Dark side.tv
Company car?........
2012
ww
JUNE
w. the Is it worth it?
National
OR
Unwelcome
Cost to your
business?
- see Page 16 -
Inside this issue: Inside this issue:
LinkedIn ‘TAGS’ National
Job Board Branding! What’s New Pussy Cat?
Email on my iPhone
The ‘30 UP’ Club The Power of Three! Lots of Flashes

EDITOR’S NOTE
23
Well, it’s all about Tax again isn’t it?
What does
Tax Avoidance or is it Tax Evasion or it something else? Grumpy Cat
At the same time as all of these personal tax issues
are developing, we are also looking down the barrel of a
classic Government dichotomy; they need to raise
have to say?
more tax revenues to reduce the national debt BUT
they understand that by raising taxes, they will choke
any consumer led recovery – which in turn would
I AM a -see page 23-
reduce aggregate tax revenues. Grumpy Cat
So, as Recruiters where do we all go right now and
does it really matter to us what the big wigs are doing
about tax avoidance or tax evaders?
Grumpy Cat
We also need to consider what Sir Mervin King (the big
boss at the Bank Of England) is now saying – he
believes that the recession is nowhere near over and Where else to plonk it?
that the consequences of the melt down of 2008 are
still with us.
He looks at what is going on in the Far East, the USA Regular Stuff
and the Eurozone and predicts more stormy waters 16 National
ahead for the UK.
4 What’s new ‘Pussy Cat?’
22 Business Reviews
Add into the mix the general view that if the Eurozone
rejects the single currency we are all in trouble BUT 6
23 Grumpy Cat
also that if the Eurozone survives, we will need to make
big changes to take collective responsibility for what 13 i-Phone Email
23 Tax, Tax, Tax
the Greeks, Italians or Irish face with their sovereign
deficits, then you can see that very little is clear. 14 Frustration!
23 Lloyds Hello
24 LinkedIn-
So, how come we feel that your best the strategy is 27 Next Time
extremely clear? Exploring Connections
Whatever happens, you need to ‘paddle your own
canoe’ and be prudent. 26 Bits & Pieces
SSG knows exactly what revenues are being generated
by our network and how that revenue performance is
being affected by all of these wider based concerns. Editors Specials
As was the case in 2008 and 2009 and 2010 and
2011 and now, what you need to do is to make a
8 Company Cars? Long winded bits
placement and not let externalities affect you
negatively. 15 Wrong Tax Code
9 New Website
Why not take a good look at our on-going survey results 24 LinkedIn Tag’s
Page 17 onwards).
It makes for interesting reading!
17 Survey Time!
Heads up guys!
This is no time to wimp out!
info@ the-darkside.tv
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otherwise apply.
3

What’s New seemingly unfillable vacancy out
of their market comfort zone, leads
Pussy Cat?
to a juicy £10k+ fee.
Black Onyx has recently
engaged Bulhorn to
provide recruitment
software and also has a lovely new
website which highlights the very
diverse range of recruitment
sectors they service along with a
synergous offering in providing
property maintenance teams.
Breaking News ..... Congratulations to
Interact who is
It’s amazing what goes on out there in ‘SSG benefitting from the
Client-Land’! recent issue of their gang
masters licence.
Here are a few snippets of news from around
High end IT recruiter ,
the ‘network’. Sentio, continues to go
from strength to
A Commercial and Congratulations to snazzy strength – they have
Industrial client have new Company on the recently successfully trademarked
been grappling with block, Smart10, who have their brand.
issues on TUPE transfers and had a great start to their business
cleaning contracts. Some recent and are determined to take the Congratulations to a
case law has determined that if an local commercial market by storm. niche recruiter on
employee or group of employees opening another division
spend 70% or more of their time Building & Construction serving the promotional
on the cleaning, then this may well Materials Supply agency products market, working out of
be a TUPE transfer. Rhodium and trendy retail new offices in Bournemouth. This
recruitment agency, Qwork are complements their office in
both undergoing appraisals for London and provides wider
Lots of questions on AWR
their staff; SSG provided all the coverage for their growing
– specialist IT recruitment
documentation they need to do business.
company, ITCV have been
this.
asked to sign a contract where
they assume full responsibility for Congratulations to
Wolf Solutions, operating Mantra on opening a
the costs of equalising pay and
from sunny Devon, new division supplying
conditions under reg 5.
receives the prize for the care home staff – they have got a
most innovative business new website offshoot promoting
Education Recruiter, development call – a chance the brand and we wish them every
People Personnel have encounter in a coffee shop leads to success in this market.
been asked by temps an international assignment in
whether they can be paid for renewable energy. Good luck to our Leeds
outstanding untaken statutory based education client,
holiday and the answer is a Congratulations to who have their business
resounding ‘No’ – only holiday over Secretarial and high end on the market at the moment –
and above the statutory minimum PA Recruitment Company, fingers crossed that the owner can
of 28 days a year can be given in Purely PA – a great piece of find a buyer who can enable him to
pay. speculative recruiting for a realise his next goal.
