Past, present & future: This week on Enterprise Nation
Posted: Sun 13th Sep 2015
In our regular Sunday updates, head of content Dan Martin looks back at the past week on Enterprise Nation.
We are very forward thinking at EN HQ but we ended the week in the past.
I recently took a trip to St Fagans National Museum, a fascinating outdoor attraction near Cardiff and shared some images on the blog. There are more than 40 re-constructed buildings from across Wales on the site and unsurprisingly it was the small businesses that got me interested. A Post Office from the 1940s, a tailor's shop from the 1950s and a grocery store from 1900 show how small businesses have been an essential part of local communities for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
Back to the present and we heard from a very modern business this week. Joel Freeman co-founded Grabble, described as the 'Tinder for fashion'. I hosted a fascinating webinar with Joel during which he gave valuable insights into how his app has been downloaded more than 80,000 times and how he raised £1.2m investment. You can replay the conversation on this page.
Like those businesses at St Fagans we're seeing a revival in local high streets with pop-ups playing a key role. We've always been a fan of these temporary ways to give small business a chance to test out their products and meet new customers so that's why we were delighted to announce this week a opportunity for small companies to pop-up next to a Tesco supermarket with our friends at Pop Up Horsham. Find out how to apply here.
And what about the future?
Well the coming week is a very big one. On Thursday (17 September) our massive Fashion Exchange event takes place in London. Fashion experts and entrepreneurs plus buyers from big retailers will be taking to the stage to offer advice to you fashion small businesses out there. We built up to the event this week with tips on how to get your products into House of Fraser and five ways fashion start-ups can engage with bloggers. You can buy your Fashion Exchange ticket here.
In the very near future, tomorrow (Monday 14 September) to be precise, our business support on the high street tour arrives in Manchester. You can access five days of completely free advice from expert advisers at co-working space Central Working. Register here.
Looking further into the future we welcomed our 12 Regional Enterprise Champions to the Enterprise Nation office in London this week to discuss our plans to provide on the ground support to small businesses across the UK. It was a brilliant few hours and while we can't quite yet reveal everything discussed, trust us that there are exciting things coming to a town or city near you soon!
On the blog this week:
Dragons' Den review: What can a 12 year old teach us about business?
Go Global Mission to China: Meet the missionaries (part six)
As ever do share your own successes from the week in the comments below.
Read previous weekly updates:
Pasties, pitching and pianos
Opportunity knocks
Up Periscope
Here, there and everywhere
Business boosting and a Budget
Hitting new heights
Golden moments
We are the champions
Going, growing and popping up
Periscope meets the 12th century
Be interruprible and step out of your comfort zone
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