Yorkshire Garden Design - Welcome to Localventure

Please see below some basic information regarding Yorkshire Garden Design:

Recently established

Family run

Professional design qualifications (BA Hons)

Work closely in partnership with an experienced landscaping contractor to deliver practical and high quality solutions

Able to offer exemplary client service

Varied and bespoke design solutions to meet any need from large suburban gardens through to small urban yards

No obligation free quotations



www.yorkshire-gardendesign.co.uk
enquiry@yorkshire-gardendesign.co.uk
01142 517893 / 01723 370243 / 07791134058

Business Interview with Andy from My6Fytness in Manchester

My6Fytness were the first personal training business to become a member of Localventure and in addition, andy from My6 has I think both an interesting story in terms of business and his approach plus a really innovative, niche fitness program in development. From both a business and personal angle I thought it was worth running one of our interviews with him.


Here's our third Locaventure interview :


As the first personal trainer on the Localventure blog Andy could you give us some insight into how you came to set up your business and perhaps a little about what you did before ?

I worked 84hrs a week in a factory and as you can probably guess I wasn't
happy loved the money usually around £1000 a week take home pay.The closure
of the plant and redundancy was a shock but i took it as a huge
oppertunity.I retrained as a personal trainer working out was and still is a
lifelong passion.

What does a 'day in the life'  look like for you on a typical work day ?

 A normal day for me is up at 6 do my wife a brew and start getting
ready for the day.i only ever do 25hrs a week as i think that is a good
balance between focus on the client and fiscal needs.So 3 clients a day
usually morning afternoon and evening as well as on line clients seeking
hints and tips or just plain confidence building.
  
How do you usually get hold of new clients ?

The internet is a wonderful tool for getting clients but then so
is word of mouth and a good reputation


I know that the subject of infertility is very close to your heart both personally and now professionally with the new work out program you're preparing. Can you tell us about how that evolved ?

Newly married and starting a new career and business a baby was the next step but unfortunately my sperm count was nil or very close to it and the ones that were there had coughs.So I put all my experience and 40yrs of knowledge in training and fitness to
work.Experimenting with different weight`s and reps I came up with really
heavy full body exercises that are designed to boost testosterone and
produce more sperm,the baby is due in November and we were over the moon - my
last count came out at over 42million (21 million being the norm)so it works.
Now I'm working to refine it for clients.


As a business owner, what advice would you give someone setting up a service based business ?

My advice to anyone setting up in business is get solid support
from your family and friends,it`s easier if your on your own so you only
have yourself to worry about.Do somthing your passionate about and be
prepared to lose all and gain everything half measures won`t cut it.

What 2 things would you recommend to a new start up ?

 My tips for opening a new business would be use common sense if it
seem`s to good to be true it usually will be.Do your research - mountain
climbing trips to Holland won`t sell but bicycles but riding trips will

Andy Mac - My6Fytness, Manchester
W. www.my6fytness.com

Scotland in Print - Welcome to Localventure

Scotland in Print | Click below to view great Landscape Photography of Scotland, Scottish Castles, Mountains, Coast and Beach Photos, Buy Online Great Scotland Pictures and Limited Edition Prints

 

Link: http://www.scotlandinprint.co.uk

 

Title: Landscape Photography | Scotland Photos

Guest Blogging at Localventure

We've now had two guest blogs from Phil of PC Support Group - both fantastic IT based topics which I heartily recommend. This kind of open source, business focused resource is just exactly what I'd hoped for from this blog and I would like to invite any current member of Localventure to feel free to let me have details of additional information or guest blogs they would like to submit to us for publication - it's free and it gives us great extra information to disseminate to other members.

Also, if you haven't yet joined and submitted your initial advert to us please feel free to do so and then then guest blog away to your hearts content.

As well as guest blogs I also have another interview from a small business owner which hopefully should be coming across in the next few days - more information as I have it.

A quick and simple way to use technology to save thousands

Welcome to a new guest blog from Phil Bird of PC Support Group :

Ensuring you have the right amount of memory (RAM as it tends to be called in computer terms - Random Access Memory) in a PC is essential to ensure its smooth operation, maximising the user’s time and minimising frustration.

