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Get Your Trainers. We’re Going Manhattan!

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I’ve noticed a lot of dogs getting extra walks at the end of the day round where I live and although I’d like to put it down to the longer daylight hours, I have a sneaking suspicion that by 6pm people are desperately trying to make sure they reach their daily Fitbit target. I’m impressed at the commitment to their 10,000 steps-a-day goal they are showing and reassured that there are a lot of happier, healthier dogs out there, but even more intrigued at the desire to get outside to get moving.

We are so flat out and on the go most of the time that most of our steps are taken in the office, on the stairs (when we’re not running so late we have to take the elevator) or shuttling between the car and the car park, or in the confines of the gym where we complete them on a treadmill without even going anywhere!

It is no wonder that people are so desperate to reconnect with the outside world that Fitbit has inadvertently started a ‘get-outdoors-get-moving’ revolution. And I’m starting to see the knock-on effect not just in the way the residents of Bedford are walking their dogs, but also in the way that people are doing business. Where meetings used to be huge swathes of your time that would get lost in a claustrophobic, light-starved rooms that left you struggling to keep your eyes open and devoid of all inspiration, now meetings are being seen as conversations that can be had, well, anywhere. Our time is precious and so is our wellbeing so what better way of operating then walking and talking when you get the opportunity. Only last week I had just such a meeting at the Forest of Marston Vale – heads got cleared, business got done, fresh ideas were had, moods were lifted, heart rates were elevated, dogs were walked and Fitbits were happy.

Our minds and bodies respond to being outdoors, our senses get stimulated and we come alive whatever the weather. There is something about being outside that roots us, grounds us, and reminds us what it is to be fully present in the world. We relax, we breathe more deeply, we fill our lungs, our hearts and our minds, we feed our soul. And as a result, we are able to think more clearly, allow ourselves to be inspired more creatively, spend time thinking, talking and dreaming without distraction. All of this lends itself to clients now also wanting coaching sessions outdoors and on the move – something which I believe in wholeheartedly as when the mind and body are synchronous, the results you can achieve are unbelievably powerful.

So kick off your work shoes, swap them for your trainers – the more brightly-coloured, the better. And work your mind, your body (and your Fitbit). Not only will you be getting the results you want faster, you will feel energised, motivated and a deep sense of achievement. The ‘Manhattan’ look of trainers on the end of your suit or office attire will become stylishly normal as you power through your coaching session while ‘changing up’ both your environment and your thinking. Get your trainers – we’re going Manhattan!

 

I’m currently offering a limited number of walk-and-talk #PowerHour coaching sessions at a discounted rate of £25 to my readers – just head to my website to book using discount code PHWT25.

Have a good weekend!

Sarah

 

What we do

I Am Strong Coaching provides bespoke personal and business performance coaching in Bedford, London and the South East to support talented individuals, executives and business owners to move up a gear when they need it most. As a specialist service, we also support military leavers with cv refining, cover letter writing, interview technique and business start-up to set them on their way for a strong second career. We have a range of coaching packages on offer on our I Am Strong Coaching website, spanning confidence, change and military transition as well as business start-up and performance.

 

 

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Hey There! It’s Hannah from Daisy Media Here!

Daisy Media

Hi I’m Hannah aka Daisy Media and I’ve been self-employed for the last two and a bit years but it didn’t really start there. I graduated university in 2007 with a degree in Performing Arts and Plan A was to go back to university to do a PGCE to become a Primary School teacher. Around this point Plan B kicked in for various reasons and I spent the next six years working for different companies, this was usually in customer service or administration as that was where I had my experience.

By May 2012 I had left the post I had spent about five years in and had started looking for something else. I started working as a temp doing data entry tasks. I didn’t expect to stay more than six months and figured that it would work while I looked for something else. As it happened during my training, the guy who would be my team manager got people to raise their hands depending on their level of skill when it came to Excel. Thanks to bits that my Dad has taught me or I have learnt over the years, I still had my hand up even when my manager was asking about VLOOKUPs and HLOOKUPs. I ended up staying for just over a year and ended up working on spreadsheets rather than the data entry tasks that I had been originally employed for.

In October 2013, I found out that I was pregnant and with that came thoughts about what I was going to once baby had arrived and I had finished my Maternity Leave. I clearly didn’t really want to have to start thinking about it before I needed to but if I was going to need to go back to a full time job then I needed to start saving up for childcare.

I went onto maternity leave at the beginning of May 2014, I had been running my own personal blog for a number of years so worked on that as well as crocheting various projects while I started mulling over the idea – what if I did the thing that scared me every time I thought about it and became my own boss. I could work during nap times at least to start with then in evenings if needed.

So the rest is history as they say, the end of my maternity leave came and went and I got all registered officially as self-employed. Something about it was kind of scary. Each time it had crossed my mind to go self-employed when I was in full time employment, it was very scary and felt like it would be a jumping out of a plane without a parachute kind of situation.

Thankfully I had my husband and parents on my side to be my cheerleaders when I questioned my sanity!

Along the line Daisy Media was formed, at first it was mainly by word of mouth. I had intended to work with local companies and just see how it went. I was then approached by a friend of mine who lives in the West Midlands about taking over from her with one of her clients. Her client was based in London.

So what does Daisy Media do?

Well all sorts. I started with the intention it would be social media management and admin tasks as needed. I have been in business around a year and I’ve done some basic web design and content managment along the way too and I have completed my first “from scratch” website in the last couple of weeks although it’s still being tweaked as we get it right. I’ve collaborated with another local small business to create a website for a local church and hope to get collaborating with more BedsHour people over the next year.

Somewhere along the line I found BedsHour and it was just what I needed, with having a small child in tow during week days networking can be a real challenge so BedsHour gave me opportunity to network while breastfeeding sat on my sofa in the early days and now that I have an almost two year old I can network from my computer while my toddler sleeps upstairs. I don’t need to find a babysitter!

The social side of me loves organising the tweetups – even if it’s just an informal one drinking coffee in the Pavilion in the Park or invading a coffee shop in town.

But what about me personally?

I turned 30 at the end of April 2016, I’m a wife as well as foster carer and Mum. I love blogging, crocheting and watching more TV than is good for me! I am a bit of a Netflix addict and probably need some kind of therapy! Since April I’ve been regularly attending ParkRun although running is still a bit of a crazy activity for me to even consider doing! I’m just about sub-50 if I get a shimmy on but my record is around 43 minutes and I’m not quite sure how I ever achieved that!

Favourite Colour: Green – racing or aqua green not lime green!
Favourite Song: Layla by Eric Claption or Raggedy Doll by Philippa Hanna
Favourite Film: The American President (it’s all about that French bit at the ambassador’s reception and that speech at the end!)

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Why you should prepare your business for the unexpected

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For anyone running a business, planning is a vital part of making it work. We make sure orders are placed in time, that our tweets and emails reach the right people, that there are enough teabags in the cupboard to keep us fuelled!

To help us plan, we make assumptions about what will happen next week, next month, next year. This many customers, that many events, this much training for our staff, and so on. However, sometimes our assumptions don’t match reality, and we need to adjust our plans to take account of more customers than we expected, more deliveries to make, more tweets to send. With proper planning, it is easy to tweak our plans to take account of these unexpected changes to our assumptions.

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We also make a lot of assumptions about the systems, infrastructure and people that our businesses rely on. We assume that the lights will stay on, our IT will work, our staff will be able to make it to the office and that our suppliers will be able to deliver what they say, when they say they will.

Just like our day to day planning though, sometimes reality doesn’t match our assumptions when it comes to the people and things we rely on for our business. Our power supply fails, severe weather stops our staff getting to work, a water pipe bursts in our warehouse damaging stock to name a few potential unexpected problems.

It is estimated that 20% of small businesses will experience a major disruption each year, with between 10 and 25% of those never recovering.

However, it is possible to plan for these emergencies and unexpected events and give your business the best possible chance of surviving and thriving through any disruption.

At Black Dog Crisis Management, we specialise in helping businesses prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies of all shapes and sizes.

Our approach is to work with you to understand your business and your team, and to help you develop the capabilities you need to put in place measures that will make your business stronger in the face of disruption.

