Community Introductions & Networking [no links please]

[Henry Osadzinski]

Welcome to the Yorkshire & Humberside community introductions thread. This is a new space for people in the local area to come in, say hello and let everyone know what their hopes and goals are from their time on UK Business Forums.

Feel free to introduce yourself here and make others feel welcome If you know someone in your area who may benefit from joining in, be sure to let them know about us as well.

While you're welcome to let people know what you're working on and a bit of background, please avoid anything that could come across as a sales pitch and, even if you're an established member, please don't link to your business here. The idea is to give people a chance to get to know each other and what's going on in their region.

Thanks!

 

[ORDERED WEB]

Hi I'm Richard,

I posted in the East Midlands thread too as I'm pretty much on the edge of the two areas. I work with a lot of customers in the Yorkshire/Humber area

Besides being the local jazz/music nut, I am a serious professional photographer. I shoot everything from weddings to products (no nude and rude)

We are a husband and wife team offering photography and wedding /event planning. We moved into Lincolnshire a couple of years ago to enjoy a slightly calmer pace of life in the countryside

I have a odd background - 20 years in Retail optics, starting as a spectacle maker, ending up managing and running whole groups. In between I have worked as a freelance web developer, with a particular interest in e-commerce and marketing

 

[jacksgentlemen]

Hi guys

I'm Steve and I offer a business plan and financial forecasting writing service to assist businesses with finance applications. I also sense check existing plans and recommend changes.

Coming from a business banking background means I know what the banks are looking for and am able to provide you with comprehensive documents optimising your chance of success.

Other than that I love any form of sport and spending time with my young family.

Any queries PM me.

 

[CarolineGebbie]

I just wanted to introduce myself and my new business venture as a freelance journalist. I can write website copy, articles, staff and training manuals or any other writing you may need. I am a qualified accountant so hope to be able to help out on the forums. I am looking for help in starting my business and may need to bounce ideas off someone more experienced.
Caroline

 

[Calino]

Hello, just recently discovered this website. I am running a web design, SEO and marketing agency in Leeds. The business only started in April; so I am still learning as I go along. I have found lots of useful events in the Leeds area, such as networking and seminars aimed at start-ups. I am hoping to gain some more advice from this forum and chip in to help others where possible too!

 

[WillheRecover4u]

Hello to everybody on this forum my name is Dave I run a data recovery business in South Yorkshire. Due to customer demand I am looking for somebody to repair notebook motherboards faults and screens replacements mostly Toshiba and Dell preferably in the Yorkshire area.
Anybody got any local contacts

 

[DarrenMcCabe]

Hey will, we are based in Wakefield and we may be able to offer the services you require, however without wanting to talk myself out of a job, laptop repairs of screen are usually not worth the investment due to the time it would take to complete the task and purchase the parts.

If you have any that are in need of repair at the moment, give me a call on 0845 621 6660 and let me know the make/model and the nature of the repair, I can give you a price and can go from there.

 

[Steve_g]

Hey will, we are based in Wakefield and we may be able to offer the services you require, however without wanting to talk myself out of a job, laptop repairs of screen are usually not worth the investment due to the time it would take to complete the task and purchase the parts.

If you have any that are in need of repair at the moment, give me a call on 0845 621 6660 and let me know the make/model and the nature of the repair, I can give you a price and can go from there.

Cant really help as im in N'hampton but don't see why LCD isn't possible? its only a 10 min job to swap a display and depending on the model LCD's can be purchased for as little as £30.

Toshiba boards you may however struggle with as they tend to suffer from BGA issues and not many places have the ability to re-flow.

Steve

 

[crackerbox]

New on here and just want to introduce ourselves. We are an ironing company called Creased Lightning and we cover Sheffield and some parts of Rotherham. Looking forward to being a part of the forum and getting to know other businesses in our area

 

[BrocasVennerWheeler]

Hi All,

I'm Robert Taylor, Proprietor of an online Antiques, Vintage & Collectables Company, on here for a good ol' business chin wag and to hopefully learn something on the way.

I'm based in Sheffield and travel around the North, checking out Auctions, Antiques Fairs ect. It's a tough old life!!

If you have any Antiques etc and don't know what it is, do get in touch and I'll see if I can help you put some names and history to it.

Hope we find everyone well and thanks for checking out my post!

 

[cakeboy]

Love the name !

I bet you have a ball when you are planning all your marketing....

 

[BusinessTeam]

Hi and welcome, we are not in your area but always good to see new businesses joining the forum.

Richard

 

[Yorkshire&Online]

Hi Crackerbox, do you use an automatic, systematic or hydromatic machine?!

Look forward to helping you if I can.

