Nikki Pepper goes on air to talk about Link4Growth

Link4Growth is not often in the news, the organisation prefers to just work in the background and get on with the job. In a world where we are led to believe standing on the podium and shouting from the rooftops about what is wrong is the answer, Link4Growth steadily, quietly, effectively is putting in place the infrastructure for change.

Sometimes an opportunity comes along to share some of what we do in a more public way, and an opportunity fell last week to Nikki Pepper to talk about Link4Growth on local radio in Peterborough. The show was the working lunch show with Craig Bunday.

The Working Lunch show (BundayBrunch) hosted by Craig Bunday is a 2 hour show where Craig invites local businesses and interesting people, often met through Networking, onto the show to share some of what they do with his listeners.

Craig (left) met with +Nikki Pepper at the Nene Park coffee event and following a conversation about Link4Growth and its purpose invited Nikki to join him on the show.

4 years ago, Nikki would probably agree that she would never have imagined doing anything like this, and so as requested it was all kept rather hush hush until after the event.

Link4Growth although very simple in concept 'we bring local people together to have conversations' the effects of this can be life changing for many. Link4Growth is a platform that empowers 4 types of growth. (1) Personal Growth, (2) enterprise growth (business, charity), (3) Community growth and (4) Country growth. This growth journey is one that we all engaged with, some are further along their own journey than others, and their is no right or wrong.

We would all agree that Nikki has achieved remarkable personal growth in the past 4 years being part of Link4Growth and very many congratulations to her for this major milestone, fantastic, well done. To listen to the show, click on the link below. Nikki is on air at about 26 minutes and 40 seconds into the recording.

Click here listen to Nikki Pepper talking to Craig Bunday about Link4Growth (26 mins 40 sec)

The 1st ever Link4Growth Conference 8th January 2016

The 1st ever Link4Growth Conference took place on the 8th January 2016. The venue was the amazing Missenden Abbey in Buckinghamshire and brought the Link4Growth family together for the first time. A historic moment and one that many of us will remember as the day that connected people in the flesh who had previously only known each other virtually.

It is incredibly difficult to single out individual performances and comments fed back through January confirmed this as one of the most inspirational collaborative events people had attended. Link4Growth has indeed come a long way since its initial launch on January 9th 2012; nearly 4 years to the day.

Below some of the highlights... links to picture albums, the live video feeds of the 8 speakers on the day and also the 6 Laminates which will help us to visually explain the different aspects of Link4Growth going forward.

Photo's from the day

Picture Album No. 1 - Credit to +Mark Mountford
Picture Album No. 2 - Credit to +Diane Richardson +Catherine Baldwin & +Jonathan s Darby

Live Video feeds of the 8 Speakers on the day

+Paul Violet  ~ Opening the conference

+Emma Jaynes  ~ Community

+Chris Ogle  ~ CKi (Community Kickstarter initiative)

+Su Ball  ~ Link4Business

+Jeremy Silverstone  ~ OMG's (Online Mentoring Groups)

+Carol Dodsley  ~ Link4Skills

+Diane Richardson  ~ L4G.tv

Chris Ogle ~ Leadership Programme

+Nadine Standish  ~ BITC (Collaboration)

Chris Ogle ~ New Laminates

+Tania Clarke  ~ Taking Responsibility

Chris Ogle ~ Recognition

Chris Ogle ~ Closing Address


Link4Growth Laminates

All the Laminates can be found here... 

A fabulous day had by all... thank you to everyone that supported the event... it was a memorable day for us all.

Why rebuilding community is essential and how is Link4Growth doing it?

Community has been in steady decline for decades in the UK. Community is at its lowest ebb where the focus on money is at its greatest. Often when people move away from the South East and in particular London to other parts of the country, the north, the west country and elsewhere you hear the remarks, "people are much more friendly here". What they are alluding to are the remnants of what was prevalent across the whole of the UK... 'Community'.

A number of factors have been responsible for eroding community over the years. We did not just wake up suddenly one morning and decide... This community concept is not working any more, let's abandon it. It has happened because of a variety of factors each contributing to the steady decline year on year, slowly, almost imperceptible in its progress... but, like a slow tide coming in, over the long years, culminating in where we are today.

So what exactly has happened? what are these factors that have taken their toll on community? what have been the effects of dwindling community? why is it important to rebuild them? ... and, how are we going to do it?

To understand how community has been eroded we have to look back through the last 100 years. We must also look at the different types of communities that exist and what are the factors that have led to their decline. There are three main categories of communities that we all belong too. We are involved in many more than 3 for sure, but they fit inside these main categories. These are :-

1. Family
2. Workplace
3. Public community

1. Family

100 years ago or so it was not uncommon for people to have huge families. When talking to the more senior generation it is fairly commonplace to hear, I was the youngest of 14 children... or I am the only survivor now of 9 siblings. People had much larger families. These families of course gave rise to huge extended families running to over 100 people in 3 generations.

