Careful: Construction Area - Businesses On Day Release
Thursday 28th of May was an extraordinary day. Not only did I anger at my local BBC Surrey radio station at the shere fact that they had got the travel news on the Tube so wrong, but it happened to be the first day of the Business Start Up Show at Excel in London's glittering docklands, (well, perhaps only a mile away from Billingsgate Market in fact, but docklands sounds better...)
Once strolling in, after being laden with carrier bags of stuff just like the Ideal Home Exhibition, one was catapulted into a sea of suits, stern faces and very few women. The latter I found challenging, yet at the same time - interesting - why weren't there many women there? I spoke to three perhaps - all very nice and to be honest, I wished I had longer to chat, but it proves the old thing - business is still very much a man's world (answers on a postcard please.)
I found working my way round the giant event somewhat daunting, only because I felt that it was one of those occasions when one should have done one's homework first - it was great if you knew who exactly you wanted to speak to. The thinking behind this suddenly came to light when I had realised that the glossy show guide had come through my door two weeks prior to the event - had I looked at it? I have to be honest and say no. What would have been really good is that you could look at the brochure, walk around the place for a day to familiarise yourself and then go back for a jolly good look on another day and really get down to talking to a lot of people.
I also found that as much as there was a complete array of companies and businesses all waiting eagerly to help your fledgling business, it was difficult to actually pinpoint which stand was the best to go and queue up to speak to. For instance, the marketing technoids, Telecare (http://www.telcare.co.uk/) maybe fantastic and innovative when it comes to maintain telephone systems, but if you are a little one man clashing band like me, you are not going to get any real joy out of them, so, I found that the next time to such an occasion, I shall have a look at websites first.
The problem is, is that you don't know things until you either try/get there/go somewhere/open your gob. It's a huge learning curve, and one I am gonna keep on learning from...
One thing I did have to stop myself from doing is being in awe of all my business hero's. I was quite shaky when sitting in the same makeshift plaster board cubicle with Jonathan Jay and Brad Rosser, both names who simply earn money just by being. If you are new in the business world, it was a buzzing occasion. If put in a more familiar light, it was like a motor racing fan turning up at Goodwood's Festival of Speed in seeing Eddie Irvine and Damien Hill strolling passed you to get a coffee - for a business wannbe person like me - it was the Oscars....
One kind of hoped that some of that money magnet style would rub off as we were all sharing the same atmosphere. I hung on every word I heard that day, wishing for the first time in my life that I had a Dictaphone. Yet the day went quickly and on the buss/DLR/Tube/train home (all in that order) I found myself both deflated and buzzing, not being able to wait until I got home to start doing all the things that I learned that day I was doing completely wrong... all these I shall try to remember to tell you later on today....
In the meantime, it's back to normality and the cat needs to go to the vet.....
onemum 2009
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