Advice from a Dragon

How to create killer customer service
Millionaire Dragons' Den panellist Deborah Meaden draws on her own first-hand experience to explain how businesses can deliver effective customer service. Read more

Make Money form Blogging

How to make money from Blogging?. Many people still ask a question, "can someone make money from their blog?". The answer is, "Of course!!!". There are many program that we can follow, if we want to make money from out blog. I want tell to you a little tips about how to make money from blogging. You can try this tips and start generate money...

Viva La Mexico

OK, I went to Mexico in September and absolutely loved it! I could see the potential out there for growth, especially in holiday property lettings and local businesses. A lot of people travel to Mexico every year and they have there peaks seasons from April and Dec, I am now referring to the part of Mexico known as Playa Del Carmen a hours drive from Cancun. The weather is hard not to like and the people are hard not to like as well as the majority of people are very friendly.

I made a contact out there and he provides me with info about properties for sale out there for Holiday homes that could be used to as Holiday lets whilst you are not there. I don't have the money to invest right now, but will definitely consider in the future. The pictures above are one of the apartments he was showing me on sale for US$130,500 roughly £95,000
Any questions or more info contact me and i can pass you on to the contact.

Update on International Trade

OK, I have been liaising with my contacts in China regarding some items I wish to be produced over there and send to me here in the UK to be tried and tested on the market. I have ordered a small amount firstly (less the $1000 roughly £675) to see how well the product goes and also most importantly to see how the import process works.

I know I will be taxed and have to pay some other charges also.

When speaking to the manufacturers, (who are not as professional as I would expect, could be an opportunity here but that's another story) they said there are different ways to export goods from China such as CIF, FOB, EXW. These basically abbreviations for the terms customers wish there items to be delivered to them via the Manufacturer, I have found a link here explains this a little.

Finger Licking Good!

No matter what business I go into, I would ensure that it would never get to the point of shere neglect for my customers, a good guide on how not to run a fast food chain!

Kentucky Fried Chicken is being prosecuted after environmental health inspectors found cockroaches, mice and flies at one of its busiest restaurants in Britain.

Officials said a cockroach scurried across a counter when they visited the fast food outlet in Leicester Square, central London.

They claimed a mouse was seen running across the floor and flies buzzed around their heads at the Coventry Street premises.

Inspectors also recorded evidence of black sticky grease caking bread roll containers and trays of raw chicken.

They claimed dirty cloths were used to wipe food preparation surfaces, chicken racks were covered in congealed fat and food warming units were dirty.

Officials also alleged a one-metre pool of dried blood was found on the floor and deeply-engrained grime covered walls and shelves.

Mould and dirt was found on the floor of the food preparation room and on walls, doors and ceilings, they claimed.

KFC, based in Goldsworth Road, Surrey, is being prosecuted by City of Westminster Council.

The allegations against the branch were outlined in court documents presented at City of Westminster Magistrates Court.

Other charges related to mayonnaise stored at warm temperatures, food wrappers left on the floor, a lack of hygienic facilities for handwashing and a pile of 14 bags of rubbish left leaking liquid on to the floor.

The fast food chain faced 13 charges brought under food hygiene regulations following an inspection on August 15 last year.

A court official said KFC pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges and a case management hearing would be held on February 22.

A spokesman for KFC said: "As soon as we were made aware of the results of the EHO (environmental health officer) inspection... we took immediate action to bring the restaurant back up to our strict hygiene standards.

"The restaurant is being closely monitored to ensure that they are maintained."

Interesting Story

Big shots: Eldar and Roy Tuvey, of ScanSafe

Nic Fildes

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Recommend?

A few years back, Eldar Tuvey, now chief executive of ScanSafe, convinced his brother Roy that the future of internet filtering would be cloud-based. Fittingly, they were on an aircraft at the time.

The brothers’ decision to set up a company based on that “crazy, crackpot idea” proved to be a wise one. Only five years after it was established, ScanSafe was sold to Cisco Systems yesterday for $183 million (£111 million).

Although spam blocking and internet filtering were familiar concepts back in 2004, the notion of dealing with the threat before it got anywhere near a customer’s computer system was revolutionary. “This market was very nascent when we started, but we believed that the threat would move from the inbox to the browser,” Eldar Tuvey said.

By 2005, ScanSafe’s business model had begun to gain serious traction as the “software as service” model became more prevalent and customers such as Google, AT&T and Orange built its technology into their web security services. With more than 2,000 customers in 100 countries, the London-based company has become a clear market leader.

Related Links

• Internet giants join forces to beat scams

• How to avoid the phishing scams

ScanSafe may also be a somewhat unpopular company among workers because its software can be used to prevent employees accessing sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as instant messaging.

Yesterday’s deal represents a big payday for Balderton Capital, which backed ScanSafe in 2004 and in two subsequent funding rounds and holds a stake of about 30 per cent. Bernard Liautaud, a member of ScanSafe’s board and a partner in Balderton, said that ScanSafe had benefited from having the brothers at its helm. Eldar managed the company during its rapid-growth phase, while Roy, the company president, was more sales-driven, according to Mr Liautaud.

The sale to Cisco vindicates the brothers’ decision to leave secure jobs as investment bankers in 1999 when they founded Mailround.com, an e-mail marketing service. Eldar, who gained an MBA at Insead, was a former member of Goldman Sachs’s corporate finance division in London and Hong Kong. Roy was an investment manager for Compass Partners, a private equity firm, after being a banker with Merrill Lynch.

The two brothers, who hold a combined stake in ScanSafe of more than 25 per cent, will stay on under Cisco and will remain based in London. However, Eldar said that integrating the ScanSafe software into the network equipment giant’s global business would require a lot of travel.

I like this business

Warren Bennett (left) and friend David Hathiramani, launched ASuitThatFits in June 2006. ASuitThatFits is the world’s first online tailor-made suit company, creating high quality, individually hand-tailored suits, with prices starting from £110.

After just one year in business, the company employed eight staff in London and 43 in Nepal. Sales to date are worth around £522,000 and an annual turnover in excess of £2 million is predicted for 2008.

As well as growing their business, Warren and David also believe in giving back to the Nepalese community, with 5% of the cost of each suit donated to a school in Nepal.

http://www.asuitthatfits.com

Good Business Site

Just found this site and it has lots of good info for young (and old) entrepreneurs!
www.realbusiness.co.uk

Who is William Buffet and what can we learn from him!

I watched a documentary last night about a famous investor William Buffet! He is the worlds greatest investor and the second richest man in the world. I have read his book The Snowball and would recommend any would-be entrepreneur or business minded individual to read this book. In fact I find that researching business owners & entrepreneurs and seeing how they started is a great way to learn, be inspired and seek mentoring. I find that when these people say things there is always something to be learnt from there comments or actions. I try to find these things out as much a s I can and so should you!

Intenational trade

We are looking into the International Trade Market as a possible business venture, importing goods from overseas to the UK.

We would like to look more into the process, fees & taxes and other aspects we need to consider consider about importing goods.

We have managed to book a workshop organised by HMRC that will take place on 14th Jan 2010.

In the meantime we have placed a small order from overseas for a particular product we hope will be popular here in the UK. We will keep you posted on how this goes!