tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43512027725631569442024-03-13T04:33:07.658+00:00Happy Mondays NetworkingHappy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-45462817106198846642010-09-21T12:44:00.002+01:002010-09-21T13:06:31.332+01:00FREE Business Support - For Women in Cheshire<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Action Support Team - Group Event</strong></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #e69138; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When: Monday 4th October 2010 at 9.30am</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #e69138; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Where: Fina Bar and Grill, Macclesfield. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #e69138; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why: A group event to help you solve a problem, resolve an issue or develop an opportunity.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Running your own business is great but it can feel isolated at times. Working through problems, developing ideas, being creative & making decisions is hard work on your own. Wouldn’t it be great to have access to a small group of independently minded people who could provide just this type of support and challenge? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The good news is you can – come along on Monday 4th October & Monday 1st November to Fina in Macclesfield at 9:30am. These sessions will be very interactive. In small “Action Support Teams” you will work together focusing on each individual topic in succession.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These sessions will be facilitated by Jane Stephens a local Freelance Business Improvement Partner. Bring along a problem, issue or opportunity that you would like to work through - see you on the 4th October.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">If you would like to call or email us to find out more about us give me a ring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Michelle 07784 128016 or Email: <a href="mailto:michelle@happymondaysnetworking.co.uk">michelle@happymondaysnetworking.co.uk</a> </span><br />
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</span>Your Web Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354237874739467645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-51913163373620646092010-06-01T08:56:00.000+01:002010-06-01T08:56:26.183+01:00Monday 7th June - Guest Speaker Jane Kenyon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi81AoYknFsMTsMQ9O85ghGH6te32lE0TvilWGht5ytPxtXeiO4GoDUu1T54jxr0SEX3nUrSg4c_qAK-c4l8aoltMZJF5gwjuRySyLbkoYgKe9ArnQZCJWo5HsUm-kwFHI_k1fEuCKVKRK/s1600/jkenyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi81AoYknFsMTsMQ9O85ghGH6te32lE0TvilWGht5ytPxtXeiO4GoDUu1T54jxr0SEX3nUrSg4c_qAK-c4l8aoltMZJF5gwjuRySyLbkoYgKe9ArnQZCJWo5HsUm-kwFHI_k1fEuCKVKRK/s320/jkenyon.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our next meeting at Fina Bar & Grill at 9.30am on 7 June is one not to be missed. Jane Kenyon, Founder and MD of Well Heeled Divas will be our guest speaker. Jane is one of the most inspirational women speakers on the circuit and she'll be giving a very personal talk on the ups and downs of how she's got to where she has today:</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lessons From a Life Well Lived! – It’s Personal!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From a privileged upbringing to alone and broke at 16; successful corporate career to entrepreneurial burnout at 35; Wealth to near bankruptcy twice! Jane’s journey is an emotional rollercoaster but boy are the lessons worth hearing and you will be inspired by her courage and passion. Not to be missed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">More information about Well Heeled Divas can be found at <a href="http://www.wellheeleddivas.com./">http://www.wellheeleddivas.com./</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">See you all Monday.</span>Your Web Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354237874739467645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-46501187024700319102010-05-24T20:50:00.005+01:002010-06-01T08:51:14.784+01:00Monday 24th May - Dean Mottershead - Estate Planning Solutions<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dean Mottershead joined us this morning and provided a very informative session on why we need to plan ahead for ourselves and our famillies, particularly if we have independent businesses.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7n2s9I5_sBMGcJANXIUdINNvbQ4FdyjKJQDIARI2RyVYTuEM2epB_6f0yMR55752-RLusH7oVFN1LTP32gaTnaTONQBwAS5AKYlW2AqjBccjxr0ZshVBWKCYG20OVZ1n1iMvBFsNAr7Y/s1600/may_2010+035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7n2s9I5_sBMGcJANXIUdINNvbQ4FdyjKJQDIARI2RyVYTuEM2epB_6f0yMR55752-RLusH7oVFN1LTP32gaTnaTONQBwAS5AKYlW2AqjBccjxr0ZshVBWKCYG20OVZ1n1iMvBFsNAr7Y/s320/may_2010+035.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Dean made everyone feel relaxed and then told us in "jargon free talk" how we could make sure that the tax man and care home do not strip our parents of assets that we should get when they pass away. He also explained about tenants in common and how important this was to get it right. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Estate Planning Solutions is a specialist Will writing and estate planning company. They</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">specialise in helping you to plan now in order to protect and preserve your hard earned</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">wealth for your loved ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Their aim is to provide you with a service which is professional, ethical, and competent in </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a friendly, straightforward manner avoiding unnecessary legal jargon and their initial</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">consultation is always without obligation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Everyone knows that they should have a Will in order to avoid the problems and cost</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">associated with intestacy. Many put it off and leave it to a “later date”. By making a</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Will now you can ensure that your affairs are in order.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each year some 70,000 people lose their homes (and other capital assets) to pay for care</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">home fees. By taking the correct steps now they can help you to plan to legitimately</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">protect your assets and preserve them for your loved ones – but you need to act now</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">before it is too late and to make sure your parents or relatives have taken the appropriate steps. Do you really want the taxman or local authority to be a beneficiary when your parents pass away.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Inheritance Tax is a voluntary tax. If you don’t want to pay it you don’t have to but you </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">do need to start planning now and Dean can help you do this in a very cost effective and relaxed way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Plan, Protect, Preserve....you know it makes sense</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When making a Will you should also consider the effect that a loss of capacity,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">whether due to illness, accident or old age, would have. If you want to appoint people of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">your choosing and want to avoid substantial unnecessary cost and delay should you lose</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">capacity then you should make a Lasting Power of Attorney now. The Mental Capacity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Act of 2005 resulted in the new improved LPA with additional safeguards to protect you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Anyone with an estate over £5,000 needs to go through the process of applying for</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">probate. If you don’t have a Will the process becomes far more difficult and expensive at</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a time when it is the last problem the family want to have to deal with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Estate Planning Solutions offer a caring, comprehensive and professional probate service, at a fixed cost </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and for considerably less than your local solicitor or bank (usually between 3 and 5% </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">plus disbursements plus VAT). Their fees are fixed (i.e. not based on open ended time </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">costs) and range from 1 to 1.5%, depending on the complexity of the estate. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Their initial </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">probate consultation is also without obligation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They will visit you at a time and place that is </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">convenient to you and u</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">nlike many other Will writing companies we will usually visit you a second time to </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">ensure t</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">hat you understand the Wills and associated estate planning documentation, t</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">hat your Will accurately reflects your wishes, and t</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">hat the signing and witnessing of your Wills and associated documentation are </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">carried out properly, thus avoiding potential future problems.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They are full members of the Institute of Professional Will Writers and carry full</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Professional Indemnity Insurance of £2M and undertake regular continuing professional</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">development to keep up-to-date and comply fully with a strict Code of Practice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For more information or to make an appointment with Dean call him FREE on 0800 781 6658 Mob: 07909 966 601 or mail <a href="mailto:dean.mottershead@estplan.co.uk">dean.mottershead@estplan.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Happy Mondays Networking recommend Dean Mottershead and Estate Planning Solutions to all our ladies and their famillies.</strong></span>Happy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-2532830877162069372010-05-11T11:00:00.001+01:002010-05-11T11:02:00.072+01:00Monday 10th May - WOW Financial Services<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Elaine Porter from WOW Financial Services had some great advice for us at our meeting this Monday morning at Fina Bar and Grill in Macclesfield. Elaine picked 3 very topical areas of finance, debt, protection and retirement planning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">On the subject of credit card debt Elaine advised us to:</span><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Calculate the maximum amount you can afford to pay towards your debt.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Review your list of creditor's minimum payment and than add £10 to each payment.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Subtract step 2 from step 1 above.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Whatever is left over pay to the credit card with the highest interest rate.</span></li>
