March 2020
Essential deliveries carry on as normal…
Yesterday’s deliveries contained essential items like printer technology, replacement cartridges, paper, office supplies, catering supplies, workplace solutions (incl toilet roll). To: Families home schooling Schools looking after key worker children Care homes looking after [...]
Home working. Delivery model and more
Good day We hope you’re finding a way to work through the challenges we all face at this time. Our priorities are to safe guard the well-being of our team and customers, without [...]
Price reduction helps people through pandemic…
Some retailers are taking advantage of the pandemic, such as the pharmacy reportedly charging £19.99 for Calpol & a whopping £9.99 for paracetamol. So, it refreshing to see a business reducing their prices to help [...]
Printer discount for teachers at home
We’ve been working out how best we can help families, business and education… Children need to be educated at home, teachers will be setting online work from home and many [...]
How to boost your workplace productivity
For many of us, most days are spent at work… Research shows the average person spends 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime. Making it safe to say that work has a huge impact [...]
Airport charges now include printing…
We arrived at Manchester Airport and headed for departures… Getting ready to check in our luggage, I pulled out our travel documents and a moment of panic flashed across my face. “What’s up”. Said [...]
February 2020
Referral strategy driven by company culture
Do you have a referral strategy? Referrals are a major part of our growth and marketing strategy. Although, for a referral strategy to gain momentum you need much more than just great products. [...]
Steve Jobs & Apple dream customers dreams…
Can you remember just before Steve Jobs & Apple launching the i-Phone? All the other big mobile phone manufacterers got hammered in the press, with their stock eventually tanking. They [...]
Winning teams are difficult to assemble
Forward thinking accountant & friend Karl Roberts did a fantastic mini video series last week, on the top 3 things in business he’s learnt… No 3 really resonated with me: Build a [...]
Why should you passionately care?
If you’re in business don’t think your safe… Speed of change means your always running to keep up and constantly re-inventing. And if you don’t, you’ll be overtaken by those [...]
January 2020
Do you have a learning mindset?
Sales Geek Jonathan Finch shot a great LinkedIn video, discussing the B.A.M. B.A.M stands for bare arsed minimum… Jonathon used it in relation to some salespeople doing the bare arsed minimum, yet still expecting fantastic [...]
Want to find affordable office space?
With almost 5 million self-employed people in the UK, there is a higher than ever demand for affordable private and coworking office space. In order to help organisations budget for an office, online broker Free [...]
The AA man says rent electric cars…
The other day. Steve our technician broke down… No not Steve. His car! It wouldn’t start after he’d dropped his girls at school & he’d got service calls to complete. So, I hightailed [...]
SpaceX tried to buy a missile from Russia
When starting SpaceX Elon Musk tried to buy a missile from Russia to use as a rocket… When the Russians wouldn’t take him seriously. Musk stormed out of the meeting, drove straight back to the [...]
December 2019
Bullet train disrupted an industry. Can you?
Entering the discomfort zone is not nice… You’ve probably experienced it a little when learning a new skill, meeting someone new or taking on a new challenge. It’s that kind [...]
Focus on 1 thing to make you stand out…
Do you have a fanatical focus of doing 1 thing well? Being known for being great at 1 thing can really make you stand out above your competitors in a [...]
Amazon in fake reviews & counterfeit controvesy…
Following the recent news of Nike pulling their products off the Amazon platform due to counterfeit goods... It has been reported by Which? magazine that Amazon have some serious problems with fake reviews [...]
Printer cartridge sale. But 1 get 1 half price…
FLASH SALE…. We’ve brought back our Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price printer cartridge sale for 1 week only. Hurry the sale ends at 5pm on Friday 6th December. If you buy ANY [...]
November 2019
Trees can absorb some greenhouse gas
Thought for today… The last time the Earth experienced a similar concentration of CO2 was over 3 million years ago. Back then, the temperature was 2°C warmer & sea levels were 10 meters [...]
Michael Jordan didn’t get picked for the team
Michael Jordan was gutted when he didn’t make his high school varsity basketball team in his sophomore year… Even going home to cry in his room, after he learned another [...]
Does your team challenge the Status Quo?
Some people say you should surround yourself with like-minded people… I disagree. For me it’s too comfortable. All you do is agree with each other & never question the status [...]
Can you be an evangelist?
Have you heard of an evangelist? Most people would assume it is was someone preaching about faith & religion. In fact. If you look it up. This is the meaning [...]
October 2019
Can you make your horse drink?
Remember the saying. ‘You can take a horse to water. But you can’t make it drink’… Well we’ve reframed it & instead say. ‘If you make the horse thirsty enough [...]
Do ‘new customer only’ promotions annoy you?
Been reading Anne Williamson’s latest edition of ‘Are You a One Night Stand Business’… The 1st edition was good, but this one’s even better. Bolstered by numerous real-life stories with meaningful customer service learnings. 1 learning [...]
