I am delighted to share that the eBay Small Business Roadshow was a hit! The event was in collaboration with Small Business Britain, which visited The Engine Works in Glasgow on Thursday, 16th June!
So, what happened on the day?..
The event was expertly hosted by Ciaran Armstrong from @sustainablepathways - who put everyone at ease and posed some thought-provoking questions. The panel (along with Lady Griddlebone) featured some familiar faces:
Richard Muir, Deputy Chief Executive,
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce,
Mark Tomkins, founder of @aubergine262,
Carol Jackson (also on f:entrepreneur #ialso100 list),
and Sarah Bryant, Director of SMBs at eBay UK.
We talked about what inspired us to start up and discussed if it was a "moment" or a slow evolution. We talked about the challenges we have faced along the way and continue to face with the current economic climate, and how we found our "tribe".
We discussed the people and organisations who support us and the importance of these connections for business success and growth and our well-being and sustenance. The audience wanted to hear about all aspects of our experiences, from getting to grips with social media to the logistics of delivering large items.
It was great to hear Sarah Bryant talk about the massive amount of support available to small businesses from eBay and connect with the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce at a local level. Mark Tomkins added much wisdom from his successful website design business, and I was delighted to be sitting alongside a fellow entrepreneur, Carol Jackson, who just happens to make gin! :)
We also revealed a "guilty pleasure"…dogs, gin, cheese and "Love Island" came up; I'll leave you guessing!
In the end, we were asked to bring one word up to summarise our feelings about our business journey… I wanted to find something suitably business-like, but in my heart, I thought despite all the challenges and obstacles, it had been "joyful", so I said just that!
We need to feel energised and inspired about what we're doing, and it needs to matter to us on a deeper level to persevere through the tough times.
It's always good to come away from events feeling inspired and driven to explore some new thinking, and The Roadshow did just that.
Sustainability was a key focus for the afternoon, and I often think it can be complex knowing where to start with this. Ciaran Armstrong from @sustainablepathways and Adam Bastock from @small99 provided some motivation and ideas for continuing to make changes in how we operate. It was really helpful to ensure that we're continuously working on reducing our carbon footprint, considering how we connect with our communities, and collectively coming up with new and more sustainable ways of doing things.
I'm so proud to have developed a business which at its core, is about offering sustainable, stylish and soulful furniture to everyone.
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