4

Congratulations to successful operation on the South CCG and Electrical Recruitment
Satarah who beat the coast. Specialists, ERS have all decided
bank by having money to they cannot survive without the
pay into their account before the support of SSG and have renewed
bank had managed to get it Congratulations are in their agreements for a further 3
opened! The company has made order for Accounting and years. We look forward to
an impressive start to the year and Finance recruitment continuing to support these
is certainly a force to be reckoned company, Ashby Finance, who are fantastic and well established
with in the provision of good expanding their team. Rohit businesses as they progress to the
quality office support staff. joined in April to provide Business next stages of growth.
Development support to the
growing company. Well done to newly
Sustantivo have received
some good press formed Charity and IT
coverage in their local A Hospitality and recruiter, Landmark Faith
area and have managed to get Catering client of ours, for making a solid start in a very
their message on the importance based in Oxfordshire, has tough market. We wish them all
of a great CV out to their local branched out in to the provision of the very best in this challenging
candidate audience. very lucrative temporary staff. space
space.
Her tfordshire -based
partnership and
HAVE Some Nappy
iters,
Commercial recruiters, YOUR
Unity8, have recently engaged aged
Darwin as their recruitment ment SHOUT!
software provider. Impressed by
d
Darwin’s customer service ethic Newsworthy items
and integration with Outlook, this
, Welcomed by
latest move will only serve toe
strengthen a very positive start for
rt
Jane@supportservicesgroup.tv News to celebrate!
this dynamic duo!
Congratulations to Jones and
We are delighted, that as Stone, who have a new
Successful Welfare to
a result of a chat with HR young consultant in the form
work recruiter Genie
recruiter, Alexander Rose, of Baby Harry. We look
Personnel has had to
we have a new company forward to helping Rhiannon
implement the AWR by explaining
to launch in April – very satisfying & Mark set KPI’s for this new
to their client that as they provide
when we are recommended to addition to their team.
more than the statutory minimum
recruiters and a big thank you to
level of holiday entilement to their
Linda being so complimentary Congratulations to specialist
permanent staff, this will need to
about the work we do. opticians recruiter, Stay, on
be provided also to the temp
the recent addition to their
provided by and the fees will need team of baby Poppy
Congratulations to new
to increase.
kid on the block,
BlueHaven Recruitment, Congratulations also to DT
Partnership commercial who have had a storming Recruitment, also on a new
recruitment agency, D&H start to their business. member, baby Poppy!
Recruitment, has moved
into beautiful new offices in We are thrilled that
Porchester and has celebrated with specialist Adult Training
an update to their website and the Did you know?.......
& Learning Consultancy
purchase of company t-shirts and Browns,, Cosmetic & 8,000 Recruiters receive this
jackets! They have just taken on Medical recruiters JP Consultancy ...........
another team member to join the (Leeds), Rec to Rec
5

This month, Esther Greenwood of Satarah Recruitment Key
‘dishes the dirt’ on what it’s really like to start your own • Home Based Facts
business. • Owner/Manager
Satarah is a local agency servicing the Northants, Beds
and Bucks area, providing HR, Finance and Office staff. • Perm
Scores are out of 10 and the higher the number, the stronger the • 2011 Launch
feeling!
MOTIVATIONS So, what made you decide to SYOB? Why did you NIGGLING ANXIETIES
make the transition from Employee to Business
Expectation Reality Owner? For all of the rhetoric & seemingly Expectation Reality
endless discussions, was it money, freedom or
Freedom & Autonomy 7 8 perhaps the children which finally made you ‘get Legal Formations 9 2
out of recruitment & into business’? What did you
expect and what has been the reality? Accounting Issues 9 2
Financial / Earnings 7 8
The Tax Man 8 0
8 9
?
Long Term Ambition
The VAT Man 8 0
Increased Family Time 8 10
Sourcing Vacancies 7 4
Reduction in Commute 10 10 Personal Cash Flow 8 5
Escape Office Politics 10 10 Personal Isolation 3 1
A Difficult Employer 7 6 Restrictive Covenants 8 1
Technical Issues 5 2
The ‘Right Time’ 8 10 And before you made the big decision to SYOB,
what kept you awake at night? What were the Staying Organised 3 2
Prove Doubters Wrong 8 10 awful worries, the ‘niggles’ you couldn’t escape?
Has the Tax man been friend or foe? Did your Impact on your Family 4 2
Work / Life Balance 8 10 Restrictive Covenant hold you back? What about
Making Placements 6 8
cash flow? Technology? Do you have more time
Shorter Working Day 9 7 for your family? Has it been tougher than you Room in the Market
anticipated? 2 2
50 WORDS ON WHY NOT!
50 WORDS ON WHY! I was worried about the Recession and the impact of
The Pro’s for setting up my own business are I’m sure like most it continuing would have on me – security was a big
ventures – doing it my way, work life balance & most consideration and the feeling that if I failed, what
importantly I had been using a skill for other companies to would I do?
profit for 18 years – Now it’s my time !
The SSG advert was the catalyst I needed, giving support & I would be faced with having to go back to Hays or
guidance along the way but also giving me autonomy. The one of my other ‘Exes’ and that was certainly a
advent of the recession, although not perfect, didn’t sway my
concern.
resolve - if I am still making placements in this difficult time
then it will surely get better.
