Past Events

Tuesday 9 December – ‘Not the Office Party’ at Sands Restaurant, Clifton Bristol.

This was our 4th Christmas party for sole traders and micro businesses. We have a different ethnic theme each year and this year it was Lebanese cuisine!

The food was delicious and the surroundings superb.  The whole nature of Lebanese food lends itself to sharing which made for a very friendly atmosphere.

Monday 1 December 2008

Group activity on the topic of marketing and business promotion. This led on from Helen Dowling’s presentation for Enterprise Week where she gave some good tips on how to make Christmas an opportunity for business. Many thanks to David Faulkner of Advertising Gift Consultancy for the sample promotional items.

Monday, 17 November – Why Christmas should be an opportunity in your business – Helen Dowling of Exceptional Thinking
This was a special meeting for Enterprise Week and was sponsored by Bristol City Council. There was a wonderful spread of food supplied by The Pear Catering Company based at The Coach House.

Helen Dowling was brave enough to mention the word ‘Christmas’ and she shook up our ideas about what we should be doing now to maximise our business prospects for the New Year. We were encouraged to:

• Do last minute marketing
• Think about having a January sale in our business
• Do things we have been meaning to do for a while
• Keep any promises we may have made to clients
• Take some time off
• keep an eye on Christmas expenses
• Reward ourselves
• Be realistic about our goals
• Update our customers
• Be green and
• Have fun

Monday, 3 November – Passionate Presentations – Isobel Gelder of Effective Expression
Isobel gave us hints to help develop the confidence to inspire our presentations. We discussed what is needed in a good presentation and learned some breathing techniques to improve the projection of our voices. Isobel stressed the importance of the initial impression and combining dress, body language and voice to project interest and enthusiasm. Good preparation is important. With practice and planning we can learn to enjoy the experience and look forward to the opportunity to inform potential clients about what we offer.

Monday, 6 October – Building small business esteem – Tony McKenna
The best quality of service, the best attention to detail and the best customer experience tends to be delivered by small businesses. Yet, paradoxically we can think of ourselves as not as good as the big organisations. This can reduce our incomes and our enjoyment from running small businesses. Tony shared with us some approaches we can adopt to help us take our rightful place at the top of the tree.

A large number of business people attended this meeting which was lively and inspiring. Just what was needed in this climate. We were not allowed to remain in our chairs for too long but were directed into telling exercises which usefully illustrated how our perceptions of ourselves and our businesses can have quite an effect.

Tony’s calm and measured approach was very compelling and impressive.

Monday, 1 September, 2008 – SoleMates at The Coach House

Download slides from The Design Tailor

Tuesday, 14 October, 2008 – 10.00am to 11.00am – A large and lively meeting at Papadeli.

Tuesday, 12 August, 2008 – 10.00am to 11.00am – Despite being the middle of the holiday season we had a large turn out at Lounge in Bedminster, Bristol.

Thursday, 24 July, 2008 – 6.00pm to 7.00pm – A select few met at the Arnolfini down by the waterside in Bristol. The sun did shine and after a while we migrated to the outside to enjoy the early evening after work atmosphere.

Attendees were:

• Helen Davies – For Effect
• Janice Tye – 123 Design
• Bronwen Grover – Bespoke Finery
• Steve Hallam – Plumsoft
• Maggie Lowe – Maggie Lowe HR
• Paul Maisey – Buffin Leadership International
• Vena Bunker – In2balance

Wednesday, 25 June, 2008 – 10am to 11am – There was a well attended meeting at Papadeli, in Alma Road, Clifton. Bronwen Grover of Bespoke Finery was pleased to share with us the wonderful news that she has been asked by The Jane Austin Museum in Bath to supply a range of her work. To see the work go to our News page. To contact Bronwen go to our directory for a link to her website.

Attendees were:

• Helen Davies – For Effect
• Janice Tye – 123 Design
• Bronwen Grover – Bespoke Finery
• Martin Van Der Merwe – Martin’s Help Desk
• Steve Hallam – Plumsoft
• Julia Rowe – Julia Rowe Designs
• Barry Cash – Utility Warehouse Discount Club
• Rachel Crozier – Organising Solutions
• Robert Lovett – The Business Handle
• Fi Cantillon – Filton Bites & Usana
• Susannah Temple – The TIFF Network
• Ian Long – Stoat Software
• Marilyn Marshall – Artist

Monday, 2 June, 2008 – Jan Castle of Jan Castle Coaching – Coach yourself, Coach your business: how can a coaching approach bring you success and fulfilment at work and at home?

