Our latest Blog post explores the Riverlane Office design in more detail and explores the key design features we integrated to transform this space. “This month, Layrd Design is delighted to share details of its latest interior design project for an innovative quantum computing firm based in the heart of Cambridge. The development for Riverlane saw Layrd Design supply a complete interior design package – along with project management services – for a 500m sq office in Cambridge city centre…” Read the full article here
In this episode, James and Mark chat to the woman known as ‘The Business Motivator.’ Susannah Brade-Waring is a renowned and trusted business advisor and coach for SME businesses. A member of the global business coaching platform, Mindshop, Susannah recently received the coveted Value to Others award for European advisors.
She started out with a Master’s degree in IT from Loughborough University before becoming a Director of a start-up business, where she helped the ‘non-family’ family business build to a £10m turnover before facilitating a management buyout (MBO) in 2008. Susannah notes that for many business founders, their company is their baby; an expression of what they want in life. As it was important to her father to know the people would be looked after, Susannah stayed to facilitate the MBO. She’s honest about what drives her; what a ‘non-family’ family business looks like; and the realities of having to work harder than everyone else to prove yourself within one.
Susannah then moved on to found her own advisory business, Aspirin Business Solutions, which focuses on equipping and energising leaders, HR professionals and coaches to build stronger businesses and teams.
One of Susannah’s key specialisms is Motivational Maps, which provide a comprehensive understanding of motivation in business – what it is, how to measure it and, most importantly, how to improve it. She also discusses the difference between Motivational Maps and psychometric testing.
She chats to James and Mark about her own desire to learn what motivates her team, and how to engage best with them. She acknowledges that our motivations are linked to our beliefs, which can change during our course of life. She also notes the importance of recognising that everyone has ‘stuff’ going on, and if you get a reflection of their ‘stuff’, don’t take it personally! They also discuss growth mindsets and working on emotional intelligence and development, which she admits didn’t come naturally, and how to develop this as a skill set. Susannah is an example of the heights you can achieve by developing your unconscious competence.
With real life stories of owners and managers of businesses Susannah has worked with, her insights include fascinating reference points, such as Netflix’s open and honest leave and expenses policies, and the analogy of ‘one ring to rule them all.’ This is a conversation not to be missed!
You can learn more about the work Susannah does by visiting her website here and about Motivational Maps here.
Norwich Airport sees the return of flights to Guernsey this week with the first of five weekly Saturday services for anyone looking for a Channel Island break.
Guernsey’s own airline Aurigny is operating the flights until September 18, marking the return of a summer service that it last operated from Norwich in 2019.
Malcolm Coupar, Commercial Director of Aurigny, said: “Aurigny are delighted to be returning to Norwich airport this weekend with the first of five weekly Saturday flights direct to Guernsey in just 90 minutes.
“The seasonal service has always been popular and gives many the opportunity to visit the beautiful islands of Guernsey, Herm, Sark, Lihou and Alderney, which together make up the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Guernsey provides the safety of home yet the exotic appeal of an overseas location with much to see and explore. We look forward to welcoming aboard our visitors from Norwich and the surrounding areas.”
Richard Pace, Managing Director of Norwich Airport, said: “It’s great to welcome Aurigny back with their flights to Guernsey and to be able to offer passengers another exciting destination from Norwich.
“This week has also seen the return of flights from Norwich to Corfu with TUI, and we’re looking forward to their Tenerife service re-starting next month. In July we saw flights resume to Majorca, Exeter and Edinburgh, adding to our services to Amsterdam, Aberdeen and Jersey, which are all operating now.
“Our 2022 holiday season is already shaping up well with flights to Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Bulgaria from May.”
To book Guernsey flights with Aurigny visit www.auringy.com. For a full list of destinations from Norwich Airport and details of how to book, visit www.norwichairport.co.uk
JD Cooling Group who were recently awarded London Stock Exchange’s ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’, were delighted to welcome The Mayor to their offices on the North Lynn Industrial Estate.
As part of the visit, Councillor Nick Daubney officially presented the prestigious award to JD Cooling Group’s managing director, John Dye in front of members of the team.
He said of the company, “It was good to meet the management and staff behind this success story. I really appreciated the time taken to show me their operations and welcomed the opportunity to discuss and learn of both future opportunities and forthcoming challenges. JD Cooling is a forward-thinking innovator and clearly an important and conscientious employer. The Stock Exchange 1000 Award is very well deserved.”
John Dye, said, “It was a pleasure to meet the Mayor of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, Councilor Nick Daubney. On behalf of everyone, I would like to thank him for his time and the opportunity to personally introduce him to the JD team and our successes.”
Having been named New Director of the Year for East Anglia, Sarah West of Full Mix Marketing has been shortlisted for the Institute of Directors’ 2018 national Director of the Year Awards.
The founder and Managing Director of the Norwich-based full-service marketing agency is among finalists recognised for their exemplary business leadership.
