Nutella, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Nuts over Breakfast??

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Even a favourite breakfast treat isn’t safe from environmentalists as proven when today’s news channels went crazy with an announcement from French Environment Minister Segelene Royal.

Nutella, which contains Palm Oil, was slammed by the French minister over fears they are contributing to deforestation by replacing trees with oil palms. Ferrero, the Italian chocolate which own Nutella, have made a commitment to source the palm oil in a responsible way by using sustainable palm fruit oil, as certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) supply chain.

Unfortunately, this is not enough to satisfy Ms Royal who claims their chocolate breakfast favourite is not only dangerously fattening but its cultivation is harming the environment.

However, only hours later does French Minister Royal offer ‘a thousand apologies’ regarding her earlier statement. It seems her earlier statement did not go over too well with her Italian counterpart who kindly told her to’ leave Italian products alone’. Luca Galletti, the Italian Prime Minister, was interviewed on television and made his stance on Nutella very clear, stating it was Nutella on bread for dinner. An apology was demanded of Royal by Italian politician, Michele Anzaldi, who felt she had committed a ‘serious and ugly’ slight against ‘Italian excellence’. Her apology also came with an agreement to flag up the progress made by Ferrero.

It seems Nutella is not safe in France, only 3 years ago did a ‘Nutella Amendment’ appear in front of parliament hoping to impose a 300% tax on palm oil, after several French Senators claimed the ingredients were harming the environment and making children fat. Thankfully it was declined and kids can still enjoy the delicious taste of Nutella in a morning.

 

Business Locations, Business, Leeds, RedRite

Business Locations

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Once upon a time businesses were generally found in office suites or shop fronts, usually starting from inside someone’s house or garage but it seems today that there isn’t a location constraint where a business can function from.

All over the UK little businesses are popping up in lay-bys on roads, offering anything from live chickens to healthy, tasty food. Recently in the news a particular stretch of road has been the focus of such an unlikely business location, some shop owners used to have a set location but due to the introduction of franchises and popular brand shops they found themselves picking up shop and moving to a more mobile location.

On the A10 a burger van, tomato plant shop and a coffee shop selling cups of tea for just 50p are only a few who work side by side, in agreement with the local councils to not disturb the owners of local land and cause an obstruction. These business are enjoying a rewarding venture particularly with truckers who stop by for lunch with choices of a variety of foods, priced sometimes even 5 times lower than the local services. Local businesses can also place orders for fresh produce which is then delivered before they leave work and many locals enjoying showing their support of local traders.

Not only providing a selection of produce and meals for drivers the staff have also been on hand when a driver has stopped with a medical emergency, one such recipient of their care is a gentleman who pulled over disorientated with blue lips. He now visits every year to say thank you and re-assure the traders he is still alive.

Do you work out of an unusual location? or know some one that does? Then please do get in touch we would love to know where else people are taking their businesses.

 

 

Hard or electronic copy, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Hard Copy or Electronic Copy??

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There was a time when all business documents were paper copies, some even little scraps of paper with IOU’s and promises between business friends. Meetings required travel, so sometimes a simple 1 hour meeting could take hours. Now though with technology moving forward you no longer have to travel to take care of business, telephone conferences and e-mails make it far easier to communicate for meetings, data is easily e-mailed across and downloaded into processing systems, less and less physical money is exchanged. Sometimes you never even see the person you’re doing business with, you transfer money and you receive your item. Many job roles require you to have some sort of IT qualification or provide proof of your understanding regarding IT process showing exactly how far the technology world has come.

For the new generation of workers this is normal and nothing unusual about it but being one of those workers who used to sit with piles of paper with data that need hand inputting on a daily basis I find that I am always double checking the computers work and I do miss the feel of paper in my hand when transferring data. Even today I have printed out a Client Information sheet to copy type the information in to each of our systems rather than rely on the computer, I feel more in touch with my business when I can be that little bit more hands on. True when the amount of data that requires transferring is large it is easier to just use the computer processes to copy the information but I do like slipping back in to the old ways every now and again.

Flicking through screens on a computer and trying to see everything at once like you would with paper spread out on a table irritates me, I find at times I would need 3-4 screens just to see all the data especially when comparing the data on several spreadsheets. RedRite is a small business and we take care of all aspects of the business from starting up customer service, finance and marketing so we have to ‘see’ everything at once I can only image how many screens the bigger companies require their employees to ‘see’ at once.

So what kind of worker are you? A lover of hard copy paperwork and a table full of paper or electronic worker, who prefers to flick through screen after screen of data and place their trust in the computer systems?

Please let us know, we love to hear from our readers.

May Bank Holiday, University, RedRite, Leeds

May Bank Holiday…

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As another Bank holiday finishes we hope you have had a relaxing weekend and managed to put your feet up at some point. We have had a fun but busy weekend, completing a University assignment (One of the last of my first year), building a shed in the back garden and just generally enjoying an opportunity to relax with family and friends.

A conversation that has taken place over the weekend though has us thinking, when writing assignments for school/college/university how many different ways are you advised to write? So far we have thought about:

  • Business Reports – With a cover, contents page, main body and then an executive summary. Majority of reports are written in first person.
  • Social Science Essay – a completely impersonal piece of writing that requires you to discuss different points of view on a topic and then conclude with a concluding statement..
  • Psychology Report – A mixture of the previous two types of report, where clear and precise points are needed and backed up with evidence, whether through personal experimentation or reference from elsewhere which is then solidly concluded through a personal point of view.
  • Journalism article – A ‘to the point’ fact filled piece of writing that brings the reader’s attention direct to the issue and lays out the facts in a clear, some times opinionated manner.

These are all types of assignments so far we have encountered through our own personal journey in education. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated and may result in a future post focusing on the construction of the different types of writing.

Now to go and finish enjoying the reasonable weather we have been blessed this weekend and start planning for the week ahead, a possible road trip to a few of the local museums and some more writing to do is in the books.

Enjoy your week and please do get in touch.