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producing the second edition because we’ve heeded your adviceand changed the shape of the magazine fundamentally. We hopeyou’ll agree however that what you hold in your hands has beenworth waiting for.

Customer reviews are of course worth their weight in gold andcrucially important to any conscientious business owner andI am therefore delighted that Jenny Wilding from Research Plus has highlighted the importance of this in her insightful article.

Also in this issue, we have an exclusive interview with Sharon Wright of Dragons’ Den fame telling us of her experiences in business.

Talking of experiences, not many people can claim to have gone through as many highs and lows as ex-Norwich City legend and charity fundraiser Peter Mendham. Peter tells us his amazing story and looks ahead to his fundraising football event at Carrow Road on Sunday 20th May. I hope that as many of you aspossible will go along and support Peter and the Yellow Brick Road Foundation and make it an evening to remember.

Finally, take a look at our competition kindly sponsored bySQUARE:CODE. There is a valuable first prize up for grabsand simply entering it should demonstrate to you the benefitsof incorporating QR codes into your marketing strategy - if youdidn’t already realise them. PLAT4ORM magazine embraces the use of technology where possible and actively encourages all companies to adopt QR codes in their advertising.

See you in the summer, for the next edition of PLAT4ORM...

The PLAT4ORM Team

Special thanks to Norwich Kitty & Time Associates for their input into this publication.

For all sales / enquiries please call 01603 383410 or emailsales@gmepublishinglimited.co.uk.

Edited by Melissa Rudd

Graphic Design By Dcypha Digital Media

Printed By Colour Print

All Content Copyright © 2012 GME Publishing Limited

WelcomeWelcome to the second edition of PLAT4ORM, the foundation forbetter business.

We were delighted with the response that our first editiongenerated, there were some good reviews and someindifferent ones but overall the feedback was very constructive.

Most of you, not surprisingly, liked the concept of the magazine –promoting small and medium sized Norwich and Norfolkbusinesses in the B2B marketplace. Many of you thought themeasurements of the publication could be improved upon though,with one or two businesses highlighting the ‘A5 size’ as beingidentical to other magazines distributed in the region.

In actual fact, the first edition of PLAT4ORM wasn’t strictly A5, itwas a slightly larger bespoke sizing, but we understand the pointyou were making! For this reason there’s been a slight delay in

constantly get frustrated with people who wasted a great opportunity to appear on the show. I waited until I had a business before applying. I’d sold 37,000 units and proven my product on a small scale but it was always my intention to apply.

How did you go about preparing your pitch to the Dragons?

I wanted to be remembered for the perfect pitch, that way I knewpeople would remember the product. From the moment I was firsttold I would be filmed at Pinewood Studios I planned andprepared for the event. I used every second of my three minutes to entice the dragons with what I had achieved already; knowing they would automatically ask the obvious about the financials.

I prepared a dummy wall for me to demonstrate clearly theproblem and more importantly the solution - Magnamole. I parrot learnt my pitch and practised 100 times religiously every single day for three weeks. I ran up and down corridors at my office until I was out of breath and would then dictate my pitch into a Dictaphone; it was to prepare me to cope with extreme stress, because it has a tendency to make you breathless.

I read all the dragons’ books and did my own due diligence on each dragon so that if I was lucky enough to choose which dragon I wanted I could make the right choice. In preparation for every question I expected to be asked, I wrote the questions on littlewhite cards and the answers on the reverse. I knew my businessvery well but I anticipated my mind would go blank when beingquestioned, so wanted to make sure I had prepared as much as Ipossibly could.

How did you decide on the amount of investment to ask for and what stake in Magnamole you wanted to give away?

I valued my company on my turnover at the time of the showwhich was £350,000. The potential of the product if I achieved mystrategy in every country would be £5 billion but I knew this wouldbe a complete turn off to the dragons. Nobody knows the value oftheir company’s future, we were at the start of the recession andI’m not naive to think you can value your company on its potential.

I was realistic without being greedy because it was never aboutthe money - the most important thing for me was the infrastructureand the support. I didn’t want to give them any reason to reject myoffer and I wanted to demonstrate I knew exactly what I wasdoing, hoping to entice more than one dragon so then I couldchoose.