One of the problems we constantly come across with customers is that the information generally available to businesses regarding memory requirements is inaccurate or misleading and results in most business PCs being woefully under-specified, leading to wasted user time and frustration.

Remember a worker on only £12,000 per year losing only 15 minutes a day due to poor performance of a PC is costing the company over £400 per year whereas 1Gb of RAM typically costs about £40+VAT.

The problem is that most web sites provide minimum requirements for certain operating systems but they don’t account for the real world where a typical user will have a number of applications open at the same time (e.g. a few pages on a Browser, a Word document and a spreadsheet). Each of these applications users further memory and if the PC doesn’t have enough then the information has to be put somewhere else, so it uses the hard disk which massively slows down operations as a hard disk reads and writes data significantly slower than RAM.

Here’s The PC Support Group’s guide to typical RAM requirements for business PC’s

Windows XP

When Windows XP came out, Microsoft quoted 128Mb as the recommended minimum. At the time that was barely adequate, but with all the updates and add-ons over time, it is now impossible to run with this amount of RAM

Just for the XP to operate smoothly and effectively we would recommend 512Mb but to accommodate any application use (which of course everyone requires) we would suggest an additional 512Mb giving an absolute minimum for a business PC running XP of 1Gb. Given the relatively low cost of RAM and the importance of users not being slowed down we would suggest that ideally this should be 2Gb if the rest of the system is well enough spec’d for reasonable performance.

Windows Vista

Yet again Microsoft’s minimum requirements for Windows Vista of 512Mb appear to be inadequate in the real world and more realistically the requirement for Vista Home Premium, Business and Ultimate is quadruple this (2Gb).

Windows 7

The good news is that one of the improvements with Windows 7 over Vista is that it is a bit more “lean and mean” and so doesn’t require any more RAM than its predecessor.

The argument for not having the right memory in every PC in a business simply doesn't add up. Even very small businesses could save thousands every year by investing just a few hundred pounds.


www.pcsupportgroup.com

Roomzzz - Welcome to Localventure

Roomzzz was inspired by the needs of both business and leisure travelers and offers a different twist on the classic serviced apartment by combining the best elements of a boutique hotel with the versatility and appeal of a stylish apartment.

Roomzzz Aparthotels consist of luxury studios, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and each apartment enjoys Apple Mac computers, stylish interiors, well equipped kitchens with SMEG appliances, specialist memory foam beds, complimentary wi-fi, local and national calls, widescreen LCD TV with Freeview, iPod docking station, plus much more! There is a stylish pantry enabling guests to stock up on essentials such as milk, bread, biscuits, toiletries etc and a free grab & go breakfast provided in the luxurious reception areas of the Manchester City and Leeds City Aparthotels.

Roomzzz has received national and international acclaim by travel operators and critics alike due to its affordable pricing matched with versatile living space and standard aparthotel services such as 24 hour concierge, housekeeping, laundry and dry cleaning.

All Roomzzz Aparthotels are based on the same core values of providing a ‘home from home’ with availability to book from one night to one year.

W. www.roomzzz.co.uk

Hotels in Leeds - 0113 233 0400
Hotels in Manchester - 0161 236 2121

ParkLane in Leeds - Welcome to Localventure

 

Parklane is a family owned estate agent/letting agent in Leeds. Our Headingley office specialises in student accommodation and commercial property in Leeds; however our City Centre office focuses on property for sale and property to rent predominantly within North Leeds and Leeds City Centre.

Parklane is a well respected estate agency / letting agency in Leeds. Our City Centre Office predominantly focuses on houses and flats for rent and for sale in North Leeds and the City Centre. The area is highly sought after making it a wise choice for those who want to buy or rent property in Leeds. There is a wide range of property types in this area including, large houses perfect for families and luxury apartments suitable for young professionals.

Parklane has the largest selection of student accommodation to rent in Leeds including houses, flats and flat/house shares. The majority of our properties are located in Headingley, Hyde Park, Burley, Chapel Allerton, Meanwood, City Centre and North Leeds and we can assist you in finding a suitable property in Leeds whether it be a student or professional let, a houseshare/flatshare (which are let on a room by room basis) or a property to buy. Our website provides information on each property including brochures, images, floorplans and in some cases 360 degree tours. We understand that students have increased their expectations of the type of property they want to rent during their university years and we have responded to this changing market by building brand new purpose-built student accommodation in Leeds such as Parklane Triangle on Burley Road, Parklane Central in Headingley, Parklane Mews in Meanwood and The Embankment on Cardigan Road. These developments all offer luxury student accommodation and have been exceptionally popular with our student market.

