Episode 52 Show Me the Money

in Libya. Now it is time to check in with

This is Show Me The Money, your weekly guide to who is making the

money, how they are doing it and what it means for the way we work.

With us tonight: It is his job to help find you a

job. Tim Watts is Chairman of recruitment firm Pertemps. Someone

who would probably like you to get on your bike to find a job. Will

Butler-Adams makes those fold up Brompton Bikes. And with the

eagle's eye view of the economy and business, Maggie Pagano, business

editor of the Independent on Sunday. Britain's bosses just got gloomier

about the state of the economy. Seven out of 10 business leaders

and think that things are better than they were last year and three

out of 10 are looking for ways to cut jobs. You when a recruitment

job -- from and you know everything inside and out. It is -- is it as

gloomy as they think? I do not think so. I believe there are

problems out there. The euro is having an impact on the word

confidence. Business is very sensitive to confidence. It comes

and goes. The Bank of England, be CBI itself, they are still

predicting a small and modest growth for next year, which means

we will do the same as we did not - - this year and a little bit more.

Is that enough to stop unemployment rising? We need people to do the

same thing and a little bit more. Unemployment is a most peculiar

thing. One of the things they did not count and look out is the huge

rise in the self employed. -- look at is the huge rise in the self

employed. It is becoming structurally very advantageous,

particularly in the contract industry, for people to become

self-employed contractors. You were saying that there are jobs out

there? Most certainly. There are 5,000 just out at Jobcentre Plus

today. 500,000? 500,000 unfilled jobs tomorrow morning at a

JobCentre plus. At a time when 2.5 million people are unemployed?

There are more than that, but yes. A lot of people do not want to work.

Picking up this theme about confidence, Maggie, the reason that

confidence affects the job market is that if companies do not feel

confident they do not want to spend money. The will not invest in the

new plant or even the new machine that they would hope to. It is the

small companies that need to employ more people because they are the

ones that generate in the economy. It is about �75 billion sitting on

Britain's Corporate Board sheets at the moment and all you need is just

a little bit of confidence going and people will start spending.

companies have access? Yes, but they are not spending. They are

just not spending. We would get them spending? -- what gets them

spending? It is this magic thing. People are paralysed and do not

know which way to go. We just need the politicians, the CBI is being

too gloomy, but we have just got to get up and start investing. Are you

confident? Are you creating jobs? We are growing and we are pretty

confident but at the same time 30 % of our markets are in Europe and

Europe is heading for something that nobody can predict. In the

last three or four years we have been stuffing money into the bank.

We are a little business and we are looking at the long term and the

banks want to lend us tons of money at the moment but if we had half a

million overdraft and our orders fall off of a cliff the banks would

disappear. So it is a safety-first approach are you part? Absolutely.

We would you rather spend that money creating jobs? We are looking

after our own destiny. We are old school manufacturing. We always

want that level of security but it is more than we normally operate

with. The environment at the moment is so unsure and variable. There

are some types of unemployment -- employment easier to get than

others? What we are doing is world class at engineering is expanding

and doing world -- relate well. I am afraid that when it comes to

metal-bashing and mass production of small items, we are not going to

be able to compete with the Asian growing tiger economies.

Restructure, restructure, restructure. There is nothing that

has changed in my 40 year career. Managing change, it is the same

today as it was then. Let's go through some of the stories that

you wish you had missed last week. Local councils are using cattle in

some areas to help keep the grass down.

The G7 people squeezed into a pair of Y-fronts. -- 57 people. It was a

record Brogan on Guinness World Records Day. -- broking. One woman

was named as the most flexible woman in the world.

A Stilton made with real goldleaf and old liqueur costs �60 a slice

and it is thought to be the most expensive cheese made in the UK.

Crackers anyone? You talk about the Romans of

mechanised and biological form. -- the lawn mowers. Cutting costs is

something you have had to do in your business. It is not so much

about cutting costs, it is about being good at what you do. The

funny thing is that in business, certainly at some levels, the stuff

you need to do is so basic. We introduced new systems onto our

logistics. We make all sorts of odds and sods and that is how we

make our bike. Not running out of bits is key. We had a clever system

which was to compacts and commission see-through boxes. The

boxes are red or blue and you can see through them. You have a fancy

system and when it breaks the system says it is full and you do

not know but now we have see- through boxes and you can see.

that one simple change? Yes. have also been a been monitor.

had a problem in the past where people were busy making bikes and

someone would drop something on the floor and someone would sweep into

the bin. That is 27p. In the first few years that I was and the

company I was a fanatic about finding the bits and putting them

in my pocket and then I would ask people if they would want a

sandwich and I would buy it and people would put their hand up and

I would say that these bits and bobs were �2 and I would explain to

them that it that was money just wandering around every day. A day

must have loved you for that. made a point. -- they must have

loved you. It was like a stuck record and they stopped doing it.

