Is it me or are the contestants on BBC’s Masterchef getting a bit carried away with their ‘fusion food’.  Last night’s contestants really took the biscuit (excuse the pun!) beetroot brownies with a bizarre melted marshmallow sauce - no thanks!! Mashed potato with Asian seared tuna? and worst of all – the grey sauce presented with ballotine of chicken with spicy sausage stuffing.  Can’t wait to see what tonight’s contestants will bring to the judging table. Remember, cooking doesn’t get tougher than this!

As we work with such a broad spectrum of businesses,  we always try and recommend the services of our clients to others as and when they are looking for them. Looking for a new kitchen, talk to Daulby and Tickle (www.daulbyandtickle.co.uk), need a family friendly dental practice, visit Oak Lodge Dental Practice (www.oaklodgedental.co.uk) …you get the idea. We’re never  backwards about coming forwards when we can see that an introduction can help both sides. (more…)

During a marketing review meeting with a client today, we were able to discover, and elminate several thousand pounds of unnecessary marketing spend. The items were mainly direct debits for services originally employed 2 years ago, before we started working with the client on various projects like website development and marketing strategy. Examples included subscriptions for search engine optimisation on a site that no longer existed and registration to trade registers that had resulted in no new business for 2 years investment. (more…)

Great news for all you coffee, cupcake, bacon sandwich, panini and afternoon tea fans out there.. our favorite Liphook eatery, Number 26 is now open on Saturday’s. So, if you’re craving a nice place to go and read the papers and have breakfast made for you after a hectic week, or want  to catch up with the girls over an afternoon tea that rivals The Ritz, then get on in there. Number 26 is open 9.30 – 2.30pm every Saturday, as well as 8.30 – 5.00 Monday to Friday. www.number26.co.uk . See you there!

Like it or not the World Cup is coming this summer and you need to be aware of it!  121 days to go apparently according to the FIFA official website. Whilst I am secretly an avid football fan, I am sure there are many of you who would not even give this a second thought.

Well from the 11th June at 4pm, South Africa will kick off against Mexico and the fun all starts, ending on11th July with the final in Johannesburg.  From a business point of view this may affect your ability to get hold of people, as they suddenly have to be at a meeting at precisely 4pm (in the pub).  Depending on how many penalty shoot outs we have to endure this time, clients may fall into periods of depression, denial or bouts of singing ‘it’s coming home’ while rocking backwards and forwards in their office chair; decisions on business matter will be far from their minds! 

My advice is to prepare  your business for a possible reduction in activity, if there’s anyway of theming your business then do it and embrace the frenzy, you never know we might actually win the thing this time (I know, ever the optimist!). Anyone for a football themed leaflet?

Fabulous birthday cake from Number Twenty Six and Delight Cakes

Just back from a lovely birthday lunch and just had to wax lyrical about being made a fuss of at Number 26 cafe in Liphook - where I enjoyed a fantastic Moroccan vegetable stew with mint cous cous and flatbread, and an amazing cake make by Michelle Nobbs at Delight Cakes. See the picture attached of the beautiful giant cupcake with a touch of Mzuri Design colours! Thanks all for a lovely birthday treat….it was a tough job coming back to work this afternoon and knuckling down to some work! So if you are looking for a lovely spot for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea head for Number 26 where you can also sample the wonderful (normally sized!) cupcakes Michelle makes for the cafe. For more information on Number Twenty Six and Delight Cakes at www.number26.co.uk

There is no doubt that for many businesses the past 12 – 18 months have been seriously challenging. Economic uncertainty has dominated the headlines and the minds of business owners, marketing managers, sales teams and accounts departments.  Christmas, much as we love it, meant a long shut-down period this year due to the way the dates of Christmas and bank holidays fell.

So, there we were, back with a spring in our step on 4 January ready to rock and roll. Then low and behold, the country is hit with enough snow to stop us in our tracks. If, like Mzuri, you and your team were able to work from home and retain some level of normality, you have probably had a slightly less stressful time of it than others. Many of our clients run businesses that simply cannot be ‘run remotely’ – dental practices, air conditioning specialists, retailers, opticians, kitchen manufacturers, garden design and construction companies. Whatever your business, the snow has probably caused a worrying blip in cash flow, a mountain of client work to catch up on and a large to do list for your own business with not enough time to complete it. So, how can you fight back? (more…)