Business Networking Blog | Leighton Buzzard Business Club

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:44:00 +0000

The meeting of the 28th started with the usual open networking followed by the usually high standard Barrington breakfast.
Steve Baker (IFA) gave the 5 minute education slot and talked about how to prepare your business as we emerge from the credit crunch, covering a wide range of subjects such as strengths, weaknesses, revenue objectives, USP's. This was then reinforced by a range of sales & marketing ideas.
each member then gave a 1 minute business presentation, which was followed by a 10 minute presentation by Lisa Mason of Nat West Bank giving an over view of her new role within the property portfoio development team.
The meeting was closed as usual after referrals & testemonials were passed, and areas of general interest were discussed.

Wednesday 4 Nov...

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Must remind my colleagues to blog - had some good meetings recently and we seem to have not captured them!

Warm wishes this morning for Matt & Tammy. They have a little one! Congratulations.

The 5 minute presentation today was from me: going over a simple business model I have used to look at the issue of how results are driven by activity (quality and quantity) and activity is driven by a combination of attitude, skills and knowledge. My simple model on that enables anyone to look at what is affecting their results and how to improve them.

Angela gave a great presentation on what Harris & Co can, and do, do for their clients. Innovative but easy to understand and very much in tune with what a business owner needs for understanding their financials and what to do to improve performance and also save tax (of course).

Some useful referrals and testimonials. Toni from Barrington's asked for the group's help with one marketing initiative she is thinking of and I am sure we will put our mental energies onto that one for her (that's a reminder of course).

A reminder also from Keith that it is our AGM in January and any issues to be raised need to be formally put forward during December (I think I got that right).

Oh - and I am doing something to move the Xmas party along!

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Keith Rawlings did the 5 minute slot on Wednesday 16th about service organizations, such as Lions, Rotary, Round Table etc. Each club in each organization seems to follow a set pattern, in that there must be folk who fulfil a particular role. For instance, each club has to have a Doubting Thomas who does not believe anything said by the hierarchy. A slightly different task then that given to the Cynic, who simply refuses to believe that anything will work. There is always the Waffler, who will say something irrelevant or something that has already been said, and they say it again. Then again. And of course, we have the Little Hitlers. Nuff said.

However, such organisations perform a vital function both nationally and internationally. Just taking one organisation, and just one activity, in 20 years Lions Clubs International have been responsible for 7.5 million cataract operations, 131 million procedures for river blindness, and initiate over 300,000 eye centres in Africa. And it all starts with a bunch of folk getting together for a meal and a chat.

The ten minutes was splendid. Toni Forestiero, proprietor of Barringtons and our host produced an Avacado in strawberry vinaigrette in approximately 4 seconds. Which is less time than it took Steve Baker to inform us that the avocado is not a pear; it’s a fig. Get yourself down to Barringtons for one of them figs.

Keith Rawlings, Rawlings Structural Design Ltd

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:55:00 +0000

Another lively meeting with good banter. The 5 minutes 'more lighthearted' presentation was given by myself. When managing teams of people or when operating in a group it is essential that leadership, teamwork and communication are strong. As a thought provoking exercise I explained how nature has evolved a strong formula for a skein of geese in flight. Their V formation (slightly offset on the vertical also) allows each goose to take perfect advantage of the slipstream of the bird in front. The 'lead goose' may not be the established leader but will be the strongest at the time, having no slipstream gain. Another goose may take over the position if he/she tires. Often you will see a small separate group formed and that can happen if one bird tires and falls out of formation, Given that he is already struggling at least two other birds will drop out of formation to create a strong slipstream and try to get the weakened bird back into formation. Critical to this is constant communication - that's why they honk almost with each breath - they know exactly where each other is and how they are doing. This came from a study of the social interactions of geese and we should draw analogies into our business teams and our networking.