If you want to be a world record breaker, how do you become the

world record holder and keep your business at the forefront? By doing

the best you can. Be true to yourself and always challenge

yourself and everything around you. A you have never tried to take part

in any record breaking activities? I once wanted to go to Antarctica

on a sponsored walk but other events got them the way. They did

not happen. That is one thing I always wanted to do. Have you tried

squeezing into a pair of pants with a to six other people? We do try

it? It depends on who does 56 people are. You have to reinvest

all the time. You take your profits and you reinvest. That is the only

way to do it. You mention the CBI and they are a big business club of

big businesses and I believe they are not the ones to read as out of

this problem. There are about 3 million small any fractures in this

country and if one person could solve this problem ever night the

country would be picked up by the small companies and not the big

ones. If a little businesses have a lot of potential to be more

aversions, the big businesses are so perfect, but the small

businesses need to the scope to employ another person. What about

the need to have a premium product. Does every business need that?

think the gold would be tasteless. Everything should be premium.

product is bizarre in the UK. It is you totalitarian and people use

them and you see people bash regret our product is -- for our product

has lots of different uses an people bash them and ride them all

around London and for us, premium or not, we want to make a product

that stands up for what it is. about you? If it was the gold

Stilton, I am probably a little bit more excited by it. I do not think

I would want it. It is certainly popular. But if it comes from a

small cheese manufacturer who creates a new product and a new

design and a new application and people buy it, you are quite bright,

Maggie, it is completely tasteless. -- you are quite bright. It is used

in what can and in catering but that little manufacturer might have

a new product. You have given it exposure tonight. The manufacturer

might have been demand for it and he might employ one more person.

ven though we mocked it mercilessly -- even though we mocked it

The spirit is indomitable and it is that kind of marketing, that kind

of thinking that will bring us out of our problems. Would I want it?

No, I would not. I would rather have a 60-year-old pudding. How do

you get a message of optimism across at a time when the

Chancellor says we are in a dangerous phase of the economy and

the Governor of the Bank of England says it is the worse since the

death of the dinosaurs? When big figures like that say they are

considering us to be in a crisis situation, everyone else has got to

think that they know what they are talking about. We can tuck

ourselves into these positions and we have done so in my career on

more than one occasion. I am sorry to repeat myself but it gets you

out of positions. There is a problem out there and we will solve

it. I am only repeating it again. We will manage change and we need

to change. If you go backwards in the economy you can see how much

has changed. 40 years ago, I looked recently, there is only about eight

of the top FTSE companies that were around when I started 40 years ago.

But you cannot reverse unemployment on a tide of goodwill and optimism.

But if one person does something that person will come to read and

it goes around and around. It is the lack of circulation of money

that the banks are hoarding the quantitative easing which they were

not supposed to do. I think Mr Mervyn King is quite sore with them

I believe that the next element of quantitative isn't, which we may

well Mika, must bypass the bangs and go straight into circulation.

And go where? I think that probably social housing would come top of my

list at the moment. There is a huge need for it, probably half a

million homes needed instantaneously. They themselves

spawn plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters and they go into the

economy and the money will go round. So it would make sure it gets into

the economy. Not to build the balance sheets of the banks.

would be a bigger project and the �400 million or so the Government

is likely to put it tomorrow to increase -- improve housing

developments, a story we will be covering on this channel tomorrow.

Explain to me how you can have 2.5 million people unemployed and a

half a million unfilled vacancies. They are just a mismatch. Skills

are the prime problem. I do not believe that there were 2.5 million

unemployed people. I believe that there are 5.5 million people

unemployed. We seem to forget the count -- to count people on a long-

term structural sickness. There are probably may be less than one

million which have been there for a long time. It has jumped from

700,000 to 2.7 million in the last 12 years and I doubt very much

whether that is it was based. I believe it is probably a political

ploy to have moved people 12 years ago off the unemployment count in

register and it is just a straight swap. You cannot say all these

people are malingering. I can say a fair proportion of them are and the

Government believes that, I think. They are going to bring in the new

sick note from a panel and bypass the Dodgers. They are going to call

in these extra 2 million people who have suddenly arrived there. And

suddenly make them be interviewed. Some of them have been there for

four or five years and have never been assessed. Tim Watts from

Pertemps, thank you very much. Remember this?

British Gas shares. They come out in November. If you see Sid, tell

him. What is up? You know these British Gas shares, they are really

easy to do. Give them a ring. couldn't be easier.

