A Family Business Celebration

Yesterday, I had the honour of hosting The Great British Family Business Conference, the first in person since the pandemic. It was a fantastic event, full of energy, passion, pride and things for the family business community to take away.?

We have been blown away by all the feedback already received and appreciate all of the comments.?For me personally, this event has been a major event in the annual FBU calendar since I founded the business 12 years ago and yesterday was probably the best yet, and a real pleasure to be back in the room with people face to face.?Our small team delivered and were fantastic and they deserve my word of thanks.?Thank you Linda Andrews and Katy Turner .?A special note of thanks to the fabulous team at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) too as they were exceptional and helped everything run perfectly.?Thank you.

The programme was packed full of honest, authentic insights from people that have a real sense of pride in what they do on a daily basis, useful thoughts for others to take away and learn from, and practical insights to help others.?The sense of purpose and passion was palpable in all the presentations and resulted in some great conversations and discussions during the networking sessions.?

On a number of occasions we have been told that ‘this was the best ever family business event I have ever attended’ by people that we respect and that ‘we never knew what to expect but have been blown away by the whole day’ and ‘it was a privilege to be in the room with such a positive and vibrant group.’?That means more than everything to us as we are constantly striving to deliver the best possible events to the family business sector.

A lot of thanks needs to be given to those involved, the speakers and panellists who gave up their time to contribute to the day.?From the need to consider our own state of the brain when in meetings or discussions and to understand how that may affect our engagement and decision making from Chris Marshall to the inspirational entrepreneurial drive to succeed of third generation sisters Natalie King LLB MBA PgDip and Nicola Bird of AccXel Construction School who continue to drive change as positive disruptors in the construction sector seeking to engage and develop the next generation of workers into construction to Peter and Charlie Harrison ,the two generations driving Furniture Village forward where ‘people are the route to success’ and where continuing investment in their people and sharing appreciation for people doing great things runs at the heart of the business, there were lessons throughout the day.

Nigel Risner Chief Zoo Keeper made us all take stock, to remember the importance of listening and to ‘be in the room’ and that the ‘past is the past and our remit has to be to make a difference today in order to impact the future.’?Powerful takeaways again.?

Our panel that came together to discuss family firms as a force for good, the benefits of core purpose and values driving positive change and impact, on businesses, people and the planet was full of things for others to action.?The willingness to share to help others was again something special. The need to reinforce purpose and values throughout the entire business was driven home too because all businesses are only as strong as their weakest link. Thank you Tamara Roberts Mike Hill and Joe Hill One Planet Pizza , Danny Pecorelli Claire Watkin and Miranda Hayman Hayman Distillers | B Corp?

Plenty of good content and insights during the workshop sessions too from our partners and sponsors Vistage UK Buckles Law Ian Beaumont 毕马威（英国） and Russ Haworth and Erika Clegg DL and then a closing session from Stephen Bagnall FIoD and Joanne Gualda FCIM of Bagnalls showcasing how a multi-generational family firm has stood the test of time, is moving towards their 150 year celebrations and where people and continuing investment in their people has been at the core of their business for generations.

Yesterday was a real #familybusiness day and a day full of inspiration.?All of our speakers were exceptional and we are thrilled that they were received (as we expected they would) so well with our delegates.

Just short of 200 people joined us in London and contributed to the event, powerful networking sessions with great connections being made and a real hum of conversation and positive energy abounded.

Today, we are proud.?Proud of what we achieved yesterday but even prouder of the strength of the community that we have created and continue to build.?Proud of our journey and how it continues and looking forward to what the year ahead brings.?

Plans are already in place for The Great British Family Business Conference 2024 but there is so much more going on before then. Check out the events section on the website here and join us at another event soon.

We are THE family business champions.?

We love what we do.?Family business is at the heart of all we do.

Because FAMILY BUSINESS MATTERS.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of making The Great British Family Business Conference 2023 so special.?

We look forward to catching up with you again soon but in the meantime, check out www.familybusinessunited.com and if you are not a member, surely, today of all days is the day that you become one !