At SMBA we know where good, sensible business advice is always available – well, usually! Frazer Fearnhead of Alchemy Business Development was working with one of his clients at a local franchise show when he bumped into none other than the legendary management and team leadership guru David Brent (in reality it was look-alike Tim Oliver).

Frazer reports that ‘David’ was demanding £50,000 to teach staff his famous dance routine – maybe some things really are priceless!

I know that it’s still October but we’re starting to get very excited about the SMBA Christmas Party! So far over 40 people (members and guests) will be getting together on 10th December for an evening of drinking, dining and dancing to music from the 1980’s.

It’ll be great fun to see how many of our members still have ‘vintage’ clothing from that decade stuffed in the back of their wardrobes….although I think it will be really impressive if they can still fit into it!

One of the great things about our group is how we get to know about our members’ personal as well as business ambitions. For some it’s about achieving a personal best in their next running race, but for Mike Newman it’s about being the world’s fastest unaccompanied driver – who can’t see where he’s going!

Mike has been totally blind since he was 13 years old, but he’s never let this hold him back and his love of speed is clear when he talks about his experiences of wind noise or the smells and sounds of his Keating TKR supercar engine. READ MORE//

Each week our group passes many business referrals between members, but we’ve noticed that a few of our members aren’t getting the new business they deserve. So for October we’ll be focusing on our resident antique furniture expert Alec Smalley, learning more about what he does and the type of business introductions or referrals he’s looking for. I’m always fascinated each week when he brings along an exquisite item of furniture to the meeting. READ MORE//