Networking - A Great Way to Start your Day at 'Business Success in Berkshire' The networking is open to anyone to drop in, pick up a coffee and have a chat. There is no formality, no expectations - simple turn up with lots of business cards and a smile. You don't need to be a member. There will be Biscottiers on hand to introduce you to other business people. Business Biscotti provides FREE Business networking across the UK for Small to Medium Enterprises - simply visit the web site www.businessbiscotti.co.uk and turn up at your nearest group - You will be made very welcome. so why not diary to meet new business people or forge existing relationships, over breakfast (Tea/Coffee/Danish OR Bacon Rolls OR Egg Roll)

Networking - A Great Way to Start your Day at 'Business Success in Berkshire' The networking is open to anyone to drop in, pick up a coffee and have a chat. There is no formality, no expectations - simple turn up with lots of business cards and a smile. You don't need to be a member. There will be Biscottiers on hand to introduce you to other business people. Business Biscotti provides FREE Business networking across the UK for Small to Medium Enterprises - simply visit the web site www.businessbiscotti.co.uk and turn up at your nearest group - You will be made very welcome. so why not diary to meet new business people or forge existing relationships, please note there will be NO BREAKFAST PROVIDED, IF YOU WISH TO BOOK BREAKFAST PLEASE BOOK THE ABOVE PACKAGE

Emma Gibson -From Shoosmiths - Access to Finance. Lisa Ravenscroft - BT Business and Kevin Griffin - West Berkshire Council - Superfast Broadband. Alok Sharma, MP for Reading West - SMEs & Exporting. Tony Warwick is UKTI's International Trade Adviser will be holding 1-2-1 sessions covering SMEs & Exporting...please book on the day

How would you feel if an alien landed in your office one day? And how would you feel if the alien then said that, from tomorrow, you would need to do everything differently? An alien take-over is often how change appears to staff. Instead of 'embracing the opportunity', morale and productivity can plummet, and people can be slow to adopt the new ways of working. The result? 70% of all change programmes fail to deliver their expected returns. To be successful, businesses need to manage change effectively - doing the right things, in the right order, and most importantly, managing changes to deliver the expected benefits for the business. In this session you will learn: - Why people find it so hard to change - How to harness your employees' skills and energy to implement change faster - Tips to help you to achieve your planned return on investment.

This presentation will take you through some real life scenarios where being on top of your accounts and tax situation will help you in the growth of your business and increase your bottom line profit.

Healthy employees = healthy business Employee Health and Wellbeing is now a top five boardroom issue and when you consider that a healthy employee is 20% more productive than an unhealthy colleague you can begin to see why it makes commercial sense to consider Health and Wellbeing as part of your organisational strategy.

What you need to know about Pension Reform and the Employer Duties. From October 2012, the Government is introducing new laws. These laws will require every UK employer to have a workplace pension scheme in place for their employees and pay contributions for any employees who do not opt out of the pension scheme. This presentation from Scottish Life (Steve Sheppard) will give you an overview of these changes so that you can plan for them and ensure that they become an enhancement to your business rather than a burden.

We cannot escape from Social Media, it's everywhere we look and as a result we're constantly being advised that we should be doing social media in our businesses. This presentation examines the practicalities of that and why the big brands take part and what the rest of us can learn from what they are doing. Discover lot's of social media examples and why businesses take part in Social Media, you'll gain an insight into how you might introduce those benefits to your business and why.

This talk will cover 3 key areas you need to master lead generation and to start a flood of qualified prospects that you can convert into raving fans and loyal customers: 1. Broadcasting Yourself - Learn our 5 step system to creating quality direct mail campaigns and the resources you can tap into to make this an automated and rewarding part of your marketing efforts. 2. Serve First - We'll share with you the simplest way you can create valuable content that will keep your prospects engaged and buying every time. 3. Breadth & Depth - Learn how the Value Pyramid(TM) can help you define your product range and give your business a product development program that adds real value to your customers and profits to your business.

"Ever wondered whether your small business is as tax efficient as it could be? Do you feel you are paying more tax than you should? Then come and listen to Graham Carson of Inca - Caring Accounting give FREE tax advice to small business owners to help them understand where and how to mitigate their tax. Whether you are a sole trader, in partnership or a small limited company, there are opportunities to examine your business and its tax liabilities with a view to ensuring you only pay what you must."

Cloud and internet business solutions have been around for many years but many businesses remain unsure about whether they should move their IT to this area or not. Typically they want to know ', What is it, What it will do for their business? What are the benefits?, How secure is it?, How easy is it to use? Roland will cover some key areas about cloud computing issues: 1.What is it - considering how cloud computing is used on a daily basis and how this transfers to the business area 2.What are the benefits - both in time, resources and costs 3.How secure is it - a top concern for most businesses is what happens to their data and what security systems are there to protect your information 4.What are the options - we look at two options, for your admin and customer relationships 5.How easy is it to use - a brief demonstration two cloud computing options Roland has worked extensively across the IT industry for the past 25 years with many different industries and with a range of clients including central government, local government, enterprises, SME's and small businesses (examples of each: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Croydon Council, Energy Savings Trust, Greenleaf and Frontline). His experience covers consultancy, project management, business reviews, sales and marketing, finance and customers service and currently as a director of both xRM Partners and Cloud IT 4U. Roland focuses on assisting small to medium sized business use computer technologies to strategically manage their customer bases and admin resources productively and costs effectively. With his range of business 'know how' and small business knowledge, coupled with corporate expertise give Roland the ability to consider problems and solutions that meet the needs of companies in a simple, straight forward and focused manner, and that are understood by users. xRM Partners and Cloud IT are based in North Hampshire within easy reach of business across Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.

Every business will own Intellectual Property - the name you trade under, the look or the function of products you make or use, even the website or brochures you create to promote your business. All these elements can be protected if they are important to your business and if you manage them correctly they can provide competitive advantage. The Intellectual Property Office can help you understand how patents, trade marks, designs and copyright can prove an asset to your business. Come along and find out what you own.

Fast food, fast computers and fast cars, is it any wonder speed-networking emerged? In a click through, on-demand, no patience world, Speed Networking helps professionals focus their networking efforts and accelerate the process of making new contacts. Believe it or not, speed-networking is just what it sounds like – quick, focused opportunities to meet those who can propel your career and business. And, YES, it does really work! We all desire to accelerate our careers and get on the fast track to success, with speed-networking, you can accelerate your networking. You can meet more quality contacts and actually have meaningful conversations in just one event than any other method! Speed-networking is FUN and EFFECTIVE. Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, young in your career or experienced – you will enjoy meeting people in this type of format. BMG events and the First Friday Club is a firm believer in putting people face-to-face to facilitate direct conversation. How does it work? After some initial scene setting,the group divides into two equal halves. One group sits in a row, facing inwards. The other group sits opposite, facing outwards. When the whistle blows, you have two minutes ( one minute per delegate) to do some networking before a second blast prompts you to take one pace to the right and meet someone new. This may sound like a daunting prospect. But don't worry – follow a few simple steps and you'll be away. Preparation is everything. You have 60 seconds to get your message across. Capture the single biggest benefit you offer, or plan to offer, in words that will come across easily and enthusiastically in one minute. It may come as a surprise to you that a minute can seem like a long time. To some this is known as the ‘elevator pitch’ because it can be delivered between the ground and the third floor when you’re in the lift with a potential contract.