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If you run an office-based business, it's easy to assume health and safety isn't something you need to worry about. You're not dealing with heavy machinery, dangerous substances, or high-risk environments. But offices still have hazards and those hazards still come with legal duties. HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT AT OPTIMUM SAFETY Some consultancies make health and safety feel complicated. They rely on jargon, unnecessary documents and generic templates that look impressive but don't help anyone day-to-day. That's not our approach. At Optimum Safety, we're approachable, straight-talking, and practical. We'll tell you what you actually need to do, why it matters and how to keep it manageable. No fuss, no scare tactics and no paperwork for paperwork's sake; just clear advice that fits your business. OUR TOP FOUR TIPS FOR OFFICE-BASED SMES 1) Keep your risk assessment realistic and up to date. You don't need a huge document, but you do need something that reflects your workplace. Any time you change your office layout, take on new staff, introduce homeworking, or bring in new equipment, it's worth checking that your risk assessment is still relevant. A short, accurate risk assessment is far better than a long winded one that no-one reads. It's also good practice to have arrangements in place for higher-risk groups before the need arises. For example, you must have a young person's risk assessment in place before they start working for the company and a separate risk assessment and policy for new and expectant mothers, which is updated throughout the pregnancy. 2) Take fire safety seriously in your own premises or shared buildings. If you're in a managed building, there will often be a building-level fire risk assessment, but that doesn't remove your responsibilities as an employer. Your staff still need to know what to do, where to go, and how to get out safely. Make sure escape routes are kept clear, your employees are aware of fire safety procedures and you know what arrangements are in place for alarms, exits, and evacuation. If you own your premises, you'll need a robust fire risk assessment carried out by a competent, trained fire risk assessor. This should reflect how the building is used and be kept up to date, so the right controls are in place and staff know exactly what to do in an emergency. 3) Don't overlook Display Screen Equipment (DSE), especially with hybrid working. DSE issues can creep up on people. Back / neck pain, eye strain and repetitive strain injuries often build over time. Simple adjustments make a big difference: correct chair set-up, screen height, having a separate mouse and keyboard for laptop users. If your team works from home, the duty still applies, so it's important to make sure people have what they need to work comfortably and safely. 4) Reduce slips and trips with basic housekeeping. One of the most common causes of injury in offices are slips, trips and falls. That usually comes down to avoidable hazards like trailing cables, open drawers, cluttered walkways, loose mats, or items stored where they shouldn't be. A quick walkaround once a week is often enough to spot problems early and rectify them before they can cause harm. Employees can also fall from height in offices, often because people take shortcuts. If any task involves working at height, even briefly, make sure staff have the right equipment to use (such as a suitable step stool or step ladder) and know how to use it safely. Training must be provided when any employee works at height. This could be a simple toolbox talk for low level/low risk or more detailed training either face to face or via an eLearning course for higher risk working at height. A FINAL THOUGHT "Low-risk doesn't mean no responsibility. If you're not sure whether you've covered the basics, or you would like support that's straightforward and easy to apply, Optimum Safety is here to help." Author: Chris Owen Business: Optimum Safety Email: office@optimum-safety.co.uk Photography: Headshot Toby

What I love about Lincoln is... the originality of the small independent businesses in the area. If you go off the beaten track and explore different routes around town, you can soon discover a variety of surprising, new and existing businesses offering interesting services, products or exciting new events. For example you can go to an independent book store and find they’ll do pottery classes, print-making and zine workshops, or you’ll find a refurbished church that now hosts gigs, creative markets, stage plays and life drawing classes. Lincoln is not limited to the central business district, there are so many other paths to explore. In my line of work I have come across so many innovative, resourceful and interesting people who have started up businesses from scratch, based on a passion they may have had for a while, and I would say their key to success has been their individuality and authenticity, an ability to show their personality through their business, which really stands them out from the crowd. Their passion drives their business forward, and they use their imagination and inventiveness to offer services/products/events you wouldn’t necessarily see in your average high street shop, cafe or venue. I love to celebrate and shout out about these individuals in my seasonal magazine, the Little Book of Small Businesses. This gives independent businesses and sole traders, all over the county, a platform to promote themselves in an authentic way plus a chance to connect and collaborate with other local, like-minded individuals for mutual benefit. The magazine has attracted a community of creative innovators - who I have had the greatest pleasure of getting to know, over the years - and who’s originality,boldness and creativity make Lincoln and the surrounding areas a more exciting place to be. In an age of social media trends and AI it is sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to join in and follow what everyone else is doing. My advice would be to identify what makes yourself, your project/business original, inject your personality into it and be creative. You don’t need to follow the path of others, find out what works best for you and your project. Showing your authentic self will always be more interesting to others! Author: Polly Fotheringham Business: Little Book of Small Businesses Email: polly@ravendesignco.co.uk Photography: Headshot Toby

