There’s one curious thing I spotted in this pre-COVID photo of Tim Campbell*, and me.
No, it’s not how handsome, ripped and beautifully dressed we are.
It’s the ‘Our Rocking Supporters” Sponsorship Board behind us, showing the large companies supporting our Annual #MicroBizMatters Day.
We were very grateful for their sponsorship, as it was always a FREE online event, with a green room for our famous entrepreneur guests who were giving their time FREE too.
Six years later, we had to stop running our annual livestreamed celebration and learning day for millions of micro-business owners because we couldn’t secure large-company sponsorship.
I guess it’s really my fault.
Pre-COVID, and in my subsequent campaigning for the 3.8 million excluded from income support, none of my campaigns were controversial for the best large companies.
All bills in the UK to be paid within thirty days, slashing the cost of regulatory compliance and reducing the unavoidable ‘doing business’ costs for start-ups (e.g. rates, utilities, broadband and VAT), were accepted as sensible.
‘Sensible’ as in helpful to growing local economies, creating good new jobs, regenerating high streets, supporting rural businesses, boosting innovation, and helping communities care for their people and value enterprising people.
I was regularly on and in mainstream media and had been for 20 years before.
We’d run, and I’d hosted big events for indie business owners with large company sponsors at the House of Commons, Lords Cricket Ground, Bank of England, CBI, BAFTA, Magic Circle, HMS Belfast and m countless premier hotels and conference venues.
Some large companies had asked me to champion their small and micro businesses programmes.
I even appeared across the broadsheets and BBC, including on BBC Breakfast, Times and Telegraph. Woo-hoo!
So our events and campaigns were not controversial once upon a time. Who knew?
That’s not to say my campaigns aren’t supported by many large companies today, and I’m very grateful for their support. I’m still interviewed by mainstream media, and I’m very grateful for that too.
My famous entrepreneur friends still give their time for free to support me and 5 million startups, self-employed people, freelancers and micro-business owners. THANK YOU.
Hundreds of indie business owners gave their time for free to put on all these events. THANK YOU.
But the final two annual #MicroBizMatters Days were not in London and were funded by Yorkshire in Business, which I’m Chair of, so the future of these events was not sustainable.
Looking at the photo, it’s curious to think that the start-up, survival and growth of micro-business owners did matter greatly to some very large companies. THANK YOU.
_________________
- Tim Campbell MBE (Presenter of The Apprentice and its first winner) wrote the 4-page introduction to ‘The Happipreneur (400pp – 2nd edition) by Taryn Lee Johnston and Tony Robinson OBE, which is available to order from all good bookshops and Amazon UK. ‘The Happipreneur’ is the foundation guide for the ‘Be More Happipreneur’ Show performed by Jenn Crowther (CEO, Yorkshire in Business), Ian Farrar (CEO, Far North) and Tony Robinson OBE
Leave a Reply