Inside TheDragon’s Den Part 1. Sharon Wrighttalks to Eric Farrowabout her experienceon the show and her dealings with James Caan & DuncanBannatyne

nown as the ‘Dragon Slayer’ by the media, Sharon Wright entered the Den in 2009 looking for a £50k investment for her invention ‘Magnamole’ which allows cables to be safely

threaded through cavity walls. After delivering “One of the best pitches that the Dragons had seen”, Sharon walked out of the Den with an £80,000 investment from James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne for a 22.5% stake in the business. But as oftenis the case in business, not everything was as rosy as it seemed.

What inspired you to create Magnamole?

I’d just moved into a brand new house and watched with my own eyes a BT engineer struggling to thread the cable from theoutside wall to the inside of my property. He was using a coat hanger and my frustration propelled my thoughts to give memy eureka moment. I’ve always had a problem solving mind but always doubted my commitment to take it to the next level. I’d recently broken up from a long term relationship and my thoughts were a distraction. Once I’d finished my research on whatproducts were available on the market I started planning my strategy.

What made you decide to apply for Dragon’s Den?

After winning the British Inventor of the Year accolade andsupplying two sectors of my strategy (direct to end users like BT and electrical wholesalers) I realised I needed help andinfrastructure to take me into a global network. At the time, Dragons Den was one of my favourite programmes but I would

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I was now working 16 hour days to keep up with thedemand of enquiries from around the world so I had to take onanother member of staff. For a while I had to pay him from mysalary because I was in an uncomfortable situation.

What was going through your mind when you were signingthe contract?

On the morning we were due to sign the contract we also had a photo shoot first for the programme being aired a few weekslater. There was no time to go through it as James had a charity event he had to get to. I was so desperate for the money and the contract to be signed that I stupidly signed without understanding its contents. Both Duncan and James turned up to that meeting with their own contracts in hand, and they had to step into another office out of earshot to decide who’s contract we would sign.

They agreed it would be James contract that way I could work with his team for support. At the time Duncan did take me to one side and advised me to take it home and get it checked by alawyer. Looking back it was my biggest regret and I couldhave saved myself a lot of heartache but I just never expectedJames to treat me the way he did.

There are many reasons why I finally had no choice but to seek the advice of a lawyer. My reasons are clearly documented in my book The Mother of Invention. But when I did I was told it was the worst contract he had ever seen. I have spoken honestly and openly about what happened and why I chose to terminate the contract because I didn’t want anybody else to go through what I had.

The final straw for me was when I was asked by James’ team to pay a fee for their infrastructure and support. I’d been completely misled, I was tied up in a contract that crippled me and worst of all I didn’t get all the loaned money.

Next issue, Sharon talks about pulling out of the deal, what happened as a result and gives advice to buddingentrepreneurs.

Her book ‘Mother of Invention’ is available from her websitewww.sharonwright.com where she talks in great detail abouther experiences on Dragons’ Den and what has happened since the show.

What made you go for Duncan and James?

I watched every show and I’d also watched an interview thatJames did on national TV, gloating he had just signed amulti-million pound deal and would supply over 80 countriesaround the world with two other products that sat perfectly withthe synergy of my product. This would obviously make my life somuch easier and I thought I could just leverage straight through those doors.

Unfortunately the statement wasn’t true - I never expected to hear false information on the TV but later discovered that the products weren’t in 80 countries and a multi-million pound deal was never done.

What happened during the few weeks after the show?

For several weeks I heard nothing, and when I did finally hearfrom the Dragons I was invited to visit them individually at theiroffices.

Duncan gave me the time, introduced me to his team andmade me feel very welcome and excited about the future. Jameson the other hand didn’t take the time to do this, one of his teammembers did and we had a meeting in a cafe down the road. I feltvery flat and concerned after this meeting and alarm bells startedto ring.

I didn’t see the money but I had already committed totaking a member of staff on the books as well as receiving a largeorder from Canada for 10,000 units. I went ahead with theproduction to fulfil the order but hadn’t yet received the money. Itdid get to the point I was begging down the phone because mycash flow was tight. I needed to pay my suppliers for the order butwas told from James’ team of people to try and hold off paying foras long as possible.

