CBF Group's blog

Part of heading the #TuesdayCatchUp networking events is making sure I am keeping as many people happy as possible that attend.

This is why I run the #YVH (Your Voice Heard) section of the #TuesdayCatchUp blog so everyone can have their say.

The changes that have already been put in place through #YVH are having #TuesdayCatchUp at 18:30 instead of 18:00 & the introduction of name tags. They may only be small changes but there has been good feedback with regards to these appeasements.

With regards to any of the #YVH’s you come across through speaking to people or seeing them mentioned in Twitter please do not hesitate to throw in your own suggestion using the #YVH hash tag or by dropping me a email to alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Here are some of the latest noises that have been made using the #YVH hash tag on twitter and how and am going to try and deal with them.

Can we go some else for food after the event rather than always going to curry houses?

For those people that like to stick around and carry on the networking after the event has finished know that we do usually visit one of the local curry houses around 21:00. Some people have used #YVH to state that they would love to come for food but do not necessarily like Indian food.

For these people they will be happy to hear that we will be going to Zizzi’s Italian following the March 6^th event. I know one person that will be especially happy about this, no names being mentioned…

Due to the sheer number of people that attend it can sometimes be difficult to tell who is actually part of the #TuesdayCatchUp event. Can anything be done to make it more obvious?

As mentioned earlier I have already introduced name tags so that should go a long way towards helping. Something else that I am going to try and introduce is getting people to congregate more in one area of the pub instead of being all spread out. Obviously we need to be respectful of the other paying customers who are out to enjoy their evening but if we can find an area we can all be together this should help show who is actually part of the networking group.

It can sometimes be difficult to get around speaking to everyone to give them business card of other type of literature. Can there be a focus point for materials such as these?

I am going to speak to the pub managers to see if we can reserve one of the tables so people can leave a small pile of their business cards etc for people to see and pick up at the leisure. This table is also where you will collect your name tag from in future to save me having to pester you all to see if you have one or not. I am hoping this will also help keep people in one area of the pub more as well.

Is the Exmouth Arms Pub as a venue simply becoming too small?

We definitely had a fantastic turn out for the last event but I am going to keep an eye on the situation over the next couple of events. If #TuesdayCatchUp maintains the high attendee figures or even keeps on growing then yes I may need to look into options for the venue. If in the next couple of months I do feel that the venue is becoming too small then I will make sure everybody knows the venue has changed. The reason why I don’t not want to change venue just yet is because I am hoping when the weather warms up a bit we will be about to move the event in to the superb Exmouth Arms Beer Garden. Business networking outside, not many other networking groups can offer that luxury can they, pure bliss.

For now I believe that is everything dealt with but if you have any comments to make or want to make #YVH with regards to anything else then please do not hesitate to contact me. Remember you can always you the hash tag #YHV on twitter.

Adam out!

#TuesdayCatchUp Great #Glosbiz networking!

We’ve done it!

Today is proof that success comes from hard work! With the live debut of the Online Print Control (OPC) software offering, we have gone live with a bang!

With 1977 customers going live today nationwide all using the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) training course to train their staff and customers with individual billing and reporting requirements, including some of the largest blue chip organisations in the UK. Internally we have had to increase print capacity and administration staff to manage the support for the increase in workflow.

Managing the print requirements for the British Computer Society (BCS) for the past two years has led us to today. This is the start of the print management tools that will be looking after the Qualifications Department and the promotion of their courses. To start, we have gone live with a number of promotional flyers, posters, branded promotional gifts and downloadable PR materials.

All this is available to order 24/7 and accessible online. Each user has specific access rights and is able to customise their own materials according to their user type and the courses they offer. Each material is either made to order fully personalised using our design tools or picked and packed from pre-printed stocks. Once established and the dust has settled, the future plans for the BCS – Marketing Support System will see further materials being placed online to help promote the ECDL computer course.

This coupled with new courses going on-line over the next few weeks the success is all down to the collaboration of the staff at the BCS and the internal workflow, software management and staff at CBF.  This is the end of a 2 year working period internally for CBF getting the software to meet ISO standards and be efficient enough to be quick and reactive to our customers making us infinitely scalable as a business.

If you or your business would like to know more about our services, software and the print management tools feel free to drop us a line.

This blog post is taking a #TuesdayCatchUp #CloserLook at Jonathon Watkins of Photoglow.

Jonathon Watkins

Over to you Jonathon.

I’m Jonathon Watkins, owner and senior photographer at PhotoGlow Photography.  I’m married with two young children we run a photography company specialising in people and places, which means we do portraits, weddings and business photography.

