Shropshire Council are providing FREE business clinics in and around Shrewsbury and the rural market towns.

  1-2-1 sessions with an accredited business advisor who will provide help and support to either  start your business idea or help move your business forward.

Sessions can be booked  for an hour or hour and a half. For more detail about the venues and to book direct go on :

www.shropshire.gov.uk/business

or  call: 01743 252259

 Dates and areas currently available are: 

9/2/2012  Shrewsbury

14/2/2012 Craven Arms

16/2/2012 Oswestry

21/2/2012 Bishops Castle

23/2/2012 Shifnal

8/3/2012 Shrewsbury

15/3/2012 Oswestry

20/3/2012 Cleobury Mortimer

29/3/2012 Market drayton

  Stuck in a rut?

  Click on the picture for the full details

Boost The Business details

Pontesbury Parish Council have helped  provide  a venue for a FREE business clinic in Pontesbury and the surrounding area. So:-

• If you want to start a business and not sure what to do
• If you have a business already and want help and support from accredited business advisors
• If you want to know what grants are available to grow your business:-

Then the FREE business clinic held  at Pontesbury Village Hall on Friday 13th January is a just the place to be.

 Places are very limited as this event is for the morning only and is on a 1-2-1 basis with accredited business advisors. Two will be available for FREE help and support.

 Call us in the first instance on 03334 42467 to book your hour time slot.

The last Blog of 2011 and a reflection of  the year overall. 

It’s been a fantastic year, both personally and in business.

 Always Consult  is now in it’s third year and has gone from strength to strength.

  We now have a full range of great talented associates working alongside us including,  accredited business advisers, leadership and management consultants, health and safety specialists, web designers and accountants. All are wanting to support new and existing businesses to ensure sustainability and growth.

 At the end of March, we achieved one of our many business goals which was to become an accredited  leadership and management centre with the Institute of Leadership and Management. Under the ILM banner we can offer level 3 award and certificate in Effective Management and also level 3 in Business Enterprise.

We also have a full range of development programmes on offer ranging from stress management courses, train the trainer courses to leadership and management courses. 

In January(10th and 11th) we are again offering the Train The Trainer course for anyone who is or is thinking of starting up in business and will be presenting, training or facilitating. It’s  a two day accredited workshop which will greatly enhance presentation skills as well as ensuring any legal requirements are in place when presenting or  training. It’s fun and informative and the ILM accreditation gives the programme credibility.

 Since November we can now also offer City and Guilds programmes such as Career Guidance diploma at level 6, Advice and Guidance at level 3 and 4,certificate and diploma for the Children and Young People Workforce and the Training, Assessment and Internal Quality Assurance (TAQA)

To ensure we give a rounded service to all our clients and their business needs, we offer the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health programmes which include Health and safety in the Workplace.

 This year we have  helped over 150 people start up their own business and wish to continue the good work even though some of the funding has fallen away.  We are currently helping and supporting many people who are at risk of redundancy in a  large local company, by conducting face to face  meetings in the factory to support their business ideas.  The full Business Start up Courses for them should follow in the New Year. The area we are working in needs business entrepreneurs to get their new business up and running and becoming self employed if it is to survive the  downturn in the economy.

We are passionate about  supporting areas and people where  there are potentially a large number of redundancies looming, many of the people have fantastic skills which they can turn into a business idea- but many do not know how to start! That’s what we do well-help, support, guide and signpost to ensure confidence, skills and knowledge are high.

Our Boost the Business bite size workshops started in August and these were born out of a plea by many new start ups who felt there was little or no support once the business has started.   Those who attended loved the opportunity to buddy up with others to keep the focus on the agreed monthly actions. We will be re-vamping for 2012, so watch this space!

I’ve personally continued to learn and self development in 2011-proving yet again, learning has no barriers or age limit!  I have met new friends and valuable business contacts who will be with me in 2012.

 I will continue to reflect on what I  need to do to ensure I personally continue to grow and self develop  which in turn will enable my business to move to the next stage.

 The plans are already taking shape. What about yours?

 If  you have ever thought about being your own boss or know someone who wants to start a business but doesn’t know how to, then we have the answer.

On offer is an accredited 2 day  programme followed up by 1-2-1 mentoring to ensure  confidence, knowledge and skills are up to speed to get started in business.

 Not only that, we have a package  full of local specialists on hand to guide you through  from start to finish to ensure you get the best possible advice to start with.

 Following on from our successful start up courses this course is an Institute of Leadership and Management accredited development programme- which gives 6 months free membership with the ILM and a certificate at the end of the programme.

Please click  the link for furtherdetails:

http://post.ly/3iIXH

DATES FOR THE TRAIN THE TRAINER COURSE ARE:  TUESDAY OCTOBER 18TH AND 19TH.

A  2-DAY INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT COURSE AIMED AT  EXISTING AND NEW TRAINERS, FACILITATORS, BUSINESS COACHES AND PRESENTERS IN ANY SECTOR.