During this period, people also tended to not move very far. Transport was in its infancy, people didn't have cars, and consequently families grew up in the same city, town or village. This was a huge support network of related people that could be relied on to help if needed. Where 4 children would have been considered a small family back then, today, this is a large family. People are also much more mobile than ever before. Families are now not only spacially distributed across the country, but internationally too.

2. Workplace

For the past 60-70 years and definitely up till the end of the 20th century the default work mode was to 'get a job'... and if you could find a job in a large secure company then so much the better. Talk was of good career opportunities and maybe having 3 or 4 jobs in a lifetime. There were many more manufacturing companies and often people stayed with their chosen career and a company for 30+ years.

Larger companies had 3,000+ people working for them. Located in a city or town, the majority of the people working there lived in the town, this was another huge community of people linked by a common thread... the company where they worked. This was a support network that came after the family. People you would see every day and conequently built up solid relationships over time. People you could rely on in a time of crisis.

3. Public community

This public community is the wider community of local people. This consists of people that you came into touch with through perhaps a joint interest but would otherwise not necessarily know. Typical places where the 3rd community thrived are where people from any background or walk of life could assemble and have conversations. Four spring to mind... The Church, meeting at least once a week and often more. The local community centre, providing a central place for people living close together to gather for local fetes, festivals, shows etc. The pub, this was a place to talk with other local people, share connections, learn about other people in the local community. Lastly, the town centres or markets. This brought people together on Market days in a central location, to buy and sell and catch up with local news and gossip.

What has happened to all of the above?

Whilst reading the above it would probably have dawned on you that the world isn't like it was. Things have changed significantly. Some of these changes started decades ago, others, more recent. But the changes have been relentless. If you couple all of the above with some other significant changes below we can then take a look at the effect all of this has had on our communities... and remember it is these communities that are the glue to our social wellbeing.

Focus on competition, scarcity, money and growth at all costs

This has been a cancer that has been spreading since the 70's. It runs through everything that we now consider 'normal society' and it is probably at its worst in our schools. We have been succumbed into comparing ourselves with others and striving to be better than our neighbours, competing to be seen as a winner, to be successful, and the measurement criteria? ultimately money and what we have, but in our schools, colleges and universities this is translated as qualifications. Of course the better the qualifications are, then the better you are, and the more successful (amount of money you earn) you will become.

Society today is teaching us to divide and conquer, to look out for number 1, and to value ourselves by what we have, not who we are. It is no wonder we are falling apart. We are actively breaking down community and those trying to rebuild it are viewed as a bit 'strange'... often asked... why would you be doing this, rebuilding community?

Let us recap and review

Families are much smaller than ever before and spatially distributed. Often there is little on the ground support from community no. 1 anymore. The number of large companies employing thousands has dwindled to very low numbers compared to the past. Many more people are now running their own businesses working from home, isolated and often quite lonely. Job security (... long term employment with a single organisation) is now almost a thing consigned to the history books. This 2nd community almost entirely wiped out. And the 3rd community, bumping into people at public meeting places? The church... still doing great work in the community but serving an ever decreasing percentage of the population. The community centres? Very few remain and their role is now changed such that it doesn't provide the same function as before. The pubs? It is much cheaper to buy drinks from the supermarket and more people are choosing to drink at home because money is tight. The high streets and markets are all struggling with retail parks, supermarkets and online companies offering lower prices out of town or via the internet.

Many would add that with the Internet there is now no longer a need to go out at all, and that almost all our needs can be served through computers, tablets and smart phones right down to the weekly shopping. Everything that we are doing is designed so that we have no need for community, we are ok on our own, our small families and chasing the next £... But... are we happy? ... honestly?

Why rebuild community? 

If you visit a Hospice and you talk to people who have a short time left on this earth and listen to the words they speak and any regrets they have about their life. Or if you go along to a funeral and you take a look at the close family of the deceased, what do you see and hear? In both cases you will not hear mention of... I wish I had got a better job, wished I'd worked harder, wished we'd had a bigger house or better car... you won't hear any of those. What you will hear is... I wish I had spent more time with my kids, I wish I'd had the chance to tell my sister, brother, mother, father how much I loved them... I wish I had repaired that relationship... I wish I'd done more with my life instead of just working and chasing money...

What is really most important in our lives is people. People and relationships, and yet we have been steered away from this by those that would have us buy more, the latest this or that, and who have created an epidemic of consumerism. We have been sold that our lives will be better the more money we have and the more stuff we have in our lives. This serves only one group of people, those providing the products and services we are lured into buying whether we really need them or not. The rest of us are caught in the trap of chasing the next pay check to buy more of the stuff we 'have to have' to keep up with everyone else... our self worth is now what we wear, the car we drive, the technology in our hand and the size of our house. And to get more of this, we have to compete and take more out of the system for ourselves... sorry someone has to lose...

What we have isn't working for the majority...

