M & A Rainmaker

MilliOnAir Global Magazine held it’s first Launch Party in the World in London at Alfie Best’s fabulously refurbished Vinyl Bar on Tuesday 31st January.

Chris Windley and Millie Cooper .. Editor and Investor/Strategist/cofounder – there from Day 1.

The event brought together the MilliOnAir Team ( Investor and Strategist Chris Windley, Business Partner and Investor Mariett Ramm and Millie Cooper ) , guest speakers and inspirational people and brands from all around the world many of whom have appeared in the magazine and some have graced the front cover.

Photo Credit to Gibson Blanc for many of the photos included here. Contact Him.

Photo above: Millie with USA Business Partner and Charlie’s Last Angel – Lori Mixson – who writes the Mixsonitup pages in MilliOnAir.

This Launch party celebrated the release of the February issue 09, sporting a new logo, with cover star Tony Schiena – featured in Lori’s Mixsonitup pages.

Beginning with photograph’s in front of the sponsor board there was a champagne reception and canapes.

On to the speakers and Olympian and former MilliOnAir cover star Jamie Baulch praised Millie and the MilliOnAir Team for what they had achieved over the past 8 issues. Jamie and I have become firm friends since we met online a few months back.

Photo above: Jamie Baulch and Mark Llewelyn – who brought Channel 4 TV stars from SAS Who Dares Wins. Harry Reid from Eastenders was also amongst the guests.

The next speaker was International Speaker, Mentor, Success Coach and Business Partner of and Investor in MilliOnAir Global, Mariett Ramm who was followed by TV Personality Claire Smith who interviewed Millie. Claire did an amazing job of finding out where Millie saw MilliOnAir going in the future and controlling the excited audience !!

Photo above: Claire Smith and Mariett Ramm

On stage also was Jenny Lee Holt, Co-founder of sponsor Spectrum Telecoms.

Above pic: Jenny and Millie

Celia Sawyer is an inspiration and support to many .. certainly she is to Millie and Kira !!!

After the speeches came some fabulous singing by Liss Jones, star of The Voice, X Factor, Big Breakfast and Stars in their Eyes.

Above pic: Liss Jones

Liss was followed by another The Voice star Hannah Wildes who gave a brilliant performance. ( 2nd left below )

Photo above: Hannah Wildes

Of course the Vinyl Bar’s owner Alfie Best was there with World Champion cage fighter Tony Giles. Many thanks to Alfie for the use of the bar.

Photo above: Alfie Best and Tony Giles.

STOP PRESS !!!!! Over 6 Million views of #MOAGlobal as at 5th February ..

Another headline sponsor was Assil Skaiky, Fashion Designer, with Stephen Smith TV Celebrity stylist and author.( Below )

We want to give thanks to Canada based Melanie Layer – one of our International sponsors !!!!

Also at the launch was Amy Christophers, sports broadcaster and journalist ( below

left )

Adrian Silas award winning event planner to A listers, Metin Salih Artist ( below )

More amazing guests ..

Giles Cooper ( above )

Lucy Hall ( above )

The next planned #MOALaunch is the LA Launch in September.

All donations and funds raised went to Mending Kids which is a charity that Millie has supported for many years and intends to support in the future.

Millie and I want to thank – very much – the sponsors of the MilliOnAir Launch event – you are all awesome !!!

Wyldecrest Parks ( Alfie Best )

Vinyl Bar ( Alfie Best )

Spectrum Telecommunications. ( Jenny and Simon Holt )

Richtopia ( Derin Cag )

Bid-in ( Jamie Baulch )

Sandy Bay London 

Assil Skaiky

Mary Kurek 

Mariett Ramm 

Neil Tucker 

Maiya Designs

Melanie Layer

Chris Hill 

Sally Chiwuzie

Charity we are fundraising for – Mending Kids

Find out HOW MilliOnAir grew so fast >>>> https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-made-millionair-take-off-so-fast-chris-windley?

You don’t need to go to a barrister via a lawyer any more – in London or elsewhere in the U.K. – you can go DIRECT.