In addition to the above services, we also offer commercial property in Leeds, interior design advice and property maintenance.

Tel: 0113 230 4949

Email: LS6@parklaneproperties.com

Web: www.parklaneproperties.com

Morning to a glorious new week

This is my final full week of working on the blog prior to taking a weeks holiday over the easter break. I'm going to try and hit a new record of prospecting for new members and therefore a new record of additional businesses featured on the site too - fingers crossed !

I've already begun, getting a tranche of e-mails out this morning to small businesses in Leeds and Wakefield. If you're visiting as a result of either this or subsequent calls/e-mails later today, good morning and welcome to Localventure.

Our mission on this blog is to provide 'legendary support for small business'. In a nutshell you can advertise your business here for free. If you'd like to update with news or guest blogs that is also free. In addition we are building a growing platform of business and related services that you will be able to take advantage of also - in each case these services will either be aimed specifically toward the SME market offering something unique or alternatively provide a service for you at reduced cost which you would not otherwise be able to access so cheaply.

In addition we also have a monthly newsletter (a copy of which would have been attached to the e-mail you might have received) - if you'd like a pdf of the most recent version or you want more information on Localventure please e-mail me at venturelocal@gmail.com

Our first guest blog from Phil Bird of PC Support Group

One of the main aims of Localventure, aside from offering free advertising for small business was to create a site where important and interesting information could be located and generally a resource/community was created. With this in mind we are really pleased to formally welcome our first guest blogger to the site - Phil Bird the Managing Director of PC Support Group - a new Localventure member who went live earlier today.

Phil has chosen to discuss Cloud Computing as his first guest blog for us :

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is being talked about more and more and some are getting rather excited about it. This term is cropping up from technical seminars to the glossy magazines that come with your Sunday newspapers.

So what is cloud computing and how might it affect your business?

Cloud computing is a way of using computers where the computer resources (software and hardware) are provided as a service over the internet and are dynamically scalable and often virtual (i.e. not necessarily in one known place). What this means to users is that the information they use is stored on computers somewhere else (other than there local PC) and can be accessed where, when and how they want it.

Cloud computing customers don’t generally own the physical infrastructure on which the applications run and store the data. Instead, they rent usage from a third-party provider and then use the system as they need it, much as people use gas or electricity. The more resources they use (such as more users having access to an application or using more disk space for storing data) the more they pay.

This is a new term and is being hailed as a revolution with companies claiming to offer amazing cloud computing services.

The reality is that many businesses and home users are already using cloud computing without even realising it. Any business that uses an application operated by another company and accessed via a web browser is using cloud computing; any home user that uses a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace is using cloud computing.

The advantage of the cloud concept is that the information is held centrally (somewhere) and can be accessed from multiple locations using multiple devices.

So, should you jumping on the cloud computing band-wagon?

The chances are you’re already doing a bit. The question is, would your business benefit from using systems managed elsewhere?

The main advantages are:

• Reduced Initial Cost - Cloud technology is paid for over time saving up front capital expenditure.
• Increased and more flexible storage - Organisations can store more data than on private computer systems and increase it at will.
• Upgrades and fixes managed automatically – The service provider manages all software updates and ensures version compatibility removing the burden from the business.
• Flexibility - Cloud computing offers more flexibility (such as scalability and methods of access) than traditional computing methods.
• More Mobility - Employees can access information wherever they are, rather than having to remain at their desks.
• Allows IT to Shift Focus – Without the issues of server upgrades, hardware fixes, etc, the focus of IT can move further towards business benefits.

