To promote this partnership we have further discounts for any PRINCE2® programmes booked through Profile Solutions before the end of January 2010 (although can be attended anytime in the year). Investment on these programmes are as follows:

PRINCE2® Foundation (3 days) Normally £895+VAT Offer only £750+VAT
PRINCE2® Practitioner (2 days) Normally £695+VAT Offer only £575+VAT
PRINCE2® Foundation + Practitioner (5 days) Normally £1,395+VAT Offer only £1,195+VAT

Location of delivery is either Chester or Warrington, click here for current dates (accommodation options can also be arranged if required).

The University also have programmes for Management of Risk (M_o_R®) and P3O programmes, where special pricing can also be arranged. See link for more information on these programmes http://www.nticw.co.uk/courses.php

Also there is still currently £1,000 worth of NWDA funding for Business Owners based in the North West with over 5 employees, via Business Link NW (other local Business Links may also be able to access similar funded programmes). More information on our blog, via this link.

If an individual wants to pay themselves for their professional development, there may be a way of removing the VAT and arranging finance options with the University, which I will support on also.

To take advantage of this offer and to book on any of these programmes, or for more information, please call me direct on 07977 090 767, or main office number 0845 838 6748.

Warm regards, Steve

Although worth noting that the funding structure was changed at the end of December 2009, for future review at the end of Q1/2010. Currently only one person per business (typically the Owner / Director / Senior Manager) can access the first level of funding. Which still allows these people to gain the full £1,000 for training or business coaching / mentoring.

This is based on the first £500 of the training being fully funded, then the next £1,000 of spend being match funded (50%).

For example, training or coaching programme costing £1,000, could be funded by £750 via NWDA and £250 by the Business.

Or a £1,500 programme could be funded by £1,000 via NWDA and £500 by the Business.

As a general rule of thumb you will need to have over 5 employees and based in the North West (Chester and Ellesmere Port eligible postcodes are CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4, CH64, CH65, CH66) and not accessed this funding to date.

When you are reviewing your training in 2010, it is highly recommended you look into this as an option to support your personal, senior management team and business growth.

We are hoping in April 2010, this offer will be extended for Businesses who have accessed this first stage funding for additional 5-6 employees in the same business to be eligible for this funding. So worth getting the process of accessing the funding in progress sooner rather than later.

Remember that this funding can also be used for Coaching in your business (maybe for development of business plans, sales or leadership development) and Higher Education (on a match funding bases only).

If you want to discuss how Profile Solutions can support in delivery of your training or business coaching needs, as well as accessing the funding in areas such as Leadership Development, Interpersonal Development, Change Management, Customer Excellence or PRINCE2®, please give me a call direct on 07977 090 767 or the office on 0845 838 6748.

Warm regards, Steve

For more information on Profile Solutions Limited, click here.

Profile Solutions Limited have special pricing for these programmes for our clients. Pleaes call us for more information on 0845 838 6748.

Click here for 2010 dates for Chester and Warrington Courses.

For booking form or further information, please call us on 0845 838 6748 or email info@profilesolutions.co.uk

Needless to say, she then realised she has indeed run a very successful project, all be it without the framework we then outlined in the workshop.

This is just a real life example of when Project Management skills are called on. Project Management skills are fundamental if you are involved in any level of management and essential if you run a business.

The ability to run business changes, new initiatives, promotions, events, capital expenditure, business proposals, etc; all involve change and need to be managed correctly in the core areas of Project Management:

• Time – What are the key milestones and dates that need to be met? How long is the project to run for? How and when do we have reviews?
• Cost – Is there a budget for this project? Do we have the funding? Are there contingencies if costs increase? Have we got the required resource for success?
• Specification – What do we want to achieve? What does success look like? How are we going to monitor the outcomes?
  
• Risk – What are the possible risks? How are we going to deal with these if they arise? How will we pilot the project?
• Communications – Who are the key stakeholders? How are they going to be updated?

This is just a short list of the areas, which will need considering on a successful change programme.

If you want to review your approach to Project and Change Management in your business please use our FREE Project Management Health Check, then call us on 0845 838 6748, if you need support or employee training on your change programmes.

Profile Solutions are based in Chester and specialise in supporting Businesses in Project and Change Management from SME’s & start-ups (creating a business strategy for success), to larger organisations by deploying bespoke Project Management Frameworks and documentation for delivering Business Objectives. Remember you may also be eligible for some funding towards training, please click here for more details.

See our online brochure for more details.

To get in contact and find out more, please email Steve Nicholls on steve@profilesolutions.co.uk or call us on 0845 838 6748.

