17th May 2010

After some stirling organisational work and a fantastic effort from members selling the tickets, on Monday 17th May 2010 - from 4pm to 7pm - Meon Valley Flyers held their first ever Charity Event in aid of KIDS, our nominated charity.  And what a fantastic time we had!

10th February 2010

Another excellent meeting, this week and I'd like to start off with a great big special 'Thank You' to Jackie Wright of Ganesha Coaching for her excellent presentation on "Women in Business".  More of that, later.

We had a number of visitors with us this week, including Jackie, who was substituting for Simon Garber .  He's still on holiday in Bali,  although, I do believe that he's back next week.  Katherine Spence of Handover HR was covering for Martin Brown , who was having a knee operation ....  Ouch!  I hope all's ok, Martin.

Other visitors included Penny Appleford, an Occupational Therapist who was here representing the NHS 'Health for Work Advicline ', Helen Battersby of This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , AmberSmith of This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Margaret Kerton of Planks of Petersfield , This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , a Human Resorces Consultant (observing BNI), and Sheryl Andrews of Step by Step Coaching .

Women were definitiely on the agenda, and it was great to have them all with us.

www.meonvalleyflyers.co.uk - Update

It fell to me to update everyone on what's happening with our website.

Having recently taken over responsibility for keeping the content updated, I was happy to show what was going on and talk about what we're trying to achieve.  The main aim is to improve the ranking of the website with Google, and other search engines, so that we get found more readily.  Hopefully, this will result in generating visitors to the chapter, as well as some business for our members.

As well as keeping the 'Events' and 'Members' pages updated, I've also started keeping the MVF Blog (which you're probably reading right now).  Adding regular content to the site is one of the best ways to improve it's ranking with the search engines.  It also gives us the opportunity to thank our visitors for coming and putting a link to their website (or email address) directly from the blog.  It would be nice if they might reciprocate if they have their own website.

Ther's now a page for KIDS, our nominated charity and I've started adding photos to the members page.  It really does give the page a more interesting, engaging and friendly feel.  very important to those 'surfing' the net.   After asking for people to provide me with their photos and showing the website through the marvels of modern technology, I sat down.

You Don't Have to be Wealthy to be Healthy!

Our 10 minute speaker for the day was the ever entertaining Malcolm Archibald of Assure-U Ltd, specialists in Private Medical Insurance (PMI) and health prevention from the Forever Healthy range of Aloe Vera based products, hence one of his 'memory hooks';

"Protection & Prevention is Always Worth a Mention".

Malcolm gave us something of an overview of Assure-U Ltd, in that they are a general insurance office but that he specialises in PMI.   Assure-U Ltd also offer a service to IFA's, Mortgage Brokers and the like called the PMI Packaging Desk. Through this service, they are able to provide their extremely high level of expertise to the clients of other insurance professionals in return for a commission.  It's a real win-win-win arrangement for Malcolm, the IFA/Mortgage Broker and for their clients.

Needless to say, an introduction to an Insurance office of some type that doesn't do, or specialise in, PMIwould be a great referral for him.

Keep Flying!

Steve Bimpson

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5th February 2010

This morning, representatives from the Hampshire chapters (and core groups) of BNI met at the Norton Park Hotel, Sutton Scotney, for the BNI Big Breakfast.  An event held to celebrate International Networking Week.

Well over 100 members (and a few visitors) took advantage of the opportunity to experience Speed Networking the BNI way.  After an introduction video by Dr Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI (see the video here), attendees were split into small groups.  Each group had a facilitator and each member of the group was given a number.  Then, after everyone performed a 60 second presentation to their group, a simple formula was used which gave each individual the number of the next group they should move on to.

The system worked perfectly and, after a number of group changes (13 to be precise), interspersed with a break for breakfast and another for liquid refreshments, everyone got to deliver their 60 second presentation to everyone else.  And, of course, exchange business cards.

You couldn't help but be impressed with how well the system worked.  The aim being to briefly meet everyone and get their business cards so that you can then follow up at a later date and start to build relationships with those people relevant to you.

I had the opportunity to talk to a number of people before they left and there was an overwhelming 'thumbs up' for the morning.  Everyone I spoke to talked about the fact that they had made some really good contacts and had thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.  Despite the fact that delivering 14 x 60 second presentations had taken its toll, leaving many a little worn out - but still smiling.

It would be great to hear some of your stories from this morning so do email me and I'll be happy to pass on your experiences.

Keep Flying!

Steve Bimpson

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February 3rd 2010

What a great meeting this week!  Lots of interesting content from start to finish with some particularly useful advice for all small businesses from our resident Education Coordinator, Andrew Archard . More of that, shortly.

Our visitors this week were Sarah Byfield of My Purple Garage , a garage specifically targetted at women, and Chris Marsden-Jones of Bluemoon Innovations , who also doubled as substitute for our "Surfing Dude" IFA, Simon Garber who's currently out in Thailand learning to surf.  It's alright for some!

What a Relief!

Andrew Archard delivered our Education Slot this week with a highly interesting discussion about Business Rates.  Interesting?  I hear you ask.  Well it is when an ex Local Councillor advises you about the Small Business Rates Relief for the period 1st April 2007 to 31st March 2010.  Apparently, small businesses that qualify have up to the end of September 2010 to apply but the relief can be worth 50% for properties with Rateable Values of £5,000 or less, which then reduces on a sliding scale as the Rateable Value increases down to 0% at £10,000.  The question is, are you getting yours?

To find out more about the Small Business Rate Relief click here .  You can also download the application form from this link, which is for the Southampton Borough.  For Fareham click here, for Eastleigh click here, for Winchester click here and for Portsmouth click here.

This isn't an exclusive list so, if your area isn't covered, simply go to Google and search for "Small Business Rate Relief in (your area) and you'll find exactly what you need.  Thanks Andrew.  You may just have saved lots of people, lots of money!  What a great Education Slot!

There's No Accounting for That!

We've just passed the deadline for filing your Self Assessment Tax Returns so we thought it would be appropriate for this weeks' 10 minute presentation to come from our freindly neighbourhood accountant, Mark Rogers of HJS Accountants.  Having educated us about Balance Sheets in an Education Slot just a couple of weeks ago (see the blog for 20th January 2010) - and having made it both interesting and understanding (ask our plumber, Jon Myers) Mark thought he would set us a little quiz just to see exactly how much we know.  Of course, he was trying to make the point that we ought to know something about our tax liabilities but I think he was probably a little disappointed at the results.  Or maybe not?

His questions applied to the coming Tax Year 2010/2011 and they were as follows (with the answers in brackets);

1. What's the basic Personal Allowance?  (£6475)
2. How much can you earn before paying tax at 40%?  (£43875)
3. At what rate do you pay tax on income over £150,000?  (50%)
4. What happens to your Personal Allowance when your income reaches £100,000?  (it is reduced by £1 for every £2 earned over £100,000)
5. When is your first payment on account due for the 2010/2011 tax year?  (31st Jan 2011)
6. If you earn £20,000pa would you have any additional tax to pay on any dividends received?  (No)
7. At what rate do employers pay National Insurance?  (13.3%)
8. What's the basic rate of Corporation Tax on profits up to £300,000?  (21%)
9. If a companys' tax year ends on the 30th April 2010, when does it have to pay its' Corporation Tax by?  (1st Feb 2011)
10. What's the full rate of Corporation Tax?  (28%)
11. What's the Standard Rate for VAT?  (17.5%)
12. At what level of turnover does a company have to register for VAT?  (£68k)
13. How much of a Capital Gain can you make before being taxed?  (£10,100)
14. At what rate is Capital Gains Tax charged?  (18%)
15. How much is the Blind Persons Allowance?  (£1890)

 With a box of Marks and Spencer chocolates up for grabs, the performance within the room was pretty poor.  With myself, Jenny Mulholland and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it scoring 6 out of a possible 15 points, the competition went to a tie break.  The tie break question being; "What's the Personal allowance for someone aged 75 or over?"  The answer was £9640 and, at £9475, yours truly was the winner! Yippee!

Thank you, Mark. The chocolates are very nice, indeed, but probably won't last too much longer.

If you'd like to have a chat with Mark about your accountancy nedds you can call him on 02380 234222, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit his website .

Don't forget that next week we have Malcolm Archibald of Assure-U Ltd doing the 10 minute presentation and our special guest is Jackie Wright from Ganesha Coaching, a member from the Fortress Fareham chapter who is coming along, specifically, to talk about "Women in Business". 

