#CovTweetUp

Sacrifice is too strong a word, but after 2 years we have had to put on hold our social life, but I think I may have pushed it a little too far this time by treating Amanda for her Birthday by taking her to a Coventry networking event #CovTweetup. Forever and a day this is going to be used to win arguments… not that she needs help, we both agreed the event was a great way to boost our profile within the city.

When you think of Coventry, affluence does not first spring to mind, but I have a soft spot for this city due to family links, going to the University (you could not tell by my grammar!), my wife being from here and where I live and have set up my business.

I believe Coventry has a lot to offer productively and financially too. Believing though and having any tangible rewards are two different things, but maybe #CovTweetup was the first step into tapping into potential. This is in comparison to the last two years, which has seen us choose a lot of local suppliers wherever possible, but has just seen us work in Coventry on only a handful of occasions.

 

Having, like I expect many others, hoped that someone would take the baton and lead from the front I heard about #CovTweetUp only a few weeks ago. It was only 2 weeks later did I realised it clashed with Amanda’s Birthday! Set up by Sally Mahers of the Intelligent VA Company championing this great cause.

From afar I have been made aware of #WarwickTweetUp campaigns that bring local businesses together and empower them via the use of social media, like my worst nightmare, Twitter. Could this happen on a larger scale in Coventry? Could they help social media incompetents like me? ….

 

Now after a few days to digest #CovTweetUp’s evening event, words that spring to mind about the event include inspiration, support and optimism.

The best thing about #CovTweetUp is it’s nice to know there are like-minded people trying to get on with their business and trying to make a living from it. Those that know its more than cooking a crepe on a griddle and are aware of the work done in the background, but at the same point enjoy what they do so are happy to put that time and effort into it.

So am I a social media pro now? Well not quite, but the experts including Todd from a Digital Marketing company behind the local #WarwickTweetUp have guided me onto the right path in how to use the likes of Twitter more effectively. Followers have immediately increased and that can only be a good thing for our brand presence, whilst I’m confident my SEO (Theres one acronym to look for!) will increase if I put their words of advice to good use.

It’s impossible to conclude the importance of my attendance and summarise what #CovTweetup is about as it will hopefully be something that I as a local businessman can take from, but also give something back in return and something that will snowball. For this is why I am going to post bi-monthly updates on my blog about CovTweetup for the foreseeable future.

As a CovTweetup member/supporter I would be really interested in fellow local businessmen/ businesswomen on their thoughts. How to take it forward? How we can help each other out etc. This will also show me that some people are listening to my ramblings. J

Reflection

Our busiest summer yet, I have sadly neglected this blog. I have not run out of ideas yet, though admittedly I am coming close with any hint of journalistic talent being just that…a hint!

Mid peak season it has come to my mind how lucky we are to not only share in couples special day as they marry or other celebrations we get to see fantastic locations around the UK. This is not to gloat, a sense of realisation for oneself, but also to highlight these jems to my handful of readers.

Just this last week after snaking along many country lanes we have found ourselves in an old stately home wrapped within miles of rolling countryside and has seen us nestled beside the beautiful River Thames away from the hustle and bustle of its more infamous setting of Westminster. To top this amazing few days we return to the wonderful Castle Howard famous for Brideshead Revisted.

Out of all journeys so far, one still stands out and it’s not my wedding venue so keep that to yourself! Fort Belan. Vacating a position that overlooks a potential access point to the Liverpool port action was taken to tighten up coastal defences from the threats of America and France in the 18^th Century.

Thankfully for our visit the cannons did not need to be loaded and we could take in the surroundings before we set up work. Situated on the opening of the Menai Strait overlooking Caernarfon surroundings include the open seas, Snowdonia Park and a long sandy beach. With its charm and positioning and the ability to exclusively book the venue for your own wedding you would be amazed to find that this is a venue that can help meet a modest budget.

Everyone has their own favourites and therefore I would be pleased for people to share their favourite venues, particular those that did not cause you to re-mortgage the house.

http://www.fortbelan.co.uk/index.php?id=52  Fort Belan Link

http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/Display.aspx?iid=853 Castle Howard Link

 

Crêpes for the health conscious?

Crêpes healthy? No, no, no! They are calories galore! Well no unless you place your finger on the trigger for 5 seconds as you squirt cream lavishly on.  

Our plain crêpes would be no more than 150 calories and we all need calories to do the all important things in life, like watch TV, play on the computer, even to eat further food as you need calories to digest.

So apart from the fact they are extremely delicious I am going to sing the virtues of the main ingredients and conveniently sidestep the sweet, sweet fillings that include marshmallows and toffee sauce.

Eggs: Its had a somewhat bad press, but the egg is a great source for complete protein and vitamins A, B, C, D. From assisting vision to supporting replenishment of your bones these vitamins play an important role in your health.

It gets its bad press due to the media jumping on the bandwagon that cholesterol found within the eggs can influence blood cholesterol levels and therefore heart disease risk. True it has cholesterol within, however, it is understood now that an increase in cholesterol level is down to range of lifestyle variables and genetic predisposition with a sensitivity to saturated fat seen as a key to the cholesterol creeping up. Infact the body struggles to absorb cholesterol consumed from natural sources found within foods.

*Fact of the day alert* Whilst I am defending the consumption of eggs, lets defend cholesterol as well, essential for life, the body in fact produces its own cholesterol!

Flour: The flour we use for the savoury crêpes (galettes) is described as wholegrain meaning it has not had all the good stuff removed. Taking longer to digest, the increased level of fibre is good for filling you up and controlling blood sugar levels, which helps to stabilise energy levels, weight management and also your risk to diabetes.