And the disadvantages…

• Lack of control of data storage – Users don’t physically possess the storage of their data (except where they back up to a local storage device which is sometimes possible) so responsibility of data storage and control in the hands of the provider. Can you be 100% sure that your data is safe?
• Confusion over responsibility – Given the virtual nature and complexity of cloud systems it is much more difficult for businesses to check and manage system changes from a business impact or a contractual perspective
• Compatibility issues – At this stage there is no sure way to know that different cloud solutions (as one provider is unlikely to provide everything you will ever need) will integrate and be compatible with each other.
• Being “locked in” to a provider - Cloud computing has been criticized for limiting the freedom of users and making them dependent on the cloud computing provider, and some critics have alleged that it is only possible to use applications or services that the provider is willing to offer.
• Privacy - Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, believes that cloud computing endangers liberties because users sacrifice their privacy and personal data to a third party. He stated that cloud computing is "simply a trap aimed at forcing more people to buy into locked, proprietary systems that would cost them more and more over time."
• Points of failure - Even if data is securely stored in a cloud, many factors can temporarily disrupt access to the data, such as network outages, viral attacks against the service provider, and a major failure of the service provider infrastructure.

So what’s our advice?

We recommend that a business considering cloud computing should review their needs and objectives alongside the pros and cons of cloud computing whilst also reviewing the alternatives in the same way.

 www.pcsupportgroup.com

RSS Studios Sheffield - Recording Time for Musicians

Recording Time for Musicians  

We provide music artists from new learners to advanced musical professionals ,the means , technology and experienced qualified staff to record their music in a clean new professional studio.We can cater for any genre of music from Hip Hop & Grime to Indy-rock, and classical and anything and everything in between without the killer price tag. 
The studio is fully soundproofed with slanted internal roof to increase soundproofing. 
We also have a TV lounge complete with DVD player , hot drinks , vending machine and HD Television to relax in. 


Price list: All prices are per hour unless other wise stated. 

£15ph for recording vocals (accapella or over a pre-made instrumental)

£20ph for recording vocals and instruments simultaneously Ie recording vocals and a Guitar. 

£25 per 3 hours for rehearsals

Please Contact Max on 0114 2720333 or 07983351630 to book a slot.

Address - Unit 12 City Road Trading Estate, Sheffield , S25HH
 Telephone - 0114 2720333
 Mobile      - 07983351630
 Website- Www.recordingstudiosheffield.co.uk
 Facebook- RSS Sheffield
 Twitter  - RSSStudioSheff   
E-mail - Maxrss@live.com

RSS Studios Sheffield - Ultimate X-Factor Child's Party

The ultimate X-factor Child's party (1)

The children spend 2 hours in a professional recording studio recording a song of their choice with a CRB checked and fully qualified sound engineer to mix down their track.
They then go on to enjoy snacks and soft drinks in our T.V lounge complete with HD Television , DVD player and vending machine.
After the Sound engineer has digitally mastered their track , each child receives a RSS Studios party bag complete with a Laserscribed CD with the Birthday Child's name on and the track they have just recorded.
£15 per child - Minimum of 8 and Maximum of 12.
Call Max on: 

0114 2720333 or 07983351630 to book your Child's party and be the best parent ever.

Address - Unit 12 City Road Trading Estate, Sheffield , S25HH
 Telephone - 0114 2720333
 Mobile      - 07983351630
 Website- Www.recordingstudiosheffield.co.uk
 Facebook- RSS Sheffield
 Twitter  - RSSStudioSheff   
E-mail - Maxrss@live.com

PC Support Group

We're pleased to welcome PC Support Group to Localventure, here are relevant details and contact information.

The PC Support Group specialises in providing high quality, cost effective IT support to small businesses and home users throughout the UK.

Customer Support:  0845 2233116

Web: www.pcsupportgroup.com

PC Home UK - Welcome to Localventure

PC Home UK was established in 2002.

With over 10 years in computer service industry, PCHOME UK is a progressive business offering PC, Laptop, Mac support & Web design solutions Including Search engine optimisation (SEO) to customers within the local area. PCHOME UK has a satisfied network of client all around the country as well as Beckenham. Recently we have expanded in to servicing some of our clients overseas.

In addition PC HOME UK offers different services to suit all your requirements!  From maintenance and repair of existing networks to setting up a new package, from large businesses even with off-site computers to individual home set ups. 

