Wednesday, 19 December 2007

What's your new years resolution?

Yes, this is the one and only post for December. I do feel a little embarrassed to be saying that, after all I said in the last few months about keeping in touch with your customers, and perseverance, and good manners, and customer service, and staying on top of it all and ... well, you get the picture.

My aim for 2008 (is that a new year resolution?) is to get consistent comments on my blog, and more feedback from our online and offline networking. I know that's going to take more work on my part, I will try and keep up with it.

Quite a few SPEEDsters have up and left Nottingham for the Christmas holiday, so we'll be seeing them all again in the New Year, refreshed and full of energy! Phil and I have been planning some sessions for the next term after what we hope was the success of the financials session.

I am looking forward to next year, I can't believe I'll be celebrating one year at the Hive (as well as my birthday) at the beginning of February. Life in the University has been great, I was a little culture shocked when I first came, but the edges have rubbed off me and I am a little more forgiving now. Things still appear to move at a snail's pace, but they do move. I think they might go a little faster in 2008. I am determined to make the 2nd year of the SPEED project a success , to hopefully extend it past the pilot phase. Should be fun!

Anyhow, the University is closed for Christmas week, therefore Hive will close on 21st December until 2nd January. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and look forward to working with you in 2008!

Oh, and join us in Second Life in 2008

Tuesday, 27 November 2007

Monday, 19 November 2007

More Hockey with Rats

Thank you Glyn and Nedstar for providing the amusement at the FOI.


I couldn't possibly comment about the voiceover...some shrieking banshee took over the camera for an instant. Apologies, she has gone and won't be back.


The Final Post

No, not the final post ever...you're not that lucky! It's the last time I shall mention the Festival of Innovation! (...maybe... well probably... erm possibly...)

We had a great day out, there was a definite feel of school trip on the freezing cold coach on the way there. The stand looked great- thanks to everyone for the poster info and to the gals and guys who exhibited. NTU had the best stand, and I'm not just saying that. Better than the rocket car! Oh yes, you missed a rocket car!









Glyn http://www.nedstar-uk.com/ provided the entertainment when things got a bit boring in the afternoon. I am embarrassed at my hockey skills and glad that almost everyone else was rubbish too. I hope the University of Wolverhampton staff have forgiven us for constantly rattling their stand walls! I had fully intended to upload a video of (unsigned) hockey star Dave 'Mudd' Hammond, but like a moron had forgotten I've downloaded the videos at home. So I guess you'll just have to wait for that one.









It was a very quiet expo, but I hope most people got something out of it, even if it was just free champagne (Phil, Paul http://www.wedig.co.uk/ and Matt), a free massage (Paul, again) or networking (everyone else!). Andrea managed to capture most of it on digi film so more photos to follow







Then, it was all back to the Miller's Barn for a meal. Luckily by that time, the coach had warmed up so Jo did not turn into an ice cube and Amy http://www.pipalina.com/ was not completely blue when she got off the coach! After missing the tram back into town and standing in the frosty air for 15 minutes we finally got back to Nottingham.







Suffice to say, thanks to Dave Hammond - MUDD, Paul Ellis - Green Rooms and Paul Scrimshaw - Little Oak Paving for helping me to break down the stand the next day. Cheers guys, it was a real help!

Friday, 9 November 2007

Last chance to enter

Latest News... plus, it's not about the festival of innovation!!







£20,000 to be won
With just two weeks until close of entries, HSBC Bank is making a last call to all student entrepreneurs to enter the new Unipreneur Awards – designed to recognise the growing number of students starting up their own business whilst studying at university.
Those wanting to enter the Awards have until Friday 23 November to make their nomination online at http://www.unipreneurs.hsbc.co.uk/ and could be one of the Top 100 who will go through to the final stages of the competition. With the winner receiving £20,000

Friday, 2 November 2007

BBC NEWS | Business | Britain's Brilliant Ideas Boom

BBC NEWS Business Britain's Brilliant Ideas Boom

I missed this programme last Saturday, does anyone know if the BBC have an 'on demand' feature so i can watch it?

Plus, just in case you didn't already know, Facebook isn't just fun, it's for business! http://www.freelanceuk.com/news/2531.shtml


See you next week!

I am worried.

Do you know what event is happening in the next two weeks?

There is an event looming in the distance – THE FESTIVAL OF INNOVATION at the NEC on 15th November 2007

  • What is it?

http://www.festivalofinnovation.com/

  • What’s in it for you?

Hear from entrepreneurs who have started some of the UK’s most innovative companies.
Learn from expert speakers and take away practical tips to help you build your innovative business.
Network with your peers and make valuable new business contacts.
Check your business into the Innovation Clinic - is it as healthy as you think?

  • How can you get the most of it?

Go with an open mind, talk to people, attend workshops and get ideas!


  • Should you go?

Yes! OK, it’s a West Midlands based event, but where’s the harm in getting involved?

  • Are you going?

Cos we are and we'd like some company!

  • Have you told me?


I have some names, do I have yours? If I have, it’s pinned up on the Hive’s noticeboard. I’d rather you told me twice than not at all and miss out

  • Have you got a seat on the bus?

The bus has limited seats so unless you tell me you are going, you may miss out.



  • What do I need to do now?

To confirm your place, contact me at The Hive. Register online to reduce hassle on arrival, on the website above

>Control out

Thursday, 18 October 2007

Embedded Video, how exciting!

Thanks Warren (http://fitbrits.blogspot.com/) for the tutorial on embedding a video in your blog, here's the result!


If someone can now help me get the paragraph spacing right, it'll be perfect! (Hint)

Thursday, 11 October 2007

Thanks so much to Neil http://www.husqvarnastudio.co.uk/ for giving up his time for free (and if you knew him you'd know what a gift that is!) and talking to us about customer service. I hope you found it enlightening. Dan, that bottle of Cava disappeared...has your mum bought that sewing machine yet? Anyhow- thanks Arkwright, it was a good one. We'll return to the subject very soon, I am sure!




I had the following email from Chris Davies http://www.bigtreeproject.org/ and will pass it on as requested - "Could you also pass on to Hive students Open Office http://www.openoffice.org/ You can open all Word, PowerPoint and spreadsheet documents, etc... AND its 100% FREE!"




I have been having a number of conversations with people about Intellectual Property (IP). I heard a really interesting Radio 4 programme last week called The Bottom Line, all about Trade Secrets and IP. It's hosted by Evan Davis, the guy in charge of the Dragons Den! http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/bottomline/bottomline.shtml. You can download the podcast or listen online within a week of the episode. It's worth 30 minutes listen anyway, I listen whilst I am washing pots!
(Why is there so much washing up by the way? There are only two humans in our house, but tons of washing up everyday..how does that happen? Is the dog leaving his washing up for me to do when I get back from work, are my neighbours eating their tea at my house, have I got greedy ghosts?)



align="justify">The Hive is a member of East Midlands Incubation Network http://www.emincubation.co.uk/ , as a result I get a newsletter from them each week. This week's newletter had news of the following e-tool which you may find useful. Iwatched the first five minutes, have a look and make up your own mind http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/multimedia/



Tuesday, 2 October 2007

News- update on the latest

I'm in holiday come down mode. It's rubbish when you get back from your week in the sun and everyone says 'You don't look that brown!' Let me just say this, I am browner than my holiday buddy Wendy... admittedly she has got red hair and pale skin, more of a Scottish tan really.
As a result, I'm not really feeling like posting this blog. So if it just turns into a random list of links, bear with me and plough through them.
  • Don't forget next week's Pathway to Enterprise Event on Customer Service, led by Neil Coles. I shall be his stooge for this seminar, so sympathetic faces in the class please. 10th October 2007, at the Hive 12 - 2pm (Lunch included) please book your place before it's too late!
  • Whilst I was away, I received details of another business plan competition run by HSBC and supported by NCGE. You should consider entering if you are either a student or have graduated in the last year since May 2006. Prizes are good though, up to £20,000, so if you feel it’s worth trying for, please let us know and we'll do our utmost to help. The closing date is Friday 23rd November but click the link for further details

    http://www.unipreneurs.hsbc.co.uk/index.php
  • A big thank you to all of you who provided me with information for the Business profiles to use in the recent NTU celebration of progress across the University over the past 3 years. They were really great and very useful. We used some of them as A4 size posters on the stands outlining and also produced a rolling display of Hive Business Winners, which outlined your names, Company name, logos, photos etc and just one or two key points from the information you provided us with. Many thanks for your help

getting closer to video podcasting...

I was trying to get this video podcast thingy to work on blogger in draft. But since at present I am having difficulty, here the link, instead!


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g


I found this on the blog from the nlabwomen Women, Business and Blogging Conference http://groups.google.com/group/nlabwomen

It kind of says it all about web 2.0...

Wednesday, 12 September 2007

Indian Summer

The year is conforming to type. The sun waited for the kids to go back to school and then remembered it's supposed to warm us! Mark my words, it shines when it's finals time, to tempt all the students out of revising and then comes back out again when summer holidays are over. If you had the misfortune to go to a university by the coast, like I did, you'll know that revising on the beach seems like a great idea, until you actually sit down in the exam hall...




I digress, as usual. It has been a busy summer really, getting ready for the new intake of SPEED students. I hope they get as much out of their placement as the original crowd have. The real hard work starts here, but I really am looking forward to seeing the businesses start up and then thrive in the Hive environment.




For those starting web based businesses I thought this web based book worth a look, Mike Huxley at the Hive@Mansfield put me onto it, thanks Mike! http://www.entrepreneur.com/downloads/10waystoimproveyourwebsite.pdf


It's actually called 'I hate my website!' - which is actually something I hear quite alot. Gotta confess though, I hear it most often from people who've done it on the cheap. That leads me neatly to Toby's quote of the day... 'You buy cheap, you buy twice!'



Think about it, it's true. Websites designed and made by mates can be tempting, especially when cash is in short supply. But consider this, your friend may start with good intentions, but as time passes other things could get in the way, things that earn them more money. What about the guilt you may feel in constantly asking them to make amendments in their spare time? How would you feel if they totally wreck your branding?



Talking of guilty, I feel bad that I failed to update this blog since I went to V. Not because I had such an amazing time I lost ability to type, just because the mud fouled up the typing fingers!


Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Discussion Groups

OK, the next in a long line of virtual tasks has been completed. The SPEED module on NTU's VLP now has a discussion group! I want your opinion, so visit the VLP https://elearn.ntu.ac.uk/ making sure you log in correctly, visit the SPEED0001 module which you should have access to as SPEED students and click discussions at the bottom of the left hand menu. I wonder if as NTU students you would be more comfortable with a discussion board that only people who are actually on SPEED at NTU can see?





I know I have banged on about customer service before, but this time my question is different.
So, my question is- how do you measure customer satisfaction? This question has been troubling me recently. You see, I have been on a massive learning curve since joining NTU, not only people and procedures, but technology too. I have used lots of different tools and resources, and have been using this blog and other means to try and share them with you. As you would expect , I don't like the feeling that all this resource is wasted, or that I'm barking up the wrong tree...
(Aside- my dog Jack spends alot of time barking up the wrong tree. He has a squirrel fetish, so any slight rustle from above his head and well, you can't tear him away. Unfortunately the squirrels just hop quietly onto the next tree and away!)










But it's not all about me. What I really want to know is how do you measure what people want if they don't respond to you at first?
  1. If they don't actually tell you to stop or that's it's rubbish, carry on, eventually somebody will tell you they like it. Very few people bother you when things are good.
  2. Have patience. People can be slow to respond to stuff they see, have I mentioned the marketing wisdom that people have to see an advert SEVEN times before they respond to it? Depressing but more or less true.
  3. Be persistent - if you throw enough balls at enough coconuts, you'll win a fish. I never thought I'd end up quoting Men Behaving Badly, but there you are.

In my past life in sewing machines, we used to say we sold one machine after three demonstrations, I guess that was experience, but it was pretty accurate. The first two demonstrations you do are really hard, but on the third things are clicking and your pitch is going well, and suddenly the customer is handing over the cash. I'm not saying it's always one in three, you'll find your level.

So I'm gonna keep on trying out new stuff and telling you about it, and hopefully you'll find it useful. BTW thanks for the tips on abbreviations, got not worries now.

Great website (in a research capacity you understand) http://www.askoxford.com/ go to the FAQs to learn all sorts of stuff about the English language you didn't know you needed

Tuesday, 7 August 2007

What does lol mean?

Help me please...I have been ashamed to admit to anyone that I don't know what 'lol' means! It's now got to the stage where I am afraid to ask the person including it in their text or email. I have been hiding my disgrace on this matter so I am coming clean, as I have puzzled over it for a long time. I have only just worked out what btw means, well I think I have! So can someone please give me a definition?


I have been mulling over the use of web 2.0 in a business context, how can it help my business to allow Joe Public to have control over the content of my website? I know many people are concerned about this, in business and other contexts for example politics or the workplace. I see it like this, if I want to sell to someone, I need to strike up a conversation with them. And if my business has a web presence, how can it be a conversation with them if they cannot reply?
Many people worry about the nature of web 2.0, whether it can be controlled or not. That's the scary part for people, will a disgruntled customer be able to post their complaints, will they be truthful or accurate? Firstly, as I banged on about before, if you have a great relationship with your customers complaints should be rare. If they feel comfortable in their relationship with you, they will take it directly to you, because they trust you to sort it out. Secondly, if you do get something inaccurate or worse, the customers you have a good relationship with will react to this , and your detractor will be in the minority. In fact, maybe this is the best way for issues to be resolved. You will look good and you won't have lifted a finger or paid anyone to do it for you!
BTW (!) who says that anything I post here is accurate or truthful, that's web 2.0! People power...or is that Puppy Power http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrappy-Doo
If you want a really good example of what web 2.0 is really about follow this link
Enjoy! But don't forget, lol- what does it mean?


Tuesday, 31 July 2007

...and another thing

Call me a bandwagon jumper if you will, but I expect you've noticed all the media coverage of web 2.0, social networking and new media recently. Blimey O'Reilly, it's like journalists have suddenly got themselves a computer and the Daily Mail readership has finally entered the digital age. Apologies to my mother in law, an unashamed Daily Mail reader who's been online for ages! http://www.coombecrafts.co.uk/index.html



Some (but I guess not all) of you will already be aware of our Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/ NTU SPEED Project. When your dufus project co-ordinator set it up she was a little over excited and didn't read the manual...thus you have to be a member of the Nottingham Trent network to join it. Not a member? Catch yourself on and join us!



Are you using social networking sites to promote your business? If The British Library, Stephen Fry, Hilary Benn MP and countless others have woken up to the power of the social network, maybe you should too. Of course Chris Dykes has informed me that Facebook is over, but could someone please tell me where I should be looking next?



Oh yes, another thing. My last post included a promise of holiday snaps...this is Jack's urban surfing trick

SPEED update

Apologies, I have been remiss in keeping this blog up to date. Who would have thought that I would get too busy to blog? If I am honest, the other reason is my feeling that I send these words out into the ether and there they stay, trapped and unread! My inspiration came when a friend told me in the pub that she had read my blog! Imagine my surprise, she's not connected to SPEED at all, I had sent the initial posting to my long suffering friends and forgotten about it.
Did you know there is a Hive in Mansfield too? http://businesshive.ntu.ac.uk/event2.asp Based at the i-centre, hive@mansfield has been created to to support entrepreneurs in the north of Nottinghamshire. Mike Huxley, the Outreach Project Manager based in Mansfield has provided this link for finding suppliers of various products from China, India and Turkey for several Hive participants http://www.alibaba.com/ I believe our very own Dave Hammond http://www.muddesigns.co.uk/ has used this site for finding overseas suppliers of planters.
Another area we have been receiving many enquiries about is funding and finance. (oh yes, that old chestnut!) I had the following information from Claire Cox, Hive Operations Manager.
'You may be aware that The Hive’s Seedcorn Fund, a joint programme between EMDA and Nottingham Trent University has now concluded and is not likely to be repeated, at least in the short to medium term. We are therefore, looking for other options that might replace it but cannot suggest that there will be anything soon. Therefore, in the meantime can I remind everyone of EMDA’s East Midland’s Early Growth Fund (EMEGF) which might be an appropriate source of investment funding for some business ventures, at the right time.
The EMEGF is a £5m regional Venture Capital fund, sponsored by the East Midlands Development Agency, with the intention to support young start up and early stage companies in the region. The fund may provide funding in the region of £20,000 to £200,000 per company, in return for any equity stake. In addition, the fund expects their funding to be matched by other sources of finance, which may include the founders, Business Angels or other Venture Capital. http://www.earlygrowthfund-em.co.uk/main/default.aspx
As with any funding, it's a good idea to talk through with us before making any approach, as we may be able to point you in the right direction and even help you in drafting your application!
There is also to be another round of the Anubis Project http://www.anubisproject.co.uk/ aimed at technological (is that a real word?) innovators
That's all I can fit in for now, pics of the (v wet) holiday in Wales to follow...

Monday, 9 July 2007

We have been having a lively discussion in the Hive about customer service. We all experience customer service every day, so feel qualified to comment on it. Unfortunately, we prefer to moan about poor service, rather than praise the good.





Having been a shop girl myself at Husqvarna Studio http://www.husqvarnastudio.co.uk/ I know the frustrations of poor customer service from both sides of the counter so to speak! My philosophy was always to treat the customer as I would expect to be treated, telling them in good time about any delays, making sure I exceeded their expectations. Husqvarna Studio, Nottingham is a owner run business in a very small market, which survives and thrives on it's customer service ethic. Other businesses may offer similar products and price, but bossman Neil competes on his staff's friendly, customer oriented outlook. Believe me, it makes all the difference in a competitive market!







Maybe the fear of conflict or even the anticipation of conflict plays a role in poor customer relations. Funny really, because if you have bad news, it doesn't get any better the longer you put off that phone call. In fact, in my experience it just gets worse! If the customer has to ring you, you are only reacting, not acting on their behalf. Get it right and your customer will tell their friend, get it wrong and they will tell 7 of their friends! I might have the actual figure wrong, but it's alot!





So let me ask you this, is it good customer service to sell a product, accept the payment for it and then not contact your customer when there are delays? Or to ring a prospect with an offer they can't refuse, then not ring them back to ask for the order? What about having an out of date website (sewing machine dealers are notorious for this but guess what, not Husqvarna Studio!)




Take care of your customers, whoever they are, and they will look after you. Live up to their expectations and they will like you. Exceed their expectations and they will love you and stay with you!

Friday, 15 June 2007

End of Term

If you have ever wondered what the Hive does, and what we offer visit http://www.businesshive.ntu.ac.uk/activities.asp. I work for Phil on the SPEED project, although his role is much more diverse than that. The Hive is a dedicated business incubation unit, with facilities for start up businesses from with Nottingham Trent University and beyond.


What makes the Hive so dynamic is the range of people and businesses it's involved with. It's a fun place to work in and do business from, but supportive too. Not all the entrepreneurs are NTU graduates, nor are they all Business Studies graduates.
We have links with many of the schools, with students from Art and Design, Infomatics (that was a new one on me when I joined NTU!) and Education to name but a few.




There are a few SPEED entrepreneurs who are reaching the end of their placement. Marc Lee http://www.eyetxt.com/ Dan Breen http://www.uni-fied.co.uk/ and Stuart Hogg http://www.sphmarketing.co.uk/ have been with us for 12 months. Luckily we won't miss them for long, as one way or another they are keeping contact with us at the Hive.

Monday, 11 June 2007

Busy times ahead

It's quite an exciting time in the Hive at the moment. There are a number of new businesses getting started, with the June HeadStart programme just beginning and a new SPEED cohort joining us. We are losing a couple though, Nik Venios and Stuart Hogg are both moving home. We'll miss them!
Phil and I are planning our SPEED seminars which start on 22nd June. Phil is really keen to get away from the blackboard and get into a dialogue, which really gets you thinking about your business. Our aim is to engage you in the process of learning about starting up a business. We won't be telling you how to do it, more helping you find out how you will approach it. At the end of the day, we want our SPEED students to learn by doing and there's no better teacher than real experience!
We still need suggestions for topics, the list so far is- finding and retaining customers, getting funding, what happens when you set up a limited company and what goes into a business plan. If you want to add to that, either contact me directly or post a comment. If we can cover it on the sessions or in the blog, we will.
Jayne

Thursday, 31 May 2007

SPEED Project Stuff

Typical, get all preachy about making regular contact with people and then get too busy to practise it! Sorry.

It's been a busy few days, the end of last week saw the SPEED project at NTU being audited, which was fairly painless. Thanks to Kawsar www.digicomsolutions.com and Marc www.eyetxt.com for answering questions and standing up to a bit of stick from our visitor!


Then the bank holiday came and went with wind, rain and chilly nights. I know this because a thin piece of nylon was all that stood between me and the elements. Yes, that's right we went camping, like the fools we were. Oh , we knew the forecast, but hoped against hope that it was wrong.


Today I am putting together a project file for our local SPEED Project, not the most scintillating task, but it has to be done.


I must say I am proud of NTU's presence on the SPEED project website www.speedproject.ac.uk, our fellows directory entries look very impressive. If you feel your listing could be improved, just email me any text, images or hyperlinks that you want putting on, as I have to upload the info.



A Staffs SPEED student has posted what may be a useful link onto the message board there. you will need to log in to view the message board. I'm not going to tell you what the link is, find it yourself!


June will hopefully be a busy month, with new SPEEDsters joining us and a workshop timetable starting. We have a module on the VLP now, which I am trying to populate. Any recommended texts, websites and questions gratefully recieved. The website, VLP module, blog and facebook group http://notttr.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2535691211 will only be as useful as you make them.


Cheers

Jayne









Thursday, 24 May 2007

walk to work

The next 3 weeks are Greenweeks http://www.livingfortomorrow.org.uk/greenweeks.htm/, so in honour of that, yesterday I walked in to work.

I admit, I didn't walk all of my journey as I live a fair way out, so I got my usual bus halfway and walked the rest up Mansfield Road. It was good, the sun shone and I enjoyed most of it. I have decided that I can definitely get off the bus earlier and walk through the Arboretum to the Hive.

How did I find out about this event and why did I respond? I stumbled across it first in a newspaper article and details were emailed to NTU staff about a week ago. Importantly, they both had a call to action, get off the bus and walk etc. Then on the email you could sign up and pledge your action. It got me thinking about how we reach our target market, and more importantly how we get them to act upon what they see or hear.

Reaching your target audience is hard enough. When you have reached them, how do you make sure you don't waste the opportunity if they don't buy into your product or service first time? I think the simplest way is to capture details so you can make contact with them another time, so get them to sign up to a mailing list, enter a competition, anything to keep in touch with them.

One more thing, if you say you are going to send regular updates, do! That's the other difficult bit..



Tuesday, 22 May 2007

What to write?

Afternoon! This blogging thing seems quite popular so I'll keep going. For the time being anyway...

Today I have been talking to Clair Hameed at Wolverhampton Uni about an FAQ list for the SPEED project website www.speedproject.ac.uk Let's keep NTU in the thick of things and get it going with some questions from the floor please.

In the meantime, let me tell you how we got here. A member of staff from the School of Education said they used a blog to keep in touch with students who are off campus on placement. Talking to folks here at the Hive and then some of you got me thinking some more.

Because I have recently had my eyes opened to blog potential, I have been exploring other people's blogs. I've been reading the TMS blog for a while, but if you are not interested in cricket, DON'T click the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tms/ (Maybe we can return to cricket another day, because we could be here some time and that is not what this is about.)

Those of you who came to our SPEED event on 20th April may have done a little digging about Evan Davies from Dragon's Den (at Russell's prompting) When I was doing so I found his blog on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/evandavis/ it makes interesting reading.

This is a link that Russell sent me http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/ which might be of interest to other young entrepreneurs. I will make no age-related comment(however much you beg Stuart) Suffice to say being a young entrepreneur is mostly in the attitude. Mostly!

Okay, back to you. Please post a comment, question or whatever and let's get the ball rolling. I will work at staying on top of this, but if I fall behind, give me a nudge.
Cheers
Jayne

Monday, 21 May 2007

New to this blogging business?

Good, so am I!


I have been accused of spamming the NTU SPEED students, so have entered the murky world of blogging to keep you up to date. I get passed so much information might be useful to you, I shall be using my blog to pass it on.


Sadly, this post will be about accounting software, mostly because yours truly hosted a fabulous session on the same last week. The lovely Amanda from Flying Cows http://www.flying-cows.com/ has passed a couple of links to me that you may find useful.I haven't used them myself but Amanda uses and recommends the first two. Thanks Mandy


for invoicing and more
http://www.sidejobtrack.com/


for project planning http://www.dotproject.net/ although it seems to be offline today


this link was in an email from webpronews about client relation management http://www.vendorguru.com/The_5_Must_Have_Features_CRM_Solution.jsp?&CCID=20071742203283756&QTR=ZZf200705141302260Za20071742Zg171Zw0Zm0Zc203283756Zs5436ZZ&CLK=682070521085209511&&exp=y


For SPEED students at NTU, check out the SPEED module on the VLP SPEED0001, there's a couple of recent presentations on there.


For those of you who have forgotten what we look like, that's Phil on the left...

More soon

Jayne