Luck has been defined as the “meeting place of opportunity and preparation”. If you’re prepared to get up, dress up and turn up for a meeting each week, we’ll provide you with every opportunity you will need to make 2010 the best year yet!

We had a fantastic turnout for the SMBA Christmas Party last week – everyone had a really great time and it was lovely to meet the partners who put up with our members getting up so early each Wednesday morning. The photos are all up on out Facebook group site so please feel free to have a laugh – and having seen the videos of some of the dancing I think we need to consider inviting a choreographer to join our group in January!

Our Business Development guru Frazer Fernhead has recently been awarded £3000 from the North West Development Agency to develop a new CRM system so that his company can market itself more effectively. He tells us that for any business it’s eight times cheaper and eight times easier to sell to existing customers than to find new ones – and this grant will allow Alchemy to maximise the potential with their existing client base.

Many of our members have won industry awards over the years – but we’re not sure that anyone has ever done it in their first year of trading! Holt Business Solutions have just been named “Alliance Dealer of the Year” at the recent People Profit Performance Integra Conference. Although Trevor and Surinder Holt have over 30 years experience in the office supplies business their company has only been trading for 12 months! It’s a great accolade for their team and shows that even in tough times the right staff and exceptional customer service helps new businesses succeed!