Manufacturing with Purpose BIG Gig

As an employee for over 17 years leaving the secure nest of corporate life and finding myself on my own in a socially distant world was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.  As part of my networking, I came across Oxford Business First and was invited to attend the Big Gig in December 2020.

After a presentation, the group was split into breakout rooms and I had a chance to contribute and brainstorm the questions asked by the business.  It struck me how much better this was than traditional networking because you got to see people working in action on a real situation.

It’s amazing the breadth of experience when you bring together people from all sectors who want to support the person in question with contacts, ideas and what’s worked for them.

When Paul asked if I wanted to present my business at the Big Gig I knew to say to refuse would be madness when such good help was available and with some trepidation I found myself saying “yes”.  Paul coached me though the key elements of my pitch and how to articulate what help I was actually looking for.

Having a date in the diary with a fairly large audience is an incredibly motivating way to sort out your messaging and your products and now, 3 months on, I am still referencing back to this business push.

Perhaps the best bit for me was hearing how vital it is to focus on the sales side of the business, which as someone who has always worked on the delivery side, really help in prioritising my time.

The biggest challenge of starting a small business for me is staying ruthlessly focussed and being tenacious and the Big Gig was a massive spur on to stay in the game.

I would highly recommend the Big Gig to anyone. Although presenting to a large group, it felt very safe in that many of the people there had been where I was now and genuinely wanting to see you succeed.

Manufacturing with Purpose is now taking off, I have some amazing clients and am working on something I really believe in.  I am indebted to this community for its timely support.

David Savage

www.manufacturingwithpurpose.com