Toyota decentralised & gained market share…
In the 80’s Toyota gained massive market share in the American car market… GM were the major player, but the cars they produced were prone to mechanical failures. The cars Toyota produced were of dramatically higher [...]
Apple created their own market. Can you?
Remember way back. When you heard a great song on the radio. To get it. You had to make a special trip to HMV or a Virgin Megastore. Where you'd end up buying [...]
September 2019
How to avoid becoming a Blockbuster…
To keep ahead of the competition & solve your customers problems, you’ve got to innovate & continually re-invent yourself like Netflix… Back in the day independent video shops had rows & [...]
Small organisations must lean in…
Newbie snowboarders find it hard & uncomfortable to lean in to control their board… Most end up leaning back to start with. They believe it will release the pressure. But all [...]
Can you make yourself different?
What do you make? Make a ruckus… Make a difference… Make disruption… Make certainty… Make peace of mind… Make change happen… Make yourself stand out… …what makes you different? [...]
Dreams really can come true…
How can an illegal immigrant aged 15 go from absolutely nothing (not even being able to speak the language) to become 1 of the world’s greatest brain surgeons? It’s a true story about [...]
August 2019
A great team is essential. Just ask the mafia.
Took a break from reading business 📚 last week. Well thought I had... Decided to slip in the mafia classic. The Godfather. I've watched the movie many times, but never read the original (Mario [...]
How to make your customers sticky…
Have you found a way to make your customers sticky?I don’t mean tying them to a long-term contract with high financial penalties if they want to leave. That’s not sticky that’s hoodwinking them [...]
July 2019
The importance of personal relationships
People relationships are the most important thing for us… When we first meet new customers our team take the time to work out how we can help them solve problems, [...]
Funding nursery places explained…
Today we're with Lisa Kendrick of Mulberry Roots Nursery... Lisa's going to tell you about their nursery & explain the available funding: “Our spacious nursery is located in Haslingden & we offer childcare [...]
Primark played the long game…
Today we lost a true retail pioneer. Primark. Despite having no online presence. Are bucking the high street downturn reporting a 4.4% increase in like for like sales in the 6 months to [...]
June 2019
Printer manufacturers lock out cartridges
Our job is quite simple on the face of it… Helping you save money on your printing technology solution. Without compromising on quality & reliability. Whilst providing total peace of [...]
Do most people buy brands & status?
Why do people buy what they buy? Do you think it's always a logical decision? Like calculating your printer cartridge spend & working out how much you can save by [...]
Picasso pricing & creating demand
Picasso was sketching in Paris by the Seine & a lady asked. ‘Would you sketch me’. Picasso obliged & within minutes the lady had an original Picasso. The lady asked. [...]
Customers love extra benefits…
The aim for any business is to create a product that your customers would love. Isn’t it? It’s hard to get this right & if you take too much time [...]
May 2019
Plan for a successful outcome
Not often do we consider the importance of having a plan in business or everyday life. Most people rely on instinct & react to events in the heat of the moment… This reactionary [...]
Marketing campaigns need measuring
Marketing in a small business is hard… There’s no silver bullet. For us. It’s a matter of trying different things & measuring them to see if they’re profitable. Continuing with [...]
Google AdWords voucher misleading?
Breaking news... The laughs on us. We’ve just fallen fowl to some misleading terms… Yes, I know. It’s time for us to drink our own medicine & practice what we [...]
Simple Honest Service acts as our guide
If you’re like me. You’ll believe life should be honest & fair to all… I know this is fairy tale stuff & was probably instilled in me from a very [...]
April 2019
Can someting be too good to be true?
When something seems too good to be true. It usually is… A couple of years back VW falsely advertised environmentally friendly diesel cars. Before being exposed for using software to [...]
Alton Towers even charge extra…
We've just spent the last couple of days at Alton Towers with an overnight stay in their new star gazing pods. They're a real tight squeeze. A double bed in the back with [...]
Wine making leads to business lesson
An old vineyard owner was on his death bed & called his children to his side. He said. "Children when I've passed, I want you to go out into the [...]
Does an accent matter in business?
Lisa Kendrick is a good friend of mine & owns a children’s nursery school in Haslingden called Mulberry Roots… Today, I was dropping of some replacement cartridges (they get free [...]
March 2019
Is Apple turning into a pear?
So the fight for subscription video on demand (SVOD) market share is really kicking off with Apple TV announcing their advanced intensions... We wrote an artcile about it a couple of months [...]
Even buskers build trust & re-assurance
This lady I know (Alice) is a pretty good guitarist & can hold a note or 2. Don’t get me wrong. Alice isn’t X Factor or The Voice material. But [...]
Can you a Ford not to learn?
You all know who Henry Ford is. Don't you? Yes, that’s right. Ford was the person responsible for making the motor car affordable. But he didn't invent it. Like most [...]
Software platforms & autonomous cars
Making affordable & safe cars is hard. Just ask Elon Musk… Yes. Tesla has just announced the closure of their showrooms. But is it just a money saving exercise or [...]