Thank You and What did You Think?

A huge, huge, Thank You to the hundreds of you that came to the Spectrum yesterday for our first ever Grow Your Business event. The feedback we received from both the visitors and exhibitors was overwhelmingly positive.

You told us that the speakers were very inspirational and I know that many of you have walked away with a head full of ideas and action plans to put into practice today. There also were some fantastic giveaways from some of our exhibitors and we'll be updating you on who the lucky winners were very soon.

We're aware that there were some issues with parking, and also that signage could be improved, and we're working on that for next year. Apologies to those of you who were unable to find spaces - we will be talking to the council to find alternatives for next year's event. We'll also be processing the thousands (literally) of feedback forms we received from the seminars and taking on board all your comments, both positive and constructive.

Lots of you have asked whether there will be another event next year. And based on initial feedback the answer is a resounding yes! I know Paul is taking a well deserved break from the show for a week or two but we will announce next year's date very soon, so watch this space!

Here are just a couple of comments I've had in my inbox this morning:

"I wanted to let you know how much myself and my colleague Sharon Humphries enjoyed the Grow Guildford event yesterday. I attended three of the "Start your Business" stream seminars, run by Sarah Orchard, yourself and Karen Skidmore, and they were all excellent. I have come away with lots of easy-to-apply actions to improve the organisation I work for." Lindsay Blackburn, Cool 2 Care

"What a fantastic event you put on today, thank you.

All the seminars I attended were great (and I attended quite a few!). I found Penny Power, Lyndon Hughes & Elizabeth Cairns all very interesting and inspiring. It was also really wonderful to get a feel for the business community in Guildford and to feel that their IS a community. I also liked the message I heard a number of times that being a business woman who is trying to juggle looking after children and run a business from home that I am not alone, that it can be done and that I don't have to pretend to be something else. So thank you." Emma Gair, Wade Gair

"I just wanted to drop you a small line to thank you for organising the Exhibition yesterday. It was a wonderful opportunity for us as small businesses to showcase our wonderful product to a wider audience and for that I thank you." STEPHANIE HALL – Sales Manager, Barnett Hill

"I thought I would just say what a fantastic exhibition! I have managed to get over 20 really really good web design / SEO leads out of the day, so that should really come good in the next few weeks." PETER RICHMAN, Plug and Play Design

But how about you? Do share your experiences with us.