The main advantage to you is COST. You might have to do some work for it but that is inevitable.

The following Introduction to Direct Access to a Barrister is taken from the Bar Council guidance to Lay Clients ( that’s YOU )

THE PUBLIC ACCESS SCHEME GUIDANCE FOR LAY CLIENT Introduction The purpose of this Guide is to explain how the public access scheme works and to show how lay clients can use it to instruct barristers. What is public access? Members of the public may now go directly to a barrister without having to involve an instructing solicitor or other intermediary. In the past it was necessary for clients to use a solicitor or other recognised third party through whom the barrister would be instructed. Although the barrister’s role remains essentially the same, members of the public may instruct a barrister directly through the public access scheme. What are the advantages of the public access scheme? The main advantage of the public access scheme is that it could potentially save you money whilst giving you access to the Bar, since you would be paying for a barrister only instead of a barrister and solicitor. However, although the barrister would be able to deal with most aspects of the case, you could have to assist in some limited areas, generally with filing documents with the court. This is explained in more detail below. Is my case suitable for public access? Public access is available in all types of work that barristers can do, except for work funded out of legal aid. It is most suitable for reasonably straightforward cases. It is likely to be inappropriate in cases involving children. If you are not sure whether your case would be suitable for public access, you should contact an appropriate barrister (see below) of his or her clerk and seek an initial view. If the barrister considers that your case would benefit from the involvement of a solicitor, he or she will tell you so. A barrister may choose whether or not to take a public access case. The factors which he or she will take into account are discussed below. How do I make use of the public access scheme? For more information contact: the Professional Practice Team on 020 7611 1444 2 To use the scheme, you would have to instruct a barrister yourself. Further details of how to do this are given in this guidance.

SEARCH FOR A BARRISTER HERE

I have recently had some pretty bad experiences with so called Hotdesking facilities in Birmingham, UK and this got me thinking about the subject.

I think part of the problem is that they are more experimental models than professional businesses and the people that are running them are just not up to the task. Simple questions,enquiries,suggestions and even help given get very weird responses and you just wonder where these people have been, are coming from and why they are suddenly hosting Hotdesking facilities. Desperation springs to mind ??

In all the years that I have been meeting people in Birmingham in hotels I have never experienced any negative issues. In fact the reverse. As I cast my mind back over hundreds of meeting I can only remember positive experiences.

Over the last year I have used The Malmaison and Marco Pierre Whites in particular. Both are great but of course MPW has the advantage of the amazing views. I have always had good service at the Ibis Chinatown and there is another hotel where I had amazing support from staff with my laptop connectivity – will update soon.

It really begs a few questions:

– Why would you use a Hotdesking facility rather than e.g. a Hotel or Coffee Bar ??

– What are the most important criteria for a venue to meet with somebody ??

– What is the best place to open up your smartphone, notepad or laptop and get a bit of work done ???

There are probably a few other questions that could be asked aswell.

I am going to leave this article for further updates soon.

London based makeup artists and other beauty professionals have an amazing opportunity to rocket their income with Motives Cosmetics.

Check out this guide to getting more income from the same time

I have recently talked to a lot of Makeup Artists ( MUAs ) and what a hard working, talented bunch of ( mainly ) ladies they are.

It’s a great job – making people look great – but it is also a very time consuming job. One MUA I know was recently up at 1.30 in the morning to drive to London to get a bride ready for her wedding then back to Birmingham to attend an event and then another private client. She didn’t finish until the evening of that day. A long day and while the pay is reasonable as a freelance MUA it is not brilliant.

Time and money are definitely connected in a strong way.

I personally feel that the objective should be for an MUA to get to the point where he or she can work with the clients that they want to – not the clients that they have to.

The way to do this is to .. Add ( Income )  and Separate ( Time from Money )..

Dealing first with ADD..

At the moment most MUAs only charge an hourly rate or a rate for their art/handiwork. Of course top MUAs can and do charge premium rates.

MUAs have a collection of product that they have assembled over time and know work. This might be in a suitcase or makeup carrier or at their salon. The client might not be aware of the products used – only the end result. If the client is inclined to buy the products that the MUA uses and recommends then it probably means a trip to the shops.

Whilst such a trip might not be an issue it might also be inconvenient and would have a cost to the client in time and money. ( Whether that matters to someone who can afford an MUA is another matter).

It could be that the easy provision of the products used to the client is actually an enhanced service.

If the client goes and buys those products from the shops then there is nothing in that for the MUA in financial terms.

If on the other hand the MUA could make say 30-50% profit on the products sold then this will have added to the income from any particular client appointment. In fact the product profit might be more than the hourly or set rate.

The MUA would need to have the product on hand in order to sell it or have some sort of online shop ( <<<Link here ) where the client can go. Having the product on hand is ok if you have a salon ( although stock is an overhead ) but means that you have to carry it around if you are mobile.

An online shop ( <<< Link ) is definitely preferable especially if it has rapid delivery times ( eg 24-48 hour delivery ).

Talking to MUAs recently I noted that many of them gave the client a summary of what they had done for them during that appointment and what products they used and also kept a record for themselves.

I took this idea and developed the idea of the Online Beauty Prescription ( <<< Link – thanks to a friend who is a Beauty Blogger for that description ) which is a blog post that can be written up afterwards and can be anonymous or name the client and will direct them straight to the place in the online shop where they can buy these products. ( Posting a blog actually has many potential benefits to the MUAs online marketing but I will not go into that now ).

Now, at the time that the client purchases these products the MUA may well be working with another client i.e. the MUA has begun to separate time from money or multiply the effect of that time.

We can imagine the client coming back again and again and the only time that the MUA will be aware of this is when they get an email saying ” You have another order placed from ( whoever ) , Value £x “.

Here’s another great thing about this.. If you have not already got the clients email address you will have when they register and buy from your shop.

That email address can be used to communicate with the client on an ongoing basis. The MUA can email them ” special deals ” or ” new products or services “. Such communication can be automated in an appropriate and tailored manner.

Once you have your own shop you will obviously be able to buy certain products at a ” Wholesale ” price yourself. With some companies ( e.g. Motives and Shop.com ) you can buy more than just beauty and cosmetics products at wholesale prices, You could for example buy multivitamins and isotonic products. Such purchases represent a clear saving to you on products that you are already going to buy. This is the online equivalent of having a Costco or Makro account in the UK.

Lets add another dimension to this.. Some of the MUAs friends, business contacts and work colleagues e.g. Hairdressers, Nail Technicians, Manicurists, Masseurs also recommend products off of the MUAs’ online site that are relevant to them. Again these sales come in without any direct effort from the MUA and they come in alongside the MUAs other work.

One or two of the MUAs friends decide that they would also like to have their own online shop and the MUA helps them set that up and guides them on it’s use. The MUA and the friend both get commission on the sales.

Time goes on and more and more friends are selling products off of the websites or have their own websites. The result is a substantial income for many of them that is independent of the number of hours that they put in and which allows them to select which clients they actually want to spend their time with.

Take a look at this video:

Which is about a product range that originated in the U.S. ( in 2010 ) and was conceived by Loren Ridinger and enhanced by LaLa Anthony ( if you are fans of The Kardashians then you may of heard of them ).

This is a high quality, affordable cosmetics and beauty product range which is endorsed by many Celebrity MUAs globally. ( <<< Link )  It is being sold direct via MUAs, Salon and Spa owners and other beauty related professionals. The reason that you can have high quality product at mid range pricing and give high commissions to resellers is that NO money is being spent on advertising or corporate fatcats – the profit goes to the people that deserve it – the MUAs and their business partners. There is a sophisticated 24 -72 hour global delivery system to support sales from the Online sites though.

The Motives business system is a turnkey system that accomplishes EXACTLY what I have said above. Retail profit is added to time for money ( the appointment itself )  and in addition there is profit sharing for group sales.

N.B. We have built a financial model spreadsheet ( mini business plan ) to support this blog. See what happens when you add this to your normal MUA income !!!!

If you are based in the London area and ready for a change and high earnings Contact me @cwindley, skype chris.windley or phone 07881 500002 to discuss this opportunity in greater detail.

The Silicon Crossroads Technopolis is a private High Tech. facility that supports Silicon Crossroads VCT investee companies globally. It also supports companies advised by M & A Rainmaker and the Silicon Crossroads VCT.

The Technopolis is currently supporting companies in ( for example ) London, San Francisco, Israel, New York, Costa Rica and India. the list is continually changing and evolving so this is just a sample of cities and countries supported.

The Silicon Crossroads VCT does not invest in all the companies it supports, it may simply provide advice and guidance. It is particularly interested in assisting startup and growth companies who want to expand from the U.K. to, for example, the U.S.A. and vice versa and also from other countries around the world into the U.K. and Europe. It is one of very few companies in the U.K. to provide these sort of services.

Lichfield Cathedral at night across Stowe Pool.

Managing Partner, Chris Windley, has established global networks via social media networks like Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook and Chris is regarded as one of the most influential people in the world by Internet Influence measurement companies like Klout, Kred and Peer Index. These companies operate mainly from e.g. London, New York and San Francisco. Since his days at Optical Fibre Network company Fibernet, Chris noted that U.S. companies tended to lead the European market by between 6 and 18 months and therefore it is vital to maintain contacts with High Tech. industry leaders there; especially the West Coast ( Silicon Valley etc. ) which remains the frontrunner when it comes to angel and venture capital support.

It is no surprise that some of the most important High Tech. companies in the world have emerged from the Silicon Valley/San Francisco area.

Chris maintains contact with Angels, Venture Capitalists and Founders via Internet networks like Linkedin, Google + and AngelList.

I always wondered how it was that Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station was a portacabin and there was no cafe for refreshments !!  I sort of assumed that somehow the London to North rail line used to go through Lichfield City Station somehow but recently learnt that the old Lichfield Trent Valley Railway station burnt down in the 1990’s ( Apparently most of it was made of wood ) ?? Well I should remember that as I was around here then …..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichfield_Trent_Valley_railway_station

Apparently this ( above ) was the first station built in 1847 and the photos below were taken in 1962. Now either of these looks more like the sort of railway station that Lichfield should have !!

STOP PRESS !!!!!

Coffee and cakes from Coco Meli Bakery now available at Lichfield Trent Valley Station

http://www.cocomelibakery.co.uk/

See a steam train passing through Lichfield Trent Valley Station in 1955 here:

http://myrailwaystation.com/RAILWAY%20STATIONS/pages/LICHFIELD%20%20TRENT%20%20VALLEY%20%20STATION%20with%2046131%20passing%20through%20c1955_jpg.htm

See a trainload of troops at Lichfield Trent Valley in 1954 here:

http://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/engine/resource/exhibition/standard/child.asp?txtKeywords=&lstContext=&lstResourceType=&lstExhibitionType=&chkPurchaseVisible=&txtDateFrom=&txtDateTo=&x1=&y1=&x2=&y2=&scale=&theme=325&album=&resource=6142&viewpage=%2Fengine%2Fresource%2Fexhibition%2Fstandard%2Fdefault.asp&originator=%2Fengine%2Ftheme%2Fdefault.asp&page=1&records=630&direction=2&pointer=611&text=0&exhibition=1297&offset=0

Instead we have the portacabins that you see on the left here ( looking North )

and in the photo below ( looking South ) you can see the ” High Level ” line that goes to Birmingham via Lichfield City Station.

As can be seen from the railmap below Lichfield Trent Valley Station is a stop for Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

from: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/routes-stations/ltv/

Local Bus Routes:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/ltv/localarea.html

Parking at Lichfield Trent Valley ( N.B. Parking is limited – Don’t leave it until the last minute to park here. Might be best to get a lift/taxi !! )

http://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/lichfield_trent_valley_station/ws14/britannia_enterprise_park/

Get a Taxi

http://www.taxiregister.com/Lichfield

Full National Rail Map ( You can get to and from Birmingham via Lichfield City Station – which is just down the road – walk up to the High Level crossing at Lichfield Trent Valley for this)

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/maps/OfficialNationalRailmaplarge.pdf

To get to Derby ( by train )  you have to go to Tamworth or Burton on Trent ( preferred I think ) .

Little known fact:

The train line that passes over the top of Lichfield Trent Valley merges with the Tamworth – Burton line near Alrewas. So Lichfield and Burton are directly connected by rail.

More on Lichfield Trent Valley Train Station here:

http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/lichfield_trent_valley.php

Bond Pearce Lawyers Solicitors of Plymouth have a website that is full of statements like

” We were proud to be named finalists for The Lawyer ‘Law Firm of The Year’ award. Recognising our focus on providing the best service of any UK law firm and our successes.”

and

” We have come out on top in the Legal Week Intelligence Client Satisfaction Report, achieving the best overall firm score.”

and

” Our lawyers are happy to provide insight and opinion on the latest business issues and legal developments. If you would like to talk to one of our experts, or have any other questions, please get in touch.”

but like most lawyers their only real interest is in obtaining the maximum amount of fees and in the never ending promotion of young lawyers to ” partners “. i.e. the growth of ” The Firm “.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Firm_(1993_film)

The way that you get promoted as a young lawyer at Bond Pearce solicitors and other law firms is by earning fees for the firm ( and saying all the right things to the partners ). See

http://www.bondpearce.com/news/ournews/celebrating_success_senior_promotions_announced/

http://www.bondpearce.com/news/ournews/partner_promotions_2011/

Typically it’s a case of who you know as well as what you know.

If you had any doubt over the primary objective here’s the Managing Partner on promotion

” Bond Pearce managing partner Victor Tettmar added: “Will and Stephen both have a clear vision of what can be done to advance the firm and I have no doubt that they will continue to make a significant contribution to our future success.”

For ” advance the firm ” and ” make a significant contribution ” read ” get more fees ” and ” beat the competition ” and ” grow more baby lawyers into associates and partners “.

Bond Pearce ( like most other lawyers ) spend a lot of their time proving to their peers that they are ” a law firm to be recognised ”

” Our core offices are in Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, London and Aberdeen but our work takes us all over the UK and indeed the world. If you have a general enquiry call +44 (0)845 415 0000 or e-mail us at info@bondpearce.com.”

They obviously have a Marketing person who wants you to believe that they are a global force 😉

Actually Legal 500

(Published for over twenty years, the Legal 500 Series provides the most comprehensive worldwide coverage currently available on legal services providers, in over 100 countries.

Used by commercial and private clients, corporate counsel, CEOs, FDs and professional advisers – as well as by other referrers of work both nationally and internationally – the series is widely regarded as offering the definitive judgement of law firm capabilities. )

describes them as mostly a 2nd and 3rd Tier firm

http://www.legal500.com/firms/393/offices/7971

So you would be better off looking for 1st and 2nd Tier firms really wouldn’t you ???

One of Bond Pearce’s latest money making schemes is the Conditional Fee Agreement ( No Win – No Fee ). Some bright spark ( probably earnt him or her a partnership !! ) will have gone around various firms saying ” We will work for FREE for you. We will get all our money from the person you are litigating against. It will cost you nothing ! ” .

So, what Bond Pearce do is add their fees to any claims awarded.

http://www.bondpearce.com/news/ournews/partner_promotions_2011/

Interestingly this is one of the subjects that came under The Jackson Review

” Lord Justice Jackson published the “Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report” in January 2010. The report made various proposals for the reform of the costs regime in UK litigation. One of his key proposals was to end the recoverability of success fees and after-the-event insurance premiums under conditional fee agreements (for further details please see “Civil litigation costs review: key recommendations“). In July 2010 the government announced that it would consult on how to implement this proposal. The consultation will also gather opinion on the report’s other recommendations on funding arrangements, particularly the recommendation that lawyers be permitted to enter into contingency fee agreements.”

http://www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters/detail.aspx?g=9c84e358-0204-49c5-a7f6-307b754f1b6a

More on this shortly !!!!

http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/solicitors.page

The enforcement on behalf of large corporations able to afford normal fee arrangements of the success fee element in Conditional Fee Agreements on Defendants in ‘easy to win’ cases has to be one of the biggest injustices perpetrated by lawyers.

