Ex-dragon Doug Richard forecasts “The Perfect Storm” for creative entrepreneurs
The Kent County Cricket Club at the Spitfire Ground, Canterbury hosted the third of the Best of Kent Shows on Thursday 11th September for the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. This leading business to business event encompassing an exhibition and a conference with leading speakers and workshops welcomed over 600 delegates and 60 exhibitors, who used the day to network, building existing and new business contacts.
Doug Richard & the creative entrepreneur
Keynotes came courtesy of Andrew Priestley, QJ and serial entrepreneur Doug Richard, who gave an inspirational speech on the rise of the creative entrepreneur in the UK. As the greatest nation for creativity – a recent report published in January by Department for Culture Media and Sport revealed that the creative industries in the UK outperform all other sectors, generating over £70 billion a year – he laid out a case for now being the perfect time to start a creative business. He argued that with the democratisation of access to finance making it easier to tap into alternative means of funding such as peer to peer or equity lending and the growth of websites such as Kickstarter plus the fact that economically the UK is at the start of a new cycle equals, in Doug’s words, the perfect storm for new creative businesses to establish and grow.
Having worked with a number of new businesses in the East Kent area he continued he felt confident that the area was also in great shape to support new creative firms in the future. As part of a strategy for success he also spoke of the need for businesses to re-contextualise their offering dependant on their location, that contrary to what many would argue, new businesses do not need to be able to create innovation for innovations sake in order to be successful. In fact, some of the most successful new businesses are created by taking an existing product or service and bringing it to a new area. By the very act of moving it to a new region the product or service changes becoming different and unique due to it being re-localised.
Carole Barron, Chair of The Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, who hosted the day commented “It was a great day for local, regional and national businesses. There was a great buzz around the event with exhibitors and delegates making new connections and building relationships. All the workshops and keynotes were well attended with incredibly positive feedback on the topics and delivery.” She continues “Now, we look forward to the next Best of Kent Show; the North Kent B2B on Thursday 16th October at the Woodville, Gravesend. Keynotes are from CEO and co-founder of Angels Den, Bill Morrow, Lauren Lovett and Barnaby Wynter.”
Offering opportunities to all types and sizes of business
With all this on offer the North Kent B2B is an event where you can give your contacts list a boost and meet a range of diverse, interesting businesses. You can gain insight through attending the sessions scheduled by industry leading speakers and find out how to apply their lessons to your business to increase your sales and profitability.
The Best of Kent Shows’ North Kent B2B is sponsored by Caxtons, chartered surveyors, one of the largest independent property consultants in Kent. The event is run by the Kent Invicta Chamber of
Commerce, and members of the Chamber will also be available to offer free business advice. Jo James, the Chief Executive of the Chamber, comments “The Kent B2B is the biggest event in our calendar and it draws businesses from across the county and the UK. This year’s event is shaping up to be a great mix of inspirational speakers, exhibitors, masses of networking opportunities and workshops. I look forward to welcoming businesses from across the county and further afield to an informative day.”