Adur & Worthing Business Awards 2021 – Official Launch Event

There was a buzz in the room at the Shoreham Centre on Wednesday 21^st July, as businesses from Adur & Worthing gathered to hear about this year’s business awards.  Having been postponed due to the pandemic in 2020, the Adur & Worthing Business Awards are back and the search has begun for top companies and individual business people across the region.

The evening launch event, held in conjunction with Worthing & Adur Chamber and kindly sponsored by SJM Electrical Services, was a huge success and marked the start of this year’s entry process which is open to businesses of any size operating across the region.  The venue, generously supplied by Adur Council, allowed the organising committee to welcome guests including sponsors, partners, judges and previous winners.  Attendees enjoyed a glass of fizz and light bites while networking in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere before taking their seats for an informative presentation and Q&A session.

Peter Webb MBE DL – Chairman of the Adur & Worthing Business Awards and Managing Director of ETI Ltd said: “After such a turbulent time for businesses, it is only right that we shout about the triumphs, recognise the resilience and celebrate the innovation and dynamic economic growth which has taken place within the different sectors and among businesses of all shapes and sizes.  Now is the time to shine the spotlight on businesses that have been exploring new opportunities, creating wealth, employing more people and contributing to the local economy.”

Chay Took – President of Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce and Partner at Kreston Reeves commented: “It’s been an incredibly challenging period for businesses as they’ve been forced to adapt during Covid-19 but the innovation, flexibility and determination shown by companies in Adur and Worthing has been astonishing. There is no doubt that Covid has placed a huge strain on the local economy but, in such hard times, the resilience shown by so many companies has been truly remarkable and if ever there was a year to celebrate success and showcase the best of our business community, this is it!”

The Adur & Worthing Business Awards have grown in prestige and importance and have become a well-established platform to champion business excellence. Offering 18 separate categories, businesses are invited to enter these awards which are all designed to recognise success and achievements across various industries.  In recognition of the pandemic, some of the category criteria’s have been adapted and we have included a COVID-19 Response award this year, but many of the event’s traditional categories, will remain. 

Full details on the categories available and how to enter the awards can be found on the Adur & Worthing Business Awards website www.awbawards.com  Entries are now open and the winners will be announced at a glittering black-tie awards ceremony to be held at The Pavilion, Worthing on Friday 12^th November 2021.  

Advice for Landlords on ‘Making Tax Digital’

Landlords looking for tips on tax and how to prepare for incoming Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules are being invited to an online event on July 22 with specialist advisors from Carpenter Box.

MTD will have a significant impact on landlords with annual profits exceeding £10,000, with HMRC requiring individuals to use electronic accounting records and submit quarterly returns detailing income and expenditure from April 2023.

“MTD will require a significant change in both processing financial information and providing data to HMRC. Although the start date is some way off, landlords will need time to implement new accounting systems and get used to the new system well before the deadline, “ said Karen Thomas, a Tax Associate within the Private Client Services team at Carpenter Box, and one of the speakers at the event.

“We will also give some additional tax tips for landlords at the event and there will be plenty of opportunities for them to ask questions and clarify any burning issues they may have.”

To register for the event, go to:

https://www.carpenterbox.com/event/making-tax-digital-for-landlords/

Business Seek Outsourced Financial Services as Lockdown Eases

Companies across Sussex are turning to external experts to help them navigate the pandemic while preparing for an anticipated upswing in trading driven by a full lifting of COVID restrictions.

Leading regional chartered accountants Carpenter Box has seen an influx of clients for its outsourced financial services over the last year as businesses look not only to control costs but to gain access to high level skills. Over the last year, the firm’s Business Services outsourcing team has grown from 3 to 17.

“The last 18 months have shown many businesses the benefits of being flexible in enhancing internal resources with tailored external support,” said Carpenter Box Partner, Nathan Keeley. “Outsourcing can offer a cost-effective route for functions such as bookkeeping, credit control, payroll and cashflow management but can also enable companies to access expertise at a finance director level. This flexibility has attracted interest from companies of every size working in many different sectors.”

Carpenter Box’s dedicated outsourced finance team works alongside businesses to take over back office accounting and finance functions, ensuring that clients have access to the most up to date technology, systems and processes, while removing the administrative burden. The firm applies the skills, capabilities and technologies developed specifically to support finance and business functions.

Business Services Associate, Joshua Bowen, based in the firm’s Gatwick office, added: “As we start to move on from the pandemic, value for money is the prime consideration for just about every organisation. For many businesses, outsourcing can provide essential finance functions and access to experts in their field in a cost effective way. Certainly, we have seen growing levels of interest in adopting this approach.”

