Business motivational speaker Sahar Hashemi delighted at investment in Coffee Republic

Sahar Hashemi, the co-founder of Coffee Republic, is delighted that Coffee Republic, which had gone into administration,  has found a new investor. 

Arab Investments, a private property company best known for plans to build a London skyscraper, has completed the acquisition of Coffee Republic, the coffee shop chain.   The company, which is planning to build one of the tallest buildings in London at the Pinnacle in the City of London, will today confirm the acquisition for an undisclosed amount. Administrator KPMG has been in talks to sell the business to Arab Investments for two weeks.

Arab Investments said that it would commit “substantial capital” into developing the Coffee Republic brand, and will embark on further expansion of the branch network. Coffee Republic operates 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, including Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia. Khalid Affara, who runs Arab Investments in the UK, said: “We intend to start growing the business with immediate effect. “Coffee Republic has a strong brand name and we are bringing additional investment into the company to expand the number of retail outlets in the UK and elsewhere.” Richard Hill, joint administrator and KPMG partner, said that a substantial part of the business had been rescued, protecting 62 jobs. He said: “While coffee shops face tough competition on the high street in these challenging economic times, the amount of interest we received in Coffee Republic is testament to the strength of the brand.”

July 16th – the 40th anniversary of the lift-off for Apollo 11’s mission to the moon

Neil Armstrong motivational speaker

 July 16th is the 40th anniversary of the lift-off of Apollo 11,  the first manned space mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of Project Apollo and the third human voyage to the Moon.

It carried Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. On 20 July, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited above.

The mission fulfilled President John F Kennedy’s goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s, which he expressed during an inspirational speech given before a joint session of Congress on 25 May 1961:

‘I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.’

 

Neil Armstrong commented,  ”‘It has been a very exciting time. We take a great deal of pride in our accomplishments in exploration and exploitation of the universe around us. But we are still in the infancy of space flight. I hope I can be around long enough to savour the new knowledge and vastly increasing benefits that will accrue from our continued pursuit of expansion of the human presence in our solar system.”

Gerry’s Big Decision: Sir Gerry Robinson helps ailing businesses

Gerry’s Big Decision is the title of a new TV series on Channel Four, in which business speaker Sir Gerry Robinson decides if he can help two ailing businesses.

Across Britain, the economic crisis is causing businesses to go bust. In this new series, Sir Gerry Robinson, one of the UK’s most respected entrepreneurs, is prepared to risk millions of pounds of his own money to rescue those that he believes deserve another chance. Each week, two British businesses whose futures hang in the balance must persuade Gerry Robinson that they’re potentially profitable, before he makes his big decision: which, if any, of the businesses to invest in. In the first episode Gerry’s quest takes him into the lives of two couples who have built award-winning breweries.

Motivational speaker Ben Saunders to run 260 miles in the “Thames Ring 260″ race

Motivational Speaker Ben-Saunders

  Between the 24th and 28th of June, polar explorer and motivational speaker Ben Saunders is competing in the UK’s longest non-stop running race, the Thames Ring 260 . This brand-new, 260-mile ultra-marathon entails completing nearly ten back-to-back marathons within a 100-hour cut off time.  Starting and finishing in Streatley, Berkshire, the race covers most of the Thames Path and the Grand Union canal.

Ben is the third in history to ski solo to the North Pole (a challenge Reinhold Messner called “Ten times as dangerous as Everest”), he holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton, and no one has been able to repeat the journey since. He is planning three groundbreaking expeditions between now and 2012, and is using the Thames Ring 250 as “a training event”. At a time of intense economic challenge, fewer speakers are as qualified to talk about tenacity, resilience, and succeeding against the odds.

Business motivational speaker Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, launches his new book

Motivational speaker and entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, He has launched a new book about his experiences gained in founding and running the company, Against the Grain: Lessons in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Cobra Beer: Karan Bilimoria’s Guide to Brewing a Successful Business

From selling the first cases of Cobra out of the back of a battered old Citroen 2CV along the streets of West London to exporting to over 40 countries around the world, Karan Bilimoria′s vision of a less gassy beer has travelled a long way.

Starting out with a heap of student debt, a complete lack of industry experience and parents desperate for their son to get a proper job, it could all so easily have gone wrong. But Karan′s single–minded determination to succeed and his ability to inspire those around him to buy into his vision, turned Cobra, sip–by–sip, into the multi–million pound business it is today. Karan′s story bottles the very essence of entrepreneurship: vision, drive, creativity and a relentless battle against all odds, to make the idea you so passionately believe in work.

