We are new to the Norfolk Chamber and I just wanted to introduce ourselves to members and let people know who we are and what we can do for you…
…We are a business video production comapny. We have real world business experience having worked in various businesses and industries over 25 years including the NHS, The Pharmaceutical Industry and Corporate Training.
We specialise in online video marketing and business video production.
This short video gives an insight into the benefits of video marketing for business today!
This Saturday, 24th January is Norwich International Airport’s annual Travel Show held in the airport terminal building. The event, now in its sixth year, offers local holidaymakers the perfect opportunity to meet with, and chat to, representatives from the tour operators and airlines flying from Norwich International, as well as providing a chance to pick up a copy of the Fly Norwich 2015 magazine which will be launched at the event.
The Travel Show running 10am – 3pm is open to everyone with free entry and free parking for all visitors in the short stay car park.
Over 20 tour operator and airline representatives will be on hand throughout the day offering first hand destination and product advice on their departures from Norwich International and the airport encourages everyone to pop along for some holiday inspiration and talk to the experts; as it’s the only time of the year they will collectively be in once place in this region and its right on the doorstep!
There is also the opportunity to enter the airports free prize draw to win one of the fabulous prizes on offer including: – Return flight tickets to Edinburgh and Aberdeen, Helicopter pleasure flight, flying lessons, restaurant voucher and much more. Additional free to enter competitions will be taking place on individual stands throughout the day with many more great prizes to be won.
Break will also be present promoting the work of the charity along with some of the GoGo Dragons and the airport is delighted to be part of the 2015 trail with the Norwich International Airport dragon being unveiled at the travel show.
Historically this day has always been a huge success with people eager to book and in keeping with tradition, any holidays booked on the day will receive free parking at Norwich International for their holiday and a fantastic 5% booking discount.
Aston Shaw, Chartered Certified Accountants have launched a monthly advice service to provide professional support and guidance to people with existing businesses or entrepreneurial ideas. As a part of the firm’s 2015 CSR strategy, Aston Shaw will run free advice sessions on the first Thursday of every month between 1pm and 5pm at all 5 office locations. To book a free business advice session, email: [email protected].
Due to launch on Thursday, 5th February 2015, these sessions are free to attend and open to anyone (e.g. employed, unemployed, going through redundancy, developing a business idea or a new business) who would like to receive free technical and practical business advice from a qualified professional.
Mark Noakes, Director, stated, “We want to drive forward local businesses in our area and give back to our community, so we decided to offer our advice and expertise to the local people who need it, but may not be able to afford it. The monthly free advice sessions will run on a ‘first come first served basis’ and we will advise on a range of topics from business, finance, tax, marketing and legal”.
The sessions will give existing and prospective business owners the chance to ask about:
Business Research
Business Plan
Setting Up a Business
Buying Premises
Business Banking
Tax
Finance
Business Insurance
Staff & HR
Advertising/Marketing/Social Media
Business Networking
Legal
Key Details:
Every first Thursday afternoon of the month between 1-5pm
Locations: Norwich, Cambridge, Ipswich, Great Yarmouth and Dereham
On first come first served basis and free to attend
Free business advice sessions must be booked in advance
Technical and practical advice from qualified professionals
Open to anyone regardless of circumstance e.g. employed, unemployed, going through redundancy, developing a business idea, getting into a new career or a new business (under 3 years old)
For full details and to book your session please email [email protected]
EarlyBird ticket sales for NorDevCon are still available for £95 + fee – less than half the standard ticket price! EarlyBird sales end this Friday, 13th February. You can purchase your tickethere.
This year, not only will the conference be a gathering of some of the brightest minds from the tech community, but over 100 business representatives from businesses in and around the county.
With somebusiness based sessionsand the opportunity to network with investors, designers and everything in between, the conference is the perfect chance to mingle with like minded folk and attend interactive sessions demonstrating how technological advances can add efficiency and value to a company’s business model.
Ali Clabburnof Norwich based Liftshare speaking on “How to get the best from developers when you haven’t got a clue” may be of particular interest to members.
When Anglian Home Improvements embarked on one of its biggest product roll-outs ever, Triple Glazing, it commissioned JMS to produce all video and TV content, in a wide range of genres, onto a multitude of platforms. As a special bonus all our productions were premiered to national and regional managers at BAFTA, which after two years of production, often in secrecy, we (blushingly) felt was rather an appropriate setting for a project which had called on all our skills – and then some!
Actually, it really is unusual for a project to call on quite so many of our skills at once:
For launch – the National television advertising campaign blended live action with 3D, conceptualised by The Point, portraying typical homes in far from typical settings – a house wearing ear-defenders.
