14 minute read
Surrey Chambers event calendar
DECEMBER ONWARDS….
BUSINESS BREAKFAST
WOKING
Tuesday January 11th | 08:00 – 10:00 Woodhaven Space, 17 Kettlewell Close, Woking, GU21 4HY Running from 08:00 – 10:00, our bi-monthly Business Breakfasts are a wonderful opportunity to meet a range of Surrey businesses over a delicious breakfast. With a calendar bursting with interesting and stimulating events, we are sure you will fi nd topics that are current and relevant to you and your business. We acknowledge that making new contacts is rather high on your priority list, so start your day with networking, hearing from a possible guest speaker, whilst most importantly, all over a breakfast! Click here to book.
HOW TO ENGAGE AND RETAIN CUSTOMERS
Wednesday January 26th | 10:00 – 12:00 Doubletree by Hilton, Victoria Way, Woking, GU21 8EW Woking Works and Surrey Chamber invite you to join local social media expert and CEO of Air Social, Alex Vinall, as she shares her insights around creating engaging content. Plus, how to research, plan and execute a winning strategy that will keep your customers coming back for more. Click here to book.
GUILDFORD
Thursday January 27th | 18:00 – 20:00 The County Club, 158 High Street, Guildford, GU1 3HJ Our Members’ Networking Evenings are a monthly event where we invite our current members to join us to catch up on the happenings of the previous month’s business calendar. Running from 18:00 – 20:00, Members’ Networking Evenings are the perfect opportunity for an informal, relaxed gathering with members you already have relationships with and those you don’t. Click here to book. Friday January 11th | 12:00 – 14:00 Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Millbrook, Guildford, GU1 3UX Welcome to Business Bites - a networking lunch with a guest speaker and an interesting topic of choice. Running from 12:00 - 14.00, the Networking Lunch is the perfect opportunity to meet new clients in the area. You can enjoy some informal networking over a light lunch with fellow members, clients and future customers. Click here to book.
BUSINESS BREAKFAST
ELMBRIDGE
Tuesday March 15th | 08:00 – 10:00 Oatlands Park Hotel, 146 Oatlands Drive, Weybridge, KT13 9HB Running from 08:00 – 10:00, our bi-monthly Business Breakfasts are a wonderful opportunity to meet a range of Surrey businesses over a delicious breakfast. With a calendar bursting with interesting and stimulating events, we are sure you will fi nd topics that are current and relevant to you and your business. We acknowledge that making new contacts is rather high on your priority list, so start your day with networking, hearing from a possible guest speaker, whilst most importantly, all over a breakfast! Click here to book.
MEMBERS NETWORKING EVENING
ELMBRIDGE
Thursday April 28th | 18:00 – 20:00 Hilton Cobham Hotel, Seven Hills Road South, Cobham, KT11 1EW Our Members Networking Evenings are a monthly event where we invite our current members to join us for free at this event to catch up on the happenings of the previous month’s business calendar. Running from 18:00 – 20:00, Members’ Networking Evenings are the perfect opportunity for an informal, relaxed gathering with members you already have relationships with and those you don’t. Click here to book.
BUSINESS BITES NETWORKING LUNCH
Friday June 10th | 12:00 – 14:00 Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Millbrook, Guildford, GU1 3UX Welcome to Business Bites - a networking lunch with a guest speaker and an interesting topic of choice. Running from 12:00 - 14:00, the Networking Lunch is the perfect opportunity to meet new clients in the area. You can enjoy some informal networking over a light lunch with fellow members, clients and future customers. Click here to book.
BUSINESS BREAKFAST
MOLE VALLEY
Tuesday July 5th10th 08:00 – 10:00 Denbies Wine Estate, London Road, Dorking, RH5 6AA Running from 08:00 – 10:00, our bi-monthly Business Breakfasts are a wonderful opportunity to meet a range of Surrey businesses over a delicious breakfast. With a calendar bursting with interesting and stimulating events, we are sure you will fi nd topics that are current and relevant to you and your business. We acknowledge that making new contacts is rather high on your priority list, so start your day with networking, hearing from a possible guest speaker, whilst most importantly, all over a breakfast! Click here to book.
CHAMBERS NEWS
KICKSTART WELLBEING PROGRAMME BOOSTS HEALTH
At Guildford-based mental health charity Oakleaf, a new project ‘Kickstart Wellbeing’ has proved successful in helping individuals take steps towards a healthier lifestyle. Oakleaf Enterprise provides a range of services to empower people to manage their mental health and achieve their goals, with a focus on returning to the workplace.
