Yesterday’s TVEXPO at Windsor racecourse had one speaker that shone out from the crowd because of her calm focused determined quiet energy.

This obviously balanced with Brad Burton’s crash, bang, thank you mam inspirational key note at the end of the day. I love Brad’s energy, although it can be mentally exhausting… it was great to see him on top form, shining bright…

Julianne Ponan is the brains behind Creative Nature, who gave a thoughtful, honest account of her first few years running her own business. Through her determined, polished and friendly approach she has managed to get some key listings with large retailers and is now very much on a safer footings than she was a couple of years back when down to her last few thousand pounds… which ironically she invested in a natural food expo.

Talking to her after it was clear that coming from an entrepreneurial back ground with a dad who “roles the dice” with a number of business interests and a mum who worries about her chicks, she has taken the best of both and she is now playing with the big boys and showing that girls also have the power 😉

Richard Woods, from this year’s Apprentice, hosted the Thames Valley Chamber Breakfast and came across very well, much better than the tricky ricky persona that Sugar’s editorial team gave him. Thing was, he was spouting the same old online marketing message that I got bored with 6 years ago… funny how so much never changes but then on the other, the technology bounces on.

I focused on Rotary for most of the day. The organisers had put me in a spot between Richard’s YOMP and some fisher folk giving out free caviar believing they were doing me a favour. This was fine until the caviar team turned up and the realisation of the amount of space these little fish eggs really needed became apparent.

This was compounded by some greedy networking organisation trying to dominate the next space along… they pushed by buttons but I’d just finished reading the Dalai Lama’s latest book “A Force for Good” and knew that I could either lock horns on behalf of my new foodie chums or go find some new space in which to thrive and give the old space over to Princesses of the seas to roe their boat!

A short stroll found an empty space where an exhibitor had not turned up, a quick word with Allison and we moved over, giving the fishes the space they needed and moving away from those bullies from an ego based network.

All was calm and on counting my cards this morning, I have 6 people interested in knowing more about Rotary, 3 from old chums, 2 new ones to add and 4 business opportunities to explore plus those that were simply handed to me for no real reason other than they had pile to get rid of.

A most enjoyable day out of the office chatting with folk and that was followed by dinner with some professional bloggers at the behest of Marco Pierre White at his new Steakhouse Bar and Grill at the Castle Hotel in Windsor… it’s a tough job but someone’s got to eat the sticky toffee pudding and down a bottle of his favourite Malbec 😉

Thank you.

Jon