This turned into a huge problem and I tried to bury my head in the sand and avoid speaking with the manufacturer. I wasembarrassed even though I’d signed contracts and passed their due diligence I hadn’t received the money. By this time I was informed the money had now turned into a loan, but I hadn’t even received that. It was a mess and my manufacturer refused to do any business with me until my account was settled.

In the year prior to Dragons’ Den my bills were always paid on time and cash flow was tight but I didn’t spend what I didn’t have.

as it’s mechanically unsound, you agree for the work to beundertaken. This is sometimes only for your car to sit untouched for a few hours, perhaps even until the next day, for them to inform you that your car is fixed and once again safe to be on the road, when in fact your pride and joy has been perfectly fine all along.

There are a couple of things that even the least mechanicallyminded driver can do to check they’re getting what they’re payingfor. Ask to see the old parts - most mechanics are usually morethan happy to oblige. If customers can trust the garage thatworks on their car, they will come back.

Check your oil. New oil will be a clear gold colour. If your spark plugs have been changed, you should notice an overall difference in your car such as, more efficient starting, a smoother idle and in most cases better fuel economy.

The best advice is if you’re unsure, ask. If you’re still unsure, get a second opinion. Ask a trustworthy friend who has goodmechanical knowledge to check your car over for you.

So how do you find a garage that you can trust?

Talk to your friends, family and colleagues to see if they can make a recommendation. Go to a local garage and talk to themechanics. Tell them about any concerns you may have. Acompany with good honest working practices should always be happy to go through and discuss them with you.

Joey Woods - Owner / Operator JL Autos Norwich

How much of a service are youreally getting?JL Autos

ith the ever increasing cost of motoring, value for money has never been more important. Shopping around for a garage you can trust is essential, but how do you know

when you’ve really found one? Who actually knows what’s going on when they leave the mechanics to get on with it?

The consumer has little choice when one of those little lights on the dashboard comes on than to leave it in the hands of someone who knows why. Unfortunately, with the state of the global economy, businesses have to work harder to make ends meet. In order to keep costs down some businesses will cut corners, without thinking about who is being affected by their actions. There are vast numbers of unscrupulous garages who think nothing of taking large sums of money for work that they merely claim to have completed.

The average service now costs around £125 and for that you should get an oil and filter change, a set of spark plugs and an air filter. An increasing number of garages are doing none of these, but charging the customer for all of them.

Some of the most common malpractices performed whilst issuinga service include unscrewing the oil filter/filter housing until itleaks, then re-tightening and cleaning the filter/filter housing butleaving the leaked oil on the engine. Another is loosening the oil drain plug sufficiently until it leaks a small amount of oil and thenre-tightening and topping up the oil level.

It’s very easy to say parts that cannot be seen have been changed, such as air filters, spark plugs, fuel filters and in some cases oil filters.

Another ever increasing problem is that customers are being toldthat parts on their car are excessively worn and are dangerous,when in fact the part in question is in full working order and isperfectly safe. After a call from one of the mechanicsexplaining how unsafe your car is and that they can’t let it leave

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shortcomings of my business. Criticism can be hard to take. Jenny and Mark were very supportive and helped me identify the areas I wanted to get feedback on. As a sole trader, my main focus was customers and obviously mine have computers so I opted for an online survey. Sending the initial email to my customers was a bit like lighting the blue touch-paper, I did close my eyes when I hit the ‘Send’ button. Thankfully the responses I got back from my customers were overwhelmingly positive. Not one negative comment was received, and there were somehelpful suggestions on how I could improve my services. Therelief of finding that my customers liked what I was doing was great. As a result of the survey I now know that what I planned to do with my business has been the right approach to take.”

Since carrying out the survey Jason has used some of his customers’ comments on his website and it has also encouraged him to seek reviews for his personal LinkedIn page and Google Places. He now has 10 five star reviews on Google Places. So when people Google for ‘computer services’ they can read about what his customers think of him before they even look at his website.