I cherish the first photo I took at age 8 of my parents in the Dutch bulb fields. It’s a constant reminder that at its core, photography is about memories, people, connections & feelings.  I’ve been passionate about creating image from an early age and each click of the shutter would cost you 30p in film & developing costs. This meant you tended to be very careful in what and how you photographed. My first SLR was bought at age 15 and was a manual focus film SLR camera, as Auto Focus had not been invented. This love of photography lead me be becoming president of St Andrews University photographic society, running workshops, leading photography trips and encouraging & teaching others to be better photographers. There’s a wonderful feeling about watching an image slowly appear in silver on photographic paper in the developing dish.

I photographed my first wedding in 1993 and the style of coverage was very different back then. I wanted to take photos of people interacting & to capture the feel of the day, so that is what I did on 12 roll of 36 exposure 35mm film and the couple loved them.  However most people were offering/expecting a ‘formal’ look, so I didn’t peruse photography as a vocation and had a career in software testing. My love of photography was reignited in 2001 when I bought a digital camera and the creative possibilities were reopened. I went full time pro with photography in 2009 and having an IT background has been very useful.

It’s a general rule that you see what you look for and you need quality in to get quality out. I look for light, colour, joy, dynamism and movement and so that’s what my photos often show. I work had on the technical, creative and artistic aspect of photography and am still learning and loving it and the joy that images can bring to people.

If you would like to have you very own #CloserLook then please drop me an email (no more then 350 words & not to include any web links) about your business or the role you play within your company.

Adam out!

#TuesdayCatchUp brought to you by CBF www.cbfnet.co.uk

I am starting to get better at this #TuesdayCatchUp review blog. It has only been 14 days since the event this time around!

Sadly I did not manage to get an official head count but what I do know is we had by far our best turn out to date. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that came along and also the people that helped spread the word of the event.

Some of our lovely regulars were greatly missed but I am sure we will see them at the next event in March. @TrainWithKirsty @ChapelSpa @Eveslegwear @LukeStephens @fwh to name a few.

It is not a bad thing for #TuesdayCatchUp and the followers of the event but I am getting to the point where I feel that I need to apologies to the Exmouth Arms bar staff for making what should be a nice quiet shift one of the busiest night’s of their week. In fact here is an image of the people arriving to the last #TuesdayCatchUp.

This way to #TuesdayCatchUp .. Jump aboard

Using my powers of mathematics and all my worldly knowledge, I have come to the conclusion that as we had our biggest turn out yet we must have had a lot of new comers. Apologies if I did not manage to get around to introducing myself and showing you the ropes but I am confident you all managed to mix and mingle in the correct manner. I do not recall seeing anyone look particularly lost or scared amongst the group, if anything it was most likely me looking a bit dazed and confused because of the overwhelming turn out.

I cannot account for everyone else’s mingling but I certainly found myself speaking to some new and very interesting people, including a children’s book publisher, an accountant, lettings agent, charity worker and a company that deals with specialist painting prints.

The event also saw the return of the #TuesdayCatchUp #BigQuestion. This is a little, fun game we play to raise money for our local charity Winston’s Wish http://www.winstonswish.org.uk.

Everyone who wishes to get involved makes a small donation to our ever growing Winston’s Wish pot and get one guess at the #BigQuestion. This time around the question was “What is the combined amount of twitter followers of the people that have attended this month’s #TuesdayCatchUp”. With my ever fading memory I cannot remember the exact answer (32,000+/- I recall) but the three closest guesses came from @EllyPittaway @Taxationsaver @Creative_Scoop.

Between them they shared out the amazing prizes of a bottle of Moet kindly donated @LawsonWillett , a meal for two plus a bottle of wine donated by @TheExmouth and the top prize of a Twilight Spa for Two donated by @ChapelSpa.

http://www.chapelspa.co.uk/

http://theexmouth.co.uk/

To show the extent of the amount of people that turned up to the event once all was said and done and most people had left after an enjoyable evening of networking (23), that’s right 23 of us went out for a very enjoyable curry at the Indus Curry house on Bath Road http://www.induscheltenham.com

http://www.induscheltenham.com/home.aspx

Not to get big headed, okay well maybe slightly big headed but 23 people is more than some networking events have turn up to the whole event not just the after party curry.

But to me that is not enough. I want more and more Cheltenham (Gloucestershire) business people to experience the joys and benefits of coming along to a #TuesdayCatchUp event.

