Experience the Enchanted · Experience the Enchanted with Joe Laws Chamber powers ahead. PREMIER BUSINESS SHOWS & EXPOS ... CITY & GUILDS AWARDS and ABIOSH – Awarding Body of International

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Experiencethe Enchantedwith Joe Laws

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CORPORATE FINANCIAL PLANNING

T: 0191 261 6400 | E: [email protected] | www.broadcharepartners.co.uk

The Partner Practice represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website

www.sjp.co.uk/products. The title ‘Partner Practice’ is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

Broad Chare Partners is a trading name of Broad Chare Partnership LLP.

SENIOR PARTNER PRACTICE OF

Broad Chare Partners offers the highest standards of expert and tailored financial planning for individuals

and businesses. From start-up to growth, during maturity and through to exit, as experienced business

owners, we provide our clients with the means to achieve their financial goals for the future.

KEY PERSON INSURANCE

SHAREHOLDER PROTECTION

PENSION PLANNING

PROFIT EXTRACTION

EXIT & SUCCESSION PLANNING*

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

*Exit Planning may include the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place.

Joe Laws is an award wining photographer based in Newburn in Newcastle and when you see the output of his work its hard to believe he was actually born in the Bedroom above the Studio so you can see how special the place is to Joe when you meet him.

Joe Laws Photography specialise in Photographic Experiences that sets them apart from other studios in the region from the moment you walk through the door to the finished product, the experience is a memorable journey that Joe takes you on.

Joe is an associate level with the Master Photographers Association which is a Professional Body of Photographers in the UK. Joe is exhibiting at the NE Expo and the appointed photographer capturing the day on film.

Joe Laws | www.joelaws.co.uk

NE Expo - 02.05.19 | South Yorkshire Expo - 16.05.19


Imposter, no just conscientious

Many people in business experience “imposter syndrome”. At Gedanken, we frequently see it in quite exceptional people.

Simply described, feeling like an impostor is often associated with feeling like you should not be in the role or function that you are currently undertaking. The exercise of authority, for example can be tainted with self-doubt. Having perhaps achieved great things, you can doubt your personal qualities are in proportion with the achievement and can be left feeling a fraud. Such feelings can taint the sheer joy of personal success.

In reality, many who experience imposter syndrome are simply occupying a new or evolved role and are diligently evaluating the compatibility of their personality, skills and self-image against its perceived requirements. In constantly analysing the fit between the two, it is almost inevitable to consider ourselves as wanting in some way.

In reality, so called “imposters” are usually truly conscientious people with values that are ethical, honourable and modest. They reflect on their sense personal responsibility, rather than just asserting role “rights” on others. They sometimes overlook however, that just as new shoes rarely fit perfectly, when adjusting to new challenges there are bits that need “breaking in”.

Realising one’s success is often not about confidence, it requires instead authenticity. It is about grappling with uncertainty, change, markets, identity, organisational and socio-political constraints, amongst other things, whilst still finding a meaningful, learning, productive way forward in business. This trumps the bravado of false confidence every time!

Dr David Cliff, MD of Gedanken | www.gedanken.co.uk | 0191 305 1122

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Dr David Cliff reflects on the phenomenon often referred to as “Imposter Syndrome”

Jude, one of the North East’s leading life and wellness coaches is working with clients on varying levels from young teenage Athletes competing at world level to CEO of businesses to ensure that lack of confidence and niggling anxieties doesn’t stop them in their tracks.

“ Having passion and ambition to get us to high levels is key but once there we need to maintain our drive and passion when a deal doesn’t go our way or we don’t compete at our best, the key to success is learning to maintain confidence and performance to ensure you deliver for your business for yourself and your team. I not only look at performance but i look at the individual as a whole, work life and home life to ensure they are living to their full potential and any anxieties or stresses are released and managed”

Visit www.judedauntcoaching.co.uk

Maintaining self confidence and beating anxieties

CCS Training is an organisation dedicated to the provision of quality training.

CCS Training was formed from a direct response to requests from companies’ wishing to undertake industry based Health and Safety training.

Recently CCS Training has been re-branded to accommodate our International markets and can offer comprehensive training packages tailored to your needs. All of the staff at CCS Training are highly experienced,

qualified professionals delivering quality training in the workplace with a friendly and approachable manner.

Although the Company is based in the North East of England it has the ability to offer training both nationally and internationally.

In association with a new Awarding Body that offer qualifications developed in industry for industry.

For further details contact: Trevor Miller [email protected] or Maureen Miller [email protected]

CCS Training Ltd • Newcastle Business Village • 33 Bellingham Drive • Benton • NE12 9SZ

Tel: 0191 250 1250 | Web: www.ccstrainingengland.com

CITY & GUILDS AWARDS and ABIOSH – Awarding Body of International Occupational Safety and Health awards.


Rather than assuming that mobile and online marketing is ‘killing the high street’ brands are using Mobile Apps to add to the in-store experience.

“Nearly three out of four (71%) of shoppers now access their phone while in stores to read product reviews, compare prices, navigate aisles, check out, pay or look for gift inspiration ahead of the holidays.” (Mobile Marketer – Dec 10th, 2018)

How Are Retailers Using Mobile Technology in Their Stores?Apps as in-store tour guides:By creating Apps that have special in-store features that guide the user through the store and is tailored to the individual’s preferences.

Unique In-App ContentUsing Apps that show unique content for the store such as providing product/brand specific info such as trade-in values for gaming, DVD’s or mobile phones for example.

Special Discount For Using Your AppCreate an App that allows customers to search, scan and browse in-store items and offer a discount code that can be scanned at check-out to encourage them to buy.

These are just 3 ways to use Apps to improve the customer experience and drive more sales.