Jan Castle is a self-employed coach based in Bristol, working with private and business clients to help them make the changes they need to achieve their personal and professional goals. She helped us get a handle on coaching and how it can help move things forward.

Jan warned to expect to do some thinking and told that we’d have the chance to engage with some thought-provoking coaching approaches. This was really a mini workshop – hard work but good fun! We were asked to consider eight areas of our business and asked to rate them quickly from 1 to 10 according to how well we thought we dealt with each aspect. (We were given a list of suggestions of areas to consider: planning/vision, research and development, staffing/training, premises/facitities, product operations, customer services, admin/IT systems, marketing activities, sales activities, finances/accounts or make up our own).

Working in pairs we took one of the aspects of our businesses that we thought weakest, we were asked to consider how we would ideally like it to be and what would help us to get it to that stage.

Finally we were asked to think of a question that would, with further work, enable us to move our businesses on.

Attendees included:
Barry Adams – Focus Accountancy Ltd
Barry Cash – The Utility Warehouse
Helen Davies – For Effect
Lisa Farr – Inspired Marketing
Bronwen Grover – Bespoke Finery
Nevil Ingram – Professional Development Services Ltd
Ian Long – Stoat software and Services
Rob Lovett – The Business Handle
Tony McKenna – MSW
Daniel Pidcock – the design tailor
Sharon Stiles – Mind Blocks Sorted
Susannah Temple – Tiff Network
Janice Tye – 123 Design

Thursday, 22 May, 2008 – 6pm to 7pm – Westbury Park Tavern

Attendees included: Barry Cash - The Utility Warehouse, Helen Davies – For Effect, Maggie Evans – MarketingFlex, Maggie Fraser – in 2 Balance, Steve Hallam – Plumsoft, Julia Rowe – Julia Rowe Designs, Janice Tye – 123 Design, Marilyn Marshall, Martin van der Merwe – Martin’s Help Desk, Bryan Z – BZ Electrical

Monday, 12 May, 2008 – Kerry North of Envolve – The Envolve Business team delivers specialist environmental consultancy to businesses in the West of England, helping to create a more sustainable future.

Attendees included: Barry Adams - Focus Accountancy, Helen Davies – For Effect, Martin van der Merwe – Martin’s Helpdesk, Daniel Pidcock – thedesigntailor, Janice Tye – 123 Design, Steve Hallam – PlumSoft, Steve Sliney – Community Waste, Helen Palfrey – Community Waste, Jan Castle – Jan Castle Coaching, Iza Redon – La Cuizine

Monday, 7 April 2008 – Networking know-how – Adrian Charlish of Business West

Adrian Charlish gave a lighthearted but knowledgable presentation on the dos and don’ts of networking.

Alternative word for networking?
Is “Communicating”.

Why network?

• To get more clients
• To raise your profile
• To keep you in the “Business Eye”
• For services
• For information and advice
• For research
• Client feedback
• Partnerships
• To socialise

You need

• Business cards
• A pen and pad
• A name badge
• A prepared message (15 –30 seconds e.g.. the elevator pitch)
• Prepared questions
• Somewhere to go to

Don’t Panic!

• Unlikely that everybody knows everybody
• Many have felt the same
• Latch on to somebody you know
• It’s OK to interrupt (politely)

Don’t

• Immediately go into sales mode
• Dismiss somebody “selling” to you
• Dismiss businesses which have no obvious connection
• Stay in the “comfort zone” with a friend
• Stay with one person or group

Do

• Interrupt politely
• Introduce yourself
• Ask questions about them
• Find common ground
• Do your pitch
• Arrange to meet outside of the event
• Make notes

Remember

• Be prepared
• Be flexible
• Arrange meetings outside the event
• Do not ignore other business
• Do not expect instant success
• Build business relationships
• Spread the word for other people

Some of the networking groups who have expressed an interest in having visitors to see how they work, and to give you some practice are:

• GWE Business West – www.gwebusinesswest.co.uk
• Business for Breakfast – www.bforb.co.uk – To network with Business for Breakfast in the Bristol Area email Rodger Scott at rodger@bforb.co.uk
• You and I Business Club – www.youandibusinessclub.co.uk

Please contact us if you would like to hear of other networking groups and we will endeavour to obtain you an invitation.

