We are offering a comprehensive training programme for our clients that includes:
✅ 30 minute digital Breakfast Briefings with award-winning dynamic businesses who share their knowledge and expertise. We provide a review/lessons learned for all of our chats on our blog with links to our wonderful speakers and their talks.
✅ A five-day Lunch and Learn digital master class offered at lunchtime (60 minute courses) taught by digital communications experts. Our training has also supported an Innovation Grants Scheme to help businesses access an Additional Restrictions Grant provided through our client.
✅ We've helped to build a digital ecosystem for our client, housing all of our training materials on their Engagement Hub. It includes all supporting materials for the business community to support collaboration and information sharing.
✅ We've planned and are hosting in-person networking sessions for the local business community, where attendees can hear from successful businesses, network and collaborate.
Networking Sessions
Here is some of the great feedback we have received from our clients and from local business attendees.
✨ "What a brilliantly hosted session with a high quality and passionate guest-speaker, sharing an honest view of how to deliver outstanding product and service. Also a great opportunity to meet lots of local business owners / employees who can learn from each other and collaborate with one another to help make Windsor an even better destination for retail, dining and culture."
✨ "I absolutely loved the session. I think it’s incredibly important for independent businesses to be supported by the Borough and also for us to support others."
✨ "Great session - really to see people IRL! And the general feeling seemed to be ‘excited’, ‘energised’ and ‘inspired’! Well done, Kathy Kyle Bonomini!"
"It was incredible to feel the energy from our fabulous businesses. So much positivity, enthusiasm and ideas. Feeling so proud of our incredible team this week. Two incredible networking sessions, a partnership jobs fair, and a huge amount of work to showcase our amazing borough to the travel trade. So much achieved with team work, collaboration and most importantly of all a smile 💜. And thank you Kathy Kyle Bonomini, we could not have done it without you."
Stephanie James, Service Lead for Economic Growth Place Directorate, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
✨ "I think in the two hours of this gathering I made more contacts, leads and future business opportunities than I have in online groups over the past year. I truly believe these in person events are crucial to building and supporting local business."
✨ "This was a brilliant event! One of the best networking sessions I’ve been to and just what Windsor needed after the last couple of years. Caroline, the guest speaker, was very inspirational to listen to and there was just the right number of attendees to make it possible to speak to most. Thank you!"
"Very friendly and welcoming local business networking group! Brilliant opportunity to meet and build relationships with other local businesses."
✨ "It was a very well put together event with the right balance of networking time and guest speaker time. I learnt and I met new people, which is exactly what I had hoped for!"
✨ "Such a positive, motivational atmosphere today! A great event and would like to see them happen on a regular basis."
✨ "Great to meet the other small businesses in the area face to face! Found the event really useful for our business."
"I just wanted to say an enormous thank you for such an inspiring session yesterday morning, what a brilliant experience that was. There was so much energy in the room, it was a brilliantly organised event. I met a whole bunch of new people, and a community breeds a community, and with the energy and passion in the room, I feel so unbelievably optimistic about our town. Thanks, Kathy. You did that. 🙌"
✨ "Extremely grateful and helpful service for local businesses. Full of motivational speeches to support local businesses specially in a tough time."
✨ "Very motivational speech and advice to fuel energy in local businesses."
✨ "Great to see the diversity in the room - had a really friendly vibe - lovely relaxed conversation between Kathy and Seema."
✨ "Outstanding event - so well timed. Ideal venue. Great choice of guest speaker and host - both inspiring. Often networking event Q&As can be somewhat predictable, however today's questions, especially on topical matters like Ukraine, wellbeing, supply chain and renewables, were excellent. Looking forward to the next one."
✨ "It was the most uplifting meeting I'd been to in a long time. Well done Kathy Kyle Bonomini you were great."
✨ "Very engaging and inspirational session and motivating speaker."
Breakfast Briefing Feedback
Here's some of the great feedback we receieved on our anonymous survey responses.