A: Yes! Beyond what I 10 A: My biggest challenge 7 A: The loyalty that I have 10
Biggest challenge?
thought and has was to create a brand received from both my
Major upsides?
So far, so good?
continued to bring me 10 and a company that 10 clients and candidates 10
the change in lifestyle would stand out from has been the major
that I craved. all the other agencies upside and although
in the area. not totally unsurprising,
Needless to say, that the first very welcome at the
Satarah placement was the To be able to sustain a business in same time.
sweetest placement I have ever that tough arena was and To be told regularly that I, on my
made!. continues to be something that own, make a difference to their
occupies my mind and poses a business and career gives me a real
daily challenge. buzz. I am so much calmer and and
happier now, away from egos in the
office!
6

10 RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS
10
Why choose SSG?
I saw an advert on a Job board and “Confidence grows Expectation? Reality?
instantly thought ‘That’s me’! I as your Business
spoke to Clare initially and then,
after some serious thinking, spoke Grows” Hard to Find 5 7
to David and took it from there – it Candidates
was a real light bulb moment and
there is no way I would ever go
back to working for someone else –
it is perfect. A Good Work Routine 5 7
10 Clients Pay Up 7 7
10
How was the launch?
Acheiving a Personal
Excellent, smooth, professional
Routine
7 9
and easy to follow and
understand.
Being Distracted 7 6
Feeling Isolated 7 4
Having Family 7 10
10 Support
Most important support
Without a doubt the 10 “I’ve escaped
financial and accounting
side of the support Office Politics - Tough to attract 7 5
– the fact that I can call Darren at
any time and go through (for the I find I’m very Clients?
umpteenth time) the MMAs is so
reassuring. Darren remains patient easy to work
continually, even when he gets a
‘sorry, it’s me again’ call from
with!” Long Working Hours 4 3
Satarah!
High Stress Levels 6 4
ADVICE FOR OTHERS? BIGGEST MISTAKE? LONG-TERM GOALS?
To quote the scouts, ‘Be Prepared’ – have 3 My biggest mistake was not seeing the SSG I want to pay off my mortgage, grow Satarah
months money in the bank to cover yourself advert sooner! I waited until the situation whilst keeping true to who I am and the
in the early days and have lots of positivity with my employer got so bad that I was personal service I can offer. On a personal
around you. Having the backing of your forced to act – I wish I had made the move to note, I would like to have enough money to
family is important; my other half, Aidan, is a run my own business years before. take Aidan around the world so he can
constant sounding board and great support experience it and I can indulge again!
for me as I grow Satarah
We have been What to do Next?
working with
Esther for 18 Take the Challenge?
months and
Why not Volunteer to be
Clare’s watched as the
next with
Last c o m p a n y ’s Clare?
Words revenues have
steadily grown Surely, it is much better to
Football Rugby Neither month by step forward and take a hit
month. With an incredibly high level of for the team than to be
Eastenders Corrie Neither
integrity and professionalism, Esther has relentlessly tracked down
Rock Opera Neither by a seemingly pleasant &
Jogging Crisps Neither created the beginnings of a company
fair minded pseudo
that will gain a reputation in the market
Wine Beer Neither Psychiatrist?
for quality and a high level of attention
Literature DVD’s Neither
to detail. Satarah’s interview to To take part, please contact
Casual Suited Neither
placement ratios are very high and
UK Hol’s Overseas Neither repeat business is a real hallmark of this CLARE ARMSTRONG
Glasses Contacts Neither venture. 01442 200 957
clare@supportservicesgroup.tv
History Sci-Fi Neither
7

Company Cars - is it worth it?
kilometre) determines how high the cash Year 1 £7,000
equivalent benefit is, starting at 10% of list Year 2 £7,000
price of the car all the way up to 35% of the Year 3 £7,000
list price. So, that is additional tax paid by the
The higher the CO2, the higher the tax individual of £1,400 EACH YEAR!!
charge. (assuming basic rate of tax)
Ok, you say. What if I get a lower emissions
Capital Allowances car?
When a company buys an asset it is not Let us look at an average emissions car.
Business is going well! treated like a business cost that is deducted Example : You buy a car for £20,000 and it
fully from the profits before corporation tax is in the middle of the bands for CO2
I’ve got money in the bank and my pipeline
is calculated. emissions (so capital allowance would be
of job roles is looking really good.
In fact I would even say I’m working The cost of the asset is “spread out” over a 20% and benefit in kind would be 20%) and
extremely hard! number of years at a percentage of its you keep it for 3 years.
value. The company would have the following
Do you know what, I think I deserve a capital allowances which would reduce
Company car! This annual amount deducted from profits profit
All the top executives have one. before corporation tax is calculated is Year 1 £4,000
known as capital allowances. Year 2 £3,200
And even better, the company pays for it so Year 3 £2,560
pays less tax! Example: an asset that has capital In total the company would be showing
allowances of 10% and cost £100k would profit reduced by £9,760 which would in
Everyone’s a winner!....We’ve all thought it.
have a capital allowance of £10k in the first turn reduce the corporation tax by £1,952
A company car is a great perk to have. year, or 10% of the Cost.