Don’t believe me? Here are 3 great reasons why your professional development priority in 2026 should be... your speaking voice. Your voice, and the way you communicate with others, reveals who you are. People learn so much about you when you speak. You are showing them: your values and how you treat people how clearly you think and react under pressure your emotions and confidence levels at any given time When you speak, is it yourself that you hear? Is it the voice of the person you want people to experience? Real connection = honesty & clarity = better business. Your voice is the main way you demonstrate your value. It’s the way you own the room, make the sale, forge the connection and inspire the team. When we speak with someone, we are consciously and subconsciously processing numerous non-verbal signals (eg. voice tone, facial expression, eye contact, gesture, posture) and it is always these, more than the actual words spoken, that establish trust (or otherwise) in that interaction. Real communication = trust & understanding = better business. Your voice is inextricably linked with the mental and physical wellbeing that underpins your professional success. The interactions between the larynx (where sounds are made in the throat) and the nervous system (which controls our stress response), mean that our voice tone reflects and reveals our emotions. Too much strain can even prevent the voice from working properly. If you’ve ever experienced burnout or deep grief, for example, you might remember a weak voice that fatigues and rasps easily. Conversely, speaking with a resonant tone not only appeals to others, but sends messages of safety to our brain, releasing ‘happy hormones’ that support immunity and wellbeing throughout the physical body. Real wellbeing = increased productivity = better business. And if you’re convinced… The great news is that your voice is not fixed, but the product of many flexible physical and mental habits. It’s an instrument that can be developed, strengthened and trained so that it always: represents the real you sounds clear and confident and resonant sends good vibes to the brain and supports physical wellness. If you want to grow your business and increase your professional success this year, seek to transform how you speak and converse and express your ideas in the world. And if you’re not sure where to start… it’s as easy as A-B-C: Aim: At any event, in any meeting, for any presentation, what is your intention? What’s the key message and who needs to hear it? How do you want to come across – warm, friendly, in control? Set clear intentions, and your thoughts, voice and body will follow. Balance: Speaking is a whole-body activity. Breathe slow and low, relax the muscles in your hands, shoulders, neck, face and jaw, and release the voice with the breath. Not only will this enable you to think more clearly and feel safer and more grounded, but the other person will respond positively to your relaxed stance and voice tone. Connect: Use eye contact, bright expressions, open gestures and an animated voice tone to actively engage others. You’ll find other people reflect your enthusiasm and openness, and there is nothing like human connection for leaping to that ‘know-like-trust’ status. So next time you are heading into networking, or want to speak up in a meeting, or need to give a presentation - think A-B-C and enjoy that opportunity to speak and connect with other people. Realising the potential of your voice will increase your confidence, enrich your connections and enable you to project your authority this year. It’s heartening for the mind, energising for the brain, grounding for the nervous system… and it’s great for business. Author: Kaffy Rice-Oxley Business: Voice Confident Email: hello@voiceconfident.com Photography: Headshot Toby

Here's a statistic that should make every small business owner stop for a second and stare into the middle distance... According to a global study of 2,500 small business owners, only 18% of small businesses feel “very confident” that their marketing is actually working. Which means the vast majority of business owners are doing more, posting more, spending more, tweaking more, showing up more, learning more, downloading more PDFs, watching more webinars, and somehow feeling less sure than ever that any of it is getting them where they want to go. More effort, less confidence. If that feels a bit uncomfortably familiar, you’re not alone. Most people think they have a marketing problem, or a budget problem or a social media problem or a “we need a better website” problem. Usually, they don’t. They have a blueprint problem. Because before you can decide what to post, what to sell, where to show up or how to grow, there’s a bigger question that almost nobody asks: c “Who decided what your business was supposed to look like in the first place?” Think about it. When you started your business, or when it started to grow beyond what you originally imagined, where did the plan come from? Not the business plan you wrote for the bank. The actual operating blueprint. The one that quietly dictates how you show up, what success looks like, how fast you’re supposed to grow, what opportunities you say yes to, which ones you feel guilty turning down, what platforms you should be on, how visible you’re meant to be and what kind of clients you’re chasing. For most of us, that blueprint wasn’t consciously created, it