Today I was at Chamber House to deliver my Academy Workshops for my business members. The big screen makes such a difference when discussing the various areas of my website and how best to use it. Access to the training room is a great benefit to Chamber members, thank you!

Having attended last year I was keen to see what shape the event would take this year. To my delight, it exceeded all expectations this year! The new venue worked well, the catering was delicious and more importantly the speakers delivered exceptional value! The organisers ensured everything ran smoothly, creating an environment perfect for learning and networking. DigiFest is fast becoming a must-attend event for anyone in the digital space. I came away with new ideas and a fresh perspective on the latest digital trends. Already looking forward to next year!

When I dropped by to present them with their award certificate from business of the Year it was sooooo busy and the food smelt delicious I decided I needed to come back for a breakfast. So Christmas Eve I dropped by and had the medium breakfast which was very tasty. I would happily recommend you check it out for yourself.

Thank you to Gordana for taking the time to review my latest marketing materials layout and content. Your objective eye was very welcome and the finished result is substantially better as a result!

Swain Brother has been long standing members of thebestof Eastbourne and over the past 12 years I have heard nothing but praise for the team. So when it was time to update couple of my windows who else would I turn to? For peace of mind and comparison I talked with a few local double glazing companies but Swain Brothers were by far the most competitive estimate and 0 pressure to visit the property to measure up. As soon as I was ready Tim visited me to get the final measurements and discuss options to meet my needs. Windows were installed quickly and with minimal disruption. Great Job!

Thank you so much to Martin for again sharing his expert knowledge with fellow members of thebestof Eastbourne and our guests at the Business Boost event. Some great insights shared and we really appreciate the guidance on attracting and retaining the best possible employees for our businesses.

I have had to talk to One Answer Insurance more than normal as in November I cracked my windscreen and needed to have it replaced. I was able to source a local repair business that had me back on the road in just a few days and having submitted my claim to my insurer this was processed quickly and without any fuss at all. Thats to all the team members that helped me with my renewals and recent windscreen claim.

A HUGE thanks to Simon for making a suggestion on how I could help my members more with a small change. It has proven to be the most commented-on change over the last 5 or 6 years! Simon's attention to detail is a true asset.

Working with Mina for as many years as I have is a real blessing, when I noticed a significant change to Facebook Mina was my first point of call. We talked about the issue and the potential implications to the wider business community and how we can offer advice should it be needed!

Getting back to work in the new year always means time to renew my insurance. For many years now One Answer have looked after my car insurance matching and on occasions beating online comparison websites! Today Dani M walked me through the painless process and was very helpful in making sure I knew all the details etc. Thanks for the help!

How much do I love Market Theatre Touring Company? I have seen three of their shows now and laughed so hard in them all. My first encounter was Roman Romp which I had now idea what I was in for... but certainly entertaining for adults. I for one can't wait to see them again in their next production!

I hit a stumbling block when making a change to the new pc I got from AP-it and Andrew was able to talk me through it and even sent me the helpful article about how to resolve my issue.

My computer is the heart of my business and during the lockdown, it has been working harder than ever. Though I may be tech-savvy in terms of using programs etc the inner workings of my PC are still a mystery so when I found myself running low on hard drive space with only a fraction of my storage drive in use I was lost. Thanks to Andrew and the free tool he suggested I found the problem and resolved it very quickly. As I always say, listen to the experts they have years of figuring things out even if it seems a quick solution they have probably spent hours trying to make sure it is the most effective solution!

I have been using One Answer Insurance for my Car Insurance for many years now, every year when I get my renewal I do my homework to check rates in the market then call One Answer to check my policy information is as accurate at possible. Without fail they have always been able to get me as competitive or BETTER cover for my car. This year I was looked after by Daniella Mcpherson who was an absolute star! It is certainly unusual for me to enjoy renewing insurance but Daniella made the whole process painless.

I love Alison’s video advice that is shared on social media. Having been taught how to clean my teeth using an electric toothbrush I thought my mouth was pretty clean until the video about the water jet. When I spotted a deal on one I purchased it right away and WOW my mouth feels amazingly clean. Brilliant advice as always, thank you so much.

Over the years I have often been asked why don’t I employ a team member and the answer is always the same. I am happy to pay a higher rate for a service that I don’t need to train, develop and check the work. I have a million and one things to do each day and that is before I wake up in the morning so knowing I can outsource copy or social media to Mina’s team without having to worry is priceless (but please don’t tell Mina than she might increase her prices lol)

I do love my renewal process with One Answer, the make my life so much easier and Natalie was very helpful in getting me the best possible price. They have looked after me now since 2014 and though some years I can save a few pounds elsewhere the service I get from the team is well worth it.

