A week ago today we were on our way to Excel to oversee the building of YBC Village at the Business Show which took place on Wednesday and Thursday. We like to go the day before because, with a space as big as ours, there are always some things that need to be corrected and getting them sorted the day before means we can arrive at the start of the show stress free and ready to greet the hordes.
If you haven’t been before the Business Show is billed as the biggest business event in Europe and regularly attracts more than 25 thousand attendees but the cost of exhibiting tends to put small businesses off. For several years now we have taken a large space which we resell to members of ours at a huge discount. Entry level for exhibiting normally starts at around £3000 but our spaces start from just £370!
When we arrived last Tuesday the shell scheme was built but the carpets weren’t down yet and, as always, it evoked thoughts of ‘if we build it they will come’ and, come they most certainly did. It was lovely to see around 60 of our members exhibiting in close proximity to one another and to watch them renew acquaintance with members they’d met before and meet new ones in YBC Village
In case you don’t know YBC stands for Your Business Community and the emphasis was very much on community which gave us an enormous sense of pride with members who weren’t exhibiting arriving in their droves too. In the lead up to the show we had created a WhatsApp group for our exhibitors and it was heartwarming to read so many supportive messages before, during and afterwards.
There were too many to mention but, for us, the one that seemed to encapsulate the mood was by YBC member Yvonne Henderson who wrote ‘not only are we YBC… we are Family. Ted and Mia are the parents, quite an outstanding pair…on their feet all the time engaging with us as well as the attendees. I have faith in humanity’.
Thank you Yvonne for those lovely words and thanks to everyone for making this year so special.
The show is over now for another year but we’ve already signed a contract to rebuild YBC Village next year and you are most welcome to join us.