Quiz Night Networking

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Nicki

By Nicki Garwood

We all know the traditional format of a network meeting. Sometimes they are just informal get-togethers where people can mingle, other times they offer an opportunity to speak in front of the group to explain what you do or to listen to others talk about their businesses.

The aim of networking is to meet new people and make yourself memorable. But how?

How about a network meeting where you work together in a team? No I’m not talking about those annoying team building exercises you get at big corporate training days, but a pub quiz! I mean, who doesn’t like a pub quiz?!

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The Dragon Entrepreneur Course 2012

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Nicki

By Nicki Garwood

The Dragon Entrepreneur Course 2012

Thanks to business giants Duncan Bannatyne and co at Dragons Den, the word ‘dragon’ is often associated with new business start ups which is why the Dragon Enterprise Centre is affectionately gaining the nickname the ‘Dragon’s Nest.’

The Dragon Enterprise Centre was set up in 2010 by the Mandeville Trust. Founded by respected entrepreneur and businessman Robert Mandeville, The Mandeville Trust is committed to helping start up businesses by providing low-cost office, storage and general business accommodation, with minimum financial commitment, in a friendly, like-minded community, together with advice and support. Meeting and conference facilities allow hosting of business events and provide many learning and networking opportunities. Continue reading →

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My Beginning as an Events Planner….

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Nicki

By Nicki Garwood

Since being made Events and Marketing Co-ordinator at Dragon Enterprise Centre my day to day activities at work have changed dramatically. With the fantastic space available to me at Dragon, from the boardroom, ideal for seminars and training and the conference room, great for networking, to the large exhibition area planned for the next few months and a massive warehouse, the Dragon team have been overflowing with fantastic event ideas.

Dragon Enterprise Network Cupcakes

We at Dragon love networking, we think that it is a fantastic tool for meeting local business owners and promoting your own businesses. We try to attend as many as we can and even hold the FSB Leigh-on-Sea Network Group  here once a month (next one 17th January). So we thought….why not start our very own networking group? So we did. The Dragon Enterprise Network. A great networking opportunity, especially for those who hate early mornings. It gives every attendee the chance to speak in front of the group for 2 minutes to introduce yourself and what you do, allowing everyone to go home knowing exactly what everyone else does. I’m sure we have all been to a networking event where you end up spending the whole time speaking to one or two people, catching up with old acquaintances and potentially missing out on meeting some great contacts. And with a free Dragon cupcake who can resist? Yum!

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TOWIE’s Grand Plans!

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Nicki

TOWIETOWIE star has big plans for Leigh-on-Sea’s ‘The Grand’.

By Nicki Garwood

Dragon Enterprise Centre is your local resource for business support and advice, encouraging entrepreneurs and small businesses in Essex. That’s why we were thrilled to hear the news that ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ star Michael Norcross is hoping to buy The Grand Hotel in Leigh-on-Sea and turn it in to a boutique hotel. As a business centre committed to helping start up businesses we encourage a bold move that will bring the entrepreneurial spirit to Leigh-on-Sea.

Dragon Enterprise Centre provides competitively priced office space, hot-desking and virtual office services for start up businesses as well as conference and meeting rooms for hire, everything a start up business and entrepreneur could need!

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‘Use our experts to boost your business’ – Seminar at Dragon

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Nicki

By Nicki Garwood

Dragon Enterprise CentreWith unemployment figures around 2.5 million and job cuts and redundancy becoming a very real threat, it’s no surprise that people have decided that they no longer want to put their future in someone else’s hands, especially when it comes to doing a job they hate anyway, and instead have embarked on the rewarding and fulfilling mission that is starting up their own business.

Rewarding and fulfilling maybe, but it can also be a huge risk, especially if you have no previous experience running a business. Even if you do have the experience it is a lot to take on and starting from scratch is always a challenge. For that reason we at Dragon Enterprise Centre encourage learning from other business owners. As an enterprise centre we have a community of businesses all under one roof who always seem to be helping each other and using each other’s expertise, helping them to develop and improve their businesses.

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Farleigh Hospice £50 Challenge! Part 2

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Nicki

Drago the Dragon

'Drago' the Dragon.

By Nicki Garwood

When we started brainstorming ideas for the £50 challenge we came up with a number of great ideas, but we had to think about practicality and the very limited budget of just £50.

One of our most realistic ideas was based around our newest marketing tool, our fantastic big pink dragon mascot. Having recently had a beautiful furry mascot costume delivered to our offices we decided that he needed a name. We thought; why not ask the public to name him for only £1 per suggestion? Just 50 names and we would break even.

However, our lovely Dragon was thrown in to a busy promotional schedule over the next few weeks and we needed a temporary name to keep him happy and so Drago the dragon was born. With Drago’s frequent public appearances he was noticed and remembered by children all over Essex and it just didn’t seem right to change his name, he was Drago in every way.

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Southend Carnival – Balloons, Dancing Dragons and a 1st Prize Trophy!

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Nicki

Dragon's Carnival Float

By Nicki Garwood

Southend Carnival is an annual parade of music, dancing, flamboyant floats and fancy dress that brings the community together in an extraordinary and jovial atmosphere, all in the name of charity.

Businesses, community groups, charities and clubs spend weeks preparing for the event by making costumes and building floats.

Here at Dragon we spent two weeks preparing our float which included rallying a few extra helpers from our office tenants! The general vision for our float was of our delightful dragon Drago emerging from a sea of self storage boxes, adorned with bright lights, and surrounded with an assortment of pink and purple balloons. A vision that took a great deal of time to produce, but was worth every minute, even if we were all feeling a bit faint from blowing up all those balloons!

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