Attendees included: Barry Adams - Focus Accountancy, Rachel Carney – Blue Rocket, Rachel Crozier – Organising Solutions, Helen Davies – For Effect, Bronwen Grover – Bespoke Finery, Mark Horton – Still Motion , Reyna Knight – Vitaline, Antje Lehmann – The Utility WareHouse, Robert Lovett – The Business Handle, Suzanne McConaghy – Echo Property, Martin van der Merwe – Martin’s Helpdesk, Daniel Pidcock – thedesigntailor, Julia Rowe – Julia Rowe Designs, Cherry Scott – Usana Health Sciences, Cara Tipping Smith - copycarats, Steve Thurman – Discovering Solutions, Janice Tye – 123 Design, Mary White – Butterfly Embroideries

Monday, 3 March 2008 – Intellectual Property – Sue Jones of Maze IP

Sue Jones gave a clear and interesting introduction to registered and unregistered Intellectual Property.

Unregistered:

Copyright is very complex – literary works, logos, photographs, works of art, architecture, drawings, objects, films, advertisements, performances, music etc

• It is usually owned by the person who creates the work unless the work was commissioned
• There is no system of registration
• Normally lasts for the life of the creator +70 years (depending upon the type of work)
• Only gives the right to stop others copying
• There is some overlap with trade marks which are logos

Unregistered designs

Unregistered trade marks

Confidential know-how or trade secrets

• Employees are usually bound not to release private information belonging to their employer
• In licensing, franchising and other official documents confidential information is often referred to as “know-how” or “show-how”
• Make sure that any information which is confidential is always designated as such
• The Coca Cola essence and Kentucky Fried Chicken coating are examples of trade secrets that have been kept going for many years

Registered: rights which have a formal application procedure, require the payment of fees and where registration certificates are issued include:

Patents – Must be registered and once granted lasts 20 years.

• Something invented can be a manufacturing process or the product itself e.g. Vienetta, Quorn, milk cartons
• There must be a substantial inventive step
• The invention must be new
• Must be capable of industrial application, i.e. for use in industry but not a methods of surgery, therapy or diagnosis of human or animal body

Trade marks – A trade mark is anything that is unique to you: specific words, logos, colours, shapes, sounds and even smells e.g. the barking of the Dulux dog. (In order to qualify for registration, a trade mark must meet certain criteria)

• Tells consumers the source of a product or service
• May be a symbol of standard or quality
• It may support an advertising or marketing concept (inspirational concepts)
• It can be a word, strapline, logo, number, letter, shape, sound, colour(s) or a smell
• It must be used and/ or registered to be enforceable
• Potentially a very valuable piece of brand identity and therefore brand property

Designs – Any visible feature including lines, contours, colours, shape, patterns, texture or material

• Normally a 3 dimensional shape
• Recently, the definition of designs has been extended to include labels and packaging
• Like trade marks they can be registered or unregistered
• To be registrable they must be new (i.e. less than 12 months old)

Differences between registered and unregistered trade marks

• Registered trade marks are easier to protect
• Rights in registered trade marks are more certain
• Existence of registration will deter competitors
• You can use the ® symbol on registered trade marks…
• … but you can use the ™ symbol on any mark even if you haven’t applied to register it
• Have to rely on Passing Off instead of Infringement what is passing off?
• It is a common law right, which means it’s shaped by practice rather than by legislation
• Who has the right to take passing off action:
• must be in trade or business
• must have acquired goodwill in the UK (5 yrs use)
• must prove misrepresentation
• must show damage or likelihood of damage

Types of registration

• National e.g. UK, Republic of Ireland, Germany etc
• International Register (Madrid Agreement/ Protocol)
• For those who wish to register their trademark in a large number of countries around the world this is a trademark filing system that allows cheaper and quicker registration in 80 different countries.
• Community Trade Marks (CTMs)
• A means of protecting a trademark in all of the (27) members states of the European Union
• If you’re planning to build your brand overseas…
• Don’t allow your competitors to block your market entry into strategically important international markets such as USA, China or the EU.
• Get advice from a professional on the best way to get protection in overseas countries – there are different methods for different priorities such as budget or an early filing date.

