The Giving Card's Dan Taylor nominated as Young Business Person of the Year at the Federation of Small Business Hertfordshire Awards Thursday 21st June 2012

The Giving Card's Dan Taylor nominated as Young Business Person of the Year at the Federation of Small Business Hertfordshire Awards Thursday 21st June 2012

Elstree, Hertfordshire (PRWEB UK) 8 June 2012

Interview with Dan Taylor, Founder of The Giving Card

"What is The Giving Card?"

"The Giving Card is a point of sale discount card linked to charitable giving. In a nutshell, the general public can save thousands of pounds a year on their shopping, charities get additional revenues and the companies The Giving Card work with get free advertising and increased footfall into their stores and websites.

When the founder of The Giving Card, Dan Taylor, graduated from the University of Birmingham, he decided he wanted to do something different. He knew that he wanted to go into business, but also knew he wanted to make a difference.

Whilst he noticed that discount and voucher schemes were thriving, he also noted that charities were suffering. This is when Dan realised there was a niche in the market for something that could assist businesses, charities and the general public.

The Giving Card costs £34.95 for an annual subscription. Out of this amount, £10 is donated directly to the purchaser’s charity of choice. Cardholders can use The Giving Card across the UK to enjoy discounts in a wide range of categories: Restaurants, Nightlife, Arts & Entertainment, Health, Fitness and Beauty, Professional Services and Online".

"Why is The Giving Card innovative? "

"It offers charities an easy way to raise extra revenues and increase their public profile, involving no charges or stockholding at any time. It also aims to reward people and businesses who want to support charities. Members pay £34.95 per year, which includes a £10 donation that goes directly to their chosen charity. There is no participation fee for either charities or suppliers. The Giving Card offers a solution which does not require the customer to search endlessly for discounts online, or have to buy a number of discount cards; The Giving Card is not industry specific or location-centric"

"What are the business aims and objectives?"

"To provide the UK’s leading discount card offering unbeatable savings everyday helping to drive down the cost of living, increase donations to charities across the UK and drive incremental footfall into businesses on the local high street and online"

What are the main features and benefits of The Giving Card?"

"The Giving Card has three sets of customers; cardholders, charities and businesses. There are different key benefits for each of these groups, as detailed below.

Cardholders – Throughout the year, members enjoy discounts on everything from clubs to car hire, in the knowledge they’re also helping a worthy cause. Discounts are continually updated via the website, giving cardholders ever increasing opportunities to save money. There’s no need to search through hundreds of websites to find a discount, or waste paper printing discounts. The Giving Card offers its customers the ability to use the card right across the country and across a range of businesses potentially saving them money every day.

Charities – The Giving Card offers charities an easy way to raise extra revenue, involving no charges or stockholding and minimum effort on their part. Its aim is to reward people who want to support charities. Every year £10 from their annual subscription goes directly to their chosen charity whilst each cardholder enjoys year-round discounts with a huge range of companies. Charities stand to gain considerable extra income and have nothing to lose. The Giving Card provides all the fulfilment from processing the order to delivering the product directly; charities not only gain additional revenues, but they also have the pleasure of no stockholding or cost at any time.

Businesses – The Giving Card offers businesses an easy, highly cost-effective way to increase their sales and promote their brand. The Giving Card does not charge participating companies- the only thing they have to provide are discounts for cardholders. Particularly in such a tough economic climate, The Giving Card recognises the struggles that businesses face; therefore, a key benefit of teaming up with the company is that there is no cost to be part of The Giving Card. Other benefits include: potential increased footfall, aiding customer loyalty, greater brand awareness, goods and services are consistently promoted throughout the year at no cost, enhances corporate social responsibility credentials and helps gain a competitive edge over local competitors."

"How you have developed your leadership and management skills during the lifetime of your business?"

"At the age of ten, I did not pass the interview to write for the school newspaper, and so I started my own. It ended up outselling the main. I have always been determined to find new and innovative ways of doing things. I started my first profitable business, Mach1Discos, at 15 and whilst at University launched yoonee.com –a student property website in the Midlands. The experiences (and occasional mistakes!) that I have had will be invaluable to making the Giving Card a success. I have gained experience of devising business models, networking, making deals, learning to communicate and most importantly, figuring out how to deliver a desirable product. I recognised that I had to personally develop these skills in order to understand the many different areas in which my team would be working. I understood early on that I would be far more effective in my management style if I had a ‘taste’ of all the different sections of the company and its requirements.

Since launching The Giving Card, I’ve had to quickly learn how to launch, run and continually develop a business whilst effectively managing a team of up to 30 people across the country. I’ve learnt to listen to people and understand their strengths, weaknesses and most importantly personal ambitions in order to get the greatest result out of my team. Each day brings a new obstacle to overcome, but I am certain the constant challenges will continue to strengthen my leadership and management skills"

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How do you plan to develop your own skills and knowledge? How do you think you can challenge and test your abilities in the future?

"I believe that a major part of being an entrepreneur is to continually set new goals and challenges to achieve: I attribute my learning curve to my approach to moving the ‘goalposts’ back each time I hit a previously set target. This has enabled me to keep in front of the competition and encourages forward thinking.

I plan to work ‘on’ the business and not just ‘in’ the business by which I mean, whilst it’s important to sustain the day-to-day logistics of the company it is crucial to remain focused on developing the business in the future. Examples of this are looking for new partnering organisations to work with or developing new products or services in the pipeline.

I attend regular networking events where experienced people in business challenge me on my ideas and highlight issues that previously were not apparent to me. I have found networking events successful in gauging other’s thoughts on business plans as well as an effective way of building a useful bank of contacts that could help me in the future.

I plan to attend training courses and conferences in technology and marketing to ensure I am kept up to date by industry standards. Training courses are also valuable in building knowledge and enable you to test your abilities by encouraging you to apply newly learnt information into your business in real time".

"How have you sought advice and help from professional bodies, educational institutions, experts and friends and family?"

I recently contacted the British Hospitality Association representing over a 1,000 companies in the UK seeking advice on the industry. They have assisted me greatly and have agreed to contact their members on my behalf regarding The Giving Card as well as given me insight into the hospitality industry that I previously didn’t have.

My business partner Mike Segall who has 25 years in the credit industry has a played a major role in being my mentor.

The University of Birmingham: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre provided much key advice and a wealth of knowledge giving me the confidence to take risks with my business.

Having attended numerous workshops, conferences and training courses I believe that there is no better way in gaining up-to-date industry knowledge from leaders in their given fields.

I have written to over a hundred CEOs in the UK via handwritten letters and emails and have found the response overwhelming and positive. Many have written back commending my efforts whilst others have gone further and requested one-on-one meetings; all of which have been invaluably insightful.

Finally I would attribute my confidence to start my business to my family and friends who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in a broad range of fields. Again, this has highlighted that it is important to recognise that any help I can from experienced individuals is highly beneficial"

Thanks very much Dan and good luck for the 21st June!

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/6/prweb9580281.htm