One of our clients, Positive Branding, was recently found in a well-known search engine and then approached by the Producer's of a small British TV show. You might have heard of it… it's called The Apprentice?

Back in October 2010 when they were filming Series 7 of The Apprentice, Positive Branding, a supplier of high quality embroidered clothing, was approached by the producers of the show to manufacturer the branded restaurant uniforms used in the second to last episode of the series, after being found through search engine listings. They received the call at around lunchtime, but it wasn't until 5:45pm that the artwork came through. Once the images had gone through the necessary digitizing, the approval came through at 6:30, and then the end products were completed and collected by 9pm! 

What this shows is that it's important to have a reputation for being able to work to deadlines without compromising quality. No matter what you do, having a reputation for being able to meet tight deadlines with high quality goods is a fantastic reputation to have, and it was just this reputation that won one our client this fantastic business opportunity. Whilst any business can offer a product or service, it takes a special sort of business to go above and beyond the call of duty, and whilst no business can promise service like that on all jobs, in the words of Melody, one of the other contestants from the show... "Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the Moon."

We'd also like to congratulate Tom Pellereau on winning The Apprentice series 7, and wish him luck in his future endeavours!

If you haven't heard about it by now... where have you been?! This friday (the 29th April), we'll see the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, a glorious event that has kindly given the working men and women of England a day off of work!

However, whilst the employed are rejoicing at the thought of a day of partying, barbecues and relaxation, businesses are expecting mixed results this week.

The opinion seems to be fairly divided, with many claiming that the wedding will drive millions of pounds into the economy through tourism, whilst others claim that businesses will lose millions as their staff pull sickies for the three days between the two long weekends. An accountancy firm named RSM Tenon have warned that the loss to an average British business for every bank holiday could be as much as 6-billion, so who knows what effects this event could have on the UK economy.

There has always been the long-running argument as to whether the Royal household spends more money than it generates, but the 2010 Royal Public Finances Document shows that around £38 million was spent on the royals, where VisitBritain claims that the British Monarchy "generates well over £500 million a year from overseas tourists."

While we won't truly know the effect of the Royal Wedding until long after the event has happened and everyone has returned to their day-to-day lives and jobs, we should just relax, have a good day and celebrate the unity of our future monarchs!

It isn't quite the hot topic of the month being shouted from every street corner, but it certainly is a question that we hear being asked.

A Virtual Office is, to put it simply, an absolutely fantastic way for small businesses, sole-traders, freelancers and the self-employed to further their business at a fraction of the cost.

Here's the lowdown; say you're a small business or a one-man-show, and you're having difficulty keeping up with your phone calls. You're out at meetings, or doing jobs, and clients are going through to your mobile's answer phone all the time... Not a good image. This is where a Virtual Office comes in. For a very low price, you can have any regional number set up (an 020 for London, for example) and use this number for your business. Clients can then call this number, and will be put straight through to a 'Virtual Receptionist,' who will answer the call in your company name, and then either direct the call as necessary, or take a message.

Cool, huh?

Well, that's not just the end of it... There's a whole range of other features that Virtual Offices provide. For instance, you can pretty much 'set up' at a complete new location for the price of a cup of Costa coffee per day! OfficeFront, a Virtual Switchboard Service provider, offer a Virtual Office package that contains call handling, a London office address and a lot more for under £2.50 a day!

It's definitely worth considering, especially if you're a smaller business...