The earlier you apply the better but you can apply at any time
Further information from Sue Jones, Maze IP, 4 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1HP
Tel: 0845 270 3936
www.mazeip.co.uk

Attendees included: Barry Adams – Focus Accountancy, Helen Davies – For Effect, Bronwen Grover – Bespoke Finery, Steve Hallam – Plumsoft, Rob Lovett – The Business Handle, Alice Rowe – Pampering with Alice, Julia Rowe – Julia Rowe – Julia Rowe Designs, Steve Thurman – Discovering Solutions, Janice Tye – 123 Design

Thursday 21 February 2008 – SoleMates at the Watershed – 6pm to 7pm

Monday, 4 February 2008 – Protecting your business against unfortunate hardships and preparing effectively for retirement – Floyd Fombo of Burns Anderson

Floyd Fombo gave a clear and enthusiastic presentation on a subject that many sole traders and micro businesses know they should think about but usually avoid until too late. Floyd’s information was thought-provoking and gave rise to many questions at the end.

Monday, 7 Jan 2008 – Techniques for improving your sales in 2008 – Jo Partington of the Sandler Sales Institute

A traditional sales pitch frequently ends up with the potential buyer misleading the seller, using them for free consultancy and then misleading them again.

In order to break from this cycle, which is frustrating for both buyer and seller, we need to decide what we, as sellers, want as an outcome. Firstly we want a ‘yes’ answer; if that is not forthcoming we want a ‘no’; we need a clearly stated next step; and we also want a referral. A referral can be obtained even if the prospect is not in the market for our product or service as they may well know somebody who does need it.

We need to understand that different people take in information in different ways.

• 55% of people take in information visually. They will talk quickly and use phrases like ‘I see’ and ‘I get the picture’. They will also tend to look upwards before they respond.
• 22% have an auditory response. These people will look to the side before replying, speak more slowly and will say things like ‘I hear what you say’.
• 28% have a kinesthetic response. They will look downward before responding. They will take a long time to respond as they will stop to think about what you meant and how you would like them to reply.

There are several stages to a successful sales pitch:

1. Bonding and building rapport
2. Up-Front contract – ‘…30 seconds to tell you what this is about’
3. Pain – the biggest driving force. Explain what happens if they don’t buy from you. (e.g. lose time / money / customers.)
4. Budget – time / money / commitment
5. Decision maker – if they are not the decision maker find out who is and what the process is.
6. Fulfillment – tell them what will solve their pain.
7. Post sale – ask for a referral.

The outcome you want is a client/customer who needs your services and is pleased by the result. The aim is to recognise those who not fit this outcome and close the conversation politely and quickly so you don’t waste their time or yours.

Monday, December 3, 2007 – SoleMates at The Coach House – networking and French Cider Tasting

These ciders were presented by Euan Corrall of Entente Cordiale Direct. This was a relaxed evening spent tasting a variety of lovely ciders from Normandy and Brittany with some relaxed and informal networking

Entente Cordiale Direct, trading as Quality French Ciders has directly sourced and imported award winning French ciders, Calvados and other drinks since 2005. Stocked at a number of outlets in the Bristol and Bath area, including restaurants, Free Houses, bars, supermarkets. Euan can supply events such as weddings. Order online at www.qualityfrenchciders.co.uk or call Euan on 0117 909 3453 / 07880 552211.

SoleMates – Wednesday 21 November, 10am - 11am – Orla, 35 Zetland Road, Bristol BS6 7AH

November 5, 2007 – SoleMates at The Coach House – with Merilyn Parker Armitage
10 ways to keep healthy so that you can keep running your business. 10 straight-forward ways that ensure everyone can keep fit and vibrantly healthy. How is it that some people are just zizzing with energy and others find it difficult dragging through the day?

A lively presentation on the benefits of drinking plenty of water, exercise and healthy eating. We should drink 1.7 - 2 litres of water every day – tea and coffee do not count – as most illnesses are due to dehydration. We should get half an hour exercise every day and should eat a wide variety of food. We also need to make sure that we get sufficient omega 3 from oily fish and flax seeds; alkalise our bodies with plenty of fresh green vegetables and fresh fruit juice (helps with sleep and brain function). We should eat less dairy and red meat. You should not eat less than three hours before bedtime in order to digest the food properly. And finally, eating in front of the television should be discouraged as research has found that it helps us bond with what we see on TV rather than the people around us.