Valiant Lingerie
✨I was very impressed by the speaker, Eleanor, she is inspirational. It was very interesting to hear about her journey to starting her business. I would like to thank her for giving her time to come and speak to us.
✨The host was excellent and very friendly. The guest speaker was inspirational.
✨Duration was good, speaker & host gave good level of info (wasn't too much / little). Maybe to encourage engagement, throw a few scenarios out to make the session more interactive?
✨Both the host & speaker were engaging and welcoming. Well presented and would certainly attend another session/recommend a colleague/friend!
✨I really enjoyed listening to Eleanor's story, she was truly inspirational, I got quite emotional listening to what she has been through and what encouraged her to launch her business, help and support other women, and go on to win awards like f:entreprenuer. I can’t wait for the next session.
✨A phenomenal session with a truly touching, inspiring story. Can't wait for the next one!
"Kathy is very knowledgeable and always full of energy. Enjoyed her training very much."
Jacqui Larsson Jewellery
✨Jacqui Larsson - I loved her sass! Her top tip for networking: put yourself forward for a business award and then network with all the finalists, on the way to winning, of course! Jacqui shared her very interesting story, was very inspirational and had lots of top tips to share. She was great!
✨It's always great to have a behind the scenes look at someone's business. I love the way Jacqui gave an honest appraisal of the highs and the lows of being a business owner. Sharing best practice is always so useful.
✨Jacqui is an engaging honest speaker who's not afraid to share to rough patches behind the sparkling gems of her business journey and how she has managed to grown and transplant and regrow. Being in business is an adventure, Jacqui is a great guide sharing best practice and hard won wisdom.
✨An exceptional session and Jacqui is a fantastic speaker - makes you feel empowered and eager to get going!
✨Kathy you are incredible! I just want to be like you! :D
✨I am one of the attendees who "absolutely loved" Jacqui's talk. Dynamic and sassy and makes absolutely beautiful jewelry!
✨Jacqui’s presentation was a wonderful testament not only to her amazing business but a real rough guide tour on solo business building. Well done Jacqui Larsson Fine Jewellery! Looking forward to my presentation later this month.
"Kathy is very engaging and informative, and creates an environment where people are comfortable to share and ask questions. I would definitely recommend the 'Lunch & Learn Sessions' to others."
DJV Boutique
✨ Great power session - engaging host and speaker, useful advice for whatever industry you are in!
✨ I love the Breakfast Briefings, its so lovely to hear from real people, listen to their stories and learning hints and tips on how they have made their small businesses so successful.
"I would encourage all small local business owners to jump in and attend these sessions, not only for the information shared throughout from the trainer - but also for the opportunity to network with other small independent businesses who are all facing similar challenges, and it's easy to forget that."
Hello Lamp Post
✨ Another great session Kathy – loving these breakfast briefings, great kick-start to the day!
✨ Great tips and answers from Tiernan – the way he eloquently answered the Henry Ford question (changing behaviour) was spot on and has definitely given me food for thought on how we now communicate with customers…
✨ Liked his suggestion about the North Star model - will definitely research this!
"The host is incredibly engaging and knowledgeable...It is great to feel like I belong. Thank you Kathy!"
Badass Mother Runners
✨ Bev at Badass Mother Runners is such an inspiring woman! To listen to her say, "You CAN do it. You CAN do anything!", having received the dozens of awards she has, she makes anyone listening feel empowered! Congratulations! And all the best for the plan!
✨ Kathy, you get the best speakers.
✨ The host was, as usual, very professional and warm and the speaker was admirable, in that she was very open about having been sacked (more fool them), before she started her very successful business and won alll those awards! Each time a door shut in her face, she learned her lessons and picked herself up and moved on. We all need to do that.
✨ I felt the speaker was very personable and brave to share her story. No feedback for improvement, but please thank Bev for sharing her story!
✨ Insightful, personable and inspiring sessions - always come away with so much!
✨ Good tempo, well organised, the right time spent on each section.
