HubFizz

06/09/2022

Running A Successful CIC Producing Eco Products & Employing People With Disabilities

On this week's show we chat with Sharon Tooke from Norfolk Industries about working with people with disabilities, developing products that are made from recycled materials or are plastic free, managing a business for which profit is not the first objective.

Norfolk Industries has been around for over 100 years, starting life as Norwich Workshops for the Blind. They are now part of a Community Interest Company producing products from recycled materials, employing people with disabilities and providing work placements to others in the local community.

Sharon started working there in 1996 as the PA to the previous 2 General Managers and then was offered the opportunity to step into the Managers position and grabbed it with both hands.

It's been her life's work to develop Norfolk Industries from an old sheltered workshop format depending heavily upon Local Authority funding to working towards operating as a financially viable business.

They now generate 97% of our income from the sale of goods and just 3% comes from Access to Work funding.

VIEW HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi_2hA1rAbE

Sign up here to have the show delivered to your inbox along with more ideas to grow your business and make it greener - https://hubfizz.uk/

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MORE ABOUT NORFOLK INDUSTRIES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE HERE:
https://www.norfolkindustries.co.uk/
http://twitter.com/norfolkindust
http://www.facebook.com/nidp.norfolk
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharontooke/

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ABOUT THE HUBFIZZ ECO BIZ SHOW:

The show is always a snappy 10 minute interview with business owners, ecopreneurs, changemakers and thought leaders who share their expertise, insights and stories to provide you with tips and inspiration to grow your business and make it greener.

We’re all about impactful change and our community cares about the planet, our footprint on it and how if we pull together we can increase business while decreasing our negative impact on the environment.

Find out more here - https://hubfizz.uk/eco-biz-show/

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On this week's show we chat with Sharon Tooke from Norfolk Industries for Disabled People about working with people with disabilities, developing products th...

21/09/2021

GREEN PR & TELLING YOUR SUSTAINABILITY STORY

On this week's show I chat with Caroline Aistrop from Green Spark Marketing who specialises in green PR and sustainability storytelling.

For over 30 years, Caroline has focused on inspiring people to be fascinated about the natural world and to make greener choices. She helps businesses, especially owners of small businesses, to tell the stories of all they're doing to be eco-responsible so they can both attract more customers and persuade others to become greener. This involves helping them to craft their stories and then tell these through their PR.

Caroline also specialises in the psychology of green (how people react to environmental messages) and how biodiversity and business are dependent upon each other.

She has been focused on being greener for many years and decided to work in wildlife conservation when she was 13 years old and that's guided her life ever since.

The HubFizz Show is always a snappy 10 minutes packed full of interesting and useful content and this week is no different.

** Caroline is running a coaching programme about telling your sustainability story in October so connect with her on social media to find out more.

She is also running a free 30 min webinar on Telling Your Sustainability Story next week - REGISTER HERE https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/telling-your-sustainability-story-a-bite-size-intro-tickets-168294596669 **

Find out more about Caroline here:
www.greensparkmarketing.co.uk
www.linkedin.com/in/carolineaistrop
Twitter:
Facebook:



https://youtu.be/PYSMZf4s1dA

On this week's show we chat with Caroline Aistrop who specialises in green PR and sustainability storytelling under the business name of Green Spark Marketin...

28/07/2021

POTATO MILK ANYONE?

Last night I found out all about a new plant based milk option - Potato Milk!

They say it’s white, milky, better for the planet – and even works in a cappuccino!

This is from the article:

"How do you milk a potato?
You heat it up and then emulsify it with rapeseed oil, although the exact process is a bit of a trade secret.

How is it better?
It’s vegan-friendly, and free from common allergens such as lactose, gluten and nuts. It’s also low in sugar and saturated fats and is fortified with calcium, vitamin D and folic acid.

And how is better for the planet?
Potato-growing produces considerably less CO2 than dairy farming and uses about half the land it takes to grow the equivalent amount of oats.