was inherited. A collection of assumptions gathered over years of watching what everyone else seemed to be doing. Post three times a week, be visible everywhere, scale the team, launch the thing, start the podcast, build the funnel, create the course, grow, grow. grow. Nobody handed us that rulebook, we just assumed there was one and started following it. The problem is that rulebook wasn’t written for you. It was cobbled together from everyone else’s goals, everyone else’s priorities and everyone else’s version of success and if you’re not careful, you can spend years building a business that looks impressive from the outside while quietly wondering why it feels so exhausting from the inside. We see this all the time in our work building brands, websites and strategy for small businesses. Someone comes to us convinced they need a new logo, or a better website, or stronger social media, or a clearer offer. And to be fair, they probably do. But far more often than not, those things aren’t the real issue. The real issue is that they’ve never stopped long enough to ask, “What am I actually trying to build here?” Not what sounds impressive, not what gets applauded on LinkedIn, and not what everyone else in your industry is doing. Forget what your accountant said about growing the team. What does your version of a brilliant business actually look like? Not the impressive one, the right one. For you, your life, the clients you genuinely love, the work that makes you feel like you’re operating at your best. That answer is different for everyone, which is precisely why copying someone else’s blueprint, however successful they seem, is such an expensive mistake. The businesses we’ve worked with that made the biggest leaps weren’t the ones that found a better marketing strategy or finally cracked the Instagram algorithm. They were the ones that got brutally honest about what they were building and why, scrapped the assumptions that had quietly accumulated over years of just getting on with it, the ones that gave themselves permission to build a business that actually fit. Before we start anything, we go underneath all of that, before the logo, the website, the messaging, the marketing plan, we uncover the Blueprint, the real one, the one that’s unique to that business, that owner and the life they’re trying to create. And it’s absolutely, categorically worth it, because when you know exactly what you’re building and exactly who it’s for, everything else, the brand, the messaging, the marketing, the offers, gets so much easier to get right. Not because you’ve found the perfect formula. Because you’ve finally stopped following someone else’s. The rulebook was never yours. The good news is, you can write your own. And that one, by definition, will fit. Author: Eleanor & Matt Hancock Business: Number 75 Design Email: hello@number75design.com

Every successful business I have created has been purpose driven, I’ve won many awards along the way. But there has always been a bigger purpose and story behind what I do. My first business was an online department store for natural and organic products, back in 2005, I was a pioneer in e-commerce for all things green. I wanted to be an impartial advisor to the consumer, a trusted friend enabling people to easily choose products to help them go organic from top to toe. After that, I turned my attention to Make An Entrance, the custom doormat brand I created with my business partner Stuart. This business stemmed from charitable roots and today it is still a business with purpose, currently working with prisons to teach skills and provide employment opportunities to offenders. And now as I turn 50, navigating the challenges of being a midlife woman, I’m starting something new once again. Peace Place People is my Yoga and Meditation Centre in the heart of Lincoln, it is a social enterprise, with the aim of bringing yoga and meditation to everyone in society, not just those who have the means to pay. Throughout my business career I have experienced a lot of highs and some of the deepest lows. I have lost everything and narrowly escaped bankruptcy when a business failed taking all my assets with it. And I’ve won awards and been invited into rooms with prime ministers, royalty and celebrities when things have been on the up. Throughout it all there has been constant support to help keep me on an even keel. And that has been my yoga and meditation practice. It lifts me when things are tough, helps slow me down when I’m getting carried away and has nothing whatsoever to do with whether you can touch your toes. Yoga is a toolbox for life and the various practices: physical postures, breathwork, relaxation, meditation, yoga nidra are the tools. If yoga or meditation is something you are curious about but are not sure where to start, talk to me. There really is something for everything, whether you are injured, unfit, or simply can’t sit still. I have been there, and I will find a way to help whether through a group class, one-to-one tuition, or a wellbeing group in your business. I also have a very limited number of spaces to offer business mentoring & coaching. Author: Sam Burlton Business: Peace Place People Yoga & Meditation Centre Email: sam@peaceplacepeople.co.uk Photography: Headshot Toby

