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Dawn Gibbins

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Hey, no words of ours can match Dawn’s own website. The Flowcrete founder is the most colourful woman in UK manufacturing. But we’re proud to say that Real Business magazine wrote about Dawn way before she became famous.

Then, we called her “the funky Gibbins". And she still is.

www.dawngibbins.com

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Coming clean with the corporate detox img 1
By Dawn Gibbins
It’s not even Christmas, so the traditional New Year detox is sometime away – but how about taking the time to carry out a corporate clear out?

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Many entrepreneurs suffer from risk aversion – do you? img 1
By Dawn Gibbins MBE
Dawn Gibbins MBE believes that many would-be entrepreneurs suffer risk aversion. In this article she examines the causes, proposes a "Dare" solution and looks at how people working in a high risk environment cope.

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Stop singing your company praises from inside the cupboard img 1
By Dawn Gibbins MBE
It never fails to amaze me. Whenever companies have a clear out, they discover boxes of old brochures and sales literature mouldering at the back of the stationery cupboard. They went to the trouble and expense to promote their wares but then failed at the last hurdle – getting promotional material into the hands of prospective customers. And that's even more true of websites.

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Franchising: the secrets of a winning franchise operation img 1
By Dawn Gibbins MBE
Dawn Gibbins MBE will shortly unveil a revolutionary concept in consumer seamless flooring – Barefoot – to be sold through a national network of franchisees across the UK. We asked her to share her perspective on franchising – and the essential ingredients for success.

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The case for branding: lessons on how to raise your company's profile img 1
By Dawn Gibbins MBE
If I were asked to name the single most important thing a new company should be thinking about, it would be branding.

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Entrepreneurs, are you a rat, monkey or dragon? img 1
By Dawn Gibbins
Business journals often publish articles outlining the qualities of a successful entrepreneur. They list things such as “a strong belief in themselves”, “competitive by nature”, “open to change”. But there’s another secret to success: astrology.

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Secret women’s business: how to satisfy a woman img 1
By Dawn Gibbins
A few days ago, I was topping up on the wit and wisdom of David Ogilvy, one of the marketing industry's early gurus. Fantastic stuff, though sometimes just a bit dated. Take his advice to advertisers of soap powders: "The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife".

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Possessed entrepreneurs and philanthropy img 1
By Dawn Gibbins
This month I have been infected by the enthusiasm and passion of a man with a mission to help raise money to fight cancer (www.versuscancer.org).

BUSINESS NEWS >>

Dragon Peter Jones says, "Clone me!"

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - July 03, 2009 11:28am GMT

Real Business spent an eventful cab ride with Dragons' Den's tallest investor earlier this week. Here's what he had to say about the recession, James Caan, his search for Peter Jones lookalikes and, most importantly, the next series of Dragons' Den.

Businesses to run in a recession: part three

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - July 02, 2009 4:43pm GMT

Even in a recession, a good entrepreneur is always on the look-out for the next hot spot. Don’t wait around for the upturn. These are the businesses you want to be in now.

Access takes another step towards sales target

By Catherine Woods - July 02, 2009 4:33pm GMT

Access founder Alistair O’Reilly has embarked on a “brand elevation” exercise as he aims to grow turnover at his consulting and software company to £100m.

Tech entrepreneur: "The banks won't lend you an umbrella when it rains"

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - July 02, 2009 4:22pm GMT

At a roundtable hosted by Dell this morning, Real Business heard three technology entrepreneurs talk about the challenges of growing a business during the recession. People aren't the problem, they say. It's the mindset of banks and other financial institutions that needs to change if we're to come out of recession.

Government fund provides a "timely injection of capital"

By Catherine Woods - July 02, 2009 4:06pm GMT

Octopus Ventures, which invests in entrepreneurial businesses, has welcomed the governments’ proposed £1bn innovation fund, saying it will support entrepreneurialism.


BUSINESS COMMENT >>

The first Apprentice wedding!

By Catherine Woods - July 03, 2009 2:35pm GMT

Well, well, well, look who’s engaged.

Sir Alan Sugar: "You're hired!"

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - July 01, 2009 1:12pm GMT

Great piece by The Telegraph's Richard Tyler today about the confirmed appointment of Sir Alan Sugar to the post of enterprise tsar. "A tentative date of July 20th has been pencilled in for his hairiness to don the rabbit fur," he says.

Pre-stained underwear: the next big thing?

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - June 22, 2009 2:54pm GMT

That's right. "Pre-stained". Suspend your disbelief for a moment. Canadian entrepreneur Philip Watson founded Easy Tiger Corp to peddle underwear that has been - ahem - ready-soiled, shall we say. And he reckons these nasty knickers will be a surefire hit with "the dudes".

It can only be... the Friday Funnies

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - June 12, 2009 12:16pm GMT

As swine flu hits the headlines for the second time, the swine flu jokes are just pouring in! Laugh till you oink, readers.

Jokes. Jokes. Jokes.

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - June 05, 2009 12:14pm GMT

Further to popular demand, this week we're devoting a whole section of our jokes blog to our hapless prime minister, Gordon Brown.


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