Allison Maltby (www.allisonmaltby.co.uk) used a different approach: “I conducted a combined email and postal survey as I did not have email addresses for all of my clients at that time. By asking my clients whether they had benefited from seeing me, I gained confirmation of providing excellent customer service and care, combined with excellent results. I was also able to make some minor changes to increase my clients’ comfort when they visit me, so that they feel more relaxed. Before I did the survey I occasionally received feedback third hand, for example I heard someone saying of me ‘That lady changed my life’. The survey was a formal way to obtain feedback rather than obtaining it by chance.” Research undertaken by Research Plus+ in 2011 found that most businesses that had made changes as a result of listening to their customers saw improvements in their business. These included: improved customer service, an increase in customer retention and the amount sold to each customer, more referrals from customers, improved staff morale, a higher public profile and last, but not least, an increase in their profits.

Which of these do you think is the most significant?Which would you most like to see in your business?

info@research-plus.co.uk www.research-plus.co.uk

Do You ListenTo YourCustomers?Jenny Wilding /Research Plus+

erhaps it is something that you do on a regular basis or perhaps it is something that you have never really thought about. There are many reasons why businesses do not seek

the views of their customers. You may not have got round to it yet, you may be undergoing major changes or you may not have the skills to do it in-house. Perhaps you think it will cost too much, are not sure if you want to know what they think of you or maybe you’re nervous of what you may find out.

However, have you considered the dangers of not seeking your customers’ views yourself? In this internet age, customers are quick to tell people about their experiences on Facebook, Twitter and review websites such as TripAdvisor and e-customer-satisfaction etc. As Jeff Bexos, founder of Amazon, said: “If you make customers unhappy in the real world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.”

There are many different methods that you can use to listen to your customers. These include having an informal chat with them, handing out feedback forms, postal and email surveys, face to face and telephone interviews, focus groups, on-line surveys and even through text messaging. Selecting the appropriate method to use will be influenced by three factors: your budget, the type of business you run and most importantly what will be convenient for your customers.

For many people undertaking a survey can be quite scary. Jason Dagless of Norfolk IT Services (www.norfolkitservices.co.uk) undertook a survey of his customers last September. This was his experience: “People had mentioned in the past that doing a survey would help my business but I hadn’t felt confident about it. I was nervous about asking people for feedback, but I also didn’t like the silence of not knowing what my customers thought of me. If I did the survey I would finally have to confront any

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Sadly too few people really know how to use Office applicationseffectively. For example tools like Microsoft Excel have amazing features that support some powerful analysis and reporting. Yetmany people fail to utilise basic productivity features built intosuch applications. We probably all observe people misusing toolsand completing work the hard way simply because they don’tknow any better. And Excel is just one tool that many of us useday-in-day-out.

Outlook has some amazing features to boost productivity but few people know how to take advantage of them. Individuals who are unable to make the best use of software place a burden oncolleagues and support staff. Improve your skills and improve your job satisfaction.

Active Talk has been delivering high quality training in Norfolk for10 years now, and can offer training products in formats suited toyour requirements and circumstances.

With expert instructors leading the classes, we provide highquality IT training at locations in and around East Anglia. Ourflexible approach to training means our comprehensive list of ITtraining courses can be tailored to suit your training needs anddelivered on customer premises if this suits.

Closed one-company courses can be delivered on your premiseswhen it suits you. We bring all the training equipment required- you just provide the room. Many customers find this suits theirneeds better than sending staff off site (although the staff mightdisagree).

As well as classroom training, we offer a huge number of self-paced courses in a variety of formats: online over the internet, CD/DVD, and book-based. This style of study suits most people, enabling you to study at home at your own pace. Self-paced study is effective and price efficient.

Visit our web site at www.activetalk.co.uk, email us atenquiry@activetalk.co.uk, or just give us a call on 01603 627766

Training IncreasesProductivityChristine Moy / Active Talk

oney is tight. Sales are down – money is tight for yourcustomers as well. Costs are up. Who can afford tospend on training? What good is it anyway – you know

just enough to get by, don’t you? You have no time for traininganyway; you are spending every minute of the day marketing yourproducts. It’s all so hard and sometimes a little demoralising. Ittakes all your time just to do the day job. You’re pretty good withyour PC. You can knock out an email in seconds and you’re awhizz with Facebook.

