Thursday 3 November 2011

WIN Christmas Gifts with Supportive Business Mums


PRESS RELEASE 

AN EARLY CHRISTMAS TREAT FOR MUMS AND DADS! WIN Christmas Gifts for your family, your friends and YOU!

www.SupportiveBusinessMums.co.uk has put together a fabulous online Christmas Gift Guide complete with ideal Christmas Gift Ideas for all the family, reviews and recommendations, great small gift business features and best of all... Christmas Gift Give Aways with gifts up to £100 each plus exclusive offers and discount codes!


Supportive Business Mums was founded by Ces Loftus, a designer, brand buzz creator and work from home mum. Ces says : "Christmas Shopping can be stressful as well as time consuming and costly. I have put together a great selection of ideal gift ideas, all from small businesses as opposed to the high street and offering some great discounts and special offers too. We have some awesome prizes up for grabs and all you have to do is visit the online features, click through to the sites you are interested in, then comment on the Christmas Guide Blog to say which products are on your Christmas Wish List! You double your chances of winning by sharing the Gift Guide page on twitter and facebook. An early Christmas treat ready to make your life easier and save you some money!"


Do you want to win a gorgeous gift for yourself and have gifts for family and friends sorted too?


Quick, get over to http://www.supportivebusinessmums.co.uk/christmas-gift-guide/ there are so many fabulous gifts including, clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery, bath and beauty products, pamper products, candles and homewares, art, personalised gifts, cards and paper, books, novelties, stocking fillers and toys to be won!

If you have a small business selling products suitable for Christmas Gifts and would like a free feature on our guide then contact Ces Loftus by email at ces@creativelyminded.co.uk

NOW GO and WIN yourself something fabulous! Good Luck Everyone!

Sunday 30 October 2011

ISSSLtd


Since the conference a number of people have asked me for Chris' contact details so I thought I would just post some information here.


You should have all had a flyer in your goodie bag ... which also had a discount code on. If you didn't and would like one just let me know.


Chris developed the websites for both businessmumsunite.co.uk and mummyfever.co.uk

About ISSSLtd:



ISSS was born out of a desire to create a service for clients that offered first class technical skill and custom development whilst maintaining the ability to also provide that personal touch.

At ISSS we pride ourselves on the innovation and skill of our team combined with the passion to create pioneering systems which serve the needs of our diverse clients.
We are adaptable and resourceful and have a wealth of experience in our field.
In addition to being able to create highly specific custom solutions for our clients we also offer off the shelf products that are very easy to install and use. We aim to use terminology that everyone understands instead of making your mind boggle with technical jargon.

What makes us different?

In a time when there are hundreds of companies offering similar products and services to ours, you are probably asking yourself what makes us stand out from the crowd?
We believe the following make us unique in what we can offer you:
  • All of our products are developed and maintained in house - the majority of companies are offering customisations of third party software. This means that they are able to customise the look and feel to a certain degree but they have no control over the underlying products that they are using.
  • Our products can be tailored to YOUR needs as opposed to your needs being tailored to what some existing product can do. This means you do not have to compromise what you want to achieve for your business, we can mould our products to meet your specific needs.
  • We can provide end to end services from the design right through to the implementation and hosting of your website.
  • Easy to use - our products have been developed in collaboration with our clients to ensure that they are as easy to use as possible. A lot of products are developed in isolation by the software developers so the end product may not be that usable to the end users.
  • The personal touch; when you communicate with us, you get to talk directly to the people that design, develop and test the software. This means you can get answers fast as there is no being passed from one department to another. It also ensures that there is a firm understanding on both sides of what is required; greatly reducing the chances of any misunderstanding.
  • We have years of large enterprise (FTSE 100 companies) software design and development experience. With the pressure on budgets, there is a tendency for companies to employ relatively inexperienced people to develop their software. This can often lead to a lack of understanding about the technical challenges of creating and maintaining large scale performant real world systems.
  • We are perfectionists - we are not happy unless you are happy.
info@isssltd.co.uk 

Tuesday 25 October 2011

My BMU11 highlights: Part four - my support team


A definite highlight for me was my small but very effective support team!


