While there are positive signs of some businesses emerging and resuming some kind of ‘business as unusual’ and the Prime Minister announcing “Build, build, build” as the mantra to get the economy back on track, there are those less fortunate who have had their industries decimated by this invisible threat, through no fault of their own.

Forever taking the pulse of regional businesses, BusinessDesk.com has been catching up with owner managers,  entrepreneurs and senior managers around the UK to get the lowdown on life in lockdown.  During a short break from crisis comms, social media management and copywriting, Rachael van Oudheusden from Big Old House offered her take on on lockdown life.

Here’s a snippet from the interview…

How has the lockdown and working from home been for you so far?

It’s been a bit of a backwards step to be honest in terms of flexible working. I worked remotely from home for several years when I set up Big Old House and realised that I quite like being around people. That’s why I joined the coworking and event space, Works Social, in Nottingham’s Lace Market to get away from my house! Looking forward to getting back with my desk buddies as soon as possible.

 

What has been the best thing about staying in?

Cooking (and eating!). It’s been really great to spend time making interesting food from some of my favourite places around the world. I’ve started making wiser choices to actively avoid waste – making sure to use what’s already in the cupboards, rather than always popping out for extra things. I now completely ignore best before dates if food still seems edible. If it doesn’t have green fuzz on or smells of booze when it shouldn’t, it’s fine, right?!

Apart from spending April in Colombia, people mainly – family, friends, colleagues and clients. I miss seeing people face to face and miss the productivity of going into a dedicated work environment, as this provides boundaries between work life and home life. The community element is a big part of Works Social too. I’m finding it tough not having the camaraderie of my co-workers to chat with about the crazy times we are all facing and to help spark creative ideas.

 

What previously essential thing have you realised is not actually essential?

Nothing really. In fact, I’ve realised the opposite. Things that I didn’t think were essential are actually so much more important than I gave them credit for in maintaining positive physical and mental well-being. Social interaction, hugs, travel and freedom of choice are all essential to me. It’s been values, or behaviours, rather than stuff mostly though, such as caring, compassion, kindness and generosity that are truly essential.

 

What is the first thing you will do when isolation ends?

As a card carrying CAMRA member, I’m going to dust off my Nottingham City Transport bus pass (who’ve been spectacular in keeping essential services running for key workers, thank you) and jump on a bus into town to support as many local independent pubs as I can get round during opening hours. I would wholeheartedly encourage everyone to join in me in supporting their local pubs too. Give me a shout if you fancy a pint!

 

You can read the full article on BusinessDesk.com…

Meanwhile, the resilience, innovation and adaptability shown by UK businesses has been incredible. We hope that our friends in the leisure, hospitality and retail sectors can hold on and potentially come back stronger than before. The door to Big Old House is always open if we can support you in any way with that. Stay safe out there folks.

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Often asked, ‘How do you motivate yourself when you work at home?’, it’s honestly never been a problem. Until recently. Procrastination, fidgeting and feelings of isolation were beginning to creep in and, after celebrating a successful three years in business, it felt like time to refocus, think a bit bigger and ‘go to work’ again.

Literally and metaphorically, the old nursery space wasn’t big enough to build on. Clients and projects were getting bigger (and so was I due to lack of commuting!), the need for a meeting and collaboration space cropped up more frequently and also regular contact with like-minded people sounded like a good idea.

That’s why moving into shiny new coworking space Works Social this month is a milestone for Big Old House. As business has expanded beyond expectation and outgrown its back bedroom, it has its sights set on bigger things for the next few years. Not quite ready to move into a serviced office all of its own, Works Social offers the perfect solution.  With 24/7 access, high speed wifi, a dedicated desk with a secure locker and a ready made community of like-minded freelancers and small independent businesses wanting to create a relaxed, yet professional coworking community, it fits the bill very nicely.
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In just a few days it has already proved itself to be the right decision. Very happy that Big Old House has a big new home to grow.

Fancy popping in for a nosey round and a chat? Drop us a line.

The post Big new home for Big Old House appeared first on Big Old House.

Delighted.

The irony that a word with such happy and positive connotations can create such negativity has not been lost, but if you look more closely, seriously, are you really delighted?

Let’s break it down:

No issue there.

Then let’s look at some of its synonyms:

very pleased, glad, happy, joyful, thrilled, overjoyed, ecstatic, euphoric, elated, blissful, enraptured, on cloud nine, walking on air, in seventh heaven, in transport of delight, jumping for joy, beside oneself with happiness, excited

Most (over) used in appointment releases, CEO statements, good news announcements – delighted crops up all over the business pages and on company websites, every single day.  But, imagine if you replaced ‘delighted’ with its alternatives in the following statements:

Company X CEO said: “I am in seventh heaven [delighted] about our new manager of widgets.”

