Issue 2July 2009 www.homebusinessnetwork.co.uk 19
SECOND LIFE :: BRAD BURTON
Emma
Pizza man starts
groups
to see the dough
Jones
LET’S CELEBRATE!
By Mira Taylor
BRAD Burton likes to sum his life up as a Twitter
Home enterprise Day is The end result of the week will
update: “Born manchester 1971, adversity,
happening on Friday 20 be a documentary looking at
brilliance, heroic failure, dole, dotcom leader,
November and enterprise Nation the rise of home business in
marketing genius, pizza delivery, managing
members are making plans to the UK. This is where we’ll be –
director of 4N”
celebrate. I hope you’ll join us. please come out and say hello!
Note ‘pizza delivery’. Delivering pizza for £6
The day marks the first
an hour on a Friday night was not quite what
national celebration of
Monday 14 September
the award winning marketer had imagined for
home business. It’s being
Scotland
himself when he told his boss “where to stick
held as part of Global Tuesday15 September
his job” in December 2004 to go it alone.
entrepreneurship Week and North-east (Newcastle)
But fast forward 18 months and, after
the aim is to encourage more
heading to Ikea for some new home office
people to start a business from
Wednesday 16 September
furniture (the most important part of starting
home and support existing
London
a business, obviously), sitting around in his
home businesses to grow. Thursday 17 September
underpants “aggressively waiting for the phone
There are a number of ways South-West (Bristol and
to ring” and telling his wife about all the “irons in
you can get involved: surrounds)
Brad Burton: Pizza the action
the fire”, Brad had amassed £25,000 of debt and
Attend the Enterprise Friday 18 September
needed to put food on the table for his young family.
all across the UK and 18,000 members. Its informal,
Nation Conference West midlands (Herefordshire
Brad’s wife, Kerry, showed him an ad for a pizza
sociable approach wins members over from other
We’re hosting a national and Shropshire)
delivery boy in the local paper. Thinking she was
groups, as well as the fact that many of its members
conference on
joking, he laughed it off. But, at her insistence, Brad
are in the same boat as Brad was then, and can
the day with a enter the
got the delivery job. one evening, he knocked on
benefit from the support the network gives to these
top line up of
❝
Home Enterprise Day
Home Business
a door to deliver pizza and one of his marketing
people.
speakers who is happening on Friday Awards – the
clients opened. “I tried to blag it!” says Brad,
“We binned all the rules,” Brad says. “A
will inform awards will be
“Claiming that I was doing market research for
20 November.
networking organisation should respect people’s
and inspire. ❞ open in early
Dominos. But the game was up and it was time to
judgment and let them decide on when and where
Speakers September
make things happen.”
to attend events and who they want to do business
such as Doug Richard (former with winners announced at the
Brad then started going to networking meetings to
with. We knew that online networking would be a
Dragon & chief executive of enterprise Nation Conference
get his business on track, but found that they were
huge part of it as well.
School for Startups), Louise on Friday 20 November. We’ll
all very formal and regimented. A big mancunian in
After some initial stumbles and going back to
Campbell (founder, myehive. have the same categories this
Somerset, this wasn’t his style and he didn’t fit in.
the drawing board the formula came together.
com) and, from the world of year as last which are:
Brad started to think that there must be scope for
“The hardest part of business is getting
media Lisa Sykes (Features
a more relaxed alternative. He approached fellow
appointments, and our members get at least three
editor, Country Living), Jenny
• Home Business of the Year
networker Tim Johnson and asked for his help in
at every meeting. “
Culshaw (Producer, Working
• Home Business Couple of the Year
creating the biggest business network in Somerset.
Brad may now be running a national business
Lunch) and Jimmy Leach (head
• Young Home Business of the
Tim said he would do it, but only if they aimed to be
network, but the pizza box he carries around is a
of Digital, The Independent)
Year (under the age of 30)
the biggest network in the UK.
permanent fixture “and a great reminder of how this
The event is being held
• Home office of the Year
Starting from their homes, Tim and Brad launched
whole thing started.”
in London and on the day
the first 4Networking group in 2006. one year later
we’ll be launching our 2009
entry is free and you’re in with
there were 12. Now, three years on, there are 200
www.4networking.biz
Home Business Report and
a chance of winning plenty of
announcing winners of the 2009
profile and prizes.