Tammy Willson then gave the 10 minute presentation on how her business, Magicdust' operates. Tammy is the most organised person we all know and her approach to wedding planning is meticulous and project management like. It is underpinned however by her approach to ensuring that her clients get the wedding that they want and they get value for money. Great business model and personal philosophy and on top of that she's lovely! Blog readers should go straight to her website:www.magic-dust.co.uk.

Our one-minute presentations revealed some new skills amongst us and some humorous input.

Meeting ended with over 10 referrals - and in my experience these will be quality, personal introductions built on the knowledge of each other and trust that this group has built up.

Steve Leverton, Cornmill Associates.

Another Lively and Informative Leighton Buzzard meeting

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:02:00 +0000

It was a very lively meeting this morning, with lots of friendly banter and a number of good referrals. Even the one minute updates by each member sparked lively debate!

In his five minutes presentation, David Harrison of Sunrise Solutions spoke about the need to communicate with others in business to build rapport and confidence.

The three tips he talked about were:-

- Creating a great impression by presenting a professional appearance
- Building confidence by being thorough and paying attention to detail
- Setting standards that mean you not only pay suppliers promptly, but to always expect to be paid on time.

Steve Baker wasn’t able to make it this morning and Tessa, his wife delivered a very good ten minute presentation on his behalf.

Tessa talked about the changes to the pension access age. As from April 2010 this will be 55.
People may want to consider taking the tax free cash now providing they have attained the age of 50, rather than have it locked up for a further 5 years, to use as they see fit such as debt repayment.

She also talked about the option which is known as a pension Draw Down arrangement - you can not reinvest the 25% tax free cash in a pension as this is known as recycling and is illegal.
However you can take the tax fee cash and instead of deferring the annuity (regular payment), or taking the minimum GAD (Government Actuarial Department), allowance, take the maximum GAD allowance & invest this on a monthly basis (remember £ cost averaging), into a personal pension, thereby creating another 25% tax free cash lump sum.

A very good meeting came to a close with the passing of referrals and testimonials.

David Harrison - Sunrise Solutions motivational teambuilders

Leighton Buzzard business style

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:17:00 +0000

A meeting bursting at the seams with new visitors & established members (very well dressed in some cases) this morning, helping us all spread the word about our businesses via referral and recommendation.

Matt Willson, of WillsonWebDesign, (or me, as I call myself) did this week's 5 minute presentation on a general business subject - explaining how TV advertising works. Having been in charge of Cadbury advertising in the UK, this experience allowed the talk to explain what advertisers are trying to achieve; how much TV advertising costs; and why firms like Ocean Finance are on TV every other minute on satellite channels...

Steve Baker did a 10 minute presentation on his new venture, explaining how he can help businesses improve their efficiency; help with franchising opportunities; and help how to get a professional business valuation and plan for growth, should owners be looking for either expansion of, or an exit strategy from, their business.

We also heard from all 16 attendees in their 1 minute updates, including a resplendent Keith Rawlings of Rawlings Structural Design in jacket & tie and a dapper Francis Tresham, who would have beaten Alec Guinness in an Alec Guinness look-alike competition.

Nick & Anne of Footprint Photography in Leighton Buzzard joined us as guests, as did Dawn of DPK Bookkeeping Services in Leighton Buzzard. We hope that the friendly yet professional atmosphere helps encourage them to join us regularly.

Matt Willson
WillsonWebDesign

July 23rd

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:27:00 +0000

It was a busy meeting yesterday morning which is especially good considering it's the start of the school holidays. I had the pleasure of chairing in Steve's absence, and Steve sent his lovely wife, Tessa, to cover for him - really lovely to have you there, Tessa!

My 5 minute presentation focused on 'The Martha Rules', Martha Stewart's tips for building, developing and maintaining a small business. Here are her top 10 pieces of advice...

1.Build your business success around something that you love – something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you.

2.Focus your attention and creativity on basic things, things that people need & want. Then look for ways to enlarge, improve, and enhance your big idea.

3.Create a business plan that allows you to stay true to your big idea but helps you focus on the details. Then remain flexible enough to zoom in or out on the vital aspects of your enterprise as your business grows.