It is 25 years since we were encouraged to Tell Sid about the

British Gas shares. Those were the days when a Conservative Government

look that business owned by the state and said, let's sell shares

directly to the public. Nowadays they look at state owned businesses

and say, what will Richard Branson pay for it? The deal to sell

Northern Rock to Richard Branson at about �400 million less than we put

into it in the first place, is that a good deal already at deal? It is

clearly controversial. That goes without saying. It was a deal on

the table. There is money up front and there is another �250 million

that will follow if the there is to bronze, Barnes and if he floats it.

So the round figure should be 1 billion. But the choice is do we

want a struggling Northern Rock perhaps then wasting away and

waiting for some huge privatisation, or do we want a dynamic

entrepreneur like Richard Branson who has transformed most of the

things he has touch. People were cheering in the headquarters on

Thursday. He has already promised lots of new products. News small

businesses and so forth. I think this could be on the high street. I

know it is only 5% of the total and the other for an 80% but you could

see the platforms. So I think it was a great joys, actually.

there is all more competition in banking, does that help business?

think we needed. I note from in the 1980s when our founder try to get

the business going, he could never get the blending he needed. There

seems to be a lot of money around. We never stopped being offered

money to borrow up that way you needed are the small businesses. It

is never to be seen. If we don't get somewhere -- someone in their

who is competitive and prepared to offer a service others are not,

great. You look at the size of Northern Rock, it is not really

going to be able to go toe-to-toe up with the likes of... Now, but it

is a stop. You are not going to build a business overnight. The 4

million customers are quite a good platform to build on. Would we

rather have a small competitor who micro or none at all? And Richard

Branson had another idea, just going back to unemployment. He is

going to write to George Osborne this week suggesting that they set

up a body -- body rather like the Student Loans Company and allowed

youngsters access to capital, so it small loans of �3,000 to �5,000,

underwritten by the Government or high-street banks. Going back to

what we can do to help unemployment, that is a good idea. A sort of

enterprise fund? Yes but really tiny because it is finance -- often

starts a small business. If the Government was only able to get 747,

what a lovely number for selling a bang to a man who runs an airline,

if they could only get �747 million, why not wait until the economy

improves? How long would you rate? Until taxpayers can get their money

back. It could be five or ten years. Isn't it worth the wait? No. Far

better he has ensured jobs in Newcastle, 2,100 jobs, and 14

billion mortgages and so forth. He can build a business. They are

already talking about buying back America's credit card business. I

see it as long-term thinking. They will probably get a billion for it

anyway. Thank you very much. Now for a lovely film about how you can

get advice to make your business Mika Sydney and Matt. They are a

husband and wife team who owned a drum business in Stevenage.

acquired is a year ago and it was under different ownership and a

different name. This past 12 months, we have been working tirelessly,

transforming it. The goal has been the last 12 months to improve

customer service and communication with are the customers, building a

website and focusing on growth. plan to expand by also launching a

custom drum manufacturing company. We have actually come up with this

process of manufacturing the drums that has never been done before and

so that is quite a massive side of what we are actually going to be

working on. But growing a small businesses have caused a huge

challenge. Sir Sydney and Matt are off to a start-up fare to get some

tips. Here at Earl's Court, entrepreneurs and small business

owners can get the practical advice and help they need from the experts.

There are stalls offering advice on marketing, social media and

branding and even people giving advice on how to profit from a

certain sporting event next year. So what are you trying to get out

of today? We will be looking at various stands that will help us

purchase overseas. There is an area we want to get into debt. We love

purchasing from our own suppliers but we might want to develop our

own brand and we need a little guidance in that area. And also, we

need a heap of help in marketing and advertising and social media,

and we know that I can be found here. Whilst they learn about how

to import goods, others are learning about networking and had

to make a business plan. The fact that it is so busy here is perhaps

testament to the tough economic climate. With unemployment rising,

people are maybe drink to make jobs for themselves rather than trying

to find them. I asked for Top Tips. Mine would probably be to get your

name out there and get brand recognition in and the key to doing

that is marketing, especially on a line. Meeting people and talking

about your business is my top tip. Get out there and start talking

about it and get up and start digging. My top tips for starting a

business would be to ensure your customer is fully aware of your

terms and conditions of stale -- sale so that when payment becomes

due they know exactly when the due date is and to follow up the

payment in a timely manner. So how have Sydney and Matt got on?

actually got a lot more out of this than I was expecting. Really

positive. If we don't do it now we will not do it any time. I cannot

imagine things getting worse than they are now. They can only get

better. Of course, it is not as the people there who want their

business is to grow. The Government is desperate for them to succeed so

they can give a much-needed boost to British economy.

Next week, small is beautiful but is big better? The small forms --

firms that have banded together to take on the big boys and save some