Member News

NABAS, the National Association for Balloon Artists and Suppliers, has launched an exciting new balloon recycling initiative with Terracycle. Local NABAS member Claire Carney Floral and Balloon Designs Ltd has signed up to the scheme and is accepting used balloons and partyware from their customers to be recycled instead of going to landfill. Terracycle specialise in recycling traditionally hard-to-recycle waste, turning it into alternative materials that can be used to make other products. Foil, latex and plastic balloons can all be recycled, along with ribbons, bows, party hats and supplies. NABAS Co-Chairs Victoria Cooke and Claire Carney said “We are delighted to facilitate this exciting scheme that will make it easy for our members and their customers to recycle used balloons and party products. Diverting these items from landfill and turning them into reusable materials has to be good for the environment. It also demonstrates our commitment to helping customers enjoy their celebrations knowing they can responsibly recycle their party products after the event”. NABAS is the UK’s independent trade association for the balloon and party industry. For more information visit https://nabas.co.uk/environmental or contact NABAS member Claire Carney at [email protected].

Tech Educators are pleased to announce a new course aimed at supporting businesses based in North Norfolk. A tailored version of their existing Digital Marketing with AI bootcamp will focus on the needs of the local region, offering in-person and online sessions that will give you and your business the necessary skills to thrive in todays every changing and evolving digital landscape. You will unlock tools and learn techniques to increase your efficiency using AI. Funding could be available through the Future Skills NOW grant: Home | Skills and Training Programme (north-norfolk.gov.uk) To avoid disappointment, register your interest today: https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1yDJYQPxJRVeclKbHtg6sfA2dssr9

The fifth round of the Caterham Graduates Racing Series took place under the warm, sunny skies of Snetterton, a welcome change after several weekends of unpredictable weather. Alpha 7 fielded an impressive seven cars, with three in the 150 class and four in the 135 class, fully embracing the sunny conditions. The team set up on Wednesday afternoon and made the most of the MSV track day, evening session, and Friday testing to fine-tune their setups. The heat proved to be a significant challenge, both for the drivers and the track. High temperatures quickly led to overheating tyres, making grip a precious commodity. 150 Class – Thrills and Triumphs Qualifying for the 150 class was nothing short of exhilarating. Jamie Ellwood clinched pole position with a blistering final lap, while fellow Alpha 7 drivers also performed admirably, securing P1, P3, P12, and P24 out of a field of 25 cars. Notably, racing newcomer Ed Benton made a strong debut, competing for the very first time. The first race of the weekend was action-packed. Jamie Ellwood and Matthew Willoughby engaged in thrilling battles at the front. Despite a gearbox issue that saw Jamie drop to P7 on lap 4, he fought his way back to finish P3 by the end of the race. Matthew Willoughby finished a solid P5, and Ed Benton successfully completed his first-ever motor race, marking a significant milestone in his racing journey. In the second race, Jamie Ellwood continued to battle at the front, this time alongside his rival Will Stilwell. Unfortunately, Jamie’s championship competitor Harry Senior had to retire due to a fuel pump failure. Ed Benton shone again, achieving his fastest-ever lap around Snetterton and winning the People First ‘Millisecond Award’ for the closest finish, edging out Rob Appleton by just 0.054 seconds! 135 Class – New Faces and Great Performances In the 135 class, Alpha 7 drivers also showcased their skills. Darren Butler, making his debut with Alpha 7 as a guest driver and transitioning from the official Caterham series, achieved his first-ever podium finish. This was particularly special as Darren is a local driver. Amanda Anderson had a challenging start to the weekend; despite a spin in Race 1 that dropped her to P22, she made a strong recovery in Race 2. Starting from P11, Amanda surged up to P5 by the third corner and finished P7. Darren also performed well in Race 2, securing a P5 finish. Overall, Round 5 at Snetterton was a weekend of impressive performances and personal milestones for Alpha 7. From Jamie Ellwood’s epic pole position and podium finishes to Ed Benton’s novice debut, and Darren Butler’s podium achievement, it was a weekend filled with excitement and success. For those inspired by these performances and eager to dive into the world of motorsport, Alpha 7 offers a range of personalised driver development programmes to help you get on track. Contact us to learn more about how we can support your racing ambitions and help you achieve your goals.

All workshops are 3 hours of content and in person.

Business Growth workshops with AMS Business Consultants

This interactive workshop will give you the tools and techniques to help you in achieving business growth.

Norwich, 17^th September

King’s Lynn, 3^rd October

Business Mindset Workshop with AMS Business Consultants

 vg  interactive workshop explores and discusses what a positive business mindset looks like and means to you and your business.

Dereham, 24^th September

How to use Data to Produce a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy Workshop with Footprint Digital

Learn how to get your business in a stronger position online and attract quality visitors that convert into leads/sales.

Great Yarmouth, 19^th September

Digital Marketing Toolkit for SMEs Workshop with Social B

Join us to gather insights on your target audience and use tools such as Google Analytics to understand the digital opportunity for your business and where you need to be.

Norwich, 8^th October

Understanding SEO to Take Control of your Google Rankings with Footprint Digital

Learn how to take control of your Search Engine Optimisation in a world where results are generated by AI. Great Yarmouth, 10^th October

Getting Started with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Workshop with Social B

Earlier this year, Google said goodbye to Universal Analytics and replaced it with a new and improved version meet ‘Google Analytics 4’ -GA4 Norwich, 23^rd October

Demystifying the World of Digital Advertising with Footprint Digital

This hugely informative session will help you understand the options available to your business to drive sales and leads via online advertising Great Yarmouth, 6^th November

Video Marketing with Dave O’Flynn, Samphire Digital and Andrew Gooding

Session 1: Introduction to Video Marketing This interactive session will dive into the world of video marketing; learn the basics and get started. Dereham, 29 October

Session 2: Creating Videos This interactive session will teach you all the practical skills of video making. Dereham, 7^th November

Session 3: Launching you Campaigns

This interactive session launching video marketing campaigns on multiple platforms and the marketing tools needed to amplify content to a wider audience.

Dereham, 26^th November

4 steps to Business Growth with Wendy Richards

Elevate your business with our comprehensive workshop designed to provide you with the knowledge and tools needed to achieve sustainable growth. This event will cover essential aspects of business development, from planning and marketing to systems and team building, ensuring you leave with a strategic action plan for success.

King’s Lynn, November 19th

Uptech Ltd, a multi-award-winning managed service provider based in Kings Lynn, has acquired Lincolnshire IT firm Jalapeno Business Services. This strategic move will enhance the services and resources available to Jalapeno’s clients while maintaining a high level of service. Under the Uptech umbrella, Jalapeno Business Services based in Bassingham near Lincoln will transition to operating under the Uptech name. James Fowler, Business Development Manager at Uptech Ltd, said: “This merger marks a significant milestone, promising enriched service offerings and greater innovation. “Jalapeno Business Services will operate under the Uptech Ltd name and the transition will allow us to leverage Uptech’s extensive knowledge base, cutting-edge technology solutions, and industry-leading expertise. “Our commitment to delivering high-quality service remains unchanged, and we are excited about the enriched service offerings and greater innovation this partnership brings.” Mark Brown, owner and director of Jalapeno Business Services, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Uptech Ltd. This partnership allows us to provide our clients with even more comprehensive and robust IT solutions, backed by Uptech’s decades of experience and success. “Our clients will benefit greatly from the additional resources and expertise now available to them.” Despite the change in branding, all Jalapeno’s current employees will stay on board, continuing to operate from the same office locations. This continuity will ensure that the company’s clients will receive consistent and familiar support while gaining access to the expanded capabilities that Uptech brings to the table. Uptech Ltd has a long track record of excellence, marked by numerous awards and recognitions within the managed service industry in Norfolk and East Anglia, including Best Managed IT Services Firm 2024 in East Anglia. As it celebrates its 30th anniversary, Uptech continues to pioneer innovative solutions and deliver exceptional results for businesses across various sectors. For more information about the transition and the enhanced services now available, visit www.uptech.co.uk or contact James Fowler at [email protected]

Join us for an evening of luxury and elegance!

We are delighted to invite you to the exclusive Saxon Air X Jo Malone London event—a night where aviation meets elegance. This one-of-a-kind experience will captivate your senses and provide a sophisticated setting to connect, unwind, and be entertained.

What’s in store:

Prepare to be mesmerised by a blend of sophisticated entertainment:

• Full casino: Try your luck and enjoy the thrill of classic casino games.
• Private jet tour: Explore luxury aviation firsthand and unlock exclusive charter discounts.
• Live string quartet and singer: Enjoy enchanting music to set the perfect ambiance.
• Burlesque performances: Experience the allure and glamour of live burlesque.
• DJ and dance floor: Keep the night alive with music from our vibrant DJ.
• Charity auction: Participate in our auction with all proceeds going to support The Feed, making your night even more meaningful.

To watch the event trailer: There Is Something In The Air | Saxon Air Event Trailer – YouTube

Exclusive corporate package for Norfolk businesses:

 As a valued Norfolk business, we are pleased to offer a special corporate package—10 tickets at a 20% discount. This is a fantastic opportunity to reward your team, entertain clients, or simply enjoy an elegant evening with colleagues. Immerse your team in an unforgettable experience of sophistication, entertainment, and networking.

Why attend?

• Reward your team: A unique way to celebrate and recognise your team’s hard work.
• Network in style: Connect with other Norfolk businesses in a luxurious setting.
• Support a great cause: Your participation helps us raise funds for The Feed, supporting those in need in our community.

Secure your corporate package today!

Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to indulge in a night of luxury and elegance.

To take advantage of this exclusive offer, simply order a corporate package following this link Saxon Air Event scented by Jo Malone London Tickets, Sat, Sep 28, 2024 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

If you prefer, you also have the option to purchase individual tickets—simply select this option in your basket. 

You can also elevate your experience with a Wolterton weekend stay—email us at [email protected] for details.

Due to the limited availability of tickets, we encourage you to secure your spot promptly. 

We look forward to welcoming you and your team to an evening that promises to be nothing short of extraordinary.

We pledge to uphold five key commitments: ensuring inclusive and accessible recruitment, effectively communicating vacancies, offering interviews to disabled individuals, providing reasonable adjustments, and supporting our existing employees.

At OPCoachUK we describe ourselves as organisational psychologists and coaches. We also have deep HR expertise. However, we know that doesn’t automatically describe our offering. Particularly with our focus on SMEs, we know that we need to outline what we do, and how it creates positive impact. We don’t expect any CEO to cry out, “Help! For the love of Mike, I need an Organisational Psychologist!”. However, experience tells us that we have a lot to offer any growing SME with ambitions to be a top employer. At the highest level, we enable organisations to give to and get the best from their people in a way that is fully tailored to business goals, culture and individuals. We have over 10 years of experience of being the oil that gets the engine into perfect performance and allows the leaders to drive the supercar. That still isn’t very descriptive, so in more detail, what we do depends on the size of business. In organisations that are pre-HR, we can set you on the road to building effective and efficient mechanisms that enable your team members to grow with you. We know how to accurately define an organisation’s culture so that the culture feeds the organisation’s success. All the best People/HR processes feed and refine that culture, while boosting the success of the business. We can also start from a point of enabling you to manage your team’s performance in a meaningful, but lightly engineered way. The words “performance management” can be very off-putting to a CEO who values their team already, but performance maximisation is quite a different thing. Light touch, heavy impact performance maximisation enables leaders, managers and their teams to stay firmly on a path of professional growth. In larger organisations that are more “M” and already have an HR/People team, we work to ensure that the nuts and bolts of people management are aligned to your business goals. We can provide training and upskill your managers in the smooth running of their team. If it will work in your business, we can introduce the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to smooth working. Alternatively, we can embed CliftonStrengths to help people to focus on their talents. We also offer straightforward, traditional coaching to leaders and managers. Your people come to sessions with something they want to work on professionally, and we enable and encourage them to succeed within your framework. Coaching is very powerful; it powers growth, reduces stress and drives up retention. In terms of duration, we can do short-order pieces of work, such as a culture diagnostic. We can do medium-term projects, such as setting up/refining people processes. We can even do long-term work, where your team gets to work with the same coach over a longer period. In these instances we become the oil that keeps the team growing and we vastly reduce the time a leadership team spends on negative People issues. Regardless of size of business, this begins with discussion around your business goals and your aspirations for your team. Tell us your ambitions and we will suggest how we can support you. If you are situated close to Norwich or Bristol, we’d love to come and meet you. Otherwise, we have traditionally performed most of our work remotely, so you’re more than welcome to speak to us through video call. We naturally won’t charge for the initial consultation or the resulting proposal. The first 10 leaders who respond to this post and decide to go ahead on the first project of any size will get a 10% discount on our usual prices for that project. For more information, please contact us through opcoach.uk and mention NCC August 2024.