3 Deanson Court - 24 The Avenue - Beckenham -BR3 5EJ

Tel:  0208 289 3557

       0800 955 7191

Fax: 0208 658 2169

www.pchomeuk.net

My6Fytness - Personal Trainer in Manchester, Welcome to Localventure

We're really pleased to welcome Andy and My6Fytness in Manchester to Localventure

Here's the basic information on his business provided by Andy

I am a personal trainer that takes the gym to the
client so it`s convenient and time saving.I use all the very latest
technology and training methods.


Andy is also working to perfect a work out system that increases testosterone levels and can help with low sperm counts and infertility. After discovering his own sperm count was down to one sperm - and 'he' wasn't very well !!!. 
He worked with low reps high weight and high reps low weight to boost his sperm count to over 44million. The baby is due in November - more information to follow.


T. 07929 126074
W. www.m6fytness.com

Book Review - The Life Coaching Handbook by Curly Martin

This is a book that I had planned to read for a while, however it did seem to make some relatively grandiose claims - the subtitle being : "Everything you need to be an effective life coach". So does the book live up to expectations and its own spin. Well basically yes !

Whilst I certainly wouldn't recommend setting up a life coaching business on the back of having read one book it certainly does cover (in varying levels of complexity) most of the main issues that an aspiring coach would come up against from business formation, to basic coaching principles to more advanced techniques and  finishing with sections on coach specialisation.

Whether you are an aspiring coach or simply - as most of my blog readers will be - a business person looking to improve their personal effectiveness in a number of areas I would recommend this book as a solid 'self help' tome. Indeed many of the principles and ideas might send you off to look for your own life or executive coach and I think that if the book succeeds on any level it's that it highlights some of the key areas we could all improve on and suggests some interesting starting points for further work and reading.

Curly Martin is a knowledgeable and confident writer and the book brims over with her enthusiasm for the subject - one of my personal 'key traits' is a positive mental attitude and this book certainly affirms that principle.

Welcome to the Localventure blog

I have spent some considerable time prospecting today so hopefully we will have a few visits from business owners in Leeds and Sheffield today. If you want more information please do not hesitate to get in touch on venturelocal@gmail.com

Wating to be Paid in Sheffield - Welcome to Localventure

Waiting to be paid is the South Yorkshire Agent for Cashflow Protector.  Here is a little about how we can help businesses with Slow and Late Payers.

 

Cashflow Protector is a powerful Cashflow management service that Radically improves your payment Rates. It save you time, money and the

Effort of chasing payments. Supporting all your existing accounts Functions, Cashflow Protector is a Low-cost web-enabled service that is

Easy to use and has proven results. Cashflow Protector secures payments Faster - and frees you up to do what You do best: Run your business!

How does it work?

Step 1: Invoice your client.

Step 2: If payment isn’t received within the terms agreed, register that invoice on our secure website.

Step 3: Leave the rest to Cashflow Protector® to chase payment On your behalf.

You decide which invoices need our attention, and you can monitor the Progress of payments in real time. Our unique procedures protect your

Relationship with your client - so while we manage the payment process For you, you can concentrate on meeting your customers’ needs.

We have been championed by Working Lunch, The Financial times, Daily Mail, The Sun to name few.

www.waitingtobepaid.com

info@waitingtobepaid.com

46 Peterborough Road,Sheffield. S10 4JE

SpotUV Super Luxury Business Cards - Welcome to Localventure

What does your business card say about you? When you need to create that lasting first impression.. Super Luxury Spot UV Gloss Business Cards are the only choice.

What is Spot UV Gloss?Spot UV Gloss varnish is a raised high gloss clear coating which can be precisely overlaid on top your business card, combined with Matt Lamination it creates a striking effect that will get you noticed and get you ahead!!!

All our Super Luxury Business Card are printed full colour, double sided on extra thick 400gsm card, matt laminated both sides and Spot UV Gloss applied to one side. You cant get better than this, at our price!!

To make things better, we are offering all readers of Local Venture, FREE UPGRADE to 1000 business cards,
So all you pay is £79 for 1000 cards inc delivery (Normally £199+vat).
Make sure you quote ‘Local Venture’ when ordering!


