Join us for Lunchtime LoCQdown

The Creative Quarter has started a DAILY series of online lunchtime meetings called Lunchtime LoCQdown, to keep the creative and digital communities connected over the coming weeks and to hear from industry experts on the topic of the day, the C-word and how to respond.

To take part, make sure you have a Zoom account (free to join) and then connect with our meeting every week day at 1pm using the meeting ID: 487-198-858. A password will also be required to keep our LoCQdowns, well, locked down. Email emma@creativequarter.com to receive the password, or get in touch on Twitter or Facebook.

BYO lunch!

We'll update this page and our social media channels with more information about further Lunchtime LoCQdown events and guests as we have them.

NEXT UP

Friday 29th May - Dr Suzanne Ross, 2thrive Consultancy and Women Trailblazers-Resilience: Bouncing forward in turbulent times. Suzanne is founder of 2thrive Consultancy and Women Trailblazers. She helps leaders and entrepreneurs to develop their personal, professional and leadership capabilities. An expert in individual and team resilience and emotional intelligence.

PREVIOUS GUESTS

Thursday 28th May - Misch Fretwell, Chatterbox Consulting-Why your customers go elsewhere and why it’s so important you keep them. Misch Fretwell is a marketing consultant specialized in customer care & retention for business growth. He works with B2C businesses to find out what makes their customers tick, how they keep them coming back and how they gain further business from their most loyal customers.

Wednesday 27th May - Tina Clough, Poppy PR- The Importance of Remaining Visible During Covid19. Tina Clough is managing director of Castle Donington based Poppy-PR and a lecturer at Nottingham Trent University. She will be talking about the importance of remaining visible in a crisis, how to look for PR opportunities and tips for maximising those column inches in the press.

Tuesday 26th May - Sarah Gatford, Consultant, Trainer and Interpreter- A conversation about meaningful inclusion (or, how we reduce box ticking). Sarah Gatford supports businesses to achieve Gold Standard access for Deaf people and those who have a hearing loss. She is a Consultant, Trainer and BSL/English Interpreter whose work has taken her all over the UK. She runs workshops to inspire others who want to engage with deaf people and enjoys engaging with creatives to enhance their work by offering audits and workshops focusing on access and inclusion.

Friday 22nd May - Julian Hall, Calm People - Dealing with Feeling. Julian is the founder of Calm People and cofounder of Calm Execs, My Wellbeing Choices and My Internal World. At the heart of each of these projects is a desire to take really good personal development and help organisations and individuals alike develop and evolve at the same pace as our ever changing environment.

Thursday 21st May - Ross Cox, Dispace - The future of work will change our lives, but it’s not the lockdown version. Ross spent 15 years in consumer finance with Nottingham Based Blenheim Chalcot companies TDX Group, Openwrks and Accelerate Places. He is the founder of Dispace, which has been operating in the city for 2 years, a business born out of his passion for flexible working that has developed technology to support more effective use of existing spaces for events, meetings and work. Dispace is currently developing a number of Covid-19 solutions to support events businesses in re-opening safely in the coming months.

Wednesday 20th May - Victoria Taylor, Digital Marketing & Customer Experience Strategist- Reimagining Experiences. Victoria is an experience collector and designer and she knows the power of creating great customer experiences in todays busy, digital driven, time poor, on-demand society. She works with brands to design and create physical (real-life) experiences and powerful digital media strategies that enhance experience.

Tuesday 19th May - Karen Cureton, Cureton Consulting- Is your Business Futureproof? Karen has a strong sales background with over twenty-five years both in retail and business. Her corporate career was as a Sales Director for a national Housebuilder. However, being a Sales Director didn’t fit with being a mum so left corporate world in 2008 to set up her Sales and Social Media Consultancy based near East Midlands Airport. She prides herself on delivering engaging, interesting and relevant workshops tailored to her clients requirements focussed on delivering ROI at all times.

Monday 18th May - Jeanne Booth, Nottingham Cohousing- Is now the time for new live-work communities to re-occupy cities? Jeanne Booth is a founding director of Nottingham Cohousing. She has run two businesses in Nottingham city centre since 2006, View from the Top and THiNK in NG - both meeting/event spaces with art galleries and has recently run a number of courses for creative start-ups.

