Amanda Murrell Associates Ltd is holding a 2hour taster session of an excellent personal profiling tool Clarity4D, using colours to highlight your behaviour preferences. Clarity4D is an affordable, accessible, global, learning and development solution incorporating a behavioural model and psychometric tool based on the work of Carl Jung and uses colour to identify the four basic […]
The past couple of weeks I have been working with a number of public sector organisations to deliver training for both the staff and the patient representatives on stakeholder engagement – what it is, why it is needed, and how to do it effectively. It has been a fantastic process that has seen huge benefits […]
It’s the 21st century and no longer do we have staff members that we take fresh from college, train and develop through the business and then wave off for a ‘happy retirement’ 40 years later. Times are a changing and the education system is no longer geared towards developing the non-educational side of our children […]
Since taking the decision to expand my business overseas, many people ask me how I went about it, what particular things did I have to do to become ‘international’ and if I had any support. This Friday I am giving a talk at a local exporting event, to offer SME’s like mine the opportunity to […]
What a fantastic week it has been! GESS 2014 has proven to be a successful mission for us. We have met hundreds of people from all over the world, from afar afield as Las Vegas to Iraq, Scotland to Saudi Arabia; the 3 days were well worth the investment. There was a wide range […]
With two weeks to go until the opening of the GESS conference in Dubai, we have been pretty busy preparing for the week. We have put together a stand full of information about us and our services, brochures and flyers focusing on specific aspects of our business, some special show offers, and a business card […]
Amanda Murrell Associates Ltd (AMA) is pleased to announce that they will be exhibiting at GESS for the first time in 2014. AMA is an award-winning group of consultants, who are experienced in coaching, mentoring, training development and delivery and are all specialists in their own right. AMA is passionate about providing opportunities for individuals […]
With the summer nearly over, children back to school and my Bedfordshire BusinessWomen (BBW) Presidential year is coming to an end. As a business woman in 2013, I have been taking some time to consider how worthwhile my role as President has been to my business and to the services that I offer to my clients.
Being President has added real value to my business and whilst the workload has been at times overwhelming, I have a much stronger portfolio of skills and experience as a result. Anyone considering taking up a voluntary role should consider these business benefits, which often cannot be achieved any other way.
So, I wanted to share some of my highlights of being President of BBW during the last year.
October 2012 and our 25th year of networking started on a high as Finalists for Fundraiser of the year 2012 at the Pride in Bedford Awards. Our first event was an evening fashion show at Mercedes Benz of Bedford, where some of our members modeled on the catwalk.
November 2012 was an exceptional month, winning the Community Investment Award, at the Beds & Luton Business Excellence Awards 2012, and at the same event Finalists for Enterprising Organisation of the year 2012, as well as Runners-Up for Networking Group of the Year 2012 at the East of England Business Champions 2012.
We were treated to breakfast in the Mayors parlour and later in November, afternoon tea at Woburn with workshops delivered by members. After a great Christmas afternoon event with fun, frolics and Santa, at the Embankment Hotel, in December, we started 2013 off with the traditional ‘Man Day’ at Millbrook Proving Ground, with over 60 men and women experiencing an exciting day of high-speed pro-drives, professional networking and inspiring presentations. We also celebrated with our annual International Women’s Day event, sponsored by Bedford College, where we were dined in decadent surroundings at the Mansion House, Old Warden.
Always keen to raise money for charity, other than The Road Victims Trust (RVT)my charity of the year, we took part in the Ladies Driving Challenge, RAF Alconbury, for The Fire Fighters Charity, raising over £1,000, this was definitely one of my highlights from the year.
There are many more highlights; yoga at Champney’s in March, joint FSB Business Expo in April, Putteridge Bury in May, Lifestyle event, Luton Hoo in July and my leaving event, an afternoon garden party at Milton Ernest.
New for my year are monthly workshops at the i-Lab run by our own members and any member is welcome to run workshops, or share with BBW, aspects of their business, we actively encourage joint working and networking outside of BBW events.
It wouldn’t be right to finish this review without mentioning our spectacular 25th anniversary ball and awards evening in June at the Sharnbrook Hotel – a truly glamorous event and very befitting of such a wonderful group of ladies and of course also winning the FSB Best Networking Group 2013 in June.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has contributed to BBW in some way, for supporting me as President, and made this another successful year for us all. I wish Emma and the members of BBW all the very best for the coming 12 months.
Amanda Murrell
The last few weeks have given us all some much-needed sunshine and with the school holidays now upon us it is really starting to feel like summer. This time last year we were all enthralled with the Olympic and Paralympic Games and once again the county has come alive, this time with the excitement of the arrival of the Royal Baby, with many local business offering something special to support this wonderful event.