</ol><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Loans</span></strong> - for if you cannot access an interest free paying credit card consider transferring your debt onto a manageable fixed rate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Mortgages</span></strong> - Loyalty no longer exists with lenders anymore and it is really important that you shop around to get the best deal. It's worth remembering that the lowest rate of interest may not always be the best deal as they can carry higher charges. <span style="color: #e69138;">Top Tip: Use an independent Mortgage Broker.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Protection advice is that it "<em>may well happen to you" </em>and protecting your family is so important for women as well as men.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Life Assurance</span> - to cover any debts so that families are protected from financial hardship.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Critical Illness</span> - how would you cope financially with a critical illness?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Income Protection</span> - particularly if you are self-employed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Business Protection</span> - to cover business loans and protect your shareholding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Example of costs for a women aged 40.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Critical illness cover of £50,000 until aged 65 would cost circa £28.00 per month.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Life cover for £100,000 over a 10 year term would cost cira £7 per month </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Source: 'The Exhange' whole of market research dated 7.5.10 based on level cover, guaranteed premium rates for company directors.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So you can get protection for slighly less than the price of a large glass of wine which seems like great value.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Retirement Planning</span> is not just about pensions it can also be about getting a solution tailored to your needs and that fits into your future plans. Relying on the state pension means you could end up with £97.65 per week (for a woman born after 5/4/50 with 30 years NI contributions).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Pensions are no longer complicated and it is more essential than ever that you make provision for your retirement as life expectancy increases. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In summary Elaine can give you all the advice you may need to ensure that your future plans, individual goals and financial objectives are met. Take some time out to think about these very important issues and contact Elaine if you would like some further advice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Email: </span><a href="mailto:info@wowfs.co.uk"><span style="color: #e69138;">info@wowfs.co.uk</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Telephone: 01565 880 084</span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Web: <a href="http://www.wowfs.co.uk/">http://www.wowfs.co.uk/</a></span>Happy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-49440270735805598952010-05-11T10:15:00.003+01:002010-05-11T10:30:22.837+01:00Ladies Ascot Day - Charity Lunch in aid of East Cheshire Hospice<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ladies Ascot Day – Friday 18th June in aid of East Cheshire Hospice at Fina Bar and Grill Macclesfield. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tickets priced £20 include:</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6oc_qLOvBb6Lif9uJ03HpnwMbrKWwjL0Eyc4WJgkioUrMcj9G7LjuSDnv-ySxyiDWrbsQT5ixp8hxf5ac-EeRKsiEZOqWRdOw5sAMpeYRoYaHj3s8ZkdXb0R2Z-5R6HqQfn5GemTlAT0/s1600/news_ascot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6oc_qLOvBb6Lif9uJ03HpnwMbrKWwjL0Eyc4WJgkioUrMcj9G7LjuSDnv-ySxyiDWrbsQT5ixp8hxf5ac-EeRKsiEZOqWRdOw5sAMpeYRoYaHj3s8ZkdXb0R2Z-5R6HqQfn5GemTlAT0/s1600/news_ascot.png" tt="true" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Glass of fizz on arrival</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Two course lunch</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Fashion show from Hoopers of Wilmslow</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Ascot Sweepstake</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Raffles and shopping opportunities</span></div><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tickets go on sale Monday 17th May – to reserve yours email mandy@finabarandgrill.co.uk</span></div>Happy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-68040465145705144702010-05-11T10:11:00.000+01:002010-05-11T10:11:05.593+01:00WIN £50,000 COURTESY OF BARCLAYS BANK<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Have you got a great idea for starting a business or a terrific plan to take your existing business in a new direction? If you do, Barclays bank are giving away 10 regional prizes of £50,000 each to help you start putting those plans into action. For more information and / or to enter the competition click the link below:-</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk/">http://www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk/</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Keep your eye on this space as some of our very own ladies have entered the competition and we can vote to support them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span>Happy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-90417806885533448352010-05-09T17:48:00.008+01:002010-05-09T18:17:36.205+01:00Canalside Community Radio - Friday Feature<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Last Friday Annette Griffiths and Denise McCormack joined Liz Stringer and Michelle on the Friday Feature (otherwise know as the womens hour - or four hours as we are on from 10.00am to 2.00pm). Michelle has recently joined Liz Stringer on Canalside Community Radio CCR-FM 102.8 as a regular on Friday mornings and each month we will be asking guests along to chat about themselves and also to pick various topics to discuss.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Anne<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignvJp0eZ0_JAUJpAum3VnY-8K8E6o33Oh3QbFquQ9lnGXpdnZVwNNJ5lDoIHiEY4rg0kvhAcg1kn9G_5eJHF1u2PNsV5wsOV-uh2MTaAEIueiprAhViqA4-vmcDdjr0egLueTvBNBdabZ/s1600/radio2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 253px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469317805283698274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignvJp0eZ0_JAUJpAum3VnY-8K8E6o33Oh3QbFquQ9lnGXpdnZVwNNJ5lDoIHiEY4rg0kvhAcg1kn9G_5eJHF1u2PNsV5wsOV-uh2MTaAEIueiprAhViqA4-vmcDdjr0egLueTvBNBdabZ/s320/radio2.jpg" /></a>tte runs two local groups for Slimming World, one at Macclesfield Rugby Club on a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNid9y7ArTtapy-Gv7JgolMylOHgfKzsO1M5on3nlzeOhkvyh4Tqt0gf9eNj_mW1X28TzHb0M9juQK4YXBjsPuLbyNCCMJMINZxxlqacso5celBQO-C_p4wxFC-xS0yahwR0R3pbCnj5d/s1600/radio2.jpg"></a>Tuesday at 5.00pm and the popular Tytherington Group at Tytherington Family Church on Wednesdays at 6.30 you can contact Annette for more information mob: 07814 003910.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">If you want to lose some extra pounds for summer and need some help then pop along to see Annette who will give you all the help and support you could need. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Annette knows all about losing weight as she lost nearly 3 stone last year in order to have a hip replacement so she is talking from experience.</span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Denise is a Life Coach and runs a successful business Help To Empower, she specialises in career changes, relationship issues and weight management. The aim is to support and assist you to overcome your difficulties, deal with life's obstacles more effectively and to provide you with skills and<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLQZiDTqY21rDzGNsbhgwsM6Z8c4KfhmNBYHE4VF-eZpJVn8Rmrx7XRcjOrHjcK-ECubBkEDCD-zNpTXd6keTyJ-EJPIG9AzoDyY1pYP3j2opKZFGJ3ZrqGUrqWwt5b5S6CKiAAZPG9TP/s1600/radio1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 253px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469317978392456866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLQZiDTqY21rDzGNsbhgwsM6Z8c4KfhmNBYHE4VF-eZpJVn8Rmrx7XRcjOrHjcK-ECubBkEDCD-zNpTXd6keTyJ-EJPIG9AzoDyY1pYP3j2opKZFGJ3ZrqGUrqWwt5b5S6CKiAAZPG9TP/s320/radio1.jpg" /></a> techniques to aid you in accomplishing goals and ambitions. This may ultimately lead to a more self-sufficient, resourceful and confident you. You can contact Denise on Mobile: 07785 586878 email: <a href="mailto:denise@help2empower.com">denise@help2empower.com</a> Web: <a href="http://www.help2empower.com/">http://www.help2empower.com/</a> </span></div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Everyone had a great time we talked about very important issues such as were women better at DIY than men, some very very important issues such as how much could you realistically spend on excess baggage at the airport without your husband divorcing you and some very very very </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">extremely important issues such as how many sins did donuts have? We still did not find out the answer to that one but the donuts were delicious no matter how many sins they had. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">If anyone from Happy Mondays would like to come and join Liz and Michelle on the first Friday of each month give Michelle a ring on 07784 128016.</span></p>Happy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-49683542776040284282010-05-09T17:36:00.002+01:002010-05-09T17:47:48.088+01:00Monday 10th May - Elaine Porter IFA<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This Monday we are meeting at Fina at 9.30am and are delighted to have Elaine Porter joining us to talk about financial matters. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Elaine is an Independent Financial Adviser who set up her own business <em>WOW Financial Services</em> in July 2009. Elaine has a wealth of experience because she has working in Financial Services for 12 years, her most recent position being a Financial Adviser in one of the main banks.</span><br /><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Elaine tell us <span style="color:#ff9900;">"I wanted to break away from being a sales person driven by targets to instead revert to the reason I qualified all those years ago and that is to provide good, honest, transparent Financial Advice. My vision is to make Financial Advice a lifestyle choice not just a solution for today but help coach women to plan for their future."<br /></span><br />Elaine gives advice on all areas of financial planning from Personal and Business Protection, Savings and Investments and Retirement Planning. On Monday morning she will be giving hints and tips on clearing credit card debt and reviewing your portection policies to make sure you are getting value for money. Sounds a great idea and something we should all be focusing on.<br /><br />If anyone has any specific queries or would like to speak to Elaine you can contact her via email or telephone her details are below.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Email: </span><a href="mailto:elaine@wowfs.co.uk"><span style="color:#cc0000;">elaine@wowfs.co.uk</span></a><span style="color:#cc0000;"> Telephone: 01565 880 084 Web: </span><a href="http://www.wowfs.co.uk/"><span style="color:#cc0000;">www.wowfs.co.uk</span></a><span style="color:#33ccff;"> </span></span></p>Happy Mondays Networkinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15971593499526808711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-81177052596717972122010-05-02T17:17:00.004+01:002010-05-02T18:04:02.390+01:00Business Planning, Finance and Employment Law<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Last Monday saw our very own Joy Daglish give us a very interesting talk on business planning and finance. Some of you will not know that before starting Special People North Joy was in fact a qualified management accountant. In addition we were lucky enough to benefit from Natasha Jones's experience who joins us from Cheshire Employment Law and specialises in this field. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Business Planning:</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Before starting up a business what should</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> you be thinking about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Competition – market research. Were there other organisations out there doing what I was going to do? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Understand the barriers to entry – </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> a. growth in the for the sector;</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> b. costs - registration and insurance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. Decision on how to set up the organisation – should it be a Limited Company or a sole trader? How do you make the decision?</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Limited Company – advantages:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Limitation of liability - the company is a separate corporate body and liability for payment of debts stops with the Company - the owners, shareholders are not personally liable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Perception - Forming a private limited company is an indication that a business is both serious, has a long term objective and is correctly managed.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Funding – more likely to be provided by a bank, also business forecasts and balance sheets exclude personal influences. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Limited Company – other issues:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Tax –flexibility of being able to determine the proportions of salary and dividends taken.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Accounts - must use double entry book-keeping to produce the year end accounts including a balance sheet with statutory notes and statements. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Administration/ management </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A company director statutory regulations limited company accounts, statutory books and management as stated in the articles of association. The duties of a director are more formal than a sole trader.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Renumeration- how and when get paid</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sole Trader – issues:-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Simplicity - inform government agencies of your intentions to go self-employed, start trading right away </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Limitation of Liability</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is no distinction between business money and personal money - all business debts are the personal responsibility of the sole trader. This also means that should the sole trader not be able to make suitable arrangements to settle any debts the personal possessions (including the house) will be fair game to the creditors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Tax – You must register with HMRC as self-employed even if you already send in a tax return.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Accounts - Sole trader basic accounts can be quite simple as a formal accounting system is not required ; lists of income and expenditure supported by appropriate back-up </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Funding – personal finance included in the decision process</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Administration/ management</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A sole trader has more flexibility regard to the administration and management of the business</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Employing People:</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If your business grows and you have more work than you can do yourself then if you pay someone to help you may become an employer without realising it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A person can be called self employed but be regarded as ‘employed’. There are 2 different issues which arise;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• For HMRC purposes treatment relating to tax and NI varies (see www.hmrc.gov.uk)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Employees have many rights such as holiday, sick and maternity pay and the right not to be unfairly dismissed or discriminated against.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The basis on which a person is evaluated as employed or self employed differs whether it is for the purpose of the Law or HMRC. Also HMRC can consider a person to be self employed and the Law considered the same person to be employed.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Consideration relevant for a legal evaluation of a person’s employment status is using the example of a domestic cleaner;</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Does a Master and Servant relationship exist? i.e is the person told what to do, how and when? Is the worker controlled?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A. Cleaner is asked to work every Monday from 10-2 and told what needs cleaning</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">B. Cleaner dictates when she works and decides what to clean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Who owns the equipment used to carry out the work?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A. Cleaning materials, hoover, mop and bucket provided for the cleaner to use.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">B. Cleaner brings her own cleaning material and equipment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Does the worker work for other people?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Can the worker send another person in their place (substitution)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If there is a chance that the worker you use may be considered by the Law as an Employee then there are 2 important items to remember;</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Whether Ltd or sole trader?exposure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. After 12 weeks they are entitled to Terms and Conditions of employment (otherwise known as a contract).This is a very important document and should not be simply copied.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. The Termination/exit of an employee can lead to number of claims for compensation. Therefore before dismissing a worker advice should be sought from an experienced Employment Lawyer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Finance:</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A lot of decisions can't be made without first having a full business plan including financial forecasts and a cash flow. But what is a business plan – why write one at all? What are the key things to consider and include?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• Why should you write a business plan? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Even if you do not believe you have a need for a business plan, think about it. Just writing it will make you think about EVERY aspect of your business, things you may not even have thought about and by putting all the issues on paper you will be sure you have covered every aspect of your business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• What the plan should include </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">An executive summary - this is an overview of the business you want to start. It's vital.