Services and information available to access during the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak. This will be added to over time – please check back regularly and feel free to suggest additional entries by email to nikki@rg10mag.com.
Accounts
Starfish Accounting – This local chartered accountancy practice understands how tough it is keeping a business going through such a challenging time, without the certainty of being able to plan for the future. They have been hard at work researching the government help on offer and putting together free-to-access pages outlining the best way to access it. Have a look at this new dedicated area on their website for the lowdown on the Income Support Scheme for the self-employed, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for employers, or if no grants are available to you perhaps consider the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Sign up to their newsletter for Covid-19 updates.
Coaching
Liz Balmford Coaching – Liz harnesses tools including voice and mindset coaching to help people achieve their business and life goals through enhancing their own personal performance and growth. She helps clients feel clearer on their message, confident to speak in any situation, and more comfortable showing up as their natural self. You can read her most recent RG10 magazine article here about using spring as a time for strategic thinking. Since the start of the Coronavirus lockdown and aware of the stress that many people are experiencing, Liz has begun sharing on her Facebook page her expertise in EFT/tapping to help reduce anxiety.
Financial advice
Benedict Charles Financial Planning – Sometimes it takes an emergency situation to shock people into realising how important it is to get their financial affairs in order. IFA Rob Yeadon works with you to take stock of where you are now, understand your financial goals and create an action plan to help you get there, with regular reviews to check things are are staying on track – regardless of what life throws at you.
Josephine Blythe has been helping clients with their financial planning for over 25 years. Her particular area of expertise is in retirement planning and helping clients to understand and maximise their pensions. She says: “The full impact of this virus on our futures and our day-to-day lives in the coming weeks is yet to play out. My recommendation to only invest money for the medium and long term once you have earmarked a short-term emergency fund has never felt more relevant. The global scale of this virus has led to some bruising weeks for global markets. This is likely to have had an effect on your own pension savings and may mean your plans need to change. During this time of worry and uncertainty I am conducting review meetings on the telephone or via video call. If you would like to speak to me about your own financial arrangements, in the first instance please contact me via email or visit my website.”
The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
The Partner is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The title ‘Partner’ is a marketing term used to describe a representative of St. James’s Place.
Government COVID-19 support
The business-friendly budget presented on 11 March has been overtaken by subsequent statements from the Chancellor giving financial support to businesses to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. There are measures to support employers, employees and the self-employed. See details here.
Legal
Blandy & Blandy Solicitors – During the Coronavirus restrictions, staff are maintaining a full legal advice service, working remotely. They are posting helping advice on different topics on the Facebook page. Read this article about the ways in which Blandy & Blandy can help your business or family at the present time.
Marketing
Distinktiv is a marketing agency dedicated to helping businesses get their marketing strategy right from the outset. Founder Tanya Gaffon has responded to the coronavirus challenge by inviting business owners to join in free group online brainstorm sessions on the theme of Turning uncertainty into opportunity. Pivoting, thinking out of the box, joining the dots are all things many of us are faced with right now. As a marketing strategist Tanya is ideally placed to facilitate the sessions, enabling us to help one another make sense of the strange world we now find ourselves in and carve out a new path for our businesses. Follow her on Facebook for details of upcoming sessions.
Market Smarter – Are you a business owner that would like to learn how to market smarter, or someone working in a marketing role that would like to market even smarter as a result of building your strategic marketing and planning knowledge? Right now most businesses are having a really tough time. Here’s an online course in 12 modules, designed to help you upskill just when you need it most. Put yourself in the best position to help your business bounce back when the time comes. NEW: For April, May and June the founders of the course are donating 25% of course fees to the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal.
Sanzen Digital is a social media and web design agency covering the Thames valley area and beyond. If you are in need of a new website or feel like social media is not your cup of tea, get in touch. See what others have said about their great service: visit their testimonials page. In difficult times such as these, businesses tend to stop talking about themselves. Sanzen Digital offers a flexible and holistic approach to include all aspects of a business. Feel stuck? Need guidance before taking a rational decision? Take advantage of a free, no-obligation one hour initial consultation to help you understand where to concentrate your efforts and the best approach to take.
The Social Butterflies Club brings together a group of independent experts on all things digital. Over ten weeks these experts provide a series of online masterclasses focused on how best to harness the power of social media to increase business leads, build relationships, extend reach and connect and engage with audiences – saving you valuable time in the process. The course is called The Butterflies Effect and includes live coaching calls hosted on Zoom, blended with video based training and downloadable reference guides.
Publicity through RG10 online – In the absence of a printed May/Jun edition of RG10 magazine, there is a range of blog articles on the RG10 website being updated and shared regularly, publicising services and information that are helpful during the restrictions on everyday life imposed by coronavirus. Subjects include Health and wellbeing, Family, Home deliveries, and this page for Business and professional, with others planned. To request for your services to be added to any of these, get in touch.
Retail
There are some good tips and helpful advice for retailers in this article by Archant: A guide for retail in uncertain times.
Wokingham Borough Council
The council website has a page with links to government support for businesses available both nationally and at a local level, including through the Berkshire Business Hub. The council is also compiling an online directory of businesses that are able to offer home delivery of foods, such as farm shops, butchers and bakeries. Requests for inclusion should be sent by email to CEM@wokingham.gov.uk.
Working from home
Fit and Able Physiotherapy have brought out a guide to working from home, setting up your home workstation correctly and getting into a regular routine. All this is important for avoiding back, neck and shoulder pain, especially if using a laptop and/or making do with a table or chair of the wrong height. To request a copy of the guide or a physiotherapy consultations by video conference or telephone, email admin@fitandable.co.uk or call 0118 934 0926.