“It’s was amazing to win the regional award” says Sarah. “To even attend the national awards is the cherry on the cake. It really has been a team effort though. I couldn’t have developed such a great business, and delivered such strong results for our clients, without the people around me.”
The finalists were chosen from the hundreds of directors that entered into one of the 13 heats across the UK, in 10 different categories. The expert judging panel will now convene to decide the overall winners to be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 18 October 2018 at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London.
Stephen Martin, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said: “The winners from our regions and nations present fantastic examples of business leadership, and it’s heartening to be able to bring their stories to the attention of a wider audience at the finals. I am looking forward to celebrating their success at this year’s event.”
Attended by business leaders, entrepreneurs, government and media representatives, the awards ceremony is a unique opportunity to network, exchange ideas and celebrate with some of the very ‘best of the best’ in British business.
It is Captain Fawcett’s great pleasure to introduce Maharajah, a most noble Signature Series ‘Eau de Parfum’ created in collaboration with The Jodhpur Company. Redolent of India’s princely opulence, aromatic smoke rising in balmy air, masala chai’s warm essence and the perfumed crush of bright petals. A tantalising, voluptuous fragrance conjuring the luxurious heat of enchanted Indian nights. The Captain’s Master Blender has woven heady rose with peppery spice, rich musk, beguiling cedar & leather studded with dazzling citrus top notes. In truth, a simply magnificent new Eau de Parfum has been created for your delectation and delight. Maharajah Eau de Parfum is the perfect complement to companion items in the Maharajah range: a fragrant Moustache Wax, Beard Oil and Beard Balm. To be released 18th August www.captainfawcett.com/collections/the-jodhpur-company-maharajah-signature-series
THE TALE OF THE CAPTAIN AND THE MAHARAJAH
Hurrying through the London rain, Captain Fawcett was delighted to spy a familiar Rolls Royce parked outside his Club. It belonged to none other than his dear chum the Maharajah, a man of exquisite taste. Alas, his friend’s mood was a trifle glum. ‘I am delighted to be here for the cricket,’ he said, ‘yet I am consumed with yearning for the ravishing colours of my own sovereign state.’ ‘I have just the remedy!’ exclaimed Fawcett flourishing a glass phial. The fragrant perfumes therein yielded an astonishing harmony of aromatics. Evocative of myths and men, entwined with a thousand years of memory, it was indeed the signature scent of the Maharajah’s beloved homeland. ‘Fawcett, you are simply extraordinary!’ cried his old chum, spirits immediately revived. ‘I know,’ replied Fawcett, modestly. All Hail the Hirsute.
Hello 🙂 We’re very pleased to be able to share our new professionally designed website, thanks to the guys over at Think – Digital Marketing. We have partnered up with their team based in Norwich, and instructed them to become our new ‘Marketing department’. So we’re super excited for the launch of a new three month campaign to recruit more properties in Norfolk and Suffolk, starting next week. If you’d like to chat to us about joining our team of owners, please drop us a message.
NEW TEAM MEMBERS:
We’re very happy that Paul and Tom at Mortgage Response have come on board, and as such we can now offer a fully comprehensive turn-key service. Between us we can offer property acquisition, in-house mortgages, Project Management, Marketing and full Property Management.
COMING SOON:
We have a new and exciting tasty collaboration launching on the bank holiday weekend with Erics of Thornham, two further properties being added in Cromer and Knodishall, and a sixth team member joining us to help run the office shortly.
TWO NEW OFFICES:
As well as our beautiful coastal office in Bacton, we now have two new hubs in Norwich and Diss.
THREE NEW HOLIDAY HOMES:
We’re also super excited to be able to share three stunning new fully managed properties with you. Two of them are available to book now too, so we hope you love them as much as we do:
SEAWAVES COTTAGE
Availabale from the 10th September, Seawaves Cottage is a gorgeous Edwardian holiday home located around 150 yards to Pakefield’s glorious golden sandy beach. This property combines all the convenience of a very well thought out and stylish new-to-market home, while oozing the charm and sophistication of a coastal house. You’ll love the stylish interior, comfy beds, ample garden and quiet location – sleeping up to 5 people in 3 bedrooms and welcoming 2 doggies. Shops, restaurants, cinema, theatre, all within walking distance.
Kirkley Reach is a new-to-market Victorian bay fronted house, a stone’s throw to Kirkley’s sandy beach. This grand property boasts a fully enclosed South facing rear garden, and all the convenience of a well thought out home, while oozing the charm of a stylish seaside bolthole. It sleeps 8 people in 4 bedrooms with an extra room sleeping 2 if needed. It welcomes 2 doggies and will be having a hot tub fitted in October.