For sales teams – a studio-based training production capturing the step by step process of explaining this very advanced product to a customer.
For customers – a simple explainer – ‘Triple – what is it?’ in a pencil-drawing style designed to complement and expand-on the ‘white space’ concept of the TV campaign.
For all Anglian Home Improvements staff – a 36 minute documentary on the Triple Glazing journey incorporating time-lapse of the huge new factory line being installed; Tomorrow’s World-style product-endurance tests; the company’s very first triple-glazing installation;and acoustic tests on location with a specialist camera incorporating an amazing 259 microphones.
For the documentary Anglian persuaded Eco-specialist presenter Philippa Forrester to take time away from her current home in Wyoming. And as if all that wasn’t variety enough, with Anglian as the headline sponsor of October’s Grand Designs Live at the NEC, JMS found itself re-versioning everything for LED screens, stand videos, on-line, and for the sales team’s iPads. After leading its industry for almost 50 years, Anglian Home Improvements knows how to keep its marketing fresh, engaging, and persuasive, and JMS is delighted to be an integral part of that process.
We are pleased to announce that two of our divorce law practitioners,Amanda Owens, Solicitor, andEmma Alfieri, Chartered Legal Executive, have both been accepted to become members of the family law group Resolution.
Resolution is an organisation of 6,500 family lawyers in England and Wales who believe in a constructive, non-confrontational approach to divorce, separation and other family disputes. Resolution also campaigns for improvements to the family justice system.
A cornerstone of Resolution membership is adherence to their Code of Practice, which promotes an approach to family law that is sensitive, constructive, cost-effective and most likely to result in an agreement. The principles of the Code are widely recognised and have been adopted by the Law Society as recommended good practice for all family lawyers. The Code requires solicitors and other legal advisers to deal with each other in a civilised way and to encourage their clients to put their differences aside and reach fair agreements.
Amanda Owens, Solicitor and Head of the Family team at Steeles Law commented: “I am pleased that my colleague Emma and I have become members as, whilst we have always conducted our work in a constructive, non-confrontational manner, it is great to have our beliefs and working practices supported by Resolution, which can only be a positive thing.”
We’re now less than 5 weeks away fromNorDevCon 2015and the Early Bird tickets are available until the 13th February at £95 + fees – less than half the standard ticket price!
This year, not only will the conference be a gathering of some of the brightest minds from the tech community, but over 100 business representatives from businesses in and around the county.
With some business based sessions and the opportunity to network with investors, designers and everything in between, the conference is the perfect chance to mingle with like minded folk and attend interactive sessions demonstrating how technological advances can add efficiency and value to a company’s business model.
Ali Clabburn, of Norwich based Liftshare, will be speaking on “How to get the best from developers when you haven’t got a clue.” which promises to be an insightful session and may be of particular interest to members.
Returning member Norwich Puppet Centre gave very positive reactions to our recent MPs event. “It was great to be making connections with business again and to pick up on initiatives like Swarm apprenticeships, and get reactions to other delegates thoughts on corporate social responsibility, and how we might explore things of mutual interest.
“We are always interested in working with business to share profile and access to audiences, and lots of you and your employees may be interested in our stunning half term programme.
“Do have a look at our flier andhttps://www.puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on for latest ticket information. There are shows for the family, baby family shows, and some fantastic workshop experiences linked to the productions our outstanding visiting puppetry friends have brought to us!
“We are also keen to work with the business sector to provide a channel for employee volunteering, and of course lots of other ways where practical and financial support is really welcome!”
“Contact Chair of Trustees[email protected]or the administration team on 01603 615564 to discuss this.”
Great Yarmouth based True Traders have bought local courier consolidators Diamond Logistics Norwich after being the largest customer of the company for over a year. True Traders were so impressed with the transformation of their operations after partnering with Diamond Logistics Norwich that they decided to buy the company!
Previously owned by Kevin Baker, Diamond Logistics Norwich are a Multi-Carrier Solution for parcels. It utilises national contracts with most major courier and logistics companies, which allow significantly lower rates than can be achieved individually.
True Traders is a family run online retailer that specialise in building, garden and outdoor products. Managing Director Michael Bezance explained the investment: ‘Given how Diamond Logistics Norwich have changed the way we work, and the potential within the company, once the opportunity presented itself to us it was a very easy decision to make. For True Traders to continue our rapid growth we have to compete with the big online retailers like Amazon, Tescos, B&Q etc, and Diamond Logistics Norwich has allowed us to do just that. The business has reduced our costs, while significantly increasing levels of service both for the customer and from the courier. We liked the company so much we just had to buy it!’
