Business

What A Farce!

hls

Downtown Liverpool has been a long time campaigner for a Liverpool city region Combined Authority.

It is a model that has worked and served Greater Manchester well for several years now, and the opportunity and potential that comes with a more collaborative approach between the six local councils in this part of the North West is easy to see.

However, our politicians have a knack of shooting the region in the foot, looking gift horses in the mouth and grasping defeat from the jaws of victory that is as uncanny as it is tragic.

The latest gaff, apparently courtesy of local districts who did not wish to see the word Liverpool dominate the title of the new local government body, comes with the proposed name which is, wait for it, ‘The Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral Combined Authority.’ That trip’s of the tongue easily doesn’t it?

Imagine calling the Downtown office and being met with ‘Hello, Downtown Liverpool, Lancashire, Manchester and Leeds in Business’!

The suggested name is nonsense but it is what this says about the reality of genuine collaboration amongst our local government representatives that is of most concern. If they can’t come up with an agreement on a sensible name for an organisation, what chance is there of them producing a coherent economic strategy?

For this reason I am urging Liverpool’s Mayor Joe Anderson to walk away from a body that at best will be a talk shop and at worse could do serious damage to the city’s future regeneration and economic growth.

Will the city Mayor be expected to continually placate and negotiate with those who actually believe that their districts are as big a brand as Liverpool? Would there need to be a ‘redistribution’ of opportunities that emerge via inward investment activity and marketing and promotion? Can Joe really be expected to dilute a Liverpool brand which has been in the ascendency now for over a decade? I simply ask Joe this question – do you think you could sign up to this backward looking agenda?

Parochial politicians and council officials may try to hide behind Eric Pickles and government ministers for the botched name fiasco. They are not being honest with us. Our Whitehall sources have confirmed that heavy private lobbying has taken place to abandon the publicly agreed name of the ‘Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’ to the humdinger we have been saddled with. Worse, political leaders are working behind the scenes to unseat Joe Anderson as the chair of this organisation.

The local daftness aside, it is equally contemptible for the government to propose this bizarre name for what they presumably want to see as a serious policy making body for the city region. It may amuse Tory and Liberal Democrat ministers to see Labour council leaders scrap like rats in a sack, but they ought to care more about the credibility of Liverpool and the wider region.

If it wasn’t so serious, and embarrassing, it might be funny. Business leaders are fed up with this nonsense. We need to demand maturity and vision from our political masters – nationally and locally!

The British Dream

British Dream

I attended an event this week where Labour’s Shadow Business Minister Chuka Umunna talked about ‘the British Dream’.

He was describing how his view of entrepreneurs was of those people who wanted to work hard, get on and be their own boss. The British Dream exists but, in his opinion, unlike Americans, we are too reserved to talk about it too much.

True though this undoubtedly is, there are other differences between the UK and the States that we need to learn from if we are to create the enterprise culture or the ‘new generation’ of entrepreneurs that Chuka and other leading politicians from all party’s talk of.

Business failure is almost a necessity for someone who wants to go on to achieve success and is accepted as part of the entrepreneurial journey in America and is obviously an approach that we need to adopt and embrace.

The work that they have done in the States to encourage and support women to set up their own businesses is effective and innovative.

And the other big thing that America does so much better than us is celebrate success. And when they find a hero, the Yanks admire them; do what they can to support them; promote them; and on occasion ignore, or at least forgive, any behaviour that is not in keeping with their iconic status. Can you imagine a British Prime Minister enjoying the rehabilitation that Bill Clinton has enjoyed post Monica Lewinski for example?

There is much for us to learn from the American culture if the ‘British Dream’ is to translate into reality for more than the relatively few individuals in the North of England, who see starting a business, making a difference, making money and becoming an entrepreneur as a genuine route for them.

Grow your business with BOOST

Boost Business Lancashire

Whatever you thought about the now defunct Business Link, and let’s be honest its performance was hit and miss at best, the fact is that at least it offered an impartial ‘one stop shop’ as a sign posting agency for business support.

The coalition government scrapped Business Link, along with Regional Development Agencies three years ago, and ever since there has been a general concern about the lack of focus as far as business support programmes in the North West is concerned.

Indeed, one of the more regular conversations I have with Downtown members is around their confusion about the myriad of business support projects, initiatives, funding and agencies that have sprung up over the past twenty four months.

The absence of an organisation that can offer you genuine impartial support and guidance on what is out there and what will suit your business best has been sorely missing – until now.

The Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership has launched an absolutely fantastic initiative to help the county’s business community identify what business support exists and how we can access that support. Everything from how to access finance to marketing and sales is covered through the excellent ‘Boost’ project.

