Michael Turner
IT Consultant & Young Entrepreneur from Somerset
Remember the little guys
Nov 30th
In these difficult economic times. Yes, I know, everyone is saying this at the moment. But it is difficult, everyone is struggling with the rising cost of everyday goods and salaries stay as they are and businesses struggling to find new work.
I recently had a client come to me and tell me they were in financial difficulties, which is a huge shame, as they are a brilliant client and have always been very supportive of my business.
This made me think a little and I urge any business that is facing the difficult choice of going insolvent, please remember the little guys, the small businesses that provide services to your business are the ones that will be affected the hardest if their invoices are not paid. The big guys out there, the likes of BT, Dell and Vodafone all have contingency plans for clients going bust, so it will not affect them quite as much.
That’s just my thoughts anyhow…
4Networking
Nov 27th
I’ve recently become Marketing Assistant for my local 4Networking group in Bridgwater, Somerset.
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.
Somerset Business Awards 2010
Oct 27th
Somerset celebrates its vibrant business community as the winners of the Somerset Business Awards 2010 are announced
The winners of this year’s prestigious Somerset Business Awards were announced
on Friday 22nd 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.”
