FROM Cutting the Bull to Snaffling the Pig, small business leaders heard the highs and lows from leading entrepreneurs at this year’s Show Me Success event hosted by SEMLEP’s Velocity Growth Hub.
Held at DoubleTree by Hilton in November, SEMLEP’s Velocity Growth Hub brought together over 100 small business leaders and entrepreneurs for the Growth Hub’s annual business event.
Local business leaders were treated to candid, passionate and some very amusing stories from guest speakers including Alan Wilson from Expandly, Nick Coleman founder of The Snaffling Pig Co., Sharon Ghouila, Founder and MD at Green Steps Consulting, Tanya Teasedale Brown, Director at Plus Wipes, John Hones, Founder and CEO of SeeLocal and, Northamptonshire SME business awards 2018 winners- Gary Higson, Business Development Manager at Matchbox Architects.
The aim of the event was to showcase business excellence, give business leaders a platform to share their personal journeys from start-up to growth as well as top tips with other aspiring business owners.
Some of the top tips offered included:
* Be yourself and just do it
* If you truly believe that you’re solving a problem, don’t give up. Invest in your minimum viable product and keep testing it until its right.
* Look back regularly on what’s gone well or not – be prepared to pivot.
* Know your finances inside out when approaching investors, if you don’t put the effort in, why would an investor?
* Ask questions early. It’s better to lose out on a deal than agree to something that’s not right from the start.
* Build an adaptable team – keep them close, regularly involved and informed. Don’t wait for monthly meetings.
* Identify your business ‘problems’ and seek advice to resolve them quickly. Free support and grants are available if you ask – this will speed up your growth.
The sessions focused on three core business themes critical to managing successful businesses: accessing finance, leadership skills and scaling-up.
In an interactive session, guests were invited to reflect on and share ‘why’ they are in business with others as a way to best understand what makes the local business leaders tick to be the vibrant and successful community it is today.
Malcolm Johnston, SEMLEPs Growth Hub Manager said: “We are delighted that the growth hub’s Show Me Success event has exceeded all our expectations. The feedback from attendees, exhibitors and speakers has been tremendous and it was really inspiring to see and hear the range of speakers, the quality of interaction and the level of engagement in the room at this year’s event.
“This event is a double celebration for us. As well as bringing together businesses to showcase business excellence, we are also celebrating the huge success of our business support project that draws to a close at the end of 2018.”
This year’s event also marked the end of a three-year Velocity Project run by the Growth Hub, part-funded through the European Regional Development Fund. The project has enabled the Growth Hub to support over 2,000 businesses in the South East Midlands area through one-to-one advice, grant funding and business skills workshops, with the majority of the event attendees having benefited directly from this project.
Following the end of their current project, the Growth Hub has some exciting plans for the future and plan to share these with local businesses early in the new year.
You can find out more about how SEMLEP’s Velocity Growth Hub can support your business now by speaking to the team directly on 0300 01234 35, emailing or on our website www.velocitygrowthhub.com