Today’s podcast presenter, Fi DaSilva Adams is talking to member, Dave Steinhausen of Red Wizard Digital, a company who focuses on pay per click, Google ads, and LinkedIn ads.

Starting his business about a year and a half ago, Dave works with small to medium businesses on a one to one basis to help them to understand how to get the best from online ads.

Previously, he worked with a larger marketing agency who were looking to grow their business with much larger businesses who have huge budgets to spend. Dave wanted to be able to support smaller businesses to help them make things work with smaller budgets.

He talked about how the Pandemic changed his thinking, as it has for many people, and he made the decision to go it alone. On leaving his previous business, he was able to take four clients with him, who he is still working with.

Dave hasn’t found networking so easy in his part of the county, and ended up coming to a Businesswise meeting in Swindon. He loved the friendly atmosphere, and although initially he didn’t have the budget to join, as soon as he did, he knew that networking was something he had to do to help grow his business.

He also enjoys meeting up with other business people, because working from home, alone can be quite lonely. You don’t have anyone to chat to when you have problems, which is another thing he has found useful in joining our group.

If you’d like to know more about Dave and Business Wise, visit https://businesswise.org.uk/ and if you’d like to visit email secretary@businesswise.org.uk – we do have to check first that your seat is vacant. If it’s not you will be put on a waiting list.

If you’d like to contact Dave directly:

Website: https://red-wizard.digital/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-steinhausen-ad-wizard/

Chris Dawes from Visual PR hosts our latest podcast where he is talking to Barbara Leatham of Barbara Leatham Photography. He specialises in business photography, and works predominantly in Wiltshire and Swindon, although also across the UK.

Barbara shares the story of how she got into photography from her first interest on a school trip when she was 12 years old through to studying graphic design at college, and then joining the Royal Air Force as a photographer to now.

She also shares how being in the RAF gave her great skills – particularly when it comes to having to deal with different situations, and just get on with things. Those skills help her to manipulate people and the environment, which is important when you are photographing people who perhaps don’t want to be photographed.

Still, after 30 years, she gets a huge kick from photography. Barbara shares how much she enjoys working with people, and the fact that every job is different, and you have to think on your feet.

She tells us about her new venture – to help businesses to capture some of their own photographs.

Barbara has belonged to a couple of different network groups, but has come to realise that is about quality and not quantity. It’s about being introduced to the right people. After moving around as many military families do, now she has made roots, she recognises the importance of a good network group. She has only been in Businesswise since Christmas, but she already knew many of the members, so felt at home very quickly.

Her main advice for photography, not surprisingly – is to get a decent headshot!

If you’d like to know more about Barbara and Businesswise, visit https://businesswise.org.uk/ and if you’d like to visit email secretary@businesswise.org.uk – we do have to check first that your seat is vacant. If it’s not you will be put on a waiting list.

Chatting to our presenter John Lewis for today’s podcast, is Fiona Scott who is in the 16th year of running her media consultancy Scott Media.

Fiona holds the PR seat in the group, plus another member of her team has the social media seat. Increasingly she has found that social media engagement and traditional media engagement are closely linked as part of the PR mix for any business or organisation.

She shares her experience of being a long-term member of Businesswise, and why after trying several other groups she chose to join our group.

Building relationships with the small business owners within her community and hometown of Swindon, has been an important reason for her to network. And, also, because she understands how networking is an important part of growing and keeping your business visible.

She talks about ‘subbing’ at Businesswise for a while until, one day, someone else who did PR turned up at the group and was so unfriendly and cold that she joined immediately to protect fellow members from being exposed to such a character!

Fiona also talks about how after initially training to be a teacher in her early 20s, she then followed the career of her dreams – to become a journalist – which unexpectedly led to her building her business in her 40s.

If you’d like to know more about Fiona and Businesswise, visit https://businesswise.org.uk/ and if you’d like to visit email secretary@businesswise.org.uk – we do have to check first that your seat is vacant. If it’s not you will be put on a waiting list.

If you’d like to contact Fiona directly:

Website: https://scottmedia.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/162841034317598
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefionascott/