TriMark Club Bronze Accreditation for Swindon Triathlon Club

As the chair of Swindon Triathlon Club, I'm immensely pleased and proud to say that we've achieved the TriMark Club Bronze award. Not only that, but we're the first club in the South West of England to do so! 

I’ve been involved in quality and best practice since I started my career.  Thames Water was a quality management business and being one makes a difference. My business, redheadPR is also a best practice business achieving 93% in the consultancy management standard. Quality means: no waste, good practice, smart working, quality output and continuous refinement and improvement.   

That’s why it’s important for a great and growing club, like Swindon Triathlon Club, to be run along best practice lines, and to be recognised for it too. 

The TriMark award is part of an accreditation scheme designed to help triathlon clubs offer a consistent and safe environment for triathletes. The aims are to increase the standard of triathlon coaching and regulation across England and attract more people to the sport. It was developed by Triathlon England in conjunction with Sport England. 
 
The scheme has been running since April 2017 and is aimed at all community clubs promoting and running triathlons. To join the scheme we had to have an established committee, a recognised constitution and offer membership to all. We also had to show that we could offer a high level of regular activities, run by qualified coaches. 
 
Clubs who've gained this level of organisation can prove they offer a safe and rewarding place where people from all walks of life can be involved in triathlons. People can try out the sport, the different disciplines and take part as much or as little as they like. 
 
Gaining the TriMark Club Bronze Accreditation is a fantastic achievement for Swindon Triathlon Club and shows how well the club is run. We've got a great team of volunteers on the committee, putting a massive amount of effort into supporting over 100 members. We're involved in all forms of triathlon, from sprints to long-distance ironman events and have a wide variety of members from all ages and walks of life. 
 
Swindon is a great place for triathletes, with fantastic running and cycling routes along with excellent lake venues. Club members range from novices to international ironman competitors and we have a wide range of membership options to make it easy for anyone to join. At the moment the membership split is nearly 50:50 between male and female. 

Swindon is also a great place to do best practice business.  Win Win.  

 
If you want to try out this exhilarating sport, find out more about Swindon Triathlon Club at www.swindontriathlonclub.co.uk and come along. 

Don't drop any baubles when juggling this Christmas

With Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to take a step back and look at how you can effectively manage your time and have a fun and productive period. For me personally, I have a business to run, kids to please, as well as Wimbleball middle distance triathlon to train for!

Mastering the art of juggling

Managing to keep on top of everything and provide a memorable Christmas for all of your family means being able to juggle multiple tasks at once. Here are some of my top tips that I use and which you can try as well.

Be organised ahead of time

As a global award-winning PR, I understand the need for preparation. It helps you stay organised at busy times and keep on top of all tasks. This means preparing not just your business schedule, but also all other tasks of running a household, and any other passions you pursue.

Set expectations

This means managing everyone's expectations of what you will be able to get done. What is actually achievable in the time given? This includes any clients, you have, as well as kids who are expecting to get to see their mother more over the holidays. There are only 24 hours in a day and you have to be realistic in terms of what you can deliver.

Take some time off

This comes down to great preparation and is crucial to avoiding burnout. The Christmas period is a time to see your family and actually take some time off. So, even though you will still be busy, do schedule in some much needed time to switch off. It also means putting in the extra effort for the first two weeks of December. Four weeks' worth of work needs can be squeezed into two, and it will be worth it in the end, trust me.

Online shopping is great!

I wonder how much time it would be if you calculated the hours spent queuing in department stores and sitting in traffic. Shop online and spend a little bit more for gift wrapping and you can get 90% with the click of a button. I actually buy gift throughout the year too so that there isn’t as much to do in December.

Where’s the proof?

Well, I’ve been doing exactly this, and much more, for years now, and Christmas 2017 will be no different! My triathlon in Exmoor takes place next June and I’m already well into my training schedule. My plan over Christmas is to get up early so I can still see my family in the daytime, as well as training with my daughters and the dog, who are also passionate triathletes – LOL. To top it off, I will be hosting Christmas day this year!

As a final tip, if you are also cooking Christmas dinner, why not save a little time by roasting all vegetables, rather than spending hours preparing and cooking four (or more) varieties. Also, why fill the entire oven with a whole turkey that takes hours to cook, when you can just by for a crown, which is far less effort and cooks twice as quick!  I also get a lot of the items in foil trays.  To reduce washing up!

Have a happy, productive (and cost effective) Christmas.

Unmissable business workshops

Serial entrepreneur and PR guru, Sara Tye, and successful businesswoman, Natalie Lovett, have joined forces to create an incredible series of workshops aimed at businesspeople with a desire to grow their business, boost their marketing and increase their profile.

Sara Tye is an award-winning top 500 international PR, business and organisational development expert. She’s also a passionate and engaging motivational speaker. Natalie Lovett is an entrepreneur and CEO of the hugely successful Love To Plan wedding and event planning business. 

Together, they are planning to help businesses and individuals grow with a series of workshops with a series of big name presenters.

“We’ve seen so many enterprises with great prospects struggle because they don’t necessarily have the skills or the time to market their business,” said Sara Tye.

“It’s a changing world. Social Media, blogging, SEO and PPC are essentials now to any business. We want to share our experiences and our expertise.”

The first workshop took place on 1 November, where Sara Tye offered ten top tips on how to create and develop a successful brand. She was joined by Data Protection consultant Cathy Brode, who spoke on what the requirements of the GDPR are and how to meet them.

Following the this workshop, there will be more inspirational speakers sharing their expertise:

Wednesday 10 January 2018 – Natalie Lovett delivers '10 top tips on how to gain business from consumer shows and maximize B2B trade shows' and Gel Studios will have lots of advice on 'SEO Tips'.

Wednesday 7 March 2018 – Sara Tye will speak on 'How to get coverage in the Press' and Emma De Maio from redheadPR will present 'Social media expert - Instagram vs Facebook vs Pinterest vs Twitter etc. - what to do and make it work hard for you'.

Wednesday 2 May 2018 – Angie Petkovic from APT Marketing will present 'How to develop a marketing strategy' and Sara Tye will discuss 'How to write a great blog/vlog'.

Wednesday 4 July 2018 – Tom Davenport from Digital Marketing Specialist Ltd will talk about 'Social media targeting and paid advertising' and Emma De Maio from redheadPR will present a masterclass in Photography and mobile devices.

Sara Tye shortlisted for Female Entrepreneur of The Year Award in the 2017 South West Business and Community Awards

Entrepreneur and PR guru Sara Tye has been shortlisted for Female Entrepreneur of The Year Award in the 2017 South West Business and Community Awards.

The nominations will be judged by an independent panel of influential entrepreneurs, business leaders and charity ambassadors from across the UK. These awards recognise businesses, charities and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution in the region. 

Alec Jones Hall, director of Great British Expos - the national leader in business exhibitions - said: “South West Business Awards are in true recognition of excellence and achievement. When you work and contribute to business or charity, we believe you should be applauded and recognised - hard work takes commitment and the candidates nominated and awarded have done just that. They have worked hard to achieve their best.”

Sara is a mentor to many business people, providing advice, guidance and growth strategies. Some companies that have benefited from this have increased their revenue by a staggering 50%.

Before founding her current ventures including redheadPR, Sara headed up communications at Yellow Pages, developed stakeholder relations in-house at Thames Water Utilities and was the personal PR agent for The Body Shop’s founder, the late Dame Anita Roddick.

In 2008, Sara moved redheadPR to her hometown, Swindon from Covent Garden, London. redheadPR is a blue-chip public relations consultancy with a highly impressive client portfolio.

Sara's other awards and accolades include reaching the finals of the first Cosmopolitan Women of the Year Awards in 1999, winning the Wiltshire Business Person of the Month Award 2015 and being shortlisted in the First Women in Media category in the First Women Awards 2016. Sara’s Make Your Mark for a Tenner campaign was commended for being one of the CIPR’s best sustainable PR programmes. 

A keen sports woman, Sara recently became the Chair of Swindon Triathlon Club and is the CEO of luxury cycling and skiing company. The Etape Suisse events have been attended by international athletes such as Tour de France winner Cadel Evens and cricket legend Michael Vaughan.

On being nominated for the award, Sara said: "I’m absolutely honoured to receive recognition from my peers in the south west. I’m is looking forward to the ceremony, and wish all the nominees the best of luck."

The winners will be announced at a evening dinner awards ceremony on 18 January 2018 at The DoubleTree by Hilton, Swindon.

Sara Tye and redheadPR become latest member of Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative

Serial entrepreneur and PR guru Sara Tye and redheadPR are the latest members of the Swindon and Wiltshire Initiative, a prominent local business leadership and campaign group. 

The Initiative, by Business West, was formed out of the long-established Great Western Enterprises, and works to connect some of the biggest employers in the Swindon and Wiltshire area with various influential decision makers at both a local and national level. Since its formation, the Swindon and Wiltshire Initiative has been furthering its social and economic objectives through engagement with these bodies. Current members include Honda, Intel, BMW, Nationwide and Zurich.

Sara Tye is the founder and managing director of Redhead PR, a dynamic PR consultancy based in Swindon, as well as the CEO of luxury cycling event organisers Etape Suisse, and chair of the Swindon Triathlon Club. An expert in PR and business organisational development, and voted ‘Green PR of London’ by the Independent, Sara is a motivational speaker, coach, and serial entrepreneur who’s headed many successful commercial endeavours. 

Sara started her career working in faculty development for the Royal Military College of Science. Over the course of her career, she has worked with firms like BT, Yellow Pages and amassed a multimillion-pound property portfolio, opened and run several businesses, and helped run a residential care home in Swindon and hotel in St Ives, Cornwall.

Her addition to the Swindon and Wiltshire Initiative comes after a recent employment report from leading job site Glassdoor, which identified 2017’s top 25 best UK towns and cities to work in, in which Swindon took 5th place.

Sara Tye said: “I was born in Swindon and have always been a huge advocate of the town. I’ve always campaigned on the opportunities that the town presents to individuals and businesses locally and nationally. Swindon has further potential and will become more desirable once work starts on the electrification of the Great Western Mainline in 2019, and it’ll take just 45 minutes from Swindon to Paddington.” 

Ian Larrard, director of the Swindon and Wiltshire Initiative, said “We welcome Sara and her wealth of business experience to the Initiative. Sara is an asset to the business community and together, we can positively influence the way our Swindon is shaped, managed and developed.”

Business West, a non-profit business that employs 200 staff and has an annual turnover of £10 million, are pushing forward with plans to make Swindon and Wiltshire the best place in the UK to live and work. Since they were founded 2007, they’ve helped 21,000 businesses start up and grow, and get their voices heard in local and national government bodies. All profits are reinvested back into the organisation, and are used to further their mission.