 

[missynatalie]

Hey guys! Looking for personal recommendations for stationary designers, specifically business cards at the moment. Hopefully they will be in and around Leeds.

Natalie

 

[projectfriday]

Hello!

I founded Project Friday in 2009, originally as a Freelance Web & Graphic Designer. In 2011 I brought in several team members due to the heavy workload. We are a small yet perfectly formed team, committed to delivering Web Design, Print Design, Copywriting and Email Marketing services. I love my work, however always welcome the chance to step away from my desk, going out to network and visit potential clients at their office. We've received 5 star reviews on our work, and we've received lovely comments from those looking at our portfolio - It makes my job well worth the long hours!

Dawn - Project Friday

 

[Yorkshire&Online]

For anoyone else reading this thread who is also Yorkshire based, I know a very good marketing and website company who do also get involved with logos and stationary design etc.

They are called Design That Fits and are based in Huddersfield.

 

[Yorkshire&Online]

My name is Andrew from Brown Royd Accountants & Tax Advisers based in Huddersfield.

My firm is a small independent accountancy firm that offers a more personal and cost effective approach to accounts, tax and bookkeeping for small businesses and private individuals to ensure tax payers receive ongoing advice throughout the year (not just at the year end) to help minimise their tax and costs without paying high accountancy fees.

I hope to offer suitable help and assistance on the forum wherever possible and as time allows!

 

[Wiggins Aerodyne]

I have to agree with Steve. The motherboards are generally not worth repairing as you can usually purchase new boards on eBay for a reasonable price. The best priced boards tend to be located in the USA or China, so be prepared to wait a couple of weeks if you take this route. Screens are quite easy to replace, I generally charge for the cost of the screen plus £10 labour.

Some of the Toshibas with the extra wide 15.6" LCD screens are getting expensive to source replacements as they are no longer manufactured. There are various adaptor kits available allowing the newer LED type screens to be used instead, (but when I tried one it blew the laptop motherboard so I would be inclined to steer clear of those).

I work closely with a couple of computer recycling companies, and we always have plenty of laptop screens in stock, especially for the older Acers, Dells, Toshibas and Asus laptops.

I have also purchased several new laptop screens from a company based down in Weston Super Mare who regularly advertise on eBay. They always provide good products and service.

So in summary, screen replacement is now a very viable repair option on the majority of laptop computers, and once you know what you are doing and have the right tools, the actual job should only take about 15 minutes including cleaning off the grubby fingerprints from the screen after installation.

 

[468bookkeeping]

Hi,
I would like to introduce my company 468bookkeeping to the Networking community.
We look forward to networking with you in the future.


Merry Christmas
Darren
468bookkeeping

 

[BusinessTeam]

Hi Darren,

Welcome and Merry Christmas to you also.

Do you have a website you could PM me?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Hi Darren and welcome to UKBF.

 

[Mossvalleybs]

Hello and happy new year

Thought we would pop and introduction in here too!

We are an bookkeeping and accounts service which also offers business advisory services.

Located in East Yorkshire but we do cover the whole of the UK, we are fully qualified bookkeepers and fully insured.

Looking forward to getting to know you better.

Regards

MBS

 

[SuperAirCon]

Hi guys,

Ive recently started an air conditioning business called Flair Energy in Leeds. We cover all of Yorkshire. Business fascinates me and Im looking to share ideas with people about my business and their own.

Cheers, Dan

 

[Gurj]

Hi I'm Gurj and am here mainly due to the setting up of a new Convenience Store in Leeds which will be part time and hopefully bring me in some additional income.

I am also a Commercial manager for a engineering consultancy F/T

Am looking forward to meeting some like minded individuals as time goes on.

 

[SalinaRoy]

Hi everyone. Greeting to all members of this forum. I am Salina, 26 years old, new member of this forum. I have joined this forum to take part in discussion and to share my thoughts and knowledge regarding the different topics of the forum. I want to learn more about business and I Hope for your support and cooperation. You also enjoy my stay here.

 

[PamperedPooches]

Hi,

I'm Freya, I am currently opening a new dog grooming business that offer unique services in comparison with other groomers.

I have tried a variety of ways of advertising my business which are bringing me in new customer, however I am still looking for new ways to bring in more clients and new ways of advertising. If anyone has any effective ideas?

 

[amphis software]

I've seen some great dog grooming business vans with huge cartoon pictures of dogs on them which look great and are memorable. I think one had a dog in a bath. also some great number plates to match. you just need to drive around or park up somewhere that lots of people walk or drive past.

maybe park the van near a vets practice.

also get some t-shirts and hoodies with a great cartoon picture of a dog on them and wear them where lots of people walk their dogs.

Tom

 

[simon field]

Have a dabble with google adwords and see what happens.

