This week’s Essex Business Forum meeting was a bustling success.
Stuart Smallcombe of LG Networks (doing his best impersonation of Aidan Squire of Quality HR) was greeted by a rambunctious welcome from the Naughty Corner. The cheeky chaps (no Marcelle this week) were determined to show their love and appreciation for Stuart throughout the meeting, with pro-heckles of ‘love you’ and ‘excellent!’ from start to finish.
Headlines to take away and savour include;
- Blooming marvellous member Saj Sreedharan of Humble Violet’s Florist topped the performance league, with Scott Griffiths of Eseyo web consulting in second and John Freeman of The One Stop Property Shop in third.
- Matt Barry of Blue Serif design & brand agency scooped the 60 second award – with a short showcase of a brand redesign that involved student participation in concept creation.
- £7,500k of business passed this week – which keeps this month on target, following an excellent week last week.
- 21 new referral opportunities this week – a great month so far!
- We welcomed Mary Aaron, a relationship counsellor, as a visitor this week. Mary specialises in helping couples, singles and business teams and we hope to see her back again for her second free trial visit next week.
Education Presentation
I gave the gave the Ed Slot this week. As I’ve been working on retaining talent within my business (Attract & Engage copywriting & PR) I thought I’d share some of my key learnings to inspire the group. It turns out that an overly generous salary does not incentivise or retain talent. What works is giving team members the freedom and autonomy to pursue ‘passion projects’. I outlined my plan, borrowed from Google, which will give staff 1 day per week to explore ways to expand on their knowledge or innovate the service they’re responsible for delivering. Find out more about the Google approach, and how you could implement it in your business here >>
The 60 Second Round
The 60 second round had some interesting topics this week. Vince Goode from Speedprint literally sprang out of his seat to share a recent project he’s completed for a London based Dentist. We had to grin and bear it as he asked for referrals to more dentists, hygienists, orthodontists and cosmetic dentistry practices. Pardon the pun!
Long standing member Mike Rogers of The Mortgage Store went all Bertie Bassett on us, with his description of the (liquorice) Allsorts of mortgage services he provides to (liquorice) Allstorts of clients.
Having won last week’s Oscar for his vocal talents Ashley Bermange of Headstart Corporate Clothing toned things down a little this week. Presenting Mason Edwards of Capitol Cleaning with a beautifully finished batch of branded T-shirts. Very smart for the contract cleaner of the group.
Dean Caldon of Grace & Rose Estate & Letting Agents explained how his firm’s decision to cultivate long term relationships with clients and continue communicating with homeowners beyond the house sale is paying off. Three years after selling a client’s home he’s been invited to help them move again…the ultimate proof of his high-quality service.
Toby Acton of Sales Masters Guild challenged us this week. Firstly, with his matching Union Flag sock, underpants & sunglass combo. Secondly, he also challenged the perception that sales is something we business owners do to a prospective client. Instead, he explained, it’s a conversation that happens between two people.
Finally, it seems the tenacious Terry Maylin of TM Law Solicitors is in the middle of a disagreement between two scaffolding firms. I know which side I’d want to be on…the one who has Terry on speed dial!
10-minute presentation by Mason Edwards
Mason Edwards’ 10 Minutes was a sneaky quiz, designed to test whether his fellow members listen to his Capitol Cleaning 60 second round week to week. With high scores across the board it seems we do! We were left in no doubt of the value his professional cleaning service adds for the clients he serves up and down the UK. It’s not just about spick and span workspaces, but also creating a clean, healthy, happy environment for employees to work within.
To discover more about Capitol Cleaning and the commercial cleaning service this Epping based business provides visit www.capitolhygiene.co.uk
Sock-off
[Editors Note from Scott]
I can’t let this blog be published without showing off the display of socks from today’s meeting. I challenged the members to display their finest socks, and several members took part in this silly display. Nothing came close to the custom socks that I’d had made, of course, featuring the faces of 5 of the EBF directors.
fun and informative meeting. Well done Jill and Mason!
Another slightly silly but nonetheless enjoyable meeting. Nice to be presented with a well thought out quiz this week…
My socks, which belong to my daughter, are too tight and too nylony (is that a word?), and consequently I have now removed them and am going commando. Excellent blog Jilly.
Great presentation from Mason!
What about that Stuart hey?
What a performance!
TCOB!
On it like a car bonnet!
Knocked it out of the park!
Brought home the goods!
Nailed that puppy to the floor!
I was with you until you nailed a puppy to the floor?
“Nailed that puppy to the floor”?!!??! Thats a new one – but thanks Howard…Apparently next weeks stand in is a real pro!
It came from W1A I think – great series!
Did anyone else hesitate over their keyboard this morning??
Not me.. Mine are spotless
well done Stuart, a great performance, good job too Mason and excellent bit of sock fun- whats not to like?
Great fun and energetic meeting today!
Fantastic presentation from Mason and brilliant education slot from Jill!
Stuart – what can I say but perfection!!
Plus a brilliant ‘SOCK OFF’!!!!
I agree, great presentation from Mason 🙂 Glad to see everyone has a good understanding of what we do and how we help business through out the UK.
Well done Jill, a very good ed slot and thank you Ashey for the lovley clothing.
Excellent meeting well done Stuart for holding the fort. Good education slot from Jill and well done to Matt on winning the Oscar. The presentation was squeaky clean from Mason and the blog is a very good read.
Thank god the socks thing is now over, anyone got a spare clean keyboard? ⌨️
Have a great week everyone.
Very well done to Stuart, Jill, Matt and Mason for all their contributions. Pleased the sock thing is done for now.
Great blog Jill (I wouldn’t expect anything else from the word magician) . Apologies for my absence but unfortunately I still cant put my socks on due to continuing back problems ,but they would have won the sock off.
I had a little nap this afternoon and woke up face down on the keyboard, MMMM, How quickly can I get ill from inhaling XXXX. Really good meeting and thoroughly enjoyed the light-heartedness of it all. All I have to say is ( Love and leave you )
Excellent blog – I’ve picked up the feel of the meeting! Hope Holly was well looked after :o)
Great meeting and superb 16 minutes from Mason. I am wearing latex gloves now as I type this – my keyboard is clean, the gloves are just my fetish 😉
hi all thank you for a lovely warm weclome , I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting, and look forward to next week.
Great meeting everyone! See you next week 🙂
OK EVERYONE, PLEASE TAKE NOTE, DO NOT HAVE A DISAGEREEMENT WITH YOUR PARTNER OVER A SAMLL MATTER, MOVE ON AND THE FOLOWING DAY BE STUPID ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE RELATIONSHIP COUNCILING CARD OUT ON YOUR DINING TABLE. YOU RECALL FROM MARY, OWEN JUST FREEKED AND THOUGHT I HAD SEEKED ADVICE. WE ONLY ARGUED OVER HIM BUYING THE WRONG SIZE PROSSECCO.
Great meeting . Thanks Mason for your 10 minutes . I now use antibacterial hand cream after using other people’s keyboard’s.