When did you last prepare a meaningful business plan? Whenyou did, you were pleased with the end result weren’t you? Youhad a feeling of achievement just to have completed it. Was it abeautiful document; were the business figures well-presented anduseful? How long did it take you?

If you are a small business or a sole trader, it’s probably not anexercise you’re about to undertake again in a hurry (when next you need to talk to the bank about upping the overdraft, you’ll update your last business plan). What about sales proposals, what do yours look like; do they stand out from those of your competitors? They may contain the content you want but is it easy to find?

So, what are your PC applications skills like? Are you self-taught?If so you can’t really answer this question because you havenothing to measure against. Training increases productivitybecause you become an expert, while lack of training lowersproductivity.

According to research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, a 5% increase in training delivers a 4% increase in productivity among employees. In fact the seemingly intangible benefits of training can affect a growth in the bottom line. Usually, the first thing out the window during an economic downturn is training anddevelopment. Leading edge companies are still continuing to invest in training and development and will come out far ahead of those other businesses whose only management strategy is to cut, slash and burn.

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father-of-two was able to recognise how his life had spiralled out of control.

“I didn’t have a balance in my life at that time,” he says. “I was working too much, almost 24/7 whether it was raising money for the air ambulance or other bits and pieces. I had no time for myself or my family.

“It has been horrific these past five years for myself and my family and friends. I have made use of the time to re-educate myself, I’m now a fully qualified personal fitness trainer, hold a diploma in holistic Swedish massage and also a diploma in psychology and counselling.”

More importantly however, Mendham says he has become a better, well-rounded person.

“I have been on courses I wish were available to me earlier in my life, like how to have successful relationships. I was a good person but I was lacking in certain areas and now I can look back and hold my hands up to say I didn’t have the skills to deal with every situation that came my way. Now at the tender age of 52, I do.”

Mendham worked in Scotland after leaving prison, where a friend offered him a job as state manager of a castle. But the lure of his family and friends – and Norfolk – proved too much.

Now working for Norwich firm Ecoglass and also doing maintenance work on the Norfolk Broads, Mendham appreciates the small things more than ever before.

“After being incarcerated, you understand that you take the little things for granted. I love just being free. Something as simple as taking fishing tackle down to the beach - I can’t explain how that feels.

I have lots of things going on in my life, great friends around me, my father and my two sons Ross and Jamie and a littlegranddaughter too. It’s all great.” Mendham adds that the reactionhe has had from people in Norwich has been very welcoming.

I have not had any people come up to me being negative. If I did I would just walk away. I am a very positive person and can’t bedoing with negativity around me. I have done my sentence and been punished for what happened and it’s now about moving on from it.

Former footballer Mendham - back from the brink Ex-Norwich Citylegend talks exclusively to Melissa Rudd on life after prison and launching a new charity

hink of a retired footballer in his fifties and you probablyconjure up an image of a man enjoying a comfortable retirement, making the odd guest appearance at former

clubs perhaps and providing comment to the media now and then on the “good old days”.

But for former Norwich City hero Peter Mendham, life has been far from plain sailing. The 1986 Milk Cup winner’s playing career was ended prematurely after he had just turned 28 through a recurring injury at an age at which most professional footballers consider to be at their prime.

The midfielder went on to run his own soccer schools, coaching children across the county and was also employed as a fundraiser for the Norfolk Air Ambulance. With 269 matches under his belt and 39 goals scored for the Canaries, he held cult hero status in Norfolk.

From the outside, Mendham’s life looked perfectly normal. But in October 2006, in what he calls “a moment of madness”, Mendham stabbed his girlfriend Charlotte Hyam at his home in Trowse during a heated argument. Hyam suffered a stab wound and lost a kidney. Mendham denied the charge of attempted murder but then pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of wounding with intent.

In February 2007 he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison, which was reduced to five years on appeal. It was not until after the incident and consequent imprisonment that the

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Realising it is impossible to turn the clock back, Mendham nowfocuses on using his experience to try and help others. He has founded The Yellow Brick Road Foundation, a charity forhomeless people who find themselves unable to get support – a situation he found himself in not so long ago.

“I went to Norwich City Council after I came out of prison to try to get help but was told there was nothing that could be done for me because I didn’t have issues with mental illness or drug or alcohol abuse. Now I got myself in that position so it was my own fault and luckily I had fantastic support from people around me – but that can’t be said for everyone.

