Station News

Take the Sheffield Live listener survey and win fantastic prizes!

Sheffield Live has been broadcasting full time on FM for over 6 years (and longer via the internet) and we’re proud of the schedule of great, unique and diverse programmes we have built up.

Now we’d like to hear views of our listeners: what do you love / like / dislike about Sheffield Live; what would you like to hear more of on air?

The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete – and to nudge you into sparing 10 minutes to give us your views, we’ve teamed up with some great local businesses who have kindly supplied some fabulous prizes available to our survey respondents.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Prizes include:

  • £100 voucher from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op, 300 Broadfield Road, Sheffield S8 0XQ
  • Meal for two* at Otto’s Restaurant (authentic Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisine, Sharrowvale Road)
  • Two tickets for Strictly Come Dancing Live at the Motorpoint Arena on 28 January 2014
  • Two cinema ticket vouchers for the Showroom Cinema
  • Two course meal for two** at Graze Inn, Ecclesall road – an innovative menu with a focus on sharing
  • Two separate prizes of 6x Six Pack tickets for Owlerton Stadium, which include admission, race card, chicken in a basket meal, and more – a fun evening with friends
  • The comprehensive and beautifully laid-out Peak District Bouldering Guide from Vertebrate Graphics
  • The Peak District Mountain Biking – Dark Peak Trails Guide – crammed with exciting routes to ride in the Peak
  • A two-course meal for two*** in the affordable, sustainable, local and ethical Avid Farm Shop
  • A super-warm Mora Snowsuit OR Skogen Winter Overall OR Snowflake baby snow suit from KoziKidz
  • Go climbing! An instructed session for two adults, with all necessary equipment, at the Foundry Climbing Club at the Foundry Climbing Centre

All you need to do to enter the competition is complete the listener survey (and you’ll be able to tick against which prizes you are most and least keen to win!) Entering is in line with our standard terms and conditions.

Your feedback in the survey will be incredibly useful to Sheffield Live in planning future shows.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE – MAKE SURE YOU DO SO BEFORE 5PM on SATURDAY, 18 JANUARY 2014

Thanks to all the local businesses who have donated prizes – and thank you in advance for completing the listener survey!

[There is no cash alternative to any of the prizes].

*Otto’s Restaurant: Voucher for meal for 2. Food from a la carte menu to the value of £40. No drinks included. Sunday to Thursday in January. Booking essential; please mention voucher on booking.

**Graze Inn: Voucher for two-course meal for two people. No drinks included. Booking essential; please mention voucher on booking. Other terms may apply.

***Avid Farm Shop: Free two-course meal for two. Valid any day. Excludes drinks.

Incredible Edible on Sheffield Live

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Incredible Edible is a “local food movement that’s inspiring communities all over the world.”

The movement began 6 years ago in Todmorden, where any day in the growing season can now see fruit and vegetables in some most unusual places: tomatoes along the canal path, strawberries outside the college and runner beans in the cemetery; food you are welcome to take as much of as you like.

This simple but radical act of growing food in public places for everyone to share has had a transformative effect in Todmorden – benefiting residents of all ages and even boosting businesses – and has been a starting point for a movement that is now spreading across the world.

Already more than 50 towns and villages across the UK have joined the Incredible Edible movement. It’s spreading across the world too, with over 300 Incredible Edibles in France alone, and others in places as far apart as Mali, Canada and New Zealand.

Now a new book about the Incredible Edible story, and the power of growing vegetables to transform communities, has been written by local author Joanna Dobson, who has spent the past two years researching and writing the story of Incredible Edible.

Joanna came onto Communities Live on Thursday 5th December to talk with presenters Andy Cooper, Charlotte Carrick and Julie Anne Tulley about the Incredible Edible book – and the Kickstarter campaign to pay for the book’s publication.

What next?

Listen to the podcast of the Communities Live show (5-12-2013 episode) featuring interview with Joanna Dobson (The interview starts at 14 minutes, and this podcast will remain available until end of Jan 2014).

Find out more about the Kickstarter campaign to support the Incredible Edible book, which closes on Weds 11th December.

Watch a video about Incredible Edible:

Today’s Business Live: seasonal businesses, Business Awards, community investment

Today’s episode of our Business Live discussion programme covered the challenges of running seasonal businesses and the Sheffield Business Awards – as well as references to Sheffield’s high street parking schemes and the launch of the new Moor Market (you can listen to an interview with traders and shoppers here).

Presenter Jamie Veitch was joined live in the studio by Neil Grant, the managing director of Ferndale Garden Centre at Coal Aston; Tom Lindop, an account manager at the Sheffield Chamber; and Janet Skirrow, chief executive of local social enterprise Zest.

Neil talked about how Ferndale has successfully adapted to the changing needs of its customers; the trials and tribulations of running a seasonal – and family-owned – business; generating footfall; and even guerilla gardening, and how growing vegetables is accessible to all.

Tom gave us the lowdown on all of the benefits to businesses of entering and being recognised by being shortlisted in the Sheffield Business Awards – winners will be announced this Thursday evening.

And Janet, of local social enterprise and development trust Zest (which has been shortlisted in the Community Investment category of the Awards) talkaked about how being shortlisted has already proved really beneficial to Zest, a 15-year-old Sheffield business and development trust which has successfully moved from grant dependency to earning and generating income and winning contracts to deliver its health and wellbeing services.

You can listen to the podcast (and even download it) here.

More about the Business Live series of programmes here.

Does new Sheffield market offer Moor?

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The Earl Street entrance to the new Moor Market (Image: Sheffield City Council)

The Earl Street entrance to the new Moor Market (Image: Sheffield City Council)

Sheffield’s brand new and eagerly-anticipated market opened for business today – with a “record-breaking” 25,000 people visiting.

The new £18m building replaces Castle Market, which closed its doors on Saturday having been a Sheffield fixture for 54 years. Sheffield has held a “Royal Charter” to hold markets since 1296.

Sheffield Live visited the market on opening day today. Calvin Payne and Laurence Peacock – presenters of each Wednesday’s edition of our “Communities Live” programme – popped into the market this morning and interviewed traders and shoppers. You can hear their piece about the market this Wednesday (27 November) on Communities Live at noon (and we’ll post the podcast afterwards).

Make sure you tune into Communities Live on Wednesday to hear Calvin and Laurence and their interviews.

High growth business, social enterprise and investment

Nigel Brewster

Today’s Business Live show (which airs every Friday at 9am) came within Global Entrepreneurship Week and the day after Social Enterprise Day.

Presenter Jamie Veitch was joined in the studio by Nigel Brewster, Partner at the Brewster Pratap recruitment group, a high growth business founded in 2011.

Nigel is also a private sector Board Member for the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (whose Chair was a guest on this show last week) where he has responsibility for the ‘Skills’ work stream.

Nigel discussed entrepreneurship, taking the steps to start a business, strategies for growth without diluting a business’ values, effective business planning, and how we might enable school leavers with business skills.

Following Nigel we turned to a conversation about social enterprise.

There are more than 70,000 social enterprises in the UK that sell products and services including clothing, chocolate, water, coffee, energy, childcare, printing and design. They are businesses driven by a social mission and use profits to tackle problems like homelessness, unemployment, carbon emissions and food waste. They contribute billions to the economy and are changing the face of business.

Sam Tarff, the new chief executive of The Key Fund, which invests in social enterprises and has supported over 2000 organisations since launching in 1999, talked about the financial and strategic support that Key Fund offers. Sam has a track record himself in running and working with successful social enterprises and third sector organisations and flagged up examples of successful social enterprises.

We were also joined by Sam Walby, editor of Now Then magazine published by Sheffield-based social enterprise Opus Independents. Now Then has put its social impact and values at the heart of its operation and Sam showed how this identity, vision and mission informs all its operations – and how the social enterprise generates income to support its work. The business has now expanded to publish Now Then in Manchester and will be widening distribution of Now Then in Sheffield.

You can listen to / download the full podcast of the show here.

More about the Business Live series of programmes.

Show sponsor, the Sheffield Enterprise Programme, is running an exciting event on 3rd December, Break Barriers, Open Doors, featuring successful Sheffield entrepreneurs who have overcome barriers to achieve their business dream. Details here.

Ho ho! Get a festive greeting ad on Sheffield Live for just £70!

Have you got a seasonal offer to promote for December or early January?

Would you like to thank your customers for their support and wish them a great festive season?

Sheffield Live can help!  We have a special “Festive Greeting” package available to new and existing advertisers.

For just £70 we’ll create a Merry Christmas / Seasons Greetings / Thank you / Happy New Year message for you – and play it over 50 times per week within a seasonal ad slot from December 5th to the 5th of January.

It’s a superb route for independent businesses to showcase your seasonal offers and engage with our 35,000+ loyal listeners – who’ll hear your message again and again!

What next?

City Region’s Local Enterprise Partnership Chair interviewed on Sheffield Live

James Newman

James Newman

James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Board Partnership, was interviewed on Sheffield Live’s Business Live show this morning.

The twenty minute interview, conducted by Paul Gregory in the Sheffield Live studios yesterday (14 November), covered the scope and scale of the Partnership. James is well-known across the City Region’s business community and his career spans more than 35 years, with senior roles in a large number of different industries including manufacturing, services and utilities.

