Blog
East of England business leaders ready to ‘conquer the world’! Richard Ellis, Chair, EEDA
Thank you to all of the business leaders who took part in Destination Growth ’07 and helped to create such a phenomenal atmosphere on the day. Over 750 business leaders attended the region’s biggest ever business and networking event, and we have been inundated with feedback. ‘Inspirational’ is a word that most people have used to describe the day and...
| Permalink | Comments (2)Getting a second chance - Gerald Ratner, founder geraldonline.com
When it comes to setbacks in business there’s no better person to learn from, than what I’ve been through. I’ve been there and done it. I am famed with turning a small loss-making jewellery chain into the world’s largest jewellery business – Ratner’s - but following a few disastrous remarks during a business dinner speech, it all fell apart. Now,...
| Permalink | Comments (3)'Sales come first' Mike Southon, Beermat entrepreneur
Sales come first and marketing comes second. A common mistake made by many SMEs is that marketing (and investing heavily in it) will solve all your sales problems. This is not true, SMEs risk spending far too much on marketing, developing attractive brochures and leaflets when what they need to be doing is going out and selling. Invest what you...
| Permalink | Comments (5)Taking on the big boys. By Will King, King of Shaves
Will King, founder of King of Shaves gives a unique insight into how he has taken on one of the world’s top brands - Gillette. If you stand any chance of taking on the big boys you have to be extremely clear about your goals from the outset, and you must have supreme confidence in your ambitions. It took four...
| Permalink | Comments (0)Don’t buy a dog and bark yourself! By Mike Southon, author of The Beermat Entrepreneur
Doubling sales is first and foremost the main challenge for small businesses. To start with, most small businesses do not have a dedicated sales force which means it is essential to encourage everyone in the company to get involved with the selling process – whoever it is. Employees are the ambassadors of your company and although not everyone is a...
| Permalink | Comments (0)Leaders are not born, they're made! By Nigel Risner
You never see in the birth announcements column of a newspaper the heading ‘A leader was born today’. Leaders are not born they’re made. To be a good leader you have to understand what people’s needs are. You need to understand that the reason people come to work is for their own personal needs. Businesses spend most of their time...
| Permalink | Comments (0)“You’re a lunatic if you’re socially responsible!” Co-founder of Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice cream, Jerry Greenfield
When Ben and I were running Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream we were considered lunatics for being socially responsible. However, today there are no excuses for businesses not to be socially responsible. Let’s face facts, customers are increasingly demanding that the brands they buy, or the companies they choose to work with, are socially responsible, so if you don’t...
| Permalink | Comments (2)Sir Robin Young on international trade
Sir Robin Young, Chair of East of England International and former Permanent Secretary at the DTI, thinks that when it comes to international trade too many businesses in the East of England are missing a trick Trading internationally is arguably the biggest growth opportunity for business, and the London 2012 Games are making these opportunities even more pronounced. Despite this...
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