Unique Client Solutions Discusses Business Bank Plans

Unique Client Solutions takes a look at Vince Cable’s plans for a government bank designed to increase lending to businesses. Do they think it will work?

In plans announced by business secretary Vince Cable in the last few days, the government has set out plans to create a bank with a £1bn fund to help to increase the amount of lending to businesses. Unique Client Solutions understands that the £1bn pledged by the government is hoped to be matched by an equal amount of private sector investment. The bank will operate via existing lenders and is expected to start within 18 months.

As a business specialising in customer acquisitions to a wide range of UK based clients, Unique Client Solutions has been well placed to watch the financial difficulties faced by businesses, particularly of small and medium size, over the past few years. A representative for the company agrees that lending to small businesses has slowed to a trickle, “At Unique Client Solutions we have seen many in our business community around Sheffield and Nottingham struggle in the economic downturn. In particular they have been unable to secure the necessary funds from banks to grow."

Mr Cable has promised to “get behind” successful firms looking to grow and Unique Client Solutions hopes that this is a serious attempt by the government to halt the demise of small businesses. Mr Cable believes that this is the first step to help get the UK out of recession. In his address to the Liberal Democrat Conference he said, “We need a new British Business Bank with a clean balance sheet and an ability to expand lending rapidly to the manufacturers, exporters and high-growth companies that power our economy.”

Does Unique Client Solutions believe this to be a viable plan? “Any money that is being directed specifically to the growth of SMEs is a step in the right direction. These are very early days but the plans look positive. Mr Cable is right in believing that the governments can sensibly with the right consultation “intervene and support enterprise.” Banks are averse to risk understandably at the moment, we hope that this will help to get funds to successful companies much more easily to help them grow. Business banks like these have already been used with great success in Germany, South Korea and the USA and we’re confident that the same can happen here.”

Unique Client Solutions Gears Up for Skyfall

At Unique Client Solutions we couldn’t be more excited for the release of the new Bond film Skyfall. As we specialise in direct marketing for the entertainment industry this one has been on our radar for some time now. Our in-house film fanatics having been hunting down the best facts and rumours surrounding the film, make of them what you will...

The Facts:

The film is to be released on 26^th October at cinemas nationwide and the world premier will be on October 23^rd at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The film will see Bond travel to China, Istanbul and Scotland

There are some serious bad guys in this film, both Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes on-board and from the look of the latest trailer, Bardem is at his evil best.

Bernice Marlohe plays bond girl ‘Severine’ and Naomie Harris is playing ‘Eve’

The film is directed by Sam Mendes who joined the project shortly after the Quantum of Solace was released. He has promised that there would be plenty of action despite rumours of huge budget cuts.

The Rumours:

It has been reported for some weeks that Adele will be singing the Skyfall theme song but Sony are keeping quiet at the moment, their spokesperson said, “nothing confirmed, no comment.”

Some have claimed that Skyfall will see the end of Judy Dench’s reign as M. The general consensus at Unique Client Solutions is that we’d be sad to see her go.

Ralph Feinnes character has been a closely guarded secret with rumours circulating that he might be playing iconic bond villain Blofeld or otherwise someone from M’s past. From the look of the trailer we think that the latter seems more likely.

There has been speculation that Miss Moneypenny will return in Skyfall and some have suggested that the character played by Harris could in fact be Moneypenny. Harris seemed to dismiss the rumours by saying that her character Eve was “Not remotely office-bound.”

With just over a month to go Unique Client Solutions have enjoyed discussing the latest rumours with their clients' customers as they carry out their face-to-face marketing campaigns. Do you have any snippets to share with us? Heard anything we’ve missed? We’d love to hear from you on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/uniqueclientsolutions

Unique Client Solutions Looks at the Best Cities in the World to do Business in

With an upcoming expansion to The Netherlands Unique Client Solutions looks at the best cities in the world to do business. Did the big names come out on top?

PriceWaterhouseCooper recently conducted a report to find the top 25 cities for business, life and innovation. Unique Client Solutions, a customer acquisitions company with offices in Sheffield and Nottingham, took a look at the cities that came out on top.

Johannesburg #25

Johannesburg came number one in affordability of business space and #2 in cost of living. They fell down when it came to broadband quality and health system performance. It was the only ranked city in Africa.

