Category Archives: Supper Club

Tamlin Roberts on Making the Web Work for You

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The Internet is no longer a luxury enjoyed only by those companies that can afford to pay for a web site. It’s a basic business essential, fundamental to sales, marketing, branding, communication, recruitment … the list goes on.

From basic brochure-ware websites to multi-lingual e-commerce websites, and LinkedIn to Twitter, how you use the Internet is as important to your business as cash flow. Get it right and it can make your business a huge success; get it wrong and you could be throwing money down the drain.

Tamlin Roberts has spent the past 12 years growing Mercurytide, an online application and web development company. Working with companies such as GSPC, Montpeliers Edinburgh, Flow Hospitality Training, Faithful + Gould, Edinburgh Council, Redeem, O2, Prudential, Scottish Widows and Grant Management, and of course, the Entrepreneurial Exchange, his experience of how to make the web work for business is unrivalled.

He believes there are four key elements, and businesses should ideally use all four to maximise visibility of of a website.

• Technical connections – Tamlin says there are as many as 250 issues relating to a site’s architecture and construction that determine how successful it will be in meeting the search engines’ increasingly sophisticated criteria
• Great content – original material that is regularly updated. Blogs are good, as long as they are hosted on your domain and shared with lots of people
• Social media links – get those connections working with people and get them to ‘like’ your site
• Linked network – it’s vital to build ‘virtuous circle’ links with high-volume sites accessed routinely by the greatest number of people. For example, the BBC is the UK’s No1 site but to maintain a link with its site would require refreshing the link every day.

Chair for the evening, Alistair Balfour of The Company Creators, said:”Tamlin also included great tips, such as using a service called PR Web to push out press releases for £80 a time, and various techniques to gather information about visitors to your site.

“For example, try writing a short e-book about your business, products, technology or markets, then offer a free summary on your site but require visitors to register to access the other chapters.

“Tamlin’s talk provoked a flood of questions from members about their own website issues, and he was kept busy answering them well beyond the event’s official finishing time.”

Feedback
“Key tip for me – the quality of web copy is very important – we’ll look into getting a copywriter/journalist to work on our content as this is a weak point.”
“Key tip for me – amplify use of LinkedIn in my personal case.”
“Tip for me was to use Web and social media to better market our products and services.”

Toughing It Out

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Cost-cutting, down-sizing, de-risking, in challenging economic times every penny is a prisoner and it’s a constant challenge to entrepreneurs.

Sanjay Majhu knows firsthand the importance of financial mastery. A net loss in his business forced him into action, and in just 12 months his tight rein on costs notched up a solid after-tax profit – a significant improvement on the previous year.

Sanjay, of the Apple Harlequin Group, shared his story with Exchange members at a recent Supper Club and the response was fantastic.

• “The value of this event was the nuggets of information which lead to better decisions in my own business and helping to inspire me to be more ambitious and determined in the business.”

• “’Real stories’ of bravery and how if you just stick at it and never give up you’ll make it.”

• “Key tips for me – Important to stay true to ethics – understand every element of your business – foster relations with professionals.”

Sanjay Majhu

Sanjay Majhu

Emma Little, MD of Execspace, found Sanjay’s story “inspirational”.

“It takes guts, bravery and tenacity to build a business, especially in a recession and during hard times. I have always firmly believed that it’s not about being the most charismatic, the most well connected, the most intelligent that brings you success, it’s about having the ability to get up day in day out (even when it’s really crap) and keep going.

“It’s like an inner strength that keeps driving you. I loved how much crap he’s been through and how by keeping going and leaning on his family for support he’s still here. Real strength of character.”

For Emma, her key takeaways from the event reflect her own philosophy: “Honesty’s the best policy – i.e. just tell people straight. I’d always kind of thought this and have been accused of ‘shooting from the hip’ but it really did reaffirm that this is absolutely best course of action – always.”

She intends to start monitoring each individual’s performance on a day to day basis, not just the team as a whole. And maybe open up a bit more to those close to her when it is tough. “It can be a lonely job,” said Emma.

It was Sanjay’s advice to come into work everyday in your business and drive it forward no matter how you feel that resonated with Tim Cocking, Director at Bright Care.

“I also liked that Sanjay really valued and protected the relationship with his wife throughout his business journey and it is a reminder to make sure I make time for my own family regardless of how busy things get,” said Tim.

“I am more inspired to grow and push my business forward and be prepared to face the challenges of that head on.”

Speaker biog – Sanjay Majhu