I find it amazing peoples attitude to women (from both men and women) who dress up at the Trade shows to help add energy and razzmatazz to what potentially could be a very dull event. We have been down at the Internet World trade show at Earl’s Court. The Internet is a very male dominated industry being a techy lead industry. Sadly there are not enough women in our industry. A statistic we at UKFast are doing our level best to change. Women in our work place are essential. They are great communicators and organisers, and life would be very dull without the dynamic that mixing men and women together brings. That being said, why is it that people automatically assume a pretty girl dressed… Read the Rest »
UKFast clearly wins the hottest Owner competition at the Internet World competition. Share holder Gail Jones (right) and Rachael (left) PA to Lawrence Jones in their hot pants are just 2 of 12 UKFast Girls making a real stir at the Earl’s Court exhibition. The fact that the girls understand the complexities of clustered hosting and work for various departments with in UKFast really does impact on the visitors when they approach the stand and ask for help. Director and owner Gail Jones said “we are really having fun here. If you sell on the Internet and you are near to London come and see us and have a glass of champagne.” Posted by Chloe UKFast.
Who are the UKFast girls and what is their purpose? The UKFast girls work incredibly hard. They are all super intelligent, fun characters with big personalities with the caring gene which means they make the perfect hostesses. You find the UKFast Girls at all the outside events, Twickenham, Sale Sharks, Silverstone Grand Prix and all corporate hospitality. They also fly with me on a great deal of my business travels and commitments. I find it helps having fun people around. The girls help break the ice at events and play an invaluable role in so many areas of the businesses. They all double up in some capacity or other – be they a PA, sales person, account manager or even senior manager. By hanging around… Read the Rest »
What is hosting? It is a good question. I often wonder how and why I ended up in a career so similarly named to one I had been involved with in a previous life. As an event organiser, I essentially hosted parties for businesses. It involved the ultimate in commitment and service, a degree of attention to detail you seldom see and passion to keep you striving when the going gets tough. First up, last to bed….. it is a thankless task behind the scenes of a busy event. The business I had that specialised in this field I sold to Granada at the end of the 90′s. they did me a massive favour. I stayed and learnt so much about bigger business, “how to… Read the Rest »
The Lodge If you go to the Virgin Limited Edition website we will see a whole host of amazing properties. They all have a similar style of layout with long sociable dining tables, comfy spacious chill-out lounges and bars where you can help yourself to just about any drink or cocktail you can dream up. One of my favourites is The Lodge. It is particularly special to me as my early memories of the Alps always involve bus trips and cheap hotels. As I grew a little older I progressed to chalets, but invariably you get what you pay for. I am in a fortunate position to be able to experience The Lodge, at £80,000 to £90,000 per week, it is a place for the… Read the Rest »
With the world grounded with the ASH AIR crisis , I considered the options. We were due to spend a week in the mountains redesigning our products and services with colleagues from UKFast. The word grounded didn’t figure high on my priorities as a kid. With scaffolding outside my bedroom window for a good few years, this was my usual exit when I wanted my own space. It was at these times, I used to head for the hills. 1. Cancel the Hosting Summit in Verbier 2. Wait for the news that we could take the private jet 3. Consider other options? I am confident at this point as the pilot had been on to the powers that run the airspace and in-spite of the… Read the Rest »
So here we are at Branson’s place in the mountain. The UKFast Hosting Summit is a multi-purposed event. We are here to redesign and shape our product offering to ensure UKFast clients get the very best service and solution in the IT and hosting industry. But, because we believe so much in our philosophy that fresh air, exercise, coupled with learning and sharing experiences drives better decision making, we have chosen this years retreat to be hosted at The Lodge, Verbier. Mountain retreat to Sir Richard Branson. Mine and Gail’s personal favorite winter retreat. Today’s itinerary for example, is play hard in the morning with plenty of Skiing and Boarding. 2pm lunch back at the lodge 3pm – 7pm Focus Groups and product shaping 7pm –… Read the Rest »
Life is funny. Just walked in to the Midland Hotel for dinner at my favourite restaurant The French. It is made special by the fact that I played the piano here for 5 years from the age of 19. I remember the day when I lost the contract. It was the hardest time of my life. It was during the 90′s in the proper recession. I rang the guy who replaced me up to see of He ever needed a sub he was called Per Neilson. He was an amazing pianist. He could play anything. On the phone he told me “Lawrence you are the worst piano player in Manchester, and you will never make it as a business man.” Well 15 years later here… Read the Rest »
A big well done to the team who ventured to Wales with me this week. As I am currently still in the hills this is going to be a short post. I don’t think I have ever had such fun in such cold weather! With 100 mph winds and sideways rain, the usually protected top lake of Snowdon was an interesting place to pitch our tents. Well done for everyone who kept smiling in spite of the adverse conditions. Looking at the picture taken just before the team left to head back for work at UKFast, you’d think it was mid summer evening and there had never been a drop of rain. Check out the photo with me and my 2 fantastic dogs (Indie and… Read the Rest »
It amazes me how few businesses treat their staff to team building events. I remember as a smaller business we started to struggle to run events as the numbers were increasing and hotel bills and training fees were mounting. In the end, we brought our own training centre, that’s how seriously we took it, even back then. And now, a few years on, the difference between our tight knit culture and most businesses is evident, as soon as you walk through the door or pick up the phone. That phrase “think outside the box!” is a telling one but how many business owners and managers are guilty of staying in their box to do all their thinking. This week sees me heading off to Snowdon…. Read the Rest »
