Posted: 14th August 2017
Along with fellow WiRE member Cheryl Morris, of Creative Word PR, I am delighted to be organising the second annual Burton Small Business Conference in our home town.
The event takes place on Wednesday October 11, from 9am to 2pm, at the visitor’s centre, DE14, at Marston’s Brewery, Shobnall Road, Burton-on-Trent. We are very grateful for the support of Marston’s which is making this event possible. They are also generously providing a buffet lunch that will end the event between 1pm and 2pm.
The conference is inspired by the UK’s Small Business Saturday movement. The format will be very similar to last year’s inaugural event with nine speakers giving informative and inspirational talks of 20 minutes each – packing in lots of advice so that there will be something for everyone regardless of their sector or how many years they have been in business.
Places are free, but ticket number are strictly limited, so anyone who wants to attend is asked to complete an application form. These can be obtained by emailing info@burtonsmallbusiness.co.uk. The deadline for submissions is September 22 and applicants will be told by September 29 if they have been awarded a ticket. Everyone who applies is asked to make a pledge for Small Business Saturday, which takes place on December 2 this year.
Pledges received so far include:
Burton businesswoman Monica Dunbar, who runs Caribbean catering firm Dattie’s Soul Food, says last year’s conference was instrumental in the success she’s enjoyed in the past 12 months and is encouraging others to apply to attend this year.
She said she went along with no particular expectations – having attended lots of conferences during 16 years in the voluntary and statutory sector. But, she said, this event gave her much more: “There were presentations from real small business owners, people who I could relate to who were still pursuing their dreams; small business owners who had been there and done it!”
She added: “The conference covered a wide spectrum of relevant small business topics including social media, branding, cyber fraud & HR. Every speaker was then accessible. I was able to approach each of them with a range of questions relevant to my situation.
“As a result I left the conference equipped and inspired, ready to action phase two in moving my business to the next level, reassured and encouraged that I was not alone and could access any of the services exhibited at the conference locally.
“Two months later I had secured our first wedding booking. One year on – website is almost ready to launch. Our social media presence has in excess of 2,000 views per post and profit margins have doubled.
“Can’t wait to see what the Small Business Conference 2017 has in store. If you’re serious about being successful in business then the Burton Small Business Conference is definitely one to attend.”
Details of 2017 conference speakers will be released in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on the Burton Small Business website and its Facebook Page and Twitter feed.
