Simon Thompson, managing director of Conferences UK

Simon Thompson, managing director of Conferences UK, explains how past experiences helped him grow his business, why there is no substitute for hard work, and why a chance meeting with an unemployed dentists receptionist proved a big stroke of luck.

Explain your business so my mum would understand it.

We save our corporate clients time by finding and sourcing venues for meetings, conferences and events.

We have experienced booking agents that know their venues inside and out, their standards and where they are located, and know the prices venues will reduce their prices to in order to confirm business.

Why did you start a business in the first place?

I saw a gap in the market. There was no search engine for conference venues. Due to my experience with my first business, Accommodationforstudents.com, I knew there was potential for a portal that had similar characteristics in a different market.

I also had experience working for FIFA and Ryder Cup Ltd in contracting hotels for major sporting events, a BA Honours degree in International Hotel Management and experience working in hotels.

There was a big gap that serviced not only the needs of clients but also the needs of venues.

What surprised you most about starting up?

How quickly the business took off. We received an enormous amount of enquiries at a very early stage and we simply didn't have the people or resources to cope with the amount of traffic we were getting.

Was there anything you would do differently now?

Yes, I think I would have spent more time planning the business and potentially sought investment to help fund the business in its early stages.

I should have employed staff from day one, as that could have helped manage the number of enquiries we were receiving, but at the same time it was good for me to get immersed in those enquiries so I fully understood the business from top to bottom.

What was your strategy at launch, and have you stuck to it?

Our strategy has always had a three pronged approach. Firstly, to appear at the top of the search engines for all major search terms and we have achieved this, secondly, to generate the maximum number of enquiries possible, and thirdly, to provide the best possible customer experience and service.

This is something we struggled with in the early days due to the fact we couldn't cope with demand, but we now have a large workforce and try to go the extra mile every time. Our conversions have increased by over 100 per cent since we first started.

What’s been your biggest hurdle or stumbling block so far?

The biggest hurdle has been getting into major blue chip companies and winning their conference business.

We are purely a venue finding agency and not an event management consultant so large companies have tended to stay with big agencies that have sufficient infrastructure to get everything under one roof.

We are chipping away at them though as large companies are attracted by our high commission share model.
           
…And your luckiest moment?

I placed an advert in the job centre and a lady came and banged on the office door. At the time I was up to my eyes in enquiries, I'd pulled my father in to help me part time and desperately needed someone to help generate sales.

The lady hadn't worked in 10 years but told me she used to be a dental receptionist before she had children. Her husband had left her with two children to raise and she said that was evidence she could manage money having lived on benefits for such a long period of time.

She was desperate for work. I told her she could start the next day and she was my best employee for two years. That was a lucky moment.

Where are you now with the business?

We are now taking on more sales agents and building a corporate sales team. We are looking at all of our working processes to see where things can be made faster and more efficient.

We have successfully built a commission only sales team with flexible hours and the ability to work from home which makes us much leaner as a business as it reduces operating costs.

What does the future have in store?

We are expanding internationally with conferencevenues.com and have plans for small offices in Australia and the USA in the next 12 months.

What’s your best piece of advice for someone who’s about to launch?

There is no substitute for hard work. If something isn't working don't keep trying to push it forever, think smart, change it. Your customers hold the answer to every question you have.

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Keywords

conferences    events    starting an events business    conference locations   

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