Hello again!

BLOG 02.08.21

Welcome back to the blog after a few months off. Since the last post, Emma has sadly just left us. However, the Hub has managed to find a new replacement, namely me! (Dan Perrin). I will be continuing Emma’s fantastic efforts in helping to keep the Hub running in a positive direction. My main background lies in journalism – the last post being a sub-editor/page designer for a daily newspaper in Bermuda  –  but I also have experience in administration, social media and copywriting, so I look forward to working with you all in the coming months.

Covid safety

Following all the lockdowns and general Covid challenges from the last few months, it’s nice to be finally seeing some semblance of normality creeping back into our lives. However, despite the recent relaxing of regulations by the government, we thought it was only right that we continue to err on the side of caution and maintain a level of safety throughout the building. With this in mind, we ask everyone to please continue wearing facemasks (in corridors and on stairs), and to use hand sanitiser regularly.

Client Profile

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like your business to be profiled on our website and shared on our social media channels. Email dan@theexeterbusinesshub.co.uk and I will get back to you to arrange a brief meet-and-greet session where I can say hello and find out more about your business. Alternatively, I can send you a list of questions which you can answer in your own time.

Conference Space

Just a brief reminder that all clients can use our conference space absolutely free of charge for two hours per month.  Rooms are disinfected thoroughly prior to each use.  Please use this link to enquire about availability. Sadly, all networking events are still postponed but we plan to get things up and running again in the very near future. Watch this space for updates.

 

BLOG 27.11.20

At the end of a difficult year, it has been quite heartening to see how much our local community has drawn together and been looking out for each other.  Today I saw an article posted on Exeter City Council’s website outlining a scheme where local businesses and individuals have donated to arrange for tablets and laptops to be purchased for children who are not yet set up for home learning.

I have also been in touch with some of our former clients, The Mortgage Quarter. Every year they ask for donations for the children who will be on the Bramble Ward at R,D&E over the Christmas period.  Donations of new toys can be dropped off at The Exeter Business Hub reception where we will arrange for them to be passed over to The Mortgage Quarter.

Here at The Exeter Business Hub, our clients, Marquee Tech, would like to ask for signatures for a petition.  I am sure everyone appreciates how hard it has been for those businesses in the wedding and events industry lately.  The petition asks for outdoor weddings to be legalised (as they are in Wales and Scotland) in England.  Sign the petition here. 

I have also seen many initiatives to shop local this Christmas and support our smaller retailers.  We have a wealth to choose from in Exeter with some fantastic gift ideas.  More information on this year’s (virtual) Christmas market here.

Recent news from the Government has allocated Devon to a ‘Tier 2’ area.  I have added the poster below for your information, these restrictions will be in place from the 2nd December.

Another fantastic and unusual charity fundraiser is via Figgy’s Christmas Puddings, one of our virtual clients who are extremely busy at this time of year.  One of Figgy’s younger members, ten-year-old Jack, is climbing the tallest summit in the solar system – Olympus Mons on Mars – to raise money for Hospicecare.  This will involve climbing the stairs repeatedly until the 25,000m has been conquered! He’s currently 60% of the way to the top. Donate to this worthy cause here.

Another big change looming for us all is Brexit – Heart of the South West Growth Hub is hosting a webinar addressing key points for businesses – book your free ticket here.

Christmas Hours for The Exeter Business Hub reception are as follows:

Thurs 24th Dec     09.00 – 13.00

Fri 25th Dec          Closed

Mon 28th Dec      Closed

Tues 29th Dec      10.00 – 12.00

Wed 30th Dec      10.00 – 12.00

Thurs 31st Dec      10.00 – 12.00

Fri 1st Jan 2021      Closed

Mon 4th Jan 2021  Return to normal hours

As always, please do drop me an email at emma@theexeterbusinesshub.co.uk if you would like me to include anything in particular in next months blog.

BLOG POST 30.10.20

Wishing you all a Happy (albeit different) Halloween. In the absence of treat or treating, I hope you enjoy a quiet or fiendishly freaky evening (depending on your personal taste).

Covid-19

At the time of writing, Exeter remains as a medium, tier 1 county, with no new restrictions.  This is great news for all of our clients as it means our businesses can keep on functioning as normal for the time being. Just to re-cap, the rules for the various tiers are:

Medium Tier (Tier 1):

  • Follow the rule of 6 if meeting indoors or outdoors
  • Pubs and restaurants to shut at 10pm

High Tier (Tier 2):

  • No household mixing indoors
  • Rule of 6 will apply outdoors

Very High (tier 3):

  • No household mixing indoors or outdoors
  • Pubs and restaurants not serving meals will be closed
  • Guidance against travelling in and out of the area
  • Rule of six applies to outdoor places like parks and beaches

Conference Space

Just a brief reminder that all clients can use our conference space absolutely free of charge for two hours per month.  Rooms are disinfected thoroughly prior to each use.  Please use this link to enquire about availability.

As I am sure you have all gathered,all events have sadly been postponed for now, we hope this is something that we will be able to pick up in the future months.

Social Media

As always, please do link with us on Social Media via Twitter, Linked In and Facebook.