If I could go back to tell my younger self about the value of learning I would have been a much better student. Now I take every opportunity to learn from others that are “doing the do” and that is what I got when I had an EDEAL funded session with Mina. Yes, I am already knowledgeable about social media but if you have ever heard the saying can’t see the forest for the trees this can easily happen and taking time to sit and talk through strategy and the various changes to platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. Mina certainly reignited my love of LinkedIn as I have been favouring Facebook for a while now but certainly going to be looking at all the opportunities now open to Businesses owners like me on the platform.

Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant! I laughed so much during the adult panto. The cast were brilliant and intermission icecream was delicious :)

My first visit on a Friday night. Great atmosphere and perfect place for a couple of drinks before heading to the theatre.

I needed help with reviewing multiple pages of content I had written and was far to close to the subject matter to see them anymore. Gordana was kind enough to review the content and give me feedback. My office work made easy with a little help, BIG thank you :)

Creating content is an ongoing challenge as you find a style and stick to it. I need to ensure that copy for thebestof Eastbourne along with our SEO text is as effective as possible and Mina has been a great help. Even when it is content I have created having a fresh pair of eyes look over it to catch the silly errors that slip in when you are so close to the subject. Thank you for all you do.

Really enjoyed Roman Romp! Very funny adult comedy. The refit to the theatre certainly is noticeable on arrival.

It's key to business to success to outsource the things you are not 100% required to do... Ditzy Media help me with a number of things that free me up to focus on other areas of my business!

BIG thanks to Mina for stepping in at the 11th hour to speak at our #EBtweetup when our scheduled speaker had to drop out. As always the content was current, relevant and delivered in simple English… something that is always appreciated by our guests.

Sharing expert knowledge makes my job in promoting members of thebestof Eastbourne all the easier and in the last year or so working with Tectonic their commitment to excellence has been apparent. Offering electrical advice and hints and tips helping our online community have access to high quality information from local business!

Thank you once again for a great deal on my car insurance, when the renewal came through it was a little higher than last year and having had an expensive service I thought it best to check if I was getting the best price. Logging on to a comparison website I filled in a form with lots of questions and selected options as close to the policy I had. When the results came back showing the cheapest on offer was nearly £100 more I new I was in safe hands with One Answer so took up the renewal. Talked with Suzie W who was very helpful and made the process painless! Speak again in a month or two when my home contents is due for renewal 

Time never seems to slow down in the digital world and opportunities pass in the blink of an eye. When I started working with Ditzy Media to manage some of my social media accounts to ease the burden from me managing them all, an amazing thing happened… being less “dizzy” from having to do it all myself I had breathing room to look at my accounts from a strategic point of view. Working with Joe and Mina we have made tweaks to the campaign and certainly getting the results I was hoping for. It was a big decision to trust a 3rd party with my brand but Joe and Mina have taken very good care of my hard-fought reputation.

Running multiple social media accounts is very time consuming even more so when I know what I want to say I just don’t have the time to share this in a time fashion or take the time to schedule them. I made the decision to have Ditzy Media take over the management of a few of my social media feeds and have been so pleased I did. They respond quickly to my requests and now with Joe as my point of contact I am pleased to see the service levels have not dropped! Joe has been very thorough with getting to know my objectives and is ensuring that my accounts are well maintained and informative. Thanks Mina and Joe between you Ditzy Media saves me a lot of time!

When it comes to LinkedIn most people would agree recruiters use it was great effect and as LinkedIn itself keeps reminding me with their bubble messages “just one profile view can result in getting that top job” or words to that effect. So when I wanted to share some expertise with our members and audience there could be no better option that Martin Ellis the Head Hunter at RSE. Martin has presented at two workshops for me an in-depth 2 hours and a summary 10 minutes showing his flexibility as a speaker jam packing both sessions with high useful information. Really enjoyed learning about this highly underrated social media platform. It is certainly not just for people looking for jobs but a huge online extension to your business network!

Mina is a huge help to thebestof Eastbourne and a joy to promote. Mina and I have known each other since 2006 and she has always been someone I can turn to for advice. Since the launch of Ditzy Media I have watched the business truly take shape and grow. Having Mina available to help with copywriting for our features, hosting #EBhour and generally just being there when needed. We have great creative sessions and often fill in the gaps in each others knowledge which is the perfect compliment to our working relationship.