New Managing Director of Diamond Logistics Norwich Tom Bezance said ‘Kevin has done a great job with the company so far, but we felt that with the resources within True Traders we stood a very good chance of growing the company rapidly. The ‘MultiCarrier Solutions’ service can benefit many local small and medium sized businesses, taking away a lot of the cost and hassle of sending parcels and allowing them to spend more time growing the business. This is already a proven formula for True Traders for both UK deliveries and abroad.
Tom and experienced Business Development Manager Chris Wilson hope to see the company flourish in the future. ‘We hope to quickly increase our customer base in the Norwich and Great Yarmouth areas to begin with, we know there are plenty of businesses out there that would benefit considerably from our services.’
The Government’s adviser on local growth Lord Heseltine visited Ipswich recently to meet the New Anglia Growth Hub team, based at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce on the waterfront.
Established last summer by New Anglia LEP, the Growth Hub is a one-stop-shop for business support and funding information. It is one of several Growth Hubs set up nationally to give business owners a clearer route to business support.
Lord Heseltine has called for more powers to be devolved from London to the regions to help local business leaders access help and support they need to grow.
During his visit, Lord Heseltine met with five local businesses who the Growth Hub has helped to grow by signposting them to specialist providers of business support. He spent time talking to each of the businesses to learn more about the ways they had been supported.
Crossing a range of sectors, the businesses were Aponic, an innovative hydroponics company from Sudbury, Howard Nurseries who are a plant wholesaler near Diss, Seers Medical, a manufacturer of therapy and medical beds in Debenham, Orbital Media, a leading social media and digital agency in Stowmarket and The Naughty Sheep who are a quality jam, marmalade and chutney artisan factory located in Ipswich.
Lord Heseltine has previously been a customer of Howard Nurseries. The Growth Hub has worked with them to secure a funded internship to boost their sales and marketing. Owner Christine Howard commented; “We would never have accessed this support without our meetings with the Growth Hub Advisers.”
John Stenhouse, Growth Hub manager said: “It was great to be able to show Lord Heseltine first-hand the businesses we have helped in our first year. We’re committed to supporting all businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk across all sectors and at any stage of development and the team of advisers will travel to any business to offer face-to-face support.”
To find out how the Growth Hub can support your business, call 0300 333 6536 or email [email protected]
Petans are pleased to announce that we have funded the uniform and equipment for the Potter Heigham Areas Community First Responders Group, helping them to aid and assist life threatening emergencies within the Catfield, Ludham, Potter Heigham, Martham and Hickling area. Our very own Jennie Douse (Financial Controller) has been a volunteer member at Potter Heigham group since August 2014 and instigated the relationship between Petans and The First Responders. Fellow members, Shelley Moore and Ashley McNeill came to the Norwich training centre to show off their new uniforms and equipment, along with Andrew Barlow – Community Partnership Manager for East of England Ambulance Service.
Petans have helped to fund 3 uniforms, and a response bag, a Welmed Ipad SP1 defibrillator, Pulse Oximetor and suction equipment for the team, helping the group to cover such an extensive area. Being a charity that’s top priority is to benchmark a high standard of safety within the energy sector; it is easy to see the importance of schemes such as the Community First Responders.
Swarm as asocial enterprise is focused on supporting and developing young people in employemnt to deliver the greatest possible impact.Now there’s an opportunity for even greater impact with the introduction of a Level 5 apprenticeship in ‘Innovation and Growth.’
Unlike the Level 2 and 3 apprenticeships Swarm supports, there is no upper age limit for Government funding. That reduces the likely cost to the learner or their employer, making this qualification a realistic and affordable option for many wishing to grow their entrepreneurial skills.
Chris Perry Swarms Managing Director comments- ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for people to gain a degree level qualification in the workplace that concentrates on business growth and development. It unlocks new doors for both Swarm and the business community, enabling organisations to upskill existing employees or recruit new people to high calibre management roles.’
He continues, ‘We recognise that to grow opportunities for young people you need to grow businesses. With this qualification we have a unique opportunity to support the senior leader’s business to drive innovation and growth which will have a wider impact, not just for young people but for the whole regional economy.’
Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber comments “Exciting news for Norfolk businesses and young people and another first for Swarm. Another step forward in the provision of apprenticeships”
Robert Ashton, Swarm’s founder and Chairman added: ‘this new qualification will challenge people to see, and then seize their opportunity to lead innovation and growth at work. It’s accessible, affordable and as with everything Swarm does, has enterprise at its heart.’
The first group of ten will start this May, with the qualification being delivered by Swarm in partnership with Norfolk County Council Adult Education. If you’d like to be one of the ten, or to find out more, ring Chris Perry on 01953 609752 or visit www.swarmapprentice.org.uk