Fine, I’ll switch to almond milk.
Are you insane? Almonds use up huge amounts of water – about 130 pints to produce a single glass. Potato milk uses 56 times less water.

What about soya milk?
Some soya has a bad reputation when it comes to illegal deforestation to meet global agricultural demands. Potatoes do not.

It comes in three styles: original, barista and unsweetened, and sells for between £2 and £4 a litre."

Find out more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jul/27/smash-hit-is-potato-milk-the-ultimate-vegan-option

What is your favourite milk and would you try potato milk?

It’s white, milky, better for the planet – and even works in a cappuccino

22/07/2021

HOW MUCH DOES A WEBSITE COST?

This is a question I get often and one that's hard to answer until I know what's needed.

It depends on many factors such as the time it takes to create the website, what functionality is required, how many pages, what guidance and support is needed and so on.

But let's say you want a simple 6 page WordPress site:
💚 Time to create: approx 4 full days
💚 Time from start to launch: 4 – 6 weeks allowing for feedback, revisions, working around other commitments and client getting content together
💚 Cost: £1200

Want more pages or some payment buttons or email sign up? Then you are looking between £1400 & £1600.

Want a shop, calendar and event bookings too? Then you may be looking in the region of £1500 to £1800 or more depending on how much there is to do or how complex.

There are also external costs such as domain, hosting, imagery, branding, copywriting.

WHY DOES THE TIME & PRICE DIFFER SO MUCH FROM ONE WEB DESIGNER TO ANOTHER?

When it comes to TIME some can do it a lot quicker if they have nothing else on or a big team or they stick to a set template.

When it comes to COST, it could be cheaper if they're starting out or outsource or don't customise the site much to your business (some who do this still charge a lot more regardless).

When it comes to my Website Design services I base it on the amount of time I think it will take me (based on 11 yrs experience) at a preferred daily rate of £280 (rather than hourly).

So if you give me a budget of £600 (which would equate to working at minimum wage because I'm not going to throw it into a template which I or the you won't be happy with) then you may have to look elsewhere.

WHEN YOU WORK WITH ME YOU GET:
💚 An honest and fair price that gives you great value and also keeps my business sustainable – so I may not the cheapest but I am also not out to just make profit to the detriment of doing good or not being able to help small businesses - and I offer payment plans too!
💚 A great looking website you can be proud of and feel confident promoting
💚 A functional and responsive WordPress website that expresses your brand personality and aligns with business objectives - a lot of time and thought goes into font choices, colours, styling and layouts before getting to the desired result which represents you and your business
💚 To feel listened to and included in the process and decision making
💚 Advice and strategic thinking throughout the process
💚 Help clarifying how your website is structured and presented so that it's easy to navigate
💚 A framework of what to include on your pages (many people struggle with content)

I hope that gives you a bit more insight into web design costs and time. Next time I'll discuss process and what's involved in the website build process and what takes the time.

I'd love to hear your feedback, experiences and any questions you may have.

15/07/2021

ON PERFECTIONISM IN LIFE & BUSINESS

There is a saying “If something is not eating your plants, then your garden is not part of the ecosystem” and anyway there is usually plenty to go around.

As you can see my garden is pretty “wild” and has a little pond and we have all sorts of life including frogs, a hedgehog, bees, bumblebees, butterflies, damselflies, hoverflies, snails, regular birds visiting and we even had a visit to next door from a heron and this is in Norwich where it is quite built up!

There are about 7 types of grasses which have popped up, several wild flowers and it feels like a meadow to me - I love it!

I also grow several companion plants together in each of the raised beds too and this along with all the diversity and insect and animal life seems to help them thrive.

So I don’t want it to be perfect!

Likewise that applies to life and business too. If you strive for perfectionism it can seem unauthentic, not raw and too clinical and also possibly will stop things from getting done.

I have worked on 100’s of websites for clients over the last 12 years and perfectionism leads to procrastination which leads to nothing being online and losing valuable time and decreased visibility.