′Every bit as good as the beer itself.′ Sir Richard Branson

′Essential reading.′ Richard Reed, Co–founder, Innocent Drinks

′An inspirational story.′ Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer WPP

′Karan Bilimoria is one of the great entrepreneurs…′ Jo Malone, founder of Jo Malone

′Inspiring! … worth the cover price for the “Financing Cobra” chapter alone.′ Professor John Mullins, London Business School

′… His story should inspire youth everywhere who are fired by the dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur.′ Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group

Against the Grain is packed with insights into finance, strategy, planning, luck, discipline, and generally doing the unexpected to build your own business, from someone who′s been there and done it… and all with just a little less gas.

Karan Bilimoria Business Motivational Speaker

Business motivational speaker Gerry Robinson in “Gerry Robinson’s Car Crash” on BBC TV

Sir Gerry Robinson Business Motivational Speaker

  Sir Gerry Robinson will investigate Britain’s ailing car industry on BBC television. In a “Money Programme” special, “Gerry Robinson’s Car Crash”, he gets stuck in on the production line at Nissan’s Sunderland factory, test-drives the world’s first electric sports car, challenges Lord Mandelson on the Government’s efforts to lead Britain’s car industry through the recession, and asks Sir James Dyson whether Britain should be in the business of manufacturing at all.

Sir Gerry previously presented a series on the NHS “I’ll Show Them Who’s Boss”.

Steve Jobs is also a motivational speaker

Steve Jobs Motivational Speaker

  Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple computers, took on the role of motivational speaker, by telling a group of Yahoo vice-presidents that they can achieve anything. Self-belief is vital in helping an individual achieve their goals, and Steve Jobs is, if nothing else, a very high achiever.

Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon and motivational speaker, reflects on the inspirational moon landing

Neil Armstrong reflects on the moon landing, an achievenment that inspired the whole world:

‘I am one of that ever reducing fraction of the Earth’s population that was an observer of the birth of the space age in 1957. In fact, I was one of those fortunate enough to not only watch it happen, but be a part of it. In those early years, man-made objects flying in space were very few and far between. Now, a bit over a half-century later, collisions in space are being reported!

‘It has been a very exciting time. We take a great deal of pride in our accomplishments in exploration and exploitation of the universe around us. But we are still in the infancy of space flight. I hope I can be around long enough to savour the new knowledge and vastly increasing benefits that will accrue from our continued pursuit of expansion of the human presence in our solar system.’

But did we hear him corectly when he uttered his famous words “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind” when he first ser foot on the moon?  Experts have analysed his motivational quote.

An inspiring team of women motivational speakers from eight countries aims to reach the South Pole

 

Inspirational team of women speakers

 The Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition will see women from the Commonwealth countries of Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Jamaica and the United Kingdom brave rough terain temperatures below -30C as they ski over 800 kilometres across Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole.

The expedition team comprises 8 women from the Commonwealth countries of Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Singapore, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The women from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first person from their nation to ski to the South Pole. Those from India, Singapore and New Zealand will be the first women from their country to do so.

The expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding and exchange, while at the same time highlighting the achievements of women across the world. In February and March 2009, the expedition spent two weeks in Norway on Europe’s largest mountain plateau. Here, they not only met each other for the first time but they learnt how to ski and how to survive in an extreme winter climate. It marks the first stage of their preparation for Antarctica.

Record-breaking yatchswoman and motivational speaker Dee Caffari is determined to break the record

Record-breaking yatchswoman and motivational speaker Dee Caffari will attempt to break the Round Britain and Ireland sailing record.   With her partner Samantha Davies she will sail her yacht, Aviva, the 3,000 miles around Britain and Ireland as fast as possible. The record, set in May 2004, stands at seven days and four hours. “We’re are aiming to break that record,” says Caffari. “We will be totally focused and determined.”

In February 2009 Caffari became  the first woman to sail solo and non-stop both ways around world, yet says that the British Isles are in many ways more challenging than ocean racing.  “When you’re against the clock and going around coastal areas you not only have the hazards of tides and currents, but you can’t get away from obstacles like shipping, oil rigs and bad weather. You have to be fully motivated as it is very stressful”