4 takeaways from The Natwest Business Show 2024

This year's theme was ‘getting comfortable with being uncomfortable’ and for all the entrepreneurs in the room, that certainly struck a chord, especially with me. The lineup was knockout, and I felt a real connection with my own personal journey, seeing people that I’ve been inspired by and followed for years, all sitting in one room at this intimate but powerful show.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to have the night I did. I couldn’t believe Gary Vaynerchuk was going to be there, and wasn’t even aware of many of the other speakers going as I’d only seen one poster promoting the event. But it was easily one of the highlights of my Experity journey so far.

Yes, Abbie, it was just a conference, calm down! Why are you writing an article about this and wasting my time? Great question.

The insights that were shared that night were profound, provoked conversation, and a real energy shift for getting over business challenges.

I won’t bore you with everything, but wanted to 4 topics and themes from the night that stood out for me…

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HUSTLE CULTURE IS BEING CHALLENGED

It was incredibly refreshing to know that these successful entrepreneurs are not endorsing this anymore. Instead, it’s more about ‘balance culture’. Not compromising health or relationships for business will no longer compromise your success in business.

I really believed that when I set up Experity, I would have to make a choice – create a lifestyle business – or end up burnt out and with no one. I believed I wasn’t going to be successful because I’ve chosen to put in boundaries from day 1. Easier said than done and not always achievable but I certainly started as I have meant to go on.

TEAM ENGAGEMENT

Interestingly, the night followed a few paths around building and engaging teams.

Gary Vaynerchuk , Marketing guru, self-made multi-millionaire, and voice of the marketing world has always been a huge advocate for team engagement and looking after your people, creating great people experiences within your business. I was super impressed when he shared that the vast majority of his time is STILL spent on 1:1’s with his team. VaynerX has thousands of employees across the group and based all over the world, so to see a serial entrepreneur operating at Gary’s scale, it was refreshing to see him invest so much of his time to team engagement.

Amelia Sordell ?? - Founder of Klowt has challenged one of the biggest workplace culture trends – ‘workplace family’. How many businesses do you know that say “We are all one big family here”? Are you one of those businesses?

Amelia’s bold statement of the night…

” Your workforce isn’t your ‘family’ and if any organisation says it’s a family, then RUN”.

Whilst I understand her reasoning behind it, It’s a bold statement and one that might upset quite a few people. Amelia’s explanation is that employment is ‘conditional, contractual’ and works both ways. Employment should only happen if both employee and employer are pulling their weight and contributing. You should be pulled up on things not happening, or to the standard expected. But arguably you might not have the same confrontations with your mum or brother, that relationship might be more forgiving and unconditional than an employee.

‘Workplace family’ has been a big cultural ‘trend’ in workplaces for years now, showing togetherness and collaboration – riding the waves together and backing each other no matter what.

What’s your take on this perspective?

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FOCUS ON COMMUNITY

Grayson Hart , Founder of PureSport built an organic community built with trust and high engagement almost ‘by accident’. Bringing people together with the same passion or focus is immensely powerful for organisations. Despite his investors’ attempts to monetise the clubs, he was insistent that it remained authentic. Despite Grayson wasn’t chasing the money-making decision, his success and reputation are down to those non-financial decisions for his community.

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MINDSET MATTERS

One of the standout statements of the night was from Gary Vee about mindset and learning to flip your perspective. Shifting your focus to be grateful for what you have, rather than basing happiness and success on what you strive for in the future, is actually the key to being happier and more successful.

One of the entrepreneurs I went to the show with has a chronic illness, and to see how much she had to prepare and suffer in order to be at the show gave me so much perspective and gratitude for my health and ability to go with ease and bounce back to work as if nothing happened. Something I didn’t even consider or think about before spending time with her. I was also inspired by her optimism around the night, and how engaged she was. You would have no idea she was struggling or had to manage or suffer to be there.

So there you have it, the highlight reel from the show. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Amelia's statement, and any other thoughts on these topics!