SURVIVING LOCKDOWN - an essential business podcast from Mark Ryes Voiceovers

Dee Beckett of Mosaic Business Growth likes to cut through business jargon to help SME's achieve growth. From more than twenty years in director level roles, she's become more than just a business coach - the companies she works with include her as part of the team. Since Covid-19 hit, her focus has been to get her clients to think differently about the way forward, and she tells Mark that it can happen in a number of ways.

You can contact Dee through the website - www.mosaicbusinessgrowth.co.uk

Steve Ray is an innovator in print and property.
He's MD of Reynolds Press in Warwickshire, a bespoke printing service with decades of experience. Even before covid-19 hit - Steve and his business partner Ray were looking into ways of taking the business forward. Their mantra is STRATEGY! Steve says that they had a plan already in action which somewhat sheilded them from the effect lockdown had elsewhere.
You can contact Steve through the website - www.reynoldspress.co.uk

Mike Neary is the Managing Director of Managing Excellence Through Training or METT.  They offer a pragmatic approach that deals realistically with health, safety and environmental issues, tailored to meet the individual training needs of their clients... and they have a 100% pass rate on all their courses! When the pandemic hit, their face-to-face training obviously had to come to a halt - so how has the team moved forward and what does the rest of 2020 look like.
You can contact Mike through the website - www.metttraining.co.uk

Now more than ever it's a good idea to have fresh pair of eyes look over your business - including your plans and strategies.
Kevin Riley from ActionCOACH Warwick has over two decades of business experience, and helps people look at what they're doing with a new perspective. He thinks that every business is able to survive covid-19, and explains how you needn't be as hard hit by the impending recession as you might think.
Since March, Kevin has talked to many people new to business coaching, and indeed he offers free 30 minute coaching calls or free in-depth 90 minute business analysis coaching sessions so you can decide whether or not coaching is right for you.
You can contact Kevin through the website - warwick.actioncoach.co.uk

Peak Pursuits aims to offer education through adventure - so if you or your kids have ever wanted a go at abseiling, canoeing, climbing or a whole host of adventures - Peak is the place.
Paul Ball is the Managing Director, running six activity centres across the Midlands and North West. They also provide Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, and have four registered Independent day schools. The start of lockdown meant shutting the activity part of the business... so how has Peak coped, and how does Paul see the next twelve months as lockdown measure ease?

You can contact Paul and his team through the website - peak.co.uk

Two mates from school, a love of gin and an old horse trailer - just a few key ingredients of The Little Gin Company. Since 2015 Nicola Tavener and Emma Bishop have been running bespoke gin tasting events, taking their trailer to events up and down the UK and making their own brand of gin. When covid-19 hit, the cancellations came thick and fast - so Emma and Nicola explain how they adapted their business to cope.
You can contact Emma and Nicola through the website - www.thelittlegincompany.com

Donna Nixon is the owner of 52 Degrees North Travel, an independent travel agency based in Stratford-upon-Avon. As with the entire travel industry, when covid-19 hit, Donna was thrown into a mix of getting people home safely, processing refunds and then the uncertainty of whether we'll ever travel on holiday the same way again. She talks to Mark about the uncertainties of the industry post-lockdown, and the concerns of travellers going forward.
You can contact Donna through the website - www.52degreesnorthtravel.co.uk

After becoming a RAF aircraft engineer and then persuing a career in banking, Craig Evans has achieved his dream - running Coastal Foraging experiences in West Wales for groups of people from all over the world. He teaches them all about the coastal environment and it's inhabitants, plus they get to cook and eat what they forage in a sheltered cove on the beach. Wales however is still in complete lockdown, so the business is at a standstill, but Craig is optomistic about the future.

You can contact Craig through the website - coastalforaging.co.uk
His YouTube channel is "Coastal Foraging with Craig Evans"  which has 87 thousand subscribers and over 10 Million views.

The pub trade was first to close in lockdown... but how are pub owners finding these challenging times? Natalie Coleshill runs The Milford Arms pub in Isleworth, which also has 11 B&B rooms.

In this updated edition of the podcast, we hear about the difficulties leading up to lockdown - and now what Natalie and her team are doing in preparation for re-opening on July 4th.

Find out more about The Milford Arms at www.themilfordarms.co.uk

After 25 years working for big business and large corporates Amy Hobson decided that it was time for change and set up Focus Your Future. She helps small and micro businesses not just use digital marketing but to understand how it works and how they can use it to grow their business. Amy explains that launching a business at the start of lockdown, and being a mum of four boys meant there were certainly challenges along the way!
You can contact Amy through the website - www.focusyourfuture.co.uk