Visit us at www.spotuv.co.uk or call us today on 0161 610 6007

Update from Born Ready Design in Huddersfield

This is a transcript of a recent article from the local Huddersfield newspaper about Born Ready Design and owner Shaun Gilbert :

A graduate from Huddersfield University is set to take on his first employee - after securing a footing in the competitive world of design and marketing. 

Shaun Gilbert launched full service design and marketing company Born Ready Design Ltd in 2008 while in his final year through the university’s Business Mine.

Now he is set to recruit an employee after being awarded a £ 1,000 grant from the university to investigate new opportunities for his budding business.

Shaun made a splash with his final year project, called Captain Maria - The Quest, which aimed to motivate children aged seven to 13 to get involved in exercise and learning.

The project, set aboard a pirate ship, had chuildren taking on the role of Captain Maria’s crew on a quest to find five elements.

During his final year, Shaun also won the contract to design and build a website for Deighton- based organisation the Parents of Black Children Association.

He has also worked for a leading design agency on brands including Speedo, Gatecrashers and Sleepmasters.

After graduating in June last year, he created a full branding for Halifax restaurant Cactus Joe’s.

Since then, he has also worked on projects for Argento Steakhouse and CIBO restaurant in Huddersfield.

At Argento, he tackled the branding of the website, menus and marketing marerial.

He has also won business as far away as Nottingham - designing and marketing an upmarket beauty salon called The Abbey.

Shaun now works from the Media Centre, Northumberland Street.

He Said: “My aim in 2010 is to continue working closely with clients to build on our success and to win new business. I was awarded a £ 1,000 start-up grant from the Business Mine to put towards developing services further to assist restaurants. 

SME Localventure news - 1st Edition

Legendary Support for small local business and entrepreneurs.

The above sentence is the raison d’etre for Localventure. Everything we do is driven by the desire to support small business in the UK & make your life as small business a little easier. The genesis of the idea for this new weblog came around the time I launched my own small business (www.prestigewhisky.com) in June 2009. The business had been in development for around 12 months at that stage & I rapidly discovered as we moved towards launch that there were a lot of hoops to jump through but that these were minor compared to the challenge of actually attracting & acquiring clients. Fortunately I have a background in sales & marketing with an active interest in the internet and e-commerce. Even so, getting my business to market & making it visible to my chosen client demographic has

been a real, on-going challenge. With that in mind the idea of providing more generic support for other business owners began to grow in my mind towards the end of 2009.

Originally I set up www.localventure.blogspot.com as a kind of experiment. A live forum to enable me to play around with ideas on business support & client acquisition (the member model is driven largely by e-mail shots). However, launching the site on the 19th of January 2010 it quickly became apparent that there was a real need for almost a ‘community’ that understood the mindset of SME’s. So the idea began to develop & we now have building towards 100 members with more joining every week. We have around 700 people visiting the site on a monthly basis & over 300 followers on Twitter - these figures are literally growing daily.

In the future, we plan to retain the care of the LV idea which is free advertising for businesses & of course, articles, comment, guest blogs - really anything that is of

interest to small business owners. However in addition to this we are also hoping to add in a whole tranche of member exclusive offers and discounts for you if you join up (for free). Over time we may add in higher level of membership to the site & charge for this additional service but our commitment is to keep the core service free for our early adopters. This newsletter is planned as a monthly affair so we’ll keep you updated on developments plus watch the blog.

What does the future hold for Localventure ?

We recently began discussions with our web designer (BWeb in Woking -

www.bwebsites.co.uk) and are working on a more professional site that will enable us to feature our advertising members more effectively as well as showcase some of the new services that we plan to offer in coming months. The aim is that your potential customers will find the content you give us more easily and we can increase the range of support and interesting business related services that we offer you as well. So it will be an exciting 2010 moving forward with a new website to come, more members, more information and services for you to choose from.

Localventure Newsletter - now live

The very first edition of "SME Localventure" this blogs official news letter is now ready and available in pdf format. It will shortly be e-mailed to all current members and I'll also transpose a copy of the articles to the blog as well.

If you are a non member who has visited either on spec or as a result of my prospecting please feel free to drop me an e-mail through requesting a copy of the pdf. It will give you a feel for the reasons behind the site and how I hope to develop it in the future.