

Let’s all get online

An internet entrepreneur is behind a new government initiative to get everyone in Britain online.

Martha Lane Fox, the co-founder of lastminute.com, has been assigned the role of the UK's Digital Champion, and one of her tasks is get everyone in Britain online. Not such an easy task in an economic downturn and a country where ten million people have never used the internet.

Nearly half of these ten million people who have yet to enjoy the huge benefits of the web that the vast majority of us enjoy every day are among the most disadvantaged in society.

This means they are missing out on consumer savings, access to vital information and educational success. That’s why we need Race Online 2012, a national campaign to give Britain's socially and digitally excluded equal access to the life-changing power of the internet.

Research included in Martha’s Manifesto for a Networked Nation found:

• The web empowers the unemployed: more than 90 per cent of all new jobs require basic internet skills, and 7 million job adverts were posted online last year but 900,000 workless people do not currently use the internet.

• The web can prevent the social isolation of older people: half of internet users say the web increases contact with friends and family who live far away, but 3.1 million people in the UK over the age of 65 see a friend, neighbour or family member less than once a week and 1.8 million have contact less than once a month.

• The web improves educational performance: children who are online at home can achieve a two-grade improvement in a subject at GCSE.

2010-07-13 | Author: Yossa

Got a Desmond, then go away!

There’s not much good news for graduates who picked up a Demond Tutu (2:2 degree) after years of studying at university. In fact, there’s not much good news at the moment for any graduates I’m afraid.

A new survey by the Association of Graduate Recruiters Survey 2010 has found more than three quarters (78 per cent) of graduate employers are binning applications from those who’ve not achieved a 2:1 degree. Worse still, there are more graduates fighting it out for fewer jobs. Vacancies are down by 7 per cent, while now almost 70 people are in the hunt for each graduate job.

Turning a negative into a positive, although degree classification was found to be the mostly widely used as a selection criterion, employers also regard the ability to demonstrate certain competencies and relevant work experience above a degree subject and a graduate from a particular university.

So if you have a Tutu, focusing on gaining relevant work experience in an unpaid capacity could put you in good stead to get that graduate job.

2010-07-06 | Author: Yossa