Their Kickstart programme, launched at the start of 2021, is a 12-week fi tness course designed to boost physical and mental health. A qualifi ed wellbeing coach and personal trainer guide participants through a mixture of group sessions and one-to-one training. Participants set personalised goals at the start of the project, for example running 5km or a target to reduce their blood sugar level; each of which is reviewed throughout the course and refl ected upon after the 12 weeks. For the eight participants, each week includes: one hour of group fi tness (plus one additional hour of one-to-one fi tness in the fi rst and fi nal weeks), one hour of nutrition looking at diet plan, healthy eating and food preparation (plus one additional hour of one-to-one advice at the start and close of the programme) as well as a half-hour of weekly one-to-one support.
The programme is free of charge, and participants also receive fi tness equipment including a resistance band and yoga mat. One participant on the January course said: “I have been to many gyms and classes in my years but at 57, this course has seen the most signifi cant change in me. I now look at exercise techniques as well as what I fuel my body with completely differently, which has made my mind stronger and helped my self- esteem and confi dence… thank you Oakleaf and Liane for putting me on the road to recovery – oh, and one and a half stone lighter!”
Feedback from the fi rst iteration was very positive, with all clients reaching at least one of their goals and all felt either a small or large positive change. A key factor to the programme’s success was the sense of encourage-ment and community felt in the group.
Oakleaf is now running a second round of the programme, with plans for two to three iterations next year.
Find out more about Oakleaf on their website, www.oakleaf-enterprise.org
DIGITAL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATE CHALLENGE
The MSc programme at Surrey Business School values our connection to its local business community. It offers an opportunity for students to see how theory works in practice and to build a greater sense of community. With this mind, the School designed an MSc module, Digital Project Development, with a corporate challenge aimed to help local businesses to develop their digital marketing strategies.
Last Spring, it organised a student-based project with a select range of local SMEs including Giggling Squid, Silent Pool Distillers and Rumwong Thai Street Market. The challenge was to drive web traffi c to their corporate websites. Initially, student groups reviewed the existing digital marketing strategy for companies covering the following topics:
■ Target market ■ Customer journey mapping ■ Social media & channel management ■ SEO strategy ■ UX / UI website design
Based on fi ndings, student groups and corporate partners then agree on a specifi c challenge to develop further. These included researching target markets, launching a Pinterest channel, managing social media presence and making website design proposals. Student engagement was high because they could see how their skills can make a difference for local businesses and how they can develop their skills for a potential career while participating companies were quite positive too. See some feedback below.
“They provided us with insight on different ways of implementing our strategy, gave us relevant market research which they used to develop a well-rounded digital strategy.” Silent Pool Distillers Ltd, Melissa Thorn, Marketing Campaign Manager
Surrey Business School is now looking for SMEs interested to participate in the next corporate challenge planned for Spring 2022. If your company would like assistance with your digital marketing strategy and is local to Surrey, please get in touch to start a conversation. To fi nd out more, please visit www.innomatters.co.uk
CREST BUSINESS AWARDS ON CAMERA FOR SURREY’S MESSAGE TO COP26
CREST Business Awards was adding its voice to the offi cial COP26 website as a chance for delegates to learn the environmentally sustainable initiatives Surrey businesses have embedded into their day-to-day operations. Representatives from this Surrey awards programme focused uniquely on celebrating sustainable businesses, were invited to feature in a fi lm that was broadcast live on the COP26 website, and live-cast into the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.
The event on Wednesday November 10th was held in rural Surrey’s heartland in Farnham, organised by Surrey County Council. Its theme was “How to reduce carbon emissions from transport in a rural county”. With this aim CREST has been given the opportunity to showcase possibilities for sustainable travel and transport logistics within Surrey.
Cllr Marisa Heath, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “We’re delighted to be headline sponsor for the CREST awards again next year. It’s a great initiative to shine a light on the fantastic work Surrey businesses are doing to reduce their carbon footprint. Supporting the green economy in Surrey is an essential part of helping us achieve our aim of being a net zero carbon county by 2050.”
CREST Business Awards, launched by the Woking News & Mail in association with Surrey University’s Centre for the Environment and Sustainability, was showcased at the Surrey Climate Change Delivery Plan launch at the Surrey Hills Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty (ANOB) Symposium 2021 on Wednesday November 24th at the University of Surrey. The event also featured the Surrey Hills Symposium 2021 on “Our Climate and Biodiversity Emergency” with keynote speaker Dr Tony Juniper CBE.
VISION ENGINEERING FIRST SURREY BUSINESS TO SUPPORT THE ‘QUEEN’S GREEN CANOPY’ INITIATIVE
Vision Engineering Ltd welcomed HRH The Princess Royal to its global headquarters and manufacturing facility at Send, near Woking. Her Royal Highness was there to present Vision with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its Lynx EVO ergonomic stereo microscope.