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A short description of the business opportunity - who you are, what you plan to sell or offer, why and to whom. You must by this stage have done your market research thoroughly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Your marketing and sales strategy –</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The competition and know why you think people will buy what you want to sell and how you plan to sell to them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Unique Selling Proposition?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Your management team and personnel - your credentials and the people you plan to recruit to work with you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Your operations - premises, facilities, your management information systems and IT.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Financial forecasts – </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Level of sales. This will help the reader understand how many sales you must make to cover your costs, and also how much financing you must raise to start up </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Start-up expenses in a period of uncertain sales volumes. If sales are on credit (including via credit card) it may take up to four weeks for you to receive the cash.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Implementing the plan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally, a plan - living document and contain specifics regarding dates, deadlines and specific responsibilities. It should be constantly reviewed and updated, as well as being used in regular “plan versus actual” discussions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Taking actions and being accountable for them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Winning business plan will help to ensure that the business is fully focused on what is required to achieve the company’s goals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">• The audience for your business plan – </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Banks? Investors? Anyone interested in your business? This is a vital first question, once answered it will direct how you write it. </span><br />
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</span>Your Web Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08354237874739467645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-16801405447277869732010-01-26T11:25:00.000+00:002010-01-26T11:25:08.734+00:00Well Heeled Diva evening - February 25th Tytherington Club 7.30-10pm<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"></span><br />
The Well Heeled Divas is an organisation dedicated to female empowerment through entrepreneurship, leadership and wealth contribution and its aim is to help you do whatever is necessary in order for you to shine and be a success.<br />
In practical terms, this session will give you an insight into how to find your passion, dump your fears and build a successful business - things we all strive to do but often don't quite know where to start.<br />
Jane is one of the most sought after female speakers on the circuit so we are delighted that she will be with us next month.<br />
To reserve you place at what promises to be a really exciting and inspiring event, please email<a href="mailto:contact@happymondaysnetworking.co.uk" style="color: #ee902b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">contact@happymondaysnetworking.co.uk</a>.<br />
Price is £15 on the night and includes a glass of bubbly to celebrate your new-found Divadom!<br />
<div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-5821616994485269792010-01-06T12:17:00.000+00:002010-01-06T12:17:38.712+00:00Happy New YearSo it's a New Year and supposedly a new fresh start, so why I am freezing cold, sat with 2 pairs of thermal socks on, thermal underwear trying to work while looking after 3 kids who will it seems never go back to school.<br />
So I have decided my new year commitment to working more productively and expanding my business and developing Happy Mondays starts next Monday, which coincides with our first meeting.<br />
See you all there and enjoy the snow and sunshine.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-71337984408907352322009-12-15T11:05:00.001+00:002009-12-15T11:12:09.900+00:00Happy Christmas and our collaboration with Fina Fraternity<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"></span><br />
<blockquote type="cite"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzkUKCxnX6S2V0tT1xJUdqrb_JGiS3-BMly9yfpKBkFtiRpuWsksvHeW6xhT99sEDT9C3G_M3PFqppIPslhT_ipd1zmNAC2PvS57SAibb1R6R_r6QZIWROwzFbRFVP1imjLfEHsgNEvRj/s1600-h/fina_frat_logo_colour-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzkUKCxnX6S2V0tT1xJUdqrb_JGiS3-BMly9yfpKBkFtiRpuWsksvHeW6xhT99sEDT9C3G_M3PFqppIPslhT_ipd1zmNAC2PvS57SAibb1R6R_r6QZIWROwzFbRFVP1imjLfEHsgNEvRj/s200/fina_frat_logo_colour-1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div bgcolor="#ffffff" class="hmmessage" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">Happy Monday's is please to announce a new collaboration with Fina Bar and Grill and The Fina Fraternity. The Fina Fraternity is a opportunity to get together for a night of social networking in relaxed surroundings. It's the perfect place to catch up with friends or make new friends. Come together for business or pleasure with like-minded ladies from your local area and make new contacts. At every event, there are partners who come along to exhibit to guests. From health and fitness providers to dazzling jewellery boutiques.<br />
<br />
The next event is on Tuesday 26th January and begins at 6pm for those wanting to join us straight from the office. Take advantage of 2-4-1 on all drinks in the bar area until 6.30pm or come along a little later once the school run is over and the children are settled.<br />
<br />
Entry is £8 per person which includes a glass of wine on arrival and nibbles throughout the evening.<br />
Please register your attendance to <a href="mailto:mandy@finabarandgrill.co.uk">mandy@finabarandgrill.co.uk</a>. Fina Bar and Grill is situated at 11 Marketplace, Macclesfield, SK10 1EB.<br />
<br />
Future dates for your diary (last Tuesday of every second month) Tuesday 30th March and Tuesday 25th May. <br />
</div></span></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div bgcolor="#ffffff" class="hmmessage" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"> A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL HM MEMBERS<br />
</div></span></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div bgcolor="#ffffff" class="hmmessage" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;">I hope everyone has a restful and fun xmas and New Year and thank you for all the support this year, Sue and I have really enjoyed meeting lots of great women with so much enthusiasm and talent, it has been a great start for Happy Mondays and hopefully the New year will be even better.<br />
</div></span></blockquote>IUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-41593918887810411152009-12-15T11:00:00.000+00:002009-12-15T11:00:24.486+00:00Accountants and end of year woes<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"></span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444;">Last week we had a really informative session from Anthony Millner from Accounts & Tax Services UK - a Bollington-based accounting firm which specialises in small businesses and Ltd companies.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">Anthony took us through the basics of the pros and cons of trading as a Sole Trader versus a setting up as a limited company, including the tax, NI and administrative implications of both. He also provided some guidance on the types of expenses we can and cannot claim for. His session was really useful and cleared up a lot of the questions we had - he also offered us access to a simple spreadsheet he has put together to help ensure we are all recording the information the Inland Revenue are going to require when it comes to that dreaded Self Assessment time!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">Anthony can be contacted directly via </span><u><strong><span style="color: #444444;">accountsand</span></strong></u><a href="mailto:accountsandtax@btconnect.com"><strong><span style="color: #444444;">tax@btconnect.com</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: #444444;"> or via 01625 578030</span></strong><span style="color: #444444;">. He is also offering a 15% discount to all new customers to compile end of year accounts and tax returns - usually this cost will be less than what he can save you in tax so it may well be worth giving him a call, particularly with the Self Assessment deadline looming!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u><span style="color: #444444;">Free PR</span></u></strong></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">Kelly Byrne is going a great job generating media interest in Happy Mondays and its members in the local media - we have coverage in this Thursday's MEN and more coming up in Local Life and Cheshire Independent in January. In order for your business to be part of future features we need you to compile 150-200 mini profiles of you and your business asap in order that she can send the out to the media. You simply need to provide an overview of your business, your contact details, plus some personal information abou yourself e.g. what was your career before you set up your own business, what made you start working for yourself etc. Please forward these back to me ASAP and Kelly can get to work!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">We're also working on a local advertsing campiagn for 2010 and will shortly be sending out a questionnaire seeking your input on which publications you value the most, thus ensuring that we hopefully meet your needs.