All Blog Posts (783)

I'd like to share a story with you that a previous boss told me many years ago that has stayed with me ever since. It's a story that I have referred back to many times and have found to be true in both business and personal lives!

As a boss, one of his (many) strengths was that he used very visual examples to make a point - and this is one fantastic example!

Let me start first with a little history.

From the moment we took to the…

You will often hear big name business speakers talk about the big name brands they’ve worked with and the marketing strategies those big brands have employed to drive the connections they make to consumers, especially in the B2C arena.

What you don’t often hear about is that many of these companies actually spend a lot of time trying to replicate small businesses!! 

There is a desire in big, lumbering organisations to mimic the…

I recently read a fantastic article in the Guardian where a 36 year old journalist, Stuart Heritage,…

How do you deal with those Carpet Spills?

RPC Cleaning Service in London tells you how to deal with it.

Accidents happen,  no matter how careful you are.  RPC deal with our customers carpet spills almost on a daily basis however we are not always there for them so instead we leave them an informative sheet that helps them deal with the emergencies;

First of all, do not panic. If the spillage is a drink then get some absorbent kitchen…

I love making bread - it's a real Sunday treat for our family - I'll get up early and as the rest of the house is waking, the intoxicating smell of freshly baking bread, often parmesan and sun-dried tomato flavoured, is meandering it's way up the stairs!!

It's not always been good bread though.

A few weeks ago, I had an aberration and completely forgot to put the yeast in - I then tried to add it after the bread had…

A slightly smaller group this month welcomed Cody Colville from Blue Room IT at February’s meeting.

Cody gave us an insight to local SEO and websites along with some helpful tips. He started off with a slide showing some of the following: -

site:www.yoursite.co.uk

This is a way to see how Google has indexed your website, just type it in the Google search bar using your website address…

There was a great piece of research done in the mid 2000's which proved that whatever we might be taught by the expression 'don't judge a book by it's cover', the truth is that we all establish our first impression in…

Keeping the office spotlessly clean should be one of the main concerns for businesses. It’s only natural to expect employees to clean up after themselves in their work place. But, it’s also up to the owner or head of a company to set an example and lead an orderly as well as a religiously cleaned office.

Employees, employers and clients, all interact and spend lots of hours milling about in an office space. This means that large amounts of paperwork will pile up, as well as coffee…

Your business will grow when you use Internet marketing to its best potential, and you will capture new clients along the way. This article offers tips and techniques on Internet marketing. Since you've read this article, you now know what it takes to be a successful Internet marketer.

Use a short promotion to help raise your PageRank on your eCommerce website. If your promotion is really stellar, you can essentially "buy" PageRank, since your promotion may end up being linked from…

Winter cleaning and tidying suggestions for January

Things can somehow seem messier, dirtier and less organised during the winter months.  But, now we are a few weeks into January, we can no longer use the phrases -‘It’s Christmas’, ‘it’s the school holidays’, ‘it’s the party season’ as excuses to have a messy and dirty home!

The time has come to get organised with…

One of the very great pleasures of the Xmas and New Year holiday is being able to do things that you don’t normally have time to do – such as watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy … and we did!

Not only are they great stories, with fabulous cinematography filmed in stunning locations, but there are also some great lessons within the movies.

Gollum (or Smeagol) is absolutely focused on his Precious – no effort is wasted and nothing can deter him from his single…

There's a moment at the end of the 1973 Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, when Harry Callahan (played by Clint Eastwood) has just dispatched Briggs, the last bad guy, and he says, "A man's got to know his limitations"

It's a great line delivered by a great actor. The movie message was that people can often over-estimate their capabilities.

However, from a business perspective, it can often feel…

Happy New Year to everyone!

So, New Year, New Start, New Plans for some or all of us, oh, and I forgot, early mornings L

This morning we had a few brave people turning up to Yateley Networking making the start back into early morning networking after the Christmas break. We welcomed a couple of new faces sharing their businesses with us and then our ten-minute speaker, Richard Ranson from RJ Solutions, Utility Saving & Environmental…

You don’t buy Fire insurance because you expect a fire or Theft insurance because you are expecting to be robbed

So why don’t you buy Cyber Insurance when everyone around is being hacked or infiltrated by viruses and threats of attack?

Buying the cover will not make you immune from attack and it will not encourage attack or promote the ongoing rise in…

There is a commercial product for practically every type of cleaning job available on this planet. From laundry detergents, soaps, to stain removers etc.

Anyone can just go to the grocery shop or their local chemist and buy a solution for any household problem. Most of these materials go the extra mile in providing you fresh and thoroughly cleaned clothes, cushions, floors and everything from top to bottom in the house. True enough, maintaining a home is done faster…

An office is a place where you interact with different people on a day-to-day basis. Clients and co-workers come and go, bringing along with them not just business but also the dirt, dust and grime from the outside environment. It’s easy to spread germs and illness-causing bacteria all over the place because of the building’s shared air ducts. Aside from this, a grimy office is not a good sign of business and might turn off current and future investors! 

This is why office sanitation…

So, last week’s Yateley Networking was the last one for 2016…

We had good attendance and many of the group participated with the Christmas Jumper/Outfit competition.  We were pleased to announce that Jason Dalton from Safe Hands Bookkeeping, www.safehandsbookkeeping.co.uk won first prize and Peter Trembeth from Wealth Management, www.ptrembeth.co.uk  came second.

Our ten-minute…

In an increasingly digital world, it is easy to think that business cards are nearing the end of their usefulness.  Not so.  However, to make them work for you there are some overlooked principles which need to be considered:

Branding

The design and quality of your cards will speak volumes about you as a person and how you do business.  Doing them well may cost more, but a well designed card (which should match…

Want to grow your business, but are not very clear about how to do it?

Do you remember why you went into business in the first place?

• You had a passion for what you do and you wanted freedom to be master of your own destiny
• to earn a good living
• to be able to work the hours you wanted to
• less stress than you had before

How many of the above have you ticked as…