 THIS 2 DAY INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP CAN ALSO BE USED AS A FOUNDATION COURSE FOR THE PTTLS QUALIFICATION. ( COMING EARLY IN 2012)

INVESTMENT IS £175 PLUS VAT WHICH INCLUDES ALL COURSE MATERIALS, REFRESHMENTS AND LUNCH.

 FOR  DETAILS OF VENUE WHICH IS SET IN  A  BEAUTIFUL RURAL LOCATION WITHIN A 5 MILES RADIUS OF SHREWSBURY TOWN CENTRE  PLEASE CONTACT ALWAYS CONSULT ON 03334 442467 OR EMAIL : carol@alwaysconsult.com

 Some sound advice on how to keep the brain healthy as we grow older!

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Use It or Lose It, you probably know that it’s important to keep your brain active as you get older – the phrase “use it, or lose it” is often applied to mental fitness, just as it is to physical fitness.

But recent brain research indicates that it’s important to learn new activities, rather than just repeating activities you’ve already mastered.  Bearing this in mind, if you want to keep your brain alert and functioning in the best possible way, then you should try to engage in activities that :

• Teach you something new

• Are challenging and require your full attention

• Are progressive, so that they start easy but get progressively more difficult.

• Give you a sense of achievement

• Are novel and surprising in some way

It’s not difficult to find activities that meet these criteria. Learning a new language, taking up a musical instrument, trying to juggle,  or  trying your hand at cryptic crosswords  are all examples of activities that fit the bill.

Maintaining a healthy brain requires a little work – but when you think about the alternative, it’s well worth it.

Does What We Eat Affect Brain Function ?

The Verdict: Many scientists believe that eating healthily may be as good for the brain as it is for the body—but figuring out what is the best “brain food” is still a matter of research. So far, fish seems to top the list.
The Evidence:
Fish studies—A 2005 study published in the Archives of Neurology showed that normally aging people who ate fish once a week experienced a 10% slower decline on cognitive tests. A previous study in the same journal concluded that people 65 and older “who consumed fish once per week, or more, had 60% less risk of Alzheimer disease compared with those who rarely or never ate fish.” Some scientists think the omega-3 fatty acids in fish make it brain healthy by reducing in?ammation. This evidence is not yet conclusive, but suggests a possible connection.

Vitamin studies—Over the last several years, vitamins have been the central focus of several studies about brain health. These studies have conflicting results.

• Some studies have suggested that getting enough folate and vitamins B6 and B12 can stave off decline and dementia. Yet a more recent study has shown that too much folate can increase the risk of cognitive decline.

• While some studies suggest that antioxidants, especially vitamins E and C, can combat the oxidative stress of older brains, others show that consumption of these vitamins makes no difference.

Other foods and supplements—Green tea, gingko biloba, blueberries, spinach, apple juice, garlic—the benefits for cognitive health of these foods and others are continuing subjects of scientific study

 Taken from Meditations, Mind matters Oct 4th 2011

According to The People newspaper last week, one in four people out of work for more than two years is over 50 and faces the bleak prospect of never working again. They suffer low morale and a poor standard of living, says a report on the long term unemployed by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Chief economist Tony Dolphin says; “The longer someone is out of work, the more they lose motivation and confidence. they also miss out on vital training and work experience”.

In some cases self employment may be an option, but many people do not know what is available to them or where to go for help and support.

 Business Enterprise Support on 0845 6787826 has a variety of FREE workshops throughout Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire  and Shropshire to support budding entrepreneurs of any age.

  Mentoring, coaching  and workshops are facilitated by accredited SFEDI Business Advisers and Coaches.

This month two businesses in Shropshire opened their doors after receiving the benefit of the workshops and support.

 Always Consult is an associate of BES and is proud to help  many of these businesses such as:

Mr C’s based in Oswestry, Vehicle Technicians  e-mail mrcs1@hotmail.co.uk

Little Pixies Nursery based in Kinton, near Nesscliffe, Shrewsbury email info@littlepixiesnursery.co.uk

  At a recent HMRC workshop we were informed that  new business owners no longer have the 90 days they once had before registering themselves as self-employed.  Once marketing starts this is deemed as the start date and  according to the HMRC representative self-employment starts. Don’t get caught out! If in doubt contact the HMRC through the  www.businesslink.gov.uk website.

Remember- Class2 NIC is now £2.50 weekly.

Remember-VAT registration is mandatory once turnover hits the £73k  threshold.

Yes- Our new course will be coming soon.  We have been asked by so many people to put on a Train the Trainer course and we have really pulled out all the stops by getting it accredited as a Development Programme by the Institute of Leadership and Management.  This has the added benefit of enabling each candidate on the course to have 6 months free membership to the ILM as well as ILM certification of the programme. Great for CPD as well as CV!

Call us on 07981 182531 or 03334 442467  for more details.