SUPERJAM founder Fraser Doherty related the tale of his early career as a chicken farmer, aged ten, with a childhood friend. “We convinced a farmer to give us a free box of eggs,” he told last week’s Federation of Small Businesses national conference in Glasgow. “We kept the box of eggs warm on top of the Sky box under the TV and, amazingly, a few days later they hatched into little chickens. They probably thought Gerry Springer was their Mum. We put them in the back garden where they happily started laying eggs that we sold to neighbours. But my career as chicken farmer was cut short when the local fox decided to eat the chickens. I learned my first lesson in business – that at the very least your business idea shouldn’t have any natural predators.”

ALSO welcoming the FSB annual conference to Glasgow for the first time last week was Councillor Norman MacLeod, who was reminded of his age. “The FSB was founded in 1974, when I was already quite old,” he told the audience. “I gave my age away when a Beatles record was being played in the office one lunchtime. I said, I remember the first time that came out in 1964. To which one of my younger colleagues responded, Mr MacLeod, I wasn’t born in 1964. And the older I get, the more often people use that phrase.”

TOASTMASTERS International, the California-based public speaking organisation set up in 1924, has been sharing some top tips for ending speeches with impact. They include reinforcing key messages and using rhetorical questions based on your core premise. “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em. Tell ‘em. Tell ‘em what you’ve told ‘em,” explains area governor Lyn Roseaman. Top speakers use anchor phrases to help them be memorable, repeatable and quotable, Roseman adds. “For Martin Luther King it was ‘I have a dream’. If your concluding remarks do not align with your anchor phrase, then they have no business in your conclusion, nor, indeed, in your speech!”

CONTINUING the craze for inventive house price stories, we hear that having a Waitrose nearby means you’re in the money. “A Waitrose supermarket can double your property price,” announces online estate agent, eMoov.co.uk. Having analysed house prices surrounding each of the supermarket’s 300-plus UK stores, the company finds that property surrounding Waitrose stores costs £456,000 on average, more than double that of the UK overall (£221,254), having increased 7 per cent over the last year. “I thought we were making real progress as a community with the opening of Waitrose in 2012, however with the opening of Aldi I feel as though we are taking a step back into the lower class,” said one resident in Poynton, Cheshire.

THOSE considering a spot of DIY this Easter weekend are being reminded to check their home insurance policy before they ruin their carpet by kicking over a tin of paint or put their foot through the ceiling while laying insulation in the attic. “We’ve all heard DIY disaster stories – from spilled tins of paint to tales of people accidently drilling through a water pipe when hanging a picture or putting up shelves,” says Ben Wilson, from Gocompare.com Home Insurance. “But what many people don’t realise is that most home buildings and contents insurance don’t automatically cover accidental damage – you have to specifically add it to your policy. “