However the individual would have a
And what better way to reduce the In the second year the value of the asset benefit charge each year based on
company’s tax AND reduce your personal would now be £90k so at 10% the
expenditure? allowances would be £9k, and so on..... Year 1 £4,000
Year 2 £4,000
Unfortunately, it is not that simple. So how does this affect Company cars?? Year 3 £4,000
And all to help boost a green economy Well, while you get a reduced corporation That is additional tax paid by the individual
and nothing to do with increasing the tax charge because your costs increase by of £800 per year.
tax that the government gets from you, the capital allowance, you as an individual That’s much lower than the previous
or so they say. will pay more tax as a result of the benefit in example but over the 3 years that still adds
kind. up to £2,400 which is higher than the
So before we look at what would be the real
Corporation tax saved.
cost of a company car let us look at some of And If you pay more tax individually than
the basics. the company saves, then overall you are So to summarise, we are not saying you
worse off! can’t have a company car.
Benefit in kind Just that buying a car through the
This is something that you get a So let us look at some examples company is not the most tax efficient
PERSONAL benefit from it but it is paid by method.
We will assume you buy a car for £20,000
your business.
and it is in the top band of CO2 emissions You may of course decide that the benefit
of a company car is worth the additional tax
As it is something personal and not a (so capital allowance would be 10% and
charge.
business expense then the individual pays Benefit in kind would be 35%) and you
tax as if the benefit was a cash salary keep it for 3 years. But the rule of thumb is, the lower the CO2
equivalent. Emissions the lower the charge to you as an
The company would have the following
individual.
Example: The company pays for private capital allowances which would reduce
Anyone for an Electric powered car??
healthcare to the value of £40 a month. profit
Year 1 £2,000 These are charged at the lowest rate and
The individual will pay the same tax as if he
Year 2 £1,800 that way it really does pay to have a
was paid an extra £40 per month.
Year 3 £1,620 company car (until it runs out of juice!!)
CO2 Emissions
In total, for the 3 years above shown above, If you would like to find out the emissions
Each and every car has been given a rating the company would be showing profit of a car or how they affect the tax charge
by HMRC as to how much CO2 it pumps reduced by £5,420 which would in turn when considering a car please feel free to
out. i.e. how polluting its exhaust fumes reduce the corporation tax by £1,084 over contact Darren Hulbert to discuss it further
are. the 3 years. on 01442 200961
However the individual would have a
This rating (measured in grams per benefit charge each year based on darren@supportservicesgroup.tv
8

The Wonders of the World Wide Web
Your Brand New Website
Figure 1
Introduction
So you are thinking about joining the SSG
Group of Companies and understand that,
as part of the services we offer, you get a
brand new (yes, that’s a brand new,
squeaky clean) website.
Great you think! But what does the whole
design process of a new website entail? If
you are seriously thinking about joining
SSG, the creative and branding elements
we offer will probably seem very
attractive. As part of our offering, you will Template 14 is simple, uncluttered with a large picture area
get:
Figure 2
• Your own new company logo
• Electronic company headed
paper and continuation sheets
• A company email header
• Branded Terms of Business
• A new website
So how do we go about getting this
website designed for you eh? Followers of
TDS will have seen the article on ‘The Day
of the Launch’ in our May issue. This gives
full details of what to expect if you sign up Template 24 - fresh on the eye, lots going on with
with SSG and visit our offices for your very quick links, big picture area and sub headers
own launch.
Site Map
Your template choice A site map in simple terms is a structure of the logo or your logo itself to be used
how your website will look. Firstly you throughout the text?
The design process starts with the
need to list what you would like the ‘main
selection of the template that you’d like to
pages’ of your website to be (eg. Home, Job Search Function
use (see Figures 1 & 2). We have a
About us, Clients, Candidates, Contact us).
demonstration portal which has 24 It can be a difficult decision as to whether
templates on it which vary from very Then you need to work out your to include a job search function on your
straightforward and simple to ‘all singing ‘secondary pages’ (those which branch website. When you are starting your own
& dancing’ with scrolling text boxes (more down from the ‘main pages’) so that you business, you may not have too many
of this later). can see which areas you need to write text vacancies available.
for. Figure 3 shows what a site map
What happens next? structure looks like. Having a job search function highlights
what jobs you have on your books and, if
Once you have selected the template that Logo you do decide to have this function, it will
you’d like to use, let Jane Fisher, the official need to kept up to date by you.
“SSG Launch Manager”, know and she will You will, by now, have had your new logo
send you a form to complete together designed by Chris – our technical whizz You can have the job search function as a
with some notes to help you fill in the and in-house graphic designer. Think home page link – ie. as a link on the home
form. The form outlines different areas of about the positioning of your logo – do page - see Figure 4 or as a drop down from
the website and we’ll go through these you just want it to be visible at the top of one of your main page headings - see
now. We call this the “web site order form”. each page or would you like the colours of Figure 5 as an example.
