Phil Godfrey, who co-owns and runs T4 Campers in Ossett, had an interesting story for the Wire recently.

He received a visit from a London-based buyer of a camper, who had her eye on a new Volkswagen Camper Van.

As she lived in London, any camper she bought would be subject to future emissions laws. The camper she liked was compliant with those laws – but only until 2015, when permitted emissions levels become much more stringent in London. After that point, she’d be unable to use or keep the camper at home.

This customer had a budget of £17,000, and Phil told her he did not want her to invest that kind of money in something she could only enjoy for a few more years. Even though she liked the camper he had for sale, the customer left without her new van.

Several days later, Phil received a call. The customer had bought herself a new camper from another supplier – which was going to be no more legal in London after 2015 than the one he’d been selling would have been.

The only difference was that this time, her new supplier did nothing to put her off making that purchase.

Phil is one of the most honest used car and camper van salesmen we know, and he prefers a good night’s sleep to an unethical profit.

Do you think he did the right thing?

The Wakefield Wire offers a unique experience of networking for businesses in the Wakefield and West Yorkshire areas.
The Wire gives every member weekly opportunities to grow their businesses. It’s businesslike, targeted, also friendly and supportive, but we never take our eye off our goal of doing better business in Wakefield.

Wire offers more to its members than ordinary networking. A few examples: Continue reading →

A group of Wire members lent support to a local school by striking a sponsorship deal with a difference.
The businesses who took part sponsored the newsletter of the Wrenthorpe Primary School Friends Association.
Their company logos will appear alongside news of the association’s activities, which goes out to dozens of households in Wakefield. Continue reading →

If you’re a property owner with a vacant building on the market for sale or lease, insurance can be a sticky problem. Most insurance companies will back away from insuring unoccupied properties, because evidence shows they’re more hazardous than most.

Vandals, thieves, flytippers and squatters find empty buildings hard to resist. Fire is a big risk too – there are around 9,000 a year in empty properties. Also, less-than-diligent maintenance and attention can also result in water damage from dodgy pipes or leaks. Continue reading →

More than 60 per cent of adults in the UK today do not have a will.

That means more than 60 per cent of people have no idea where their assets will go at the end of their life.

Nigel Pamment, from MY Inspirational Financial Management, warns that if you don’t nominate the beneficiaries of your estate, the government will. And they probably won’t put the people and the causes close to your heart at the top of their list. Continue reading →

When your business reaches the point of needing to take on your first member of staff, it’s nerve-wracking.

Jonathan Barber, of ABPM Recruitment, has some free advice to help you out.

Often someone in the position of needing to recruit staff can be as anxious as the candidates they’re interviewing.

And the pitfalls are many. If the process isn’t done right, you can end up recruiting someone who isn’t right for the business. In a small business that’s disastrous, and in a larger business it can, at the least, have a detrimental effect on the rest of the workforce. Continue reading →

Good networking is all about making a commitment to building up good business relationships. Once two people in a group like the Wire know, like and trust one another, business naturally follows – together with good quality referrals and tasty leads.

Here at the Wire we like to work hard for each other – and act together as a sales team for every members’ business plus any collaborations and alliances members formed, too.

This week, business coach Steve Scholey walked us through the five stages of great networking. Continue reading →

Like some of the best companies, the idea for Glow Computers began with a simple conversation.

The discussion centred around the question: “If you want a second-hand laptop, what do you do?” Ebay is the obvious answer – but of course, warranty protection is not exactly guaranteed.

So Glow Computers were born. Continue reading →

It’s astonishing how many businesses are putting up with mobile phone deals that are, frankly, ridiculous.

Chris Squires from Pure Mobile sees it every day.

He helps companies who, for one reason or another, are not satisfied with their phone, their network, or their provider.

A recent case saw a company locked into a very unpleasant deal with a provider who shall not be named. Their bills had skyrocketed and, although their regular usage was pretty much the same as it ever was, the costs were running into the thousands. Continue reading →

Wire member Richard Lucas is hosting a knees-up this afternoon at Re-Work’s furniture showroom in Hunslet.

Re-Work, the office furniture supplier with a difference, is celebrating nearly four years of trading today with friends, suppliers, colleagues and contacts.

As well as the chance to network and meet a few Wire members (keep an eye out for our stall) there’s also pie and peas, veggie lasagne and hot pork sandwiches to enjoy – not to mention a few daft games to ease us all into the weekend and a raffle in aid of St Gemma’s hospice. Continue reading →