Embracing ‘Brick & Mobile’ for your retail business


Al Tepper– Founder of TepFu Disruptive Marketing | www.tepfu.com

Winning businesses weaponise their humanity

Frank Zappa once said: An algorithm can tell you a story but it can’t tell you the whole story, it just doesn’t have the eyebrows.

Without doubt we live in a discounting society, where the Emotion is everything. We lived through the ages of Content, Context, Attention and Authenticity. We now live in the Age of Humanisation.

In this era of digital business (and to disclose I run a marketing strategy agency and operate mostly in digital space) the most powerful marketing weapon your business has is the humanity within it.

We all know and often say things like:

1) People are our most important asset;

2) People buy from people.

So clearly, we should be saying, believing and acting as if, certainly when it comes to marketing, our people are everything. Our humanity is the key to the future success of our businesses.

Assuming you agree at this point, let’s quickly explore how to make all that wooly theory more profitable than it currently is for your business.

Here are two ways you can humanise your business immediately:

1 Uncover the Why

As Simon Sinek explains, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. So understanding your why is vital. And understanding your prospects why matters too.

Sell to them once and frankly you’ve got lucky. You may not get lucky again. The downward loyalty trend confirms that. However, sign people up to your why because it aligns to them and you will likely have a customer for much longer.

2 Be a storyteller

When you have uncovered why you do what you do and what your prospects why is, start telling the story of your respective why’s. As a guide to a content strategy this is

a great core focus point. Why does your company do what it does? Why do your staff choose to work there (and it’s not just because of the money)? Why did you start the business you started (and it’s not just because of the money)? Why do your prospects have the problems they have that you can solve?

What a radical thought. That we need to stop behaving like businesses full of people and rather start acting like a group of people making business happen together.

Al Tepper - Al is the Founder of TepFu Disruptive Marketing (www.tepfu.com) and is a Social Media & LinkedIn master for business. He is on all major social media @altepper

Our humanity is the key to the future success of our businesses.

Heather Bond | www.takingyourbusinessonline.com

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What percentage of buyers want to hear from sellers in the first stage of the buying process?

A: 2%B: 30%C: 71%D: 12%

We will reveal the answer soon, but first a little self-reflection how does your answer relate to your sales mindset? In short, how do you feel about approaching suspects? Do you wait until they are midway through the buying stage?

“Confidence is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets” Unknown.

What does this quote have to do with the above survey? A study by RAIN Group showed that 71% of buyers want to hear from sellers about opportunities to improve their business. So, grow your confidence and change your mindset. Begin to approach buyers in the first stage of the buying process rather than waiting until they are halfway through it.

Your sales funnel will help you to embed a strong sales process from beginning to end. Use this to identify and convert your ideal sales prospects. Just like a funnel the number of leads will get smaller in number the closer you get to the bottom of the funnel. The easy way to remember it is to use the acronym SPANCOP, let’s break it down into the different sections:

S – SuspectP – ProspectA – Approach & AnalyseN – NegotiateC – CloseO – OrderP – Payment

Top tip #1: Understand that not every lead will become a sale

Naturally, you want to succeed at business and continue to be able to build upon this success. It would be easy to think that the way to do this is to chase as many leads as possible and get them all the way down the sales funnel to the payment stage. Trying to squeeze too many unqualified leads down the pipeline has a huge impact on sales conversion and win rates, which in turn affects morale and sales mindset. Focus on keeping them in the loop via newsletters, emails, phone calls in 6 months’time, etc so that when they are qualified to buy you will influence their purchasing decision.

Top tip #2: Build a target sector and recognise opportunities

Determining who will make it down the sales funnel starts with focusing on suspects. These suspects are likely to be in your target sector. There a few different factors you can take into account to define your target sector e.g. existing clients, market research, online analytics and engaging with clients.

Top tip #3: Check that the suspect meets the target client profile

Some suspects will stay suspects for now while others will become prospects. Use this tried-and-tested criteria to help you define who will become a prospect, rather than spending all your time trying to convert a suspect:

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust” Zig Ziglar.

If they meet the above criteria they are likely to be a prospect.

To find out more come and join The Sales Growth Club. Within this coaching community you’ll be able to connect with other members, post your own relevant content on the newsfeed, join a Live Weekly Webinar, structured lessons and so much more.

Buyers want to hear from sellers

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NE Expo - 02.05.19 | South Yorkshire Expo - 16.05.19 PREMIER BUSINESS SHOWS & EXPOS

For businesses determined to make progressive change in pursuit of sustainable sourcing and organisational change, developing sustainable resource consumption and environmental management systems has become imperative; particularly for procurement departments.

Organisational sustainability is a collective belief that proactive, pragmatic and responsible business decisions will contribute to the greater good - can the same be said of ticking off a sustainability checklist? Fortunately for the industry, the inclusion of the Life Cycle Perspective in ISO14001:2015 is going to invite businesses to start by picking the low hanging fruit of sustainable resource consumption.

Businesses could be using their size, authority and manpower more intelligently to enact positive change, to be safer, more efficient and have better relationships with sustainability and the environment.

I’m trying to bridge the gap between sustainability in business and the realistic needs of the environment, using Environmental Management Systems to envelop everything from natural resource wastage to staff engagement.

Businesses have the opportunity to act more lawfully, more sustainably, more cost efficient and more philanthropic by managing their resources better, the question is, will they?

Procurement can do more sustainable resource consumption

Tamma Carel | www.imveloltd.co.uk | [email protected] | 07891908744


A North East cancer charity set up by a local breast cancer survivor is celebrating its ten-year anniversary.

FACT (Fighting All Cancers Together) was started by Joanne Smith after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, on her daughter’s second birthday, at the age of 34. Although Joanne felt she was well looked after medically during her four-and-a-half years of treatment, she noticed a lack of holistic care for cancer sufferers and their loved ones.

The charity now has a base in Swalwell, which hosts several social groups, exercise classes and therapy sessions, alongside operating seven charity shops across the region. The team also delivers a specialist education and awareness programme, which has so far involved over 9,000 people of all ages from the region’s schools, colleges and businesses.

Joanne, who is 47 and from Whickham said: “Cancer now impacts one in two people, which means half of the region need our support. During my experience with cancer and treatment I found that there were no services in the North East which provided emotional support to myself or my family.

“Initially, we set out to build partnerships with health professionals support groups and charities, however we soon realised that the organisations which we were looking for simply didn’t exist. We then developed a programme of

support, following by am education and awareness programme to delivered into schools, colleges and workplaces.

“We are very proud of what a great organisation we have built in the last ten years. We’ve been able to support so many people who may not have had access to these services. Our success and ability to grow has been supported by local businesses who saw our potential and have assisted us from the start.”

Leading North East commercial law firm PG Legal has supported Joanne and FACT with many of its leases. Director Phil Dean said: “Joanne is an inspirational person who decided to take her own personal experiences and use them in order to make a difference to thousands of people in the region. We are very proud to have assisted the team at FACT in their bid to expand and continue offering these valuable services to those who need it most.”

Joanne continued: “We look to develop long-term relationships with those who have assisted us along the way. Phil and the team at PG Legal have been fantastic throughout, providing us with support and advice which has allowed us to continue opening revenue streams through our charity shops. We rely on funding and donations, so this really allows us to continue expanding our services.”

Cancer charity celebrates ten-year anniversary

Managers want employees to put in long days, respond to their emails at all hours, and willingly donate their off-hours – nights, weekends, vacation – without complaining. In this version, we work long hours because our bosses tell us to. There’s another that says all of us are buffeted about by the winds of economic incentive and corporate culture - we’re all just reacting to macro forces beyond our control.

Then there’s the version that says we are a mix of inner drivers, like ambition, machismo, guilt, pride, the pull of short-term rewards, a desire to prove we’re important, or an overdeveloped sense of duty. Some of these are negative – guilt and anxiety, but many are positive. In fact, multiple researchers have actually found that for some work is less stressful than our home lives - work can be a haven, a place to feel confident and in control.

There’s a large body of research that suggests that, regardless of our reasons for working long hours, overwork does not help us. For starters, it doesn’t seem to result in more output,

considerable evidence shows that overwork is not just neutral - it hurts us and the companies we work for.

Numerous studies have found that overwork and the resulting stress can lead to all sorts of health problems, including impaired sleep, depression, heavy drinking, diabetes, and heart disease. Of course, those are bad on their own, but they’re also terrible for a company’s bottom line, showing up as absenteeism, staff turnover, and rising costs. Even if you enjoy your job and work long hours voluntarily, you’re simply more likely to make mistakes when you’re tired.

This narrative makes the advent of the four-day week, which will deliver five days of work, even more interesting. A handful of UK businesses now operate like this - staff still get paid their previous five-day salary, but they work a day less. Efficiency makes up for the loss of working hours with people having less distractions, shorter meetings and social conversations out of office hours. A pilot scheme in New Zealand found that staff are happier and 20% more productive.

Some think that this trend seems to make the assumption that work isn’t good, so you should do less of it, and that we should be thinking more about workplace happiness and engagement. It is clearly too early to say how effective these different flexible working practices will be, but we can say that if your job relies on interpersonal communication, making judgment calls, reading other people’s faces, or managing your own emotional reactions, pretty much all things that the modern office requires, then researchers have found that overwork (and its accompanying stress and exhaustion) can make all of these things more difficult.

The modern day state of work at work

Mike Astrop | www.linkedin.com/in/michaelastrop


There’s a large body of research that suggests that, regardless of our reasons for working long hours,

overwork does not help us.


Our best decisions are made when we are calm and clear-headed, when we have the time to reflect on and consider a wide range of facts, evidence and experiences, including from other people’s perspectives too. When under pressure to decide right here, right now, we are forced to decide using our first impressions of a situation. Our brains are simply not capable of taking in and consciously processing all the information that our senses can receive.

In a real emergency, our immediate response is to fight or run away. Our aim is to get away from the threat as quickly as possible or to overcome it. When the object of our distress is at a safe distance, we might feel more comfortable (less uncomfortable) when looking at the situation. We feel safer and more able to manage our emotions. Our minds calms down and, with it, our bodies too.

By using questions that encourage thinking about challenges as further away, we can calm down our minds and bodies and concentrate on our best decisions. Glen Mead | uk.linkedin.com/.../face-value-performance-psychology-limited

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North East England Chamber of Commerce has worked jointly with Fresh Start Events on the North East Expo for a number of years, offering its members an opportunity to be part of the Chamber Showcase.

Based on the second floor of the exhibition centre, the showcase has a range of businesses highlighting what they offer, including the companies featured below.

As well as the chance to discuss products and services there are opportunities to hear interesting speakers such as Chamber international trade director, Julie Underwood, who will be speaking at an Inspiring Females seminar. There will also be a chance to hear from a North Tyneside business Oatein, who won support from TVs Dragons Den.

Award-winning eco-friendly printersNewton Press is a print company with a unique history. Back in 1963 our late founder, Syd Howarth MBE started up during the days when design and print was just emerging from the dark ages. His vision: to create really great design and print.

The last 18 months have been fantastic for Newton Press. Not only have they been shortlisted finalists at the North East Business Awards, but they won some fantastic new business including other members of the North East Chamber and have been able to expand as a result.

“Newton Press love being part of the North East England Chamber of Commerce and the work that it does to bring businesses in the region together, we will continue to support in any way we can and continue to work with a number of the other great businesses within the Chamber and hopefully many more.”

With a client list ranging of multinational organisations to owner-managed businesses across a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, education, tourism, energy, healthcare, charitable and professional services, Newton Press have enjoyed tremendous success over the years, with notable client wins.

Newton Press went on to be the winner of the ‘Greener Business’ Category in the Environment Awards 2018. The awards recognise great design, environmental guardianship and community spirit.

Chamber powering ahead

Education meets business at Northumberland CollegeIn a bid to bring education and industry closer together, Northumberland College has developed its offer to businesses to include tailored apprenticeship schemes through a new training standard.

Introduced to help colleges across the country develop new delivery structures for vocational courses, the new standard allows educators to create programmes which take into account the needs of local businesses to target specific skills gaps.

One of the first North East businesses to take advantage of the new standard is paint manufacturer AkzoNobel, which recently opened a new £100 million factory less than a mile from the College’s Ashington campus.

The College’s business development team worked in close collaboration with AkzoNobel to create an apprenticeship programme that incorporates learning about AkzoNobel’s site-specific processes into the curriculum delivered by the College to ensure that the apprentices have all of the skills they need to succeed.

Sara Sawyer, business development manager at Northumberland College, explained: “The new Maintenance Engineering and Operations Engineering Technician Apprenticeship Standard has given the college the freedom to develop a new programme that really embraces the need to train the next generation of engineers within their specialist roles without some of the limitations of previous curriculum programmes.

Another way that Northumberland College is helping to serve the local business community is through the provision of high-quality conference and events facilities at its Ashington and Kirkley Hall campuses.

The College recently welcomed regional employer the Banks Group to its £2.5 million STEM facility in Ashington for a showcase event where employees could find out more about the range of work taking place across the family-owned firm’s different divisions – Banks Mining, Banks Renewables and Banks Property.

Stephen Cook, Sarah Sawyer and Bill Burgess at AkzoNobel, Ashington



Expansion at HallExclusive Northumberland venue Ellingham Hall is investing in the future after creating two management positions to grow sales and increase corporate business.

The Hall, which is already well-known across the county for hosting weddings, is now targeting North East businesses after recruiting Lynn Sanderson as its first Corporate Sales and Marketing Manager. It has also created a new position of Marketing and Communications Manager for Weddings, welcoming Rachel Barlow to the role.

General Manager Anthony Hunter said the decision to create the positions was part of a plan to increase sales potential and awareness of the Hall across the wider North East.

Lynn, who has worked in the events industry for seven years and has been involved in sales and marketing roles in various sectors for 18, said she was excited about working at Ellingham Hall.

She said: “Whether it is for conferences, meetings, product launches or team-building, it is the perfect venue because you don’t share the Hall with other delegates. Situated only 40 minutes from Newcastle City Centre, you don’t have far to travel.”

Rachel is helping drive sales and raise awareness for weddings at the Hall, which was recently named Northumberland’s Most Outstanding Luxury Wedding Venue in the 2019 Global Luxury Hotel & Spa Awards.

Contact RelaunchLong-established business magazine, Contact, will be relaunched with a new publisher in early 2019. Owned by North East England Chamber of Commerce, Contact magazine will be published by the innovative company that successfully revitalised North East Times three years ago.

Distributed to more than 7,000 businesses the Chamber’s new magazine will exploit its vast range of in-house expertise and connections. The editorial will be focused on thought-leadership and shared knowledge from the substantial number of companies in its membership from major PLCs to inspiring individual entrepreneurs.

David Langley, Chamber chief operating officer said: “Contact is an important part of our membership service as it connects our businesses to each other and informs them about major issues facing the region, such as what we need from the Government to grow our economy. We are delighted to be working with North East Times to create a dynamic publication

that spreads messages about our members and our own work to develop a stronger North East.”

Peter Mallon, managing director and creative director at North East Times, said: “The team and I were ecstatic when we heard we’d won the tender to produce Contact – an established publication for a renowned organisation that has done so much to support and promote the region’s businesses.

“Since we relaunched North East Times in October 2015, we have worked closely with the Chamber to gain a unique insight into the local and wider economic landscape, and we are now relishing the opportunity to present the team’s expertise in their own bespoke magazine and digital platforms. We are already working on some exciting ideas to reimagine Contact for the Chamber’s new and existing membership – and the wider North East business community – so watch this space.”

Contact’s editor will be experienced journalist Mark Lane, who has an extensive background in regional business journalism.

© Phil Smith Photography



Woodland projects to offset carbonForest Carbon specialises in planting woodland for businesses who want to offset their carbon emissions.

One of its recent success stories may seem counter-intuitive at first glance as it links one of the planet’s largest tech firms with the simple act of planting trees. However, the principle established is potentially just as important for the future as any IT revolution has been for business. There are currently 11 forests in Ireland being planted as part of Microsoft’s carbon offsetting programme.

Forest Carbon tackles the very real 21st century challenge of how a company can tackle its carbon footprint.

As its name suggests Forest Carbon has set its stall out as advocating woodland as being one of the best ways to combat emissions. The additional benefits of offsetting through forest creation include bringing more employment to the forestry sector, and reduced flooding and improved water quality through natural barriers created by trees. From an environmentalist’s point of view, new planting can also support biodiversity as it can keep livestock away from planted areas.

Stephen Prior said: “We have worked with large-scale national and regional companies for years but realised there was a growing appetite from smaller businesses to become involved as well so we created a Carbon Club aimed at this market.”

The cost of joining the Carbon Club starts at £14.50 per month for a company with less than 10 employees and under 20k miles of business travel a year.

Taking you from corporate to ceramics, and back again!Given the current economic environment where change is fast paced and uncertainty a fact we have to work with, it’s not surprising that more employers are recognising the importance of nurturing their staff.

Forward thinking employers are starting to recognise how building positive team environments and nurturing wellbeing and good mental health in the work place helps to create an environment that enables business teams to perform to a higher level. If your team is happy in their work – and indeed in other aspects of their lives – it stands to reason that together you are likely to achieve more and deliver more for the company.

Employers are often surprised by how art can be used to great effect in creative problem solving. Studies show that those of us who were more exposed to arts in our school curriculum develop better critical thinking skills. That tenet is just as relevant to adults in the business world, which is why team building through pottery painting can be used to great effect in your organisation.

Interventions and methods like this can not only reduce stress levels and sickness absence by engendering positive emotions and greater resilience but can lead to better solutions, ideas and outcomes for the company.

That’s where Vibrant Thinking comes in, offer organisations a fresh and new way of approaching team building. Pottery workshops are an incredibly powerful tool that can help companies overcome challenges, facilitate creative thinking and help give people a voice to express their opinions.

Northumberland distiller finds export spirit

Thanks to strong global demand for British gin, Northumberland distillery Moorland Spirit Co. is looking to increase its international sales further after growing its export revenue by 400% this financial year.

The distiller, which only began exporting two years ago, currently sells its flagship drink Hepple Gin, to five markets abroad including Germany, India and the US. Exports currently account for 31% of the company’s annual turnover.

The business received support to help it break into new markets from International Trade Advisers (ITAs) as part of the Food is GREAT campaign. This is the cross-departmental initiative between the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for International Trade (DIT) to showcase UK food and drink overseas and help more firms export.

To assist Moorland Spirit Co. in entering the US market, ITAs introduced the distillery to a partner who helped them navigate US legal requirements, including details such as product labelling.

The business began shipping to the US in May 2018 and has since seen its gin stocked in 200 retailers and licensed venues across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts. It has plans to expand its reach in the US market, which imported £193m worth of UK gin in the year to September 2018.

Chris Garden, Head Distiller, Moorland Spirit Co., said: “Exporting was always part of our business strategy. With such a high volume of quality British gin distillers, the UK is probably one of the toughest gin markets in the world for a new distillery to get traction. Exporting means we can access new avenues for growth.

“Our gin is now being served to customers in the US – including in one of the world’s top 50 bars, Dead Rabbit in New York City.”

The Lord Crewe Arms – history and hospitality

The building now known as The Lord Crewe Arms began its life in the 11th century as a guest house to the newly-formed Blanchland Abbey. The guest house enjoyed 400 years of self-sufficiency and kind hospitality, until the Abbey was dissolved in 1539.

The ownership of the building then moved from family to family, before becoming the responsibility of the ‘Lord Crewe Trustees’. It was around this time that The Lord Crewe Arms sprang to life, the perfect place for lead miners to enjoy a pint after a shift. To this day, it has remained a place to eat, sleep and most importantly enjoy.

Nestled in the honey-stone village of Blanchland, amongst the wild, rugged landscape of the North Pennines, the house is the perfect place to escape from it all.


Nick Strangeway, Chris Garden, Walter Riddell and Valentine Warner



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We also work closely with the largest utility broker in the UK and offer a £200 cash back scheme for any electricity contracts signed on the day of the Exhibition.

www.unicorn-commercial.co.uk

01642 [email protected]

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Get social savvywith TAPPS

Using social media to generate awareness and ultimately sales is a great idea…if you have the time to do it properly. Here, Angus Long of Impression Marketing explains about a support system that aims to help small businesses get more ‘social’ savvy…

Turn on the TAPPS to more salesSocial networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter started off as a way for people to keep in touch and share trivialities with friends and family near and far. They quickly caught on and today there are 2.6bn Facebook and Twitter users, generating 4.5bn likes a day and 6,000 Tweets a second. It is probably fair to say, these social media sites have come a long way from the preserve of banal frivolity to now being major media sites that are often the preferred place for breaking world news and comment. Naturally, the size, power and reach of such sites offer businesses a huge potential for marketing and promotional practice.

Given the sheer size of the on-line traffic a few lone tweets a week is simply not going to get the coverage needed to generate sufficient website visits or enquires because, like most things in sales it’s a numbers game. However, there is a powerful marketing tool called TAPPS that can help. The acronym stands for Tweets About Places, Products and Services.

It works from day one. A typical business twitter account generating a few hundred impressions a month can rise to over 500,000 a month using TAPPS in just a few weeks.

See the example below. In this case, the client organisation was receiving on average around 50,000 impressions a month. They

commenced using TAPPS on the 1st of October and in a very short time the increase in digital impressions was increased ten-fold leading to more profile visits and most importantly increased website traffic.

To find out more about how to turn on the TAPPS and let sales opportunities flow contact:

01914326949

[email protected]

www.impression-marketing.co.uk

Angus Long | [email protected] | www.impression-marketing.co.uk | 0191 432 6949

A typical business twitter account generating a few hundred impressions a month can rise to over 500,000 a month using TAPPS in just a few weeks





Have you ever worked in an environment where it just feels toxic and you don’t feel you can actually work there?

What you might be observing is toxic leadership, In this blog I’ll give you and overview of what are the four attributes of toxic leadership.

Whenever you and I work, we can often observe and see in people different attributes. Some are really good like influence and persuasion, but sometimes you might see toxicity, or what I call the four toxic attributes of leadership.

Toxic Attribute – ManipulationI remember speaking with a friend who was preparing a report for a colleague who had to present at an executive board meeting. However, there was something about the request that made him feel that there was a hidden agenda. Sure enough, later on, it did transpire that there was something happening, the person who was presenting in the board took all the credit for the report! My friend felt like he was being manipulated. Have you ever seen that at work? That is the first attribute of toxic leadership, manipulation.

Toxic Attribute – DominationWhen manipulation has faded away, you often see the second stage of toxicity. You go from manipulation to domination. This attribute has a pushy focus and presents in a way that; “your view no longer matters, It is about me, you can’t have a voice, and just do the work.”

Have you ever seen that at work ? Where someone is just to dominating, that is an attribute of toxicity, because it begins to squash the team, the environment, the culture of the company, and it drives out talent and reduces the likelihood remaining productive as a workforce.

Toxic Attribute – IntimidationThe third attribute of toxic leaders is intimidation. People who use this toxic attribute always have a caveat and a consequence attached to their leadership. Often controlled by fear, the language is ‘if you do that, I’ll get you back….’. This type of behaviour is possibly one of the most erosive attributes you can see within a team. Your team begin to operate in an atmosphere or a culture of “lets cover our back with emails” Have you ever seen that happen? Or you get behaviours where people come in and they are ‘walking on egg shells’. Grievances go up, sickness goes up, and it’s all because there is toxicity of intimidation within the culture of the company or the team.

Toxic Attribute – IsolationThe final attribute of toxic leaders is isolation. This is when the individual withdraws themselves from you, from the team and even from the company. In essence they use silence to control you. They withdraw you from meetings that you should have been attending, or they just don’t invite you. This is a very subtle but so powerful toxic attribute that erodes the confidence and the productivity of any person or any team in an organisation.

The Antidote to Toxic AttributesAs a leader, you and I will never get rid of toxicity completely, however, all authentic leaders need to do for toxicity to continue is nothing! That’s right nothing! Yet, authentic leaders know that nothing is no option. Your role is to contain toxicity and there are 4 key strategies to use. Here they are.

1 The antidote to manipulation is to confront reality. It is okay and fine to actually sit with someone who is manipulating and confront the reality. Talk to them about the behaviour and how it makes the environment change. Align you discussion to the values of the company and ensure that you speak directly about the behaviour. confront reality!

2 What’s the antidote to the next toxic behaviour? Domination. With domination, one of the key things that you need to do, is remain consistently assertive. You need to dig deep and have the courage to voice your view, your contribution, and being assertive is the only key antidote to domination. Many years ago, schools taught that bullies need to be confronted in a way where you ‘hold your ground’. Being consistently assertive creates a habit that the dominating colleague recognises cannot be challenged. Guess what happens? They stop dominating or they are careful with you.

3 What about intimidation? Having heard different people how they have dealt with behaviours of intimidation, there seems to be, one behaviour above all that helps. That is talk straight. There is no time when you or I should feel like that we need put up with people who are intimidating. The greatest thing you can do which will raise the respect and credibility of who you are, is to confront the intimidation and talk straight.

4 The antidote to isolation, is to create a transparent culture. You see, when someone withdraws from you, your antidote is to remain transparent. Remaining open is always key to combating isolating attributes. When the isolation finally subsides, you have always been open remaining accountable, and honest.

4 attributes of toxic leadership

Chris Andreou | www.linkedin.com/in/chris-andreou

The Google Marketing Platform can be a terror for small businesses. With Search, Display, Shopping and Video Campaigns, it’s really easy to break the bank with a few basic campaigns.

However, did you know that Google also provides several products for free? Here are a few to take note of. Google Analytics is a platform that enables you to see many statistics about your site and give you indications on where to improve. Totally free!

Another of these free products is Google My Business. The My Business Listing provides an attractive brand advertisement when people look for you online. Like your Yellow Pages ad from back in the old days.

Finally, Google Search Console is a platform that looks after your SEO and position in the Google Search. A must-have for any business desiring a favourable online presence.

The new Be Found Be Chosen product, Search Support, can pull all of this together, alongside Google Ads Campaigns that won’t break your bank, opening the Google auction up to any business at any level.

Want to know more?Give us a call: 0191 267 7675 or searchsupport.co.uk

Not everything on Google has to cost the earth

If you’ve never tendered before, you might be wondering whether it’s worth it. Here are three reasons why tendering could be great for your business:

They’re a great route to market - There’s over £200 billion procured annually in the public sector, with 25% of this value awarded to SMEs. Buyers read all tender submissions, and even if you don’t win that tender, they could approach you separately for something else – believe us, it happens!

Free competitor research – From bidder events to the feedback you receive, you’ll find out information on your competitors. Feedback will detail your proposal’s strengths and

weaknesses in comparison to other bidders; this is invaluable in ensuring your service offering and pricing are competitive.

Anyone can do it - You’ll need to meet basic requirements but apart from that all you need is enthusiasm. Be selective with the tenders you go for to increase your chances of winning, and give it 100%.

Onto the Page are bid experts, with an enviable win rate of 80%. Our mission: to inspire businesses to find the right bidding opportunities, and win them!

Find out more: www.ontothepage.co.uk or contact us [email protected]

Are tenders worth the effort?





How to build your business by blogging:seven powerful tips

1 Understand that nobody cares about you. Don’t just bore people with your company news.

2 Know your audience. Give them information they can actually use.

3 The headline is critical. Capture your audience’s attention.

4 Avoid TUAs (Totally Unhelpful Acronyms).

5 Talk in the language of your customers, not the language of your office.

6 First impressions count. The quality of your corporate writing reflects the quality of your business. A bad attitude toward the quality of your written content suggests a bad attitude toward quality in all areas of your company.

7 Know that ‘less is more’. Don’t download everything you know onto the page. If you don’t know what to focus on, you are presenting the world with a disorganised mind. When you have finished saying what you need to say, just stop.

You can find more of his great advice anytime on his LinkedIn page, call him on: 07526 519 549 or e-mail him at: [email protected].

Barry Dunstall | [email protected] | www.dunstallwriting.co.uk

Gillian Fortune | [email protected] | www.feelgoodcic.com

With an emphasis on the workplace, Gillian teaches people how to be resilient and manage stress. With a solution-focused approach she provides practical and effective techniques and strategies that really do work.

By supporting employees at all levels of a business to handle whatever work and life throws at them by using her resilience-building techniques, people feel more focused and able to manage daily challenges and the things that hold them back.

• Huge benefits for individuals

• Positive impacts on teams

• Great outcomes for the business

Gillian’s workshop will leave you with practical tips and techniques to stress less, relax more and feel good.

Readily transferable to any workplace, find out how Gillian’s resilience-building approach to dealing with stress can provide a bespoke package of support to your business.

Stress Less. Relax More. Feel Good.

PG Legal make tax less taxing for property ownersPG Legal have taken their role in the North East property sector to a new level through the addition of a market-leading tax lawyer to their team.

Simon Briton joined the firm in the summer and has already helped shape the way in which a number of North East property investors build their businesses.

Best known for his work with high growth companies, Simon sees a lot of parallels between intellectual property and the commercial property sector. “Business owners and investors want to maximise growth while minimising risks where they can. The tax incentives that I work with help get that balance right.”

Phil Dean has seen a boost to the firm’s relationships with accountants and financial advisers too, “Having a lawyer that instinctively knows what our clients’ tax advisers are trying to achieve gives us a head start over other similar sized firms in the region.”

“Commercial property remains a key sector for PG Legal. We continue to see an appetite for growth in this sector but with more challenging circumstances beginning to emerge, there is an important role for advisers. What sets us apart is that we actively advise our clients rather than just drafting documents and bringing Simon in adds even more into that mix.”

On the back of a move to bigger offices, a rebrand and several key hires, PG Legal is making waves.

Simon has 20 years of experience at firms locally and nationally, including Ward Hadaway, Bird & Bird and KPMG. He is an active member of the region’s innovation community and recently led a successful Innovate UK backed knowledge transfer partnership on the future of technology in legal services.

For more information about PG Legal’s commercial property and tax services, please contact Simon Briton on 0191 466 1080 or by email [email protected].





Reason no. 1: Think of the £££

Most CEOs I know take great delight in talking about their company brand, but rarely does it extend to taking great delight in talking about their employer brand. However any long-suffering Newcastle fan knows there’s no point banging in the goals if you’re conceding more than you score. If McKinsey were right in their iconic War for Talent study then (i.e. that market share and profitability come from attracting and retaining the right people), the two are inextricably linked, this has to be something to get seriously interested in, right?

Reason no. 2: You need to know what’s going on behind the scenesDuring a recent talk I gave, one of the CEOs present asked the question; “Why should I be interested in this? I have people who do this type of thing for me” which is a fair enough question I suppose.

If you ask most hiring managers what HR does – they’ll probably tell you that they recruit people and of course this is partly true, but HR people do a lot more than just recruit. They ensure compliance with changes to employment law, they’re responsible for payroll, workforce planning, staff training & development, performance management, discipline and grievance and much more – the list goes on and on. What this means is that most HR people are, by definition, generalists, not recruitment specialists, as a result of which I guarantee that your HR people don’t know as much about recruitment as you think they do.

How do I know this? Well - I organise an annual Recruitment Conference and during the Recruitment talks I deliver to business leaders’ groups, the HR people present take away an awful lot from them.

Unfortunately, however they are also the ones who complain that their efforts to create a strong employer brand through future-facing candidate engagement strategies are often stymied by the CEO who thinks it’s ok to apply 20th Century processes to 21st Century candidate attitudes and behaviours. It isn’t!

Reason no. 3: It doesn’t matter what you sayOnce upon a time, your employer brand was what you said about your company – you had to be actually on board to find out what it was really like. Not any more!

Your culture is what drives your employer brand and through employer review sites like Glassdoor, The Vault, The Job Crowd

and others – it’s on display for the world to see. Failure to deliver on your employer brand promises i.e. that the reality matches the dream you sold them is one of the main reasons new recruits don’t work out. It encourages early stage staff turnover and costs you money.

Reason no. 4: See reason no.1I’m sure we can all recall that great candidate who didn’t work out as well as we’d hoped, or that great new recruit who left after a few short months, but I wonder what the candidate or employee would say about their own experience?

By the time someone turns up for their first day at work, you will have already invested a significant amount of time and money getting them there, but research suggests that 25% of all employee turnover takes place within the first 45 days and by the CIPD said that 20% of people who leave a job within the first 6 months cite a poor or non-existent induction as the reason for their dissatisfaction.

Most companies breathe a huge sigh of relief when a new recruit turns up for work, but you don’t want a new recruit. What you want is a happy, settled, engaged and productive employee as quickly as possible.

Getting someone to turn up for their first at work is a job half done.

If you spend £100k per annum on recruitment and training, how much stuff do you need to sell, to be able to add that £20k back onto your bottom line? Nowhere else in your organisation would you tolerate 20% wastage.

You and your new recruits have a mutual interest and shared responsibility for making this work and BTW - it’s no coincidence that companies who deliver the best onboarding experiences also deliver the best CUSTOMER experiences.

In Summary:There seems to be a recurring theme developing here don’t you think? In case you haven’t spotted it – it’s the massive upside financial benefits to recruiting well and massive downside financial implications of recruiting badly. If you want happy customers, more engaged and productive employees (faster), lower recruitment and training costs and people climbing over themselves to come and work for you, you need to keep a loose grip on your organisation’s recruitment performance through periodic reviews and knowing what questions to ask the person or people responsible for your recruitment. If you don’t know what questions to ask, message me and I’ll forward them to you.

4 great reasons why CEOs should take more interest in their company’s recruitment performance

Larry Roberts | www.syncopa.co.uk

Has the world gone mad or does every new term always result in nothing but panic and everybody appeals for a delay in its introduction and so on and so on. Remember GDPR; actually let’s not go there and I’m definitely not making any reference to Brexit; well other than this one!

First of all quick reality check – making tax digital only applies to VAT-registered businesses where they exceed the current VAT registration threshold. This is the first batch of people targeted but forget this and act anyway as this is a MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY for you and it is planned that this will be rolled out beyond those first targeted so it will most likely impact most businesses at some point.

Right; down to business, the world is becoming a digital place that is actually making our lives easier and we know it is. How easy is it to book a taxi these days using an app? How simple is it to book accommodation using Airbnb? You know what the scary thing is? Uber doesn’t own any taxis and Airbnb doesn’t own any properties. Digital is already here so let’s embrace it as we already are without often realising it and we are seeing the benefits.

My point here is technology can help us rather than hinder us and instead see this as an opportunity; hence, meet MYLES – making your life easier sooner.

Like most business owners, the majority hate paperwork, struggle for time and would like to earn more money. Well let me tell you in three easy steps how the introduction of MYLES will help (Myles is actually a company mascot we are currently developing that doesn’t need feeding or looking after):

1 How about a digital filing cabinet that can be on your phone and/or computer where as the result of one of the four options below all of your costs would be documented and the key cost information extracted with minimal effort and in minutes:

a Take a picture of a receipt

b Scan several receipts all in one go

c Forward several e-mails straight on without messing round with any attachments

d Link online accounts such as mobile phone bills

Just one of these options could mean the end of shoe boxes and carrier bags full of receipts and reduce the risk of lost receipts meaning more money in your pocket than the tax man’s. It should even reduce your accountancy bill down and this is coming from an accountant!

2 How about an accounts system that then takes this same information and does three key things:

a Provides a means either through a desktop computer or on an app on your phone to invoice people via e-mail at the click of a couple of buttons? It can even chase them for payment and give them the opportunity to pay by card.

b It can allow you to feed bank and credit card statements straight through to this software meaning that any lost receipts could be quickly identified and the software even automatically matches income and expenditure where possible – again minimal work at your end.

c Alongside your sales, this software consolidates all of the information with your costs and your bank information to provide information to drop on the lap of your accountant and for you to be able to see how well or badly you are doing on a daily basis to take action immediately and plan for your tax to avoid nasty surprises.

d Outside of tax this same software; alongside an accountant, can predict issues before they become issues such as cash flow problems and then put in place measures to overcome these well in advance.

By taking the steps above you’ll automatically pass the necessary tests for this new opportunity (not challenge) that making tax digital brings.

So embrace it, reflect on it and move forward in a much better position than you ever have been.

For more information please contact us on 0191 580 0402 or e-mail us on [email protected]

Making Tax Digital(officially being renamed MYLES by me)

Twitter @GTAccountancy | gtaccountants.com

Technology can help us rather than hinder us and instead see this as an opportunity; hence, meet MYLES – making

your life easier sooner





It’s more common than you think. You set up a Facebook Ads campaign, it works brilliantly for a couple of weeks then all of a sudden performance dives and you’re left scratching your head. Super frustrating.

There’s a really simple explanation for this though (and a simple solution too!). It takes Facebook a little bit of time to work out the best people to show your ads to. This is based on the objectives you’ve set for the campaign whether that’s to reach as many people as possible, or to try and get as many sales as you can. Whilst this sounds great, sometimes Facebook gets it wrong.

If you’ve set the wrong objective for your campaign or haven’t set up your Facebook pixel correctly, Facebook won’t be able to understand how your campaign is performing and will end up chasing the wrong results.

The simple solution is to check your campaign objective and make sure you’re getting enough data (if you’ve selected conversions as your objective, Facebook recommends getting at least 50 conversions a week for it to be able to optimise your campaigns!). Once you’ve got the right objective and made sure your pixel is firing correctly, you’ll have a great foundation to start optimising your campaigns.

When Facebook Ads go wrong

Mindfulness is simply being able to intentionally pay attention to the present moment. Mindfulness involves specially developed meditation practices and movements.

There is an increasing body of evidence from psychological research and neuroscience that demonstrate the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness.

Reduce stress and increase resilienceEquips individuals with self-awareness that helps them to understand resilience and actively participate in its development. Enables people to recognise the signs of stress and respond more effectively. (Mindfulness initiative 2016)

Improved decision makingFocussing and noticing the actual circumstances in the present improves confidence in decision-making. Better decisions made and there is less time wasted worrying about whether it was the best decision.

Greater creativityMindfulness trains our mind to look inwardly with curiosity and non-judgement, making us notice more and see the bigger picture This promotes divergent thinking allowing new ideas to be generated. Things are constantly changing, yesterday’s circumstances were different, as are today’s solutions.

For more information contact Mark Sidney on [email protected]

Mindfulness at work: The business benefits

Mark Sidney | www.mindfultherapies.org.uk

Sarah Beeson | [email protected] | www.platypusmedia.co.uk

It’s easy to think inter-personal communication is straightforward. It isn’t, because communication occurs on multiple levels at once – physical, verbal and psychological. Engaging with others is complex and to do it well requires skill and practice.

In their training, actors learn to deconstruct their personalities in order to believably portray another character. It’s possible to follow processes like those which actors use to create believable characters to build your understanding of how interpersonal dynamics work – mastering these multiple levels of communication.

It’s not about pretending to be something you’re not, but rather learning how to forge positive connections with your audience, how to tailor your delivery to suit different people,

and how to manage your mind, body and emotions in the process. This includes:

• Stepping into the scary space – how to make coming out of your comfort zone a positive experience

• Speaking – how to use your voice to communicate engagingly

• Body language – how to use your body language to send clear signals

• Being spontaneous – learning to speak ‘off the cuff’

• Building resilience – quieting the negative voice in your head

To find out more, visit www.mortalfools.org.uk or call 0191 5801250.

Can actors help your business communication?

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