James is a Yorkshireman born and bred with a career spanning more than 35 years, which includes senior roles with a large number of different industries including manufacturing, services and utilities. – See more at: http://www.sheffieldcityregion.org.uk/about/staff-profiles/#sthash.0h8Ij191.dpuf
James is a Yorkshireman born and bred with a career spanning more than 35 years, which includes senior roles with a large number of different industries including manufacturing, services and utilities. – See more at: http://www.sheffieldcityregion.org.uk/about/staff-profiles/#sthash.0h8Ij191.dpuf
James is a Yorkshireman born and bred with a career spanning more than 35 years, which includes senior roles with a large number of different industries including manufacturing, services and utilities. – See more at: http://www.sheffieldcityregion.org.uk/about/staff-profiles/#sthash.0h8Ij191.dpuf

The show also featured live studio guests Fiona Greaves and Johnny Reay talking about the Start Up Loans scheme – which encompasses business support too. Fiona ran through the practicalities of this scheme, which can offer loan finance – and vital mentoring / business support – to help entrepreneurs to launch businesses.

Today’s show came the the day after the announcement of a £5m cash injection to the City Region to help young people into jobs, and ahead of next week’s Global Entrepreneurship Week and Social Enterprise Day.

You can listen to (in your browser, and / or download) the podcast of the show here.

Our Business Live show broadcasts every Friday from 9am-10am.

Award-winning business leaders on Sheffield Live

Sheffield Live’s business programme, BusinessLive, heard yesterday from two award-winning business leaders who shared their experiences of growing and running businesses.

Jaqui Copley, managing director of the Elite Group, and Jay Bhayani, partner at Bhayani Bracewell, joined presenter Jamie Veitch. Both were fresh from attending Thursday evening’s Funny Business event at Sheffield City Hall, in which ten top personalities from Sheffield City Region organisations – including Jaqui – had performed a stand-up comedy routine to help fundraise for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity’s Do Your Bit campaign. And Jaqui had even been crowned the winner of the best comedy routine at the event.

The show explored how Jaqui had grown the Elite Group from starting-up in 2002 as a home based business, through to recruiting staff, moving into business premises, and now turning over several hundred thousand pounds a year. Jaqui shared her insights and business tips for securing clients and sales, and how she’d dealt with challenges to grow her business – which distributes swimwear, lingerie and children’s clothes – to become the great success it is today.

And employment law expert Jay Bhayani, one of Sheffield’s leading employment lawyers, who has won accolades including recommendation in the legal 500, a Yorkshire Lawyer Employment Lawyer of the Year Award, and the ABDN Professional of the Year Award, joined the programme to talk through key policies and procedures that all businesses should have in place – and the pitfalls if they don’t. Jay discussed many aspects of employment law and HR practice, including directors’ service contracts, shareholder agreements, appropriate policies and procedures, and performance management in the workplace.

Download / listen to the podcast of the show here.

Business and the green economy

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This morning’s episode of Sheffield Live’s business programme, BusinessLive, featured two Sheffield businesses active and trading in the green economy and a topical debate about energy and insulation. Both of the businesses featured have a strong commitment to environmental sustainability – and demonstrated the economic argument for doing so, too.

Green Directions’ Mark Woodward discussed the process of turning his farm from a location dependent on expensive oil heating to a renewable “powerhouse” – with wind and solar generated electricity, a ground heat pump, and upgraded insulation. Green Directions is a thriving conference venue and Mark offered some sage business advice too.

And David Sorsby of LiveLight – a social enterprise launched in January this year – discussed how his business can help its members save money and reduce their environmental impact; and the lessons he’s learned in getting the business off the ground.

You can download or listen to the podcast of today’s show here.

BusinessLive: crowdfunding, finance, and energy

This morning’s episode of Sheffield Live’s business programme, BusinessLive, covered access to finance for business startup and growth; crowdfunding; social media marketing; and nuclear and renewable energy.

Presenter Jamie Veitch was joined by:

•    Joan Binns, a business advisor in the Sheffield Enterprise Programme
•    Phil Shankland, Grand Master at TinAmps, who has partially funded his business expansion through a crowdfunding campaign (alongide traditional, and his own, finance)
•    Barry James, founder and editor at The Crowdfunding Centre
•    John Mounsey, expert in social media marketing (and much more), of Mounsey Web Consultancy

The show also featured Richard Wright, chief executive of the Sheffield Chamber, talking about whether the investment in nuclear reactors announced this week will be good for British – and Sheffield – businesses; Sheffield’s renewable energy and engineering expertise; and the latest growth figures.