February 4, 2012

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Follow the General Election live with Marketing Donut

May 6, 2010 By Emily Leary 2 Comments

The Donuts – a group of websites offering free advice and resources for businesses – are embarking on a twenty-four hour ‘Twitterblogathon’ that will cover all the drama of election night as it happens.

Starting at 3pm, the Marketing Donut team will bring you the very latest action and reaction, supported by several ‘expert contributors’, including the team here at Emily Cagle Communications.

The event will also raise funds for The Children’s Trust. If you’d like to make a donation, visit Marketing Donut’s JustGiving page.

To follow the event, simply point your browser at The Marketing Donut. Or, if you want to follow the coverage through Twitter, use the #donut24 hashtag.

Filed Under: Events, Featured, News, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Lincolnshire enterprise: secure a bright future for your business

March 5, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

IMAGE - clouded blue sky

The Epic Centre in Lincoln, UK will play host to the launch of a new initiative, Innovation Advice and Guidance – Developing a robust future for business on Friday 12th March.

The launch event takes place 10.30am – 2.15pm and is free to attend, with lunch and free parking for provided.

It will feature a keynote speech on Turning Business Adversity into Opportunities by ex-Dragon Rachel Elnaugh, as well the following presentations:

  • Beyond the recession – challenges and opportunities for businesses in Lincolnshire with Professor Ted Fuller, University of Lincoln
  • The challenges facing our economy with Graeme Leach, Chief Economist, Institute of Directors
  • How Innovation Advice and Guidance can help your business with Professor David Rae, University of Lincoln

There will also be a networking lunch and a question and answer session with the panel.

The Innovation Advice and Guidance programme has been established to help local, forward-thinking firms fight the downturn. It is presented by the University of Lincoln, and jointly funded with its strategic partners, East Midlands Development Agency and Lincolnshire County Council.

For more information and to book your place at the launch event, visit Innovation Advice and Guidance.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: , , , ,

Could you build a business on a tenner?

March 5, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

ten pound notes

This year’s Make Your Mark with a Tenner competition got underway on Monday 1st March, with 30,000 students across the country aiming to turn a profit from a £10 loan over the next month by coming up with creative and enterprising business ideas.

But, that’s not all – their business ideas must also have a positive social impact and be of benefit to their local community. Indeed, there will be prizes at the end of the month for the students who make the most positive impact on their local community – one to one sessions with the likes of Dragons’ Den’s Peter Jones and other leading British entrepreneurs.

The other categories are Best Business Idea and Most Profit Generated, with the judging split into three age categories: under 11s, 11-14 year olds, and 14-19 year olds.

As well as the one-to-one sessions up for grabs, six winners will also each be awarded £100 to help them develop their entrepreneurial ideas, while a business mentor will provide them with the necessary help and support to really get their idea off the ground.

The competition is the brainchild of entrepreneur Oli Barrett, and this year is being funded by Peter Jones and Michael and Xochi Birch, the founders of Bebo.

When Make Your Mark with a Tenner first ran, the average profit made was £90, with the highest profit being £410. Once the £10 loan is repaid, students can re-invest their profits, give them away to a charitable cause, or even pocket them!

Peter Jones, chair of Enterprise UK, which runs the competition, said: “Make Your Mark with a Tenner harnesses the unrivalled energy and creativity of young people. Their fantastic achievements increase each year that we run it, proof that if you trust young people to act entrepreneurially they will rise to the challenge.”

So, what would you invest your tenner in?

Filed Under: Awards, Events Tagged With: , , , , ,

The return of The Pitch

March 4, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Crowd audience

Applications for The Pitch 2010 are now being accepted by Sift Media.

The Dragons’ Den style competition is now in its third year, and this year is running as part of The Business Factory, an initiative to support small business entrepreneurs.

Current and budding entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of experts – such as ex-Dragon Doug Richard – as they look to secure investment and top business advice.

Once again, there will be five regional heats before the national final held in London in November, during The Business Factory event.

The regional heats will take place as follows:

  • South West heat: Monday 21st June in Bristol
  • Northern heat: Thursday 1st July in Liverpool
  • South East heat: Thursday 15th July in London
  • Scottish heat: Thursday 29th July in Edinburgh
  • Midlands heat: Thursday 5th August in Birmingham

The deadline for entries for all regional heats is Tuesday 15th June.

To be eligible for the competition, you must be a UK resident and at least 16 years old at the time of entry. Your business must be UK based, privately owned company, no more than three years old at date of entry and with no more than 20 staff. You can also enter if you do not have a business yet, but do have a viable business idea.

