The Savvy Solos Club

03/04/2018

With 34 people at the event, it was a fantastic turn out and a really vibrant atmosphere. Thanks to Simon Lowe Photography Simon Lowe for taking the pictures for us.

31/03/2018

29/03/2018

The members of the Savvy Solos Club support each other, help each other and have a right good laugh together too!

We've popped the monthly themes (and the dates) into our membership site to make sure members have the opportunity to get booked up nice and early.

If you are thinking of joining us, this is what we're up to over the next 6 months to whet your appetite and give you a reason to join us!

All the events are held in Consett and Northumberland and you're welcome to either.

April - The Money Month: Where we focus on pricing, value and profits!

May - The Savvy Show-Off Exhibition (venue & date tbc)

June - The Planning Month - Where we tackle marketing planning (strategy, monthly and weekly plans)

July - The Digital Month - Focus on phone photography and phone video

August - BBQ & Savvy Party to raise money for Willowburn Hospice

September - The Sales Month - Selling & how to love it!

If you have any queries on membership please contact michelle .co.uk and have a look at our website for more information www.thesavvysolosclub.co.uk

15/03/2018

Our always have the opportunity to have 1-2-1 time with Chief Savvy Nicola Jayne Little to work on their businesses . It's always loads of fun but you've gotta work hard as Nicola will keep you on task! (Eh Simon Lowe Landscapes ?!)

07/03/2018

What is an elevator pitch?

Following our last training and networking event in February, Amanda Jane Ogden wrote this wonderful piece on her blog.

Amanda is a very skilled textile artist who runs her own business...

“I’m Amanda from Amanda Jane Textiles, which is a textile design business that creates fabric designs and writes quilt and sewing patterns for people who like making beautiful things with fabric. I can be found online. My fabric designs are just a bit different and my patterns are very easy to understand (even for beginners). In a mix of crowded on-line markets, these are patterns that work and designs that are individual.

https://amandajanetextiles.com/2018/03/05/what-is-an-elevator-pitch/

I’ve recently joined the ‘Savvy Solos Club, convened and orchestrated by the inimitable Nicola Jayne Little. I interviewed Nicola about her company Digital Sparkles (www.digitalsparkles.co.uk.) las…

06/03/2018

New Member Blog: A Checklist for setting up your social media accounts properly covering:

*Naming your accounts
*Images (and a size cheat sheet)
*About You
*Call To Action button

Click on the link to log in and have a good read - see whether your social media accounts leave the correct first impression.

http://thesavvysolosclub.co.uk/members/nicolajayne/buddyblog/my-posts/1522/

04/03/2018

Our member Laura Peel Forsyth has been writing blogs for the member's area of the website.

I'm off to read this one - 8 practical tips to declutter your inbox - as I currently have 2000 emails in there!

(PS imagine how easy it'd be with a mailbox that looks as pretty as those in the image? Wish we had that view every day!).



http://thesavvysolosclub.co.uk/members/lauraforsythva/buddyblog/my-posts/1513/

04/03/2018

Grow Your Business Your Way. Join The Savvy Solos Club!

We're taking applications for 10 new members in The Savvy Solos Club, March '18.

If you run your own business and sometimes need a gang to talk to, share ideas with or work with people who get the challenges of running a micro business, join .

You will get access to your private membership area on our website, our private Facebook group, how-to videos, worksheets, blogs and a 3 hour monthly meet up.

Our theme for March is Networking culminating in our Big Get Together on 29 March.

Membership is priced at £15 per month so everyone can afford it.

Send us a message or visit the website to apply www.thesavvysolosclub.co.uk

27/02/2018

The Savvy Solos Club – The Club for those who work on their own

Thinking of joining ? Here's what we can offer you in March:

1. A three-hour training and networking session takes place each month and our theme for March is Networking which culminates in our Big Get Together on March 29th in Consett.

We have a guest speaker, the wonderful Helen Richardson who has been a for 18 years running her business her way, networking with all the members and Dan Bowes will be showing us his Mixologist skills to kick off the Easter holidays!

2. A members-only website which is updated weekly with a new blog post and video related to the theme of the month.

3. The opportunity for you to write blogs for members and lead sessions.

4. Support and business mentoring from your fellow who are all on their own in business too.

If you would like to join us, then just click on the link and register - Michelle Dobson Virtual Personal Assistant will do the rest!

www.thesavvysolosclub.co.uk

Grafter Works harder than most Persistent Doesn't stop or give up Works alone Your Business Your Way Struggle It's Real Elated For Ourselves And Our Clients. Determined Focused To Achieve Join The Savvy Solos Club Who is a Savvy Solo? You run your own business or are self-employed, You work on your....