The road we are on is not working for most of us. This is not about politics, it's about people and relationships
, it is about observing what is going on around us and choosing to take some action. What action though? ... I am only one person, what difference can I make? ... try sleeping with a mosquito and asking whether someone small can make a difference.

There is a great deal of unfairness in the world today. Whilst a few have ever expanding hordes of reserves there are a great many others struggling to make ends meet and survive. But if we were to work together, to support each other, look for opportunities to help others less fortunate than ourselves, or have a need that we can help out with what a difference that might make. The reason we can't help at the moment is firstly, it is quite difficult to actually make a contribution, the mechanisms in place to volunteer are just too difficult and cumbersome, and secondly, lack of information and knowledge... we just don't talk to each other any more, and there is no common public space where we can meet and talk to find this stuff out and then connect people.

Now that is all changing!!

Link4Growth is a platform created to rebuild the 3rd community space. To provide a space for local people to once again come together and begin having conversations. To bring people together from all walks of life, from whatever background or status so that we can begin to rebuild connections and rebuild community... one person at a time. Everything starts with a conversation. It is a simple concept and it is working already with circa 100 events being hosted each month up and down the country. It's not what you know it is who you know... old, true statements that are more relevant today than ever before.

Link4Growth hosts events at different times of the day so that everyone can at least come to something. There are no costs to attend so that the focus is kept away from money and is accessible to all. We hold these informal drop in events wherever possible at local independent coffee shops or public spaces so that we support local businesses and the local economy ( #L4GBuyLocal ).

Over to you...

So what action can you take? ... You can come along and be part of the conversation if there are events already in your town. If there is nothing in your town currently, you can start one. Just get in touch via enquiries@link4growth.biz or via the website form here. You can also join in the conversation online. We have a nationwide forum http://www.2020bclive.net that you can join in with... we are also on all the social media platforms... Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter ( @link4growth ) and Google+.

The community rebuilding programme exists, it is happening already, the only question left is... would you like to be part of it? ... if the answer is yes, then take action... contact us and let's get started.

Just how do you tell people about your charity or business?

One of the most common challenges facing small businesses and independent charities these days is how do you get the people in your town or city to know you exist. You know in your heart that if people could find out about you, then the chances are they would use your service or products, and if you are part of a local charity, that people would support it.

The options for getting your message out there are fairly limited, pricey, and, there are no guarantees either... So what are the traditional options?

Advertise in the local newspaper

This can be expensive with small ads costing hundreds of pounds. Circulation of these papers is in general decline although online versions do help. Out of the reach of most smaller businesses and charities.

Local radio

Again longer periods of advertising work out more cost effective and radio can be a good medium. But costs of producing a succinct advert and running the advertisement is out of the reach of most local businesses and charities...

Local community magazines

Often much lower cost than newspapers these can work well for certain business types. They often need good content and stories which are a great way to expose local charities too. They also have good relevancy in that the people being marketed to and local and within easy reach. Worth exploring.

Leaflet drops

These really work well for some kinds of businesses, especially takeaways where people pin them on their noticeboard for future reference. It also works for other services like Gardeners and gift items... but less well for more specialised services

Local directories (online and offline)

Offline directories have become almost extinct as the Internet has rolled every forward... nowadays there are a plethora of much smaller online directories but which ones are used by people? difficult to tell... do you have to be in all of them? ... are they relevant and local?

Cold calling / canvassing

With so much abuse of the telephone by PPI claims, Accident claims and people trying to sell stuff over the phone, it is no wonder that people steer away from this. If you have a Business to Business service it is still a great approach but more and more it needs to be a warm introduction first, however that is originated...

Direct Mail

Much more prevalent in Business to Business situations. Can be effective if the document is unusual or has some unique quality that demands further investigation. Handwritten and / or highly personalised such as postcards often work best.

Email campaigns

Another method of communication which has fallen foul of mass abuse. Email campaigns work best with a highly refined list of people that have registered and interest. Open rates can be as high as 30-40% with good lists. The effectiveness of email compaigns thus relies on the quality of the list. If no such lists exist, then, the first port of call must be to build your tribe...

Website and search results through optimisation

Build it and they will come... err... no they won't. Websites are great except no one will visit unless you  invite them (publicise your website), or you have great search engine optimisation (SEO) so that you are found for key terms that define what you do (Plumber in Watford) or... you have localisation deployed in which case you are more likely to come up for local and specific relevant searches (this is even more relevant with Google since April 2015). This can cost quite a lot of money... and it is a moving feast as the search engines are continually changing their algorithms... what works today, might not work tomorrow... and back we go again... more money, unless you are technical and can take care of things yourselves.

Social Media

Unfortunately Businesses and to a lesser extent charities have seen social media not as an engagement tool to build relationships, support and referrals but as a low cost broadcasting and marketing platform... once again, buy my stuff. This has 'spoilt', not irrevocably, these platforms but there is much to do in terms of education on how to use these platforms in a way that serves us instead of annoying people. Social Media is about developing relationships with people, creating a community online, a tribe of people that want to hear what you say and respect your comments and thoughts.

Blogging

This is a great way of demonstrating your expertise, but like any other online approach somehow you need to rise above the noise. With billions of updates daily, the only people who will be seeing your content are those that you have built a relationship with.

Business Networking

Beyond the scope of most charities due to cost and to most micro businesses for the very same reason, Business networking does enable people in business to get to know each other, build relationships and advertise what they do. For those in the community that would like to meet up and have conversations with others from the local area, irrespective of whether in business or not, hitherto there has been very little available... until now...

Not easy is it?

Clearly some of the above may work for your business or charity but looking through them you may well feel you've tried them all at some time but that you wanted perhaps a bit more success for the effort involved, or the money invested.

Recognising the challenges of invisible local businesses and charities and the need to raise their profile is one of the fundamental missions of Link4Growth. The important question to ask any business or charity would be, would you be enjoying more success and engagement if everyone within a 5 mile radius knew you existed and who you were?

Of course it is a rhetorical question... However, how could that possibly be achieved? One of the underlying fundamental strategies of Link4Growth is to enable people to more easily find (and buy) from local businesses, and for those in business to be able to engage with the community and share what they do, all for little or no cost. For local charities it is about removing their cloak of invisibility and making people aware of their existence and the good work they are doing.

So how can Link4Growth help? ... Let's start by asking some questions

What if there was a way to represent how we are organised physically in the online world? What if we could create counties, cities, towns and villages and then enable people to participate and include themselves in those places where they live and work? What if they could then contribute to those communities and share what is happening in their life, community around them, and work? What instead of guessing how to find local people and relying on search to come up with the goods we were able to find what is around us through a simple structure that organises what is happening in our community for us in an easy way?

Welcome to the Link4Growth District Websites...

These are community platforms not controlled and managed by individuals but open to anyone that wishes to contribute and share what is going on locally. It is completely organic, so as more people begin to add local information about what is happening in the community the more rich and diverse the content. Think local community magazine or newspaper but where we, the community, can freely publish what is going on. No waiting for an editor to approve things or filter out our contributions. No delays or time constraints to get in the next publication... and to share what you want to say is both quick and easy to do...

Now at last we have a place to easily publicise what is going on in our community. No guessing where to put the information. No wondering how you are going to tell others what you are doing. Now... if you have something to say... you can say it. The best bit about this is that, once you have put the information out there... others in the community can easily help to spread the word and share it on other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and elsewhere, so people not yet engaged on the community platform don't miss out.

There is so much good happening in our community that we don't ever hear about...

95% of what goes on in our communities is good. But good news unfortunately rarely make the news. So you might be thinking according to what you do hear about, that where you live or work is pretty bad with lots of awful things going on. Actually this won't be the case. This is our opportunity to learn about the amazing people in our community and what is really happening. Our chance to shout out about good things that are going on, the people making these things happen and be positive about where we live and work. If we all did this right across the country what a huge difference in just 'feeling and energy' would that make?

Below some of the highlights of what we are able to do with the community platform...

Do you have pictures or videos about your business or charity?

Tell your story with text, pictures and / or video, you can share what is happening so that others in the community can learn more about you, your business or charity

Local business directory (by category)

Get found easily by those looking for what you do in a dedicated local business directory. Good news spreads fast!

Post regular updates and keep people informed

You can update when, and as often as you like. Tell the community about special services, offers or announcements... Get your message to a wider audience easily and fast

Attend local community building networking events and benefit from the list below :-

1. Have conversations and get to know other local people
2. Make new friends
3. Get introduced to people you would like to meet
4. Find suppliers or collaborators
5. Find customers or new supporters of your charity
6. Learn new skills, gain tips and tricks from other local people
7. Help others, share your knowledge, expertise and experience
8. Be a contributor to your local community
9. Open to all
10. Brings together like minded people and accelerates good initiatives and projects

Summary...

If you operate within a 5 mile radius Link4Growth exists to ensure you can achieve your goals, sustainably from your local community. There are a huge number of people doing great work already in the local community. Link4Growth enables us to share this with others... get the message out there so more people know about it. This can only be a good thing!

Do you operate nationally, or want to? ... Link4Growth's community forum joins us altogether nationally... Spread your message to the four corners of the UK and beyond...

Link4Growth District Websites are here to enable the community to come together online and work together. It's like a big filing cabinet bringing, the people in the community, local businesses, local charities, local events, pictures, videos, news, stories and everything going on locally into one place. Everyone can participate that's the amazing thing and everyone benefits... Fantastic for local businesses and charities, for those looking to support buying from local people... this in turn enables the local economy to flourish which in turn builds community itself. It really is win, win, win, win, win!

Access to the District websites is 24/7, and available on every device from Mobiles to Tablets, Macs to PC's and on iOS and Android...

Ok you might need to learn a few of the basics to start contributing at any of the community networking events or via Link4Skills online workshops... Many will actually already have the skills and access to these districts websites without even knowing it! ... in this case you'll just need showing where to find things.

Ok... So how much does it cost to participate in the above? ... Nothing... Yes... Nothing. It is all free to use and be part of.

Should you wish to contribute to Link4Growth (a not for profit) and support us in providing the infrastructure then you can do this for £3 per month, or £36 for 13 months... And by the way this is not obligatory.

Too good to be true? ... 

99 times out of 100 you'd probably be right... on this occasion you would be completely wrong. Link4Growth does not exist for its own benefit. Link4Growth exists to support and help the people in the community, and if you think that is worth supporting then drop us an email on enquiries@link4growth.biz or... visit the contact us form on the website here...

Link4Growth... how can you participate?

We hear about a lot of things that are wrong in the world, on a global scale, on a national scale and even locally too. Countries fighting each other, corrupt governments, education, health, jobs, immigration, taxes and all manner of complex issues and on a local scale, issues around housing, local projects, local business, charity, buses, and many other local things which have a direct effect on our daily lives.

We also hear quite a bit (if we're plugged in) about a lot of people doing good things too... The Green Party, Zeitgeist, Occupy and organisations such as 38, GlobalNet, Avaaz all of whom are raising awareness of the inequality we have today, injustices and highlighting things to the masses which are plainly not in the majority's best interest... There are great initiatives that are happening under our noses across the UK too... Some examples Enterprise Rockers, BITC Connectors, 'The Thrive Programme', Transition towns, Time banking, Food-coops, Local Charities and Community Interest Companies (CIC's)... And there are thousands of other local initiatives all seeking to improve things going on all around us.

These groups above are all doing amazing work... And what they all want and need is our support... and more people to join them... but like every other organisation out there whether it be in the commercial or voluntary sector, they need...

• to get their message out there and spread the good news about what they are doing
• to have the infrastructure in place to underpin and enable their expansion

How can they reach out and spread the word, how can we expedite these fantastic initiatives and accelerate the rate of change?

Link4Growth has been created to do just this. Link4Growth is a platform that acts like an umbrella enabling all the different facets of community to come together with no hidden or alternative agenda. Link4Growth is recreating the third community space once again. The first two communities are our families and our workplaces, the third is where we can come together as members of the same physical community and have conversations with those around us. Any age, any background, any creed or colour, in business or not, everyone is welcome. Link4Growth provides space to meet, talk, listen, learn, connect, share and inspire.  It's about bringing everyone together in a cohesive way so that we can achieve much more... A structured platform for...

1. Unity, bringing people together who are doing great things
2. Sharing ideas, experience and knowledge
3. Replicating best practice
4. Collaboration in creating the future we would like to see
5. Nurturing & Supporting each other
6. Inspiration, creativity and problem solving
7. Meeting like minded folk who care and want to help others to be happy & achieve

Link4Growth is truly open, random and supportive; No barriers to participation,  open to all and here to serve the people and through recognising that we are all connected and interdependent with those around us. It is delivering through physical events at different times of the day so that it is inclusive and enables everyone to attend at least something. We use local independent businesses (e.g. Coffee shops, pubs, hotels) as far as possible for meeting up, walking the talk of #L4GBuyLocal. Recognising that the success of our local businesses and buying local is critical for rebuilding our communities and operating in a more harmonious sustainable manner.

Link4Growth offers a 'plug and play' infrastructure that those doing great work in our communities can now tap into at no cost. This is delivered in two ways; first, through a (soon to be nationwide) network of community building events delivered by District Leaders and their teams at the village, town and city level. Second; but equally important is the other 50% which is online that works in unison with the physical; Link4Growth has architected an online infrastructure (utilising existing free social media platforms) that mirrors how we are organised spatially on the ground. This is now bringing new levels of engagement, connectivity and collaboration than has ever possible before.

So how could you or your organisation tap into Link4Growth and why?

1. We want to give back

Most people would love to make a contribution to their community. One of the main issues is that we don't have the infrastructure to enable those that want to contribute to be able to do so, in the way that they want to. Volunteering is actually believe it or not quite difficult to do with limited opportunities or variety, and stacks of bureaucracy getting in the way. Link4Growth enables us to talk, find out what tasks, services or products are required by those in need, so that we can connect the right resources and take action. Every skill we have there is a home for somewhere and Link4Growth enables us all to make a contribution providing a service (or product) that we are happy to give.

2. Remove the cloak of invisibility for your charity

Many charities are started on a shoestring with a tiny budget and possibly on the back of a grant to get things going. Many are started by people who want to do good work in the community but have never run anything like it before and don't know what to do. Link4Growth can help raise the profile of local charities, increase the number of local connections and reduce the reliance on handouts. Link4Growth is a joined up community network (not just for businesses, but everyone in the community) that for the first time allows charities to get out and meet local people and businesses for no real cost... Linked to a national network too means that charities can share expertise, knowledge, 'what works what doesn't', and increase their reach with little to no financial investment.

3. Raise the profile of your local businesses

Just how do you get the good news about your products and services out to local people? Ask any small business and they will tell you it's tough. It used to be quite simple... It did cost money, but advertise in the local paper, drop leaflets or pay for local advertisements on bill boards or other street furniture. But times are changing, nowadays there is networking and all the online social media paraphernalia that we are told we must do. Life just got a whole load more complex!

Help is at hand though. Link4Growth enables you to network locally and raise your profile for very little cost , plus we have workshops and training programmes to get you up to speed both with online technology but with a vast array of other educational programmes as well. Link4Growth also runs a local TV platform where we can share your promotional videos or even help you get one done... We also provide a  local business directory where YOU can post specials offers, promotions, stories, events you might be running, and much much more, all for free.

With as many local businesses as possible joining forces we can create a real movement towards #L4GBuyLocal. By making people aware of local traders, entrepreneurs and businesses and by inviting people to consider buying from local people in the community first, we can start to vote with our feet and get the ball rolling for change.

4. Share great ideas, experiences and replicate best practice, fast

Buried inside our communities are some people with great ideas. As mentioned already there are thousands of great initiatives being started all the time. Many of these ideas could be replicated and duplicated across the country. We are moving towards a much more collaborative and supportive environment so let's get sharing and make things happen.

Some of these ideas might not even happen but by having conversations, fine tuning concepts, and working together many more good things could be started involving thousands more people.

5. Expand great ideas nationally

There are many examples of successful localised projects which are equally relevant right across the country. The historical challenge has been how can people find out about these projects? Link4Growth solves this challenge, by enabling us to easily connect with others around the country in an atmosphere of support and nurturing.

Expanding any idea nationally often requires travel, holding events and a fair amount of investment. Link4Growth acts like a plug 'n' play platform. Share your idea / project on the national Link4Growth community forum and instantly get access to people and their connections all around the UK. Couple this with our workshops and training on how to use technology to share information and experience across spatial distances we can achieve much more faster than ever before.

6. Enable existing organisations to deploy infrastructure at no cost

There are many organisations that have already created a tribe of people that have signed up to an idea, initiative or concept. The challenge is taking the next step. Enabling people to communicate easily in a structured, organised way that is both effective and low cost and which leads to massive action. This requires systems and infrastructure. Link4Growth has developed a lean model that organisations can plug into and use as a catalyst to accelerate their activities.

7. Learning and Education to share our collective knowledge

As a nation we pretty much have all the knowledge we need, the problem is that it is locked inside our heads and is not able to reach those that need it. Not any more. Through providing a platform for rich engagement and conversation we are able to share what we know with others, nationally... More than that though...

We have created a secondary platform called Link4Skills that uses Internet video streaming technology (at no cost) to deliver webinars and workshops. Now, those that want to share their experience, knowledge and expertise can do this easily (with a little training) without the need for travel by either party. We call this 'the people's University'. Empowering us to pool our collective knowledge to help all of us grow!

In summary...

Link4Growth is enabling us to take responsibility and play our part in our communities. We now have the infrastructure and a methodology to rebuild community from the grass roots up. Link4Growth is encouraging the idea that we value each other not by what we have, but by our contribution. Link4Growth focuses us on what is really the most important... People and Relationships...

Link "4" Growth is about (1) personal growth, (2) community growth, (3) business growth and (4) national growth...

Change is already upon us... Now just a question of whether you would like to participate... Would you like to play your part?

What is the 'Link4Growth Community Platform' ? ... and how WE are going to rebuild a nation!

There are a lot of challenges facing us today... There are challenges with inequality, the gap between the rich and poor gets wider by the day. We have punitive austerity measures that are affecting millions of people. There is a massive rise in Food banks and their use... We have an education system that is failing our young people with a million 16-25 year olds out of work... we are the unhealthiest we have ever been... obesity is reaching epidemic proportions and degenerative diseases are more rampant than ever before...

Would you not agree that it is time for change?

Welcome to the Link4Growth Community Platform... a platform to bring us together as a nation and remove the problems described above... it is a considerable task, but is absolutely possible... not only is it possible it has already begun... and it is gathering pace... This post is designed to explain the mechanics of how we are going to rebuild our country, how you can get involved and play your part. There is absolutely something for everyone... whatever background, age, or disposition... if you would like to be part of this... you can!!

Where do you start?

One of the things which has happened over the past 30-50 years is the gradual erosion of our communities. In the past people knew their neighbours, helped out when times were tough... but in the capitalistic dream (we bought) it became everyone for themselves... we began to measure our value with possessions, and so in the mad scramble of competition, the community spirit was lost... we only did anything for anyone if we were to be paid... and in order to feed the insatiable need for money, we had no time, and we had no need for community.

But the game is up... the capitalistic experiment has failed us, look at what we have created... it is little to be proud of... here are some major observations of changes happening right now... all of them gathering pace...

1. Many people are becoming disillusioned and fed up with the rat race... fed up working hard, so the rich get richer. The Internet is enabling men and women to fit their work around their lives, perhaps accept a bit less income, but one which actually enables us be far happier with a much better quality of life. Family time is becoming more important.
2. When we have re-evaluated our lifestyle and taken the focus away from money and possessions, appreciation and gratitude of what we have emerges. The people in our lives become far more important... relationships, support and nurturance becomes our natural state 
3. As we spend more time working from home and / or with our family we become more conscious of what is happening around us, we become more engaged... and begin to take more responsibility for the community in which we live and work. People often become hugely passionate about where they live and want to improve it for all... the more the merrier!
4. As we start to engage more locally, we discover a world of people we never knew before... we discover what they do, what skills and knowledge they have, what services they provide... and as we grow to like these people we begin to use their services and recommend them to others
5. When we talk more and when we connect with each other so we also share information, our knowledge and expertise. By osmosis we can pick up information on a range of topics such as personal development, wellness tips, nutrition and even how to use technology to support us in our endeavours or daily lives... 
6. As our communities develop and mature people begin to help each other out, swap skills, "if you do this for me, I'll help you out with that..." we can actually reduce the cost of living as we move away from total dependency on money to becoming an interdependent member of our community... Everyone is important, everyone has a contribution to make, everyone has a voice... we can all serve... we all have value... 

The above processes are happening naturally in society slowly but surely... but we are about to accelerate this process...

Introducing the "Link4Growth Community Platform" and the mechanics of rebuilding our communities and our country... It is time to get reconnected... Let's start talking to each other again and discovering those amazing people around us who make up our local communities...

Meet Offline... 
These are local events where we physically meet up, talk, listen, learn and connect. There are no fees to attend so there are no financial barriers, literally anyone from any walk of life can attend. To rebuild our communities we need 100% involvement, social organisations, charities, Schools / colleges, businesses, unemployed... everyone should be given the opportunity to join in... Events are held at different times of the day so there is something that everyone is able to get along too. Currently we host Link4Breakfast (early morning), Link4Coffee (mid morning), CSRLuncheons (noon - 2pm) and Link4Drinks (evening social).

Meet Online...
Not ready to go to an offline event yet? No offline events in your area yet? or perhaps you can't get to a local event? You can join the community for your city, town or village online in the Link4Growth Community Platform. Here you can meet, chat, learn and connect with other local people to you. When ready you can then meet up at any one of the local Link4Growth physical events in your community... or just get on and start one. Every inch of the UK is covered, so if you live in the UK you are already in the Link4Growth Community Platform!

A platform to take action...
There is no cavalry folks!! ... if this country is to be rebuilt, then it is us that has to rebuild it! ... If a job needs doing then connect with some other locals who feel the same way and let's get cracking. What on earth have we been waiting for? ... Now we can easily find and connect with other local like minded people we can start to transform our local community. There is so much that needs doing, we just need the encouragement and support to kick things off.

A platform for us to report and share the news...
At last a place where everything about our local community can be found in one location... and where everyone can contribute! No need to struggle finding different web sites to get the local information you need. Talking to people around the UK what we hear is that there are many amazing good news stories going untold... why? Because good news doesn't sell local papers...  with the Link4Growth Community Platform... you make the news... you can share news you're involved in and comment on other peoples news... No editor to remove your story... no editor to adjust or modify your words... you get to say what you want in your own words... how amazing is that? Take a look at the L4G Watford community... This is taking shape and is our very own local community magazine where we can all make a contribution!! ... shall we get your community magazine started?

A platform for us to celebrate the community we live in...
Up and down the country we have heard people moaning about their towns... how bad it is... all the negative aspects... All I've personally seen is how amazing these communities and places are... from the Redcar Riviera in the north east to the awesome Lutonia in the south... How about Penrith? ... it might be a long way up the M6 but it is next to some of the most amazing scenery in Britain... everywhere has so much beauty if only we could all see it... well now we can folks!! Take pictures, take video... lots of it! ... and share it on the Link4Growth Community Platform for your community... let's get positive about our towns and just watch the difference it makes... a few smiling faces and happy people could start something really special! ... Take a look at some of the pictures in Watford here... this is a side of the town rarely seen... budding journalists, local photographers... media people... or just anyone with a smart phone...  this is your chance to shine, get out there and expose your talents!

A platform that provides us with CommunityTV... 
Now everyone can find out what is going on locally from the comfort of their home... the Link4Growth Community Platform enables us to create TV channels to showcase the rich diversity of our local community life... Youth Shows, Local issue Debating platform, Health & Wellness, Business, A Charity channel... education opportunities... the possibilities are limited only by our imagination. This is being piloted in the SW Herts district and is about to gather momentum. Presenters need only have access to the Internet and a laptop and the platform allows for inviting guests onto the TV show from anywhere. Multiple guests can join in either during the shows or even at the same time... it is possible to even have roving reporters out there interviewing locally, even on the street, live for these community TV shows... this is a real chance to bring our local communities to life. All the shows are recorded too! Can't make the live show? ... watch in catchup via the community video library. What a chance for young people to plug into the technology and begin to carve out new skills and new business opportunities... let's create the future!

A platform that encourages us to buy local... 
Did you know that for every pound you spend with a local trader 5 times as much of it stays in the local economy, that has to be good for our local community. In the Link4Growth Community Platform we have special communities for local independent businesses. Take a look at the L4G BuyLocal Watford community. An independent business can create their own Brand page and this page can then join the BuyLocal community. This is all FREE, and you can start to tell the local community about you and your business. If you have a good news story, a happy customer or some special offers... you can now tell the community directly yourself... no delays, no waiting around for someone to post on your behalf. Easily learned and totally FREE to join in... we can now create a totally interactive and local directory for independent local businesses... now that is very powerful! We believe that the majority of local businesses could do all the business they need within a 10 mile radius, so what is the biggest reason that this is a struggle? ... answer... they are wearing a 'Cloak of Invisibility'. Too few people know about these small independents... and money available for advertising / marketing is scarce... so time to change this. The Link4Growth Community Platform is designed to provide a zero cost opportunity for both local businesses AND Charities to remove their 'Cloak of Invisibility' and be found by everyone in the local community... it is time for the transformation, revitalise our local economies and bring recognition to those unsung heroes in our charities and social organisations!

A platform that allows us to re-integrate the youth of today and encourage them to create their future...
Did you know that there are 1 million 16-25 year olds out of work... 700,000 who are feeling pretty hopeless about their future. Many of whom are waiting for that dream job to fall into their laps. I'm afraid we have failed these young people (click here to visit my blog on this subject) ... but the next biggest growth sector in our economy is going to be 'community building' and all the elements that make it up... as has already been said rebuilding our country is a massive task and there is enough work for everyone. It is a sacrilege that we have people doing nothing when there is so much to do... So we need to engage the young people of today, share with them the richness of what is available in community building today... they already 'get' the technology, they already 'get' the concepts of sharing and collaboration, they have been doing this for years... We just need to open their eyes, give them some ideas, nurture them in developing their skills ... and then watch them flourish... we owe it to them and there are so many interesting and diverse things that need doing there is something for them all... what we need to do is help them discover what they are passionate about... let us tap them into L4GYouth with +Alex Murray and bring these young people back into the community as positive contributors... after all... they will be in this world much longer than many of us!

A flexible, expandable platform that can grow and develop as we do... 
Rebuilding our community is a challenging project... it cannot be mapped out in advance, it is a journey. The destination is not known... we've never done it before. But with millions of minds working together to create the new future we want to see we are pretty confident we can come up with the right answers. As we learn we can add new areas to each community such as the sharing of information on Health and Wellness, Food and Nutrition which will have a positive impact on us and our families. It's not like going back to school, this is about sharing things we are interested in and that others might find the same. If you have tips on saving money, or how to be more eco friendly or even how to switch to buying from local independents rather than the supermarkets others might be interested to read them. The Link4Growth Community Platform can be whatever we want it to be... and it is likely to be different for each local community, and that is absolutely how it should be... let us celebrate our diversity and share it with the rest of the nation.

A platform for education and sharing knowledge...
We all have expertise and knowledge in fact collectively we have all the knowledge and ideas we need, the challenge is that it is locked inside our heads and we have no easy way to share this information with others. The Link4Growth Community Platform gives us the channel to share information locally, regionally and nationally... this can be done with written material or via video conferencing that can be broadcast across the nation. The rebirth of our country depends on us being able to unlock this latent knowledge and get it out there to those that need it...

A platform for business development and mentoring...
We often speak to small independent businesses, who are the lifeblood of this country and they are crying out for more support and help. Often this plea for help is directed at the Government who are not able to provide 'on the ground' real support. Nor do these businesses need help from tired Tim's who used to run businesses years ago. What is needed is useful, state of the art assistance from people out there running businesses today. The Link4Growth Community Platform provides a low cost opportunity to tap into business mentors and those with the expertise to nurture and support small businesses but who are out there at the coalface doing it today in the current economic climate. We need these local small businesses to be successful as they are the engine room for our communities and fund many of the local social initiatives.

A platform to plug into and collaborate with, for fast growth... 
If you want to reach out to a national audience... the Link4Growth Community Platform enables you to plug right in and communicate across 70 districts covering the whole of the UK fast and efficiently... The platform exists already and it provides instant scalability... collaboration is the future and Link4Growth wants to help spread great ideas fast... so talk to us and find out how you can plug straight into the platform.


There is such opportunity around the corner... there is excitement about what is possible... the platforms are in place... the platforms can scale to millions of people... now we have the chance to create the future we really want... the time is now... are you ready?