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Stratford District Council’s new lead on Economic Development and Inward Investment, Mark Wathen, comes with nearly 20 years experience of working in the private sector as a Marketing Director within corporate blue chip organisations, as well as entrepreneurial start up…

  Do you spend some days feeling overwhelmed, tired and stressed-out? Have you noticed that if your day starts with drama… it continues that way? Perhaps your alarm doesn’t go off, you drop a glass, the kids are driving you…

  In our professional capacity at Smart Business Recovery Limited, we see businesses that are struggling with the current economy to a greater or lesser degree every day. It’s tough out there at the moment. However, while things are certainly…

  When it feels like everyone in your space is offering the same services, packaged in similar styles, and saying the same things (often in the same way), it can be hard to make yourself seen and heard. That can…

  A word of warning: My wife called me up the other day. She’d got an email from HMRC telling her that she was due a rebate for £327.35. All she had to do was click on a link to…

  Often business owners will commission a logo for £300 (or so), build a website, create social media posts and spend thousands of pounds on Google ads, Facebook ads etc. This could be harmful in the long term because they…

Have you ever wondered about setting up your own business and being your own boss? Taking the plunge to do this is a giddying, heart-stopping experience. Once you’ve made the decision, you’ll face myriad small decisions and numerous variables –…

Many people would have you believe that social media is too difficult to learn, and that paying for advertising is the only way to be seen online. Here, at Cotswold Connected, I disagree. On Wednesday 10 August I am pleased…

Many businesses don’t have the capacity inhouse to maximise an event to its fullest potential. I’m not saying that you and/or your team aren’t capable of pulling off an event, but many companies investing time and money aren’t delivering the…

Serviced offices are fast becoming more popular with businesses of all shapes and sizes. To help you consider this option for your business, we have listed below 7 benefits associated with using a serviced office: Cost effective choice – simple…

I’m sat in my car driving the hour-long drive to what used to be my place of work. The route was all on A roads and back country lanes passing through little villages along the way. This drive was something…

The word ‘sustainability’ is used very widely today – and can have so many interpretations. It is generally understood now that products and services need to respond to the growing customer demand for businesses to demonstrate their ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’…

As a small business, you worry about all those things that every small business worries about – sales, growth, cashflow and performance. Small businesses are integral parts of the economy, with both local and national governments recognising this. In recent…

Getting press coverage for yourself as well as your business is really useful. It can help establish yourself as an expert in your field, keep you front of people’s minds and drive sales to your business. It’s not always about…

650 Personal Training was launched in October 2021 when Jack Thompson started taking on his own fitness clients after gaining years of experience in the industry. He is now a fully qualified Personal Trainer and Nutritional Advisor and offers military…

  It’s been a tough couple of years for most and as we all move forward with trying to redefine and grow our new way of life, as a performance improvement professional, I’ve seen so many great opportunities for development…

  “Video is driving an immense amount of growth online for all major platforms.” – Adam Mosseri, Instagram CEO. Many of the social media platforms are moving towards video content and heavily pushing it out to its users. In the…

It is estimated that the average person makes around 35,000 decisions a day. The vast majority of these are relatively simple such as What time do I get up? What shall I wear today? What shall I have for breakfast?…

In both business and life in general, there are a variety of frustrating challenges that never seem to improve and continue to cause stress and hold up progress. One particularly common challenge is defensive posturing, blame cultures and “Us Vs…

Following a taboo-busting Donut Time talk on “Menopause and the Workplace” from menopause expert Laura Shuckburgh, here’s a thought-provoking blog from Laura on the benefits of coaching during menopause. When we start the journey into menopause it can be a…

“Ethical values provide the moral compass by which we live our lives and make decisions: ‘doing the right thing’ because it’s the right thing to do, not because of personal or financial gain. Organisations should focus on creating a shared…

The lockdown has had a major impact on new and young businesses during the pandemic, however there is light at the end of the tunnel for many. Stratford DC’s business centre, Venture House, is able to link entrepreneurs and businesses…

Introduction Here is a simple guide to ensure that you are making the most of your marketing budget and getting the right message to the right people to earn yourself the best returns. The big bonus is that while you…

Local entrepreneur Julia Mitchell has had to make many changes over her working life: “20 years ago I was told that my spine was fusing and that I should consider changing my career as my work involved being sedentary for…

  The best thing about promotional products is that there’s pretty much always a perfect solution to any needs you might have. At first thought, you might just think of branded pens, mugs, notebooks and T-shirts – all useful and…

Whatever business you are in, the last 12 months has thrown up some unexpected circumstances and experiences – often challenging what we thought we knew about ourselves, our businesses and our communities. For a lot of us it’s felt rather…

Grief is something that we don’t generally talk about, and yet at some point in our lives it will affect us all. As a business owner, or an employee, we will also work with someone who is grieving, or be…

Whenever you need to speak in order to get a message across, and possibly to influence others, there are some simple techniques that can help you to do it with both confidence and impact. When you speak with confidence, you’re…

In our day and age, cyber attacks are becoming more common and hackers are finding new ways to breach businesses and systems, putting business data at risk. All businesses can mitigate some of these risks by following simple security procedures…

  A national business school has helped over 100 budding business-people from Stratford-on-Avon District learn the basics of starting their own companies and allow their entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. Funded by Stratford-on-Avon District Council and its Venture House Business Centre,…

The Internships Development Team are in the process of launching the Warwick Internship Programme (WIP) 2021, to UK based SME employers and charities. In light of the operating environment due to Covid-19, the programme has been redesigned to bring in greater…