It is typical of the legalised criminality employed by lawyers.

Think about this: A law firm agrees a CFA with it’s client that means that anyone that it’s client litigates against will ( if they lose ) end up paying NOT only the normal legal fees but ALSO an additional success fee. The client is protected and they and the lawyer typically takes out insurance so that if they do lose the case their costs are covered anyway. That’s what’s called a Win-Win situation !!

Bond Pearce’s use of the Conditional Fee Agreement is a complete distortion of it’s intended use. The CFA was intended to allow claimants who could not afford legal fees the opportunity to get legal redress i.e. it was intended for the ” small person ” to take on the ” big company or organisation “. Instead Bond Pearce are helping big, rich companies get even richer by using the CFA against the ” small person “. In addition to helping the big companies get bigger Bond Pearce typically double the fees that they would normally have received.

Litigation – United Kingdom

If you are looking for Cisco phone systems in the Berkshire area then I highly recommend that you give Clare a call at Poundbury Systems.

Clare will discuss the right Cisco phone system to meet your requirements.

Increase business productivity and make every call more intelligent with Cisco® Unified Communications. Our voice over IP (VoIP) phone system solution integrates with your computer network, giving you a more efficient way to manage calls – and your small business. Cisco Unified Communications can help make your business more productive by:

• Improving communication among employees, customers, and suppliers
• Allowing access to the network and information from anywhere, at any time, with remote access and wireless mobility
  Integrating your phone system with computer applications, enabling click-to-dial contacts and call information capture in your customer relationship management (CRM) software
• Offering a wide range of HD Voice enabled IP phones
• Making it easy to set up conferences anytime, anywhere with your IP phone
• Providing a full set of VoIP service offerings
• Allowing you to focus on your business and not on your phone system, with Poundbury Systems support services

Understand your options when it comes to your next phone system and demystify what VoIP and unified communications mean to your small business by setting up a meeting with one of our specialists.

Contact Clare at Poundbury on :

Poundbury Systems Ltd.
Emeria House
71-73 Middlemarsh St
Dorchester
DT1 3FD

Tel: 01305 259849
Fax: 01305 259725

enquiries@poundbury.com

http://www.poundbury.com/contact

Supporting Berkshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, London and Dorset.

Here are 3 must watch marketing videos for #smwf

http://www.youtube.com/user/HubSpot?feature=autoshare

http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/sales-marketing-machine-webinar

http://www.lewishowes.com/marketing/inbound-marketing-plan/#more-2030

FutureLine Hosted Voip will be at UC Expo 2011, Olympia, London from the 8 – 9th March on the Cisco Systems stand.

UC Expo is one of the premier U.K. events for CIOs, Business Managers, Technical Directors and associated professionals from organisations of every kind interested in Unified Communications.

As one of the leaders in Unified Communications Cisco Systems has made a major committment to UC Expo and FutureLine will be there for S.M.B.’s and other organisations interested in Hosted Voice and Unified Communications.

Andy Brocklehurst of Cisco will be one of the Cisco speakers and is quoted as saying:

“We are seeing an increasing demand for managed and hosted solutions in the voice space and this is especially the case for smaller businesses with less than 20 employees. FutureLine have a refreshingly new approach by addressing the key fundamentals of quality, security and ease of use and deployment. This is all underpinned by partnering with Cisco who fully understand how to manage different media provided by the various consumption models.”

Andy Brocklehurst
RSM Cisco Small Business

Clare Jenkins, M.D. of FutureLine, will be speaking at the event aswell. Further posts will give more details of Clare and Andy’s themes and also we will be posting about some exciting offers that FutureLine will be making to people interested in evaluating FutureLine’s Hosted Voice solutions.

For more information about FutureLine please go to:

http://www.futureline.net.uk/

or call Clare on

0871 594 3555 or

email her at: info@futureline.net.uk