Ben Conway’s Post

Would you consider sliding scale pricing? If your business or organisation is direct to consumer, then implementing different pricing options could be a way of contributing to economic justice. I'm not sure where the concept originally started, but I've heard the "green bottle sliding scale" idea floating around in various circles. (Let me know if you know the origin of this!) Here's an example of how it could look: 1. Price point 1 = the true cost of the product or service. This price is paid by those with financial privilege who can afford it and renumerates the cost of creating or delivering the product or service. 2. Price point 2 = a slightly reduced rate, where the organisation acknowledges that financial concerns will be a barrier to some people using their product or service. Where they can afford to reduce their profit margin so more people can access, they do. 3. Price point 3 = (sometimes free). A highly reduced or free option, for a limited number of people, that allows people with less socio-economic privilege to still partake in their product or service (and by extension, society at large). I personally love this idea. I think more approaches like this can contribute to a more just and fair society. Do you agree?

Happy to share my latest post "What produces high returns on invested capital?", where I analyze the factors that contribute to a high ROIC, using Buffet's 1972 letter to Chuck Huggins, then CEO of See’s Candies, as a base for my thinking. 📚 Generally speaking, companies that produce high returns on capital do so in one of two ways: by earning above-average profit margins, or by turning over their capital quickly. 🔰 In this post, I touch on where high margins come from. Expanding on the ability of a strong brand to have pricing power through Buffet's perspective on See's Candies. Article:

I'm sharing below a very useful update from the FCA that will be helpful for many in my network. Yesterday the FCA published a summary of its reflections 6 months in to the introduction of the Consumer Duty, outlining areas of good practice as well as areas for improvement. #consumerduty #financialservices #financialombudsman

Private equity is under pressure. The obvious path to lasting profits in portfolio companies is no longer leverages, due to higher interest rates, but through operational changes that increase revenue, cut costs or both. PE firms have always claimed to do this, but leverage has made some of them less diligent than they could be. The tried and true methods involve better management. Some PE firms focus on new appointments on a newly purchased portfolio company’s board and management team. Others maintain a staff of full-time in-house consultants who provide services to multiple companies. A third way is to recruit a roster of veteran executives to advise company leaders. Employee ownership cannot guarantee success, as the recent woes of UK retail chain John Lewis demonstrate. But if investors really believe that top executives are motivated by share grants and options, they should reward PE firms who expand that principle beyond the elite few.

12 June 2024: the Council agreed on RIS. On the agenda: Inducements (watch that space...), Value for Money, Modernisation of investor protection rules. The package aims to deepen the capital markets union and to increase consumer's trust in capital markets. Adaptation to the digital environment and new consumer's preferences, enhancing transparency (even more ...?) and ensuring the investment products offer value for money for retail investors (knowing the price is under pressure by the regulatory tsunami...). As long as too much information does not kill the information for the retail investor... 🤯

With a presidential election looming and consumers feeling the effects of interest rate hikes, inflation, and political turmoil, there is no shortage of uncertainty this year. FORVIS unveils trends that leaders should pay attention to in this white paper.

With a presidential election looming and consumers feeling the effects of interest rate hikes, inflation, and political turmoil, there is no shortage of uncertainty this year. FORVIS unveils trends that leaders should pay attention to in this white paper.

Who knew that it would be accountants who legitimised brand building after all? Changes to international accounting standards could mean that intangible assets, such as brand, could be CapExed, which means that brand building could be considered a long-term investment, not a short-term expense. “I told you so” is an ugly phrase, so let’s instead move on. Instead we need to become familiar with these changes, and get to work on the oh so simple job of agreeing the value of that intangible asset, not just so we can take it to the boss and ask for more money, but so that our saviours in finance actually know what they are going to type on the balance sheet.. #AllHailFinance #MarketingInvestment #wetoldyouso #BrandMeasurement

New Post: Small Businesses Are (Yet Again) Facing a Government Shutdown - https://lnkd.in/grZgGmQi - Part of the government could halt by the end of the week, followed by a full shutdown on March 8, if lawmakers fail to reach a spending agreement. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

“A purpose-driven approach to corporate governance is essential if we are to have a healthy economy and planet. This is why the Better Business Act could have such a profound impact on the shape of business here in the UK.” CEO and founder of Pip & Nut | B Corp, Pip Murray, discusses the findings from Demos and B Lab UK’s latest report, The Purpose Dividend, in The Grocer. Read here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eh2xUTMf #PurposeDividend #BetterBusinessAct #BetterBusiness #CorporateGovernance