White Rock rocks the bay!: Festival round up

The 2nd annual White Rock Festival of Learning, organised by Torbay Hour King of Social Media Simon Waugh and free to all, was a rocking success with thousands of people attending in the last spell of glorious summer sunshine! ☀ ☀ ☀

The week long event was enjoyed by people of all ages; with a wide range of activities including  scarecrow judging, painting, building and fishing taking place across different locations across the Bay.

The event culminated with the main ‘Festival of Learning’ event on the Saturday; and because of the success of this next year’s event is being planned already!

Organiser Simon Waugh was delighted with the success of the event and said:

“It was absolutely amazing, approximately 3,000 people attended and we were blown away! The community spirit really was amazing and all there for everyone to see.

“We are aiming to set up as a not-for-profit community group to bring people together and promote learning by hosting other events.

“We want to promote learning for all ages; everything has something to offer and there is always so much to learn!’

Simon added that the event is looking for sponsorship, as it ran at a loss last year and he wants to ensure it remains a free event for all in the community.

For more information please contact Simon and Jennie Waugh at whiterockfest@outlook.com.

Brixham means Business!: Brixham Business Show round-up

Less then a week after the Torbay Business Festival I was back ‘on the road’ again to attend the Brixham Business Show, organised by the Brixham Chamber of Commerce,  at the effortlessly  beautiful Berry Head Hotel.

Image: You really can’t beat this view! (Source: Briscoe French Twitter)

38 local businesses and organisations had stands at the afternoon event, with people coming from across Torbay and beyond to network ,mingle and do business!

Image: Mitch Tonks kicks things off! (Source: Liz Pippett Twitter)

Local restaurateur, author and chef Mitch Tonks got proceedings going with a rousing speech about local business, putting everyone in the right entrepreneurial mindset for the afternoon ahead.

Image: James Twigger  with his cartooned portrait, courtesy of Flossy and Jim! (Source: Flossy and Jim Facebook page)

After a rapid fire session of ‘Speed networking’ outside, where participants (including myself) exchanged details through 30 second introductions and exchanges of business cards, proceedings got underway everyone did the rounds and found out about a host of different businesses and the people behind them.

Image: Manning the EWS store! (Source: Vix Twitter page)

It was great to meet some more Torbay Hour folk again; it’s always interesting meeting people you have established relationships with through Twitter in ‘real life’!

Image: The West Country Deli were delighted to be crowned Best Stand for the day! (Source: West Country Deli Facebook page)

I also meet some new faces; ranging from a local chiropractor to a collarless shirt company. I’ve really started to enjoy networking; I get a buzz out of meeting new people , learning about different types of businesses and  hearing the stories behind how people started out.

Image: A busy day with plenty of networking taking place! (Source: Briscoe French Twitter)

I personally found it to be a very worthwhile day; I made some new contacts and got my first ever taste of ‘speed networking’! The venue was fantastic and, having spoken with the event organisers personally, the feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive; there are plans to make next years event bigger and better, so watch this space!

Torbay means business!: Torbay Business Festival round-up

After last weeks busy networking frenzy I was back on the road again, as I attended the Torbay Business Festival, hosted by the Torbay Business Forum,  at the English Riveria Centre.

The day’s proceedings were kicked off by Mayor Gordon Oliver, who spoke about the importance of growing businesses in the Bay and also about the future of the Torbay Air Festival and the opening of the South Devon Highway.

44 different organisations held stands at a busy and vibrant networking day, with over 300 people swapping business cards, making contacts and mingling with friends old and new.

There were four separate seminar talks given throughout the day, with the different speakers sharing their personal experiences on a  diverse range of business topics.

Manuela Grossmann, from SSG’s Employment Law and HR Team, gave the first talk of the day about the importance of Emotional Intelligence and how leaders can be self aware of their own emotions when trying to influence and motivate their staff in the right way. Being personally very interested in psychology myself, I found this very interesting and I feel the need to read up on the theory now!

Next up was Dr Michael Cash, who shared his experience of working in health and safety across different sectors; he gave some fascinating real-life examples and explained why disasters can happen and how we can learn from them. He also spoke about basic risk reduction strategies and how businesses can apply them to prevent such disasters happening- sage advice!

