UnreasonableDistances

So, I listened to that list of 1001 Albums

There is a book entitled “1001 Albums you must hear before you die“, by Dimery and Lydon. So I listened to them all. In fact more than all.

How it started

It is very dangerous to give an obsessive person a book full of lists. Especially when it’s a book full of lists of things that the person likes. And I’m not sure that Faye knew this when she gave me the book as a present, but the…

New Business For Me

Business Management Consultants need a home. Many years of being a freelance advisor have led me in a circle – back to a regulated accounting practice.

I have put together DJWB and Co Business Advisors Ltd – https://www.djwbandco.uk/to be a home for me, and a powerful network of business management consultants who are experts and providers that can deliver a range of services for growth…

CBILS extension to November 2020

Yesterday the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and the Future Fund would be extended until the end of the year.

We have since clarified with the British Business Bank that the official deadline for these schemes is November 30th, and so wanted to…

Quo Vadis Post COVID? Should we "recover" to our past economic models or should we face a better, more sustainable, fairer, future?

Summary

The answer is beginning to emerge. Chose wisely

we do know how the infection and death rates will interact with economic recovery, and it is quite possible to plan for it

this planning works at international, national, regional, and sectoral level

excellent consultancies are making complete programmes of recovery freely available

the basic model is “protect – recover – retool –…

The UK government is faced with the most serious problem with one arm tied behind its back – it is trying to manage a pandemic, but it has no sight of the underlying infection rate. Until very recently, there were no reliable immunological tests. There is a test for viral RNA, but it has shortcomings. Vaccines are notoriously hard to sample for, not least because they degrade very fast in…

Corona Virus – will there be an “after”?

Every organisation of every size from freelancer to international organisation has just been faced with a change in its external context that is forcing it to change internally. This pandemic is the fastest and deepest economic shock in history.

I advise several small to medium enterprises, a couple of large ones, and sit on the board of the government – private partnership organisation.

Al…

I do advise the few start-ups on raising initial capital, but it is more by way of a charity donation from me to them and not a business model.

Fortunately, I did it often enough that I was able to condense what I’d learned into a few documents that I can hand out over coffee. Sort of “homework for first-time entrepreneurs”. After 10 years of doing this, I’m finding quite a few of those…

The future runs faster than you

2019 CogX

This is a quick canter through things I learned cognition X, conference and celebration in London dedicated to technological solutions to modern problems with a focus on artificial intelligence

There is not much structure to this, as I made the notes as I went from event to event, seeking serendipity. Nor do I claim these are stenographer level accurate records of what was said.…

National politics effect us all.

Decision after decision needed to move our village and area forward have been stalled because of total paralysis at a National level. Planning, health, Rail, adult care, education, business rates? All stalled. No one can act because Brexit has broken politics. We have a couple of weeks left to fix that.

So: Brexit is a local issue.

Last weekend, I headed to London…

The Cold Hard Truth About Fundraising for Start-ups – Ch 2

No plan survives contact with a customer, but you gotta have a plan!

Before we can go much further, we are going to have to answer some deep questions about raising finance for a business. Questions like:

What is my business worth?

What price should I sell shares at?

Can I repay a loan, and if so, how fast?

What will my business look like in 1,2, or 3 years’ time?

What will this be worth to…

Weird places my work has ended up

As a (very) amateur photographer, I am always delighted when a photo of mine is used and credited. Less delighted when it is stolen and used on a Christmas card, but always fun to find them never the less.

Here are some examples:

A NASA article on hurricanes [no longer online]

A German web page

A Norfolk Travel book

A guide to Oxford [not online]

A slide deck about cooking

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