I know people really struggle with content - both text and images - and I offer guides for that or suggest working with a brand specialist to get these foundations in place for imagery and brand messaging which make it easier to then produce content or brief a copywriter or photographer.

Also I have also found that once something is up in public, you are more inspired to work with it and you can keep tweaking and improving things to get better results.

Some things won’t work or produce the results you want but that is ok. We learn from that.

We are all business owners trying to lead a sustainable business and life and thrive.

We are all part of the ecosystem.

Not everything in life and business is perfect.

Don’t give up.. just try. It is by trying and taking action that we learn and can improve and do better. Get support and don’t feel afraid to reach out and ask people for help or feedback.

What are your thoughts on perfectionism and what I’ve discussed here?

07/07/2021

MY WEBSITE DESIGN MANIFESTO / PRINCIPLES

When it comes to website design.....

💚 There needs to be more conscious businesses with a great impact online so they become more popular.

💚 People should not be sold something they don’t need – the solution should be unique like you.

💚 The website creation process should be collaborative and inclusive, so you can put your own stamp on it and feel a sense of pride and achievement.

💚 Struggling with technology is very common and you should be able to ask any questions without feeling embarrassed or silly.

💚 That working in a patient, honest and transparent way that respects one another’s boundaries, will avoid awkwardness, bad surprises and frustration.

💚 Creating a website can be overwhelming, so having the right support and guidance can make creating your website painless, simple and fun!

💚 It takes time and ongoing effort to make your website visible and get results (it would be nice if “build it and they will come” were true or you popped up immediately on Page 1 of Google for a competitive search phrase).

💚 Having a good foundation for your brand (not just a logo) will amplify the results you get from your website.

💚 Bringing your brand personality and essence to life on your website and aligning with your goals, will help attract your ideal clients and grow your business.

💚 A well thought out and easy to navigate website will make it easier for your visitors to find what they need (and likely reduce your carbon footprint too).

💚 Your website should be easy to understand, transparent and not manipulative including showing prices, not giving false promises, not using scare tactics and not using unethical sales tactics.

💚 Your website is the hub of your marketing activity, a place where customers engage, buy and return .

💚 Your website needs to be reviewed and changed ongoing in response to changes in your business, your clients, your offerings and the search engines.

💚 The internet consumes a lot of electricity from powering data centres, to internet searches to viewing websites on a device. By choosing local green hosting for your website and continually decluttering and optimising your website, you can reduce your digital footprint.

💚 You deserve a website you will love and can be proud of and feel confident promoting … and one which will serve as a source of inspiration and gratification as well as attract potential clients so they can benefit from what you have to offer.

Have I missed any or repeated myself? I'd love your input and feedback. Or Let me know if you have a manifesto or set of principles for your business!

07/07/2021

Small Business Chat: Demystifying PR For Your Business

Have you considered PR for your business? What questions did you/do you have? What is the biggest barrier for you?

- The cost of PR?
- How PR works? (Understanding what PR actually does?)
- The role of PR supporting your business goals?
- How to measure and evaluate success of PR?

The majority of clients will seek PR support because they want media coverage. Media relations remain at the heart of PR (94% of PR pros do some form of media relations*).

Most clients a blend of strategic comms planning, collaborations, and partnerships planning, content coordination, issues management, industry recognition, community and or internal comms, along with their required media relations.

During the pandemic, the reputation of PR was elevated as the industry demonstrated its resilience as a valuable comms function for businesses of all sizes.

*The State Of PR 2021 study by Muck Rack surveying over 1,600 PR professionals revealed:
• 73% of PR pros believe ‘public relations’ will need to be redefined in the next 5 years.
• 95% of PRs expect budgets to increase or stay the same
• Reporting on website impact grew to 66% from 52% in 2020
• Reporting on social media impact grew to 78% from 69% in 2020
• The three top skills predicted for the next 5 years were strategic planning (88%, media relations (77%) and social media (72%).

