January

I still shiver every time I think of January, as I spent most of the month trying to stay warm. But, besides warding off the exceptional cold, I enjoyed visiting Glasgow where I spent a few days developing the IFIC Forensics HQ’s new website and indulging in my first-ever full Scottish breakfast. I also spent part of the month in Devon installing our first Meraki Wi-Fi network.

February

Perhaps it was because there were only 29 days, but February flew by in a whirlwind, as we stayed very busy redeveloping Staff Guardian while talking to China about manufacturing our Staff Guardian GPS devices.

March

There was no way March could go wrong when it kicked off with such an enjoyable event – my sister’s puss and boots stage show. The middle of the month was occupied with developing a new iPad based research tool for a market research company and, of course, we couldn’t move on to April before having our fill of Easter eggs.

April

Luckily, I survived April Fool’s Day unscathed and enjoyed partaking in BBC Somerset’s Any Other Business Saturday morning breakfast radio show. Later, the family and I spent some time in front of the lens for our family photo shoot.

May

Given the opportunity to participate and talk to primary school children as part of the CBBC Trade Your Way Road Show with Saira Khan (@IamSairaKhan), made this month particularly exciting. If that weren’t enough, Olympic fever really set in when the Olympic torch traveled through Taunton.

June

Another month with a memorable beginning, I welcomed June with nearly 2,000 other people at ‘ScoutFest,’ Somerset Scouts’ first activity camp, where we created some great videos. I worked with a brilliant team at ScoutFest including @emmab1984, @petervenn & @azzychill. Later, it was back to Scotland for more work at the IFIC Forensics HQ.

July

It’s always nice when you can mix business with pleasure, and that is what I had the chance to do when I took some clients to see the hilarious Michael McIntyre’s Comedy show. The month had more fun in store when I went to Thorpe Park for the very first time to celebrate my friend Maddi’s (@vento17) birthday.

August

We had more new broadband installations in August than any other month, which made it a very busy 31 days. However, one of the most notable events was being invited to a polo match (another first!) by a client.

September

No September is complete without attending the annual Gilwell Reunion for adult scout members, as it’s a weekend of entertainment and meeting old and new friends. Additionally, the month brought my friend Abbey’s (@abbeyrenshaw) 21^st birthday and the Southhampton Boat Show, where I spent time dreaming about all the expensive boats I would love to make my own. September was also the month where we spent time filming our first video for Staff Guardian – check it out here

October

October came close to becoming a straight month of parties, as birthdays popped up one after the other: my sister, brother, dog, and friend Lizzie. Also, I ventured abroad, something I haven’t done since leaving school, when I went to the lovely Lykia World in Turkey with Abbey.

November

November meant another 21^st birthday – mine! I also spent time working with Wiltshire Citizens Advice while building their new telephone system and, later in the month, I attended the Scout Association’s National Conference.

December

December’s not even over yet, and we’re already loaded with telephone and computer system installations. And there’s still plenty of fun in store, as I plan on seeing The XX live in concert at Colston Hall with Lizzie (@lizzieharvey) and squeezing in a trip to London before the Christmas break.

Overall, I’d say it’s been a fabulous year, I’ve met some amazing people, made great friends and, if 2013 is anything like 2012, I can’t wait to see what’s in store. I’m hoping for new developments in Staff Guardian (www.staffguardian.com), since we plan to grow that business next year. I encourage all to view our listing on the Seedrs crowdfunding platform and consider investing, as we have big plans for the future!

What’s your favourite memory from the past year?

I recently read an article written by Diane Young, in The Drum Magazine – all about how some larger sales departments and businesses are not interested in new business, no matter how big or small the deal.

I recently filled out an online form for a legal company to see if they can help write a contract. The call was returned within 5 minutes – brilliant. Top marks.

I then returned the call – the receptionist clearly had not been trained in dealing with potential business – answering the phone with “Good Morning” – when it was 3pm in the afternoon, a mistake a number of us would make on a Friday afternoon.

I briefly explained I was returning their call and asked for their Director by name, she replied asking for my company name – Sadly, her attitude changed completely. Explaining that they were not looking to make any changes to their IT department and any quotes would need to go through their IT Director.

I tried to re-assure her, that I was simply returning a call and was their potential customer; however, she still tried to put me off. By this point, I was seriously considering hanging up and trying again later.

Eventually, something must have clicked, I was put on hold and after another minute, I was finally transferred to the correct department.

In the end, when comparing them to their competitors, I decided to go with a much smaller & friendly team

The aim is to have:

• Improved broadband (>2mbps) to every business and community across Devon and Somerset by 2015
• Superfast broadband (>24mbps) to at least 85% of the area by 2015, with 100% by 2020

Faster broadband supports our businesses to be more competitive and helps communities’ access services, saving them money, information and learning opportunities.

This is our one big opportunity to shape the future of our digital services, so it’s vital everyone gets involved to help us get connected and up to speed.

We need you!

Our next step is to secure investment from the private sector to install the broadband and to do that we need your help.  We need to show there is strong demand for faster broadband and show what current speeds and coverage we have in the area.

