Business

When it comes to staff, the adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is apt. But it’s not all about money. On the back of news that Apple and Facebook are offering to freeze eggs for female employees in an effort to attract more women, we share some of the less obvious employee reward schemes.

Callprint is on the acquisition trail, and looking for companies with large-format print and project management capability, with a turnover in excess of £3m, and with room to grow. Callprint itself, formed in 1992 as a repro and print operation, currently employs 170 staff at 20 branches and has a turnover of over £12m. Its intention is to grow sales to £25m in the next two years. I met with MD Steve Cheek to find out what part wide-format plays in this strategic development plan.
By Lesley Simpson

Octink CEO Will Tyler was once a commodity trader. Though he had what he calls ‘an epiphany’ at 20 and left that scene to join his father Tony Tyler in the sign business he’d started back in 1962 as Allsigns, being financially savvy has stood the son and heir in good stead to lead the company that he inherited on his father’s sudden death in 1994. Then it had a turnover of around £380,000. Now it’s around £15m. And that doesn’t include any income from its sales/project management offices abroad, that he expects “will dwarf what we’re doing now in terms of turnover in the next two-to three years”.

Ernesto Sirolli makes a good living coaching entrepreneurs. And whenever he meets a business leader for the first time, he says that leadership starts with four words: “Shut up and listen.” Here’s why.

When Valley Graphics in Essex saw scope to diversify into digitally printed wallcoverings it set up a sister operation with an independent identity - The Printed Wallpaper Company.

I met with founder and MD Matthew Adams-Eaton to talk about the diversification strategy. 
By Lesley Simpson

An article earlier this year looked at finishing options for rigid substrates. Now, Nessan Cleary focuses on options for finishing flexible materials.

Do you have the right legal cover in place? Beverley East from Abbey Legal Services, on behalf of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), provides advice.

Recent employment tribunals have held that overtime should be included in the calculation of an employee’s holiday pay. Abigail Halcarz, an employment solicitor in the commercial group at SGH Martineau LLP, considers the ramifications for employers.

Novalia’s mission is “to bring print to life” by integrating conductive inks and electronics technology to make it interactive.

I went to meet with its founder, Dr Kate Stone, to find out how that mission is going, and what part the large-format inkjet print sector can play in that. 
By Lesley Simpson

Creative United was established last year, with support from Arts Council England, to provide a range of financial products and services designed to help grow the UK’s cultural and creative industries. 

Sometimes it pays to bring in the experts. Swiftprint is a case in point, having employed those with colour management know-how to streamline its operations.

‘Solutions’ selling is on the up, and with it increased levels of customer objection to your sales pitch. So how do you effectively manage that? Tony Hodgson, director of PODi for Europe, provides tactical advice. 

Peter Lancaster, CEO of Documobi, sets out the stall for the company’s iPR mobile scanning technology in large-format environments.

Although business lore is full of lone geniuses, sustained corporate success is rarely a one-person show. Here business consultant Walter Hale offers some guidance on the factors to consider when trying to build a strong team of leaders.