02/11/2009 by admin.

Above are two versions of the same story. The first was written by me a month ago and sent to both newspapers. The second newspaper chose to ignore it until Rochdale MP Paul Rowen issued a press release after the story had appeared in the railway press.

Now, I absolutely respect the right of any newspaper not to pay me. ..

But a MONTH????

Posted in Media, Journalism, Business, Transport | Print | 1 Comment »

21/09/2009 by admin.

I got this text from 07765 165359 at 7.32pm:

Our records indicate you may be entitled to 3750 pounds for the Accident (sic) you had.To claim for free reply with YES to this msg. To opt out text STOP.

Remember the Accident Group which fired its entire staff by text? (In fact they didn’t…I saw the actual message and it simply warned against trying to draw wages. But newsdesks across the country wanted the more dramatic version so it became a fact)

These spammers know that out of every 100 random texts they send, at least 30 people will think they’ve had an accident. And even if you text STOP, you are simply confirming that your phone is active.

Everybody has to earn a living but this is pretty low…

Posted in technology, Business, Society | Print | 1 Comment »

24/08/2009 by admin.

Finally had my debrief on why I got nowhere with the contract to produce 315 degrees, the magazine of the North West Regional Development Agency.

Apparently my answers were not detailed enough.

 I blame the 30 odd years of journalism which have trained me to be brief. There was me thinking business people would appreciate a quick read so they could get on with what they are good at.

On a brighter note, an associate emailed me about a bid we are co-operating on in some distress because Professional Indemnity Insurance, minimum £250,000, and a policy schedule for Public Liability Insurance was being demanded.

And guess what?

I’ve got them!!!!!

Posted in Journalism, Business | Print | 1 Comment »

23/07/2009 by admin.

1.       So-and-So commented: “…a comment is an opinion, not another word for said

2.       A spokesperson said: …apart from a few uses on the politically correct BBC, I have never seen the term used in a half-decent print publication. The word “spokesman” does not indicate gender.

3.       So-and-So Integrated Passenger Transport Authority is pleased to be associated with this wonderful…bet you £10 that if the reporter doesn’t, a sub will strike it out and replace it with “we”.

4.       So-and-So, Chair of Suchabody, said…a chair is a piece of furniture and, like spokesman, CHAIRMAN is gender neutral.

5.       “Safety is our first priority…even though six people have just died? 

Posted in Media, Journalism, Business | Print | 1 Comment »

16/07/2009 by admin.

Supply.gov is a government-backed service to alert business to public contract. They charged me a couple of hundred pounds last year to receive alerts from all over the country.

I decided this year to retreat a  little and revert to the basic free service which alerts me to Greater Manchester only.

This arrived this week: 

 ” UK-Manchester: Brand Development and Creative for Helpline Campaign

Wondering why it would not let me access a contract based in Manchester, I contacted the helpline. This is the response I got:

“I have now located the contract on our system and can see that the contract has been tagged with the UKD location code, indicating that the contract is taking place at various locations in the North West. As such this falls outwith your current access level of Greater Manchester and would require an upgrade to a minimum of low value - Regional access, which costs £70 + VAT per year.

To upgrade your account you must do this online. Please follow the steps below.”

Ever felt ripped off?

Posted in Business | Print | 1 Comment »

09/07/2009 by admin.

The man to lead us through the tech revolution? Nathan Smith of Smith&Smith PR. A couple of years ago I spent almost £1200 with the Charetered Institiute of Public Relations doing some courses in London.

Excellent though they were, this man has just delievered a free seminar on social media for the Chamber of Commerce which was every bit as good!

Posted in technology, Journalism, Business | Print | No Comments »

12/06/2009 by admin.