To do this we need you to fill in a simple survey and tell us what your current speed is.

This helps us build a picture for our supplier of where the worst areas are and what the demand is for better broadband in those areas. If we don’t know what you want we can’t help you get the right broadband.

The account worked fine on their iPhone and also from OWA, however, when trying to use Outlook 2010 on their Windows Vista Desktop, it would hang for about 15 minutes, before asking for their account password, then a further 5-10 minutes before it would connect to Exchange and update the Inbox.

After speaking to our Exchange admins, we couldn’t figure out the cause, so I decided to grab the machine and run the usual diagnostic checks, I also reinstalled Outlook and ran a virus and malware scan. Unfortunately, none of this resolved the issue.

I was checking all the settings when I noticed within the ‘Connection’ tab the ‘on fast networks, connect using http first’ proxy setting option was not ticked, so checked the box, restarted Outlook and the problem was resolved!

Outlook now connects to the Exchange server instantly, great!

Whilst at the end of the September file sharing hit the headlines again. This time it wasn’t a simple “is file sharing bad?” debate,, but instead because data that the UK law firm ACS:Law Solicitors held had been leaked, mainly personal details of individuals provided by UK Internet service providers, and the files they are alleged to have downloaded illegally

This makes us consider how careful organisations need to be with our personal data and data of customers, suppliers and staff. Many companies don’t give it much thought, yet UK businesses hold (and transmit) huge amounts of personal data, bank details and customer records.

There are many things that both individuals and small businesses can do to reduce the risk of their data being lost or stolen, from simply ensuring you have a secure password, not something like secret, or password11 will instantly reduce your risk. It is also important to have a good and up to date Antivirus, such as Eset Smart Security, which will protect you from web and email attacks.

It’s also very easy to add passwords to important word and excel documents - in Office 2007 click the Office button, go to Prepare and then click Encrypt. You can now add a password to the document. If you are using OpenOffice, go to File, then Save As and ensure that Save with password is ticked.

Protecting memory sticks is also very important, so how can you ensure this data is encrypted? – How about a SafeStick? – SafeStick is a CCTM Government Certified file encryption memory stick, which features features military level hardware encryption of all data. – I’ve used a couple of these and they are very good, but if you forget your password, you can forget seeing your data again!

We all must take care of the data we provide to websites, as announced last night Play.com‘s marketing company has had a data breach, meaning “some customer names and email addresses may have been compromised”

Play.com advised users to be “vigilant” with their email, and asked users to forward “anything suspicious” to privacy@play.com for investigation.

So taking simple extra precautions will help to prevent people stealing your data and you protect other people’s data.

I’ve also had a few enquiries for speaking events, to help inspire other young people to start their own business and find out how I started my business at a young age.

I have recently been listed at the School Speakers agency, which is an up and coming national agency, run by Claire Young from the BBC Apprentice and business partner Cat Yaffe.

You can find my profile by visiting here School Speakers – Michael Turner Young Entreprenuer

However, current technologies mean that businesses do not have to feel the impact of the widespread disruption across the country. By utilising services such as Hosted Telecoms (VoIP), Hosted Exchange email, instant messaging, cloud computing, and creating virtual offices for employees, businesses can carry on as normal while the rest of the country grinds to a halt, including your competitors!

By allowing your employees to set up an office in their own home and forego their regular commute during the disruption, you can save your business time (employees won’t be late) and money (no lost business due to absences).

But what if an important client calls our phone number?
You or one of your employees will be able to answer it! Using Business VoIP telecoms, your numbers can go anywhere, even if it is a different country! All you need is a broadband connection, and a piece of software on your computer or the VoIP phone you use on your desk. This is all possible because the number is tied to the account, not the physical connection like BT lines. As an added benefit, your business will also save money on calls and line rental – You won’t pay for calls between your employees, even if they are at different ends of the country.

But what about their email and messages?
Using a Hosted Exchange Email service means your employees have ‘anywhere access’ to their email, contacts, calendar and tasks, whether that be through Outlook, a web browser or on their smartphone. They can send and receive mail as if they had ploughed in through the snow! All the information is held in ‘the cloud’, so anything you do when away from the office is synced with your Outlook client when you return.

But what if they need access to files on their computer?
Your employees can either use a remote access service, such as LogMeIn, to access and control their computer from their home PC. Alternatively, a sharing service like Dropbox allows you to share folders (and the files within them) on your computer with colleagues. You can then either install Dropbox on your home computer or access the files from a web browser. If your employees need IT Support for their home PC’s, then we can utilise TeamViewer to continue supporting them.

If you add all the simple and affordable services to your business, your employees won’t be among the thousands losing working hours when stuck at home.

Talk to our sales team about how Business VoIP, Hosted Email Exchange and Cloud Computing can help you and your business prepare for winter on 01934 440030.