So if you want to ensure your business is ready to face the unexpected – or you want to know more about what we do and how we do it, then get in touch with our friendly team today.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Rob Doran

Director

Black Dog Crisis Management

hello@blackdogcrisismanagement.co.uk

@blackdogcrisis

www.blackdogcrisismanagement.co.uk

07824 807617

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Bedford College Art & Design Exhibition 2016

Bedford College Art & Design Exhibition 2016Hello, I’m Emma (@emmalemoni), a student on the 2nd year HND Graphic Design course at Bedford College, posting on behalf of the group. We will be displaying our work at the Southbank Arts Centre, along with other exhibitors and we would love it if you could come along!

The students on the HND Graphics course have been winning awards year after year for the outstanding work produced, last year we won a total of 6 YCN Awards and 2 this year. The majority of students are staying on to complete a degree, but would welcome the opportunity of work experience, internships or even a portfolio review.

The event begins on the 17th June from 9.00am – 6.00pm for a Private View (feel free to contact myself or the College to ask for an invitation!) and is open thereafter to the public from the 20th – 24th June (9.00am – 5.00pm).

The Exhibition will be held at the South Bank Arts Centre, Cauldwell St, Bedford, MK42 9AH on the Bedford College grounds. You can’t miss it, there is a giant sign hanging outside the building!

Telephone Bedford College on 01234 291000 for more information.

Alternatively you are welcome to contact me via email on hello@emmalemon.co.uk or on Twitter.

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I Am Strong Bespoke Personal and Business Performance Coaching – Bedford, London and the South East

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What we do

I Am Strong Coaching provides bespoke personal and business performance coaching in Bedford, London and the South East to support talented individuals, executives and business owners to move up a gear when they need it most. As a specialist service, we also support military leavers with cv refining, cover letter writing, interview technique and business start-up to set them on their way for a strong second career. We have a range of coaching packages on offer on our I Am Strong Coaching website, spanning confidence, change and military transition as well as business start-up and performance.

A bit about me

I joined the Army rather spontaneously after graduating from university with a literature degree and a lot more rowing than reading hours under my belt. Leaving the Army eight years later, after living and working overseas, was an even bigger change. My background is almost entirely international and with that has come constant upheaval, flux and uncertainty as well as exploration, diversity and experience. I have spent long periods living in France and Germany and have worked extensively in Eastern Europe, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Mexico and Scandinavia. In any job that I have had, from being an Officer in the Army on war-fighting operations, to business development in the world of airline retail, to managing a £10m international development programme in India, I have always needed to achieve results and I firmly believe that success is all about momentum with a dash of confidence thrown in.

When I’m not coaching, I’m out walking Merlin my mischievous Rhodesian Ridgeback and exploring new parts of Bedford and the surrounding countryside. An Essex girl originally, I moved here two and a half years ago – another somewhat spontaneous decision while on a high having just finished a race at Bedford Regatta one sunny afternoon in 2013. Needless to say, I threw myself into life at Star Rowing Club as soon as I landed here.

The vision

The vision is to grow I Am Strong into a diverse hub of coaches and mentors, reaching out with bespoke coaching for both individuals and businesses and assisting others to focus, to achieve, to grow, to thrive, to prosper and to see a significant return on their investment. The journey has begun as we start to work with carefully-selected associates allowing us to leverage in the arenas of personal branding, psychological profiling, public speaking and leadership. We look forward to being able to support military leavers through a network of I Am Strong franchised coaches. A long way to go and a lot of hard work yet!

How are we relevant to you?

Coaching is an incredibly powerful, yet still reasonably well-kept, secret. All top athletes have a coach; the majority of top leaders, businessmen and entrepreneurs will also have a coach. Why? Because where focus goes, energy flows. And a coach will take you further than you can get on your own by growing your self-belief, your self-knowledge and by holding you accountable to achieving the targets you set. A good coach will help you to change the way you think, change the way you see the world, and change the way you feel. A coach is your secret weapon, your edge over your competitors, helping you to think strategically, to explode ideas and lift you up and out of the daily doing. A coach will help you to:

  • Get clear about your goal
  • Identify blind spots
  • Be accountable
  • Focus on what is really important
  • Gain a competitive advantage
  • Develop powerful leadership skills
  • Increase engagement with the things that really matter to you
  • Feel happier and more grounded

 

It is important to see coaching as an investment, and not an expense. Invest in yourself, your people and your business and they will invest in you. Get smart, Get Confident, Go beyond.

Supporting the #BedsHour Community

We do as much work as possible with local businesses and would like to thank the following for their recent, fun and hugely productive collaborations:

 

If you think there might be a way we can help you or your business then please get in touch – we are on twitter @iamstrongcoach or you can reach me sarah@strongcoaching.co.uk.

It all starts with a coffee. And sometimes cake.

embank coaching photo

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Hello to all at #Bedshour from @LindaOfficeVA (Virtual Assistant)

Hi I’m Linda.  A Virtual Assistant working with small business owners doing routine tasks that they don’t know how to do, don’t like doing, or don’t want to do.  Which means they’re free to get on with what they do best – their core business.

After more than 25 years in the corporate world, I decided it was time to go it alone.  I work from my own home office in Barton Le Clay, helping make my clients more productive by doing their time-consuming routine tasks.  And, as they earn/charge more per hour than I do, then they’re making money at the same time.

When you use a Virtual Assistant, you don’t have to worry about the costs and practicalities of employing someone.  I offer a pay-as-you-go, flexible service, doing ad-hoc tasks or providing regular weekly or monthly support, and my clients only pay me for the time they use.

I stumbled across #Bedshour purely by chance just after setting up my business.  I never knew there was such a diverse and talented group of people right on my doorstep.  I make sure now to join in with the chat on a Monday evening.  It’s a fabulous group, everyone really helps and supports each other.  Sometimes, there’s even a bit of business done too!

Many thanks to Paul @White Label Dev for inviting me to tell you a bit about myself on the new #Bedshour website.

Linda

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A little bit about me (@workingmumIFA)

I have 25 years experience in the Financial Services industry with the last 17 years advising clients on a wide range of Financial Planning issues. I enjoy meeting clients from all walks of life but have a particular expertise in clients aged 60+ advising them through retirement, inheritance tax planning and funding long term care.  As a divorcee myself, I also empathise greatly with those going through a divorce and am able to advise them on pensions splitting and investing the proceeds of a divorce settlement.

I am a highly qualified adviser, graduating from University with a BA (Hons) Financial Services and hold the ‘gold standard’ Chartered Financial Planner status from the Personal Finance Society, which only 10% of advisers in the UK hold.

When not advising clients, I enjoy camping and geocaching with my two young daughters and going to bootcamp and participating in Obstacle Course Races with my friends, and more recently, throwing axes.

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Price’s Candles Outlet Shop

#LoveCandles #Smellssonice #Discounts #OutletShop #LoveBedford #Bedshour

Thank you for this opportunity to let you all know about Price’s Candles Outlet shop.

Our Outlet shop is open to the public Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm and the 1st Saturday of every month 10am – 2pm. We are Bedford’s only Candle Outlet Shop!!! We stock the full range of Price’s Candles at 30%OFF RRP plus we have an amazing range of sale items. Scented Tealights from 50p. Accessories from £1.00. Garden accessories from 50p and much, much more!!

June sees Sweet Vanilla Range as our Fragrance of the month at 35% OFF RRP A beautiful, sweet, fresh scent, yet warming and familiar.

We have also just launched our Tennis ‘Set’ 3 x Jars for only £6.50 Earl Grey, Strawberries & Cream and Violet Garden. Quintessential English fragrances to burn whilst watching Wimbledon!!

Pop in and say hello, have a smell around and be impressed with our value, quality and variety!!!!

Large Jars only £12.60 from our outlet shop

Large Jars only £12.60 from our outlet shop

#GetintheGarden

#GetintheGarden

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Hello from Bedford Jelly Co-working!

low res jelly

Afternoon everyone! Thanks so much to Paul from White Label Dev for creating such a great tool for #bedshour. I’m currently writing this from @bedfordjelly which, if you haven’t tried it, is a lovely event where you work for the day in a different environment.

So here I am with my laptop; social-media-ing and website-designing and drinking the Bedford i-kan’s lovely espresso (thanks Jacob – our fab host from @bedfordikan) and trying out the system.

If anyone would like to find out more about Bedford Jelly, the website is www.bedfordjelly.co.uk and I help promote the events. (I’m Leigh by the way)

As a thanks for letting me go on about Jelly, if anyone would like a few free tips on using WordPress, which this site uses, either over the phone or over a coffee, feel free to get in touch. 

Leigh Frost
Truesilver Web Design & Marketing
T: 01767 222631
truesilver.co.uk

 

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