Norfolk County Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council would like to hear your thoughts on proposals to improve our active travel network in Great Yarmouth, but please act quickly because the survey closes on 8th September. The plans are a result of work to create a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, which supports the Government’s ambition to make cycling and walking the natural choices for making short journeys in towns and cities. The proposals include seven routes, which could see a range of improvements over the coming years including redesigned junctions to help walkers and cyclists to use them more easily, new and improved cycle lanes and footpaths, improved cycle parking and junction safety improvements. In addition, there are also plans to improve pedestrian accessibly within two priority walking zones. These are situated in Great Yarmouth town centre with a link to the seafront and Gorleston High Street and seafront. To help prioritise the proposals Norfolk County Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council are inviting local businesses and organisations to review the improvements and to share feedback by completing a simple on-line survey. I have attached a short briefing document which contains a summary of the proposals and any feedback received will be used to help shape and prioritise the initial plans as well as identify any new schemes. To find out more and to complete the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston cycling and walking survey please visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/activetravel before 8th September.
In Part 1 of Our Guide to Workplace Acoustics, we explored the impact of noise on wellbeing and productivity, as well as the ways in which structural elements can reduce its effects. However, there’s more to minimising noise than permanent fixtures.
In this article, we turn from the building to its contents, exploring how furniture and moveable objects can also be used to minimise workplace noise and distractions.
That’s what one of the Goff Petroleum marketing team are hoping to achieve. On Monday September 13th, Ben Handford will take his first steps on his week-long challenge, to walk round the perimeter of Norfolk then into Norwich, that’s 220 miles or nearly 500,000 steps.
The Samaritans vision is “fewer people die of suicide” and Ben wants to raise awareness and funds for this charity which has saved his life on at least two separate occasions.
Ben will be starting his challenge from Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth, fittingly this is the hospital he was born in and yet today it is a mental health facility. He’ll be carrying everything he needs and will be sleeping in his tent each evening. The first leg see’s Ben walk from Great Yarmouth to Scole and then each day he will walk approximately 35 miles via Thetford, Kings Lynn and then back along the coast. All being well by September the 19th Ben will be arrive in Great Yarmouth for the last leg of the walk back to Norwich Samaritans main office.
The purpose of this challenge is to help raise £10,000 for Norwich Samaritans through donations and sponsorship. This will support them to help others via their unique 24-hour listening service, email, letter or face to face at their Norwich centre.
“I’m over the moon that the kind people at Abel Homes, Hadley and Ottaway, Lovewell Blake, Little Green Button and Nelsons Spirit and have all sponsored me along with a wide range of friends and acquaintances.”
“The Samaritans have been a wonderful tool, there to listen to me without judgement, the opportunity to share my dark thoughts without causing pain to a loved one has been priceless. Walking these days really is medicine for my mind, body and soul, so many metaphors are true, it’s about putting one foot in front of the other and slowly but surely making forward progress.”
Here at Round House we are going through fundamental changes, to become a more customer centric organization and to be considered “Best in class”. We have a clear vision and strategy that will help us to form close partnerships with our existing and prospective customers, our suppliers and with the local community. In the first ¼ of this year we have seen growth of over 30% compared to last year and have invested in new equipment, recruitment, training and development of our staff as well as bringing in the next generation of talent with our new graduate scheme. We have restructured our board of Directors and management team to deliver the next phase of our strategy to drive through the improvements needed on our journey towards becoming a world class metal fabricator. With the implementation of 5s and Lean manufacturing initiatives we will become more cost competitive and reduce lead times as well as offering some new services like upstream design support to our customers. The full integration of our MRP system will enable us to capture live data, manage capacity, schedule more efficiently and will further improve our level or responsiveness to customer demand.
The effects of these changes can be seen already and due to our growth in revenue 18% more staff and will offer further job opportunities for the local community as the effects of the fundamental changes we have made continue to grow our business.
Our team at Round House believes in “working together, winning together”
Richard Brookes has recently celebrated 10 years as a TaxAssist Accountants franchisee, moving to a larger shop and the opening of a second shop.
Richard Brookes has been very busy of late, buying and moving to a new shop on Mill Road in Cambridge and opening a second shop on Histon Road in the north of the city.
“I’ve had a very successful 10 years with TaxAssist and it was the time to look for larger and additional premises to maximise efficiency and visibility for the practice across the city”, said Richard. “Both of the shops look absolutely fantastic, providing a literal shop window for our friendly walk-in services and both have plenty of parking available nearby. I couldn’t be happier with the location and indeed the client walk-in rate for both shops so far.”
Chartered Accountant Richard joined the franchise after a successful career working for two large multi-national companies. In early 2008, the opportunity arose to exit his employer with a lump sum and, rather than look for another job, he decided it was time to work for himself, and, familiar with franchising, decided to turn to this sector.
“If I had decided to just be my own boss I would have needed to buy things like technical support, systems, training as well as marketing support – so why not have them all under one roof as part of a franchise,” explained Richard. “The key thing is that being part of a successful franchise has meant that my business has grown much, much quicker than it would have done otherwise. I just wish I could have done it sooner!”
Richard runs his franchise with the assistance of nine members of staff and will be looking to take on more staff in the near future.
If Richard’s story has inspired you, please call or e-mail us for further information and to book onto a discovery day 0800 0188297 or [email protected]