I thought I would be a bit richer by now. Not necessarily a private jet but perhaps a Mercedes or two.
But all is not lost. After almost two years as an entrepreneur, I am enrolling for the Chamber’s “Exciting business opportunities for SME’s in the public sector” seminar. So this time next year, I’ll be a millionaire.
In a former life, I was once approached by a foreign transport company bidding for a public contract in Greater Manchester. They thought that a rival was being unfairly favoured and after an investigation, I agreed.
Sadly, my superiors dithered and while the article mouldered in the “pending” tray, the foreign company gave up, obviously doubting our courage, and dropped their complaints. The story was eventually used on the business pages but by then, it was seriously devalued.
I should have been warned by that episode of the misery which lay ahead. That same company told me it had spent 10 YEARS pitching for large project in South America, only to lose it.
Fast forward, and here I am tendering for my own company…and what a nightmare. Over the last two years, I have probably wasted as much time on preparing pqq’s and tenders as actually doing any useful work.
I have forked out for £5m of employee liability insurance, even though my only employees below board level are two Jack Russell dogs. And one of those has adopted a consultant’s role, lying around on the bed all day waiting to alert me to the arrival of the mail. I would sack him but for my Equality and Diversity Policy.
I have £10m of public liability insurance – and a Health and Safety Policy to avoid ever having to draw on it. Rochdale Council insists I recycle all my household waste. Does that count as an Environmental Management Policy? I’m good at what I do but apparently I need a Quality Assurance Certificate to prove it.

The blurb for my Chamber course speaks of “difficulties in identifying contracts and overly bureaucratic tendering processes” which have put off many small businesses from “getting a slice of this lucrative market”.
Well, I’ve identified the contracts but that is only half the battle. Consider this latest email exchange with a public body with which I have had a long association:
THEM: Dear All, We have now completed the evaluation of the PQQ submissions which we received. Unfortunately, I have to inform you that your submissions have not passed the evaluation process with sufficiently high a score to be able to be passed to the ITT stage.I would like to thank you for the effort which went into the submissions and for providing us with the opportunity to review them. Regards, XXXXXXProcurement Category Manager
ME: Is there to be any feedback?
THEM: Alan, My apologies - on looking for your scores I now realise that although we have a record of issuing a PQQ to yourselves, we did not receive a submission. Please ignore my earlier e-mail. Regards, XXXXX
I am considering my position on that one. I’ve found the completed pqq on my laptop. It was submitted EIGHT months ago. There is little chance of proving that they lost it as all I did was put it in the post. I guess hand delivery is the way forward…though it’s difficult when you are reaching out to the north of Scotland one minute and Cornwall the next.
Then there are the stupid things you do – like spend most of a holiday finishing of the forms for one tender and then taking the word of the woman in Smiths that the envelope you buy is not a “large” and only needs an ordinary first class stamp. Only when we got home – after the closing date - did I check it against the GPO template and discovered that it was, in fact, a “large” and is probably still waiting in a post office in Middlesbrough awaiting the excess payment.
Still, it’s marginally better than applying for jobs. I have a growing blacklist of large public organisations – including Manchester and Salford councils and Salford University - who don’t even bother replying. And my seminar will, I am sure, help me get over the Catch 22 of public organisations demanding a huge turnover before handing out a contract.
And then, who knows, this time next year….

Posted in Journalism, Business | Print | 1 Comment »

18/03/2009 by admin.

So my home town centre is on its knees. Can we blame the council?

When I first started this business, I wondered if Rochdale would hire my services to promote its tourism…surely the most underused asset this birthplace of the Co-op has.

I had visions of an Ironbridge of the Pennines, combining history with beautiful, if rugged, countryside. Then I went to a meeting to hear a councillor proudly proclaim that the authority now had an annual tourism budget of £10,000!

Add to that some of the craziest traffic schemes in Greater Manchester and a force of parking wardens the third reich would have been proud of …and is it any surprise we are in trouble?

Posted in Business | Print | No Comments »

06/08/2008 by admin.

Just had the pleasure of setting up a direct debit for £35 a year to the Information Commission because I keep online lists of contacts. Downloaded the form, filled it in….and then had to print it off and put it in the post!!!!

Posted in Business | Print | No Comments »

23/05/2008 by admin.

I apologise unreservedly to Seb Coe, London 2012, and the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

About a year ago, while still working for the Manchester Evening News, I gave Lord Coe - who was a delightful interviewee and remembered me from the Commonwealth Games - a hard time for not sending the cycling to Manchester.

I accused him of patronising us by promising a few scraps from the Olympic table when it was Manchester’s 2002 success which won London the Games anyway,

Now, as a businessman looking for work, I went to the same venue (City of Manchester Stadium where they were getting ready for Ricky Hatton’s fight) to another NWDA event about winning Olympic contracts.

It was brilliant and I now firmly believe that they are serious about spreading the work around.

Sorry.

Posted in Business | Print | 1 Comment »