I love to travel for work, and so it was supercool to be invited to run a workshop arranged by hosting company Netcetera in the Isle of Man, for local businesses and marketing managers.
Netcetera is a well known, very successful hosting company, formed in 1996 and based in the Isle of Man so celebrating 20 years this year. They have customers in over 75 countries worldwide and provide energy efficient green hosting. I had created a specially designed marketing workshop to be delivered at Netcetera’s office – which was 5 mins walk from the airport.
Since the Isle of Man (a totally different country, not part of the UK, I only just found out!) is so close, I did it all in one day (Wednesday 16th March). I took the 8am flight from Gatwick, and on my return, the 7:55pm flight from Isle of Man back.
Steve and Dan who work at Netcetera greeted me and made sure I felt welcome. Many of the attendees already knew each other so it was like a community gathering. Steve and Dan had setup the presentation facilities in a spacious room, and they arranged tea, coffee and snacks during the breaks, plus a wonderful catered lunch.
Aside from all the exciting travel and food, I was there to share my marketing knowledge and tips

The datacentre at Netcetera

Here are some pictures from our mini tour of the 16,000 square foot data centre at Netcetera during the break, starring Steve and some of the attendees from the day:

My audience

My audience included entrepreneurs and marketing managers from companies with a base in Isle of Man – including

• PWC (Price Waterhouse)
• Knox Group
• Capital International
• RL360
• Sure

The Isle of Man tour I got after

Once the workshop were done, and the delegates had left, feeling excited and inspired, their minds full of marketing ideas, Steve and Dan took me for a drive all around the island, with a stop in the pub near where Dan lives for a drink before taking me back to the airport. What a place! Beautiful wherever I looked.
Here are some pictures I took along the way:



We took the pictures below at Tynwald Hill, a mound of tiered grass covered steps (built 1000 years ago by Vikings) where the Manx Parliament, Tynwald, meets annually to declare the new laws passed during the year in a special ceremony.



This trip was an amazing experience, I definitely will be back. The Isle of Man TT races are coming up in June, so the next trip will be for that. If I do go, I will be sure to link my blog post to this!
Special thanks to Steve and Dan for their hospitality!