Posts

The Startup Britain campaign, which was Government backed, and privately funded is being taken over by the Centre for Entrepreneurs a self styled Entrepreneurs' Think Tank, set up by serial Entrepreneur, Luke Johnson, whose long list of credentials can be seen here.

I have been cynical of the Startup Britain campaign in the past, and am currently still a Start Up Champion for the Stratford area. But it has done a lot of good, raised a lot of awareness, and shows that there were over 500,000 businesses started last year.

It would be nice to see some stats from 2011 when it all started, and how many startups are still trading, how many in profit etc. But the Start Up Britain Campaign is alive and well, and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here, and what impact having someone like Luke Johnson has on the campaign.

I assume your question is aimed at larger businesses, as I can't see many small or micro-businesses willing to fund some back slapping sessions and a free jolly for employees.

I'm always a bit cynical of motivational speakers. You need to be a pretty motivated self starter to start a business. Most employees are also going to pretty enthusiastic working for a start up, as I think you need to be if you work in a small company, as the risks of folding are high, and probably salary and perks low

Blue chip companies I worked for in the past relied on management styles to provide employee motivation, which ranged from amazing to I'm leaving, rather than outsourced motivational speakers.

Seen a quite few at networking events, most are interesting, but only a couple stand out as truly motivational. The rest seemed to rechurn common sense and well worn cliches.

I see you offer motivational speaker services, so what's your take and experience? Are you trying to work out a strategy, hence the question? Or is it just general research? Obviously it's not just self promotion

Need to reign you in on the link dropping.

But analysis wise, in this post Penguin world, you saw the result drop as soon as you stopped providing links?

Doesn't this confirm that the old strategy of link building, may give a quick short term boost, but isn't sustainable, ie results disappear as soon as the SEO work stops?

Would Dr. Jian Feng be better off having the facility to generate quality content that would allow natural link building, and promotion across social media?

Or is the argument that old fashioned link building is alive and well, and the new customers generated more than covers the ongoing cost? Are these links at the mercy of a future Google update, or do you think they are safe?

No rights or wrongs, just genuinely curious.

A fascinating and good counter

So in true Churchillian style, we could deem all the current issues as simply the end of the beginning, as bitcoin technology is forced to mature, as it strives to evolve as a main stream currency.

Personally, (and unusually) I'm still stuck on the fence, but can see some good persuasive arguments on both sides of the divide. Even the missus who is naturally risk adverse reckons we should be buying into them!

Thanks for detailed and interesting analysis, I'm sure either way, it's going to be an interesting/hair raising 12/24 months for the Bitcoin.

Anyone else got any thoughts, or looking to utilise them?

As long as you are making the revenue to provide you with a feeling of empowerment.

It can also be bewildering and terrifying for a lot of people who haven't really considered the harsh realities, such as missing skill sets, lack of understanding of the rules of business, and a lack of cash to buy the right skills in, or outsource them.

If you get it right, then there's nothing more rewarding than being your own boss, but it can be a long rocky road to get there. I remember being told once by an accountant the difference between a successful business and a business failure was having enough money to carry you through all your early mistakes and learning from them.

I laughed at the time thinking you old fool. How right he was... Mind you the same bloke also said you're not a proper company until you've been sued a few times... I laughed at that as well <gulp>

It's an odd one. I always used to think it was just an anecdotal fantasy that normally came up after a few beers with Scottish mates. I can't believe how seriously it's been taken, and the fact there has been a meeting of NATO to discuss defence post split, talks on currency etc.

Our little Island is hardly the largest Country in the World, but we have to be the most argumentative and tribal race on Earth

I am baffled how we managed to achieve the worlds largest Empire, when we can't get on with people 30 miles up the road because they talk funny or support another football team.

I think it's madness for the UK to break up, and the reality is, there are more Scots living in London than there are in Scotland. It's a shame all this Nationalistic fervour can't be put to a more useful purpose, like generating decent businesses, inventing new technology or being a magnet for growth and investment. Instead it's all bout quibbling over North Sea resources which have peaked and are now in decline, and the age old argument, politics and power.

I doubt the average Scot or English bod in the street will see any advantages if we all split, and as Barney says, we should be looking more closely at Europe.

Even more so when you come across large or Government based organisations that aren't mobile friendly People who should have the resources and access to research, feedback and technical resource.

As a non web designer, (so purely surmising) I'd imagine most if not all web designers would be offering responsive designs as standard for wordpress/CMS based sites, or basic mobile alternatives if responsive didn't tick the buttons for whatever reason.

Still seeing on a daily basis new businesses launching with fairly basic (so assuming non professionally designed) websites which aren't mobile friendly.

If any web designers are willing to answer (he says cheekily) would you charge extra for a site to be visible on a mobile device, or is this to be expected as standard, and not as an optional extra?

I'll confess to being a bitcoin cynic, although I am desperately trying to view it in an impartial or positive light.

But from face value, and what's said in the media, recent security hack attacks on Bitcoin traders and banks are just fuelling scepticism and the credibility of Bitcoin as a viable currency.

BBC News - Bitcoin bank closes down after $600,000 hacker theft

The Inside Story of Mt. Gox, Bitcoin's $460 Million Disaster | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

BBC News - Bitcoin value drops sharply after tech issues continue

The UK has decided not to apply VAT on the creation of Bitcoins, so that tells me it doesn't see Bitcoins as a genuine threat.
BBC News - HMRC scraps VAT on virtual currency Bitcoin

So is the love affair/obsession/fad with bitcoins coming to an end, or is this just the inevitable teething problems of a new complex financial system?

What does anyone else think?

There was loads of talk years ago of different technologies bouncing of the curvature of the earth, and ramjets and all sorts of good things, that gave a flight time to Australia of a few hours. But it' seems to have all gone quiet, so guess we are stuck with long haul flights for sometime to come