Business Networking Meeting review, 29th Sept 2016
by Jill Willis
This week’s Essex Business Forum meeting was a not the busiest on record, but with 20 members in attendance it still packed a punch.
Howard Bullock of Clear Financial Advice (standing in for Aidan Squire of Quality HR) chaired confidently. Guiding us all through the proceedings.
Headlines to take away and savour include;
- Paul Booth, of Booth & Co Chartered and Certified Accountants, is back on a winning streak. Taking first place again this week in the performance league.
- Scott Griffiths of Eseyo Web Design came in second, with Kim Redwood-Lee of Redwood Clarke Bookkeeping Services in third.
- Jo Eastwood of Liquorice independent wine merchant, scooped the 60 second award – for her description of a recent commemorative trip to the battle fields of The Somme. She remembered her grandfather Tom, and shared a wonderful local wine ‘Dopft’ from Northern France.
- This month we have so far passed £76,600 of new business – well ahead of the monthly average!
- Visitor Lewis Ward, of Best Car Finder vehicle leasing joined us, and showcased his expertise. We hope to welcome him back next week.
- Halloween theme! Thursday 27th October will be Halloween week. So think of spooky 60 second ideas, and maybe even dress up (Paul).
The Education Slot was presented by Jill Willis, of Words By Jill. She talked about productivity…and the key to success. Do less, and get more done. These are the top 5 pointers courtesy of author Shaa Wasmund and her book Do Less, Get More:
One: Understand your rhythms. If you are at your most creative between 8am and 10am then don’t check mundane emails during this time! Take time to understand what works for you.
Two: Batch tasks. Consider having a ‘meeting’ day, a ‘research’ day, an ‘admin’ day.
Three: Escape the ‘when…then…’ trap. You’ll never be 100% ready to begin a project, so stop chasing perfection and get started.
Four: Filter your talents. If you chase two rabbits, one is bound to escape. So pick one goal and dedicate all resources to making it happen.
Five: Schedule. Identify the actions you need to take, and pin point the help you’ll need from others. Breaking things down into simple steps means you’ll be less likely to flounder.
The 60 second round had some interesting topics this week. Marcelle Saad of Marcelle Saad Diamonds turned her attention to pearls. Giving a wonderful description of the creative settings, and bespoke design services she offers to her clients.
Dean Caldon of Grace & Rose showed that the property market continues to perform with new instructions for a 3-bedroom house in Brentwood, and x2 4-bedroom homes in Billericay.
Stuart Smallcombe of LG Networks gave us an insight into high speed voice and data networks…but not as you might first expect. His 60 seconds focused on a last-minute project completed for a client who had to move offices the next day! It was achieved of course, and Stuart reminded us that he is always available to help clients who are relocating offices (just perhaps not that quickly every time).
Richard Reed of Prestige Holidays and Travel took bespoke holiday planning to a new level. He made us chuckle with his tale of a brief he worked on recently for a client. So specific were the requirements that even the colour of the hire car had been specified; red.
We all said hearty congratulations to Steve Roach, and the team at Phoenix FM. The West Ham Way sports podcast has been nominated for a national award, alongside Five Live and Talk Sport. Not bad for our local Brentwood radio station! He reminded us all that the station actively supports local charities too, and asked that we mention him to charity fundraisers who may be looking for new ways to garner support and raise awareness of their cause within the local community.
Finally, Scott Griffiths, of ESEYO web design and hosting, gave an outstanding 10-minute presentation, helping us to navigate the minefield of web site build. Leaving us in no doubt. We shouldn’t use a cowboy web designer (even though they may be a little cheaper). There’s the shortcut way and then there’s the ESEYO way. We know which we’d all prefer.
From premium WordPress framework design, to premium hosting, optimised content, mobile & tablet friendly design and easy to use reporting tools. His service, as so many members vouched, is the best around by a mile.
For more information on the services Scott provides, contact 01277 849443 or visit www.eseyo.com
Next Week – If your business is taking part in the Phoenix FM advertising campaign remember to pass on a referral slip to Steve. Plus, bring your diaries, and we’ll try to ear-mark a date for the Christmas get together.
See you next week!
Jill (in for Aidan)
Good meeting everyone. see you next week
What a well written blog! 😉
Very slick and oily blog Jill – well done.
Excellent presentation Scott and well done to Steve for bringing a visitor. My visitor (Ryan) should be returning next week.
well done Jill, you really do have a way with words 🙂 good meeting all, look forward to seeing you next week.
and sorry I missed your presentation Scott…. was a cracker by the sounds of it
Excellent meeting and well done Jill on producing the blog so quickly! Lively meeting and looking forward to seeing our guest again to hopefully join !
Congratulations Jill on a top blog . Great meeting as usual and looking forward to seeing you all next week. Due to the interest received on my prop this week, i shall have 6 to sell on next week for a genuine cost price of £10.82 inclusive, ideal for above a door way or understairs cupboard etc. Payment strictly by cheque or bank transfer; no coinage allowed! ?
Great meeting as usual guys. Well done to Scott for the description of how to set up a web site correctly.David you dodged a bullet today – dangerous thing to do taking a pop at the blog writer. Excellent last minute step up to the plate by Jill for writing this.
Good meeting 🙂 Sorry to have missed Scott’s presentation 🙁
Great meeting as usual always enjoy passing of business and the banter ?
Well done Jill. Interesting and informative!!