Mexico City #20

Bustling Mexico City scored highly in terms of cost of living (#1) and cost of public transport (#2) but your health might come at a cost. It came last in air pollution and second to last in purchasing power.

Madrid #15

Unique Client Solutions have frequently visited Madrid for business meetings and it's a fantastic city to visit and work. According to the report they agree. It’s easy to get to (#3 airport access) and came #2 in financial and business services employment. However it came second to last in ease of hiring and starting a business.

Hong Kong #10

This came top of the pile in a whole host of categories: Inflation, flexibility of visa travel, ease of hiring, crime rates. However it struggles when it comes to the price you pay for it. It is last in cost of business space, and third to last in cost of living. Hong Kong was recently named the freest economy in the world however, a very attractive title to big business.

London #6

Our own capital city came number one for sports and leisure activities, international tourists and financial/business employment. It came #2 in attracting job-creating foreign investment, cultural vibrancy, research from top universities and strength of currency. However as Unique Client Solutions can attest to, it came second to last in commute time, cost of commute as well as cost of owning space for business.

Sydney #5

Sydney was the best for city carbon footprint, ease of starting a business, housing, literacy and purchasing power. The only category they came dead last in was cost of public transportation. With such beautiful weather Unique Client Solutions thinks you might put up with walking or cycling!

Stockholm #4

With less than a million people Stockholm is one of the smallest cities on the list however it ranks best in a huge number of categories including: clean air, digital economy activity, entrepreneurial environment, green space, intellectual property protection, political stability and traffic congestion. High taxes and low work flexibility might put people off as well as a lack of foreign investment.

San Francisco #3

With a relaxed Californian lifestyle you might be mistaken for thinking that business would be slow. Not so. San Fran attracts businesses for the excellent education levels of its population, work flexibility, entrepreneurial environment and life satisfaction. It is known for having progressive social policies like paid sick leave.  

Toronto #2

This was our biggest surprise. It might be cold but it is the most popular destination for business trips and has a great quality of living and fantastic clean air. Less established than many other cities around the world Toronto is making waves in sustainability and innovation which Unique Client Solutions is sure will make it an attractive city of the future.

New York #1

Well the top spot didn’t surprise anyone at Unique ClientSolutions. With such an incredible reputation New York was bound to come top of the pile. The Big Apple came number one for cultural vibrancy, research universities, work flexibility and number two in entrepreneurial environment and international tourists. It’s a work hard play hard city that will always attract businesses.

Where are you favourite cities to visit and work? Let us know via our Facebook page!

Unique Client Solutions’ Top Tips for Taking Your Company International

With their move to The Netherlands just a few months away Unique Client Solutions share their tips on preparing for an international move. We love our home towns of Nottingham and Sheffield but we're excited for our first city abroad!

1. Choose your country wisely.

At Unique Client Solutions we though long and hard about which country would be the best business move for us. Important questions to ask are:

Where is there a gap in the market for our product or service?

What kind of individual are we looking to add to our team? Are we going to be able to find them?

Is the time difference going to be a problem when communicating between teams in two countries?

2. Learn from experience.

Look carefully at companies that have had international success. Study where they have gone, are there any patterns? Do they bring a team from their home country with them or do they find great people once they arrive? Do they offer exactly the same service in each country?

3. Prepare well.

At Unique Client Solutions we have been travelling back and forwards to The Netherlands for some months now to prepare ourselves well for the expansion. We’ve studied Amsterdam and found an area where we would like to be based. We’ve spent plenty of time with new and old clients based there to learn exactly what they want for their direct sales campaigns. We believe that this dedication and preparation will allow us to be on our game from day one.

4. Expect the unexpected

Every day in the business world you have to prepare for the unexpected. Flexibility and adaptability are key skills of great leaders. This skill is going to be put to the test when you start doing business in a new country. No matter how prepared we are at Unique Client Solutions we know that we’re going to come across things that we wouldn’t in the UK. Being mentally prepared for challenges will help you to work with them and around them.

5. Have fun

One of the best things about the modern business world is that international travel and expansion is so much easier. At Unique Client Solutions we believe that it is an incredible opportunity to be able to experience new cities and countries. We approach every day in our industry of customer acquisitions with a positive attitude and try to be great students. We get the best results for our clients but we like to have fun along the way. With this winning mentality we love what we do and are excited for the future of our company!