We start our series on helping business owners demystify PR to better understand what it is, how it's evolved over the years so they can use it for maximum impact and where if fits within their business objectives.

Don't forget to sign up to our email to receive this episode directly to your inbox here:
https://hubfizz.uk/

Catch up with all previous episodes here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/331100940380854/527954121202861

And here on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1cpe_XsbR2ajCv2IQ7KPT2KwIkX2hHRc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vZURk5y0Lo

Have you considered PR for your business? What questions did you/do you have? What is the biggest barrier for you?- The cost of PR?- How PR works? (Understan...

01/07/2021

A VERY SIMPLE BUSINESS FRAMEWORK

I find most business plans quite overwhelming, how about you?

I have always been on the search for a very simple business framework and I just loved this one from my go to marketing guru Tad Hargrave from Marketing for Hippies:

💚 SAFE - give a free sample - make it easy for people to check you out with little risk - social media, blogs, a PDF download, a lead magnet, video or audio

💚 SUSTAINABLE - make the business sustainable for you to run it - time, energy, financially

💚 SIMPLE - not too many levels, don't over complicate with too many offerings

💚 SATISFY - start with your lifestyle and build your business around that

Following the “S’s” I have also added a few of my own:

💙 SOCIAL - start connecting and regularly engage with people, whether that be on social media, community platforms, networking groups, or via email or a phone call.

💙 SHOW UP - be consistent in what you do and look back at your vision when your feel your are straying off course

💙 STAND OUT - find your niche and what makes you different - look at your purpose, values, target audience and be authentic

💙 SERVE - serve your clients and community rather than sell at.

💙 SECURE - make sure you build diversity into your offerings so your business is more resilient when things change including different platforms, different services and packages and collaborations

What simple business plans and frameworks have you come across or what else would you add to this?

28/06/2021

DO I REALLY NEED A WEBSITE?

I've heard this question come up quite a lot. It can be a big investment either in time or cost, so if this is an issue then I always suggest at least get a landing page up.

Some say what about just having a page? There are several problems with this:
- A friend of mine recently had her Facebook profile hacked and it disappeared. She luckily got it back after 2 days but during that time couldn't access her pages and messenger which she was using to converse with clients.
- Even though people like your page, only a small percentage actually see your posts so you are constantly at the mercy of the Facebook algorithm

What about a LinkedIn profile? I would use this over Facebook. It is a great platform to attract and find ideal clients and build relationships and showcase what you do, but you'd have to link somewhere to buy things.

Reasons for having a website:
- It's the hub of your marketing activity, a place where customers engage, buy and return.
- It gives you credibility and legitimacy for your business
- It offers a place to showcase your services and portfolio and find out more about you, your values and your point of view
- It can be your online shop where people can buy products and services from you or book a workshop or event
- It's open to EVERYONE - some people may not be on social media or the channels you focus on
- It's easier to find what you are looking for rather than scrolling through lots of social media posts
- It is a place to build further trust with your ideal clients and demonstrate your expertise and experience
- You can be specific on what you do, who for and what you offer so it acts as a filter to only attract ideal clients and filter out those who are not. Also by putting prices and enough information on your site it can avoid those awkward sales conversations
- You can share some free information for those wanting to check you out
- You can write blogs and be found for various topics that people may be searching for on search engines
- You can add analytics so you can understand what people are doing on your site and what is working or not
- It can offer links to all your other online channels where they can engage with you
- You're in control of it and what you say, how you present it and how people find things
- You own it (that is if you have a self hosted website like Wordpress and are not using something like Squarespace or Shopify)
- If you self host you can choose green hosting so reducing your online carbon footprint.

Yes there are some algorithms to play with when it comes to people finding you for what you do, for example “midlife coach in London” or “sustainability consultant in Norwich” but then there are ways to improve the possibility of being found for certain search terms and this can be done organically or via paid ads.

What are your thoughts about having a website - crucial or not? Or do you have some additions for this list?