So if you came along and enjoyed it then please feel free to bring a + 1,2,3,4,5,6,7….. next time you come along. If you have never been before then why not join us? The event is totally free and all enjoyed in a relaxed networking atmosphere.

I will be posting more information with regards to the March event closer to the time but for now so you can get it in your diaries the next #TuesdayCatchUp event is on the 6^th March.

As always it will be taking place at the Exmouth Arms on the Bath Road in Cheltenham from 18:30 onwards.

Until then.. Adam out!

Miriam Pethania

www.iconoclast-images.co.uk

This week is it time for us to take a #CloserLook at a local business called Iconoclast.

Over to you Miriam…

Hi, I’m Miriam Pethania and I run Iconoclast – a bespoke art printing company, and it is something that I’m very passionate about.

Iconoclast started in 2006 – we specialize in digital imaging and work with designers, photographers and artists across the spectrum. We found our clients were wanting to create something beautiful and unique in print, so Iconoclast spun off from there. Our clients have a particular vision in their minds and come to us to bring it to life.

It can be different every day – from a fresh-faced art graduate who’s just starting out, or someone with a vintage family photograph that they want share with others – to designers and corporate clients looking for fresh design solutions, or something stunning and personal for weddings and parties.

We started off with photographic printing, then took on fine art materials like watercolour papers and pure cotton canvases. Now we’re fully bespoke and source the material that suits the project. We’ve worked with everything from aluminium sheets and vinyl banners, to pure silk drapes and wall clings – as well as the more traditional media – ranging from the size of a postcard, to the size of a house!

A bespoke print from Iconoclast is really a work of art in itself, because it’s hand-crafted, all the way. We look at each drop of colour and make sure it says what you want it to say. Having the privilege of working with some of the finest artists in history, including Turner, Whistler and Van Gogh – was an incredibly humbling experience, to literally get under the skin of a genius.

It’s exciting to work with contemporary artists and photographers – from the more well-established, to up-and-coming newcomers. Our photographic background also comes in handy to restore historic images – a recent highlight was reviving some vintage glass plate photographs and putting them onto silk for a couple’s diamond anniversary – the first time we’ve brought tears to someone’s eyes!

If you would like to be the next person we take a #CloserLook at them please send a short blurb to me (no longer than 350 words) at alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!

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Over the last three years, CBF have been proud supporters and committee members of Gloucestershire Independent Network (GIN). With over 25 members and a number of visitors meeting at Hatherley Manor Hotel every week.

All attendees get the chance to talk for 60 seconds about their business to the rest of the group, while the rest of the group are served breakfast. During the meeting there is also a chance to mingle amongst the group and find out about each other and listen to a 10 minute speaker of the week talk about their business. These speakers can be anyone from one of the GIN members to external speakers that would like to share experiences and industry tricks of the trade.

From a CBF prospective, GIN has proven itself time and time again, not only as a door opener to local Gloucestershire businesses but as a consistent lead generator and builder of trust in industries where we would otherwise have no knowledge. As there is only one representative from each industry, all GIN members have to apply, their application is carefully considered and vetted for compatibility with the group.

We encourage all our clients and followers on twitter to visit GIN as a good introduction to networking and spring board into some of the counties best businesses.

If you would like to come and say hi, we would love to make you our guest. Drop me a line and we can talk further.

Till next time.

Lawson Willett

I did it!

After weeks of trying to get sponsorship I have finally had the opportunity to get my head around walking 20ft across hot coals for the Winston’s Wish Firewalk.

I found myself a little jaded after a long night out on at the start of Saturday the 18th.  But surprisingly calm about what I was about to put my body through.  Now I don’t generally get nervous about stepping into the unknown but way out of my comfort zone is another thing entirely.  I was thankful however that I knew a number of people also embarking on this madness which seemed to soften the blow mentally.

Arriving at Brickhampton Golf Course in the afternoon, I walked into the bar area only to find very clique groups all talking about the process, the techniques and the scare mongering they have all endured whist trying to raise money for Winston’s Wish.  After a short drink were ushered into a conference room and greeted by a tall, skinny, bearded chap called Tony.  Who after settling us all down starts explaining the most amazing life story all based around martial arts and travelling to the far reaches to hone his skills with masters of various disciplines, he went through a lovely story about fire walking in the desert at a large party, one of which I must find in the future.  On a side-line amazing how first impressions count for so much, this very nice, scruffy looking gentleman although a little eccentric in nature you would take as just one of life’s ‘characters’ but was actually a trained ‘martial arts machine’ that was dedicated to his form so much so that after a few falters in life battled his way to be the best at his game.

