Where can I get information and advice?

- Licensed Trade Guide (Poppleston Allen)

BII provide many different resources to offer advice, tips and essential knowledge to help with the running of your establishment. Please see below for an outline of the services available to you as a BII Member:

Mentor

The BII’s mentoring scheme is an integral part of assistance to our Foundation members, and originates from discussions we have had with both new and existing members. It is a good opportunity for senior professionals within the trade to share their invaluable knowledge with those just starting out in their career.

A mentor is defined as ‘an experienced and trusted advisor’.
BII membership offers you access to our new Mentoring Scheme. This service would enable you as a new entrant into the trade, access to senior BII member’s knowledge and expertise when you need it most.
Mentors would offer general advice and an insight into the industry as a whole, it is expected that discussions will be via the telephone and/or email. They would be there to help solve problems that they have themselves previously encountered.
The role of mentor will be fulfilled by volunteer Fellows (FBII) and Companions (CBII).
As a new Foundation member joining the BII you will be offered the opportunity to be allocated a mentor from the BII Mentor Register. It is entirely at the discretion of the mentor how much time they spend with you but we would expect this to be at least an hour (in one or two sessions) and then on an ‘as and when’ basis.

The BII Mentors

Here are some examples of the types of mentors we have available:

Husband and wife couple in the central region. With an award winning pub they are both extremely passionate about the industry and are very keen on helping newcomers make a success in the trade. Each of them with different skills needed to run a pub; between them they have expertise in all areas.
Director of a management consultancy with over 30 years experience operating both individual and groups of pubs. An experienced mentor, having helped with business start ups as well as company reviews. Marketing, Training and Business Plans represent the top area of his expertise along with a thorough knowledge of the pub trade.
BII Central Region Council member, who has been in the licensed and catering trade for over 40 years and ran a successful pub/restaurant for 24 years.
He has specific expertise in rent, benchmarking, starting up a business, costs, law and generally creating a successful business within the trade.
Freelance hospitality consultant delivering training for a large BIIAB training centre as well as offering business development advice within the licensed trade. A Fellow Member full of fresh ideas and business building tips.

... and these are just a handful of the mentors available to you.

Thoughts from a BII Mentor

Mentoring for the BII - Alan Gibson MBII, Inn Experience Consultancy

I was asked to become a mentor for the BII and thought that as the trade had given me a lot over the years it would be a good way for me to give something back. To date I have worked with a number of new entrants into the trade and helped them with a range of problems from finance’s to business planning, spelling out pitfalls to explaining the difference between leases, tenancies and freeholds. It takes very little of my time as most of it takes place either over the phone or via email. This is a valuable service to potential licensee’s and one that I wish I had had the benefit of when I started my career. Simple questions are often the hardest to ask. What do I get from it? I get the chance to use 30 years worth of experience, I get the satisfaction that someone has benefited from that. It makes me think about the best way to get the points across, but above all I get thanked for it by those who don’t know.

If this service looks to be of interest to you please download an application form or contact Membership Services on 01276 684449 or foundation@bii.org to discuss further.

New! Licensed Trade Guide 2010

Licensed Trade Guide

BII members can now purchase the new pocket-sized Licensed Trade Guide from Poppleston Allen at a reduced price of £4.00, which includes VAT and delivery (normal price £6.95). To access the website and purchase your copy please click here and the BII discount will automatically be applied when you add the book to your basket

BII Events

BII has 16 regions covering the UK. Each region is run by a Regional Council, a group of active members who volunteer their time to promote BII to both those working within the industry and well as the wider public.

The Regional Councils work with BII to organise at least two events a year. These events provide an ideal forum to hear from experts on all aspects of the industry and to keep up to date with new developments, educational opportunities and ideas to enhance an individual’s own professional knowledge. The events also aim to update those working within the industry on key legislation and offer tips and advice to assist with the day to day running of a licensee's business. The events are open to all individuals, both members and non-members.

The regions are a channel through which individuals can increase their knowledge, skills and professionalism through accessing information quickly and effectively.

Introduction Events

A number of free events are being arranged in 2011 especially for people joing the industry. These events are designed to provide newcomers into the trade with all the information they need to start their career. The events provide information from training and qualifications through to business building ideas and tips for things to watch out for. BII know that starting out in this trade can be a daunting prospect so we want to provide you with as much help as possible!

To find out more about these Introduction events and to find out when an event will be in your area please contact Sarah on 01276 417815 / regionalevents@bii.org or click here to visit the regional pages of the website.

Solicitor

What Solicitors can help you with very much depends on how you are intending to take on your pub. Solicitors would be used for advice on licensing (personal and premises), tenancy, lease (including assignments) and freehold advice. Assistance with setting up the business structure, finance and any other legal queries you may have.
Some examples of places you can get Licensing and Legal advice are as follows:

Poppleston Allen Licensing Solicitors – Online License Application Service and Licensing Hotline
First Assist – Legal Helpline
CMi – Health & Safety, and Food Hygiene helpline
Downs Solicitors & Notaries - Lawyers experienced in advising those in the pub sector

These companies all come under the member benefits package of Associate level of membership and above. (Downs Solicitors & Notaries is also included in the Foundation membership package)
For more information on their services and the discounts they offer through BII please contact Membership Services on 01276 684449 or foundation@bii.org .

Finance

Accountants can offer you a great deal of help both before and after you have taken on a pub. They can help with raising finance, forecasting, VAT and tax, payroll and monthly and yearly management accounts. All of which are essential things for making the business a success.
You may already have a personal accountant but it is good to have a second opinion or a specialist opinion.
Some examples of companies who can give you advice are as follows:

Commercial Plus – Commercial Finance
Twinpier Ltd – Debt Specialists

These companies all come under the member benefits package of Associate level of membership and above.

For more information on their services and the discounts they offer through BII please contact Membership Services on 01276 684449 or foundation@bii.org .

BIIBUSINESS Magazine

BIIBUSINESS is packed full of information about the industry, business building hints and tips and changes in legislation. If you are a member of the BII you will recieve a copy of this magazine on your door step 10 times a year. To view past copies of the magazine please click here . If you would like to recieve this magazine please contact the Membership Department on 01276 684449.

FAQ's

For more information when starting out please take a look at our frequently asked questions http://biiab.bii.org/tips-and-hints and http://www.bii.org/support/tips-and-hints .

Disclaimer: BII endeavors to take reasonable care when accepting suppliers to offer member benefits. However, BII does not endorse any of the suppliers contained in this website and expects members to take reasonable precautions before entering into any agreement with them. BII does not accept liability for any disputes arising from the use of these suppliers. BII reserves the right to withdraw any member benefit supplier at its discretion and without notice. BII does not accept any responsibility for the prices offered by member benefit suppliers or changes thereto.