“It becomes a vicious circle, people can’t find work because they haven’t got a registered address and it’s hard to get out of that rut.”

The foundation is holding a charity football match at Carrow Road on May 20, with all funds raised going directly towards it and other local causes. Former legends Darren Huckerby, Iwan Roberts, Dale Gordon, Robert Fleck, Craig Fleming, Mark Barham, Dennis van Wyk, Paul McVeigh and Jeremy Goss have all confirmed their attendance.

The squad will be playing an Ecoglass side, with funds also going to help local families such as the parents of Sam Andrews, a young boy with a brain condition who requires costly treatment at a therapy centre.

“A private sponsor has paid for the hire of the Carrow Road facilities which means all the money can go straight to charity. We hope lots of people and local businesses will support us and dig deep.”

Mendham will also be releasing two books, an autobiography and ‘Beauty on the Inside’, a prison diary/self-help book based on what he has learnt from being incarcerated.

Tickets for the match can be purchased via a 36-page match programme priced at £5 which includes admission for one adult and one child.

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mechanical parts, unlike its predecessor they can take knocks and bangs and only suffer a slight drop in performance with age. Solid state drives start from around the £150 mark for 100gb of storage, larger drives are available and you have to take into consideration the cost of transfer of data to the new drive, but the performance benefits are massive.

LCD and LED Screen Replacements

Cracked and chipped screens can render any laptop un-usable without plugging in an external monitor, most common laptop panels can be replaced from between £80 - £160.

Broken Keyboards and Mice

Keyboards and mice can often suffer from wear and tear, especially with heavy handed users, quite often keys get lost and mouse buttons simply stop responding. These are simple items for which a genuine replacement can be sourced, providing the laptop is less than 5 years old.

Dented and Scratched Plastics

Wear and tear on laptop plastics, especially if the laptops have been dropped or banged can render the system unusable, particularly if the hinge for the screen has broken, cracking the lid. In most cases genuine replacement parts can be sourced allowing the majority of components to be transferred, bringing the laptop back to almost factory condition.

Faulty and Broken Chargers

You’d be amazed at the amount of frayed and bare wires on mains AC adaptors that our clients supply with their laptops. Using these faulty and unsafe devices can cause further damage to the laptop. We also see a large amount of cheap, imported, compatible chargers and multifunction adaptors. These are often untested in the EU and are the wrong voltage or wrong amperage and are generally detrimental to laptop health. We can often supply a full range of original chargers for most major brands of laptop including Dell, Sony, and Toshiba to list just a few.

If you have any questions or would like some advice on keeping your laptops running at their best, please feel free to contact us.

sales@norwichlaptoprepairs.co.uk / 01603 670582

Keep ITRunning?Andy Scarles /Norwich Laptop Repairs

he current economic climate has seen many large businesses cut back their IT budgets, often leaving staff with ageing laptop hardware that is simply not performing and is

showing signs of wear and tear. Slow boot up times, applications running slowly or crashing, hard disk failures, cracked screens and missing keyboard keys can end up not only causing downtime for your staff at your expense, but it can also give a bad impression of the business. Purchasing a good business spec laptop could set you back anywhere between £600-£1000, representing aconsiderable investment for any organisation with 10 or more staff.

What is the alternative?

With the low price of components, upgrading your existing fleet of laptops could help give your business the edge without the large capital investment in new hardware.

Operating System upgrades

If some of your systems are still running Windows Vista, simply upgrading to Windows 7 can produce a massive increase inperformance and reliability, providing the machine is compatible.

Increasing System RAM

Most laptops don’t come with the maximum amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) they are capable of using, this can add extra strain to the hard drive, cause slow boot and long program loading time. RAM at present is extremely affordable and the increase in performance can be great. Laptop RAM upgrades can start from as little as £25, depending on the component required.

Solid State Hard Drives

Replacing existing mechanical hard drives for modern Solid State Drives (SSD) is yet another affordable upgrade; SSD’s are far superior in read and write access times compared to the conventional hard drive as they use flash memory chips similar to that found inside any modern digital camera. As there are no

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