Anyway back to our little body language/confidence boost session, over the next 2 hours we were asked to put ourselves into various mental states to make us more aware of our physical selves and be conscious of how to build adrenaline naturally to prepare us for the firewalk.  Although this experience was very pantomime in nature and outlandish we all got involved and as a group we very much dropped our emotional boundaries in readiness.

We were then taken outside to see the lighting of the coals! EEEEK! This was also used as a test to see how many paces it takes you to walk the 20ft length, for me 7 paces were pretty average in comparison to the rest of the group but boy! That number stuck in my head! (The thought of tripping, not good!)

Back inside we had one final HOORAR of building adrenaline between us and I was singled out to play the part of Elvis coming back from the grave to a large crowd this was quiet the buzz for me as I walked down the aisle to them all whooping and cheering, clapping and whistling.  We were then rallied together to collectively take deep breaths and build each other up.  Once all buzzing we went outside again like lemmings to meet our impending doom only to be greeted by 250+ people, camera flashes & a wall of flame 20ft long! Ummm, Gulp.

Now bearing in mind it must have been minus 2 degrees outside we had to take our socks and shoes off then and there and wait in line for the organisers to go first the floor was the only sensation I could feel and it was freezing!  Right so I think I was 4^th in line, as I got close to the flames and hot coals 20ft became 100ft and the crowds were non-existent around me, all I could here was my trusted trainer asking me some pre-prompted questions 1. To tell him my name and 2. If I was ready to go. Thank god I got that right!

As I stepped out onto the coals all I can tell you is that as my feet were so cold, the adrenaline was pumping at an all-time high I walked my 7 paces on what felt like a cold surface that had a texture that can only be described as feathers.

I got to the end and the elation can only be described as epic! I think the photo below looks like I have just won Gold at the 100m Olympics final and that’s how it felt.  What a great experience.  I highly urge anyone that is looking to conquer a fear or just do something out of their comfort zone go find out where you can do a firewalk.

Of course this was about me as much as the charity and both have gained massively so thank you to Winston’s Wish (http://www.winstonswish.org.uk ) I’m proud to support you and your work.  Thank you for Blaze (http://www.blazefirewalking.com/)  for the safe and well organised opportunity.

For those of you looking to see what I raised for this event or you may like to donate further click here http://www.justgiving.com/lawson-willett0

Thank you for all your support.

These photos were kindly taken by Blenheim Photography more available here: https://www.theimagefile.com/?skin=765402&Action=_VC&id=94345402&ppwd=93659hkn

Photo kindly taken by Richard Bell – @richard_bell

Today we are taking a #CloserLook at Suzie Goodman, also known as @KarmaKarsCots.

Over to you Suzie.

Hi, I’m Suzie Goodman from Cheltenham and I’m the very proud owner of Karma Kars Cotswold. We are a wedding car hire company operating across the Cotswolds as far as Oxford, Bristol and Birmingham.  Karma Kars started in London in 2000 with four Ambassadors imported direct from Calcutta. These iconic Indian cars, based on the 1950s British classic the Morris Oxford are classic looking, similar to a Morris Minor only bigger and with a boot! What makes a Karma Kar so special is the painstaking time & attention to detail spent on transforming each car into a veritable work of art. Both bumpers are festooned with exotic flowers and every inch of their interiors are decorated with sequins & beads.

Riding in a Karma Kar is a truly enchanting experience, guaranteed to make every bride’s special day jaw-droppingly stylish.  Karma Kars are practically celebrities in their own right, we’ve been in the music videos of Lily Allen and Keane, booked by Bloombergs and Selfridges and have driven many a celebrity client including Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and the Jaggers.  One of our cars even appeared in a Coronation Street wedding! (Dev & Sunita – fact fans).

After having a Karma Kar at her own wedding in London in 2005, Suzie brought the concept to the Cotswolds in 2010 offering a girly chauffeur experience quite like nothing else. She wanted to buck the trend of a traditional wedding car company so she dresses to impress and certainly doesn’t wear a chauffeur’s cap!  Her first year saw a bumper crop of twelve weddings, this year is already looking busy when you consider that this time last year when she launched she had zero bookings!

Outside of weddings and beautiful cars, Suzie enjoys her 2 gorgeous children, ridiculously high-heeled shoes and cheese of any persuasion.

If you would like to be the Gloucestershire business we are taking a #CloserLook at then please drop me a blurb about yourslef and your business (no more than 350 words to alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!

First of all I would like to thank everyone that took part in the #BigQuestion at last night’s #TuesdayCatchUp and donated towards our Winston’s Wish Charity collection.

I am pleased to say we are now up to an amazing £120.98!!!!

We are accumulating the pot until the summer so let’s keep up the good work and keep on adding those pennies.

I would now like to say a HUGE thank you to the people that kindly donated the winning prizes for the #BigQuestion.

Firstly a massive thank you to Sarah Capewell & Sam Tribe (@TheExmouth) the managers of the Exmouth Arms Pub. They don’t only put up with us taking over the pub on the first Tuesday of every month they were also kind enough to donate a MEAL FOR TWO INCLUDING A BOTTLE OF WINE towards the #BigQuestion prize draw. http://theexmouth.co.uk/

Next is one of the most genuine, lovely Cheltenham businesses people I have had the pleasure to meet. Emma Whitelaw of the Chapel Spa (@ChapelSpa) in Cheltenham kindly donated a TWILIGHT SPA FOR 2 as the 1^st prize for the #BigQuestion winner. http://www.chapelspa.co.uk/shop/search.php?search_q=Twilight+Spa&srchsubmit=Search&fromprice=5&toprice=325

Last but not least my very own partner in crime (I mean business) Lawson Willett (@LawsonWillett) of CBF group for donating a fine bottle of Moet Champagne. http://www.cbfnet.co.uk/

So now, what you have all been waiting for. Here are the three lucky people who had the closest answers to the #TuesdayCatchUp #BigQuestion.

The question posed to the attendees of last night’s #TuesdayCatchUp was;

What is the combined amount of twitter followers of all the people that have attended #TuesdayCatchUp tonight (07/02/12)?

Answers (which took me nearly two hours to figure out by the way at 1am) 31,859

In 3^rd place winning the lovely bottle of Moet is the lovely Nina of @Creative_Scoop

In 2^nd place enjoying a meal for 2 including a bottle of wine at the Exmouth Arms Pub is Aynsley of @Taxationsaver

The Big winner of the February 2012 #BigQuestion who will be enjoying the relaxing Twilight Spa at the Chapel Spa in Cheltenham is the ‘First time lucky new comer’ Danielle of @EllyPittaway

I would like to say from myself and everyone else at #TuesdayCatchUp massive congratulations to you all.

To claim you prize please DM at @CBFprinters or email me at alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!

The face behind the @GlosOx twitter account

Welcome to our first #CloserLook segment of the #TuesdayCatchUp blog. This is going to be an ongoing project where you will have a chance to have a closer look at local Gloucestershire businesses and what makes them tick.

The first person we are having a #CloserLook at is Rachel Davis also known at @GlosOx on Twitter.

Over to you Rachel:

My name is Rachel Davis (aka “Dizzie”), and I am a community fundraiser for the British Heart Foundation(BHF). I cover all of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire –and quite frankly, I love my job!

I grew up in Gloucester (love the Cherry & Whites), but I now live with my boyfriend and our two dogs in Droitwich (handily situated on the motorway between the two Counties that I cover!)

I spent 8 years as a Trading Standards Officer, before being made redundant in August 2010. I started work for BHF in January 2011. It’s a charity very close to my heart (all puns intended) – and if you want me to tell you why, I will do – without obligation!

I have been a volunteer before, and I am fully aware that charities large and small could not do the job they do, or raise the money they do without volunteers – I am extremely grateful to everyone who gives time or expertise to charity (whether it’s BHF or another charity).

I am so inspired by the work of BHF, which is why I can do my job with so much enthusiasm. I meet many people who have benefitted from the work of BHF, but also some people who have lost loved ones to heart disease – these are the people that I work for.

I am always looking for new ideas to raise money – it’s tough out there – there are so many charities wanting money, and everyone believes that BHF is a rich charity (it’s not!). It’s my aim to tell as many people as possible that Heart Disease kills more people in the UK than anything else. (also women are 3 times more likely to die of Heart Disease than breast cancer).But I won’t nag about your eating habits….I will look disapprovingly when you sneak outside for a fag tho!

Come and chat to me at #TuesdayCatchUp – I’m a fundraiser, not a mugger!

Next week we will be have a #CloserLook at Suzie Goodman of @KarmaKarsCots

If you would like to be one of the Gloucestershire businesses we take a #CloserLook at then drop me a tweet to @CBFprinters or email me at alegrand@cbfnet.co.uk.

Adam out!