4Networking is a great way to meet other small businesses in your local area, it’s great to meet potential suppliers and clients. One of the main points to remember, is that it doesn’t matter if there is no-one in the room who is going to buy from you, it’s more about who they know. For example, I’ve met several businesses, printers, accountants etc. – I work with businesses from start-up stage, through to taking on their 50th employee – So they always need a printing company and an accountants – So I can pass on their details.

In business, people buy from people. No matter how brilliant your product might be, or how cheap it is. If you don’t like someone, it’s very unlikely your going to buy from them. How many times have you been into a shop, had an unfriendly or rude shopkeeper serve you and never returned?

How about phoning a potential supplier, leaving several messages and they never got back to you. You are unlikely to return, or recommend them to anyone else.

So you must always remember this, you are your business. Meet, Like, Know & Trust. That’s the 4N way!

Of course there are plenty of business networking groups out there, it depends what type of person you are and who your ideal customers are. For example there is BNI, Federation of Small Businesses, Women in Business, Simply Networking.. The list goes on and on. Of course there are even networking groups that are market specific, some have very strict rules and some are very social. Most groups allow you to try them out, before you pay any high membership or joining fees, I would highly recommend this.

The winners of this year’s prestigious Somerset Business Awards were announced on Friday 22^nd October at the annual Somerset Business Awards Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony. The occasion was a great opportunity to celebrate the varied and vibrant businesses of Somerset, with winners flaunting impressive combined credentials that place Somerset in an enviable position to weather the economic storm and withstand recently announced government cuts.

Almost 300 people from the county’s top businesses – from sole traders to major corporate firms – attended the sell-out event at the new Somerset County Cricket Club conference and banqueting facilities to find out who had won this year’s highly-coveted awards. Organisers commented that the standard of the entries this year has been exceptional, whilst the number of entries was up over 50%, proving that the popularity and prestige of the Somerset Business Awards continues to increase year on year.
David Griffin, Managing Partner of Albert Goodman, the main event sponsor, commented, “The Somerset Business Awards have become the most recognisable and important endorsement of corporate and individual achievement in Somerset.  Through our involvement as main sponsor of this year’s awards, it is uplifting to view first-hand the strength of businesses and individual talent within our county, particularly at a time when we are experiencing the worst economic conditions for several decades.”

The judges were so impressed with the level of achievement from young people at this year’s Somerset Business Awards that they awarded a special prize for Young Entrepreneur of the Year to Lympsham based Turnkey IT Solutions, which also came second in the New Business of the Year Award. Established by Michael Turner in January 2009 at the tender age of 17, Turnkey IT Solutions provides a complete outsourced managed IT solution for businesses and has recently developed ‘Staff Guardian’ – an innovative application that allows managers to ensure their staff’s safety and manage overheads easily. The young entrepreneur is already an impressive businessman and is a real asset for Somerset, undoubtedly destined to go on to bigger and better things.

Michael commented, “Winning a Somerset Business Award is really great for Turnkey IT Solutions. It’s great recognition – it shows that we’re doing the right thing and our customers are obviously really proud of us. We will continue to grow and hope to gain more customers in Somerset and nationwide. We’ve launched StaffGuardian.com, which is a great staff safety solution, and we hope that by winning this award it will help us promote that.”

The awards ceremony, held at the Somerset County Cricket Ground in Taunton, was attended by nearly 300 people and was a sell-out event.

Michael Turner the ambitious teenager who built his first website at just 11, left Kings of Wessex school in Cheddar at 16 with eight GCSE’s, to start his own business. TurnKey I.T Solutions is an IT support and consultancy company, working with clients of all sizes both regionally and nationally, to ensure their IT systems are optimised and yet still cost efficient.

Michael said “I’m very pleased and feel honoured to be presented with this award. It just shows that young people can achieve their goal in life,  with enthusiasm and hard work. I think it’s brilliant that the Somerset Chamber of Commerce run this event and reward those that have the dedication and commitment to move their businesses forward despite the current economic challenges”

Michael hopes that with this prestigious endorsement TurnKey I.T Solutions will continue to grow. Michael recently launched Staff Guardian which allows business owners and managers to ensure their lone workers safety (www.StaffGuardian.com).

Michael has recently been selected from a list of over 500 entrepreneurs to speak at this year’s inaugural “Entrepreneur’s Exhibition”(www.thee2live.com)  where 80 of the country’s top entrepreneurs will speak to an audience in excess of 10,000 fledgling enterprises and ensure the British SME sector remains one of the world’s strongest and most innovative.

Notes to editors:

• TurnKey I.T Solutions is based in Somerset and provides IT services, to businesses of all sizes both regionally and nationally.
• Michael Turner is Managing Director of TurnKey I.T Solutions
• Staff Guardian is a safety solution for lone workers (www.StaffGuardian.com)
• Further information available: Tel: 01934 4400030 Email: media@turnkeyit.co.uk Web: www.turnkeyit.co.uk Postal: 5 Ferry Lane, Lympsham, Somerset, BS24 0BT
• For further information about the Somerset Business Awards of Chamber of Commerce visit www.somersetbusinessawards.org.uk or www.somerset-chamber.co.uk