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#ADVICE: How to get products into retail
November 17, 2009 – 11:27 am | No Comment

“How do I sell my products into the UK retail market?” – This fundamental question is the next step for many inventors. As innovators you have recognised that there is a problem to be solved, …

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Starting for free in the FT
March 8, 2010 – 12:04 pm | No Comment

Money for nothing and your kicks for free
By Jonathan Moules
Published: March 5 2010 17:51

There might be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is certainly a lot that a savvy business owner can get for nothing.

Business-class flights, office space, professional advice, advertising, stationery, employees – and even money itself – can all be obtained gratis, if you look hard enough. And freebies like these could make the difference between success and insolvency for cash-strapped companies.

When Jonathan Yates started his vitamin business Santeau, he was able to get both the product formula and an initial development supplier for free. He says that ignorance about whether or not to pay for something can be a blessing.

“When I started, I had no idea what to do,” he admits. “So I flew to Germany for a trade show and, in the first hour after arriving, I found a vitamin and mineral supplier who gave me a formula. I suppose it was a bit of pre-sales for the supplier, although I never needed to use his services again.”

Back in the UK, Yates sent his idea to the development arms of three large manufacturers. Among the people he contacted was the development head for soft drinks at Tate & Lyle, who agreed to make the first batch.

Again, Yates believes that Tate & Lyle did this for free in the hope that he would use its services again. However, he also thinks that suppliers can share a passion for a good idea.

“When you show people something exciting, it does set them alight a bit,” he says. “It is important to go to the right people, but it is also about the approach that you take with them.”

Begging and borrowing help is all very well when starting a business, but should you be doing this when your business is turning over millions of pounds?

Yates believes you should. “Once you realise that there are lots of opportunities to maximise your cash flow by getting things for free, it is difficult to get out of that mind set.” To Yates, getting free stuff is the epitomy of entrepreneurship.

Entering competitions is a popular way to get free publicity for a business, but it can also provide more tangible benefits.

Six Degrees, a PR agency, was among 100 small businesses that won 12 free business-class flights over 12 months from British Airways.

Jennifer Jansen, a director in the business, found out about the competition from an e-mail. “We apply for grants fairly regularly but this was much more attractive because it was not just money,” she says.

At the offices of Ipswich-based website developer A Recipe for Success, the shelves are already groaning under the weight of business prizes won.

Co-founder Jeff Hume estimates that his company, which employs nine people, has notched up over 50 gongs over the years. Awards are not just a matter of kudos or prize money, they are a means to free publicity, Hume argues.

“Really, computers are as dull as ditch water, so it helps to have a reason to get your name in the papers,” he says.

Universities are another source of free support for small businesses. University College London, for example, offers companies in the capital free consultancy and research & development (R&D) support from its pool of academic and postgraduate students.

This R&D costs the college money, but the tab is picked up by the London Development Agency.

Businesses can also tap UCL for free labour, through a service that matches its graduates with businesses for short periods of work experience. However, competition is fierce.

This year’s programme has not even been announced and the college has already received expressions of interest from companies, according to Tim Barnes, executive director of UCL Advances.

For those in the PR, entertainment, events, publishing, advertising, marketing, broadcast and digital media sectors, another source of free manpower is recruitment consultant Pathfinders.

In addition to its conventional consultancy service, Pathfinders matches graduates to companies for temporary posts. Using the service is free for both clients and candidates and Pathfinder claims to place about 1,200 temporary staff every year.

One of those who has benefited from Pathfinders is Clare Rodway of Kysen PR. The service has been useful both for beefing up the headcount during busy periods, as well as filling permanent roles, according to Rodway. “I have 12 members of staff, half of them through Pathfinders,” she says.

Bill Liao, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded social networking site Xing, claims to have got free web hosting, free time from a PR agency and free office space for his start-ups in the past.

When he set up WeForest.com, an organisation to promote re-forestation as a means of combatting global warming, he obtained free studio time and voiceovers from broadcaster Stephen Fry and television producer John Lloyd.

However, the flow of free services is a two-way process for Liao, who provides coaching and business ideas to others for free. The process of getting free stuff is usually more simple than most people believe, according to Liao. “You just have to ask.”

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Freesource / Vumesoft Software Pack
January 17, 2010 – 10:56 am | No Comment
Freesource / Vumesoft Software Pack

Since starting the site many people have been asking about the Free UBUNTU software mentioned in the Freesourcing book. So we thought we would give you the opportunity to get your hands on the Vumesoft …

ASK FOR HELP
January 12, 2010 – 6:58 pm | One Comment
ASK FOR HELP

Ask for help is my favourite, top, number 1 piece of free advice—some of the best free advice I was never given when I was struggling to start up.
When that dark cloud looms overhead and …

ESSENTIALS: Start for a reason.
January 12, 2010 – 4:00 pm | One Comment
ESSENTIALS: Start for a reason.

“The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning – to create a product or service to make the world a better place.” Guy Kawasaki
When you put your heart into a venture, real …

#FREESOURCE: XtraNormal movie making
January 10, 2010 – 11:20 am | No Comment

Making corporate videos, virals and ads for your products just got really easy with this new service from Xtranormal. The site is Freemium and you can go along way with their free offering.
Have a …

Yorkshire entrepreneur publishes thrifty guide to starting-up
January 8, 2010 – 10:28 am | No Comment
Yorkshire entrepreneur publishes thrifty guide to starting-up

Yorkshire entrepreneur publishes thrifty guide to starting-up
8th January 2010

By Anastasia Weiner – Business Correspondent

Freesourcing is authored by Yorkshire businessman Jonathan Yates

A NEW wave of money saving savvy entrepreneurs look set to launch their business careers …

Business Bushcraft in the Evening Standard
January 6, 2010 – 9:00 am | No Comment
Business Bushcraft in the Evening Standard

From the Evening Standard Newspaper 14 December 209
Bushcraft your way into business
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Business Editor
14.12.09
You must have seen those absurd “bushcraft” programmes in which the likes of Ray Mears or Bear Grylls are dropped …

Benny Ong
January 5, 2010 – 11:13 am | No Comment
Benny Ong

http://bennyong.com/archives/freesourcing-and-business-start-up
I was fortunate to meet Jonathan Yates, the author of Freesourcing and got him to sign a copy! Luckily I did that because his session at later the day was jam packed and I couldn’t …

ESSENTIALS: The eureka moment.
November 17, 2009 – 12:45 pm | No Comment
ESSENTIALS: The eureka moment.

“Work grows out of other work, and there are very few eureka moments.” Anish Kapoor
The much talked about eureka moment is not a moment at all; it’s a length of time that begins with learning …

#Freesourcing: build an entire business empire for free!
November 12, 2009 – 5:16 pm | No Comment
#Freesourcing: build an entire business empire for free!

FREESOURCE: A resource that a start up business is able to use for the benefit of the organisation that has been found, borrowed or created for no initial monetary outlay.
FREESOURCER: An entrepreneur who has …

#FREESOURCE: Reminder
November 2, 2009 – 6:17 pm | No Comment

http://remindr.info/ – it does what it says, it reminds you to do something on a particular date at a particular time. Useful for seeing where you are with your business. Simple and effective.