Neil Lewis, ex-Publisher and Founder of Property Secrets, gave a valuable insight into his business experiences during a question and answer session with the local business community and students from the Faculty of Business, Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.

Hosted by Chester Business School, An Audience with Neil Lewis was organised in conjunction with thebestofchester business community.

Addressing the audience, Neil Lewis, said: “I’ve experienced the process of building a business with just £2,000 invested to achieving a business that was worth approximately £12million in 2007, but then ceased trading this summer.

“I’ve learnt more on the way down than the way up. The experiences you have on the way down are curiously more interesting.”

An experienced entrepreneur and property investor, Neil Lewis is also co-author of two successful property investment books, Buy to Let and Property Developer Secrets. His company ceased trading in August 2009 after 10 years and the assets were recently sold. Neil is now writing about his 10 year entrepreneurial experience in his online blog www.RagstoWreckages.com

He advised: “The first thing I would say to any budding entrepreneur is to get passionate. Money doesn’t make you happy, you have got to do something you are passionate and care about. The only way to survive in this market is to do better than the next person and that only happens when you do something you really love.

“Also, create a company that doesn’t require you to have debt, this way you can build a business plan that works.”

Mr Lewis also spoke about the value to some businesses of using contractors. He said: “I think any entrepreneur puts a huge amount of time and effort in helping their people engage with what is going on, but you don’t have to do this in a traditional way. In my view, successful businesses which are starting up now will be businesses which leverage on the freelance structure.”

He continued: “If you build a successful business and it goes wrong, you take that experience and you transfer it to your next venture.”

Chris Pyke, Associate Dean and Head of Chester Business School, said: “This was certainly a thought-provoking event. Mr Lewis was an excellent speaker, imparting valuable advice based on his first-hand experiences.

“It was also an important networking opportunity, promoting good business engagement.”

left to right: Professor Phil Harris, Executive Dean of Faculty of Business, Enterprise and Lifelong Learning; Paul Daniels from thebestofchester; Fran Hulbert, Chair of Faculty of Business Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Business Advisory Council; Entrepreneur, Neil Lewis; Chris Pyke, Associate Dean and Head of Chester Business School; and Steve Nicholls from thebestofchester.

Post supplied by the University of Chester.

Maybe these are familiar in your business:

• Projects not delivering expected results (over budget, late or out of scope)
• No transparency over the changes in the organisation
• Lack of communication and ownership for projects
• Projects not aligned to business objectives or reviewed if still relevant to now
• Key resources are pulled across too many projects

It is just as important to have Project Management best practices in place for smaller businesses as it is for larger organisations, as the principles are much the same.

Take 10 minutes today and have a run through this FREE
Project Management Health Check and see the results on the radar diagram. Simply score each of the statements between -4 (do not agree/don’t do) to 4 (total agree/used on all projects).

Profile Solutions specialise in supporting Businesses in Project and Change Management from SME & start-ups (creating a business strategy for success), to larger organisations where we deploy bespoke Project Management Frameworks for delivering Business Objectives.

See our online brochure for more details.

If you need any more information, please call us on 0845 838 6748 or email info@profilesolutions.co.uk

Profile Solutions specialise in supporting Businesses in Project and Change Management from SME ‘s (creating a business strategy for success), to larger organisations where we deploy bespoke Project Management Frameworks for delivering Business Objectives.

If you need support in your business, in any of the following areas, please give us a call on 0845 838 6748:

• Project and Change Management
• Sales Growth
• Business Strategy
• Lean / Process Optimisation (Service and Manufacturing)
• Leadership & Management Training and Coaching
• Customer Service
• Communication skills
• Coaching and Personal Development

See our online brochure for more details.

If you need any more information, please call us on 0845 838 6748 or email info@profilesolutions.co.uk

Well done to Abi, Paul, Pete and Jess for pulling together a fantastic night. Here we raised an amazing £11,130 for Claire House, with over 350 guests at the black tie event. Well done again to all that helped and attended.

Main image below from left myself Steve Nicholls from thebestofchester, Abi Smith from Claire House, Paul Daniels from thebestofchester, Jess Forbes from Cheshire Jets and Peter Hawkins from Cheshire Jets (all escorted by 2 Romans!)

Please note all images kindly supplied by Jason Howard Photography

Profile Solutions specialise in supporting Businesses in Project and Change Management from SME & start-ups (creating a business strategy for success), to larger organisations where we deploy bespoke Project Management Frameworks for delivering Business Objectives.

If you need any more information, please call us on 0845 838 6748 or email info@profilesolutions.co.uk