Theo Paphitis' Small Business Sunday Event 2024
This blog post is dedicated to sharing my experience at the ‘Small Business Sunday Event’ at Birmingham ICC on 23/02/2024. This was a gathering dedicated to celebrating and supporting the small businesses that were handpicked by Theo Paphitis, former Dragon’s Den judge. Having won the small business award in 2022 and attending in 2023 to meet Theo, this was my second year at the event.
From insightful presentations to networking opportunities, this convention was a huge inspiration and motivational boost for entrepreneurs. In particular, this event championed females in business, I was proud to be a part of the statistics below!
4 key highlights:
1) Fireside chat with Stacey Solomon
Theo Paphitis and Stacey Solomon took main stage discussing all things business and family. It was fascinating to learn about Stacey’s journey, from her first pregnancy aged 17, to the catalyst of her career, auditioning for ‘The X Factor’ at age 19. The following year she won ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’, spurring many successful years presenting and entertaining. Stacey has now ventured into entrepreneurship with her first investment in a small business; ‘REHAB. Your Hair’.
Social media
With nearly 6 million Instagram followers, her social media strategy was a prominent topic of discussion. She commented that she views social media as a community of like-minded people, likening it to a group WhatsApp chat amongst friends to ask opinions and ideas. She encouraged small businesses to tag their favourite influencers and think creatively about how they could collaborate, for example, by sponsoring an influencers event.
Work-life balance
Stacey currently has 5 children, so work-life balance was another key topic. To cope with her full-on schedule, she champions delegating tasks to friends and family. She commented that it’s important to let go of the guilt often felt by focusing all your energy on a certain task. For example, missing family events during a busy business-focussed week. To not overthink things, you can only do your best and know that eventually things will balance out. To take time to focus on yourself and explore your purpose as it comes full circle and makes you a better person for your loved ones.
A member of the audience asked Stacey how she ‘winds down’, her response was ‘I go to sleep’. That made everyone laugh. I have to agree, my mind is continually buzzing with ideas and to-do lists.
“Focus on where you’re going and you’ll know what steps to take. Focus on the steps you’re taking, and you won’t know where you’re going.”
2. Presentation by Susan Bonnar
Susan Bonnar, founder of ‘The British Craft House’ gave a powerful talk. Speaking on her humble beginnings at ‘Dottie Designs’ selling handmade gifts, to the inception of her current business, ‘The British Craft House’, a marketplace for British artisan products. She commented on the importance of establishing a USP...sharing buzzwords that inspired her business, such as ‘curated’, ‘community’, ‘customer-centric’ and ‘authentic’.
It was insightful to learn that what sparked the idea to create her own multi-vendor platform for hand-made products, was a presentation at a previous ‘Small Business Sunday’ event. Full circle moment!
She discussed the risk she took turning down a high-paying job offer to pursue her passion and the power of surrounding yourself with people that support you. Having started from a small community of 12 British crafters to now a collective of hundreds of unique vendors. Additionally, of the importance of considering the scalability of your business…that profit is what will keep you going so it needs to be at the forefront of your mind.
“It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. ”
3. Networking with other small businesses
I spoke to a handful of amazing businesses, from photographers, digital marketers, to other artists. I was particularly happy to meet Grace, a wonderful lady who is a needle felting artist and creates small intricate animal portraits. Check out @rockingfelter on social media to see for yourself!
4. Exhibitor opportunities
Spring & Autumn Fair, the UK’s largest and most diverse marketplace for home, gift and fashion were also at the event. It inspired me to consider how I could expand my artwork offerings to scale my business. Creating and selling original large-scale paintings and drawings will always be a part of my art practise, but I would also like to make my artwork more accessible to different target audiences by selling smaller products. Taking part in exhibitions and fairs are part of my plan for 2024…watch this space!
In conclusion:
As I reflect on my experience at Small Business Sunday Event 2024, I’m inspired by the resilience of other business owners, passionate to go against the grain. I hope that this blog post inspired you and provided you some insight into the world of small businesses. Please leave a comment if you attended the event yourself or if you are attending any networking events for small businesses in 2024.
Thank you for joining me on my art journey! Please follow me on social media to see behind the scenes of my latest artworks!