If you visited our blog page last week you may have noticed that I missed a week…
I could drop in every excuse in the book (including a packed diary, a fabulous wedding at Crook Hall Gardens over the weekend, and then spending time with the kids on the Sunday), but I’m not the sort of guy to give excuses!
Much…
As a recap, last week was spent primarily in London, catching up with our man on the ground Terry Cella, and assisting him in meetings with new and existing clients. We were active in central London, although I also had a very useful trip out to Southend-on-Sea for a meeting, which was very pleasant.
I also used Airbnb for the first time, and struck lucky with a fabulous apartment in Shoreditch that overlooked the city from the balcony. I would definitely use this service again, and highly recommend checking it out.
On Thursday I had a great meeting with a company offering culture change, and worked until the early hours the night before to get my presentation just right, with the hope of signing the client up to a 12-month design, email marketing and social media contract.
After my meeting in London, I rushed to Kings Cross to head back up to Durham for a meeting at The Radisson Blu. Back to the land of Jak!
Also worth noting is a really interesting breakfast meeting hosted by Andy Preston that I attended at the brassiere Hudson Quay, near Middlehaven, Middlesbrough. Very insightful. The event looked into why we should stay in the European Union, and it was evident that most of the businesses in attendance were in support of staying in. I wonder how the general public will vote on June 23rd.
This week I’ve been based in the North East, and have speaking to various local businesses to offer advice on growth through brand messages, websites, online marketing, and much more… all of which Jak Inc has to offer.
Special mention to Lee Flanagan and Natalie Bolt from Bespoke Financial, who have yet more ideas to disrupt the insurance marketplace in Teesside!
Wednesday was the North East Expo, which is becoming a must-attend event in the region, and it was good to see some familiar faces and friends of the business exhibiting or guest speaking. I was there representing both Jak and Focus On Success, whose leader Gary Lumby gave an excellent seminar on client referral marketing.
For more info on Focus On Success, check out our website.
On Thursday and Friday this week, I’ve been entertaining a very good friend and Ad Man who has previously worked for advertising giants WPP and M&C Saatchi. It doesn’t get much bigger than that in our world!
We talked business, strategy, Mad Men, Game of Thrones (amongst other things), and it was an amazing meeting.
This week, JAK have been so busy working alongside a local events company, building up to an open air event that has been both exciting and draining all-round. Plus, we’re working on:
- three websites
- business printing collateral
- a rebrand and logo design
- pens and pencil cases for a school
- loads of signage (including for a hospital and Tower 41 in London)
Before I close, I wanted to share something that I did for the first time last weekend. Harvey and Olivia went to Runswick Bay near Whitby whilst we were at a wedding, and they went winkling. In case you didn’t know, winkles are sea-snail like creatures that live in rock pools as the tide goes out. They are considered a delicacy, so my brother-in-law cleaned and boiled them and offered one to me with a pin to draw it out. Not wanting to show myself up to the kids, I obligingly ate a winkle, and was pleasantly surprised by how nice it tasted.
Will I be rushing to eat another one? Probably not, but at least I tried it!
Have you tried a winkle? Let me know your winkle experiences!
This week is the second bank holiday of the year, and tonight Boro face Birmingham at St Andrews. It’s a must-win if we want automatic promotion. The last game of the season is against Brighton – who are flying high – so its going to be interesting.
Have a great one, and I hope the weather warms up!
Anything is possible,
Andy Knowles
Managing Director