“Having a risk structure in place with up-to-date financial information is essential for any business to move forward from the pandemic and move towards a path of sustained growth.”

For more information, please refer to the Business Services Group at Carpenter Box at www.carpenterbox.com/outsource or call on 01903 234094.

Reach Work partners with Chamber Member, Watch This Sp_ce on diversity and inclusion consultancy

Watch This Sp_ce is delighted to announce our partnership with Reach Work a portfolio of specialist, market-leading job sites.

As recruitment specialists Reach Work understands the importance of creating diverse, inclusive teams and having received requests from clients for guidance driven by a growing concern for greater equality in the workplace, Reach Work have partnered with Watch This Sp_ce.

Watch This Sp_ce provides a combination of services to help organisations at every stage of their inclusion journey with a blend of digital and in-person solutions. Their interactive training courses and unique Inclusion Audit provide organisations with the tools they need to begin the process of making meaningful change.

About Reach Work

Reach Work is a portfolio of 3 specialist, market leading job sites: GAAPweb (finance and accountancy), SecsintheCity (PAs, EAs and business support) and TotallyLegal (lawyers and legal professionals). They are part of Reach plc, the UK’s largest national and regional news publisher.

About Watch This Sp_ce

An award-nominated diversity and inclusion consultancy, helping organisations to reimagine how they work to include everyone. Watch This Sp_ce work with organisations across a range of sectors offering coaching, communications and consultancy. The unique inclusion framework enables organisations to challenge the way they think, understand the gaps in their way of working, and create a roadmap for meaningful change.

 What I have learnt from 400 business leaders in lockdown.

March 2020. I was due to host a Future Skills Summit, with guest speakers from across the UK holding plenaries on the circular economy, the Internet of  Things and the changing workplace. I  was also facilitating a two-day summit on big data and tourism in partnership with the University of Brighton.

 As Programme Director for Essex 2020, over 1000 events stretched ahead, bringing together big engineering firms,  artists, libraries, teenage hackers – you name it – to celebrate science and creativity in misunderstood towns.  

But by the 23rd, I was suddenly very available. And quite frightened.

Much of my professional life has revolved around creating spaces for people to scale new ideas or deepen connections with the communities they serve. It took a little while to recalibrate and to fully understand that the spaces we now needed to occupy were digital ones. The upside is that the always possible team could spend time working with construction to the arts, hospitality, retail, tech, and more.  

If it’s possible to distil some of the  insights into five lessons, regardless of  sector or size, it is these: 

1. Never underestimate your team 

People tend to pull out the stops in a  crisis. And the past 12 months has pushed leaders to re-evaluate the value,  wellbeing and capacity to innovate of the people around them. Nearly always finding a previously untapped well of  ‘can-do and mend’. 
We’ve been asked to help with restructures and shifts to home-working, but the genuine joy is seeing people fall back in love with their work when they can permit themselves to do things differently, to step back and be reminded of their core mission. “We just feel so useful to our customers again”,  one tech COO told me – and that energy is infectious. 

2. Sounding-board  

Ambition + fear x decision-making =  noise. And we’ve been hearing over and again that many small business owners are getting tinnitus from the shrill push and pull of what they’re told they should be doing. From making spaces Covid secure to launching new digital products, we’ve learnt there is not a single new process that doesn’t benefit from some critical friendship.  

And it doesn’t need to cost the Earth.  Across Sussex, programmes such as the Business Hothouse, the BRITE  programme, and all local growth hubs have provided fully-funded support. In East Sussex, we’ve been running the >BRE AK THROUGH  programme for female and ethnic minority founders and giving access to over £1m of growth grants to a range of SMEs as part of the South  East Business Boost. 

3. Get an external 

Targeted mini-research projects are essential at getting teams back on track and putting their energy in the right places. And new resources like the  Brighton Business & IP Centre can help with that. 

4. Create an evidence-based of opportunity 

In the thick of Brexit and the pandemic,  ‘uncertainty’ has become the watchword. So the requests we have had for help rebuilding knowledge of the market, what customers actually need, and business and investor confidence. 

5. Breakdown your priorities  

INTO NOW, NEXT, AND LATER Through providing 1:1s, workshops and grants to over 400 businesses across the UK, the always possible team have perfected a way for businesses to navigate the next 12 months. Whether for a whole business or for a particular product or idea, the key is using engineering techniques that turn the mountain to climb, but a series of small mounds. 