To enter, visit the Pitch 2010 and download the attached entry form. Your entry will be judged by The Pitch’s team of experts, with the best making it through to the regional heats.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: , , , ,

What the world needs now is a good Twestival

March 2, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

twestival

Last year, an initiative known as Twestival led to over 1,000 volunteers and 10,000 donors raising over 250,000 USD for charity:water. This resulted in more than 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia and India being created, benefiting over 17,000 people.

Six months later, Twestival Local was held is 130 cities around the world, raising over 450,000 USD for 135 local charities around the world, and bringing the total amount raised in 2009 up to over 750,000 USD.

What is Twestival?

The aim of Twestival is to use social media for social good by getting people to host local events and have fun while raising awareness around a chosen charitable issue. 100% of the money raised around the world goes to Twestival’s nominated charity. The theme of this year’s Twestival is education, and after an online vote, Concern Worldwide was chosen as this year’s charitable cause.

Founded in 1968, Concern Worldwide battles to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty and is dedicated to the reduction of their suffering and working towards ultimately eliminating poverty altogether. Concern’s education programs target the poorest people in the poorest countries in the world, and currently reach over 700,000 people in 25 countries, and each of every city taking part in this year’s Twestival will be able to choose which area of the education program to support.

The Twestivals will be raising funds towards constructing and improving schools and supplying them with the necessary materials that they need, such as desks, pencils, teacher training, clean water, and developing a curriculum.

The UK Twestivals

At the time of writing, the following UK events have been announced, all taking place on Thursday 25th March:

Thanks to @TwestivalUK for providing this list – it’s worth following them on Twitter to keep up to date with announcements relating to the UK.

Filed Under: Events, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Are you reaching out to new customers?

January 29, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

helping hands

Business Link is offering two hour workshops across Yorkshire on the subject of Online Social Networks – Reaching out to New Customers.

The workshops are free to attend and equip delegates with the knowledge to begin attracting new customers through social networking.

Topics include:

  • Newsfeeds
  • Forums
  • Blogging and Microblogging
  • Online Business Networking
  • Mobile social networks and the future

For more information, visit Business Link and search for “Reaching out to new customers”.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Young Enterprise charity looking for award sponsors

January 29, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Bright star

Young Enterprise was founded in 1963 and runs a range of business and enterprise education programmes that are attended by over a quarter of a million people each year. The UK registered charity offers the programmes through the support of over 3,000 businesses and 11,500 volunteers, and is now looking for business to sponsor its Young Enterprise awards scheme at the Northampton and Daventry Area Final on the evening of 30th March 2010.

Awards will be presented to:

  • Best Individual Presenter
  • Best Trade Stand
  • Best Product/Service
  • Best Company

Sponsoring an award costs £250 or £500 for the top prize of Best Company.

Enquiries should be directed to Richard Osborne at Young Enterprise on 01604 490 313.

Filed Under: Awards, Events Tagged With: , , ,

Learn how to be a better leader

January 26, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

Follow footprints

Throughout March, Business Link is offering masterclasses in Becoming a Better Leader to small and medium-sized businesses in the East Midlands.

The masterclasses cover how to improve your leadership skills, and the techniques that you can employ to motivate staff and retain a competitive edge.

To qualify for one of these free events, being staged in Derby, Kettering, Woodhall Spa, Nottingham and Leicester, you must have been operating for at least twelve months and employ at least five staff.

For more information, visit the Business Link website and search for “Becoming a Better Leader”.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: , , , , , ,

In Scotland? Pitch your business idea to win cash

January 26, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

pile of money

New Start Scotland is a national business event targeted at start-ups and small businesses.

This year, its being held on 19th and 20th March at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The event’s seminars are being headlined by Shaf Rasul and Doug Richard – both of Dragon’s Den fame.

New Start Scotland will also feature of series of workshops, including help with increasing efficiency and managing staff. There will also be the opportunity for visitors to take part in The Bright Business Idea Competition, where entrepreneurs pitch to a panel of judges for the chance to win a £5,000 cash prize.

There will also be a Small Business Club clinic, a networking area, as well over 120 exhibitors.

The event is free to attend and runs from 10am until 5pm on the Friday, and 10am until 4pm on the Saturday.

For more information, visit New Start Scotland.

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Seminars to boost your social media marketing strategy

January 26, 2010 By Emily Leary Leave a Comment

group idea

Fresh Business Thinking is holding a Hit Me! Social Media and Search event on 30th March 2010 at Microsoft’s London Office.

The event’s seminars will cover:

  • Search engine optimisation
  • Pay per click advertising
  • Social networks
  • The social media landscape, and
  • Link building

Guest speakers will include ‘Twitter expert’ Mark Shaw and Realwire CEO Adam Parker.

Tickets for the event start from £145 + VAT, and the event runs from 9.30am – 5.30pm.

For more information, visit the Hit Me! Social Media and Search booking page.

Filed Under: Events, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , ,
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