4.By sharing your knowledge about your product or services with your customers, you create a deep connection that will help you learn how best to build and manage your business.

5.Use smart, cost-effective promotional techniques that will arrest the eye, tug at the heart, and convey what is unique and special about your business or service.

6.Quality should be placed at the top of your list of priorities, and it should remain there. Quality is something you should strive for in every decision, every day.

7.Seek out and hire employees who are brimming with talent, energy, integrity, optimism, and generosity. Search for advisors and partners who complement your skills and understand your ideals.

8.When faced with a business challenge, evaluate or assess the situation, gather the good things in sight, abandon the bad, clear your mind, and move on. Focus on the positive. Stay in control, and never panic.

9.In business, there's a difference between a risk and a chance. A well-calculated risk may very well end up as an investment in your business. A careless chance can cause it to crumble. And when an opportunity presents itself, never assume it will be your last.

10.Listen intently, learn new things every day, be willing to innovate, and become an authority your customers will trust. As an entrepeneur, you will find great joy and satisfaction in making your customers' lives easier, more meaningful, and more beautiful.

Keith Rapp gave a 10 minute presentation on the importance of effective communication with your customers, and potential customers, whilst on the move.

At the end of the meeting we exchanged 7 referrals and 4 really strong testimonials.

Happy Wednesday

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:49:00 +0000

To all our readers - another wednesday breakfast club so another blog. A lively meeting with Tammy commenting that her brides are always uber organised and Keith Rawlings heavily into innuendo mode. The group had the pleasure of my five minute chat on how to get more done, and Lisa gave a very clear explanation of interest rates swaps, caps and collars - and if you want to understand that better there is yet another reason for membership. The meeting was also productive for our businesses with seven referrals from the members - and as we do not put pressure on members to make a referral every week we can all be sure that each and every referral is worthwhile. Thanks all for reading
Martin Addrison
HilliersHRW Solicitors

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:07:00 +0000

Communication ~ Unravelling the Mystery

Basic business needs a media to communicate between supplier and customer. The most important interact tool is still the telephone ~ however, with the massive growth in mobile phone ownership, people are looking for immediate responses and no longer accept answering machines or call backs ~ they simply call the next number ~ your competition.

Look today at how you are set up, to ensure you receive every call and that you can interact with your customers / prospective customers. A solution can be a simple divert from your main business number to your mobile when you are out and about or have it on all the time.

Whilst telephony is key ~ many people now surf the Internet for ideas, prices and suppliers / services. Do you need a web site? ~ absolutely ~ how complex is up to you but a simple page is adequate to ensure you are in the mix for local services in your respective specialism. No web page ~ no visibility. (Talk to Matt)

How does the web work, well simply the WWW (world wide web) is a series of servers all connected together. The size of this network as you can imagine is vast and therefore the basis for its design is that each server can only see one server ahead in terms of bandwidth availability and will take the first available route in terms of transporting data. If you want to go to a server, say: Budweiser Beer, to attain info, then the route to this USA located server could take a multitude of different routes. This is where delays can occur and hence why sometimes some sites come up quickly ~ a direct path was available, or you sit and wait for a page to open because it has gone through a multitude of servers.

The links to the WWW from your home or business or the interconnects between WWW servers are also a factor and can vary in size / data bandwidth capability. If you live in a small town or village the bandwidth available will be lower than that in the commercial cities and towns. This is where contention issues occur and data capability is reduced where more people are online. This is very noticeable at circa 4:00pm each week day when the children get home from school and go on line and very noticeable at circa 2:00pm when the USA wake up and go on line.

So before you throw your PC out the window because you think it is your equipment it is unlikely (especially if it works OK off line) and it is just the volume of people online. You can always check the Upload and download speeds of your connection at: http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/

Principles of email are directly related to the WWW as most of us use a public hosted web mail service ie: Hotmail, Btinternet, Yahoo etc.
In this case your emails reside on a server on the WWW and when you open your email tool on your PC it is simply routing over the WWW to the respective server and uploading / downloading your emails (send & receive). Most tools today ie: Outlook etc will do this send and receive automatically as soon as you log on.