9

Figure 3 considering this option, you need to
consider what site would have news most
relevant to your own industry and will also
Home About Us Job Seekers Employers Contact us need to look out for the RSS symbol
(Figure 7) as this gives you permission to
Building your Recruitment automatically take news from another
Our Divisions
Confidence Process site.
Figure 7
Core Values Interview Tips Success Ratio
Client
Our Service CV Prep
Testimonials
Career
Guidance
Candidate
Testimonials
Design Style
Although we will be working to your
Figure 4 • Name chosen template for your new website, we
• Address suggest that this is the time to give your
input to the look and feel of your site. As a
• Email Address bit of fun, Figure 11 shows various colours
and their positive and negative meanings.
• Telephone number
Figure 6 Whilst we are not suggesting for one
minute that, if you have a pink logo, you
choose to have bright orange with it but
different colours can work well together
and, similarly, bright colours can be very
effective. See the SNOG and Benetton
websites for examples of this - Figures 8 &
9.
Figure 5
Not feeling creative? Don’t worry –
between you, the Launch Manager and
Scrolling Text Boxes our ‘tried and trusted’ designers, we’ll
soon lick you into shape. Simply use the
These are used to display interesting ‘Design Style’ section of your form to
pieces of news, testimonials, top explain what you are trying to achieve
candidates etc. Please remember though with your site ie.
that you will need to update these text
boxes yourself.
“I’d like my site to be young,
modern, simple and fresh...”
You can also use the scrolling text box to
Forms take news from another site. This is
known as an RSS feed. RSS (‘Really Simple
“I’m a very traditional person
Forms are just interactive boxes on your Syndication’) feeds allow you to see when
and I’d like my site to look very
site. The main two that we use are ‘upload websites have added new content.
classical with a minimum use
a vacancy’ and ‘submit CV’.
of colour...”
You can get the latest headlines and video
However they can also be used to get in one place, as soon as it's published,
Content copy
client or candidate testimonials or as a without having to visit the websites you
general ‘contact us’ and ‘feedback please’. have taken the feed from. These are just Once you have decided on your site map,
web pages which have been designed to it is time to get even more creative and
We have standard forms that we use on be read by computers instead of people. write the website copy (i.e. the words!)
the sites but, of course, you can specify
what data you would like to get from It is a very successful way to get some For each of the pages which you define
visitors to your site. The type of data you movement on your own site and would using your site map, you will need to write
can collect is a follows - See Figure 6 for an not need to be updated as the news feeds the relevant copy. The copy needs to be
example of a form: through automatically. If you are created in a separate word document.
10

Figure 8 • Create an engaging fan page
Use your fan page to
• communicate with candidates
and/or clients
DON’T
• Be too formal or
business-focussed on your
personal profile page
• Post irrelevant links or
comments that could damage
Figure 9
your brand
• Ignore comments on your fan
page
Twitter
Twitter is another great environment for
engaging with people. Once again,
relationships can range from highly
personal relationships to very impersonal
relationships
Twitter can be used to develop
connections with others, but the volume
Increasing your search direct traffic, natural one way links, fast and directness of the communication
engine rankings: indexing of your website, link popularity remains low.
and keyword ranking in search engines -
You need to write good copy for your see Figure 10. Whilst you may feel that LinkedIn
website content that includes words you’d like to have links to Facebook,
(referred to as keywords) that people are Twitter, LinkedIn and your new Blog on LinkedIn offers opportunities for
likely to type into a search engine in order your site, please remember that YOU developing and expanding business
to find you. NEED TO UPDATE ALL OF THEM relationships. Because these
YOURSELF! communications are one-on-one, they
Ideally this should include the can allow for a more comfortable
geographical area that your services cover Figure 10 environment in which to develop a
and the job sector/s in which you personal connection.
specialise. This is particularly important
for the homepage. For further information on LinkedIn
please see both this issue and the April
Your SSG Web Designer will endeavour to and May issues of The Dark Side.
tweak your copy for search optimisation
purposes and do other onsite SEO work Blogs/Forums/Social
behind the scenes. Networking Sites etc.
It’s a good idea to include useful Perhaps the best introduction to how
information like Interview and CV tips as building an online presence can help your
this will present opportunities for building recruitment business is for you to visit
inbound links later. SSG has templates for social networking sites, blogs, forums &
When you are completing your form and
these so if you need them, please just ask. online directories and search on the word
your copy, you will need to specify which
recruitment and see how other people in
social networks you would like added to
Please note it is very important that you the industry are using this media.
your site. You will then need to set these
don’t copy and paste the copy for your
pages up and provide the ‘url’s’ or links to
own site directly from other websites as Think about the useful information you
these pages.
Google will detect this and your rankings have on your website, this could include:
may suffer.
Facebook – the do’s and don’t’s:
Social Networking Websites • Information for companies
DO about your recruitment
In this day and age, social media networks services, the geographical area
are a vital part of everyday life. If you list • Decide what your objective is you cover and the jobs in which
your website on social sites, you will get for using Facebook you specialise
11

• Your vacancies and services for to be able to update certain areas of your
people looking for work site yourself – ie. add or delete jobs,
upload testimonials or current news – if
• Interview Tips you have chosen these options.
