In this issue
Reigate and Banstead Business Guide
Consultation on Gatwick Draft Master Plan
Me myself & I - firing up your personal brand and image
'Sleep, eat well and exercise. You need your energy and a clear head'
Entrepreneurs' Academy Final 2018
Pfizer and Chipstead Golf Club land awards for community work from Surrey
BNI networks
What's on
What's on

12 Dec 12.00-14.00 Me, myself, I: firing up your personal brand and image, with Kerrie Ellis and Kevin Horlock. Learning Lunch, Town Hall, Reigate   Book your space now

 

18 Dec 09.00-17.00 Redhill Micropreneurs Co-working dayFind out more 

 

8 Jan 17.30-19.00 Banstead Business Guild Meeting, Cafe Italia, Banstead.  Find out more.

 

16 Jan 17.30-18.30 Redhill Business Guild Meeting, 3 Central Redhill.  Find out more

 

17 Jan 18.30-20.00 Employment Law Update, Morrisons Solicitors, Redhill.  Find out more

 

23 Jan 1200-14.00 Developing Resilience for Work and Life - Julia Philpott, JPLeadership Coaching Learning Lunch, Town Hall, Reigate Book your space now.

 

29 Jan 16.30-17.00 Redhill & Reigate Business Forum Town Hall, Reigate.  Find out more 

 

31 Jan 18.00-20.00 Morrisons Solicitors R&R Connects, Reigate Rugby Club, book your space

 

15 Feb 08.30-10.00 Is your business Disability Confident?  Come along and hear the benefits of taking part in the Disability Confident Scheme. Town Hall, Reigate  Book your space.

 

20 Feb 12.00-14.00 What Makes You So Different?  Nicola McDonald, Attractive Marketing Learning Lunch, Town Hall Reigate.  Book your space now

 

12 March 17.30-19.00 Banstead Business Guild Meeting, Cafe Italia, Banstead.  Find out more

 

12 June Surrey Business Expo, Surrey Sports Park, Guildford.  Find out more.

 

Join your local Business Guild

 

Business Guilds are a great way to be part of your local business community. 

 

Banstead - fully committed to helping Banstead become the most vibrant village in Surrey in which to live and work, we are a group of local businesses that recognise our responsibility to the greater community.


Redhill -
enhancing Redhill as a place to live, work and do business.


Reigate -
a local united voluntary voice from the business community, promoting commerce, events, activities and opportunities for the benefit of Reigate.

 

Horley Association of Traders - HATs is an open group that all traders and members of the public can join. We continue to drive awareness of Horley as a town and to promote local business growth.

 

 

Funding/Awards
Funding and awards

Reigate & Banstead Business Support Grant Do you have a business based in the borough with less than four employees? Are you looking to grow?  Why not apply for our Business Support Grant of up to £1,000? 

 

Successful business grant applicants will also receive one year's membership to Enterprise Nation 

 

Do you need start-up funding for your business?  Struggling to get funding from a mainstream provider? Have a look at responsible finance provider Fredericks Foundation, who may be able to help.

 

 
Tools
It's quicker to report things, make payments and apply for services online.
'Sleep, eat well and exercise. You need your energy and a clear head'
Enterprise Nation member Big Pip Marketing

Catherine Robson from Big Pip Marketing, who joined Enterprise Nation via the partnership with Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, discusses her business journey, lessons from burning out while running a previous company and why you need to look after yourself as well as your business.

 

Describe your business in one sentence.

 

We’re a small marketing agency, based in the South East of England, and we spend our days helping SMEs and independent professionals take their business to the next level through effective and consistent marketing.

 

How did you come up with your idea and turn it into an actual business?

 

There are some businesses that you engineer before you start, and others that appear as shoots that grow organically. This one was the sprouting kind.
I started my first business (not this one) when I was 19 years old and the start of my real-world schooling in sales and marketing coincided with the rapid evolution
of digital marketing.

 

A cautionary tale, I threw everything I had into those prior businesses, and didn't look after myself, so I burnt out after a few years.

 

I needed a break to work out what I was going to do next, and a friend was just about to open a pub with a wine shop and deli. A wine and cheese sabbatical suited me just fine. So, I put myself back behind the bar; pouring pints, carving wheels of Brie and earning just enough to pay the bills. All around me I could see businesses and freelancers struggle to market themselves and use the internet to its full potential. I had the knowledge, the experience and I shared what I knew and helped businesses get results. Word of mouth spread, and Big Pip was born.