LETTERS
Home Business Awards. Plenty
Run your own event – if
of reasons to come along!
you’d like to celebrate Home
enterprise Day but unable to
Dear Home Business Network Dear Home Business Network
Join us on a roadtrip join us for the conference in
In the build-up to Home London, why not host your own
enterprise Day, we’re going event. We’ve prepared a basic
Home perceptions Marketing ideas
on a roadtrip! Starting in sheet for anyone looking for
Scotland and travelling south, tips on how to spend the day.
I have run a successful PR business from my I am a freelance artist specialising in cartoons
I’ll be interviewing people in Whatever you decide to do,
home office for the last 10 years. I employ one and caricatures. I have, and am continuing to
their working homes, talking and wherever you’ll be, I look
person pretty much full time here and another create and add to, a range of Ashes cartoons
to policy makers and hosting forward to celebrating the UK’s
who works from her home in Essex. Obviously and caricatures for the summer series.
home business meet-ups every first ever Home enterprise Day
our overheads are low, which is particularly Currently, this range consists of four cartoons
night, at each stop-off point. with you!
important these days, and we can offer clients which are group caricatures of England,
particularly cost effective consultancy. It all Australia, The Legends & The Commentary
emma Jones is founder of the home business website enterprise
works very well and I find you can be much Team. These are available as prints and as
Nation, www.enterprisenation.com, and author of Spare Room
more focused and obviously there are no office t-shirts. There are also five separate t-shirt
Start Up – how to start a business from home.
politics! (My corporate jobs have been working designs featuring the tour itinerary with Richie
for Rolls-Royce Limited and The Guardian). Benaud caricatures and a range of his favourite
I think a lot of people worry about looking a sayings including, ‘Marvellous’, ‘What a Catch’,
bit like a cottage industry and the perception ‘Super Effort That’... etc.
THeRe’S a lot at stake when developing a new product
associated with working from home. We To accompany each test match, I am
or service. To minimise risks and allocate investment and
certainly go that extra mile for our clients – I producing a cartoon which illustrates the
resources wisely, you should consider a number of factors:
let them use my house for photo shoots but outcome, with the amazing efforts of Swann,
• Will your new product or service meet customers’
don’t charge a location fee – and they seem to Collingwood, Panesar and Anderson to secure
specifications? For example, you should consider its design,
appreciate it. Some definitely prefer coming here the draw as the subject of the 1st Test at Cardiff.
ease of use and performance benefits.
for meetings. I would be very interested to hear any
The real bonus for me is being able to work thoughts on these pictures, which you can see on
• How technologically feasible is the product or service?
around the children. The women I employ all my website: www.3rdmancartoons.co.uk and if
Can you meet the design, resource and manufacturing
have children and we can be flexible. Our kids anyone knows how best to market and sell these
requirements? You can find out about product design on
are older now – age ranges from 12 to 22 – but products I would be very grateful for any advice.
the Design Council website:
when they were younger it was invaluable. www.designcouncil.org.uk
I am now a very useful source of income Patrick Latham
for them as they help out in the office with 3rd Man Cartoons
NEED TO KNOW
• Are you clear about what you hope to achieve with
the new product or service? Does it meet the strategy
mailings and press cuttings and my colleagues Rutland, Oakham
outlined in your business plan and play to your business
kids do spray painting for our photo shoots for
strengths?
one of our clients.
Write to:
The clearer you are about your plans, the better you can
Philippa King
Home Business Letters, Red Lion Lodge,
analyse the risks involved.
Shaker PR
Bentley, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 5HY
Ceri Henfrey
East Sussex
Or email: letters@homebusinessnetwork.co.uk
Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank
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