Joe Peck on why businesses must take back control of the illusion. The renewal appears, seemingly out of nowhere: premium up 10%, same coverage, same insurers, same explanation about “market conditions.” The presentation is polished, the logic sounds plausible, and the deadline is approaching fast. And then the broker vanishes again until next year. You’re left holding the result trying to figure out how to absorb an unexpected cost increase. Somewhere in the organisation, a project will quietly lose funding to make room for the insurance line. Budgets will be juggled and wands waved to balance the books like a circus performed spinning plates on a unicycle. It’s hard not to feel like you’ve just witnessed a carefully performed illusion. And yet, insurance remains one of the largest fixed business costs for most companies. A bizarre situation where people don’t want to buy it and certainly don’t want to use it. How did it come to pass that a purchase of such significance is surrounded by such misdirection and obfuscation? When did smoke and mirrors become the norm? Companies often slip into a reactive way of dealing with insurance. The renewal gets parked until the last minute, and by the time attention turns to it the goal has shifted from strategy to just getting it done. Conversations happen in a hurry, information moves quickly, and much of the real work takes place behind the curtain betweenbrokers and insurers. Brokers have fallen into a rhythm that works for them rather than challenging the thinking of their clients and asking challenging and insightful questions about the future of the business. Urgency is a barrier to success. The complexity of insurance policies doesn’t help here. Insurance underwriters and brokers are used the idiosyncrasies of schedules and wordings. We can find specific details and key clauses in next to no time, because we live it every day. Often that complexity is underestimated and the onus of understanding is pushed on to a client through renewal reports spanning 100’s of pages. All missing the critical question that matters more than any other: “What do I need to do so that the policy does what I need from it?” And finally, the big finish from the broker! The disappearing act concludes the renewal cycle act every year. Not to be seen or heard from until the same time next year, with the inevitable repetition of all the smoke and mirrors that led you here in the first place. But knowing the issue isn’t even half the battle, what can you do to win a world you don’t understand? A fundamental shift of mindset is key. If you were selling your house, would you appoint two estate agents to market it at the same time? In theory it might feel as though you are increasing competition and have a wider market reach. In practice it usually creates confusion: duplicate listings, mixed messages to potential buyers, and uncertainty about who holds the ability to make the big decisions. The property market tends to work best when one agent represents the seller with a clear brief and a clear strategy. Insurance placement operates in a similar way. A single broker, selected through a transparent process and given a defined mandate, can present a coherent submission to the market and maintain control of the message. It is not about reducing choice; it is about creating clarity, so the market responds in a structured and competitive way. But choosing a single broker is only the first step. The real transformation comes from turning the whole renewal cycle on its head. Start Early. Decide Intentionally. Act Strategically. When businesses bring insurance into strategic conversations months before renewal, everything changes. Time stops being the enemy. The “urgent scramble” is replaced with a measured discussion about future, investment decisions, operational changes, and risk appetite. Suddenly, your insurance programme becomes something designed with your business rather than merely reacting to it. Demand Simplicity, Not More Paper Hundreds of pages don’t equal competence; it usually signals the opposite. A good broker should translate complexity, not hide behind it. You should know exactly: • what your policy does, • what it doesn’t do, and • what actions you need to take so it responds when you need it. That’s it. If your broker can’t explain your programme with clarity and confidence, they don’t understand it well enough. Take Back Control of the Illusion Insurance doesn’t need to feel like sleight of hand. When you take a strategic approach, select the right partner, and set the tempo early, the smoke clears. The mirrors disappear. What’s left is a clear, structured, transparent process where you understand the value, influence the outcome, and make decisions confidently. Insurance is too important to be treated as a mysterious annual ritual. With the right mindset and the right broker, the magic trick ends. Insist on Visibility After Renewal The disappearance act is optional. You should expect ongoing support throughout the year. Not performing once every twelve months. Regular check-ins, claims reviews, market updates, discussions about future changes in your business. These shouldn’t be extras; they are core to the job. When your broker shows up often, the renewal becomes a simple continuation of a year-long conversation, not an annual firefight. Author: Joe Peck Business: Attis Insurance Brokers Email: lincoln@attisinsurancebrokers.com Photography: Headshot Toby

Maintaining a skilled workforce is a major, long-term issue and a key priority for many businesses in Greater Lincolnshire. This means that the role of employers in preparing young people for the world of work is more important than ever. Many local SMEs are now asking; how do we find and develop people with the right skills, when many young people aren’t fully prepared for the realities of the workplace? The answer lies in businesses working more closely with schools, colleges and students. By opening doors to young people and sharing valuable insights, employers provide real world experiences that influence the younger generation and inspires them to consider new careers they didn’t know existed. Whether offering work experience, giving just one hour of your time, or opening your doors to school visits, businesses can play a vital role in shaping a skilled, confident, future workforce. Moving from education into work is becoming more complex. Young people now need more than qualifications alone - they also need transferable skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and communication, and in some cases, practical work experience, to succeed