For more information
• CV Tips please contact:
Using blogs, forums and article/news Check your site thoroughly for typing
websites, you could briefly describe each mistakes, navigation through pages and Jane Fisher
of the above and include a link back to links to social networking sites. Make sure
your website in each posting, inviting the that you understand what you need to 01442 200956
reader to read more. update yourself and that you are able to
jane@supportservices.group.tv
do this. Once you are happy, the site is
You could also search for relevant blogs, LAUNCHED!!
forums and article/news that other
people have submitted and respond with Clients and candidates should already
useful comments and, of course, include a have details of your website address from
link to your website for more information. your email signoff but don’t forget that if
you’d like to have a specific e-shot or flyer
Where possible, if you are able to choose designed to advertise the fact that your
the text that will act as a link to your new site is now live, SSG can assist you
website (called link text or anchor text) try with this.
to get keywords into the anchor text that
Happy Designing
are relevant to your website. The anchor
may require you to add some html code in
order for it to act as a clickable link. For
example:
Figure 11
gure
Visit our website to see our current <a
href=”http://www.type-your-domain-her
e.co.uk”>engineering jobs in Essex</a> Courage/Strength/Warmth/Energy
In a browser, the above will look like . . .
Intelligence/Communication/Trust/Efficiency/Serenity
Visit our website to see our current
engineering jobs in Essex
Optimism/Confidence,Creativity/Strength/Friendliness
The design of your site
So you’ve worked like a Trojan and have Harmony/Balance/Refreshment/Rest/Peace
sent your completed web form, your text
word document and your choice of
pictures to Jane – what happens next?
Spiritual awareness/Vision/Luxury/Quality/Truth
Well, Jane will brief one of the SSG
designers and they will produce a home
page for you to check over. When you get Physical comfort/Food/Warmth/Security/Fun
this you will be have a taste of what your
website will look like.
Tranquillity/Nurture/Warmth/Femininity/Love
At this stage, it is fairly straightforward to
alter the size of a heading or change the
colour of a line – just give your updates to Neutral/Conservative/Calm/Quiet
Jane and we will incorporate these into
the full site build.
Sophistication/Glamour/Security/Efficiency/Substance
The next stage is for the designer to
produce the whole website using all your
pictures and text and adding any links to
Facebook, Twitter or specific news feeds. Hygienic/Pure/Clean/Simple/Efficient
When this stage is complete, Jane will
check through your site thoroughly Warmth/Nature/Earthiness/Reliability/Support
before giving it to you together with
administration details. These are for you
12

Chris Goes all ‘DIY’
Is it difficult to set up email on my then select POP.
iPhone?
Next, Check your Name, Email Address and
Not really - is the simple answer - although Description then scroll down to Incoming
of course there are situations that make it Mail Server and enter the details as
less easy than it should be sometimes. provided for Host Name you want to continue anyway? - Press Yes
(mail.yourdomain.co.uk for accounts and assuming all settings are correct, your
I’m focusing on the iPhone in this article but provided by us), Username (email address account is set up.
the basic principle is the same for any for accounts provided by us) and Password
phone - on the cut-out card you can enter (provided by us). Now, what could possibly go
the basic settings you need (although I wrong?
can’t of course put all the usernames and Next, scroll down to Outgoing Mail Server. Your ISP blocks our SMTP server - you
passwords in the article or on the card as need to contact your ISP to get the right
what would be the point of having them if The Host Name you need is settings.
anyone can get hold of them?!) so, you will smtp.supportservicesgroup.tv - you also
either need to contact us to get the actual need the username and password for this ”Finger Error” - typo’s can cause email to
settings if we haven’t already provided (which is different to your Incoming!) - not work. You need to check, double-check
them to you. these can be obtained from us. I wouldand triple-check the settings - give us a call
suggest using the cut-out card to make a if you need to!
Again I will focus on the POP3 / IMAP style note of these together with any other
Your PC gets email but it doesn’t arrive on
accounts we provide but you may want to settings you need - available from us!
the ‘Phone - you need to set your PC to
also set up a Gmail or Hotmail account on
“Leave a Copy of Messages on Server” - I
the phone alongside the one provided by Next, press Save and
recommend a maximum of 14 days (to
us. your phone will try and allow a 2 week holiday) - so that you can get
Verify your settings, if your email on your phone and PC - give us a
So, where to start? everything is input as call if this is an issue for you.
per your settings, then
verifying will complete If in doubt, please please get in touch:
From the Home Screen look for and it will throw up a
Settings: Chris Ion
message “cannot
connect using SSL - do chris@supportservicesgroup.tv
Then Mail, Contacts, 01442 200941
Calendars.
Select Add an
Account and then
“Other” (last option in
E-Mail Settings
the list).
Then Add Mail Account.