23/06/2021

THE COVID-19 CRISIS HAS NOT MADE THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY GO AWAY.

Six young people from Portugal are taking 33 countries to the European Court of Human Rights for failing to do their part to avert climate catastrophe.

Climate change remains the single greatest threat to humanity and the need for a radical transition away from fossil fuels is as urgent as ever. It is still possible for governments to prevent this threat if they commit to a from the Covid-19 crisis. But time is quickly running out. And the science is clear: European governments are still not doing enough.

That’s why six children and young adults from Portugal are taking thirty-three of these governments to court. They are already experiencing record-breaking heatwaves and devastating forest fires on a scale never seen before. Without urgent measures to keep fossil fuels in the ground, their generation faces a future dominated by deadly weather extremes. By taking this case, they are adding their voices to the global fight for climate justice.

Find our more here - https://youth4climatejustice.org/

I think they are all very brave and it's their future they are fighting for. Have you noticed a lot of change during Covid as relates to the climate crisis?

Portuguese young people versus 33 countries

17/06/2021

WEBSITE FOR SUZY ROSE - TRANSFORMATIONAL COACH

This project was for a brand and website refresh as well as name changing from Suzy Pool to Suzy Rose. It is another collaborative project with the amazing Big Idea Brand Marketing. We have been working together on client projects for almost 10 years.

What Suzy said:
"I wanted to rebrand and expand my business. I needed to attract new clientele and come up with a new business plan & strategy. I've learned so much about myself and my offerings. Each stage of working with BIG IDEA and HUBFIZZ has been a revelation for me. It was challenging for me to go through the whole rebrand process as I had not appreciated how much was really involved. I was given all the support and direction I needed and a clear path to follow every step of the way. I would never have done this myself, the discipline and self exploration was incredible for me. It was nothing short of perfection from start to finish and I was given and option to take a short cut, which was on occasion very tempting, to get things done more quickly. I began to see why each stage of the process was crucial and necessary as it would represent me in every way as the finished and polished product. For that I am extremely grateful. I feel so very proud and it feels such a massive accomplishment. I'm continuing my work with them to create a marketing strategy and look forward to bringing in more clients and greater sales."

We are so pleased with the result and that Suzy Rose loves her new brand and website. We look forward to continuing to work with her to add more great functionality to the website and increase conversions and sales.

Visit the new website here https://suzyrose.com/

⭐️ Look out for our new BigFizz collaboration website coming soon. We work with ethical business owners who are purpose-driven, values-based and strive to make the world a better place – because that’s our aim too. Our various packages will help you bring your change to the world and tell your story effectively with an engaging and meaningful brand and website. ⭐️

Do you collaborate with others in business? I'd love to hear what and who and how they are going!

10/06/2021

WEBSITE FOR CAMBRIDGE TRAVEL GUIDE

CB Travel Guide showcases the Local gems of Cambridge curated by a local.

Taking inspiration from her valued food tour guests, local food blogger and founder of the Cambridge Food Tour, Gerla de Boer, decided to create the ultimate Cambridge Travel Guide.

Many locals felt like strangers in their own home and had difficulty locating information on the goings-on in Cambridge and wished for a central hub to make it easier. So during the first lockdown, in 2020, Gerla answered their call and created the Cambridge Travel Guide, bringing all the activities Cambridge has to offer together on one centralised portal.

You can find exciting independent businesses, pop up events, street food markets, special events and local restaurants. And that is not all. The Cambridge Travel Guide will keep you in the loop with vibrant festivals celebrating Cambridge’s rich cultural diversity, food and music.

Gerla does so much for the local community and independent businesses and I'm so happy to be part of creating another great business website for her.

VISIT THE SITE - https://www.cbtravelguide.co.uk/

LIKE THE FACEBOOK PAGE - CB Travel guide

Have you visited Cambridge and if so what did you enjoy and what would you like to do?

The CB travel guide is the ultimate Cambridge Travel guide curated by the local food blogger Gerla de Boer.