How you can beat cyber attacks on your business

[Online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

The threats of online attacks on your business are ramping up, as we’ve just seen with the global wave of ransomware that clobbered many NHS Trusts.

But there are ways you can beat these attacks.

The recent cybercrime awareness seminar held at our premises – featuring Jake Moore, cybercrime prevention specialist at Dorset Police – was eye-opening and very helpful in giving us clear and (often) easy ways of protecting our businesses from attack.

To take some simple actions and practice safe online behaviour, Jake recommended this website: https://www.cyberstreetwise.com

He gave out a very useful booklet, stuffed full of advice and tips… you can download it free here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-what-small-businesses-need-to-know

Store & Secure: Basingstoke goes big on self storage

[Photography and online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

Now celebrating its first anniversary, our Basingstoke self storage facility is going from strength to strength, with local businesses hiring large rooms up to 1,200 sq ft.

These indoor large rooms have drive-up access, double-door access for pallets and lighting. They can be fitted out with racking to maximise the available space.

The Houndmills facility has a total of 32,000 sq ft of self storage, including much smaller rooms from 10 sq ft which cost as little as £5 per month. These are used widely by businesses and charities for holding stock, plus families and individuals needing temporary storage.

And there are serviced office suites of various sizes, available for rent at short notice and for any period of time.

Store & Secure: Bournemouth facility expansion is complete

[Online PR for Store & Secure self storage]

It’s finished… the fit-out of our last phase at Bournemouth – giving us an extra 150 new rooms (which are starting to fill up nicely) covering 7,000 sq ft!

That completes the staged fit-out of our Bournemouth facility, giving it a total of 660 rooms in an area of 42,000 sq ft. We’re now covering every square inch of the three floors… each one reached by a lift.

The new rooms range from 10 sq ft to 200 sq ft, which are our most popular sizes at Bournemouth for business archives, stockrooms, stationery rooms, back office – and of course student and home moves.

Storage with Store & Secure is low-cost, has free parking with 24-your access and you can upscale or downscale quickly and easily. You can even take advantage of our forklifts, pallet trucks and trolleys at no extra cost! Not forgetting our friendly, uniformed staff to greet you and your visitors, plus free tea and coffee all round.

And it’s very safe. With constant supervision, monitored CCTV cameras and alarm systems, our locked units are accessible to you and only you.

Child of Hope: Incredible transformation for Rachael

Huge changes for slum kid Rachael; found poorly fed, unwashed, sleeping with goats and used for general labour...

Over her whole time in Child of Hope, Rachael, one of the children in nursery top class, had not been a happy girl.

Nursery staff observed a catalogue of problems including general poor health, poor nutrition, and very low self-esteem. Rachael was always crying and was unable to explain what she needed to the teachers. Although we identified her as being a bright girl, she was making little progress because her basic needs were not being met.

Headteacher, Amulen Scovia, approached the school nurse to get a medical assessment, and then recommended that the Family Support team carry out a home visit. It was found that Rachael was sleeping with the goats (outside the main house), was being inadequately fed and was not being washed. She was also being used for general labour.

It was agreed that regular home follow ups would be made by both the Family Support Unit and nursery staff. Rachael was also put the feeding programme.

Since then, we have seen an incredible transformation in Rachael this term! She is now
clean and smart when she comes to school and she always has a big smile on her face. She is active in lessons and is making excellent progress in both Language and Mathematics. She has made friends and she enjoys playing with them at break times. We are excited to see how she continues to progress over the course of this year!

Child of Hope: Jo visits the slum school

[Online PR for charity Child of Hope]

CoH UK volunteer Jo Edom loves the impact of our work with slum children – so she decided to travel to Uganda (on her own!) and visit the school.

Long-term supporter Jo was very impressed with what she saw. During her two weeks, she got involved with the various different departments, especially the family support unit visiting with the most needy families around the community and some of the mums we have help set up in business.

Jo said: “I am really impressed with the services Child of Hope offers. As well as a fantastic primary school, the IGA and Welfare services are a real bonus for the community. Probably the key challenge that Child of Hope faces is finding enough funds to support this ever-expanding organisation!”

She spoke to Rita Nandudu at the school in an interview about her experience… click here to read and see more pics.

Child of Hope: Growing our own food

[Online PR for Ugandan slum charity Child of Hope]

An idea for a new project that began in January will soon bear fruit… well, vegetables, actually!

In an attempt to reduce the cost of food at our school, we are utilising two acres of land we own in nearby Namabasa to grow beans and maize. Once we have harvested the crops, we will then decide whether to sell them or use them for our own food, depending upon circumstances at the time.

Local community people were hired to clear the land for ploughing and 23 pupils’ mums were paid to do the planting – these are mums we have helped with a start-up business.

Depending on how the project goes, we may eventually also provide seeds to parents so that they can carry out small-scale farming themselves – which will help them fight poverty by providing some of their fresh food and/or produce crops to sell.

Groveley Precision Engineering: Factory conversion is nearly complete

[Online PR for Groveley Precision Engineering]

The expansion of our production area is well under way… once the extra floor space is painted, we’ll be ready to move CNC machines into the new area.

The conversion has gained us an extra 108 sq metres by moving production offices into a new, larger office suite. It's not the first time the building use has changed; the building was reputedly used as barracks for the gunners of Christchurch airfield during the Second World War – but this may well be as reliable as the story that ghosts of Roman legionnaires wander around the factory at night!

The space rationalisation is partly modernisation and partly to handle increased precision engineering work from new customers in the defence, motorsport and medical sectors.

Groveley Precision Engineering: Stuart raised nearly £3k in the London Marathon

[Online PR for Groveley Precision Engineering]

Groveley’s operations manager Stuart Leaper – along with his wife Nicky – raised almost £2,900 when they ran the London Marathon on Sunday – and it’s all going to benefit Poole Hospital Charity.

Stuart and Nicky beat their target of £1,500 and both ran the course in a very respectable 5 hrs 6 minutes, crossing the finishing line together.

They wanted to help the hospital because 16 years ago Stuart had life-changing surgery at the hospital for his hearing. Both their children were born there, too.

Organisers described the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon as “the greatest ever” in the history of the race – it smashed records across the board and saw more people than ever before make the 26-mile journey from Greenwich to Westminster. There were 39,487 finishers.

It’s not too late to contribute to a great cause… Stuart and Nicky have a JustGiving page where you can easily donate online: Click here!

Child of Hope: Top results!

[Online PR for slum charity Child of Hope]

Interesting stats from the Ugandan national 2016 Primary Leaving Exam results reveal that Child of Hope primary pupils achieved exam results well above average, with 100% pass rate.

2016 results/pass rates:

Level	All schools	CoH
Total pass rate	87%	100%
Division 1	10.2%	36%
Division 2	40.5%	55%
Division 3	15.5%	0%
Division 4	15.5%	9%
Division U	13.3%	0%

Note: Division 1 is best, division 4 is still a pass. Division U is a fail.

And more exam news... we have just been authorised as an official examination centre for the Primary Leaving Examinations – so from now on our pupils can sit the exams here, rather than going off to another school to take them. That will save us a lot of hassle, so we’re very pleased!

Store & Secure: Serviced offices – why make the jump?

[Online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

While working at home is a great way to start a business, it can become a bit lonely and difficult to find enough space – which is where serviced offices come in, like the lovely shiny offices we provide in both Basingstoke and Bournemouth.

It’s great sometimes to have other people around… to bounce ideas off and network… even cross-sell with a variety of other businesses within the same building. You don’t only find start-ups or small businesses working in serviced offices – you are just as likely to find the division of national organisation in the office next door.

Everything laid on

A big benefit of our serviced offices is the reception area. All post and deliveries will be collected there for you, so you can avoid any disturbances. And guests can use the waiting area with complimentary tea and coffee.

And lots more... toreandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/serviced-offices-make-jump/

Store & Secure: Latest Basingstoke networking winner

[Online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

At our latest business networking event in Basingstoke, Gill Fountain – brand manager at marketing and design company 38 Partnership (38partnership.co.uk) – won the free draw for a bottle of wine.

Gill describes herself as: “…working quietly in the background, no shouting from the rooftops, just marketing exciting companies, helping to brand their way to success, promoting using creative and cutting edge design. At 38 Partnership we help from start to finish, or anything in-between. You could be a start-up company looking for ideas on how deal with your marketing, a large corporate company searching for fresh ideas and re-branding or a charity looking to raise awareness and increase funding.” 

Our monthly breakfast event is entirely free to attend… and you’re invited! Come and meet people like Gill… it’s held at our Houndmills self storage facility in Basingstoke on the second Wednesday of each month.

There are free refreshments between 8–10am – tea/coffee, fruit juice and a selection of pastries. It’s an informal meeting with no restrictions on how many businesses from each trade sector can attend. You just need to bring along your business cards to share around.

For more information on upcoming events or to book your place at the next breakfast, please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk to reserve your space… or call our Kevin Chandler on (01256) 444455.

And for further information about our business storage in Basingstoke, please contact us.

Store & Secure: Online retailers – here’s why self-storage is ideal for you

[Online PR for Store & Secure self-storage]

For the ever-growing number of budding online entrepreneurs, self-storage solutions are becoming a necessity to help cater for consumers’ insatiable desire to shop online. Whether you’re an online trader, an eBay seller or run an Amazon store, the flexibility of having a dedicated off-site storage space cannot be underestimated.

If you’re currently carrying stock, let’s face it, there’s only so much you can physically store in the garage or the box room. Space is not the only issue – you’re not giving your storage the protection it deserves in your home. In the event of flooding, fire or any other form of natural disaster, your stock could face possible ruin. Worse still, you’ll struggle to find a household insurance policy that’ll insure your stock.

However, for many online start-ups, renting commercial property is simply too much of a risk in terms of the overall cost. The last thing you want is to be tied into a long-term tenancy agreement if you’re still just dipping your toes into the water of e-commerce.

That’s where flexible and secure self storage comes in. Read more...
storeandsecure.co.uk/self-storage-news/online-retailers-heres-self-storage-ideal/

Groveley: All-round travel benefits

[Photography and online PR for Groveley Precision Engineering]

We are encouraging staff to bike to work – by improving facilities at work with a new changing room and shower room.

This forms part of our travel policy and as members of Dorset’s Business Travel Network, they provided us with expertise and guidance in developing a travel action plan.

The network’s aims are to help reduce traffic pollution and congestion – and there are also staff benefits in increased health/wellbeing, reduced sickness, reduced travel costs and improved morale. At the same time, Groveley reduces its carbon footprint, manages parking demand and increases productivity.

The new facilities were part funded by a grant from Dorset County Council under its workplace travel grants scheme.

Child of Hope: Mary's new home

[Online PR for slum charity Child of Hope]

Single mum Mary Nakiru has had some big ups and downs in her life but we’ve been there to support her more than once… and now her small business is doing well, she is building a new home!

See: http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/latest-news/marys-new-home/

Store & Secure: latest eNewsletter

[Photography and eNewsletter for Store & Secure self-storage]

Your favourite self-storage centre here with our latest news... big expansion at our Bournemouth facility... your invitation to a cybercrime breakfast (ooh, what's that?)... a band records its latest song at our Basingstoke facility... read on!