The Talks From the Start-It-Up Entrepreneurs

The Start-It-Up Conference yesterday had a fantastic speaker lineup with some of the industry’s top funders and service providers who shared their expertise as well as the eligibility requirements. Also in attendance were some of the most successful UK entrepreneurs who told their entrepreneurial journeys and explained what it takes to get to where they are today. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of their talks.

James Sinclair, Entrepreneurs Network

A very enthusiastic and energetic James Sinclair kicked off the conference with ’14 Lessons from an 8-Figure Business Owner.’ His company Partyman Group currently employs 300 people and generated £10 million in sales in 2016. Below are his rules to becoming the best entrepreneur that you can be.

1. The Vision
2. Have a specific vision for your company and share that with your team and your backers. People are more likely to get on board with a passionate vision.
3. The Goals
4. Entrepreneur + Management = Success
5. Set out clear goals and utilise your management to help you accomplish those.
6. The Entrepreneurs Pyramid
7. There are sheep, oxen and eagles. Sheep wait for it to happen, oxen work massive hours and are huge pound turners, and eagles soar high looking for talent and the right opportunities.
8. Be an ox or an eagle.
9. OST
10. The CEO sets the objective, while the management comes up with the strategy and tactics.
11. S and T can change, but the O should remain the same until it is achieved.
12. Talent
13. Find talent and educate, congratulate and appreciate (then repeat!).
14. Think Big, but Always Act Small
15. Big businesses that act big take too long to make decisions.
16. Focus on sales before operations.
17. Swim with the Tide
18. Do people actually want what you are selling or are you swimming against the tide?
19. Becoming the Expert
20. Be enthusiastic, master body language, create amazing rapport with pros and ultimately be the expert.
21. Master Cash Flow
22. Keeping the cash flowing keeps the business going!
23. Focus on a) average spend per customer and b) turnover to staff ratio.
24. MSI
25. Create multiple streams of income by utilising your entire business space.
26. Create Trust
27. By creating trust, you can ensure that your multiple streams of income are successful.
28. Buy Bad Businesses and Make Them Good
29. Compete on Experience, Not on Price
30. You are a Marketer for Sales

Get access to ‘Engage’ Magazine, one-to-one support, marketing reviews, business growth shows, spectacular events and much more by joining the Entrepreneurs Network!

Want to hear more from James? Join him at the Business Spectacular on Wednesday 18th October at the Manor Of Groves. Tickets are currently selling for £150+vat, but you can grab yours for just £75+vat using the promo code “FUND”!

Charlie Mullins, Pimlico Plumbers

You have probably seen the Pimlico Plumbers vans driving around London, but do you know the story behind the founder of this multi-million-pound plumbing empire? Charlie Mullins left school at 15 (although he says he should have left at 14!) and started an apprenticeship for four years. The day that he finished his apprenticeship was the same day that he became a self-employed plumber.

Charlie faced success, a recession, big decisions and more success. Pimlico Plumbers has gone from a 2,500-square-foot building to a 35,000-square-foot-building and currently has 250 vans on the road. When asked what it takes to grow an empire like Pimlico Plumbers, Charlie suggested the following:

• If a family business suits you, you should go for it. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it helps to create a trustworthy team.
• Utilise apprenticeships.
• Go into business when it suits you.
• We are a success for one reason: quality of service. Many our customers have used us before, so build up a customer base and retain them.
• Despite all the sleepless nights and things that you might lose, there is still no business like your own.
• Public relations is the way forward. Utilise social media and the internet to create your brand (or even your tie and vest!).

Warren Knight, Think Digital First

Warren Knight started his career as a professional hip-hop dancer and is now an international Digital Transformation keynote speaker, author and coach who built a £1m technology company in less than 2 years. He has released two versions of his book Think #Digital First and joined us yesterday to tell us how to master digital marketing on a budget.

• Relevant personalisation
• Think like your prospect
• Understand your digital assets and use them.
• Content marketing leads to brand awareness, website traffic, client engagement, leads and conversions, media visibility and competitive advantage.

• Engage your followers through storytelling.
• Make it emotional, novel and memorable.
• Use podcasts, written content, visual content, video and live stream to tell your story.
• Nurture your followers.
• Keep connecting with them through marketing automation
• 56% of people on social media follow brands, and 31% of sales come from social media.
• Remarketing is key.

• A.I. Chat Bots can save you a lot of time.
• View more information about Warren’s 6-module social media boot camp here!

Interested in obtaining funding and ultimately reaching the level of success of these entrepreneurs? Join us on Oct, 3rd for the ‘What’s Best for You: Crowdfunding, BA or VC?’ workshop! Tickets available here.

More articles from this conference coming soon!