Trust, but Verify. A phrase you may have heard from Ronald Regan during his time as president of the USA. Being an employer, you are the president and leader of your company. A company you may have started from scratch and poured everything into making it a success. You have a team of staff employed to support the business and help it grow and exceed your expectations. The staff have been chosen by you. You trust them and have a good working relationship to know the work will be completed. But how well do you really know them? We often hear leaders and directors tell us how they know their staff well and can tell us about family connections from the chat they had at the kettle last week while making a cup of tea. But do your employees really tell you everything? The answer I’m afraid is no. You could have a brilliant member of staff but for whatever reason a personal matter puts them into financial vulnerability. You may notice they are not as punctual with their time keeping. They may be slightly quieter than normal maybe. You know them though, right? They are continuing to manage your payroll on their own and keeping up with the workload during your own busy workload right? Then you realise money is unaccounted for. Verify. You notice this has been ongoing for over 12 months. Tens of thousands of pounds gone. No trace and it is all gone. That one employee who you knew well and trusted but didn’t verify, has taken thousands from the business. The money has gone. The employee used the money to keep afloat after that personal matter which made them financially vulnerable. Verify. This is the key. Former GP staff member pleads guilty to stealing £22k from surgery A former GP staff member who had taken over the sole banking of cash from payments for prescriptions and other items was not banking the money and keeping it for themselves. This went on from 2019 til 2022 before it was picked up by external accountants. Placing one employee as the sole responsibility for banking and cash transactions is where this GP practice went wrong. They did not evaluate their staff processes to ensure it went through 2 or 3 other employees to verify any transactions. It unfortunately went undetected for nearly 3 years. This employee is currently awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of fraud by abuse of position and acquiring, using, or possessing criminal property at North East Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on 27 June 2024. Some tips to manage risk of employment theft and fraud from your business:

1. Know your employee – Employees at risk of stealing from your business maybe suffering financially in their personal life. Before employment, we always advise using our background checks. We can verify references, build a picture of their personal life and carry out financial checks to ensure they are not vulnerable to committing theft to help a dire personal situation.
2. Notice change in behaviour – Are they turning up to work late? Unusually stressed and short tempered? This may indicate personal problems which could lead to poor judgement. The welfare of employees should be paramount for an effective workforce and spotting any unusual behaviour first could prevent further problems.
3. Track your finances – Always keep on top of your finances within the business. Once a month ensure your numbers match up. Doing so regularly can highlight any anomalies quickly. The sooner it is detected the quicker to tracing the culprit and preventing further loss of revenue. Also ensure you are completing the audit to ensure numbers aren’t presented as being tampered with.
4. Staff sickness – When an employee is on long term sick that they are being paid for, you want to ensure this is the case. If you have any concerns your employee is fit for work we can carry out surveillance to gather any evidence of wrongdoing. Detecting this quickly again will ensure further loss of revenue.
5. Security – Ensure you have well developed security equipment within your business. High quality CCTV systems are an effective deterrent to dishonest employees. This can also ensure employment safety from other staff and the public.

If you have any concerns around your employees or business partners, don’t hesitate to get in touch for a free consultation to discuss how our services can help. And remember, Trust, but Verify! If you need assistance for any of our employment or commercial services, get in touch!

• Employment Investigations
• Surveillance
• Theft/Fraud in the workplace
• Person Tracing
• Asset Tracing

www.taylorinvestigations.co.uk | [email protected] | 01603 904031

Smash Marketing are very excited to announce that they are finalists for the Getting S*** Done Award: Implementor Of The Year at the National Entrepreneur Awards! Beks from Smash says, “This is a huge privilege for us and our very proactive team and we are excited to see what this holds for us.

Saxon Air is proud to announce the successful completion of the Air League’s inaugural Electric Flying Scholarship, hosted within the Klyne Business Aviation Centre at Saxon Air’s Flight Training school. Read more here

Your feedback is valuable to us. We were delighted to receive this review from an Electriflying Experience Day customer. Read more here