26/02/2018

In February, our members created their own business "Onliness statement (only-ness).
Here's ours:

"The Only business club
That sells monthly membership
For self-employed, sole traders and sole business owners
In the North East of England
Who need training, support and colleagues who 'get' what they do
In an age of pressure and information overload"

Try it yourself for your own business and share it with us.

13/02/2018

: Choose the right networking event for you.

Getting out and about is an essential element of our marketing mix when we're looking to build awareness of our business. Learning how to speak to strangers and pitch our business helps us gain confidence and grow.

But there are loads of different events for us to choose from and sometimes, they'll just not be the right fit. Don't give up, keep going out until you know which ones are right for you and your business.

Log into the membership website and read more in our latest blog post www.thesavvysolosclub.co.uk

11/02/2018

Watch what Nicola Jayne Little has to say about joining The Savvy Solos Club via our new YouTube Channel.

http://bit.ly/SavvySolosIntro

11/02/2018

Dear , do you struggle when you attend networking meetings and nervous to get it right? We've just published our latest blog post in the membership site which tackles this very issues and gives you some pointers to get it right.
Just log into your membership area to have a read http://thesavvysolosclub.co.uk/

We've also added our dates for our next meetings with the theme, Perfect Your Pitch - once you have this nailed you'll be a Savvy Networker whenever you leave the house!

09/02/2018

Welcome to our new members : Clare Edwin Amanda Jane Ogden Aimee Smith Danielle Stanley we can't wait to welcome you on 13 February for your induction to the website. Michelle Dobson will email you full details on Sunday xx

06/02/2018

The Savvy Solos Club's cover photo

02/02/2018

Members, do you want a private Facebook group for us all to share what's happening in our members only website?

28/01/2018

Hope everyone has a great week, I’m away from tomorrow but will be checking emails once a day, if anything is urgent please contact Nicola or James... thanks Michelle x

28/01/2018

On this fine Sunday evening, we welcome Danielle Stanley and Aimee Smith to The Savvy Solos Club! Hope to see you both at the event for new members on the 13 February from 2 - 5 pm. Our Michelle Dobson will be in touch x

27/01/2018

What a wonderful first week it was. Thanks to everyone who made it

27/01/2018

New to Canva? Sign up!

MEMBERS! Here is the banner template for you to use to design your profile banner. The size is 870 * 219 (check how it looks on your desktop, tablet, phone etc).

If you are Canva user all you need to do is click on the link and because the image has been saved publicly and as a template, you can just alter it for yourself and download it for your membership profile.

Anyone else not using Canva, just remember the dimensions 870 * 219.

http://bit.ly/savvysolosbannertemplate

Create beautiful designs with your team. Use Canva's drag-and-drop feature and layouts to design, share and print business cards, logos, presentations and more.

23/01/2018

Self-employed? Find your colleagues in The Savvy Solos Club!

With many thanks to James Lane for capturing our first members at our very first event.

Loads of fun, it was clear that members who all work on their own as sole traders, or have businesses, really value the camaraderie, honest chat and chance to learn with people just like them.

We're taking applications for 10 new members in March. Check us out via the website www.thesavvysolosclub.co.uk and apply to join.

23/01/2018

And so it starts! The very first cohort of have been meeting each other and working through The Savvy Solos website this morning. Thank you so much to you all for your enthusiasm, patience and suggestions.

21/01/2018

Thank you to Deborah Nolan a member who has designed the branding for The Savvy Solos Club.
I am determined to build The Savvy Solos supply chain from our members - that's one of The Club's main aims, to provide opportunities to help our solo businesses grow.

09/01/2018

/Savvy Solos Members on Twitter

We've set up a Twitter list for all our members so you can really easily find each other.

https://twitter.com/TheSavvySolos/lists/savvy-solos-members

From breaking news and entertainment to sports and politics, get the full story with all the live commentary.

08/01/2018

And the members just keep on growing : James Lane ,
Tessa Budd , Laura Peel Forsyth , Stacy Burleigh , Sarah Gardener , Keely Pearce , Michelle Dobson and Laura Emerick , Ali Bergstrand , Sarah, Rachel Locke , Nicole Thompson , Debbie, and Rita Callender too!

And as of right now Nathalie Paris and James Ibbitson! And Moira and Nora Cool ... and Gavin Forster and Deborah Nolan ... The list keeps growing x

And we're full up for January!

We can't WAIT to get started. We're buying goodies for the events on 23 and 26th Jan in the Digital Sparkles training suite, Viewpoint, Consett.

07/01/2018

Welcome to Tessa Budd our very first Savvy Solo member! As a thank you, we'll be giving you a copy of our marketing pack when it's printed. How very Savvy :)

06/01/2018

We've received 50 completed membership application forms in 5 hours! Wowsers! We'll be contacting each and every one of you as soon as we've processed them all! Michelle Dobson is going to be busy :)

06/01/2018

The Savvy Solos Club

Welcome and thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in joining The Savvy Solos Club.