I was able to renew my first of 3 policies I hold with One Answer Insurance today, service was as always excellent. Stuart talked me through specifics of the policy and made it a very straight forward process.

When meeting with businesses to discuss supporting them with their business marketing in Eastbourne I always look for businesses with a generous nature willing to support community initiatives and events. This year Simon has really impressed me with his support for a number of local charity events and he even invited me to a Cricket event he was a sponsor for in Bexhill. In addition to being charitable Simon also makes regular quality contributions to our business marketing workshops and put forward suggestions how to make thebestof Eastbourne even better for its business members.

I am notoriously difficult to buy for though my new watch from Chatfileds is awesome. When I first saw it I knew I had to have it. To receive it as a surprise gift for my birthday with engraving it is even more special. Thank you so much.

Since I first launched my marketing support workshops I have really enjoyed providing helpful and timely advice to my members. In June with thebestof Buy Local campaign, my first expo and of course the #EBtweetup my diary of "free time" was non existent so I turned to Ditzy Media to help fill the gap. WOW was I impressed, not only was I covered but Ditzy Media also involved another member of thebestof Eastbourne and crafted a very comprehensive content workshop. Much more detailed and with facts and figures I don't always have time to drill down to. To say my marketing support work shop was in safe hands in an understatement! Huge thanks to you Mina for all the values you bring to thebestof Eastbourne.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Polegate office to renew my public liability insurance policy. The team very friendly, knowledgeable and "talked in my language" I got a better deal than my renewal offer and I am even more confident I am in safe hands with them. Big thanks to Stuart C for all his help and patients trying to get hold of me with my hectic diary! See you again when my Car and Home policies are due.

Mina has been a member of thebestof Eastbourne now for a short while and also helping me with my overflow of social media work. From helping look after my secondary accounts to content creation Mina's help has been invaluable. Feeding the content hungry social media is nearly a full time job in itself and being able to depend on the abilities of someone like Mina to create content I can trust is something that could not have arrived sooner. I am not sure how I coped without someone with the level of experience Mina has before now. Social Media is not going away and I am so pleased that local business now have somewhere to turn to in the form of Ditzy Media!

I just wanted to say a BIG thank you to all the staff at the Afton Hotel. From getting things set up for my events to putting up with my endless meetings in their lounge area. Today they even accommodated my filming about thebestof with Lone Coyote TV! Such a flexible venue I think they are great :)

I have known Mina (owner of Ditzy Media) for many years now. At a previous Tweetup I invited her to speak as a local expert on the use of social media. As many consider me an authority on Social Media I have to admit it is such a vast subject that having someone I can trust to do an exceptional job and brain storm with is a huge relief. Any business be it a member of thebestof Eastbourne or other local business can be assured of the best possible service and access to an impressive knowledge bank!

Having my Christmas party at the Afton Hotel and wanting to enjoy it with a few festive drinks I thought I would take advantage of staying overnight. I have used the Afton Hotel on many occasions for my events over the years but never had a need for staying over. After checking in I found my room which was nice enough. The wall art was a beautiful shot of the pier. I had a few hours before my guests were due to arrive so lay on the bed and watched some TV (a reasonable size TV with a simple enough remote). I have to say the bed was much more comfortable than I expected hence falling asleep and nearly missing my party! Whenever I travel I normally opt for a Premier Travel Inn but safely say that the bed I had at the Afton Hotel offered me just as good a night sleep (not aided by Alcohol at all) I know most of the staff well but they were just as friendly as always. Everything for the evening went smoothly and to time. Pleased to see that drinks were not expensive. When at an event earlier in the year (in Solihull) I was disappointed at being charged £5 a pint where drinks at the Afton Hotel are not the normal hefty mark up you can get at hotels.

Recently I gave the writing services of the My Admin Support a try. Sarah was extremely professional and totally understood my needs. The copy was provided within the agreed time frame and it is getting the results I really wanted to see. Finding a copy writer that can deliver content in the style I want has proven difficult but from the results of this first trial I shall certainly be putting more projects to the My Admin Support team.

I have been an NHS dentist user for years always thinking private would be so expensive I could just make do with basic dental care. Having the opportunity to give private care a chance I now know the difference! I have a better understanding of my teeth and gums my dental routine is much better and I have seen a 80% improvement after just 1 visit! The team are all really friendly and I feel they care more about me than my limit on my credit card. The payment plan looks affordable so I hope to be looked after by true dental professionals for the care I know I should have been taking but put off due to "cost" after all looking at what I have spent in repair could have been avoided with proper preventative care.