Aimed at those entrepreneurial companies who are determined to grow, Boost offers a range of services, including an exciting events programme and a comprehensive website outlining how you can access business advice and support from leading private and public sector agencies.

‘Boost’ is underpinned by the Business Growth Hub, and in the coming months I am confident that this will significantly contribute to the county’s ambitious agenda of economic improvement and an increased appetite to encourage enterprise and entrepreneurship across Lancashire.

As part of the ‘Boost’ events programme Downtown Lancashire has teamed up with Lancashire Business View to host what promises to be a first class conference in the autumn. The ‘Lancashire Business Growth Conference’ will feature presentations from business leaders, academics and decision makers – and offer delegates the opportunity of voicing their opinion on what a ‘growth’ agenda for Lancashire should include.

To learn more about Boost and the Business Growth Hub go to www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk

Lancashire finds its voice

Lancashire Finds Its Voice

During the past month Downtown Lancashire has hosted two of the best events we have organised in the seven years since we launched in the county.

The Lancashire Business GROWTH conference held at Brockholes Nature Reserve in October was followed by our annual Lancashire Business Awards gala dinner at Stanley House last week.

I have never witnessed so much optimism, energy and confidence from a Lancashire audience for many a year.

The reasons for this may be multiple; an upturn in the economic outlook, confirmed by the Bank of England Governor on Wednesday being the most obvious one.

But I hope there is more to it than that. I have often argued that Lancashire is a county that has more opportunity and potential than anywhere else in the region. In terms of location, skills, quality of life and a strong business foundation, the county has much to offer.

The problem has been a reluctance to shout about the great things that are here; an inability to coordinate a cohesive marketing message to provide the narrative of the successes and investment opportunities that exist.

If our recent events are anything to go by the private sector has finally found its voice. There was no shortage of budding entrepreneurs, start up’s and growing businesses represented at both the conference and the awards dinner who were more than happy to tell people how great they are!

That is something that many Lancastrians have been shy of doing in the past. Perhaps we have learned from Manchester and more recently Liverpool that telling your story is as much a part of the success journey as the hard work, blood sweat and tears that go into it.

Equally, the public sector through the Local Enterprise Partnership is shaping policy around business support that matches the business community’s needs. With the exciting BOOST initiative signing up its 200th customer this week, it is clear that Lancashire has businesses with aspiration and ambition to grow – with a programme of support that genuinely helps them achieve their objectives.

The glass in Lancashire is more than half full. We are ready to take full advantage of the economic upturn that is ‘taking hold’ according to the Bank’s Governor this week. Bring it on!

To learn more about the BOOST project visit – www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk

Lancashire has the ‘Feelgood’ factor

Lancashire Business Growth Cofnerence

The energy, dynamism and confidence that was evident from Downtown’s Lancashire Business GROWTH Conference last week provides our county with a fantastic platform to progress as we come out of a deep, long recession and head into 2014.

Around one hundred delegates packed into the fabulous Brockholes nature reserve to hear from some top speakers about sales techniques, marketing and the comprehensive BOOST business support programme that has been recently launched by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

However, the most impressive thing about the half day event was the delegates themselves. Great though all the contributors were, it was the buzz created by the business leaders and entrepreneur’s present, along with their challenging and constructive remarks that made the day special.

I have often said that Lancashire is the hidden gem of the North West, and the range of businesses and products showcased at this gathering more than proved it.

From the traditional manufacturing and professional services through to an ever increasing innovative creative sector, there was no shortage of business talent in the room. It was with some satisfaction that many of the messages we have been articulating for several years now appear to have been taken on board not only by the LEP but by the county’s leading educational establishments too.

By working in partnership, the private and public sector can progress Lancashire’s economy at a faster pace, and it was clear from contributions made by Lis Smith (Preston College), John Lonsdale (UCLan) and Andy Walker (Lancashire County Council) that they have put together a range of services that have genuinely taken account of the views of the business community.

This can only assist those with high growth ambitions, and the feeling within the room was that there is an environment within the world of commerce in Lancashire that can really prosper in the next twelve months and beyond.

One note of doubt remains around the ability of our politicians to put aside parochial issues for the more strategic benefit of the county. In Ruth Connor, it is evident that we have a strong leader in charge of the ‘marketing Lancashire’ agenda. She effectively stated to the conference her determination to bring cohesion and co-operation into this crucial area of work. That she must be supported by senior council officials and members is not doubted. The same co-ordination must also be applied to the economic development and regeneration arenas.

Lancashire’s private sector is feeling good. They will not forgive easily local politicians who stand in the way of future progress.