 

What start-up challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

 

A very real start-up challenge was "how do I get home in time to wash the residual chip-fat out of my hair and make it to a meeting? Anyone who has worked in a pub or kitchen will know exactly what that feels like. And, further still, anyone with curly hair will empathise! I had relatively low overheads (although I invested a lot in training and my own development) and it was all self-funded as I grew the business gradually. But, in the beginning, the business was me; and I worked all hours of the day to be there for clients and earn the money to reinvest in the business. It took a lot out of me, and I see time and time again that one of the greatest universal challenges for all business owners is: how do you launch and run your business and maintain your health and sanity. I did it better the second time around.

 

What has been your biggest achievement with your business so far?

It's nothing glamorous. It's the fact that we've been able to get to year six and maintain a consistent business with longstanding clients who have seen their businesses transform.

 

What is your next big business goal?

We want to help more people, whether they're a decade in and looking to take their business to the next level, or just starting out. We're just trialling a new concept which aims to help small businesses, freelancers and independent professionals be more consistent and improve their social media presence, under our guidance as marketing mentors. People in the trial reported back that they had achieved more in the time with us, than they had in the previous two years so the first signs are positive!

 

What do you think will be your biggest challenge getting there?

As ever, it’s the question of how do you test an idea and launch a new service with the resources you have available. But as I did in the beginning, we’re taking it one step at a time. The specific challenge with this concept is how do we deliver enough value and support to help people get real results for themselves, whilst creating a product at the right price point. 

Catherine Robson from Big Pip Marketing

How has Enterprise Nation helped your business?

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council sponsored our membership along with a small business grant we were awarded this summer whilst I was on maternity leave, so I’ve only just scratched the surface with what’s on offer! I’ve tapped into the database of members to seek experts and specialists and the articles I’ve delved into are written by people with real experience in business, which I greatly appreciate. We're also supporting Adrià Tarrida with the Enterprise Nation Equity Crowdfunding Accelerator programme.

 

Which other entrepreneur inspires you and why?

 

There are so many entrepreneurs who I come across in my work who have yet to write autobiographies but show inspiring levels of tenacity and perseverance, whilst staying connected to what they set out to do and to what really matters in life. Whether you're running a business or you're self-employed, it's not an easy path. An entrepreneur who has written an autobiography? I always come back to Ed Catmull who co-founded Pixar. His story (detailed in Creativity Inc.) is one of resilience and imagination; a much under-utilised resource in most adults! Perhaps all artists and those purpose-driven entrepreneurs who imagine a better world.

 

What are your three tips for business success based on your experiences so far?

 

Sleep, eat well and exercise. You need your energy and a clear head. Don't wait around for anyone to give you permission or assurance to create or try something. They're not going to. Test it out and find out for yourself. This might sound odd coming from someone who runs a marketing company but really consider what marketing you must have in place in the first phase to make your first sales, and what you can leave until the next phase when you’re looking to scale or grow. I say this because we regularly meet people who focus so much on building an audience and getting every single aspect of their marketing in place before they begin, they haven't sat with potential customers or sold their products or services in person (or over the phone). There may be some companies who have to launch with a 'bang' but even before you do so, if you can, go out there and try and sell it. You learn so much by doing so including whether you have a viable business!

 

Anything else you would like to share?

Well, here are some (almost) pithy quotes of things I’ve learnt that you can pinch and publish in your inspirational toilet-book of entrepreneurship or on your Instagram feed... 

  • Entrepreneurship is an art and a science. Take (some) advice and use proven processes (where it makes sense).
  • Use your creativity and your wisdom (always).
  • Use your strengths and find others to help you with your weaknesses (especially if that’s bookkeeping).
  • Learn about human nature. Learn how the robots work.
  • And know that some days you’ll do better than others, but it’s ok; there are hundreds of thousands of us out there experiencing the same.

#thankyouforreadingtotheend

We're proud to have people like Catherine as members of Enterprise Nation. Join Enterprise Nation today and become part of an amazing community of small business owners.

LikeLike (0) | Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Del.icio.us Digg