Is email the new telephony? Good debate ~ not quite there yet, however, what I would say is people are not prepared to wait long for a reply (Etiquette used to be three days to respond to a customer letter). In today's technological environment ~ NOW mindset ~ you need to respond within a couple of hours.

After that whistle stop tour, hopefully food for thought and worth thinking how you respond to customer enquiries:

Can you respond to telephony, web enquiries and email on the move in two hours?

The tools are out there ~ contact me I am happy to help.

Keith Rapp

Rapp~ id Services

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Decision making in Business
In his five minute talk this morning, David Harrison of Sunrise Solutions, spoke about the benefits of making instinctive, creative right hand brain decisions rather than the usual logical left hand brain decisions.

After running a successful business for over twenty three years, one such decision saw David, with no experience and some might say no talent! become a professional actor.

Over a four year period he had roles in Eastenders The Bill and a main character part in a feature length film. His last TV appearance, (he realised this was as good as it would ever get) was a featured thirty second piece to camera for The BBC’s Weekend Watchdog with a live audience of over 16 million viewers.

Another right hand brain decision saw another change of direction when he set up Sunrise Solutions, working in the corporate environment designing and delivering motivational team building sessions.

David also spoke about the need for organisations to be prepared to adapt and change in today’s challenging business environment and to always look for the opportunity to be creative in their decision making.

The history of our planning laws

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:17:00 +0000

At late notice, and proving to everyone his knowledge of the subject, David Watling of Architectural Design & Construction in Winslow combined the 5 and 10 minute talks this week.

Explaining the history of planning law, which came into force to oversee the swathes of redevelopment needed after the war, David's talk was not only interesting, it provoked a lot of discussion on the subject itself, and also the impact of planning law & its interpretation locally and nationally.

There was also a good discussion on the management required to organise the D-Day landings, and what this can teach us in our everyday business.

And it was not only an interesting morning, there were also 12 referals, and a number of testimonials for the great food provided by Toni Forestrio of Barringtons Cafe.

Terms of business and credit card charges

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:05:00 +0000

A couple of very different talks this morning - Toni Forestiero of Barringtons gave us some information on reclaiming excessive credit card charges, courtesy of the MoneySavingExpert website. As Steve Baker, an IFA within the group, pointed out - it's about reclaiming excessive charges made by the banks, rather than trying to avoid paying money already borrowed.

Martin Addrison of Hilliers HRW Solicitors talked us through the benefits (and pitfalls) of having Terms of Business - and a very useful talk it was, too. He made us aware how companies often put their terms on the back of a contract that is signed, without making us aware of what their Terms are (and told us how he turned the tables on a Double Glazing salesman thanks to this pitfall).

A little lighter this week on the referrals, but we still managed 8 in total, as well as a number of testimonials for the food at Barringtons.

Cryptic & Coordination in one Leighton Buzzard morning

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:35:00 +0000

Slightly down on numbers this morning, but still a vibrant and funny meeting of the LBBC.
The five minutes this morning was some tips on completing cryptic crosswords. Compilers use the complexities of the English language to obfuscate, mis-direct and generally discombobulate people, so that apparent sentence takes solvers away from the true meaning. But if you treat the clue as code, it might help get to the answer.

The most common form of clue is the three parter, where A+B=C, C being the clue to the whole riddle. So while “The French exam’s now (6)” might suggest that it’s about to start, you need to break into the three parts (the number in brackets denotes the number of letters in the clue).

So part A, “The (in) French” becomes LA (or sometimes LE);
Part B “exam” becomes TEST;
Which leads to part C, LATEST defined by “now”.

Look at the clue again in the form A= the French + B= exam is C= now.