"Hearing about other small business journey was great and learning that some of the things they've done are the ones I am doing gives me confidence that I am in the right path."
Caribe Coffee
Wilmer and Ellie Carcamo, Founders
✨ Great session Kathy (as always!) – Will and Ellie’s story was so wonderful and powerful -- (appreciate their tips too!).
✨Will and Ellie’s story was so wonderful and powerful (appreciate their tips too!)
✨Another fascinating session! Loved it!
✨ I didn't really know what to expect from the session but I found it not only informative but really inspirational. The energy and passion from Wilmer and Ellie was infectious and Kathy was a fab host too!
✨ Hearing about other small business journey was great and learning that some of the things they've done are the ones I am doing gives me confidence that I am in the right path.
"Your training was both informative and practical, and has inspired our team to come up with some exciting ideas for the future business. Once again, a big thank you!"
Body Back Up
Robin Lansman, Clinical Director
✨ I really enjoyed listening to Robin's experience and expertise in running a successful business. He is extremely passionate about what he does and really cares about his customers needs.
✨ I think, somehow, Kathy managed to bring out the best in her speaker (again)!
✨ Lots to learn from Robin, with 33 years in a professional (but very personal) business. My takeaways are honesty, integrity, passion, "itch to help", education, working together, deep understanding of neeeds, seeking feedback, measuring change, volunteering, openness, buzz, humanity. Thank you.
✨Another fascinating session! Loved it!
"I already applied Social Media into my plan and launched click and collect so it was practical as well as thought-provoking for me."
Story Prez
✨ Stacia was very energetic and generous with her tips. I learned a lot that will be valuable.
✨ I just love love love Stacia! What a brilliant session - thoroughly engaging and inspiring!
"The Lunch & Learn Sessions were invaluable to me this week. I attended all 5 and was buzzing after the first session with all the help and information I was absorbing."
Cucumber Clothing
Eileen Willett & Nancy Zeffman, Co-Founders
✨ It felt as if this session was too short!
✨ Host was, as usual, professional and probing to bring out the best, but always in a lovely way. Guest speakers were Tigresses! Yet in the most kind, open, sharing, honest and generous way.
"Kathy is a great host, clear, extremely knowledgable, and helpful. As a small independent business within the Borough I now feel like I am part of a network and not alone. Well done RBWM for finding her!"
Swap Shop / Meet the Chameleon
✨ Enjoyed meeting Rachel. Could have chatted longer!!
✨ I found Rachel's talk, and story very inspiring... I love that she has had an idea, through the difficult circumstances of lockdown, but still had the confidence and gumption to make it happen. Could have easily listened to Rachel for longer, and ask more questions!
✨ This is very inspirational, Kathy carried everyone along, explanation on various issues was very educating. I am so happy to be part of this training.
✨ The knowledge and the speakers experience and her resilience was amazing. Kathy brought out the real suggestion that really helped.
✨ The host, the speaker and the audience participation was lively! Well Done!
"Fabulous session. Speaker was very motivational. Really enjoyed the host's questions and kept the session moving."
A Wee Pedal
✨ Very inspirational and energising. A great tool when working as a one person business. It’s sometimes hard to do that when working on your own! Really encouraging.
✨ Fabulous session. Speaker was very motivational. Really enjoyed the hosts questions and kept the session moving.
"The Lunch & Learn sessions, led by Kathy, were not only full of fact and insight, but really motivational and energising too."
Lucy Claire Events
✨ The guest speaker was very open and honest about how she engaged her clients before and during the pandemic and how creative she had to be, especially during lockdown. It was amazing and I learned a lot.
✨ The host is incredibly engaging and knowledgeable and I have already told many people about these Breakfast meetings. It is great to feel like I belong. Thank you Kathy!
"With so much remote working at present, it's really inspiring to share ideas, tips and experience with like-minded small business owners.... Very helpful sessions!"
Rhian Parry
✨ "The speaker was beyond amazing!"
✨ "Having been told she would be unable to work for the rest of her life 17 years ago, she has built a multi million business through inventiveness, going the extra mile for customers and providing work and opportunities in a more deprived area of the country in a skilled and fun environment."
Dr Rosie Gilderthorpe
✨ "As a small and often isolated business owner, these sessions are invaluable, bringing a group of knowledgeable people to the workplace. If nothing else, it opens the mind to new ideas and forges some good contacts."
✨ "Kathy, as usual, had another special guest speaker, who was inspirational and generous with sharing her knowledge. Kathy is wonderful."
✨ "Dr Rosie, in the area of mental health, must stand out as a very special person. Apart from her growing her business of educating others and helping her own patients, her visibility on social media, her willingness to discuss mental health openly and her influence must have a wide impact on our community."
Matt Pierri
✨ "These are great sessions over a morning cuppa. 'Eduformational!'"
✨ "It was fabulous to hear Matt's backstory and genuine purpose to building his business in such an inspiring way. These Briefings are a great way to start the day with such positivity and inspiration. Encore!"
Sarah Berthon
✨ "Sarah has that great ability to instil a strong sense of trust. You just know she is a safe pair of hands for any client and I expect to introduce potential clients to Sarah."
✨ Catherine in the business rates team encouraged me to sign up to "myroyalborough" to receive free training invites for business owners. I'm so glad I did!
Lunch and Learn Masterclass Feedback
Here's some of the great feedback we receieved on our anonymous survey responses.
October Lunch and Learn Feedback
✨ Just a quick message to say a big Thank you! I’m finding the lunch and learn really helpful and it is definitely inspiring me to take some action.
✨Kathy has been thorough, informative, systematic, organised, extremely interesting and engaging, inspirational, I have loved the series.
✨ The sessions were excellent and felt like a days worth of content packed into 1 hour each time, so well done! There was lots of useful info and advice presented in a very easy to understand manner...I do have the confidence that the knowledge and insight I have gained this week will certainly benefit me in the long term as things get back on track and I thank RBWM wholeheartedly for their investment in me :-).
✨ I attended all 5 lunch and learn sessions and have to say that they were excellent and packed with useful info and advice. I will certainly utilise the tools I have acquired over the course of this week to help me drive my company further into marketplaces I hadn't embraced fully in the past.
✨Kathy was a great leader, always clear and concise with her teachings and I can really relate to her focus on organisation and statistics when it comes to planning and decision making.
✨ The session on website building and SEO was also invaluable and has demonstrated that a website needs to continually evolve if it is to be an effective form of communication with your customers!
✨ Kathy is very engaging and informative, and creates an environment where people are comfortable to share and ask questions. I would definitely recommend the 'Lunch & Learn Sessions' to others.
✨ Clear and friendly presentation of sound business principles.
✨ I am one of the attendees and am absolutely loving the courses. Kathy has been an inspiration! She generously shares her knowledge and tips, but also finds and teases out the best in her speakers so that every course is eye-openingly interesting! Good job everything is recorded as it will be a hive of treasure for weeks to come.
"I would encourage all small local business owners to jump in and attend these sessions, not only for the information shared throughout from the trainer - but also for the opportunity to network with other small independent businesses who are all facing similar challenges, and it's easy to forget that."
November and December Lunch and Learn Feedback
✨Kathy, Thank you for today's lunch session, it was most valuable. We are very excited about our Social Media journey. Looking forward to the breakfast briefings also.
✨Excellent resources and training - I just need to digest it all now!
✨Kathy was a great trainer, her passion for her job shines through. Very helpful especially in contacting her for help and advice -- she always gets back to you. Thanks for a great week -- I have learned a lot.
✨Kathy is so engaging, patient, attentive and very flexible with her approach. It is sad that this is ended, I was just beginning to really love it. It has been so educating relevant and very useful training for my business. I also would like to thank Kath Harlow who made me aware of it, thank you.
✨Kathy, thank you so much and I look forward to every invitation and the net working that you might suggest. This has been a mind boggling experience for me. Thank you RBWM!
✨I already applied Social Media into my plan and launched click and collect so it was practical as well as thought-provoking for me.
✨Friendly and informative sessions. It's important to not feel overwhelmed by the amount of content and knowledge required in the digital world and get help when needed.
"With so much remote working at present, it's really inspiring to share ideas, tips and experience with like-minded small business owners.... Very helpful sessions!"
November and December Lunch and Learn Feedback
✨I would say even if you don't think this might be relevant to your business, give it a go. I guarantee you will learn something, if not many things, and it definitely helps focus on your business, perhaps from a different angle, which can never be a bad thing. The speaker is relevant, approachable and very knowledgeable. Concepts are not dumbed down but are presented in a fresh way, which gives so many examples to real businesses, you would be hard pushed not to be able to make the fit to yours.
✨Good to have the hub to refer back to. There was so much new information, will take weeks to digest it all.
✨Kathy is really good at getting the information across in bite size pieces and uses examples of her own experience in business to illustrate the ideas and suggestions discussed.
"I feel privileged that this training was offered for small business owners in Windsor, it was quality content as well as great for networking and 'meeting' other small business owners in the borough."
November and December Lunch and Learn Feedback
✨I personally found the first 2 sessions of great interest. Our business does not fit the retail model which was what these sessions were aimed at, but nevertheless, the content was a good fit for any business, really. The main advantage I drew from the sessions was to focus on the business AS IT IS NOW and not the changes, or how we got here, or the difference or whatever. It made me focus on the here and now, and the thought process of producing the business plan, and to a lesser degree the marketing plan, it crystallised certain things and decisions that needed to be made. I was very pleasantly surprised at the standard and professionalism of all of the content.
✨Thank you so much for taking the time to tailor the learning and message for small Windsor businesses. It was very relevant.
✨Thank you so much for the sessions last week. This was the most fantastic training I have received from any local government initiative.
✨As an established business, there is always more to learn. Kathy made the course engaging and motivating.
"As a small independent business within the Borough I now feel like I am part of a network and not alone. Well done RBWM for finding (Kathy)!"
Innovation Grant Training Sessions
✨Kathy, lovely lady, helped us learn digital marketing.
✨Kathy is very knowledgeable. Her presentation was amazing with great ideas for innovation.
✨Amazing presenter with great knowledge and skills.
✨Kathy is so inspiring in her ideas, supportive and upbeat. It rubs off on you!
✨Brilliant. I've been trying to think of something that can be improved on and I am struggling. Well done Kathy!
✨The Lunch & Learn Sessions were invaluable to me this week. I attended all 5 and was buzzing after the first session with all the help and information I was absorbing. Kathy is a great host, clear, extremely knowledgable, and helpful, and in many cases going above and beyond her remit. As a small independent business within the Borough I now feel like I am part of a network and not alone. Well done RBWM for finding her!
✨The Lunch & Learn sessions, led by Kathy, were not only full of fact and insight, but really motivational and energising too. With so much remote working at present, it's really inspiring to share ideas, tips and experience with like-minded small business owners.... Very helpful sessions!
✨I feel privileged that this training was offered for small business owners in Windsor, it was quality content as well as great for networking and 'meeting' other small business owners in the borough.
✨ I would encourage all small local business owners to jump in and attend these sessions, not only for the information shared throughout from the trainer - but also for the opportunity to network with other small independent businesses who are all facing similar challenges, and it's easy to forget that. By communicating and sharing experiences - great things can happen! I recommend the sessions, and am looking forward to the networking events.
✨ We greatly appreciate the time you took to share your quality experience into how we should plan our innovative ideas and upcoming business. Your training was both informative and practical, and has inspired our team to come up with some exciting ideas for the future business. Once again, a big thank you!
✨ Kathy was amazing; very knowledgeable and engaging.
✨ Kathy was very knowledgeable. I recommend to everybody to do this course.
✨ Kathy is very knowledgeable and always full of energy. Enjoyed her training very much.