Fourteen months on, and I can be more reflective about the different and complex decisions over 400 teams and executives have been making in the sectors we have more people, giving advice and practical support – but mainly just listening. 
❛❛It took a little while to recalibrate and to fully understand that the spaces we now needed to occupy were digital ones. ❜❜ 
--
always possible is looking for just 100 ambitious businesses to be part of a unique post-traumatic growth community, benefiting from a new style of mentoring, research and action planning that actually works.

To register your interest in free or low-cost access to post-COVID planning support and a unique network of peers  – visit alwayspossible.co.uk/The100 

Live events are back on the menu at St Barnabas - Hit the Downs MTB

It's time kick those lockdown blues to the curb this summer. Let's get back to being together for that feeling of start line butterflies, live crowd cheers and home stretch highs we've all been craving.

Hit the Downs MTB is back again with a brand new 80k route to challenge your inner trail blazer. 

Join Team St Barnabas on Sunday 11 July and blow away the cobwebs of the last year!

Register here: https://www.stbarnabas-hospice.org.uk/events/hit-the-downs-mtb/ 

Calling all small businesses to lead the charge to net zero

Small businesses can use the hub to find practical tools, resources and advice to understand their emissions and develop a plan to tackle them, as well as providing ideas for steps they can take. 

Get the free expert business support you need to succeed - The Business Hot House

With the economy predicted to bounce back strongly, this is a good time to get your business idea going or your existing business growing. With the help of cash from our Invest4 Grant Fund plus the free, expert advice and guidance from The Business Hothouse partnership, you can launch or expand your business knowing that on-going expert support is here to help you to succeed.

• Introduction to the Invest4 Grant workshop
• Grow your business with an Invest4 Grant
• Invest4 Fit For Finance boot camp
• Invest4 Money Sense boot camp 
• 1-2-1 Access to Finance session 

WTM announce exhibition by global internet sensation Hercule Van Wolfwinkle: Pet Portraits 

Worthing Theatres and Museum are excited to announce that the Museum and Gallery will be reopening with four fantastic new exhibitions, including Pet Portraits by Hercule Van Wolfwinkle in the Garden Gallery from Saturday 22 May until Sunday 8 August.

Worthing resident Phil Heckels created an internet storm during lockdown under the alias Hercule Van Wolfwinkle with his self styled 'rubbish' Pet Portraits. What started as a thank you card to his parents, as an attempt to get his reluctant 6 year old away from computer games – turned into hundreds of pet portrait requests flying in from around the globe and raising over £78,000 for West Sussex charity Turning Tides. 

Turning Tides is now the biggest provider of services for single homeless people in West Sussex. With over 5,000 supporters, 300 volunteers and 140 staff, they provide real pathways out of homelessness and are committed to supporting people at every stage of their journey. The breadth of their services empower people experiencing homelessness to become confident and find the strength and belief in themselves to create a brighter future.

Lucy Knowles, Fundraising Manager, Turning Tides has said ‘Phil (aka Hercule Van Wolfwinkle), has not only achieved a phenomenal international fan base, he and his followers have raised a staggering amount in support of Turning Tides. It seems very fitting that his artwork will be celebrated locally at Worthing’s wonderful Art Gallery. We would like to send our heartfelt gratitude to Phil, and everyone who has supported Pet Portraits, because in turn you have also helped the hundreds of men and women in your community who have nowhere to call their home. The ongoing support Pet Portraits has garnered is truly inspiring. Phil has managed to captivate people’s precious pets but also importantly, shared his passion to support the growing number of people who are experiencing homelessness across the county.’

This is Phil's first ever exhibition which opens on Saturday 22 May a week before the release of his first book Rubbish Pet Portraits on Thursday 27 May 2021. 

CEO Amanda O'reilly says ‘We are delighted to be reopening the museum offering the community access to a fantastic set of exhibitions, most with a local link, alongside an amazing programme of walks, talks and workshops. We have also been working hard behind the scenes and regular museum visitors should see some exciting improvements. We will continue to prioritise safety in all our venues, will be limiting the number of people inside the museum and continuing to implement additional safety procedures.’

Initially the museum will be open Saturdays (10am-5pm) and Thursdays (10am-8pm). The exhibitions and permanent collections are free to view, however as a charitable organisation WTM welcomes donations which support their work bringing arts and heritage to Worthing. Additional safety measures remain in place throughout the museum and visitors are asked to wear masks in line with government guidance. 

For more information and to book event tickets visit www.wtam.uk or call the WTM Box Office on 01903 206206.