Our first meeting dates are in the diary and we'll be sharing them next week. In the meantime, start getting excited for your new team and support network.

The Only business club
That sells monthly membership
For self-employed, sole traders and sole business owners
In the North East of England
Who need training, support and colleagues who 'get' what they do
In an age of pressure and information overload

02/01/2018

Morning ! I imagine, like me you're doing some kind of planning this week as we crash right into 2018 and crack on.

How about getting Savvy with your Customers?

Detailing a Customer Persona (Otherwise known as a Customer Avatar or your Ideal Customer). Everything you know about your Ideal Customers will help you plan brilliant content that meets their needs when you're marketing, refine your products and services, understand their objections to buying your products or services and help you when you're selling.

Grab a pen and consider these next 5 factors:

1. Their demographic - age, gender, lifestyle, family status, what they love doing
2. Where they hang out
3. Their goals and values
4. The challenges they face &
5. The objections they have to buying from you.

Having an understanding of all of these things helps you sell.

A how-to-guide and downloadable worksheet is in the your exclusive membership area.

Many thanks to Kaye Collins for delivering her Sales training for Digital Sparkles last year - you know your stuff!

01/01/2018

Your exclusive membership club is on its way . You'll gain access to each other with groups on our website, there'll be blogs galore (written by members of the group), access to one another as preferred suppliers to really nail our supply chains and support one another.

There will be how - to - videos, downloads and all the dates for our facilitated networking events that are exclusive for members.

AND there's exclusive member training courses, 1-2-1 sessions and the chance to find your business buddy.

The Club is the place for you to grow as a self-employed business person, grow your business as you need it to be and learn from others just like you.

Welcome to The Savvy Solos Club.

*We're accepting membership applications as of the 5 January 2018*
[email protected] for more information

13/12/2017

*SavvySolos update*

We've just about finished the application form to apply to become a member of The Savvy Solos Club.

Potential members will receive a personal invitation to join The Club via email and / or Facebook messenger.

Thank you to everyone who has already expressed an interest in joining The Savvy Solos Club. Our first event dates are pencilled in and the website will be ready to launch in the first week of January 2018.

What a way to start the New Year!

10/12/2017

It's all so exciting. We've had two days building the Savvy Solos website so it'll be ready to launch in January 2018. We'll be getting our pre- membership application form sorted out next week so watch out for your invitation to join winging its way to you soon. James Lane

30/11/2017

Small business Saturday. Try and buy local and support local. Not just at Christmas though!

Have you decided which Small Business to visit this Saturday, Small Business Saturday?

Search your area for thousands of great local small businesses on our Small Business Saturday app


Available now on Apple and Android

25/11/2017

Tim Ferriss gives 5 tips for starting a kick-ass small business

What do you think of this blog from Tim Ferris for starting a kick-ass small business?

https://99designs.co.uk/blog/business-en-gb/tim-ferriss-5-tips-starting-small-business/

Business innovator, best-selling author and investor Tim Ferriss gives five quick tips to make sure you're successful when starting a small business.

24/11/2017

Dream or reality? I'm reading the 4-hour work week to pick up tips.

Thought provoking - we don't want to be millionaires, just want the lifestyle that money can give us, eg holidays, time off, doing stuff that pleases us rather than because we have to.

What do you think?

21/11/2017

Have you downloaded the Small Business Saturday app?

Have you decided which small business to visit on Small Business Saturday yet? Download our app right now and find one of thousands of small businesses near you!

20/11/2017

Starting A Business- The Boring (But Necessary) Stuff!

I think this is a great check list for all the 'boring' things we all need to think about when starting a business. It is essential to get these into place right at the very beginning so you can get on with securing your clients and getting some sales.

Remember, even if it is just you in your business or you are self-employed, we need to always 'look the part' for our clients to build trust in us. Having full systems and procedures in place is essential.



http://www.m-h-l.co.uk/blog/startingabusiness

So you've decided to start a business. You know what you will be offering and thought about how to get clients. You are as confident as you can be that your new venture will at least pay the bills initially and you are excited about having the freedom that comes with being your own boss. You can’t w...

19/11/2017

One of the most fabulous things about working for ourselves is choosing when and where to work. Where's the most exotic place you've whipped your preferred bit of kit out and done a bit of work?

18/11/2017

Sometimes working on your own feels just about the loneliest place in the world. But when you're a member of The Club, the only time you'll be on your own is when you choose to be.

Not sure the signal would be so great up the hill mind you!

17/11/2017

The Savvy Solos Club