 

[ITsoldUK]

Have a dabble with google adwords and see what happens.

Indeed.

Cast your net wide and you can then trim the keywords out that arent working...

Sent from my GT-I9300 using UK Business Forums

 

[BusinessTeam]

Hi,

Might be worth looking at FaceBook ads as you can limit your budget to pay per click, target those who have an interest in dogs and specify a geographical area to promote your ads.

Well worth a try

Good luck with your business

Richard

 

[Berkshire Business]

Hi, I agree with trying all the above. It's best to advertise is many different ways to ensure you get the buisness. - Have you tried leaflets, business cards? Posting in the free ads or even advertising in shop windows. Good luck.

 

[Rich Best]

Dog grooming is a niche business so Facebook Ads may well be a great idea for a marketing strategy. Try and get the ad's target audience to be pretty specific so you're not spending lots of money on the wrong audience.

I wouldn't go for free-ads as I don't think that's the sort of place you target audience will be looking.

You could try doing a really targeted social media campaign, too. Join localised communities on Google+, use specific hashtags on Twitter and see if there are any similar business in your area and what they are doing to advertise.

 

[PawsPlaza]

Hi, I run an online Pet store, and if you have an web site, I would be interested in a reciprocal link to help with both our SEO?

Also, deffo do a FaceBook page, anything to do with cute doggies, you will get likes. I have found FaceBook ads very worthwhile. but it isn't order, so don't expect it to get you work for quite a while, but is good for brand awareness.

Let me know about the link

 

[Conrad Emmett]

Hi

Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a PR, journalist and copywriter operating across Yorkshire and Humber.

In terms of this site, I'm just hoping to see where I can help people and get some advice from time to time. If you think I can help you with any queries on the above fields please feel free to PM me.

Conrad

 

[Conrad Emmett]

If you work with animals you have an instant advantage - PR, which for you could be quick to do and easy. Best thing it will cost you nothing. Newspapers love a good pic to fill some space of animals, just look for reasons to get a pic (obviously with permission) - whether that's because you are doing a fundraiser, or introducing a new service, use the cutest dog to promote it and I will fall over in shock if you don't get in. I'd do that once every month or so. I'm sure a dog lover in the newsroom will eventually want to do a feature.

As Rich says, make sure you are all over Twitter, putting pet tips up, and use lots of dog and regional key words in your profile (as long as it reads okay and doesn't look like spam!) so dog lovers can find you.

 

[Quickpacksupplies]

Hi,

I'm Freya, I am currently opening a new dog grooming business that offer unique services in comparison with other groomers.

I have tried a variety of ways of advertising my business which are bringing me in new customer, however I am still looking for new ways to bring in more clients and new ways of advertising. If anyone has any effective ideas?

What sort of products are you offering as an additional service?

We can supply you Oxo-biodegradable dog poop bags which are better than the standard bags people are buying at the moment as they are 100% more efficient for the earth. These bags actually degrade in landfill tips unlike normal biodegradable bags.

You could offer these and other products especially unique products to go along with your unique services. Make sure you're bright, bold and stand out from the competition. Internet is key today as well as traditional word of mouth so use these two options to source your customers.

Take a look at adwords for instant results.

 

[LMDServicesUK]

Hi everyone,

Have finally signed up for this forum,

Have been doing business in the region for many years, and hope to be able to help out fellow businesses and generally learn from other contributors along the way..

We specialise in card solutions ranging from true PAYG to e-comms and lots in between, and are especially experienced in the dreaded PCI Compliance minefield..

So if we can offer some impartial but hopefully useful advice we will !

Happy posting..

 

[lisa-giselle]

If anyone in here is looking to network in Yorkshire i suggest looking into events held by the Yorkshire Enterprise Network, they hold monthly free networking events and always have a really good turn out. Look at their website or find them on linkedin

 

[BusyBeesCleaning]

Hi my name is Sarah & I run Busy Bees Cleaning, we are based in Leeds but we cover further afield.

We do office and domestic cleaning, oven cleaning & offer a pick up and drop off ironing service.

We've been going almost a year but we are hoping to expand so looking into websites and stuff!!

 

[chrisleadley]

Hi, I'm Chris,

I am a business owner based in North East Lincolnshire. I have several businesses which have (and are still) served me well (operating in a range of sectors from IT to Debt Management).

Hopefully I can pass on some of my experience and knowledge on marketing and getting new clients to forum members (I'll be mostly checking out the marketing section)

Even though I have my businesses, I am mostly hands off, so now I help other small businesses with developing and carrying out marketing strategies to help them get more clients.

Hopefully my posts in the forums will help but if you need any advice etc in the meantime my profile has my contact details

Chris