Issue #21 - Hot off the presses 🗞
What's brewing on the Isle of Eigg? | What does a rise in inflation mean? | Festive cheer at Hever Castle | Amazon blocks Visa | Lidl wage increase | Tunes | Podcasts | More
🦾 G O
Read (and hear) all about it 🗣
There’s a focus on business news this week as we head back to the Isle of Eigg Brewery to see how things are developing and how they’re using cutting-edge tech from Tesla.
We’re also back at Hever Castle for this week’s small business story and we take a look at what a rise in inflation means for business owners. Is there anything you can do about it? And is it necessarily a bad thing for your business?
There’s a bit on Amazon, a little on Lidl, a soothing playlist and an eye-opening podcast that looks at how Elon Musk went from eccentric eco-saviour to a real-life Tony Stark - how’s that for a bit of circling right back to the beginning?
It’s all in Issue #21 of The Backbone, the fortnightly business bulletin from Bionic. Let’s go...
📰 N E W S
Something’s brewing 🍻
Back in Issue #10, we brought you news of the Isle of Eigg Brewery - Scotland’s first co-operative brewery. The hops had been planted and the brew kit had been delivered. Wait until you see where it’s up to now!
Construction work has started on the brewery…
(look at that view)
…in fact, construction work has finished!
The floor’s been primed and painted…
…and the essentials installed!
It now has power too. But what’s most exciting about this step - certainly for the energy egg-heads here at Bionic - is how the brewery will be powered.
Working in conjunction with both Solar and Wind Applications and Eigg Electric - the island’s community-owned, renewables-based energy supplier - the Isle of Eigg Brewery will be the first off-grid system in Europe to use the Tesla Powerwall. This is basically a huge rechargeable battery that stores solar-generated electricity so it’s there when you need it. It also provides backup energy if there’s ever a power cut.
The Isle of Eigg Brewery will not only be Scotland’s first co-operative brewery, by using all the cutting-edge tech at its disposal, it’s set to also be one of the most forward-thinking and environmentally-friendly breweries around.
We’ll raise a glass to that! 🍻
🗣 S H O U T O U T
#BionicBusinessStory - Hever Castle 🎄
Bionic had another catch up with Jess Cutts, who works on the events team at Hever Castle. After a successful scream fest at Halloween, the castle traded fear for festivities as they get ready to welcome visitors to their annual light event.
Bionic: How do you come up with ideas for the Christmas event each year?
Jess Cutts: It’s a real team effort with 13 months of planning and a lot of discussions! It’s a massive process that is constantly changing.
B: How is the event different this year?
JC: This year the theme of the light walk is ‘Pinocchio.’ We add more lights each year and are constantly changing what visitors see. We have a new big wheel this year too, offering visitors views across the grounds.
B: Why should people visit Hever Castle this Christmas?
JC: Hever Castle at Christmas is simply spectacular, whether you're coming for the day as a family to enjoy the trail and the fairground or visiting as a couple to enjoy a romantic evening in the castle and grounds, there is something for everyone.
B: What’s the best thing about putting on the Christmas event?
JC: Seeing the look on the faces of our visitors and the smiles we get makes all the hard work worthwhile!
Check out the Hever Castle website to find out more about the castle at Christmas. And click the cosy Christmas lounge below to read more from this #BionicBusinessStory
📩 J O I N
We want to hear about you and your business 🗣
💡 How did you end up running your own business?
😟 As a business owner, what keeps you awake at night?
🤩 What’s your proudest achievement as a business owner?
🤔 What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?
Leave a comment to get involved 👇
📰 N E W S
What does a rise in inflation mean for your business? 📈
Inflation can be a bit of a scary word (certainly when coupled with the word ‘rise’) but it’s a perfectly normal feature of the economy. So why is talk of a rise in inflation met with despair? And what exactly does it mean for small business owners?
What is inflation?
Inflation is simply a measure of the rate at which prices are rising. An annual inflation rate of 4% means that a product that was priced at £1.00 last year will now be priced at £1.04. Something that cost £10.00 will now cost £10.40, and so on.
What causes a rise in inflation?
It’s essentially based upon supply and demand. As the demand for goods or services increases, the available supply usually decreases. With fewer items available, consumers might be willing to pay more for them. They may have no choice but to pay more as suppliers need to put up prices to reflect the higher demand and their own increased costs.
This is basically what’s happened in the energy market - increased demand and a drop in supply have seen energy prices soar in recent months. The increase in the energy price cap saw gas and electricity bills shoot up for households across the country, while businesses have also been hit by increased rates.
Why is inflation rising now?
Household energy bills are thought to have been the biggest driver of inflation this year, which is rising at its fastest pace in almost a decade - increasing to 4.2% in the year to October.
Shortages of goods are also causing supply problems and pushing up prices, as are the shortages of lorry drivers and hospitality staff. The end of government support for businesses and employees has also played a part in rising inflation.
What does a rise in inflation mean for business owners?
A rise in inflation means prices go up for everyone. As a business owner, this not only means you might need to pay more for materials, products, and stock, but it also means that employees might need a pay rise to compensate for an increase in the cost of living.
As demand increases, this can also cause supply chain problems and staff shortages - issues many business owners are experiencing as a result of Brexit and the pandemic.
If you trade overseas and UK inflation is higher than elsewhere, this can make you less competitive as your goods or services become comparatively more expensive.
But it’s not necessarily all bad news. You could see a surge in sales, particularly if inflation becomes long-term. This is because consumers might buy goods and services now rather than waiting over time and risking higher prices.
What can business owners do about rising inflation?
As a business owner, there’s not a lot you can do about inflation other than look for ways to keep your costs down. This can be done by sourcing cheaper stock and materials or cutting expenses in other ways.
And that’s where Bionic can help. We compare business energy, insurance, phone and broadband to find cheaper alternatives to the deals you’re currently on. We can even take a look at new tech like VoIP, to see if that could help cut costs.
Give our tech-enabled team a call on 0800 077 3122 to see if you could save.
📊 B U S I N E S S
Get your business costs sorted.
Whether it's business energy, insurance, phone, broadband, or finance - our tech-enabled team will answer all your questions in simple terms. No jargon. No fuss. #BeABionicBusiness 🦾
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🗞 R E A D
Amazon will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the UK from January 19. The online retail giant says the move is due to high credit card transaction fees, but has confirmed Visa debit cards would still be accepted.
Amazon to stop accepting Visa credit cards in the UK
Lidl has announced pay rises from March next year, which it says will make it the UK's highest-paying supermarket. It will increase its minimum pay for employees outside London to £10.10 an hour, with rates of up to £11.40 for more experienced workers.
Lidl to become UK's highest-paying supermarket
🎧 L I S T E N
Playlist
Classic FM for Pets caught our attention on Bonfire Night, when its soothing sounds calmed pets across the country as rockets and fireworks were set off late into the night. Featuring calming classics from Vaughan Williams, Bach, Handel, Schubert and more.
Podcast
A new mini-series from The Last Archive podcast, The Evening Rocket untangles the strange sci-fi roots of Silicon Valley's extreme capitalism. It explores how the science fiction stories that today’s techno-billionaires (Elon Musk, in particular) grew up on have shaped Silicon Valley’s vision of the future.
🔥 H A S H T A G
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🏡 H O U S E K E E P I N G
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🚫 S T O P
Tapadh leat*
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic bulletin 🤝🏻
Please leave a comment and let us know if there’s anything else we should be featuring.
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See you in a fortnight, by which time we’ll be on door number three of the advent calendar!
*Scottish Gaelic for ‘thank you’ - one for the lads at Isle of Eigg Brewery