Enter your Name, Email Address and Email Address:
Password. Description is just a name you
Incoming Mail Server (POP3):
will recognise if you have more than 1
account set up i.e. Me Work - select Next Incoming Username:
Incoming Password:
IMPORTANT - IMAP / POP
Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP):
If you have been Outgoing Username:
given an IMAP
account then leave Outgoing Password:
this selected on the
next screen. If not, More on the other side......
13

but as a would be start-up, it seems that
2
em
the job boards do not want my business at
o bl
all! Pr
As I see it, the Job Boards create two main
problems for us all:
PRICE & BRANDING:
OK, so I started this particular rant ‘Brand-
e!
ric
ing and Price’ rather than ‘Price and Brand-
ing’ but I think you are somewhat missing P
JOB BOARDS: BRANDING & PRICE....
the key point here.
So what that you feel the time is right for
As a start-up, you ring your old contact at new kind of recruitment service.... all
the major job boards and ask them to ‘do cobblers to them.
you a deal’.
Can you pay their inflated fees? Can you
You are confident that your relationship pay up front? Do you have the money
with Natalie or Nathan or Nadia is so now?
strong that you will get the insiders price
(the special price offered to Recruiters I guess the whole pricing issue is a bit
who have worked for one of the major difficult to understand.
Recruitment Companies in the past) Why don’t the job boards introduce a
Imagine that I had any drive or ambition?
The job boards love you and they are proper starter package?
Imagine that instead of watching Jeremy
convinced that you will be the ‘next big Why don’t the job boards make more of an
Kyle in my underpants whilst eating toast,
thing’ – there is every chance that you will effort to work with budding
I was the type of ambitious Recruiter who
be offered a free trial plus a great ‘starter entrepreneurs?
wanted to start my own business. Just
package’. Why do they seem to be so ‘careless’ with
imagine....
1 new business?
Now that you have a fixed image of me in lem
grubby underpants, I want you to think ob Of course, this is only half the story.
about what my basic problems might be Pr Even if the job boards do not price you out
in making that leap from Benefits Cheat to of the market, the chances of you being
Budding Entrepreneur (is it a ‘leap’ or a able to BRAND your adverts on the job
gentle step I hear the cynics enquire...)
ing board as a new start-up are almost not
All Recruiters apparently only have two
a nd worth considering!
problems – clients and candidates Br You want your logo on the advert? You
(although one might also suggest bad Any job board worth its salt (whatever that want some presence on the job board
debt management, over sleeping and really means) will instantly recognise the site? Are you nuts?!
irritability are equally important need and commercial wisdom of support- WHY NO EASY BRANDING?
contenders but hey ho, back to the point) ing a start-up & then watching it grow as it
Clients – I am told that if you ‘hit the makes the most of the job board.... yea The job boards do not want to help you
phones’, use SSG’s Innovantage product right! ‘brand’ your adverts because as a little
offering and steal a few contacts from an Job Boards couldn’t seem to care less that biddy zero of a client, they cannot be
ex-employer then you are all set, but you were a great biller at your last bothered to do the administration
candidates are a different kettle of Company. Your plans to be a ‘breath of associated with ‘branding’ – well, they may
kippers, are they not? fresh air’ to your recruitment market is of not put it quite like that, but that is the
no interest to them. basic reason that they give.
We are all led to accept that the Job Boards
are the only guaranteed way to generate a So what that you feel the time is right for However, there is another theory too. This
regular flow of fresh meat (I mean new kind of recruitment service.... all other theory revolves around that belief
‘qualified applicants’), cobblers to them. that Job Boards do not want to
upset their existing ‘big boy’ clients.
Why would a job board brand your
puny little adverts if such branding
might take away some exposure to
their corporate clients.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Honestly, not a lot. You need to bide
your time, keep talking to Nadia or
Nathan or Natalie and keep being
nice.
You have to wait for the opportunity
to negotiate – why not ask your
account managers to ring you at the
end of their month if they need a
quick contract agreement? You can
be the difference between their
commission being paid or not.
But, let’s face it, you are more likely
to be on Jeremy Kyle than you are to
be the beneficiary of any job board
goodwill.
14

Wrong Trousers Grommit?
I mean ‘Wrong Tax Code?’
Why sometimes it is better to ‘flee’ than fight!
Even though you are probably doing For example, if you absolutely KNOW that
everything right with the Tax Man, you are missing some tax returns or that (i.e. those that actually owe the tax man
you could be one of literally millions you owe tax in any form (PAYE, more even though it is not your fault) or
of people paying either too much or Corporation Tax, VAT), this is probably not you may be one of the fewer numbers of
taxpayers who have the wrong tax code
DON’T KICK UP A STINK YET!
too little tax. the right time for you to be ringing Mr.
Taxman to enquire if he has made a mess and to whom the taxman owes money.
You won’t yet know it but the of your tax code.
taxman may have been charging Which do you feel most likely to be?
you the wrong amount of tax (either A better policy would be that you ought
on your PAYE or your ‘End of year’ tax to get an estimate from your accountant Which type of wrongly tax coded
return) because THEY assigned you about what you owe and when you are individual do you think that the taxman is
the wrong tax code in the first place. going to be chased to cough up? most likely to want to talk to?
