On 22 February I went along to Business South 2012 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. It’s a yearly Business2Business event, staged by JobServe Events, designed to bring together the top companies in Hampshire.
I have to say, I was really impressed by the scale of the event – over 100 businesses exhibiting and many hundreds of visitors. It was a great opportunity to network, find out about unfamiliar companies, and have a sneaky peek at what your competitors are up to.
The atmosphere, though professional, was informal and everyone I spoke to was genuinely interested to hear about me and Creative, and of course more than willing to talk about their own businesses too. Even competitors seemed to approach the event in a spirit of camaraderie rather than suspicion, which can be the case at some networking events. The overriding objective was to further the ambitions of Hampshire commerce as a whole, and I think everyone can be very proud of fulfilling that collective aim admirably.
There was also a series of very useful seminars in the Wow Business Growth Zone, a real rallying call for ambitious business people with loads of down-to-earth tips for better business practice. I particularly enjoyed “Marketing on a Shoestring” because it was held in the form of a workshop on a table by table basis. By coincidence, I happened to be sitting on a table with two gentlemen from a company that competes directly with Creative in Hampshire, but far from bad vibes or one-upmanship, we learned a lot from each other and a good many ideas were bounced around the table, with everyone adding to the knowledge and experience base. It was a really productive session.
My only regret was that I couldn’t attend the second day!
The good news for all of you out there who aren’t fortunate enough to live in Hampshire(!) is that these shows are replicated around the country. Next up is Business East 2012 in Colchester on 7 March, so get yourself along there and check it out!
Jeremy Nicholson
Creative Partner
jeremy.nicholson@creativenetwork.co.uk
www.business2bussinessshows.com/business-south
Contact JobServe Events on 01823 250539 or email: marketing@jobserveevents.com
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