The last clue had none of the tricks used to befuddle the solver. “Flower’s first role in number (6)” has loads of them though. The sentence reads as if a favourite child is about to take part in their first song and dance role. Far from it. The first confusion is the suggestion that the apostrophe is possessive; that the “first role” belongs to “Flower”. By changing it to “Flower is.....” suggests that the format is C=A+B.

A favourite trick of compilers is to find spare letters from various places. “C” might be caught, cold, centigrade; “E” is often English. They also make use of the “What’s the capital of France?” joke (F) to get the first letter in “role” (R), which has to be put into a number to create a word for flower. Which leads us to the next red herring.

As someone who bakes is a baker, and someone who teaches is a teacher, a “flower” can be something that flows. So if you put “r” into the number “seven” you will get SEVERN, which is a river that flows.

One of the parts can often be an anagram indicator. “Morse can go wrong in love affairs” is the classic A+B=C, where
A= “morse can”, the letters needed for the anagram.
B= the anagram indicator
C= love affairs, eg, ROMANCES.

Another form of clue, is the two parter. Simpler, by definition, but it is the definitions that are obscure. “Spell exaggerate (7)” makes sense as an instruction, but none as a written clue. If you turn the clue into “(A word meaning) spell (and) exaggerate” it makes more sense, but the definitions are still oblique. A spell is not an enchantment in this case, but a length of time, as in a stretch in prison. And if you were to exaggerate something you might STRETCH it.

Similarly, “Discrimination makes sense (5)” might be politically incorrect, but if you realise you need one of the five senses to mean discrimination, you might soon realise that someone with TASTE is also able to discriminate. Similarly “Payment for subsidence (10)” leads to SETTLEMENT.

There are plenty of variations in all of this, but some are just blatant puns that can only really be solved by using the letters available to fit the word to the clue. Two clever examples:

“First thing to make when creating a Spoonerism (10,4)” You will realise a Spoonerism is when the first letters of adjacent words, or initials, are swapped, or moved, to create a pun. So the first thing you might make is an INITIAL MOVE.

“Container of food originally made in layers (8)” just needs letters and patience I am afraid. Eventually you might realise that a “layer” is something that lays, such as a chicken, which lays eggs. Therefore the food container would be an EGGSHELL.

The point of the exercise was to demonstrate the flexibility and the duality of the English language. Perfect for crosswords, and indeed, poetry and drama. But it has absolutely no place at all in business correspondence, where every piece of paper is potentially a document that will be scrutinised by the Court. It may be that a dispute is lost because the language used in a particular document is ambiguous and the opposition might (spuriously) argue they were entitled to one interpretation over another because of the misuse of an apostrophe, taking a noun to be a verb (or vice versa) and adopted one definition instead of another (does “over” mean above or ended?).

It is true that the Courts are excellent at cutting through language to arrive at the intent of the correspondence, and to determine whether the alternative definition is reasonable. But rather than rely upon the opinion of the court, unambiguous use of language could prevent the dispute in the first place.

Tammy Willson (Magic Dust wedding planners & wedding coordinators) presented an excellent ten minutes demonstrating, amongst other things, how her attention to detail can make the Wedding Day pass smoothly. On The Day Co-ordination means there are sufficient power outlets for the disco; the caterer is aware of the timings of the day; and the right flowers arrive at the right time and are put in the right place. If this role is not entrusted to someone else, it means that instead of the Bride and Groom….well, specifically the Bride…..enjoying their special day, they are getting stressed and distracted by the need to find an extension lead, heat the soup up for the third time, or wonder why the roses do not match the Bridesmaid’s dresses.

This attention to detail demonstrates a professionalism that is important in all spheres of work, and can lead to impressive results for the lay client. Nothing should be left to chance, and everything should be confirmed and double checked, so that, as with one of Magic Dust’s clients, the best value for money in the whole event is the service that was provided by a professional co-ordinator.

This week's Leighton Buzzard business club meeting

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:07:00 +0000

What a quality meeting this morning! Two quality presentations from two quality guys - content and image great - the girls especially were 'wowed'.

I talked about the intriguing history behind the end of the tax year being 5 April. It arises from a string of changes to the calender over thousands of years - but most lately from from 1750's when after taking 11 days out of the year for 'catch up purposes' the simple folk revolted (thinking their lives had been cut short) but the wealthy suspected a tax scam and the Treasury bowed to the bankers demands for the tax year to be extended by 11 days. Annual taxes were previously due on 'Lady Day' (25 March) - that year they were paid on 5 April - and that's how its stayed! I feel a dodge for Mr Darling coming here....

Matt - a very welcome new addition to the group - gave a very informative and down to earth presentation on how to make your website work for you. I have seen several of these - this one was the best and was really helpful to me in my thinking. Matt is positioning himself intelligently to refresh and improve existing websites (rather than 'I can build you a website') which means his value add is great - based on his previous corporate expertise and his approach.

We had another visitor - always good - welcome Simon - another one who has come and commented on the energy in the room and the fun we have. Good luck with your new business venture.

Tammy, Christine and David all had exciting personal news - we're all pleased for them! Good luck Martin for the Marathon on Sunday.

The importance of clarity in business

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Another good turnout this week, with 15 referrals between members and again plenty of spirited debate & good humour amongst the group. All over another great breakfast courtesy of Barrington's Cafe.

David Watling of ADC Architectural Design & Construction did this week's 10 minute talk, giving us an overview of a recent design proposal his company has prepared for a local restaurant. David showed us how good design can improve the layout & functionality of a restaurant, alongside introducing a modern decor to give the place an edge over local competition.

There was also a 5 minute talk about the importance of clarity in business, to:

- recognise the scarcity of real attention that is the result of busy people with many distractions, and
- avoid the traps of procrastination and inefficiency

This was consolidated into simple and practical advice for clarity in 5 key areas:

Clarity for ourselves
- be honest with yourself, do you know exactly what you need to do?
- take time at the start to break tasks down
- work out at the start what you need others to do, & tell them straight away

Clarity for your business
- know your priorities
- know the 'killer sentence' that sells what you do
- know the 3 key examples that support your 'killer sentence'

Clarity for meetings
- before you start, make sure there is a leader & an agenda (doesn't have to be written down)
- set expectations at the start
- sum up at the end and agree What - Who – When

Clarity for emails
- think how you read and action emails
- use the title wisely – avoid generic ('Please read', 'Re:Fw:Fw:Fw'), be specific ('Quote for website redesign')
- be brief & keep the important points 'above the fold'

Clarity for websites
- know the role your website plays in your business
- make sure it passes the 3 second test – does a visitor understand in that time why they should stay?
- make sure the visual hierachy reflects the role of the site – use your 'killer sentence' & support points prominently

The group takes a one-week rest next week, and meets again on April 22nd - we'd love to have Leighton Buzzard business people come join us, so please get in touch & join or arrange to come one week as a visitor.

SME Business Finance, and NLP

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:27:00 +0000

Meeting Wednesday 11th March 2009

Another lively meeting this morning full of the quick wit and humour we all know and love.
A little light on the ground due to illnesses but still a good number of quality referrals exchanged around the group.

I made a last minute substitute for the 5 minute talk this morning and gave everyone an update on the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, giving examples of how its helped small businesses recently.

Under the scheme the Government provide the bank/lender with a guarantee for 75% of the loan amount and SME's can borrow from £1,000 to £1,000,000 under the scheme.
Latest figures suggest 30,000 applications have been successful so far.

Christine Barham gave us a 10 minute presentation around NLP which was very informative, she talked about its origins in the 1970's when co founded by Richard Bandler & John Grinder and how it is regarded as being 'instrumental in finding ways to help people have better, fuller and richer lives'.

NLP is about interpersonal communication, chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences underlying them. Sounds a little complicated doesn't it, but Christine explained it very well, giving us some examples that made it easier to understand and see how we use it in our everyday lives.

Keith from Rapp-id Transport joined us again this morning so it was good to have a new face in the group again and he's interested in joining the group which will be good and we look forward to welcoming him on board.

You'll be pleased to know that I am doing the 5 minute slot again next week so I'll be blogging again then, see you then!

Have a good week.

Lisa Mason
Natwest
Business Banking

MONEY!

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:36:00 +0000

Christine Barham had the 5 minute spot and since money (or lack of it!) affects us all, talked about an interesting book she recently read called "The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World", Niall Ferguson, Allen Lane, 2008.
Ferguson claims that the ascent of money has been esssential to the ascent of man, from wretched subsistence to the "giddy heights of material prosperity" that so many people know today. Christine related his theories on the current credit crunch as just one of many in history. "Sooner or later, every bubble bursts. Sooner or later, the bearish sellers outnumber the bullish buyers. Sooner or later, greed turns to fear".
She talked about his analysis of the mergence of the dual country of "Chimerica" - China plus America, which accounts for just over a tenth of the world's land surface, a quarter of its population, a third of its economic output and more than half of the global economic growth.

Benefit of investing NOW!

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:30:00 +0000

The 5 mins this week was done by Chris Downing from Aim & Zoom Photography who took the group through his lastest portfolio of work. Chris talked the group through the portfolio of photography that he submitted as part of his application to obtain licentiateship of the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) and spoke about the advantages and benefits of joining a professional organisation in terms of career development and training opportunities.

During Steve's 10 min slot he took the group through the benefits of investing into the current market by way of regular premiums to benefit from the beneficial effect of the pound cost averaging. Lump sums are to be treated cautiously unless they carry capital guarantees. It is very important to take a five year plus view, and stay invested in the market place, ride out the volatility and benefit from the lower unit prices currently available in the pooled funds, it also takes away the worry of market timing.

New members for the start of 2009

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:26:00 +0000

This was our first ‘normal format’ meeting in 2009 as we hold our AGM and financial review at the start of each year.

We also have some ‘newish’ members: Chris Downing, David Harrison & Gwyneth Huggins. Their details will be updated on our members’ page soon. Welcome to LBBC!

The 5 minutes education slot addressed how to balance the ‘triangle of constraints’. Businesses are often asked to produce better results in less time for more money and this is a tool to help set our customers’ expectations and of course our own!

Martin’s 10 minutes covered all the essential ingredients that need to be included to create a sound premises lease:

1 rent & term
2 repairs
3 transfer
4 insurance
5 define the property
6 other stuff!

We also welcomed a guest to our meeting, Andrew Freestone. His company provides office machine consumables.

Often our one minutes are also a source of very useful information. Gwyneth brought our attention to the free training that is being offered by Business Link at the moment.

Lisa explained that the old DTI small firms’ loan guarantee scheme is being replaced by the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and she will keep us updated as this new scheme is rolled out.

And to round off the meeting there were 10 referrals of business within the group!

Angela Peden
Harris & Company Chartered Accountants

Our final meeting of the year

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:50:00 +0000

Chris did the 5 mins on High Dynamic Range Photography.

The technique used to gain maxium shadow and highlight detail within a photograph.

Martin did the 10 mins on Consumer Rights.

The art of taking back Santa's unwanted gifts.

Martin also handed out USB Keys to all members with Hilliers HRW Solicitors logo printed by Trisha & Melvin.

Look forward to seeing you all again on the 7th Jan 2009.

LBBC Breakfast Meeting 3rd December

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:30:00 +0000

A very exciting and bubbly meeting this week. We had 15 in attendance.

Trish Page did the 5 mins infomercial - the Power of Smiling. "A smile is like a jewel worn on the face. It is the gateway to your personality. Wear a smile every minute and hour of the day and you won't need anything else!"

Kenton White from Redhead Designs did the 10 mins on optimising websites. He gave the group several tips on getting the best out of their websites and reminded us that he is more than happy to give anyone a 'website healthcheck'. 7 referrals were given.
AOB: The AGM for 2009 will be on the 7th January. The LBBC Xmas party was held at the Chef in Waiting, Bletchley College on Tues 2nd December where a good time was had by all.

The art of calling cold

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:12:00 +0000

We had a great meeting this morning, thanks to a combination of an excellent guest speaker and a number of visitors to the group. Not even the cold, damp November morning can keep a good networking group down! And the fantastic Barrington's cooked breakfast is well worth getting out of bed for.

The format of the meeting is slightly different when there's a guest speaker so the 5 minute business topic and the 10 minute presentation both have the week off. The meeting kicked off with our 1 minute presentations - giving everyone, members and visitors, the opportunity to stand up and tell the group a little bit about their business. From financial planning through holiday researcher, to horse box maintenance and reiki, this group couldn't be more diverse!

We handed over to David Harrison of Sunrise Solutions, our guest speaker, just before 8am. He gave a passionate, informative and very useful presentation on the art of cold calling. There were a number of questions and comments after he finished, a sure sign that he had fired the imaginations of the group - no mean feat at such an early hour! Thanks David, we really appreciate you taking the time to come and talk to the group.

A flurry of referrals, testimonials and 'any other business' later and the meeting was over for another week and I for one am looking forward to it already!

Tammy Willson
Magic Dust Wedding Planners & Coordinators

Pause for effect

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:30:00 +0000

As ever, an invigorating meeting of the Business Club this morning. Dennis Durant from Bedfordshire Business Link paid us a visit, and we had osteomyologist David Price standing in for Steve Baker of Alexander Beard (IFA).

Trisha Page (Avant Garde Corporate Gifts and Incentives) did an infomercial telling us how important and effective it can be to use a pause when speaking in public. Well.........just speaking really...........and typing. Indeed, Mark Twain said "the right word may be effective, but no word is ever as effective as a rightly timed pause". Consider comedians.

"Rightly timed", though? Hmmm.

Then Steve Leverton (Corn Mill Trading, raising finance for business) explained to us in words of one syllable or less, why the banking system is in something of a crisis. It's all to do with not having too much money on deposit, but having it work by lending it.....or selling on the debts....then insuring the debt. Now we know why there is a problem.

The answer? Well, I'm afraid you'll have to attend one of our meetings for that!

If you read this, please email the phrase "pause for paws" to keith@rawlings.uk.net . No particular reason, except it makes me feel wanted.

Ta ever so.

Keith Rawlings
Rawlings Structural Design Ltd

Deputy postee for Trish, cos she's packing.

Unique Christmas gifts

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:42:00 +0000

We had some members unable to attend on Wednesday morning’s meeting but in their place they had organised some excellent substitutes.

Again, it was a very lively meeting and Steve Leverton won the prize (sadly only a virtual one) for the most testimonials and referrals in one week – he managed 5!

Our 10 minute presentation was from Christine Barham and she told us all about a new product that would make a unique Christmas gift; an in depth history of your house and the land it is on with fascinating facts and copies of historic documents.

My 5 minutes was about stress and how to reduce this. Always looking for a way to delegate; the members filled in a questionnaire to highlight which areas they could change that would reduce their stress levels. As ever Keith had some suggestions of his own!

Angela Peden
Harris & Company Chartered Accountants

Credit tips & Balance sheets

info@lbbiz.co.uk (Leighton Buzzard Business Club) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:28:00 +0000

Hi happy readers - this week's breakfast club was small and friendly with only 11 of us - but still a good meeting.

I did the 5 minute presentation and gave some reminders to members on ways to try to cope with the credit crunch. These included

- Remembering to haggle when you are given a price for something
- Drive more slowly to save fuel
- And the nice chaps at First Direct bank who will give you £100 just for opening an account with them - T's and C's apply but they are not very hard!

Angela Peden our "tax tart" - her words not mine - helped us understand the mystery of balance sheets in the ten minutes, which was useful and informative - another reason to smile in the mornings.

Martin Addrison
HilliersHRW solicitors
solicitors for succesful businesses in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire