Apologies from Mark Thornhill, on an emergency job and David Munday and Ricky Perrin and Morag Matthews caused by illness. Our best wishes to everyone affected for a speedy recovery.

Another great Education Slot from Sue Ambrose – it is great to be able to call on the wealth of experience that does sit around our table. It is so easy for small businesses of 1 or 2 people to become introverted in their decision making and techniques. Never be afraid to ask for help or guidance, particularly on attracting Visitors.

Very high standard of presentations this week, with the Star speaker Award going to Jo Nathanial.

Our rolling Network Leaders for Dec/January so far are:
Laura Downton           7
Scott Georgiades        7
Bob Bullen                  6

Clive reminded Janice Davison and Patrick Cunningham that their details are still awaited for inclusion in the BNI Caterham website.

Visitor's Event:
The Membership Committee has now met, after the meeting, and several important issues were discussed. The most pressing, in time terms, was next week’s Visitors Event.

The Education Slot is going to comprise of a “Chat Show” routine with Sue asking 4 Members about their BNI membership. The selected Members will be contacted by Sue during the course of this week. It was also decided, in view of the debris left behind previously (and in the interests of rain forest preservation and carbon footprint lowering) to have a special table for Members literature. That way, literature is available without cluttering the dining tables. Numbers dictate that these will be round 8 seater tables. There will be a seating plan, to achieve a good mix of Visitors/Members, and, to facilitate business card box and Visitors card movement there will be a Table monitor named for each table to speed up the inter-table flow.

It was also confirmed that funds enable us to offer the added incentive of a “FREE” breakfast for Visitors.

Leadership Team:
It is also time to select the next Leadership Team and it is important to note that this is done by BNI management, and NOT the Chapter. We are able to put names forward for Chapter Director and then the approved person chooses a team, which again has to be approved. Having said that if anyone would like to be considered for the role of Chapter Director please contact me and I will make sure your name is included for consideration by BNI.

10 minutes...
Liz Copeland announced the Speaker list for the next few weeks:

...and introduced this week’s speaker – Jo Nathanail.

As expected of the holder of a Blue Peter badge, Jo gave a great presentation of her wares and skills. Interesting to hear of her involvement with The London Marathon and the fact that her business plan for Parkstone Interiors was evolved while still at university, there’s focus for you!  With a slight detour in to the retail and recruitment sectors Jo finally achieved her ambition 5 years ago and based on her Textiles ‘A’ Level and Textile Management honours degree from Leeds University was able to bring her background and experience in to her business

As a Surrey County Council “Buy with Confidence” Trading Standards approved scheme member Parkstone Interiors clearly lives up to the strapline “Making Houses in to Homes”

Jo passed around some elegant samples of her curtain styles, and the quality of fabric and craftsmanship was evident.

It’s clear that Jo is passionate about curtains, pelmets and blinds and as she offers the complete service, from design help to fitting, referrals should be easy to find, particularly for anyone moving house or refurbishing.

Jo’s door prize of some matching cushions, was won by Sue Ambrose.

Report:
Liz reported no Membership renewals due for February, and reminded those that pay for breakfast by cheque that December and January fees are now due.

Please remember that BNI rules mean there is no automatic renewal. All applications to renew MUST be considered by the Membership Committee and approved (or declined), accordingly.

Events:
John Gooden reminded us about the evening training on Wednesday January 23rd and the BNI Surrey Go Karting Championships to be held on Friday March 7th at Crawley. Teams are made up of 6 drivers and it is £45 per head, with a £10 deposit due end of January. There are 22 Chapters competing over 2 venues and the Crawley venue will be 8 Chapters. If we cannot get a team of 6 we can still enter and be “ topped” up from other Chapters.

The BIG Breakfast - important:
The other event, that I mentioned, was the Big Breakfast. This is to be held on Monday February 4th at the Bridge House Hotel Reigate. These are great events and, sadly, last year we were precluded from attendance because of lack at capacity at the venue (Kingswood Golf Club) we had elected to have our meeting there in lieu of our own. We are being encouraged to invite Visitors and clients to this event and the highlight will be a 10 minute slot by Dr Ivan Misner (by DVD). There will be around 200 people, so great networking opportunities exist.

We need to get numbers booked FAST, and if more than 15 of our Members want to go we could declare this the meeting for that week. Please e-mail or phone Clive by Friday 18th with your booking and we will make a decision on moving the meeting by next Tuesday.

Finally:
Thought for the week, kindly submitted by Andrew Browne:

"Small businesses should never make the mistake of thinking that people can only be motivated by money. This is like comparing good garden compost with chemical fertiliser – one will nourish and sustain growth, while the other will poison from the top down."

Brian Brown, author of Motivating Your Staff For Better Performance

Have a great week.