in a changing economy. Statistics show that the more encounters a young person has with the world of work, the less likely they are to be NEET (not in education, employment, or training) at 19. Four or more meaningful encounters can significantly improve a young person’s chance of realising their aspirations. For businesses, this creates both a responsibility and an opportunity, even small involvements can help cultivate future talent whilst giving you access to motivated, skilled individuals. The Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub is here to help bridge this gap and bring together schools, colleges, and local employers to strengthen careers education across the region. Recently, more than 150 education and business leaders gathered at Lincoln Bishop University for their From Classroom to Boardroom event - a flagship gathering designed to develop stronger, strategic connections between schools, colleges, and employers across Greater Lincolnshire. The day featured expert insights, practical workshops, and networking opportunities to help schools and employers build durable relationships. Whilst creating new connections, the event matched businesses with schools aligned to their sector, and sparked plans for ongoing collaboration. Mark Jarvis, a small business owner who attended the event, commented: “Our responsibility isn’t simply to inform students about work, but to invite them into it. When education and enterprise collaborate with intent, we create pathways that last far beyond a single placement or programme.” Participants left with clear action plans, new contacts, and renewed momentum for embedding employer engagement into school careers programmes. These strategic interactions can ultimately make careers education more relevant, meaningful, and impactful. Schools also benefitted from the employer engagement at the event. Steve Penney, Head of 6th Form from St Peter & St Paul Voluntary Academy added: “For most of human history, education and work have been one and the same. We learned the skills we needed alongside those who practised them every day. The reality is that we are all educators, and we are all learners. Strengthening links with local businesses helps reconnect learning with the real world of work, giving students greater confidence, clearer direction, and a better understanding of where their learning can take them. We all share a common purpose, and we should never lose sight of it.” Without these partnerships, young people risk missing critical insight into career pathways, and the skills, both technical and transferable, needed to thrive. Engaging with local education providers can also bring a range of tangible benefits for businesses. It allows companies to discover future talent early, helping to reduce recruitment gaps. At the same time, staff can improve their own skills through mentoring, leadership, and communication opportunities. Businesses also raise their profile as community-minded organisations, while benefiting from fresh ideas and perspectives brought into the workplace. To explore how your business can get involved, contact the Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub. Author: Alex Nightingale - Operational Careers Hub Lead Business: The Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub Email: alex.nightingale@lincolnshire.gov.uk Photography: Headshot Toby

Michelle Wright & Nicola Auckland share how their podcast is helping women step forward with confidence... Although very different people, Nicola and Michelle have one very important thing in common... Nicola is known for proclaiming that she will “die on the hill” of making women visible in their business, and Michelle has a passion for helping women to feel confident in what they’re wearing. They just want women to stop playing small, to step out of the shadows and own the space that they have worked so hard for. And it’s for these reasons that they decided to host a podcast. Nicola and Michelle met when their kids were at primary school together, however neither can remember the other from the school gates! So, their first ‘real’ meeting was through networking, something they are both big advocates of. Nicola recognised a gap when her clients often asked her what to wear to a shoot. As she was clueless, not her zone of genius, she pointed them in Michelles direction for a pre-shoot styling session, and then Michelle was also on hand during the shoot as well for styling touch ups. Then followed a chance conversation where they both confessed to wanting to do a podcast. The chat quickly turned to throwing round some ideas, to excitement and Michelle, as a Pantser (IYKYK) wanted to just launch it there and then. However, Nicola being the voice of reason and a Planner (again IYKYK), reigned Michelle in by insisting on putting some plans in place before the eventual launch in April 2025. They couldn’t be happier with the response, now on season 2, with regular listeners and downloads, they are going from strength to strength. The Reinvention Diaries is aptly named as it is based on their own experiences of reinventing themselves. They were both in their 40’s when they started their own businesses, which truly felt like their calling. Nicola knew the corporate world wasn’t for her anymore when she was made redundant, so she took the opportunity to turn her side hustle dream into a reality and is now the owner of Nicola Auckland Photography, a brand photographer specialising in working with female business owners. Michelle had been a stay-at-home mum for fifteen years, however, she realised during lockdown that she wanted more than being an unpaid taxi-driver and packer of lunches, so returned to her fashion roots and launched a styling business to help women feel good about themselves. She is now known as Mrs Stylewright - a Style Coach & Colour Analyst. Whilst setting up their businesses they went through the sometimes difficult, sometimes