A recent estimate suggests that up If you don’t have an accountant, don’t
panic – just give SSG a call and we will sort BOTTOM LINE
to 1,000,000 of us have been given
the wrong tax code and that maybe something out for you with our personal
tax accountant (it will probably cost you a The taxman is a particularly grumpy
¼ of all tax payers need some form individual these days.
of ‘adjustment’ to their current couple of pounds to find out what you
arrangements. need to know, but you really ought to be
prepared these days) Even though he is very often wrong about
‘stuff’, he is not in a forgiving mood. It
This could mean that you either owe
might be that you are 100% up to date
the tax man cash or (much more
with your personal tax but that your
unlikely of course) the taxman might
Company tax is not all paid up (or vice
owe you money!
versa).
What has made it all the more
complicated is that since the Well, these days if you do decide to poke
Government asked the HMRC to that hornets’ nest you had better be ready
‘crackdown’ on non-payers of to declare all, because they will be
legitimate tax, many honest tax gunning for you.
payers are being reclassified having “No Accountant? Give us a call!”
accurately declared their savings No doubt about it.
and investment income.
However, let’s say that you feel squeaky Having said that, there is nothing wrong
clean and think that you might well be with trying to find out ‘where you are’ with
one of the million or so with the wrong tax the taxman, before making a decision
code? about what (if anything) to do.
If you get in contact with the taxman you But (& this is a big but) the advice we have
Don’t be too hasty to ‘get in touch’ may fall into the majority of wrongly been given is – take care not to create a
coded individuals mini investigation of either you or your
business. They rarely end well!
WHAT TO DO?
NEXT?
First of all you need to think of the
old anecdote of poking a hornets’
nest.... do you really want to get into If you either owe the taxman money or a
long winded conversations with the missing tax return or two, what should
taxman right now? you do about it?
Are you ready for any fight that Take a look at future issues of The Dark
might ensue? Side.
Who is the biggest dog in this We are going to get some heavyweight
scenario (as Gangsters like to advice about what you can do if you know
enquire) – you or the HMRC? “Investigations rarely end well” that you are currently not squeaky clean...
15

National Celebration or Unwelcome Cost?
Is it not bad enough for business owners
Royal Weddings.... to have to pay their taxes only for the
Government to shower a bunch of
60 Years on the Throne.... privileged aristocrats with money and
gifts?
Olympic ‘Triumphs’....
Do we then also have to pay for our
business to actually cease to trade whilst
Ok – so here is the basic question for all of
employees sit and home and watch TV?
us ‘small business owner’ types.
Are the numerous magical one-off events If a working Mum or Dad wants to be
which have taken place (or are due to involved in these events, go ahead – take
happen this summer) in the UK good for a day off like one would for any other
your business or not? personal decisions. Why should business
owners pay?
Is the disruption to your normal trade
worth the perceived goodwill and And anyway, how many of the millions of
potential tourist revenues? staff given a day off because of the Royal
Wedding actually celebrate with the
Are you happy with the Government led How do you feel about your Business?
ow Business Windsor family?
enforcement of additional Bank Holidays?
Who has the right to deny a working If we turn the tables around, would the
Can you make a judgment regarding what employees work an extra day to pay for a
Mother the opportunity to watch the
these extra leisure days are costing you gift for Will & Kate? I doubt it!!
Royal Wedding with her children or
and your business?
discourage a Dad from taking his son to
The UK is about freedom, democracy and
Are you happy to be told what holidays watch the Olympic football? choice – not about central Government
you business must allow your staff?
These occasions will never come around telling small business owners what they
NATIONAL CELEBRATION! again and we need to embrace them for should do with their most valuable of
what they are – a unique celebration of resources!!
It is fantastic for UK PLC to host these what makes Britain the great democracy
World renowned occasions – particularly that it is!
during these austere times when
everyone is struggling to feel positive and
proud about the Country. An Extra Bank
Holiday to
How can anyone object to the branding of Celebrate....
the UK as a destination of culture, history
and sport?
From the obvious financial benefits of
increased tourism to the more ephemeral
feelings of celebration & pride, we need to
show the World that the UK is very much
still alive and ‘open for business’.
UNWELCOME COST
It’s what the UK is all about!
The occasional extra Bank Holiday is
It is an outrage for central Government to
surely not an issue – in fact, these odd WHAT DO YOU THINK?
enforce additional costs (i.e. the
days are very likely to encourage staff to
additional Bank Holiday dates) on to small
work harder and feel happier. Roundhead or Cavalier?
businesses already struggling to keep
their heads above water!
There is no price that can be assigned to What do you think?
goodwill, happiness or motivation & that Who can really believe that in a
is exactly what these extra days of Bank democracy it is acceptable to be TOLD Was your business affected in a positive
Holiday bring to every small business. what to do with the money & time which way by all of the celebrations or do you
your business earns. feel that you lost money?
It is arrogant and unfair of business
owners to want to deny their loyal staff It is not the Government who physically Why not drop us an email and tell us what
the opportunity to celebrate along with has to cough up the wages and think you think?
the rest of the World such momentous about how to offset the lost daily
events. revenues of these extra days. We would love to know!!
16