What potential does your business possess?

The Business Show, taking place on 3-4 December, offers a wealth of opportunity, advice and information crucial for ongoing business growth within a challenging economy.

The Business Show welcomes businesses from a cross-section of industries, and remains more committed than ever in providing you with everything needed to improve, evolve and expand your business.

The Business Show 2015 has an array of recognisable and highly anticipated Keynote Speakers, including: motivational speaker Brad Burton; England cricket captain Alistair Cook; Dragon’s Den businessman Touker Suleyman; West Ham United owner David Gold; BBC Apprentice runner-up Bianca Miller; and business coach Shweta Jhajharia.

At The Business Show, England cricket captain and all-time record Test run scorer Alastair Cook will provide insights into his approach in leading the national team across the globe against some of the game’s best and most competitive teams in front of the world’s most partisan crowds. Cook will also reveal his strategies in dealing with the pressure and demands that come with being both a professional athlete and captain of the England cricket team, drawing on moments from his illustrious career.

Owner of football club West Ham and women’s retailers Ann Summers, David Gold will be interviewed on stage about his rags to riches story from an East London council estate to the owner of one of England’s most famous football clubs. He owns Gold Group International, one of the most profitable private businesses in the United Kingdom, and in May 2005 he bought the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy for almost half a million pounds at auction to prevent it going to Germany.

Bianca Miller, most notable for her appearance on the BBC’s The Apprentice, will discuss personal branding online. Learn how to effectively use the internet to showcase and develop your brand to niche audiences using platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, your brand website etc. Understand how to network utilising your personal brand whilst leaving a lasting legacy. Miller is the award-winning director and founder of `The Be Group`, and diverse hosiery brand `Bianca Miller London`.

Networking
Imagine making more contacts in one hour than some people do in a career. Speed Networking is an intensive session of two‑minute mini-meetings. This corporate take on speed dating is the perfect place to start filling your book of contacts, with people spanning a range of different sectors and industries. It’s all about maximum impact, because after your two minutes each way is up, the whistle blows, and you change partners. Maybe you’re looking for a web designer? Are you on the lookout for a mentor in your chosen industry? Or are you searching for a potential business partner? The possibilities and outcomes are endless.

Additionally, The people behind the explosive growth of 4Networking – with over 5,000 networking events around the UK every year – are bringing their winning networking formula to The Business Show. Taking the best of their ground-breaking breakfast, lunch and evening events, 4Networking have designed a format unique to The Business Show which will give delegates the opportunity to build actual relationships with other business owners on the day.

Brad Burton, founder of 4Networking, explains why his team decided to offer their format to The Business Show. He says: “What do you actually need when you’re getting a business going? Sales appointments. That’s what you need. So we’ve put together a format which will fast-track the process of getting those appointments and give you the opportunity, actually at the show, to have a real conversation with other business owners.”

Each session will last 45 minutes and every attendee will be offered the chance to join 4Networking’s national network at a specially reduced price – only available on the day. Register with 4Networking at Stand 60 for the sessions that will take place every hour, starting at 10am and finishing at 4pm both days.

Elsewhere, Business Connections is always a huge draw at Business Startup because it is such an easy and efficient way to reach out to tens of thousands of visitors who are every bit as serious about their business as you are about yours. The Business Connections area has a wall where you can post and reply to notices, sorted by industry.

The idea is simple: proudly pin your business card to the wall for all to see. If you`re looking to make a particular kind of connection, say so – and potential partners will pin their card to your request. Make sure you scan the wall for people looking for what you can offer and respond by pinning your card to their request and pick up some extra clients. It’s beautifully straightforward and hugely effective, which is why many regular visitors make a beeline straight for it when the doors open.

Those at LEN Speed Networking believe that talking to every person who comes your way is inefficient because you never know if that person is the target you need to connect with. Moreover, you can talk to a maximum of 10 to 20 people then give up and leave, whether you’ve found the right connection or not. LEN Speed Networking offers a real speed networking opportunity, where you can get a microphone on the stage and in one minute say the most important things needed for efficient and productive networking! Simply say your name, what you are looking for and what you offer; this way only the right people approach you! Don’t miss the LEN wall‑of‑fame, where you can put your details if you are looking for investment or put notes for finding projects to invest if you are an investor.

Masterclasses
The Business Show 2015 will be hosting several masterclasses to help its visitors gain the essential experience and knowhow to run a successful business. Business mentoring can help strengthen your business and your own entrepreneurial skills, and can be invaluable in getting your business off the ground, or taking it to the next level.

At the Mentoring Masterclass, you’ll learn from the experience and mistakes of more experienced business owners, be guided through achieving the objectives of your business, and you can leverage off their contacts to help open new doors for your business. A mentor will also make sure that the goals and objectives that have been set in your business are achieved.

There are also Masterclasses on: ‘Becoming a Public Speaker’; ‘Branding’; ‘Business Growth’; ‘Digital and Growth’; ‘Growing your Business’; ‘Influence and Reach’; ‘ LEN Anti-Pitch Panellist’; ‘ Mobile Apps’; ‘Online Marketing’; ‘Profit Building’; ‘Start, Scale and Sell’; and ‘Win Investing’.

Businesses for Sale
Attend The Business Show’s seminars to learn everything you need to know about the buying process – including how to find your dream business, how to raise the finance to buy it, and what you can do to make sure your deal goes through.

Whether you are buying or looking to sell, the Businesses For Sale Live session on how to sell will help you prepare your exit strategy and maximise the value of your business. Industry experts with more buying and selling experience than you can shake a stick at will be on hand to help you demystify the business transfer process. All in one place, all under one roof; Businesses For Sale Live has everything you need to know about getting started or getting out.

Between 10.00-12.00, there will be a session on ‘How to Buy a Business’. This seminar will inform delegates on everything needed to know about how to buy a business. How do you find the right business for you? And what happens once you’ve found it? You’ll learn about all the aspects of the sale process - from where to look for a business for sale to working out your exit strategy.

Following this between 12.00-13.00, there will be a session on ‘Unusual Ways to Raise Finance When Buying a Business’. Your bank is the first place you turn when you need money to buy a business, but it’s not your only option. From crowdfunding and angel investment to borrowing from your family, the advice you need to find the right finance for you is here.

Between 13.00-14.00, the ‘Get Ahead of the Start-Ups: How to Buy Success’, will be of interest for those thinking of starting a business? Why not buy one? Find out how buying an established business could help you leapfrog the start-ups to business success. This immediately precedes ‘How to Sell a Business’ at 14.00-15.00. From the headline on an advert to the fine print on a contract, selling a business can be a complex and arduous process, looking to simplify the process and clarify any concepts that maybe confusing. If you’re struggling to make heads or tails of your heads of terms, this is the seminar for you!

Finally, running from 15.30-16.30, Businesses For Sale Live closes with ‘Business Buying Nightmares; How to Avoid Your Deal Falling apart’. Doing your research on a prospective business is paramount to a successful sale. You need to understand exactly what it is you are buying. The only way to do this is by conducting thorough due diligence; but what is due diligence? And why is it so important in the business buying process?

Further Information
greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk