James was supported by great presentations and information from

Gary Jeffries from Solent LEP (twitter @solentlep) on exciting future regional funding for SMEs & developments at Daedalus

Amanda Brockwell of seminar sponsors Coffin Mew LLP Solicitors who inspired with information on EMI and EMO (employee ownership) models, the “John Lewis effect” and real life case studies that can boost growth (twitter @coffinmewllp)

and Dave Symondson, HBVP partner and entrepreneur (twitter @davesymondson.)

The buzz about business generally was palpable in the room and as media partners, we were thrilled to be able to meet so many inspiring and inspired people.  We were live tweeting throughout so have a wander through our tweets to see all the best points, funny bits and photos from the morning.

If you’d like copies of the presentations or more details please contact the above via any linked means!

Our favourite quotes and points summarised/paraphrased from main speakers :

“Opportunities exist by not following the herd” James Caan
“Observe the masses and do the opposite” James Caan
“From the age of 16 I knew I wanted to do my own thing – I loved the excitement of business” James Caan
“There is a skill and art in growing a business to exit”  James Caan
“Q : Are you still looking for a £1 billion opportunity? A: Yes, if you have it, please come and see me”  James Caan
“During periods of difficulty, EOB businesses grow better and can be more resilient” Amanda Brockwell
“”Herding shareholders can be like like herding cats” Amanda Brockwell
“Employee ownership is a hugely underused toll in unlocking growth” Nick Clegg (not at the event!)
“Make sure your vision is big enough” Dave Symondson
“£16m allocated funds to Solent LEP for infrastructure development, unlocking jobs and housing” (overhead) Gary Jeffries
“Key to growth” robust processes, CRM, efficiencies, scaleability, plans… (summarised points) Dave Symondson

Quotes from attendees*  :

Forhad Ahmed from the Akash, in Portsmouth.

“I thought it was really good, we are only a small business but some of the problems James faced I thought ‘I have the same problem’… And his advice about investing in people made good sense.”

Eoin Moynihan, Managing Director of Titans Associates, specialists in sales training, management training, development and design leadership development, based on the South Coast.

“I thought James was very inspirational today, great advice to look at what the market is doing and go in the opposite direction, it  really rang true for me.”  

Samuel Ellis, Solar Fusion Ltd @samsolarfusion

 “Fascinating event and running a family business myself it made me think a lot about James’s comments about how and when to recognise when you need to recruit an MD externally to help drive your business forward. The address by Gary Jeffries - it was interesting to hear about the services Solent LEP are offering and it is encouraging that they have secured finance to support business development in the South.”

Andrew Saunderd, ODT Business Interiors

“I have a similar relationship with my dad as James did with his – he’s my mentor and also the person who tells me the honest, point blank truth. I identified a lot with his stories and memories.”

Raglan Tribe, Mindsheet @raglantribe

 “Absolutely inspirational – the whole event had so much flare. James was very non-aggressive and I liked his down-to-earth style.”

Jack Andrews, Spaceman

“I loved James’s philosophy on doing the opposite and never following the herd. I’m developing my fashion brand to be different and to defy the norm and hearing James’s comments reconfirmed what I already knew. Brilliant event all round.”

Coralie Todd, Quay Systems.
Twitter   Facebook

“Finally a B2B conference, in a manageable bite, that was totally focussed on real issues and practical solutions. And to top it off a super keynote speaker.  Brilliant!”

Steve Nicoll, Senical

“There were excellent speakers with very informative subject matter, we certainly came away with a list of follow up actions. Met some useful business contacts too which is always a bonus at such events. The icing on the cake was the relaxed but straight talking key note speaker and former Dragon, James Caan. Fascinating insight into how he built his business empire from a broom cupboard! Look forward to future events.”

Sandy Hood

“At a time when there has been a lot of talk about the need for enterprise and new start ups, James Caan’s talk added real hope that there is support out there.”

Helen Buteux, Brand Director, I Am Now Media Ltd

“We were thrilled to be media partners for this prestigious event. There was a great buzz in the room, ambitious companies and superb presentations that can really help businesses drive forward with new ideas.”

* (some quotes have been shortened in transposing)

La Machine du Voisin connects owners of washing machines with those who need one! Simple. Owners add a description, location, load capacity and fee.  Those in need enter their city. the site links them to services within 500 meters. Sign up a convenient date, time and pay cash direct.

More than 1,000 machines are already listed on La Machine du Voisin, which currently serves numerous regions throughout France.  Wonder if they do service washes, tea and cakes too whilst waiting??!

If you can’t come, you can catch up with notes, anecdotes, photos, comments and the people buzzing around the place by following our live tweets @iamnowmedia or @davesymondson from 8.30 am till 12.30 pm using hashtag #bizgrowthsouth

Get involved and see you online.

PS Will be posting event blog, photos etc tomorrow afternoon with all the news, videos and stuff

Hi this is Faye, PR Manager at I Am Now Media, sharing a brilliant Olympic themed infographic with you.

As the Olympic flame begins its journey in sunny Greece today (with the help of a plane!), we’ve been thinking about how the Olympics present challenges and indeed opportunities for our business and our clients. Are you shutting/scaling down, speeding up or still undecided? Have you switched your PR and marketing to take advantage of the theme and momentum?

Interestingly on this infographic in 2008 there was no official integration of the Olympics with twitter and Facebook. Amazing to see how far we’ve come in just a few years. Pinterest is missing though – as one of the worlds fastest growing social media sites it will undoubtedly play a big part in the Olympics this year with people pinning images from the games.

Its great to see the connection between the athletes and their fans playing out on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, seeing the support they have is sure to give them a boost and will definitely encourage others to get involved! The Olympics Athletes Hub has been launched to help people find their countries athletes and follow them on Twitter and Facebook, a great idea which will further encourage engagement. Check it our here 

Will you be using the Olympics as an opportunity to enhance your business or will you be escaping the drama and taking a break?

Drop me an email at faye@iamnowmedia.com!

The client/prospect asks “Do you do PR or know a company who has good media contacts that can help us at launch?”

Supplier responds hesitantly with “Erm I can probably find someone in my contacts.”

I put down my (bone china) tea cup, pulled out a business card and walked straight into a Social Dilemma. As a great PR company I want to wander over and drop him my card, not to miss a prime opportunity.

As an accidental eavesdropper this may look very unprofessional.

Not to mention its rude to interrupt his important meeting which is in full flow.

As a less intrusive solution I left the waiter with my card on the way out and asked him to give it to the supplier if he was left alone without the clients at any point.

Hopefully the waiter will realise it wasn’t a dating ploy for him or the web guy but business.

Time and my emails will tell.

Social commentary without words or the internet but just as powerful.

http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/2012/05/14/new-banksy-work-in-london-child-labour-in-the-uk

Facebook is expected to go public this month in one of the most exciting technology developments since Google offered itself to the public 6 years ago, with rumours flying about that it could an be IPO up to three times bigger than Google.

The value of the company is expected to reach $100 billion and the industry and investors alike are gearing up to an exciting launch which is expected to be happening around May 18^th. This floatation will propel Facebook into place as one of the largest public companies in the world, and most definitely one of the most well known. 

Pretty amazing seeing as it was created in a dorm for students.

But how does this effect Facebooks users? And will the publicly owned company compromise its core ethos as a user run, user generated suite, to one that needs to cater for and satisfy its investors. I predict a very difficult job for whoever is given the job of balancing the expectations and needs of its Stakeholders.

Advertising could become even more annoying on facebook, and some predict that this could cause people to look elsewhere for their social networking needs. As up until now advertisers have been remunerated on a pay-per-click basis, if this changes it could become a minefield of adverts, spam and generally annoying features getting in the way of your daily status update.

Whatever happens one thing is for sure, with a 24% share of his companies value, Mark Zuckerberg will have a smile on his face. 

Employed in the film and TV industry for over a decade, Steve has worked for numerous high profile companies such as BBC, ITV Dimension Films and Paramount.

Give us a call for any of your filming, photography and editing needs.

Take a look at his amazing skills here:

The day was a huge success and the press coverage we got will not only help keep the tradition of the Pearly Kings and Queens alive but has made them a talking point in the capital on what promises to be a very patriotic year for Britain.

Check out some of the fantastic national coverage we got on and after the day!

BBC News

ITV

Daily Mail

Local UK News

The Guardian

Opinions on You Tube are opposites – its either way too wacky/freaky or an absolute stroke of advertising genius.

Make your own mind up and let us know? Jammie Dodgers Advert