August traditionally a quiet month, was absolutely horrendous. Although we had two drivers on holiday during the month, both on contract runs, there runs were easily covered. What we didn’t for see was the dramatic increase in business during August. Companies who during June and July we were delivering samples to the trade shows, and the private viewings for mail order companies and department stores, all picked up increased business which resulted in the run up to Christmas starting early. With the increased practice of department stores offering privileged customers the chance to preview new season lines, it looks as though competition in the retail sector is going to be fierce. Manufacturers who ran stocks down, the race is on to restock, which means a lot of companies being dependent on the lending criteria of the banks to survive. Companies with cash reserves are now in a much stronger position than those who were trading on credit.
European runs virtually doubled this month, with Germany still contributing the largest share. Although we expected this increase in mid September, to keep up with the increased demand it has been necessary for all staff to be out on the road, resulting in telephones not being answered quickly, and some customers not being able to get through at all, resulting in more email request for loads to be delivered. RFT Express apologises for this, and trusts our customers were not unduly inconvenienced. Three new vehicles were ordered for the expected increase and should be in service over the next few weeks.
The sudden upswing in business with our customers may not be replicated nationwide, but it does lend a little bit more weight to the theory that we may be in for a double headed recession, if we come out of recession too quickly. I can see some companies who ran stock levels too low, being unable refinance stock levels, resulting in more closures over the next few months. One BBC reporter quoted the financial institutions as operating the 3-6-3 policy. Borrow at 3%, lend at 6%, on the golf course by 3.00 p.m.
The next 4 to 6 weeks should give a clearer picture.
Monday 31 August 2009
Sunday 30 August 2009
Free Viral Advertising
This is the fourth post in the popular ‘recession’ series, following on from: The Recession-A Great Opportunity?, The Recession What An Opportunity?, Recession - Act Now
Up until the recession RFT Express was doing OK, the recession and the chance of acquiring struggling companies, was the spring board to bring forward our intention to expand our customer base. With companies closing down, many courier companies couldn’t survive if they lost one or more customers. Multinational courier and transport firms were closing non profitable sections of their businesses down, this left a big whole to fill in the UK and Europe markets . This phenomenon is typical of virtually all sectors in the market. The only way we could capitalise quickly on this was through our websites.
Why Use Google?
Google is the place to be noticed whether you have a website or not [on this page on our website you can find out how to get a web presence, without paying for it, and with no experience] We have several of these, and every month we get statistics from directories we who have replicated what they think is important on our site, and reproduce a mini site which gets us extra business, all for free. It’s a snowball effect which is generated by links on Google.
Before the internet was available to everyone, the only ways to generate business were through personal contacts, knocking on doors or paid advertising. There used to be a true saying :-‘without advertising a remarkable thing happens.....NOTHING!’ This is still true today, the only difference is the way you advertise.
Read the full article
This is the fourth in a series of articles taken from an E book due later in the year.
Vic Farron, staff writer for rftexpresscouriers.co.uk
Up until the recession RFT Express was doing OK, the recession and the chance of acquiring struggling companies, was the spring board to bring forward our intention to expand our customer base. With companies closing down, many courier companies couldn’t survive if they lost one or more customers. Multinational courier and transport firms were closing non profitable sections of their businesses down, this left a big whole to fill in the UK and Europe markets . This phenomenon is typical of virtually all sectors in the market. The only way we could capitalise quickly on this was through our websites.
Why Use Google?
Google is the place to be noticed whether you have a website or not [on this page on our website you can find out how to get a web presence, without paying for it, and with no experience] We have several of these, and every month we get statistics from directories we who have replicated what they think is important on our site, and reproduce a mini site which gets us extra business, all for free. It’s a snowball effect which is generated by links on Google.
Before the internet was available to everyone, the only ways to generate business were through personal contacts, knocking on doors or paid advertising. There used to be a true saying :-‘without advertising a remarkable thing happens.....NOTHING!’ This is still true today, the only difference is the way you advertise.
Read the full article
This is the fourth in a series of articles taken from an E book due later in the year.
Vic Farron, staff writer for rftexpresscouriers.co.uk
Tuesday 11 August 2009
The Recssion-Act Now
The Recession – Now is the time to act!
This article is the third in the series, and follows on from The recession- a great opportunity? The recession-what an opportunity
The first article was an attempt to put you in the right frame of mind to succeed. If you don’t believe you can succeed, you won’t. The first article showed how easy it is to set up a small business, with little or no capital. With the current climate you have very little chance of borrowing from you bank, but it always worth a try. There are other ways of raising capital if you have to. There are grants available from many organisations. A search of the internet will reveal some of these, in additions some local authorities will help with premises, and business rate reductions. Your local Business Link and local Chamber of Commerce will help by pointing you in the right direction, and information can also be obtained from your local library. If everything else fails try friends and family, you never know, you might even end up with a partner.
Your bank is still the first place to try, even though they may not lend you any money, they do provide some support, and a lot of literature which can be helpful. You will need a business plan and a profit and loss forecast as well as a cash flow forecast, and a projection on turnover. Your research will give you some indication of what these figures should be. The second article dealt with forecasting your turnover and cash flow.
Read the full article.....
Vic Farron staff writer for RFT Express
This article is the third in the series, and follows on from The recession- a great opportunity? The recession-what an opportunity
The first article was an attempt to put you in the right frame of mind to succeed. If you don’t believe you can succeed, you won’t. The first article showed how easy it is to set up a small business, with little or no capital. With the current climate you have very little chance of borrowing from you bank, but it always worth a try. There are other ways of raising capital if you have to. There are grants available from many organisations. A search of the internet will reveal some of these, in additions some local authorities will help with premises, and business rate reductions. Your local Business Link and local Chamber of Commerce will help by pointing you in the right direction, and information can also be obtained from your local library. If everything else fails try friends and family, you never know, you might even end up with a partner.
Your bank is still the first place to try, even though they may not lend you any money, they do provide some support, and a lot of literature which can be helpful. You will need a business plan and a profit and loss forecast as well as a cash flow forecast, and a projection on turnover. Your research will give you some indication of what these figures should be. The second article dealt with forecasting your turnover and cash flow.
Read the full article.....
Vic Farron staff writer for RFT Express
Thursday 6 August 2009
UK EX-PATS Pension Rule Changes
There have been one or two changes to the UK pension entitlement during the last 18 months, and with the number of requests for information we are receiving from people living abroad, it seems an appropriate time to outline the changes. . There is a link on our website, where you can get a figure for your pension entitlement, and a PDF download, in case the page isn’t always live,
Firstly if you are entitled to a pension, YOU WON’T GET IT UNLES YOU ASK FOR IT! Carry on reading.
Firstly if you are entitled to a pension, YOU WON’T GET IT UNLES YOU ASK FOR IT! Carry on reading.
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