Friday 15th May - Stephen Goddard & Philip Brooks-Stephenson, KuKu Connect- How to 'Carry On Connecting’ across the East Midlands with KuKu Connect during the pandemic. Stephen and Philip originally set-up KuKu Connect in 2016 in Leicestershire - they aimed to transform the networking landscape, by offering an alternative concept to business networking. Enjoyable, aspirational, but effective the KuKu community was built on focusing on people relationship building with decision makers.

Thursday 14th May - Lloydie James Lloyd, Improvising manager- How techniques from improvised comedy theatre can help you as a manager and communicator in the workplace. Lloydie is an improviser from Nottingham who performs with award winning group The Maydays and also with local team Rhymes Against Humanity – the improvised musical. He performs and teaches around the world and is the host of The Improv Chronicle Podcast, a documentary podcast for improvisers.

Wednesday 13rd May - Helen Taylor, Hosta Consulting- Sustainability and Low Carbon Business? Helen is an entrepreneur and experienced SME owner who started her business with a strong environmental ethos, which helped the business grow and successfully tender for public sector contracts. Helen has further developed her expertise in business and sustainability since completing her MBA and sees an opportunity for SME’s to start and grow in an environmentally responsible way with a low carbon strategy that embraces environmental sustainability.

Tuesday 12nd May - Nick Mellors, ISPB- Winning new business now. Nick is the Director of ISPB, a Nottingham based business development consultancy, and the Collaboration & Commercialisation Lead for the 5G Connected Forest project.

Monday 11th May - There is no guest speaker at Lunchtime LoCQdown today. We want to hear from you.
What is your response to Boris's 'back to work' message? What are the implications for your staff and customers? How can we help?