This weeks' "Thought for the Week" comes from Eleanor Roosevelt;  "A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping stone to the optimist."

Wise words, indeed.

Keep Flying!

Steve Bimpson

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1st February 2010

The goal of International Networking Week is to celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses across the world. It is the wish of Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI, that all members should reap the benefits of participating in this one off annual event.

The 'Big Breakfast,' which is held in the first week of February, is the way BNI Hampshire recognises International Networking week. Designed for members to have the benefit of meeting as many members from other Chapters as possible, this meeting should replace your normal weekly Chapter meeting, therefore your chapter will be invoiced for your meeting fee, one week before. Normal attendance policy applies.

The 'Big Breakfast' meeting will run from 7.00 am until 10.00am with open networking from 6.30 am. A continental breakfast will be provided.

Visitors are welcome as normal, the meeting fee is £10.00. Please inform your Leadership Team by 22nd January for catering purposes if you have any Visitors. The meeting will start with a short video presentation from Ivan Misner, BNI's Founder, followed by speed networking - we greatly look forward to seeing you all there for this exciting event.

See members feedback from previous events on the BNI Hampshire web site

Watch the 2010 International Networking Week video by Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of BNI by clicking here .

27th January 2010

It was great to see everyone this morning and a special thanks go to the visitors and substitutes who took the time to join us today.  Ben Oakley of Lets Rent was subbing for Simon Garber and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it stood in for Sarah Mills .  Our visitors were Daryl Crossley of Distinguished Carriages , David Cruddace of Synergy Sailing , The Plastic Surgeon aka This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and photographer Rob Luckins .

Education Slot - Working From Home

In our Education Slot this morning, Louis George of LG Computers enlightened us as to some of the pros and cons of working from home.  Amongst the 'pros' are the obvious savings in terms of premises costs and travel, the tax benefits of working from home (up to £4250 pa according to Mark Rogers - our accountant ), the convenience factor and the ability of working in a 'casual' mode.  The 'cons' included the fact that you can't get away from work, the possible loneliness and the possible effect on your family.

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide which works best but, if you're in a business where customers don't, generally, have to come to your place of work it can work really well and should result in you keeping more of the money you make.

In fact, Louis' just moved back home after 20 years in a shop and has found it's worked really well for him and having gone through the same process, myself, a few months ago, I agree with him!

Martin Brown - Handover HR

Coincidentally, the title of todays' blog post, 'Delivering Profit Through People', just happens to be the title of Martins presentation.  (Sorry Martin)

Delivered with the relaxed charm and finesse that we've come to expect from him, Martins' presentation was very informative and entertaining.  He had something of a challenge on his hands as this is a 45 minute workshop that Handover HR deliver to their clients.  Martin had condensed it to just 10 minutes whilst managing to retain the overall message.  

The presentation revolved around the HR term 'Employee Engagement' and how, according to a government report, you could improve profitability by £1500 per employee by increasing investment in workplace practices relating to engaging employees.  He talked about;

• The Role of Leaders & Managers - The importance of ensuring that every function of your business is pulling in the same direction.

• Communicating With Impact - Using what Martin calls 'State of the Nation' speaches.

• Involving Rather Than Excluding people - Through the intelligent use of appraisals.

• Innovation Rather Than Revolution - Through Setting Objectives and Performance Management.

• Talent Development - Carrying out a Training Needs Analysis and then delivering the necessary training using Competency Frameworks and Coaching. 

• If Size Matters - Should your approach to HR change depending on whether you have 7, 70 or 700 employees?  Basically, not!

If you'd like to find out more about engaging your employees and getting them to pull together (or any other aspect of HR) you have two choices.  You could contact Martin and take advantage of Handover HR's FREE HR Audit or you could go along to 'Business South 2010' on the 3rd and 4th of March at the Rose Bowll where Handover HR will be delivering two workshops (in full).  This one, 'Delivering Profit Through People' and 'Ostriches, Lions & Meerkats - Lessons in Conflict Management'.

I don't know about you, but I'm already intrigued.

You can contact Martin Brown on 08453 893505, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or take a look at their website here .

See you all at next weeks meeting.

 Keep Flying!

Steve Bimpson

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