Blog

Guest blog from Rosalind Henshell of Big Thinking Online, speaker at our May 2016 event on Online Marketing Essentials – Brand Building and Reputation Management (for further event info, click here).   Do Customers Really Trust Your Business? I’m sure your gut reaction says that yes, they do, but how can you prove it? Let’s […]

Colony’s next business event is a collaborative one with a large number of other support groups. I was asked recently why I would collaborate and openly promote other business support and networking groups when I run my own networking group and wish to attract future attendees. My answer is simple: The focus of a networking […]

Guest blog from Alex Platt of Swift Virtual Assistant, speaker at our March 2016 event on Social Media Scheduling (for further event info, click here). So, what exactly is a Social Media Strategy? Well to put it simply, a social media strategy is the plan for how you are going to use social media in […]

So, January is often the month of planning for many people. New Year’s Resolutions are set by many both for their businesses and personally. Whether or not you’re a believer in NYR’s, why limit yourself to a January expression of intent; why not focus on the whole year and goal-set more realistically and over an […]

Everyone networks in a different way, and at a different pace, which explains why there are so many successful networking events offered by varying groups with differing styles and objectives and each with their own merits. The networking terrain in some locations is a busy one and so for networkers experienced or new, selection criteria need to include […]

Guest blog from Joanne Hawkins of Executive VPA, speaker at our November 2015 event on using a VA (for further event info, click here). Why Networking Is Good For Your Soul, Not Just for Your Business. As I was preparing for last month’s NWVA conference, I thought a lot about what I wanted the attendees […]

You’re great at what you do, you set up in business and suddenly you start wearing all the business support function hats at once – multi-tasking like crazy for fear of losing managerial or financial control if you opted to outsource or employ instead. As a small business owner, you often become the sales and […]

If you’re a small business and growing then you may need to outsource – if you don’t already.  If you already outsource and are still growing, then at some point you’ll need to re-assess the pro’s and con’s of outsourcing and consider taking a leap of faith into the world of employment. So, what is […]

‘Failing to plan = Planning to fail’ is the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin frequently applied in the world of business. You’re a small business, highly efficient and skilled at what you do and already have clients. So, how important is regular planning; is it just necessary at start-up or should you review the business […]

It’s always admirable to treat people as you’d like to be treated yourself. In a personal arena, it’s respectful, endearing and forges the strongest of friendships. But does this still stand true? And how does it translate into business life? Perhaps, it’s time to move on. There are some base-line items that we’d all like […]