Milk: Like eggs milk contains a range of vitamins and minerals including a great percentage of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium. True it contains fat, but not really as high as perceived with the full fat milk containing at most 5% of RDA per 100ml. Fat and protein found within milk and eggs also slows digestion down, so as long as you are not drizzling lots of syrup on your crêpes then a crêpe can be a treat enjoyed by diabetics as part of a balanced diet.

Let’s just ignore the doom mongerers the paramedics are not needed just yet and as a well-known confectionary company says be treat wise!

English Quirks & Community Spirit

There are many positives to what we do otherwise, we would not forgo our Summer weekends whilst we admittedly enviously hear of our friends socialising in a beer garden.

Ignoring the downside of missing out on the occasional beer to quench our thirst and the opportunity to air my legs and wear my favourite boardies in the sunshine we get an amazing insight into English life, community spirit and its quirks.

Over the last 2 years we have met many volunteers that have taken the time to arrange fetes from Scarecrow Festivals, Canal Festivals to Food and Drink Festivals. Add to this gatherings based around vintage cars to plane’s taxiing along a runway we have attended a host of diverse events that are organised by small committees of people with the ambition of raising money for a number of worthwhile causes.

 

For anyone who has tried to organise a birthday party it can be appreciated how much an effort and time people put into an event that is there to cater and entertain not just friends and family, but the wider public. Not to forget usually alongside their normal 9 to 5 job.

Admittedly ignorant to these wonderful events, my motivations in the past to attend have been low as I perceived these events as suitable only for my Dad. Is it the passing of time that is seeing me turn into my Dad or do these events have something now to offer? Before anyone says, yes I am turning into my Dad, but these events also offer fantastic family entertainment that is great value and sometimes even free and best of all on your doorstep.

Fireworks, dance acts, carnival parades,  magicians to the adrenaline junkie performance of stunt motorcyclists doing impossible jumps and turns there are hidden surprises just waiting for you to find!

Keep an eye out on our facebook page for some of the local events we attend and you will be pleasantly suprised and of course come up and say hello and try one of our deliciously cooked crêpes made fresh on the spot.

Weddings: So many choices!

There is never going to be a winner when it comes to choosing which route to take for your wedding and it is all going to come down to personal preference of the bride and groom…well at least the bride.

From having a wedding at the local church or within the stadium of your football team, choosing the location is the first of many dilemmas.

Music, there are so many choices and the end result is certainly down to personal taste. You choose acoustic, but what instrument do you plump for? What about the gentle harmony from the cello or a harp as you walk down the aisle?

I wonder if the phone has stopped ringing for the Mexican singers after their appearance in the Doritos advert. Could you picture this for your wedding? If so, I am going to be chasing my cut!

Then there is food and with it so much choice! Can you beat the traditional sit down meal? Competition comes from the hog roast and BBQ, 2 possibilities that probably 10 years ago would have been seen as a bit ‘out there’ as the choice for the wedding breakfast.

Chip butties and of course crêpes, a visual catering option, are two relatively unique options that will see your wedding stand out from the crowd. These options could be seen as the new traditional in 10 years time!

For the wedding dress, would you be tempted for a quirky number? I am not going to say anymore, but direct you to this link of wedding outfits:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4827602/Wacky-weddings-from-the-Obi-one-to-Yabba-dab-I-do-Revisit-our-top-fancy-dress-nuptials.html

Going Live

Equipment bought…check, crêpes formula mastered…check, name and branding….check! So with all this organised we now had to jump the final hurdle and actually work infront of the hopefully paying public.

Fast forward to our first event, which was a low key fete at the John White Community College, Coventry April 16^th 2011 and we were live in action. We took about £40. “This time next year Rodney we will be millionaires”. Just covering the pitch fee, it is a good job Amanda was happy receiving crêpes as a reward for her support!

A strange experience, this was the first time I had received money (apart from birthdays and pocket money) since I flogged some football ‘shinies’ (stickers) when I was a kid. A strange experience at first receiving money from strangers, I have quickly got used to this:-).

Since that first day we have continued to evolve and so without giving too much away to any crêpes wannabes the first Summer was a successful and great learning experience. Allowing I Love Crêpes to understand who our customers are and to therefore tailor our services to what people want! This continues to be reinforced by our commitment to deliver a professional, tasty and personal service.

With lots of hard work behind the scenes, setting up a business has been a fulfilling experience and one that we believe we will get further fulfilment from in return for the dedication we put in.

And to answer your question 2 years on we still love crêpes!

Research the tasty part.

So it turns out having an idea is the easy part, research and commitment need to follow swiftly to get the idea off the ground or before someone else moves the idea forward and gets the potential rewards.

Far from it being some laboratory setting, the initial stage of product research was simply in our kitchen with a frying pan. Trying to flip it, pancake like, I missed the ceiling by an inch for the crêpe to land in a heap but at least in the frying pan. With a good helping of Nutella and then closing my eyes it did taste good though.

We quickly found a winning formula, but the true test would be if it worked on a crêpe griddle and not just on a frying pan.

Research was the relatively easy thing to do; it’s this commitment lark that was the difficult part. Difficult being I needed to part with some cash! A commercial griddle was required and it took me a week to work up the courage to buy one.

Once I bought the griddle with a little trial and error we slowly taught ourselves how to use it. Far from being a blue chip company with thousands of pounds to spend we took our research to the next and highest level. Strict procedures were followed as the crêpes were put through the true rigours of the neighbourhood watch club, our neighbours. They walloped them down within seconds, which I am told is a good sign, though later they put us right when we developed the savoury mixture. Old people can be blunt! I am sure this is how the likes of Samsung work. You can see the IT geeks of Samsung popping around to their Grandparents with their latest gadget looking for approval.