Whether you run a business, work in a small company or run a household, having a mentor or a network that can give you advice and support can make the difference between success and failure. As a business coach, mentor and trainer, I am a great believer in supporting people to exceed their potential and have been working with a number of local businesses, both small and large, to provide coaching and mentoring services and also workshops to support companies through periods of change. It isn’t a weakness to ask for help, in fact every great leader in business has at least one person who they meet with regularly to bounce ideas or problems off; that is what helps to make them so successful.
And with that in mind it is also important that we all find an opportunity this month to take some time out for ourselves so that we can relax, unwind and rebalance, ready for the challenges ahead. It doesn’t have to be a long holiday or trip abroad – a simple hour or two of escapism is often enough to refresh and refocus our minds. Last week I was invited to experience a fish pedicure, which was both invigorating and relaxing, and a very therapeutic way to spend some time without the pressures of work.
Amanda Murrell
This month I am going to write from my President of Bedfordshire Business Women role for a change! Especially as this has been one of the most amazing months for me both personally and professionally as a result of my Presidency.
June 2013 was a monumental month for Bedfordshire Business Women (BBW) with the prestigious BBW awards and 25th anniversary ball taking place at The Sharnbrook Hotel. After months of preparation and many a sleepless night, to stand back and look at the amazing women and all they have achieved throughout the year, made me feel very proud and very privileged to be a part of such a fantastic group.
When I took over as President of BBW I never thought I would remember people’s names but looking round the room it was like an extended family. I know every member’s name and even some of the names of their support networks, and it was so nice to talk to people in the glittering but relaxed environment.
The announcement of the award winners was the surprising part of the evening. Nobody, including me, was aware of the results, as the whole process had been outsourced to ensure complete fairness and independence. And I was absolutely shocked (but truly delighted) to have won the Bedfordshire Business Woman of the Year Award 2013. This is the first award I have ever won and I am still pinching myself! Thank you to everyone who took part in the process, whether through nominating someone or through your award submission, and well done to everyone involved.
For anyone entering an award, the process itself really focuses you to think about what you have achieved and is a great way to record and reflect on your progress. And even if you are not the overall winner, it will give you a tremendous confidence boost, and encourages you to go back to colleagues/associates for testimonials. And if you are a winner, then you can use that success to keep building your business for the future.
So, after a fabulous night of good times and success, on behalf of BBW I would like to express thanks to both the Mayor and Richard Fuller MP for their support to BBW, and of course to all of our wonderful sponsors and supporters on the night, without you we could not have made the night so memorable.
I would encourage any woman in business in Bedfordshire to come along to one of our meetings. BBW is a friendly group, where we offer support and encouragement to all of our members and guests, we provide plenty of opportunities for women in business to collaborate and work for each other.
Amanda Murrell
Having spent a good proportion of this week working on Bedfordshire BusinessWomen, trying to juggle my business and all of the other domestic duties it has been quite difficult to get a good balance.
That is where it is so difficult to balance your work life between the business that is paying the bills and the pro-bono work.
We have to be capable of knowing at what level we get involved with the pro-bono work and there is no crystal ball that will tell you when, if or what opportunities might arise from such work.
It is through experience that we learn but sometimes we learn a very hard lesson that can be at a huge cost to a small business. Ensuring that invoicing is kept up to date and you are on top of it is critical and making sure that terms and conditions are issued at the point you raise an invoice so that the two can be sent together is equally important. Very often we do not think to send a cancellation policy, but if a client cancels part, or all of the contract with short notice you may still have to pay a cancellation fee to those you have commissioned to work with you, or printing costs etc, which can leave you out of pocket.
At the end of the day we are all in business to make money and have a good quality of life so if you are doing more pro-bono work than paid and you are not getting invoices paid then that quality of life will suffer. I am not saying that you should not do any voluntary work but to get the balance right.
Amanda Murrell
We all know that in order to make our business unique, credible and worth investing in, it’s important that we can prove our worth. There are many ways to achieve this but one of the most effective is to enter and win awards, this confirms that your business has been benchmarked against others, has been through a scrutiny process and that it is a credible and successful business.
Entering and winning awards can raise your profile, enhance your reputation, allow you to receive the recognition you deserve, instil trust, attract new business and ultimately make you more profitable.
Compiling the application for an award is an incredible way to focus your mind on your achievements and provides the opportunity to ask your clients for testimonials.
Spending time on your business and not in your business is a valuable activity for us all.
Amanda Murrell