Thursday 7th May: Jenny Lowthrop, Feel Good, Do Good- Should we all be using Agile working methods right now? Jen is an Agile Coach, Blogger and Happiness Consultant. She has over 15 years’ experience working with SMEs, charities and public sector organisations on a variety of training and consultancy projects. Jen is a self-confessed productivity and happiness geek, always looking for new hacks to make the most of every day, with time for plenty of fun along the way.
Wednesday 6th May: Susan Hallam, Hallam- Managing remote teams. Susan is the Chair of the Creative Quarter, and Founder and CEO of digital marketing agency Hallam. She will talk about the addressing the challenges of managing a team remotely so as to keep your business moving forward.
Tuesday 5th May: Ben Welch, Nottstopping Festival- All the details about Nottstopping Festival- the coolest multi-arts online event!
Monday 4th May: Frances Brown, Fowlam- Defining your goals and what you need to achieve them. Frances Brown is CEO of Fowlam, which will rebrand to Nightingale Design Research in May. She plans, implements and analyses user and design research for a wide range of organisations, giving them insight into their customers, their team and their market, allowing them to make evidence-based decisions.
Thursday 30th April: Fiona Duncan-Steer, RSViP - Maintaining business relationships at a distance and in times of crisis. Writer, speaker, trainer, coach, Fiona has been running events for the best part of 15 years and is founder of what is arguably Nottinghamshire’s most successful business network.
Wednesday 29th April: Neil Rostance, Fat Free Media - Conquering creative brain freeze. Neil is partner and creative director at Fat Free, a creative video studio in Nottingham. Neil has led creative teams over the last 15 years to produce video and animation campaigns for brands such as Toyota, Equifax and Rab.
Tuesday 28th April: Debbie Clarke, debbiedooodah - Pause, Reset and Relaunch. debbiedooodah is founded by Debbie Clarke, an award-winning yellow obsessed empowerment & marketing coach helping women build financial freedom through business success. She's also a lecturer, podcaster and cancer-survivor.
Monday 27th April: Kathryn Rodgers,HR Expert - Keeping in touch without touching – engaging your team during furlough. Kathryn provides practical, tailored, affordable HR support and advice for small businesses in the East Midlands.
Friday 24th April: Samuel Evans, Gather Social Limited - The mindset required to be successful on social media. Sam is the Managing Director of the social media and software company Gather Social. He oversees and a team of creatives designing around data trends. Over the last 5 years, he has designed a content management platform.
Thursday 23rd April: David Hambling, The Joy of Pages - Maintaining network connections and resilience during the quarantine. David is the owner of The Joy of Pages a publishing consultancy and copywriting company.
Wednesday 22nd April: Benjamin Kay, Director of Dizzy Ink & The Carousel - Creativity in times of a pandemic. Benjamin's talk will focus on some of the creative projects that have taken place in Nottingham and further afield whilst in this time of lockdown. By highlighting some of the resilient and inspiring responses to this crisis he wants to encourage more people to become involved with their artistic sides. Benjamin is a creative facilitator and printmaker who runs a local, environmentally friendly print studio Dizzy Ink. He is also a director of the multi-functional art space The Carousel which is where Dizzy Ink is based.
Tuesday 21st April: Alex Lees, Tale Production - 10 Simple ways to enhance your in house or outsourced video marketing.Whether you make videos yourself with a camera phone, you use video within your marketing strategies or want to learn how to use video to further increase awareness and conversions, these 10 simple tips have something for everyone.
Monday 20th April: Mary Murtagh, Mary Murtagh Media Ltd - How to get positive PR in a pandemic. Award-winning journalist and freelance PR Mary Murtagh helps public and private sector organisations put their best foot forward with the media: explaining what journalists want, the ingredients for a killer press release and sharing insider secrets.
Friday 17th April: business coach Bertie Cordingley will help you ask yourself if you are even working on the right things right now.
Thursday 16th: Sandeep Mahal of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature will lead a conversation about the current challenges facing the cultural sector and institutions with some examples of great responses she has seen.
Wednesday 15th April: Lindsey Newman-Wood, Passion Marketing and Innovation -The importance of brand purpose in uncertain times. Having a strong brand and purpose has always been important but in uncertain times it's more important than ever. In this session, Lindsey Newman-Wood will be sharing some practical tips to help you communicate your purpose with your ’tribe’ and effectively market your business throughout COVID 19 and beyond. Lindsey Newman-Wood, Director of Passion Marketing is a Marketing and Innovation consultant and workshop facilitator.
Tuesday 14th April: Alex Jones, MotivePR - How to create compelling PR content in the current climate. Alex is PR Director at Motive PR. He has specialist expertise in PR and content marketing, and is passionate about all things link building. In 2017, Alex was a finalist in the Outstanding Young Communicator category at the CIPR Midlands PRide Awards, and in 2019, Alex was a finalist in the Young Professional of the Year category at the PR Moment Awards for London and the southern regions. At Motive, he helps the team deliver award-winning PR campaigns that get people talking, clicking and sharing.
Thursday 9th April: Tim Elliott, Marketing Specialist and Mentor - Purposeful Storytelling. Storytelling has long been the most effective form of communication and when we are in times of change communication holds the key. This short talk will explore the methods and value of purposeful storytelling.Tim is consultant who works with leaders, teams and entrepreneurs to help them apply creativity as a tool to grow themselves and their organisations.