liberating, transition of reinvention, rediscovering themselves and regaining lost confidence. Although they don’t claim to be business experts, they are experts in their respective fields and have real life experience of running a small business, so they are more than qualified to speak about the upsides and the pitfalls of working for yourself. They also regularly invite expert guests on the podcast to chat and impart their valuable knowledge, many with incredible stories! The Reinvention Diaries doesn’t always focus on work and business, Michelle and Nicola often delve into home life, so listeners also get a bit of a peep into their, very different, family lives often much to the dismay of their husbands, and luckily their children don’t listen! Each week brings something different, everything from valuable and insightful business advice to uncontrollable laughter and even tears on more than one occasion! You can listen to The Reinvention Diaries on all the usual podcast platforms, with a new episode every Wednesday. Nicola and Michelle invite listeners to email them at the studio on studio@thereinventiondiaries.co.uk or through their Instagram page @thereinventiondiariespodcast. Author: Michelle Wright | Style Coach & Colour Analyst Nicola Auckland | Brand Photographer Podcast: The Reinvention Diaries Podcast Email: studio@thereinventiondiaries.co.uk Photogrpahy: Headshot Toby

Adam Hooker shares how Have a Go Day connects young people with real experiences and local businesses in a genuinely meaningful way. The government recommends that young people should have at least four meaningful engagements with employers between year seven and year eleven. For the students at the Lincoln Saints Federation, they can knock this out in an hour, thanks to the Have a Go Day that they get to attend every year. Created in 2022 St Francis School, one of the schools within the federation, alongside its business partner Sureserve (at the time known as Aaron Services) the Have a Go Day invites businesses, organisations, charities, sole traders and just about anybody willing to give their time into the school to engage the young people with an activity. That first year saw eleven businesses and organisations come into the school. The event now encompasses two sites, with 35 vendors and over 350 young people involved in the 2025 event. According to Lincolnshire County Council, it is by far the largest event of its kind in the county. And, while nationwide data isn’t readily available, it is doubtful there are many larger anywhere in the UK. An array of attendees have visited past events. From sole traders and small businesses such as a window cleaner, catering businesses and a local graffiti artist through to huge multinational companies including Siemens, Pepsico and Currys. Students have taken part in as varied an activity as measuring the school playground with an estate agent, creating Quavers (well, except the cooking stage), fixing (and breaking) laptops, fixing a toilet, building a wall and, everybody’s favourite, driving a digger! The benefits to the young people are varied, as the federation caters for such wide-ranging needs. While work experience and site visits are crucial for young people, for many this offers a first contact-point with local employers. It may be the first step in a young person pursuing an interest in work that hadn’t previously contemplated the possibility. For other students, it is simply a day filled with wonderful experiences, sounds, sights, smells and sensations that they are not accustomed to, bringing to their doorstep opportunities that they would not otherwise have had. While it is amazing to know that the event could be impacting somebody’s chances of employment in years to come, it is equally as special just to see the look of enjoyment experienced on the day. And every visitor usually finds that one student that falls in love with their activity. The pupil that shuns everything else and spends four hours cleaning the same window, the pupil that was so fascinated by turning a key and making a noise they didn’t want to go anywhere else, the child who just wanted to play with sand. In many ways, the vendors that attend get more from it than the young people. After the event every year, the school is inundated with messages and emails. Ian Hill at Danfoss, who have been attending since year one, told us last year: “It was, as always, emotional and rewarding to see the interactions of the students with everyone. I still have a massive smile on my face.” Everybody that has ever attended would say similar. Describing the day in a meaningful way to anybody contemplating attendance is not an easy thing to do. It is easy to say that the young people engage with activities and have a wonderful time. What does that mean for a business? What can it provide? What will and won’t work? One way is to just get stuck in and bring something along. Most people find the second show is their favourite, once they have attended and seen how it works then gone away and perfected things. Anybody less confident in that approach, though, is more than welcome to get in contact about popping in on the day. Attend as a visitor, meet the young people and see what other companies are up to. There are so many ways to meet CSR requirements, but I doubt any of them are as fulfilling as a Have a Go Day event and spending a day with some amazing young people. Author: Adam Hooker - Teacher Business: Lincoln Saints Federation Email: adam.hooker@lincolnsaints.com Photography: Headshot Toby

Ginny Walker asks, "which do you need?" When it comes to business support, titles are often used interchangeably. Yet understanding the distinctions between a business adviser, a business coach and a business mentor can help you choose the right kind of support at the right time. The Business Adviser A business adviser typically provides specialist, technical or strategic guidance. Your accountant and solicitor are obvious examples, offering essential advice on compliance, structure and risk. Depending on your sector and stage of development, your marketing agency or HR consultant may also provide valuable advisory input. Membership organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce offer information, helplines and peer networks. In addition, GOV.UK provides a comprehensive business support service, which is often a sensible starting point for anyone considering a new venture. For established SMEs, funded or part-funded programmes may also be available, depending on sector and growth ambitions. Advisers bring knowledge and expertise. They help you interpret regulations, assess options and make informed decisions based on sound commercial understanding. The Business Coach A business coach focuses on performance, capability and behaviour. Coaching is usually structured and time-bound, centred on specific goals such as improving leadership effectiveness, strengthening communication skills or navigating a particular challenge. Rather than offering direct advice, a coach uses questioning, listening and feedback to stimulate insight and problem-solving. The emphasis is on enabling individuals and teams to develop their own solutions, build confidence and embed sustainable change. The Business Mentor A business mentor occupies a distinctive space between adviser and coach. Mentoring relationships are often longer term and less formally structured. The agenda tends to be broader, shaped by the business owner s evolving priorities rather than a single performance objective. An effective mentor combines commercial experience with coaching skill. They are willing to share insight when appropriate, while also creating space for reflection and growth. Crucially, they act as an independent and confidential sounding board, someone who brings practical perspective, constructive challenge and real- world understanding to complex decisions. Why the Right Partnership Matters At pivotal stages, start-up, rapid growth, succession planning, restructuring or market expansion, business leaders often need more than technical advice or short- term skills development. They need a trusted partner who understands the commercial realities, everyday challenges and what it really takes to move a business forward. As a freelance business mentor and adviser, I work alongside business owners and senior leaders to provide clear, commercially grounded support during periods of growth and change. Having guided a family- owned business from start-up through to a successful management buyout, I bring first-hand experience of the pressures, trade-offs and opportunities that shape longterm success. My work centres on strengthening leadership confidence, translating ambition into robust and achievable plans, and supporting sound decision-making in real-world business environments. In addition, I advise on accessing grant funding and developing strong public sector tenders that align commercial objectives with funding and procurement requirements. I typically work with leaders who value thoughtful challenge, practical insight and an experienced sounding board, and who recognise that sustainable growth is built on both strategic clarity and personal resilience. Choosing the right support can accelerate progress and reduce costly missteps. The key is understanding what you need, and partnering with someone who can meet you there. Author: Ginny Walker Business Mentor | Coach | Advisor Email: Ginny@ginnymeansbusiness.co.uk Photography: Headshot Toby

From the outside, many businesses look busy and solid. But when you look more closely, something interesting is often beneath the surface. The business has not really moved forward for some time. Ideas and efforts can plateau. New opportunities appear but do not quite convert. Plans get discussed but somehow remain incomplete. There’s a lack of enthusiasm and excitement. I have spent my career working in my own businesses as well as alongside owner-managed businesses, and this quiet kind of stagnation is something I encounter surprisingly often. One thing that strikes me is that in the early days, founders tend to operate with a sense of urgency. Decisions are quick, opportunities are pursued with enthusiasm and ideas turn into actions quite quickly. Energy carries the business forward. As the organisation grows, however, things naturally become more complicated. Teams expand, responsibilities spread out and the owner may begin to spend more time managing the business rather than directly driving it. Or spend less time in the business letting it become lifestyle focused. None of this is negative in itself. It is simply the natural progression of growth, but it does introduce a new challenge. Momentum becomes harder to maintain. You see often business owners may feel that they are ‘finished’ when they have built a profitable business at a certain level, probably taken their foot off the gas and are ‘maintaining’ and not growing. There is likely less ambition and more focus on doing the same things, likely in the same way, and just surviving. This is one of the reasons I created Business Unfinished, because no business or person is ever finished! Sometimes the energy and ideas start to reduce. Less risks are taken. New avenues of business are ignored as owners, managers and staff may become ordinary and just rinsing and repeating the norm. Surviving. Operating in a risk free comfort zone. Many founders can become tired and stop generating new ideas or different energies. They just lose the enthusiasm (or let it be knocked out of them). Things become Same Sh*t, Different Day! In my experience, these owners really need to work with a business coach or mentor. I find it hard to turn off over 30 years of hard wired sales & marketing led entrepreneurship and enjoy nothing better than working with business owners to help them generate new ideas and energy, looking at things from a