SME Leaders Forum October 2024: 'Overcoming the Perils that Block Business Growth’
The latest SME Leaders Forum event explored the myriad of challenges, businesses face in today’s competitive landscape.
Hosted by Lily Newman, Managing Director of Morgan James Consulting, the event focused on financial, legal, governance, and competition issues, as well as the potential benefits of engaging a Non-Executive Director (NED).
Lily shared her thoughts on the event,
“What a fantastic afternoon working with the SME Leaders Forum at Leeds University Business School. As leaders navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing business environment, it is crucial to choose your ‘tribe’ to help you to overcome the perils that can block business growth. The forum is the perfect place to share your experiences and ask those difficult questions of like-minded people. Thank you to all of our panel experts for giving their advice on outsmarting the competition, recruiting and retaining better people, leading the tech revolution, building a strong and purposeful culture, and cutting through the increasing red tape that Brexit has brought to the UK. I’m sure that the leaders in the room will have taken away lots of food for thought. It was an absolute pleasure to MC the event – looking forward to more of them in the future.”
The forum brought together a diverse group of business leaders, providing a platform for sharing insights and strategies for overcoming barriers to growth.
Steve Baker, Director of Baker & Co Accountants, said, “A great session with small business leaders asking the searching questions they needed to tackle their barriers to growth; the breadth of issues was very insightful.”
Among the speakers was Sherry Ward, Director at Omega Security Systems Ltd, who said, “An absolute pleasure to be invited to talk to such a wonderful group of leaders. I learnt so much from my colleagues on the platform—lots of things to consider.”
The event emphasized the importance of collaboration and learning from peers.
Michael Horsley, a Non-Executive Director and Strategic Advisor, said, “Great opportunity to listen and learn firsthand from SME leaders about growth strategies, business planning, and building focused teams to achieve results, whilst addressing the unique challenges small businesses face with limited resources, market competition, and how they build resilience and remain agile.”
One of the event attendees, Julie Wilford, CEO at Design Portfolio, shared her positive experience, saying, "I attended my first SME Leaders Forum event recently and took away some good learnings. It was great to meet with other business leaders and I really enjoyed the sense of community. Looking forward to attending future events offered by LUBS.
Ade Lingard, Executive Coach and Owner of North Peak Consulting, praised the event’s structure and networking opportunities, saying, “It is always great to speak at events run by the team at LUBS. Once again, they delivered a magnificent event tackling relevant topics for SMEs with a real breadth of speakers and opinions. The time provided for informal networking afterwards complements the structured sessions and enables people to come over with any questions they would rather ask 1:1. It was well attended, and feedback from the attendees on the day was good. I look forward to future sessions.”
Kate Goodman, Managing Director at Reserve Wines, echoed similar sentiments about the event’s organization and value, stating, “A superbly organised event hosted by a professional and entertaining business expert. This forum was informal and relaxed but full of relevant and beneficial advice for SMEs. A highly productive, and enjoyable, way to spend a few hours.”
The SME Leaders Forum served as an important reminder of the strength found in community and collaboration, offering leaders the tools and insights necessary to navigate the complexities of growing their businesses in today’s challenging environment. As the forum concluded, participants left inspired and equipped with new strategies to foster resilience and drive growth within their organizations.
Our next SME Leaders Forum will be on Thursday 27th February 3pm-6pm. You can find out more here.
You can view all of the photos from the event on Flickr here.