MD of Local business Y, replied: “I am on cloud nine [delighted] about our new shed facility.”

Independent baker, of Bake Biscuits said: “I am beside myself with happiness [delighted] about our new range of cup cakes.”

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Instead, why not use your good news story or announcement to add a bit of personality and include a few key messages? Tell us how you really feel, show people what you really think.

It is ordinary people doing extraordinary things who run businesses. Real people with real emotions and genuine stories to tell. Readers can (and should) be able to relate to you.

Why not tell people it’s been a really tough slog over the last few years so it’s great that we’re in a position to be hiring again?  Share that you’ve had a fantastic period of growth, which exceeded your expectations. Empathise that the team can’t wait for another pair of hands to join them to share the workload, because they’ve all been running round like headless chickens for six months and are knackered!

‘Delighted’ in business to business communications is an overused phrase, which is lazy and repetitive (IMHO). If ‘delighted’ is truly the case, the world works in some very happy offices and every business decision is sending people into a euphoric state.

Big Old House has recently celebrated its first anniversary and while proper chuffed, happy and thrilled all spring to mind, so does relieved, grateful, lucky and phew!

Let’s be honest, it’s not quite that giddy in the real world and we could expand our vocabulary to give our content some real insight and make ‘delighted’ a state of mind we aspire to.

If you have a story to tell and need a hand doing it, we’d be as excited as a two year old at a birthday party about it if you dropped us a line.

The post Are you really delighted? appeared first on Big Old House.

For very small businesses, start ups, micro businesses and one person working from home outfits, it’s hard to know where to start to build those networks and which events to put the time and effort into.

Let’s face it, walking into a room full of strangers isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and it can be emotionally draining to big yourself up and make small talk with someone you’ve never met when your head is still problem solving or you’ve spent a whole day staring at a lap top in solitude. But, getting you and your brand out there in as many ways as possible is the most important thing you can do.

Connecting small businesses

Small business network Enterprise Nation cottoned onto this years ago and has been a trusted source of support, advice and action for those building up businesses for over a decade.

With already established hubs in Birmingham, Bristol and London,  Enterprise Nation had it’s inaugural ‘Small Business Meet Up’  in Nottingham recently, at the newly opened tech hub, Accelerate Places and it was true to its mission of “creating a more entrepreneurial society in the UK, helping you start, run and grow your business”.

The atmosphere had an energy and excitement from the off. Within two minutes of arriving there was wine and diverse chat with an innovation consultant, design architect and skin care specialist about the merits of marketing automation without human intervention (pet food mailers to non-pet owners) and the questionable credentials of celebrity TV builders (think Grand Designs).

Enterprise Nation Founder, Emma Jones MBE

For the ‘formal’ bit, we made our way into a very trendy amphitheatre style arrangement and were given the low down on the evening from Enterprise Nation’s Nottingham Ambassador, Greg Simpson of Press for Attention (thankfully the rubber gloves remained off), who then handed over to an excitable Emma Jones MBE, founder of Enterprise Nation – with a strictly no PowerPoint policy for the evening.
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Platform for pitches

The enthusiasm for the team of beauty related start ups, including IntheBuff,  who had just returned from a pitch at Boots was infectious and Emma’s relaxed, yet no nonsense approach to bringing people together was refreshing – encouraging people to take the floor and use the forum to make direct business contacts. Chinese Tea Ceremony start up, August Moon,  taught us all a lesson in PR and self belief.

The main event was an overview of Handle – an idea so good you can’t believe it doesn’t already exist – which offers a digital dashboard for your business profile, so you can see your business the way the world sees you at the touch of a button. Built by one of Accelerate’s first occupants Business Finance Technology Group Ltd (Bizfitech), Handle will no doubt enhance Nottingham’s growing reputation as a FinTech hub.

Wrapping up the evening talking to a fascinating accountant-turned-fashion designer off to Qatar for her first show was inspiring. The energy, buzz and passion for supporting people on their business journey was infectious.

Be inspired

For anyone looking to be reinvigorated by networking events and build their brand, as well get access to exemplary business support and solid, practical, results-driven advice, give enterprise nation a go – tell ‘em yer from ‘NOTTINGHAM’ and get 10% discount on membership. Might see you there.

Photographs by Toby Neal

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