A quick guide on why you should be writing blogs. Writing content for your business is important to convey your messages to your audience.  There are a variety of formats such as articles, press releases, newsletters, social media posts and…

FOR THE VERY LATEST UPDATES GO TO: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus or https://coronavirus.cwgrowthhub.co.uk/   06/04/2021 – Recovery Loan Scheme The Recovery Loan Scheme is to help businesses of any size access loans and other kinds of finance so they can recover after the…

Now that Britain has left the European Union, rules around travel and doing business with Europe have now changed.   Here is a list of useful resources to ensure that you are aware of the changes: – Brexit Checker – Online…

Despite the unpredictability of 2020, Warwick based marketing specialists, Spaghetti Agency, have taken on their first full time employee, marking a breakthrough in their growth as an independent local business. When the Coronavirus restrictions came into place, the marketing experts…

Stratford entrepreneurs of the future are being offered free places on an online workshop to turn their hobbies and dreams into a successful business. Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s Venture House has partnered with the hugely popular PopUp Business School to help…

With the latest announcement of another covid lockdown you might expect people to become increasingly frustrated and fatigued by the ever changing restrictions on our lives. But just like back in 2020, it is the positivity of many people’s responses…

Had I asked you a year ago what you think I mean by online networking, you would speak of social media and the platforms within such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Fast forward to a year later and now the…

As the countdown to Christmas gets underway, Warwickshire County Council is supporting independent retailers and small businesses like you with a new social media campaign that will encourage residents to seek out services and products that are available locally. The…

The Small Business Commissioner is an independent public body set up by Government under the Enterprise Act 2016 to tackle late payment and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector. We provide general advice and information and consider complaints from…

How to make the most of the investment you have made in your website. It is an unfortunate reality that Google ranking is dictated by the traffic and activity generated by your site and Google ranking has a direct impact…

In the midst of a pandemic and all of the challenges your prospects and customers may be facing you may be feeling it’s inappropriate to be actively making your traditional sales calls. It’s right to be cautious as you do…

For many small and micro businesses, sales activity along with all other business aspects falls to the business owner, many of whom feel anxious or uncomfortable making outbound sales calls. I hope these top tips will give you confidence to…

Here’s how to adapt and plan your pivot. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic and it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed, uncertain and worried about what the future may bring. During life in lockdown, people have become more…

Warwickshire County Council is inviting retailers and food establishments to send in short video clips from their mobiles or tablets to have their businesses featured, for free, in a series of short films to help promote each town. The videos…

In 2007 I sold my successful telemarketing company and took a break. During the next 10 years I retrained to become an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Practitioner, working with clients experiencing anxiety and stress … very different from running my…

As part of your overall Business Plan, your Marketing Plan is crucial to your business success. Thorough Research will reap benefits if the information is used wisely. Here are some simple steps to take to produce some focussed objectives for…

Back in 2012, Janna Bastow and Simon Cast started to build ProdPad, a software solution designed to help product managers manage their product roadmaps and make better product decisions. With headquarters in Brighton, life started to get a little more…

Shakespeare Distillery is an artisan spirit producer that was established in 2015 and has built a strong reputation thanks to director Peter Monks and distiller Simon Picken. Based in Stratford-upon-Avon, they create a range of gins – the first of…

It’s now official that everyone who can be, should be working from home. This will make a huge difference for some of us, so here are a few handy tips to keep you active, motivated and in touch: ROUTINE Unless you…

Everyone has goals; big goals or small goals, personal goals or professional goals. Sometimes you don’t even realise a goal is a goal until you experience the exhilarating feeling of achieving it and you realise how important it was to…

I imagine that you will agree that there is very often a negative stigma that is associated around mental health and illness. Some of these stigmas ‘label’ someone with some form of permanency. In actual fact, MANY mental health illnesses…

It’s time to up your video game. We all know that to market our businesses we need to stand out. And video is one of the best ways to grab people’s attention online. But many videos posted by businesses online…

There are so many gizmos and gadgets out there to help us save time, yet we still feel busier than ever, particularly when running our own business! It’s important to create and keep a strong sense of connection with both…

As a sustainability consultant working for Coventry City Council on their Green Business Programme*, much of my working day is spent looking up at ceilings or at walls! This is because I walk around client’s sites looking at lighting, building…

  Nestled in the corner of a field on the borders of Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, a large mound has appeared! As farmers, Richard and Sarah recognised the need to diversify their farm to secure its viability for future generations.…

Rural businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire are urged to attend two free workshops to gain help in applying for a share of £35 million of nationwide funding. The RDPE Growth Programme provides grants for rural start-ups and businesses to purchase…

Whether your business is at risk of flooding or has already been affected, there are a whole host of ways to help reduce the impacts of flooding, making both you and your small business more flood resilient. Please browse the…

Would your business be easier if you had more happy clients eager to do what you ask of them? Absolutely right! The biggest problem is most business owners don’t know how to set themselves up as a go-to authority in…

As business owners, self-employed people and entrepreneurs we need certain attributes in order to be successful. These include: • Focus • Motivation • Ability to build rapport • Health • Energy • Resilience • Creativity • Problem-solving abilities • Emotional…

Is that blank screen and blinking cursor beginning to taunt you? Show them who’s boss! Sometimes, you just don’t feel like writing something that really needs to be written. That’s understandable – and it happens to all of us at…

Hot desking and co-working are words we hear frequently and can mean different things to different people. Whatever way you look at it, workers are looking for more and more flexible ways of working these days. Being affordable, productive and…