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How are small businesses getting press coverage?
On this episode of Behind the Business, City A.M.'s entrepreneur and SME reporter Jennifer Sieg attends Enterprise Nation's Start Up Show, where she sat on the 'Make Me Famous' panel and spoke to several entrepreneurs in London about getting media attention.
Here's what she learned...
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Really showcase yourself
0:01
And if that means showcase yourself in a video you have or an image you have or anything that is your own thing
0:07
Your story to share, you know what you have. You're the one who knows it best. Hey guys, last week we went to Enterprise Nation's Startup Show
0:19
where we met some pretty cool businesses. Got to sit on a panel and talk about what it takes
0:24
to get your business in the press and here's what happened. Tell me a little bit more about yourself and your business. Sure
0:29
Myself, I'm Kamal, I'm entrepreneur. I've been doing data engineering and data stuff from last 10 years now
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It's been a decade. So we've started our own business now. So it's basically software development services
0:41
We're predominantly based in AI and data. And we do bespoke application development
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We have application developed for a few councils. And we serve for a lot of clients in Europe and UK
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But today I came here to learn what other businesses doing, how I can help other businesses to be in digital footprint
0:59
AI and data engineering? That's really cool. I mean, it's a really good connecting space today
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and networking and being able to meet other people that are in your shoes or other people that were once
1:07
in your shoes. So you can be able to learn how to scale up and kind of get that way. And AI has been a really
1:11
big driver in a lot of businesses lately. I've been doing a lot of stories about that. So it's really interesting
1:15
I'm basically passionate on AI and data engineering. So I've been doing it for, as I said
1:19
in last 10 years. So I want to help businesses. My business is Alfonov consultancy. We predominantly
1:25
help SME, small and medium-scale We want to help them to grow their footprints in digital because they know what they are doing
1:33
but they don't know how to use the technology to drive their sales. So do you want to tell us a little bit about what you do and yourself
1:40
Yes so my business is a dry shampoo that cleans And does it have like that weird Because sometimes I use dry paint it doesn feel like that residue that in your hair No So it a foam and you massage it in and you would focus on your roots because that where most
1:53
the dirt goes and then you towel it out and it takes the dirt out with it. Wow
1:58
It's for everyone basically. So children with autism or sensory processing issues right the way through to people with
2:05
chronic illness, disabilities in need of care and then in between camping festivals
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gamers, get a lot of gamers, you can game with one hand apparently and wash the other
2:16
or if you've got very thick, curly or afro hair, braids, all sorts
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So how is your experience so far? Yeah, brilliant. Yeah, we've been hearing from loads of different people
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Obviously, it came down to hear you and it's just been fantastic to get loads of advice
2:31
and different perspectives about how people have been on their start-up journey
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And I know you have a Christmas themed business. So how has it been over the holidays in the first few weeks of January, are you kind of feeling the
2:42
little, you know, less heavy on the business side of things? Yeah, so it was super busy all over
2:48
Christmas and I was so grateful for the amazing article that you wrote. And then, yeah, I've
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been having a bit of downtime since then and, yeah, a nice break from social media and everything
2:59
Definitely. And you actually have a Christmas Cracker because I know I wrote a feature on you
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and I was, you know, thinking about how they actually work. So now we get to how to actually try it
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So I have a special CTAM Christmas Cranker. And if you'd like to pull it with me, I'll show you how it works
3:16
Absolutely. Woo! You can basically put your own gifts in and super eco-friendly
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And then you can reuse them, keep them forever, like a family heirloon
3:26
That's brilliant, brilliant. And you get to put whatever you want in that
3:29
So it doesn go to waste Someone might like Lego someone else might like whiskey you know you can cater to everybody needs Hi Kisha thank you for speaking with me I noticed your stand because I love children books and I love children resources especially
3:44
in print. So do you want to just tell me a little bit about yourself and your business
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my name is Kisha. I run a children's educational brand called Tidal Play
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Something to get children away from screens and back to physical tactile learning resources. So yeah, I create a variety of different themes
3:59
based on literacy, vocabulary, nature, science, space, anatomy, you name it. It's my passion and I love driving helpful information to children giving them accurate
4:08
information and yeah. What are you trying to get out of today mostly
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Yeah, I've been associated with Enterprise Nation for as long as I can remember
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I'm also a business mentor with the Help to Grow program and various of the national initiatives
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around this. So I do work a lot with the small businesses
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I wanted to support MI and the team as much as I could and it was great to be able to
4:29
showcase my products today to all the guests and attendees. So yeah, it's been brilliant so far with so many different people coming up and talking
4:39
and especially when you mentioned about the move towards digital. Children are going to be exposed to screens much, much sooner than what we were when we were young
4:51
So at least in the early years where they have the chance to interact with their grownups and have those conversations and build that mental resilience and the bonding with the
4:59
their parent, why not? You know, we can delay that addiction to the screen
5:05
Definitely. And it's purpose-led, you know, you're really trying to make a difference and trying to give an impact, which is something that is extremely inspiring to
5:12
not only me but everyone else in this enterprise nation, I guess, you're trying to
5:15
thank you for so much for speaking with us and I wish you all that Thank you Also I very interested in you know how does AI kind of help you And you know AI has been kind of one of those threats for a lot of people in business You know it going
5:28
to take jobs, it's going to start taking over. But, you know, it's almost an entrepreneur's best
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friend at this point. You know, what are the little things that they can do to use it to help make
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email campaigns or help make brands? Take this to you. So, Jenny, you first, what do you look for
5:41
when a small business is pitching you to say, cover me in your pages? Yeah, I mean, that's the
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multi-million pound question, isn't it? I mean, I look for a lot of things, but like Graham said
5:50
that the brand is really important to have that there, and it's much about the person as it is
5:56
the business, you know, what problem are you trying to solve? What is the purpose of your business
6:01
Whether it's trying to make, you know, the world a better place through sustainability or trying
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to make a social impact of some sort, but, you know, it's that overarching purpose that you have
6:11
with your business, and you want to highlight that right off the bat, because there might be some other
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competitors, but what makes you unique in terms of that realm? But then also, what is your story
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What makes your story unique? You know, when was it that that light bulb moment kind of came
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up in your head? And, you know, what can you share that you've learned along your journey with
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other people that are about to embark on theirs? So, you know, you really look for both sides of the
6:34
spectrum, whether it's a startup or a scale up, but, you know, kind of anyone that can really build
6:37
that, you know, what you're trying to do in Enterprise Nation, and it's just a community of
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entrepreneurship. And that is a lot that someone needs to convey to you. Yeah, and you kind of just need to pick out what your niche is
6:50
Because you don't get to, it might be about your story, not your business. So, you know
6:54
find what makes you unique. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I certainly did. I had a great time
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speaking with Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation and all of the other businesses at the startup show
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If you guys want more on entrepreneurship, follow our channel, follow us on social media, or download
7:08
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