From Chris Carlisle, Business Development & Portfolio Officer, KPSN
Published 16 May 2023
On May 10th I attended the Business Vision Live event at the Kent Show Ground as a visitor (not as an exhibitor). The event is in its sixteenth year and clearly well established with 130 exhibitors and an estimated 2000 visitors for this single day. Entry was free - not something that you hear much of these days!
Business Vision Live was held indoors and from the front to the back the enthusiasm and passion from each exhibitor was apparent. In addition to the main hall, there were meeting rooms for key speakers, round table sessions and inspirational talks. A reflection of how technology has evolved from the humble business card was the use of QR coded name badges, making it easy to introduce myself and the KPSN service to new contacts across Public and Private sectors.
Roger Gough, Leader of Kent County Council
I had booked in to the first speaker of the day, the KCC Leader, Roger Gough, he gave an opening speech which covered:
Kent’s unique proximity to Europe
Skills gaps in the county and the plan to upskill the next generation
The strategy to encourage larger firms to have a presence in Kent, creating more jobs and a skilled workforce
Piers Linney was the next key speaker; I had never heard of Piers, but my colleague, Catherine Ridgeway, had encouraged me to listen to his presentation.
Former BBC Dragons' Den dragon, Piers Linney
I am glad I did. Not only was Piers inspiring to those with a vision, but he was also honest and reminded the audience that business is not easy. He talked about his background and how he moved from working for a large global firm and went out on his own. The room was full of people just like Piers who had taken the leap to go out on their own. If you ever get a chance to be in the audience with Piers, take it. He is an inspiration, no matter what you are doing, you’ll want to do it with more passion.
The next three and a half hours was spent getting round-to each of the exhibitor stands, meeting the enthusiastic business owners, the proud Public Sector staff, and emerging Start Ups. The feeling was that of friends who hadn’t met in a while, perhaps an effect of the good coffee on offer.
KPSN are considering a stand at the 2024 Business Vision Live event - watch out for updates.
I also attended a round-table session with the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Team, which was an excellent opportunity to hear the challenges from small business owners up to NHS and Higher Education. Everyone had a chance to advise, guide, and assist those who voiced their challenges. A big thank you to Lucy Druesne and her team from the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce for this session.
I left the event with a renewed enthusiasm and the affirmation that meeting people in person still has a place in today’s world of virtual meetings and instant messaging.