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="color: navy; font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-90129532779251727932009-11-26T12:01:00.000+00:002009-11-26T12:01:24.379+00:00Printers, christmas and parties<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"></span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">For people who were unable to make it had a lively and interesting round table discussion as usual, followed by a short presentation from Nicky from Macclesfield-based digital print and promotions company P81 - if you require anything from flyers to letterheads, pull up banners to business cards it's certainly worth giving them a acall on 08448 246246. Alernatively you can check out their range and prices via </span><a href="http://www.p81print.co.uk/"><span style="color: #444444;">www.p81print.co.uk</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u><span style="color: #444444;">Next meeting</span></u></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">We'll be at Caffe Latte next week and are delighted to welcome Naomi Timperley from Baby Loves Disco as our guest speaker. She'll elaborate on how she's built up her business to its current level of success and talk us through her Dragon's Den experience. A talk not to be missed!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u><span style="color: #444444;">Happy Mondays Christmas Party</span></u></strong></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">If, like us, you don't have much of a social life these days why not join us at our version of a Christmas office party? We'd love you to join us for the Happy Mondays Christmas Party at Fina Bar & Grill on Monday 14 December at 7.30pm. The set menu is £20.95 per head and can be found at</span><a href="http://www.finabarandgrill.co.uk/"><span style="color: #444444;">www.finabarandgrill.co.uk</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. More to the point, if you can persuade someone at home to pick you up, we can have a sneaky glass of something fizzy to help numb the pain of the impending festive season!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em><span style="color: #444444;">We need to get back to Mandy with numbers by the end of the week so, if you'd like to attend, please confirm back by return</span><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></em></strong></span></div><div><strong><em><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></em></strong><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">Finally, if you can get to Macclesfield this Sunday Fina will be holding a special family fun day with Santa Claus to raise money for Medquip4Kids from midday to 3pm. Families are invited to come along to support the well deserving charity on this special day out for children and adults alike with entertainment, a scrumptious Italian buffet, goody bag from Macclesfield Town Football Club and a trip to see the man who makes the magic happen for all children in attendance.<br />
<br />
Tickets cost £15 per adult and £10 per child at can be purchase from Fina Bar and Grill. Call</span><skype:span class="skype_v3_tb_injection" context="01625 618 744" durex2="%DADDYHEIGHT%" durex="%DADDYWIDTH%" freecall="" fwidth="" id="softomate_v3_highlight_0" isfax="" mode=".modern" nof="" path="file://C:/DOCUME~1/sue/LOCALS~1/Temp/__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache/e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506/static/" skypeaction="call" skypeid="0" title="Call this phone number in United Kingdom with Skype: +441625618744" type=".flex"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><skype:span class="skype_v3_tb_imgR" id="skype_v3_tb_img_r0"><skype:span class="skype_v3_tb_nop"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></skype:span></skype:span></span></span></skype:span><strong><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><skype:span class="skype_v3_tb_injection_print" context="" id="softomate_v3_print_0"><span style="color: #444444;">01625 618 744</span></skype:span></strong><span style="color: #444444;"> or email </span><a href="http://mandy@finabarandgrill.co.uk/"><span style="color: #444444;">mandy@finabarandgrill.co.uk</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> to reserve your tickets or for more information.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #444444;">Hope to see you soon!</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-903710981228819042009-11-18T12:37:00.001+00:002009-11-18T12:39:11.317+00:00Google analytics and our mumpreneurs<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"></span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">H</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">i Ladies, thanks for another productive and enjoyable meeting and congratulations to a couple of our members:</span></span><br />
</div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Firstly to Tracy from Elianna who, last Friday, fulfilled her long-held ambition of qualifying as a Dale Carnegie trainer. We look forward to hearing how it goes and hopefully being able to get a taster of the underlying principles at a workshop next year.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Secondly to Naomi from Cook Clever who has secured a two-year contract with Manchester Metropolitan university which she will combine with running her cookery classes - busy girl!</span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michelle Kay from Your Webstar then took us through the fundamentals of Google Analytics and how we can use the tool to help us engage users on our websites and measure how effective pages are at doing what we want them to do. I don't propose to go through all the points Michelle made but some of the key points were:</span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Google Analytics (GA) is FREE to download and basically involes installing tracking code of every page of your website you want to analyse. You then receive regular reports which provide stats on how many people you are attracting to your site but, more importantly, how people are getting to and leaving it, how long they're staying on it and whether they're actually doing what you want them to do e.g. registering for a newsletter. This is relatively easy to do yourself, particularly if you have a content management system, or you can ask your web designer to do it for you. Michelle advised that if you're having a site built from scratch a good designer should built this in as a matter of course. If you have an existing site a rough estimate of price to install GA would be around £25 for a basic site.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">GA makes it easy to see which pages are working on your site and, as such, whether you need to change your marketing strategy, your website content or key words.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can set up goals on GA e.g. a set number of people per months to register for more information and then monitor your site's performance against these.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can identify words that are generating traffic to your site and then amend your content acordingly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By looking at the time people stay on certain pages or whether they exit your site from certain pages, you can use this data to determine which pages users are finding the most interesting and which ones are 'turning them off.'</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Getting your content right is key in terms of attracting and retaining users on key pages. This isn't rocket science but your content does need to be engaging and say what you need it to say otherwise your site simply won't work for you. To illustrate this point Eileen Coldrick from Virtual PA Services has kindly allowed us to see the 'before' and 'after' versions of a couple of her website pages. Since Michelle helped her to re-write her content she's already seen a significant increase in traffic, even though the site isn't due to be finalised until later this week.</span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If any of you have any further questions regarding Google Analytics please contact Michelle direct.</span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Next weeks meeting</u></strong></span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We're at Fina next week and our guest speaker will be Nicky Bates from P81 promotions and p</span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Calibri;">rint</span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="color: navy; font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-39808039242590752272009-11-05T10:10:00.000+00:002009-11-05T10:10:22.082+00:00HM review and way forwardAt our meeting on Monday we discussed what was best for HM and we decided the following:<br />
<ul><li>Meetings every 2 weeks from the New Year onwards</li>
<li>More speakers - I am organising the following speakers over the next few weeks and into the New year</li>
<ul><li>Accoutant</li>
<li>Marketing specialists - Williams and Crosby</li>
<li>Twitter experts</li>
<li>Blogging experts</li>
<li>Google analytics</li>
<li>A talk from a Naomi from baby Loves Disco on Dragons Den and how she developed her business</li>
</ul></ul>Please tell me if you have any other ideas for speakers.<ul></ul><div><ul><li>Only one mail per week sent to members</li>
<li>More speaker events</li>
</ul><div>Hope to see you all next week to hear Naomi from Cook Clever discuss twitter.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-1499386534401285062009-10-23T11:59:00.000+01:002009-10-23T11:59:54.238+01:00Speaker evening - SEO, coaching, time management, marketing and wine everything you could possibly need!We had our first speaker evening last night and it was very interesting, I have even actioned 2 bits of advise already - put together a plan for the weeks work and add keywords to your blog title (see above!!) Only another 20 plus great action points to work on now, but I do feel very positive and feel that I can achieve a lot more from my business, if I take on the advise I heard last night, which I suppose is what it is all about.<br />
The main points I took home from last night were as follows:<br />
Sarah Harkness from Action Coach <br />
<br />
<ul><li>3% of people have written goals and they have 98% of the wealth</li>
<li>Look at your Dreams x Goals x Plan x Act, make sure your dreams are big dreams and have clarity</li>
<li>Goals - have a 90 day plan, use SMART test</li>
<li>Write a diary of a positive thing that you did every day and what you have achieved that day that gets you closer to your goals - Sarah said it was amazing what a positive effect such a simple act can have.</li>
<li>Top time management tips</li>
<ul><li>Set personally motivating goals</li>
<li>Don't finish today until you have planned tomorrow</li>
<li>Eat a frog for breakfast every day</li>
<li>Don't major on minor things</li>
<li>Create a default diary and stick to it</li>
<li>Use email and auto responders effectively</li>
<li>Invest time don't spend it</li>
<li>Have an agenda for all meetings</li>
<li>Don't procrastinate</li>
<li>Delegate effectively</li>
<li>80-20 everything</li>
</ul><li>Recommended reads</li>
<ul><li>Eat that frog - Brian Tracey</li>
<li>4 hour work week - Timothy Ferriss</li>
<li>1st things first and 7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen Coby</li>
<li>E myth revisited (great for start up businesses) - Michael Gerber\</li>
</ul></ul>Emily Hogarth from Fitness and lifestyle discussed how she became such a success, her main tips were be an expert in sales and PR, have a great support network and client file and no your niche and competition.<br />
Helen Taylor from Human E creative gave a great talk on top tips for establishing a brand ( please contact me for the slides)<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Value proposition - what makes you unique, create a set of values or develop a mission statement</li>
<li>Be consistent with your brand, logo</li>
<li>Its good to be unique </li>
<li>Involve your staff</li>
<li>Communicate your brand</li>
</ul><div>Michelle Kay from Your Webstar discussed SEO and showed off another pair of wonderful shoes!!!</div><div>Her main tips were - </div><div><ul><li>Have good strong marketing copy with the onus on keywords</li>
<li>Links, get as many as possible but ensure they are relative, and link only to sites with a higher page ranking than you</li>
<li>Tags - make sure your title tag is different for every page</li>
<li>Alt tags - add these behind images, as much information as possible</li>
<li>Have a blog</li>
<li>Check your site very 90 days due to internet explorer, firefox etc updates.</li>
</ul><div>I hope this is useful and please contact me if you want any more information, off to redo Cococards website now and do my accounts, or have a coffee, not quite sure!</div></div><div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-72816558608830955792009-10-22T14:38:00.001+01:002009-10-22T14:39:29.422+01:0019th October update<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">We had another busy session on Monday and welcomed two new members, <strong>Jayne Davenport and Deanna Thomas</strong>. Deanne runs North Star Deli in Cholton while Jayne is in the processing of starting up a kids cookery school - by sheer coincidnce they both also organise Jamie At Home parties in the area so if anyone is interested in either hosting a party or finding out more about the business opportunities, just get in touch with either of them.</span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">Tracy from Elianna kindly ran another session on confidence which got us all thinking again and the key messages we came away with were:</span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;"><em>- not to worry too much about what people think about what we're doing - just do it!</em></span><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;"><em>- we should all take time out every day to focus and reflect on what we have achieved and what our plan is going forward - unless we consciously take time to do this a lot of our good work gets lost in the ether and we lose sight of our ultimate goals.</em></span><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;"><em>- if we're worrying about a specific task or problem, do something different for a while to break the cycle of negativity and return to it later when you can approach it with a fresh approach.</em></span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">I think this is all right - apologies to Tracy if it's not! It would also be really helpful if you could take a couple of minutes to complete the attached feedback form and return direct to Tracy. Michelle and Kul also recommended Audrey Hepburn's book <strong>'How To Be Lovely'</strong> as a great read for for anyone looking to make the most of themselves.</span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Other news/events</u></strong></span><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><ul><li><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">We have a few spaces left at our <strong>speaker and wine evening on Thursday</strong> so please pass on the details to anyone else you think may be interested. We'll be in the Dorchester Suite at The Tytherington Club from 7pm (when the bar will be open!) for a 7.30 start. Price is £5 on the door - details of our fantastic speakers are on the website <a href="http://www.happymondaysnetworking.co.uk/events">www.happymondaysnetworking.co.uk/events</a><br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Helen from Modo</strong> highlighted a 20% discount on her home and office concierge services to all Happy Mondays Networking members and on any referrals, so get in touch and reclaim some valuable time!<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">Lindsey Russell made us aware that <strong>Eilidh Milnes</strong> will be giving a motivational talk and book signing at Waterstones in Macclesfield from 6.30pm on Tuesday 10 November. Attendance is free but places are limited so reserve your space by calling 01625 424212.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">Lisa from Alderleyedge.com has been very busy and dropped me an email last week to let us know that she has now also launched <a href="http://www.wilmslow.co.uk/"><strong>www.wilmslow.co.uk</strong></a>. Check it out and get in touch with Lisa if you have any community news which you think would be relevant.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">Remember there's no meeting next week due to half term but we'll be back at <strong>Caffe Latte on Monday 2 November</strong> (November??!! OMG!!!)<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">For anyone in the vacinity of Alderley Edge on Sunday and/or who is looking to pick up a bargain or encourage your kids to swap something they don't want for something they do, please come along to <strong>Kids Car Boot and Swap Shop at Alderley Edge Festival Hall from 10am</strong>. I'll be the one having a breakdown!</span></li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div><span style="color: grey; font-family: Calibri;">See you on Thursday or in a couple of weeks and please help us spread the word about Happy Mondays Networking by passing on our details to any othe local Mumpreneurs you know - thanks very much!!</span><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-11153585595927126272009-10-14T06:55:00.003+01:002009-10-14T07:25:24.073+01:00Catching our breath!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Phew, what a manic couple of weeks - hence the tardy blogging. Anyway, our recent meetings continue to be well received (hoorah!) and here's a summary of what we got up to this Monday:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">We were delighted to welcome three newcomers: </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Natasha Dee who runs Confident Cooks who are making their name locally running group cookery courses and helping to stage dinner parties<br />
</span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Kathy Brodie, an early years professional who works closely with nurseries addresses staff training needs <br />
</span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Hayley King, who will shortly be opening a new legal practice Didsbury Family Law</span></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #444444;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Richard Weston also came along to tell us about a photography for business course he is running at Lindow Primary School from 9.30 - 12.30 on Saturday 7 November. This is particularly useful for anyone who takes photographs for their websites and Richard was at pains to stress that you don't need to have a fancy digital SLR camera to do this well - it's all about knowing how to use lighting and props and making the most out of whatever camera you have. Cost is just £25 and please contact Richard on 01625 531271 or via weston.digitalimaging@googlemail.com if you'd like to attend.<br />
</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Tracy Griffiths from Elianna Leadership Training ran a breif introductory session on confidence and self awareness which certainly got us all thinking! She's also kindly agreed to do the same thing at Fina next week for people who were unable to attend on Monday. For those of you that did attend, Tracy has asked if you could take a couple of minutes to complete the attached feedback form and either email it back to her or give it to her at the next meeting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Finally a few dates for your diary:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #444444;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Remember there is NO Meeting at Caffe Latte on 28/10 due to Half Term - we'll be back there on 2 November. This is set to be a busy meeting as we'll have Nicky from P81 Print and Productions talking to us about her company and the various options for promoting our businesses cost effectively and Eileen Coldrick is being very brave and will be making a small presentation about her virtual PA service company in preparation for another event the following week and would welcome the group's feedback.<br />
</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">A final call for anyone who wants to attend our </span><strong><span style="color: #444444;">speaker and wine evening at Tytherington Club next Thursday (22nd).</span></strong><span style="color: #444444;"> Price is just £5 and will include talks from four great speakers - Sarah Harkness, Emily Hogarth, Michelle Kay and Helen Taylor, plus informal networking opportunities. More to the point, the bar will be open! To reserve you place, simply email us back.<br />
</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">We've also managed to arrange a fanatstic package with Nailrooms in Alderley Edge for a </span><strong><span style="color: #444444;">Pamper Evening on Weds 2 December</span></strong><span style="color: #444444;"> - a perfect opportunity for some 'me time' before the mayhem of Christmas begins. The evening will comprise a make over with mineral make-up, your choice of finger or toe nail file and polish, plus champagne and nibbles. Numbers are limited to 10 and the cost is £30 (usual treatment price £55). As usual, to reserve your place, simply email us by return and treat yourself and/or a friend to an early Christmas present.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span style="color: #444444;">Although none work related I thought it'd also be nice to post the tale below which was sent to me by a very modern male customer - it made me laugh anyway</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><em><strong><span style="color: #444444;">What Do You Do All Day?<br />
</span> </strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><em><strong><span style="color: #444444;">A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pyjamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on</span></strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #444444;">the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out of the</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #444444;">bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pyjamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me sarcastically what in the world I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #444444;">She answered, 'Well, today, I didn't do it.'</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong><span style="color: #444444;">Priceless...</span></strong></em></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-91691990046689726542009-10-03T19:55:00.000+01:002009-10-03T19:55:57.142+01:00Tanith Carey's new book - How to be an amazing mum when you just dont have the timeJust received a copy of this book from their publishers and some flyers, so will read and write a review for HM members.<br />
Extracts below:<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 11px;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Are you a mum who feels like you are fighting a losing battle against the clock trying to keep your show on the road?</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Whether you’re at home, back at the office, or simply fighting the eternal battle to keep the kitchen clean, these tips from Tanith Carey’s new book: “How to be an “Amazing Mum” - When You Just Don’t Have the Time – the Ultimate Handbook for Hassled Mothers”, price 7.99, will help find you more time for your child, your partner – and even yourself!</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Decorate your home to make it easier to pick up after kids: </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As a mum, you will be spending a substantial amount of time picking up after kids, so make your life a bit easier by using wipe-clean, gloss paint on the walls so you wipe off hand-marks and plenty of attractive, storage – like big whicker baskets with lids - so you easily chuck the toys out of sight at the end of the day.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do your beauty tasks when the kids are in bed:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Are you looking like a stressed-out mum because you haven’t had the time for your old beauty regime? Set aside ten minutes every night before bed – when you children are asleep – for tasks like eyebrow plucking or moustache bleaching – so look and feel ready for the day the next morning.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Buy clothes that are easier to care for:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> One of the things mums hate most is the seemingly never ending pile of laundry that seems to stalk them around the house. Make your life easier by choosing fabrics that won’t need a lot of ironing. If it already looks creased in the shop, put it back right away. Then choose clothes in the same range of colours so they won’t need separating before you wash them. That way all items like socks will always match too!</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Decide on your house rules;</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> As kids grow, your life will be a lot easier and more efficient if you agree upfront with your child how expect them to behave. With their co-operation, draw up a list of the ten most important guidelines for all the family. It will help you be consistent and not to waver on the basics when you are tired or stressed.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Choose toys carefully:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Busy mums can often feel like they spend half their lives on their hands and knees picking up after toys. But make your life easier by choosing playthings carefully. Remember that often the simplest toys are the best. Toys with flashing lights or whirring noises will also need a steady flow of battery changes, so steer clear of the extra work. Certainly avoid battery-operated toys with panels that need to be removed with a screwdriver. How much time do these manufacturers think you have?</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Make your home easier to tidy:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Don’t let children get into the habit of pulling everything off the shelves – for you to put back. From the age of three, introduce a rule that they can get a maximum of only three games or books out at a time. If they want to play with more, they need to return the ones they’ve used to the proper place.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Get kids to help:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> A young child in full flow can create a new mess every minute. So harness that natural energy with some reverse psychology, and make tidying up a game. It may not work perfectly, but at least you will feel as though it’s all getting slightly better, not worse! Let them enjoy making a noise as they drop the blocks back into the box. Buy a mini shopping trolley and suggest they go ‘shopping’ for toys.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Make it a team effort:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Mums can also get stuck in the martyr rut – doing it all – but deep down secretly resenting it. Be honest about where and when you need help. Partners, mums and dads and friends are not mind- readers, so spell out what they can do. If you need a break, explain to your parents that a child’s family doesn’t end just with you and your partner - that you occasionally need a rest to recharge your mum batteries.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fight off your laundry pile: </span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Invest in a set of hard-wearing playclothes - in a tough material like denim - that your little one can muck about in every day so you're not constantly adding to your workload. Do more spot cleaning too. Just because your little one’s jumper's been worn once, it doesn’t necessarily need washing right away. As long as it’s stain free and the cuffs and neckline aren't grimy, let it be worn a second time. Don’t let kids throw clothes on the floor which always makes you feel like you have to wash them. For babies and toddlers, invest in "straightjacket" style plastic bibs (not cotton that will only add to your work) which cover up arms as well as their fronts to head off time-consuming outfit changes.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tips taken from “How to be an Amazing Mum – When You Just Don’t Have the Time – the Ultimate Handbook for Hassled Mothers” by Tanith Carey, price 7.99 and available from all good book shops and Amazon.</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: tahoma, 'new york', times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-13286436761527607452009-10-03T19:51:00.000+01:002009-10-03T19:51:22.348+01:00Michelle Hart tips on planning your own PR campaign<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Planning your own PR Campaign<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Many new or small businesses do not have the budget to employ the services of a PR professional. The following is a basic guide to planning your own PR campaign:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1. Determine what you want to achieve from public relations?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">2. Decide on your core messages – what do you want people to know/think about you, your business, your products or services.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">3. Decide on your target audience – think about what a typical customer looks like. You may be looking to target different customer profiles so again plan accordingly, perhaps coming up with different strategies and tactics depending on your target audience.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">4. Determine what media (both on and offline) your target audience is reading.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">5. Put together a media list and find out all relevant contacts (names, phone numbers, email addresses. Get copies of the newspapers/magazines etc and make sure you know the different sections, journalists, deadlines etc.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">6. Start looking to develop relationships with key journalists working in your target media. It’s okay to pick up the phone and ask who is responsible for certain pages/sections and ask if they have time for you to run a story suggestion past them. They may not always oblige but keep trying, be polite and develop a thick skin!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">7. Link your PR activity in with any wider marketing strategy so that all of your messages are integrated.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">8. Have a brainstorming session with colleagues, friends or family – come up with potential story ideas and think outside the box. Look at every element of your business which might present you with a PR opportunity – your products, services, people, personal stories and background, business and financial news, activity within the local community, client and customer case studies etc.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">9. Invest in good quality photography whether that is of your products or your people or when covering an event. You can take your own images with a digital camera but it is really worth employing he services of a professional photographer to create a stock of high quality images which can be sent out to media – especially if you are looking to gain editorial coverage of any products. For product shots media tend to prefer cut outs rather than staged lifestyle shots. Find a good creative photographer and stick with them.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">10. Depending on your type of business, it is worth contacting target journalists to put your name forward as an expert or spokesperson on relevant topics.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">11. Look at some sample press releases issued by PR professionals (please contact <a href="mailto:Michele@michelehartpr.co.uk">Michele@michelehartpr.co.uk</a> for examples and advice on press release writing). Good grammar, spelling and a strong, fluent writing style which tells the main points of the ‘story’ in the headline and opening paragraph are essential. You can include background on your business under Editor’s Notes at the bottom of a press release and always include a contact name, telephone number and email address on your press release.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">12. If you have a blog or a website then do include the details on your press release. If you don’t, peak to someone now about how to create an effective website or blog and use this as a PR tool wherever possible.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">13. Use social media (Facebook, Twitter etc) to direct people to your blog/website/news stories/updates/images.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">14. Network whenever possible as PR is all about telling a story, not just to media, but to everyone you meet.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">15. Don’t overlook radio and television. Radio in particular can offer some great opportunities to talk about you, your business and your products or services. Find out which radio stations are relevant to you are your target audience and examine programme schedules to determine which ones might be interested in using you as a guest.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">16. Reader offers and competitions are a great way of telling people about products or services you offer. Speak to newspaper, magazine and website editors about the chances of running these, what their minimum prize values are and if you can data capture competition entrants’ details for future marketing purposes.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">17. Send out product to key journalists for them to try. Include details with the product (EG. retail stockists, rrp, your website address, business background etc) and strong photography. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you offer a service can you persuade a journalist to trial it for free and ask if they will write about their experience?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">18. Choose a local charity or cause and get involved. Make sure it is relevant to your business and then work with this cause to help raise both your profile and your credentials within your local community.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">19. Determine how much time you realistically have to devote to PR as it can be a time consuming exercise and often requires a lot of hard work before you begin reaping the rewards. Also remember that a sustained campaign over a period of time (and one that is integrated into a wider marketing strategy) will prove more effective than just trying to do things ad hoc.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">20. Once you have determined your PR strategy, budget and resources, plan this out carefully over 12 months and make sure that PR is given the same priority as other elements of your business planning.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-83035099828293078132009-10-03T19:49:00.001+01:002009-10-03T19:57:07.974+01:00Monday 26th meeting<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: Arial;">A BIG thank you to <strong>Michele Hart</strong> who gave us all some food for thought and useful hints on how to generate some PR for our businesses and the importance of having a clear strategy and message we want to get across to stakeholders. It was obvious from the subsequent feedback and conversations that many of us feel we lack the confidence and assertivenes required to actually generate some of this PR. To help overcome this, <strong>Tracy from Elianna Leadership</strong> <strong>Coaching</strong> has kindly agreed to run a couple of sessions for us on how we can all improve. We'll come back to you with dates ASAP and, be warned, the sessions will include some 'audience participation' so watch this space! Tracy also highlighted that some funding may be available from Train2000 which we'll follow up on and keep you advised.</span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kul mentioned that she will be appearing on Canalside Radio on 8 October and will take the opportunity to promote Happy Mondays which is great news. I'll also follow up with her contact there so see if there are any other ways we can get Happy Mondays members involved. </span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;">We don't have a speaker for the next couple of meetings (but places are still available for our Wine & Speaker evening on <strong>22 October</strong> so book your space & tell your friends) but we thought it would be useful if we all brought along samples of any marketing material we have e.g. cards, flyers etc and we can all provide feedback to each other on what we like, don't like etc? We'll also bring along a couple of laptops so we can look at some websites too and identify useful and relevant links. Personally, I think this will be a really useful exercise as it's always great to have other peoples' views on what we're doing.</span><br />
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</div><div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;">Finally, I just wanted to welcome Victoria from Bon Bon Blue and Nicky from Interiors-tides.co.uk who both came along for the first time today.</span><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-72399374050798155102009-09-24T14:57:00.000+01:002009-09-24T14:57:32.732+01:00Ladies Fashion Lunch for St Annes Hospice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZINB77Cr-UqiwAFPPMK9eJWcVp_94QM08iKsHP-Ehi9JEc1QqYH69Rzk0o7EXFsNes8iT7q0mggb7KLS_F0JCxHqT9C1cdP_Q4QkhlGAnRLonY7BlOn4blJLdQuYUE1o44d8VtYvbwv4U/s1600-h/LFL+With+Grooming+Academy+HR.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZINB77Cr-UqiwAFPPMK9eJWcVp_94QM08iKsHP-Ehi9JEc1QqYH69Rzk0o7EXFsNes8iT7q0mggb7KLS_F0JCxHqT9C1cdP_Q4QkhlGAnRLonY7BlOn4blJLdQuYUE1o44d8VtYvbwv4U/s200/LFL+With+Grooming+Academy+HR.png" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRahKqbvTqWnMM1mvpSEJzRr4Ckehyphenhyphenel3ORzhHNtQN2LQRyvW_WG4JUX5YdMZK_wWlJlIpSrowOCDWSOd47Kx470Myx8r5_MdhecodkDgXPFnXM9mqyc7uH2wmmOtmwksgxvdicdhNvpTi/s1600-h/LFL+With+Grooming+Academy+HR1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRahKqbvTqWnMM1mvpSEJzRr4Ckehyphenhyphenel3ORzhHNtQN2LQRyvW_WG4JUX5YdMZK_wWlJlIpSrowOCDWSOd47Kx470Myx8r5_MdhecodkDgXPFnXM9mqyc7uH2wmmOtmwksgxvdicdhNvpTi/s200/LFL+With+Grooming+Academy+HR1.png" /></a><br />
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</div>Michelle Hart has just told us about this lunch to raise money for St Annes Hospice.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-90912363429979659272009-09-24T14:46:00.000+01:002009-09-24T14:46:58.226+01:00Mondays meeting in full<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt;">Still on serious painkillers for bad tooth, 3 hrs at dentist now with no idea why I am in such pain, so I hope this blog makes sense.</span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt;">Things are getting bigger and bigger at Happy Mondays, 21 inspirational women on Monday, I find it really inspiring that there is so many women locally with so much talent and so willing to share and support each other.</span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Penny Lines from No Nonsense marketing gave an excellent talk, I am sure we will asking her back in a few months time. If anyone would like a copy of her slides please contact me. My additions to my ever extending to do list from her talk where, get testimonials and maybe even a case study on you testimonial page. the case study would describe the challenge, benefits and solution. If you are B2C send an email quarterly, incorporate something of interest and an offer within the newsletter and use and reward your existing customers.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Penny also recommended the following:<br />
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</div><ul><li>The networking book “And death came third” – it’s by Andy Lopata and Peter Roper, <a href="http://www.deathcamethird.com/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">www.deathcamethird.com</a> – so called because walking into a room full of people and speaking in public were cited as people’s greatest fears – ahead of dying, unbelievably! It’s a great read and an excellent guide to the etiquette of networking.</li>
<li> Weekly business paper, Crains Manchester Business, <a href="http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk</a> – an invaluable read for anyone selling to businesses in the Manchester/North West area. As well as the weekly paper, you get access to the website archive which is useful for checking out company histories. They also publish a weekly list focussing on a particular sector such as PR companies, property developers, restaurants etc and they bring out all the year’s lists at year-end – very useful sources of information.</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> Some other recommended links were:</o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/">www.marketingdonut.co.uk</a> a great resource for small businesses</li>
<li><a href="http://www.startups.co.uk/">www.startups.co.uk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.brightmarketing.co.uk/">www.bright-marketing.co.uk</a></li>
<li>bambino goodies blog, try and get your products reviewed here if they are baby related, as this is a incredibly popular blog -<a href="http://www.bambinogoodies.co.uk/"> www.bambinogoodies.co.uk</a></li>
</ul><div>See you next Monday, Michelle hart from Michelle Hart PR will be giving us a short talk on PR.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351202772563156944.post-66065743722159234012009-09-22T21:59:00.000+01:002009-09-22T21:59:25.843+01:00Just a quickieWe had another great meeting on Monday, Penny Lines was fantastic, I think we all went away with ideas of how to improve our business.<br />
I will post a detailed review of meeting asap, but I have a cracked tooth and I am on so many painkillers that life is just a bit woozy at the moment, and I am still having a childcare crisis, but will definitely post before Sue gets back from her romantic short break in Venice, as I might get told off!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0