Tuesday 23 October, 6-7 pm SoleMates at the Arnolfini

Wednesday 10 October, Networking Breakfast with SoleMates at The Coach House – an excellent continental breakfast was provided by Pear. A relaxed and informative networking session.

Monday 1 October, SoleMates at The Coach House – with Alliance Communications presenting on VOiP: The future of communications. A fascinating presentation by Miles Watson covering the way the telecommunications industry is changing and how new technologies such as Voice Over Internet Protocol benefit business. Major benefits include cutting business costs and allowing all sorts of flexible solutions that will grow, change and adapt as your business requirements change. It enables conference calling at minimal cost, does away with the need for any telephony system, can be used by people all over the world to answer calls to one telephone number.

20 September 2007, Attic Teas, Coldharbour Road, Westbury Park – Meeting Barbara Bertoldi, Italian Dress Designer, and viewing her premises next door to Attic.

Monday 3 September 2007, SoleMates at the Coach House
Guy Kingston – Why Small Businesses Fail

An entertaining and useful presentation giving the three main reason why small businesses fail:

1. Marketing – the main reasons why marketing is ignored are: time; pride, it will sell itself. To work well it should be consumer led. Important considerations are: the design of the product and packaging (both form and function), price and promotion.

Promotion – The elements for an advertising campaign are: set targets; appropriate and varied media. (A radio advert needs to be hear 3 or 4 times to be effective, so will need to be broadcast about 40 times). The sales force will need to be prepared for the responses and will work to close the sales and you will need to be able to deal with the level of respinse. If you find that you have trouble coping with more interest than you expected you could increase the price.

2. Financial Illiteracy – You need up to date information you understand to manage your business as you go along. Use your accounts as an early warning system, for example include figures for refunds and compensation. Understand the difference between cash flow and profit.

3. Denial – Delusion about the facts and probabilities at a subconscious level. There is a paradox in that you need to have faith in your product or service, but you may be in denial that nobody wants it. Ignoring problems kills a business. The solution is an independent support network, not composed of family or employees.

Some tips – learn from your own experience and from others mistakes too. Don’t employ if you can avoid it. And finally an expensive but invaluable book – Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T Munger by Peter D. Kaufman

On Saturday 11 August the SoleMates balloon went up! (Not literally)

5am on Saturday 11 August saw Helen and Janice, matchsticks propping open eyelids, putting up the exhibition displays for SoleMates advertising. By 5.20am the first intrepid breakfasters began to arrive. Everyone became a little more human when the hot coffee had brewed.

The early morning was a fine one. It was chilly and a very fine mist in a small area. The arena, which we were facing, soon filled up with balloonists making preparations and it was very exciting to see the proceedings so close. When the gun went off to signal that all mist had cleared, balloons started to inflate very quickly indeed and the scene was very quick changing.

There was something surreal about the scene. Some balloons were so low but even has they moved towards you there was no alarm. It was hypnotic and exhillerating at the same time.

The breakfast was served at 8am. Everybody was very ready for this and justice was done to the Full English and the Continental. There was a small presentation from Business Link and then Paul Goffe, of the Federation of Small Businesses said a few words. A presentation was made to Janice Tye who, as Chair of the Bristol Branch of the FSB, was part of the committee who organised the FSB marquee in which we were breakfasting. After this we all did our 2 minute presentations to each other on our two tables.

The morning was great fun. Everybody mixed well and there was good exchange of information. What more can one ask for!

On Tuesday 17 July at 2pm a group of SoleMates met up at The Undercroft in St Mary Redcliffe Church.

It was a pleasure to have a representative of BRAVE to this meeting, Moira Hibbard. We look forward to regular representation from them.

On Monday 2 July at 6.45pm we had the inaugural meeting of SoleMates at The Coach House. Silvia Arpasova of BigSmallAdvertising Ltd gave the presentation on “Marketing mix for Small-size businesses and start-ups: How does small-budget advertising differ from advertising of the big guys?”