different viewpoint and helping people to stop just doing the same things. Let’s build stories that clients really buy into, make them compelling and deliver with real enthusiasm. That sounds straightforward, but it requires discipline and a different way of thinking. Sales activity is a good example. In many organisations it remains surprisingly informal and ineffective, relying heavily on digital communications with little real interaction. Some say that less than 10% of people actually follow up and fully complete activity. I have to say from my experience I can see how that figure is right! Or put another way, over 90% of people don’t actually follow everything up! Introducing a consistent rhythm of prospecting, followup and review can transform performance, not through dramatic change but through steady, repeatable progress. Customer experience tends to follow a similar pattern. Businesses that grow steadily usually pay close attention to the small interactions that shape how customers perceive them. I have a complete event keynote about how great customer service actually multiplies your efforts in sales & marketing. These are not revolutionary ideas or rocket science but given that 90% of people don’t follow up, does it follow that 90% of business owners need a coach or mentor to give them focus energy and ideas to get them into the really effective zone? The encouraging part of all this is that stalled growth need not be permanent. Businesses need energy, new ideas and a spark to Ignite things. I love working to Ignite those sparks with clients. Do you need an occasional spark? Author: Paul Green Email: paul@businessunfinished.co.uk | Business: Business Unfinished Photograph: Headshot Toby

You try a new tactic. It doesn’t quite land. So you try something else. You post more, then less. Switch platforms. Refresh the website. Watch what a competitor is doing and wonder whether you should be doing that instead. Months pass. You’re working hard, spending energy you don’t really have, and somewhere in the back of your mind a quiet yet persistent voice is asking why it’s not working. This is the marketing spiral. And if you’ve been in it, you’ll know it’s exhausting - not just because of the effort, but because of comparison-itis. You look at peers and they seem to be moving. Their content is everywhere. Their brand has a confidence yours doesn’t feel like it has. And the spiral tightens, because now you aren’t just questioning your tactics. You’re questioning yourself. What’s usually missing isn’t a better strategy. It’s a simple but genuinely useful piece of self-awareness: knowing your own position. Not theirs. Yours. Most businesses are operating from one of three places: boldness, budget, or patience. Understanding which one applies to you right now isn’t a magic solution, but it is a remarkably effective way to stop the spiral and start moving with some actual intention. Bold Some businesses have genuine distinctiveness at their core. A founder with a clear point of view, a product that earns attention rather than having to buy it, or a brand with real personality and something to say. When that’s real, marketing has an energy that’s hard to manufacture elsewhere. The important word is real. Performed boldness tends to feel hollow, and audiences notice. Not every founder is built for it, and not every sector rewards it, which is fine. The useful question isn’t whether you could be bolder, but whether boldness is genuinely available to you right now, in this business, in this market. Budget Paid media has a complicated reputation among small businesses, largely because it’s so often done badly - too little money, too short a runway, no clear strategy, written off before it’s had a fair chance. Used properly and with commitment, budget is a completely legitimate path. It buys reach that organic effort can’t achieve in a reasonable timeframe, compresses the learning curve, and lets you test and refine in ways purely organic strategies can’t match. The condition is that you treat it as an investment with a long enough horizon to mean something. Spending a small amount for six weeks and expecting transformation isn’t a marketing strategy. Sorry, it’s disappointment waiting to happen. Patience This is the most undervalued of the three, and the one that modern business culture makes hardest to sustain. Organic growth is real. Consistent, valuable presence compounds over time. SEO builds. Relationships deepen. Reputation accumulates in ways paid media can’t fully replicate. Sometimes patience is a deliberate choice. Sometimes it’s simply circumstance. If cash is tight, patience isn’t a strategy you’ve selected from a menu - it’s the reality you’re working within, and there’s no shame in that. Knowing you’re in patient mode and truly accepting it is infinitely more useful than pretending otherwise, or measuring yourself against someone in a completely different position. The comparison that isn’t fair. The business you’ve been watching, the one that seemed to be everywhere, the one whose confidence made you question yours? They might be bold in ways that are genuinely part of who they are. They might be spending money you don’t know about. They might have been doing this for five years and you’re only seeing the results now. None of that is relevant to your situation. The comparison was never fair, because you weren’t starting from the same place. Knowing your own Bold/Budget/Patience position, whether chosen or circumstantial, does a powerful thing: it gives you permission to stop looking sideways. To measure yourself against your own last six months rather than someone else’s highlight reel. To build with what you actually have rather than what you wish you had. The spiral doesn’t end with a better tactic. It ends when you stop comparing and start choosing. Author: Emma Easton Business: Business Bollox & BBLX Strategy Email: emma@business-bollox.co.uk Photography: Headshot Toby