After lunch we had the pleasure of listening to Rob Holmes, who gave a fascinating talk about his own experiences across a lifetime of entrepreneurship. He shared some humorous anecdotes about his time as a Nightclub owner, and also made some more serious points about staying motivated and gave some practical pointers on how to grow your business.

The final talk of the day was given by Sally Cope from Koru Connections. Sally spoke about ‘The Power of LinkedIn’ and how business owners can use the site to connect with decision makers. Sally gave the audience some excellent tips on how use the site for professional business to business networking and fielded several questions at the end.

More new friends made!

On the back of last weeks networking it was personally great to meet some new people and have some great conversations; learning about new businesses and hearing some interesting tales along the way!

At my first networking event (at Torbay Hour’s 2 year birthday celebration event at White Rock School) I was a bag of nerves to be honest! I actually didn’t move from my table; I was lucky enough that Sam Triffitt came over and had a friendly chat with me and helped me come out of my networking shell!

But I’ve actually decided I quite enjoy networking now! I’ve meet some great people along the way and my confidence has risen. It was also a lovely end to the day as we enjoyed a complementary ale- courtesy of Bays Brewery-cheers to the next time!

Networking with a twist: Mugs and business plugs!

On the back of being crowned’Best New Business’ at the 2016 Torbay Hour Social Media Awards, personalised branding specialists Clothing Your Way Ltd marked 12 months in business, and the launch of their new website, by hosting a fun and interactive networking evening event…with a twist!

Image: At the Torbay Hour 2016 Awards Evening; sat next to yours truly!

A wide variety of businesses (including myself!) attended their new premises, based in Torquay high street, to create mugs and network with people from across the Bay and beyond.

Image: Everyone focuses intently for the beginning of the mug prep!

Business co-owners Sam and Dale Triffitt, who set up last September and originally worked from their Paignton based family home, guided the attendees through the process in the printing studio.

Image: I felt like I was back in craft school all over again!

Dale Triffitt explained the design and production process used on the night:

‘We chose to do sublimation mug printing which is where an image or logo is created on the computer, that design is then reversed and then transferred onto sublimation paper.

Image: Setting up the design for the mug

‘Each participant was able to cut out their design and stick it to a mug, using heat resistant tape, and then place it in a specifically designed mug press where it reaches temperatures of around 200c.

Image: Dale patiently guides me through the final step of the process!

‘When the mug is removed from the press the image / logo has been transferred onto it. This process allows for bright, bold and intricate designs that have a fantastic finish and are dish washer safe.’

Image: Voila! The final result-my first piece of marketing merchandise! 

Sam Triffitt explained the inspiration behind the event:

‘We put together ‘Networking With a Twist’ because we wanted to bring something unique and fun to the world of networking, whilst keeping the core value of making great connections at the heart of the evening.

Image:  Flossy and Jim enjoying the creative process!

‘As a new and upcoming business in Torquay, we also  wanted to use the event to help raise our profile locally . We had a fantastic response from everyone that attended, we anticipated 5 or 6 attendees, as it was our first event, but on the night we had 18!

Image: Debbie Phillips was delighted with her new mug!

‘The event was an unprecedented success; we now have a list of over 30 businesses that have approached us to do another event.We are looking forward to hosting the next one at a bigger venue; at the moment this is  currently scheduled for November, we will keep everyone posted!’

The reaction on social media was  very positive too…..

Image: DropCap Copywriting tweeted his thanks after the event

Image: Helen had a great time!

I thoroughly enjoyed the event and can’t wait for the next one; keep an eye on their website and Facebook and Twitter pages to find out when you can attend the next one!

 

 

#THAwards 2016 Round-Up!

After weeks of anticipation, pre-event ‘Twitter banter’ and social media build up, the 2nd Torbay Hour Awards lived up to it’s billing, with an array of  talent from across the Bay and beyond congregating at the beautiful Redcliffe Hotel.

Image: The beautiful Redcliffe Hotel!

For the uninitiated Torbay Hour, run by local business owners James Twigger and Sophie Bower, is a multi-faceted social media and local networking organisation that helps promote local businesses and organisations across Torbay and beyond.

Image: James and Sophie at the 2016 Herald Express business awards

Every Monday evening (between the hours of 8-9pm) they host #TorbayHour, a local ‘Twitter Hour’ that invites businesses, charities, event organisers and individuals  to network and promote themselves and become part of a wider, local online community.