Client Profile

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like your business to be profiled on our website and shared on our social media channels. Email emma@theexeterbusinesshub.co.uk for a list of questions which you can answer your own time and send back to us.

BLOG POST 30.09.20

Following on from a very extraordinary year so far, I thought it would be helpful to update everyone on how The Exeter Business Hub is operating this Autumn.

Covid-19 Compliance

We are committed to being fully Covid-19 compliant and to keep operating and keeping our staff and clients safe.  So far, we have installed a screen in reception and have a ‘one person in reception’ rule for all visitors.  We have removed our reception seating as we feel offering a sitting area is not appropriate at this time.

All staff have been provided with a disinfectant spray and hand sanitiser.  Desks are sanitised when staff arrive each day and hand sanitiser is used throughout the day.  Toilets have been stocked with disinfectant wipes so surfaces can be wiped before and after use.  Sanitiser is also available at each entry point into the building for our clients use.

Events

As I am sure you have all gathered, events have sadly been postponed for now, we hope this is something that we will be able to pick up in the future months.

Social Media

As always, please do link with us on Social Media via Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.

Emails

In terms of client contact, we will be sending a regular email out every couple of weeks, detailing helpful funding opportunities and links to local events.  I hope this proves a useful source of information for our clients.

Opening hours

Thanks to everyone for bearing with us over the last few months – varying staff resource has meant that our main reception has been opened for reduced hours for quite some time.  It is a pleasure to be able to extend our opening times to 9am – 5pm, from Monday to Friday.  Offices can be accessed as usual outside of these times.

BLOG POST  14.02.2020

February usually brings with it a slight promise of spring. This year I am just thankful when it stops raining! Hopefully we can all enjoy some dryer weather soon, as well as the lighter mornings and evenings.

Events

Here at The Hub we are looking forward to our next networking event, this will be held on the 6th March and will hopefully give everyone a helping hand for the financial year ahead.  Tickets available via Eventbrite  If you are interested, please do reserve your place.

We continue to run coffee and pastry mornings every month, held in our conference rooms, this is proving to be a great opportunity for our clients to meet each other in an informal setting – and start the day with a sugar and caffeine buzz!

Charity Events

Our lovely Linda in reception is taking part in a charity walk in Battersea, London on the 13th March in aid of the Alzhemier’s Society. This is a charity very close to her heart – you can read her story here.

Solid Start Up

We are pleased to launch our ‘Solid Start Up Programme’, devised to give Start-Up companies a helping hand.  This enables new companies the chance to use our virtual office services, free of charge for 3 months, along with a host of other benefits. More information can be found here.

Social Media

As always, please do link with us on Social Media via Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.

New Staff

We are pleased to welcome our newest team member, Melody.  Melody is joining our awesome reception desk staff from various temping roles in Exeter, I’m sure she will be a great asset to the team.

We also have another new starter – Beano the rescue labradoodle will be joining my family this weekend, I will bring him in to meet everyone, once he’s settled in and grown in confidence a little.  Until then, here’s a picture to keep you going!

  

 

BLOG POST 17.01.2020

  

Happy New Year (I can still get away with saying that, I think?)  I hope you have enjoyed the break and are feeling energised for the new decade.

Renovation

Here at The Exeter Business Hub we are looking forward to continuing our works to the interior of the building.  The company signs will be added to the external fascia of the building shortly and we hope the weather will soon be dry enough to address the external walls at the lower ground level of the building.  Work has begun in the shared areas of 47 Queen Street this week.

Events

We continue with our monthly coffee mornings and networking events.  Details of all events can be found on our events tab.

Dogs

We have a number of regular doggie visitors to The Hub and I will be featuring them via our social media channels.  Please keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook and Linked In for more!

 

  

 

BLOG POST 13.12.19

  

Queensgate House Maintenance

 

We are very excited to finally see the removal of the scaffolding at the front and the rear of the building.  Thank you all for your patience over this time. I’m sure you all agree that the building looks beautiful with a fresh coat of paint. 

 

Events

The monthly ‘coffee and pastry’ morning continues to be a fantastic informal space where members of the hub can come together and chat on a Friday morning.   Our virtual clients are more than welcome to stop by as well, if they are in the area. The next date is the 24th of January so please do drop in and meet other members of The Exeter Business Hub community.

 

We have also hosted our very first networking event, here at The Hub.  Our guest speaker, Olly Harrison from Gusto Marketing, delivered an interactive workshop seminar which had us all devising a marketing strategy for our own companies – The Exeter Business Hub included! It was a fun way to meet some other local businesses and extend our connections beyond our clients here.

 

I’m pleased to say that the event received some great press coverage from Grow Magazine and Exeter Daily.  It was also covered in the Express and Echo.

Client Development

Our second Client Profile is now live, check it out here.  

Please do let me know if you are doing any charitable events over the Christmas season.  I can share that The Mortgage Quarter is collecting for new toys for children at the Hospital over the Christmas period, please see here for more details.

Christmas

We have emailed or sent Christmas hours to everyone and they are also available here.  Please contact us if you have any questions.  

We are also looking forward to celebrating Christmas with our clients at our Mince Pie & Prosecco event on the 13th December – gluten free mince pies also available so please stop by and toast the festive season with us.

I hope you all get the chance to take a well earned break.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year!