My little team consisted of:


Chris from ISSSLtd - Chris was a star leading up to the event, developing the website etc. and on the day he was on hand to help set up, help exhibitors unload and re-load their cars, deal with any technical issues people had on the day, help speakers get set up and so on. Most of all he was and continues to be the person I bounce ideas off, off-load on and the one who keeps me sane  and supported!


Chrissie - As some of your know, Chrissie and I have known each other a very long time (22 years to be exact) we went to school together. Chrissie is a hard worker and always willing to lend a hand. She is one of the few people I know I can trust and depend upon. She took the day off work just to come and help out - and what a great job she did!


Rita - (Chris' Mum) - Came to help set up and assist with registration. She was a star on the day and expertly dealt with latecomers and the staff at the venue.


A special mention also has to go to Sally from The Mother Factor who arrived early to help get set up. She was a wonderful support to me on the day. She stayed behind at the end to pack away as well - there aren't many people like Sally!


x

Sunday 23 October 2011

My BMU 11 highlights: Part three - Rebecca Jones


I am so thrilled that Rebecca Jones came to speak at BMU 11 and I know you all really enjoyed it too!


I have reflected quite a lot on what Rebecca said since the conference. I can really identify with a lot of those 'manic mum' moments and I was actually cringing during her speech as I know I am guilty of lots of those things.


I can guarantee that my phone will ring at one of three times during the day:

  • Between 9am and 9.15am when I am still on the morning school run
  • Between 11.30am and 12 noon when I am collecting my son from pre-school and getting his lunch
  • Between 3pm and 3.30pm when I am collecting my daughter from school
I am guilty of trying to juggle everything and ending up trying to take a call whilst carrying numerous school bags and holding onto two children - it doesn't work and I hate myself in those moments.

I learnt a great deal from Rebecca the other day and I can't wait to read her book (hoping I can find the time). Most of all what stuck with me was when she said "do less but do less really well" - I can't promise I will do less but I can promise that I will try, and I do feel as if the time is right to reflect a little.

I know why I have been trying to be the Superwomen that Rebecca talked about ... because being busy and not having time to stop, to think, to reflect has been a huge part of how I have overcome recent difficult times, but now things have settled down maybe it is time to take Rebecca's advice?



Friday 21 October 2011

My BMU 11 highlights: Part Two - Elaine Hanzak-Gott


A definite highlight of BMU11 for me was Elaine Hanzak-Gott. Elaine and I met about 5 years ago, when she was a consultant for Virgin Vie. Elaine came to my house to do a Virgin Vie party.


I was sat, surrounded by friends and colleagues as Elaine introduced herself, she gave a short synopsis of her experience and showed us her book.....


I can't tell you about anything I bought from Virgin Vie that night but what I do remember is waving off the last guest and immediately going onto Amazon to buy Elaine's book.


When I was planning BMU11 I knew who I wanted as my keynote speaker. I contacted Elaine and we exchanged a couple of emails and caught up on some of the changes in our lives since we last saw each other.


All I can say is thank you Elaine for being such a great part of BMU11 !


x



My BMU 11 highlights: Part 1 - The venue and its staff


The spectacular Albert Hall Conference Centre was the venue this year http://www.alberthallnottingham.co.uk/ - the venue itself was really impressive and made a big impression.


The staff matched up to the quality of the venue, they were well organised, efficient, responsive, considerate, polite, helpful and worked exceptionally well as a team.


Those exhibiting were assisted carrying boxes, stands, banners, rail and other items, they offered help in carrying a pram up and down stairs, and responded to requests from delegates very quickly.


The venue and its staff have left a positive lasting impression!