Image: Every Monday 8-9pm; get involved!

This was the 2nd Awards Ceremony; building on the success of last year’s event the event attracted several high profile local sponsors, and tickets sold out within weeks being on sale. Having whittled down hundreds of online nominations , the nominees were shortlisted (including myself!)  and judged by a group of independent and impartial judges.

Image: Who would be King? (Source: Torbay Hour Facebook page)

The scene was truly set with the sun out across the Bay, fantastic music from Holly Morwenna and a real sense of anticipation in the air ahead of the nights festivities.

Image: Enjoying some bucks fizz and a glorious view! (Source: Vix Twitter)

After a delicious three course meal (always squeeze a food reference in somewhere!) came the moment we had all been waiting for….the award ceremony!

Image: This was amazing as it looks!

Presented by Sophie Bower and the award sponsors, the drum rolls came as the awards finalists bit their nails nervously waiting for the winners to be announced!

The first winner of the night was  Emberlense Film Productions, owned and run by my  friend Jon Tomkins, winning the award  ‘Best use of Film, Photo and Design’. The recognition capped off a great summer for Jon, after the success of his 2016 English Riviera Film Festival.

Next up was the announcement of the  ‘Best Business Blog’ award winner. The gracious winners were Flossy and Jim, who have been writing their ‘The Amazing Adventures of Flossy and Jim‘  blog for over 5 years! They kindly sponsored the event by designing the wonderful ‘Out of this world’ themed certificates, and were naturally delighted to be recognised for their blogging efforts.

It was then onto the award for ‘Best Charity/Non Profit Campaign’. The worthy winners were Torbay Holiday Helpers Network, a local charity who provide free, memory making holidays for families affected by serious illness & bereavement. To collect the award on their behalf was freelance translator Roger Matthews, who was full of praise for the recogntion of the charities’ efforts on social media.

We then moved onto the award for ‘Best Integrated Social Media Campaign’. Having used their fantastic Instragram efforts as a case study in my ‘Instagram your business’ blog, I was delighted to see Pier Point Torquay come out on top. With their consistent use of eye-catching imagery I felt they were more then worthy winners.

 

Moving on swiftly to the next award, the winners of the ‘Best Event Campaign’ were announced. This one went to the ‘White Rock Festival’ ;  a community festival  of learning that will take place on the 17th September at White Rock Primary School (Paignton) and has been actively promoted across Twitter by Simon Waugh.

It was then onto the winner for ‘Best New Business Account’. Having previously met Dale and Sam at numerous events, and enjoying their company at our dinner table,  it was fantastic to see  Clothing Your Way  Ltd  win! Trading for just 12 months they have  made their mark locally, with a new website under construction and having recently moved into a new premises the future looks bright for them!

The next category to be decided was the  ‘Love Torbay’ award.  I was delighted to see my good friend Helen Brenton win ; she tirelessly promotes and celebrates Torbay through her photography, blogs and numerous clubs (which include Network Torquay) She has given me a lot of good business advice and support during difficult times; well done Helen!

Up next it was a royal matter to be decided….who would be’Social Media Queen of Torbay?’ It was a case of ‘Double’ triumph as self-confessed lover of Brixham and Twitter, Vix Brix, was victorious for the 2nd year running! She was then left waiting to find out who would be King…

The final award! Who would sit on the throne and be crowned ‘Social Media King of Torbay’? The man behind the White Rock Festival, Simon Waugh, was delighted to be victorious again having already won the Best Event Campaign. Not being able to attend on the night, Simon was still able to express his delight (and get in a cheeky plug for his event 🙂 ) through a pre-recorded video!

So close, yet no cigar!

Image: I didn’t purposely hold the left one up the wrong way around!

I was very proud to be nominated for two awards; ‘Best Business Blog’ and ‘Social Media King of Torbay’. Naturally I was a bit disappointed not to win, however I had to remind myself that I only setup this business at the start of February! So to be nominated twice was a great achievement in itself, and I’m looking forward to growing and developing all that I offer to help businesses win at social media, which is my true passion!

I think I speak for everyone when I say it really was a fantastic event, with lots of happy faces, great music and food and recognition of  our local talented business and charity organisations . So kudos to Torbay Hour for pulling it off! I’m looking forward to next years one already 🙂