Wednesday 8th April: Claire Clements, Positive Pants - Positive parenting when on lockdown. Claire will help you with tips for home educating your child whilst acknowledging the emotions and empowering your child at the same time. From expectations of yourself and of the little ones, Claire will address some key issues that you may experience at this difficult time. Claire empowers children to have a positive mindset through workshops and products in the home and at school.
Tuesday 7th April: Jude Weston is a super-organised Asset Management Surveyor and RICS Registered Valuer by day, Associate Director at NG Chartered Surveyors, she works hard to provide strategic advice to clients, taking away their property headaches. With (ahem) nearly 15 years’ experience in the industry, and particularly the local Derby and Nottingham markets, she is well versed in dealing with all aspects of property management. Jude will talk about why the traditional landlord and tenant relationship is now completely outdated. Communication has always been key in any property related matter. Gone are the days (in the majority) of the big bad landlord counting his money once a quarter, whilst tenants struggle to get their rent together. The landscape is much more sophisticated, and both parties must now work together as opposed to against each other. The role of the Managing Agent is critical to this relationship, but whose side are they on? And how can they help now?
Monday 6th April: Michael Hardy, Business Doctor - Don’t panic, plan it! A business survival guide. Michael’s aim is to help local SME’s define their aspirations in order to fulfil their true potential. He wants to make a difference by adding value to the local business community. With over 28 year’s experience, Michael has worked in a variety of senior leadership roles in Sales, Marketing and Finance in the UK and Ireland before moving into business ownership 11 years ago. Running a small business gave him a true understanding of the pressures and demands for business owners. Michael says “After moving from the corporate world into business, I can really relate to the challenges of running organisations of all sizes. I’ve worked for major brands and then transitioned into SME ownership, which has given me the experience to be able to listen to owners, provide practical advice and then, most importantly, get involved to help drive areas of focus forward”. More info HERE.
Friday 3rd April: Charlie Whyman is a B2B Marketing Strategist and LinkedIn Specialist and is on a mission to help people be more curious and market more effectively. Charlie is also the host of The Curiosity Key podcast where she interviews business leaders and change-makers about their business and sales and marketing tactics that are really working today. On Friday she will take about how to leverage what you already have to help you market and sell during a crisis. It's hard to ignore the fact that we're going through tough times and even if you're not suffering your clients, suppliers and partners might be. A lot of businesses will want to stop, reflect and adjust what they are doing but the important thing is to not stop marketing - adapt, adjust and potentially pivot your communications but don't go quiet. I'm keen to discuss the various ways you can use this time as an opportunity to review the assets you have at your fingertips and leverage them for more effective marketing without having to spend money on doing so.
Thursday 2nd April: Artist Bruce Asbestos is joining us again. Bruce is an artist and the Creative Director of Install Studio. He lives and works in Nottingham, based at Primary. His broad work encompasses performance, painting, clothing, social media, computer games, and a multitude of collaborations. And he makes his living that way. Find out how. He is interested in talking about how art will be influenced by these strange times.
Wednesday 1st April at 1pm: Lee Callender, Operations Director for Scribblemail on getting your data in order. The three things you need to be doing during this quiet period (if it's a quiet period) in order to have your marketing data set, and ready to go. This will include a live demonstration on showing what you need to have in place to check your customers past purchase history and to see average customer buying cycles and how to speed them up.
Tuesday 31st March at 1pm: Kathryn Rodgers, HR Expert: Kathryn provides practical, tailored, affordable HR support and advice for small businesses in the East Midlands. She doesn’t do jargon, and she doesn’t do one size fits all. She will be talking about HR challenges of the day, tackling some of the FAQs that businesses with staff have in terms of their options and the support available to them whilst dealing with the impact of the C-word, and offering very timely guidance and advice.
Monday 30th March at 1pm : Ben Potter is a business development mentor who helps agencies to win the right clients. In this article he wrote last week he talks about the new business challenge facing all agencies right now. He’s Zooming in to talk about it at Lunchtime LoCQdown to talk about how to respond.
Friday 27th March: James Leavold is a full time coach and trainer. For the last 10 years he has worked as a business coach, executive coach and life coach. For training development and delivery he specialises in leadership and management development and soft skills such as communication and emotional intelligence. He also trains leaders to coach their teams. He set up his own company – The Hill tribe - 15 years ago. His coachees are generally leaders, mainly those running SMEs, but he has also supported leaders at corporate level. For the last 5 years 90% of his coaching has been undertaken virtually – Even before recent developments, he has been a keen advocate of virtual leadership, and the role virtual coaching can play in that form of leadership.
Thursday 26th March: Bruce Asbestos is a Nottingham based artist and the Creative Director of Install Studio. His work encompasses performance, painting, clothing, social media, computer games, and a multitude of collaborations. He is interested in talking about how art will be influenced by these strange times. Are you?
Wednesday 25th March: Our first session will feature intellectual property lawyer Nick McDonald. In the 40 minute session, he’ll give an outline on what the major IP rights are, and how businesses can take simple steps to protect the IP they create. In return for the most interesting question he's generously offering a free thirty-minute 1:1 follow up chat.