During the visit Mr Curtis, Managing Director of Vision Engineering, invited Her Royal Highness to plant two alder trees next to its wildlife pond, in support of The Queen’s Green Canopy Project. The Green Canopy Project is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
The project invites invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”, and is operating until the end of 2022, the Queen’s 70th Jubilee Year.
Mr Curtis commented “Vision Engineering recognises this innovative way to enhance our environment. We already operate a portion of our HQ site as a wildlife preservation area, including managed woodland, animal hides, bird boxes, and a wildlife pond. We wholeheartedly support The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative to mark Her Majesty’s 70th Jubilee, and are delighted that The Princess Royal accepted our invitation to plant the fi rst two of ten planned new QGC Alder trees around our onsite wildlife pond”.
For more information: www.visioneng.com
CONTACT
*info@surrey-chambers.co.uk :www.surrey-chambers.co.uk @Surrey Chambers of Commerce
ANNA DREES
Director of No Grey Area
CLIVE STONE
CEO of Oakleaf Enterprise
JARMILA YU
Founder & Managing Director of YUnique Marketing
SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
What does it mean to be on the Council of Surrey Chambers of Commerce? Being on the council provides an opportunity to:
● Represent your area and sector by sharing your views and those of your clients and network ● Infl uence government departments both locally and nationally via the British Chambers ● Grow your network with other leaders in business and the public sector ● Pass on your knowledge and experience to help the economic growth of Surrey ● Learn from your peers and gain from their experience to help your business ● Help the Chambers provide the services needed by Surrey businesses to succeed
Hear from three of our newest members as to why they decided to join the Council.
For the last seven years, Anna Drees has been a Marketing Director in Estonia in Stretch Ceiling production. Anna worked for a Russian company, set up on the Estonian/Russian border to export to the EU Countries and increase turnover. The company has a number of lighting and stretch ceiling factories throughout Russia – with trade starting in Baltic countries before exporting expanded to serve 36 countries.
In 2014, Anna moved to the UK and joined the Edward Ray team. Edward Ray have had a recent change in branding to push more lighting products and provide complete service. Goods are now known under the NGA (No Grey Area) brand. Anna works closely with suppliers and the exporting side of the business, dealing with some key accounts and management of the stretch ceiling projects with theOperations department.
Clive has been the CEO of Oakleaf Enterprise a Guildford-based mental health charity since 1998. He is passionate about helping people to recognise that they always have choice and the impact this can have on their mental health. His deep understanding of the effects of mental health on the individual and those around them has been strengthened by his own lived experience.
Clive is an Accredited Member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy, running his own private counselling and supervision practice. He is the Mental Health Ambassador for the Institute of Directors Surrey. When not working, he sings in a London-based male choir.
Jarmila Yu is the Founder and Managing Director of award-winning Surrey based strategic marketing consultancy YUnique Marketing Ltd. She is a Chartered Marketer and a globally ranked Top100 CMO, and has made it her mission to bring the CMO Advantage™ to high-growth Startups and SMEs looking to scale.
“I am proud to have been invited to join the Council, to represent my peers in local business and in particular represent the micro business voice which often goes unheard. I am delighted to have an opportunity to support the Chambers as they so worked hard to represent us and support us all during the pandemic.”
By Azra Mukadam, Runnymede Borough Council’s Town Centre & Event Manager
LET’S TALK TOWN CENTRES
The shape of the high street has drastically changed since the pandemic hit. Runnymede’s Town Centre Manager, Azra Mukadam, explains what the Council is doing to help local businesses bounce back.
I came into the position of town centre manager in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The role was created to boost the local high street economy and to support local businesses, something that is more important than ever since Covid. Our aim is to help local businesses to thrive and to create appealing and vibrant town centres that attract visitors. Investing in our local towns is a key part of the Council’s wider corporate plan.
HOW DO WE SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES?
First and foremost, we want to establish what challenges each town might be facing. We do this by engaging with local towns, businesses, ward councillors and the Chamber of Commerce. Each town is very different.
For instance, there is a very active chamber of commerce in Egham, who have been great to work with. We’ve looked at their practices and how they connect with local businesses, to see how we can replicate this elsewhere in the borough. I also sit on their town team.
WHAT ARE TOWN TEAMS?
There are three town teams across the local area, including Egham, Addlestone and Chertsey. The teams are a collaboration between local businesses, community stakeholders and the Council, which aims to support and improve our town centres. We meet quarterly with the groups to discuss challenges and any positives, looking at how the town community can work together to achieve smaller projects. For example, footfall has been a key focus for many towns, especially since Covid hit.
HOW DO I JOIN?
To join, simply email towncentre manager@runnymede.gov.uk. You will be added to your nearest Town Team and will receive an invitation to join the next meeting. Currently our meetings take place via Microsoft Teams, but we hope to meet face-to-face soon.
