Networking Event - Santander

14th March 2018 5:45 - 8pm

Was a good evening and met some interesting people. It can be nerve racking attending these kind of events where you don't know anyone. Dressing formal and having an elevator pitch ready is important. As is being confident and being approachable and interested in other people. The best thing about these events is that you literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You never know who you might meet. You might meet your next customer who then refers you and so on. Like I always say, if you don't do, you don't get. Luck is basically putting yourself in a position that can receive opportunities.

I have to say that the evening went rather well. There were two short seminars. The first one given by Steve Saunders, talked about his business "Action Coach" (actioncoach.com). He coaches business owners into achieving their goals by understanding key areas for development. His presentation was unique. He delivered his speech with enthusiasm, humour and audience interaction. He turned numbers and mundane business ideas into fun and interesting concepts. In particular, he looked at marketing and the relationship between leads, conversion rates, customers, transactions, revenue, margin and profit. How these things connected and how they can be manipulated was of key interest to me. There is a specific process in every business that works slightly different for everyone. He is holding two events next month that are both FREE taster sessions. I plan on attending at least one of these to see what I can get out of it. If you're interested please visit his website and get in contact.

The second seminar was delivered by a man from the Hertfordshire Constabulary. His seminar wasn't specifically targeted to new business owners. It was very relevant to everyone. He covered a lot of information about fraud, what the trends are today and how to avoid getting caught out. I learnt a great deal. Below I'll list a few pointers (I hope I remember everything!).

Did you know Hertfordshire is one of the safest counties in the UK?

The most popular crime today is FRAUD

There is a new Business Watch (you can join here > www.owl.co.uk)

Ransomware on the rise - criminals use pop up windows to inform you of data that has been locked (until sum of money has been paid)

Did you know that all our data is continually being sold to third party companies? Even scammers? Yes, even credit agencies do it!

Apps on phones make it incredibly easy to steal other peoples credit card info! Notice how phones and contact less is the ongoing trend?

TIPS

Phones

Don't use public WI-FI for anything confidential - especially payments

Do not call back numbers you don't know - could be linked to international/premium rate no.

If you don't recognise or expect a call - be very suspicious

Banks etc.. won't call you asking for details - do not give any details over phone!

Common scammers - "You've been in an accident!" or "Your card has been cloned".

Computers

Back up data on computers (not just on the cloud)

Use anti-virus (we all know this)

Be aware of fake emails (i.e. banks, online shops etc...) - do not click or even unsubscribe!

Never open unknown attachments

Change passwords periodically especially on email (maybe use symbols added on)

Be suspicious of invoice change requests - could be a scam

Consider what information is publicly known?

Make sure payment pages have a padlock symbol and have https (not http)

Don't except strange friend requests

Hover over a suspicious email/link to see exactly what that address is

For businesses, have policies in place for disposal and storage of data, computers, servers and mobile devices as well as having guidelines for usage of social media

General

Put copper material in purse / wallet so card details can't be uploaded to someone else's phone

Check personal space when at ATM - fraudsters might hover over shoulder or try the scam of telling you have dropped money and then nab the money out the machine.

Be wary of buying goods from unknown sellers.

I met a few other people including a woman from Wenta. If anyone is interested in business start ups and want to find out more I highly recommend going to one of these workshops. I attended a few years back now and have gotten bigger and better recently I hear.

And finally, Santander did a great job of hosting the event. Nice food and drinks and great atmosphere. If you ever set up a business, I hear they do great deals on business accounts.

Well that's it for now. Hope you found some of this interesting. I know I did.