9.30 Open Conference – Gemma Casey, Business News Wales
9.35 Welcome – John Hurst, FSB Wales Chair
9.40 Rob Stewart – Leader of Swansea Council
Session 1: The Fundamentals of Business Success
9.45 Are YOU Holding Your Business Back? – Lianne Weaver, Beam Development
10.15 Giving Your Customers What They Really Need – Rebecca Ahern, Neos Partners
10.45 FSB – Supporting Your Business – Alan Cole, FSB
11.00 Break
Session 2: Maximising Your Chances of Success
11.30 The Power of Customer Experience – Miles Courtney-Thomas, Customer Start
12.00 Why Your Website Isn’t Converting (and How to Fix It) –Will Roberts, WebBox Digital
12.30 Panel Discussion: Learning From Success – Darryl Morton, Summit Venture, Emma Owen Davies, Barford Owen Davies and Lisa Dagge, Sunny Recruitment
12.55 A Word From Event Sponsor: Ministry of Defence –Craig Middle, Regional Employer Engagement Director, MOD
13.00 Lunch and Networking
Session 3: Converting Your Audience
14.00 From Marketing Mess to Magic: 5 Game-Changing Shifts to Grow Your Business – Isabella Venour, MindStyle Ltd
14.15 Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Turn Interest into Sales – Jonathan Pollinger, NILC Training
14.45 Unlock Your Sales Potential – Melissa Curran, Modern Mind Group
15.15 Round up and Thanks – John Hurst, FSB
15.30 Close
Conference Sponsors
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our sponsors for their generous support, which has been instrumental in making this event possible.
Hosts
Gemma Casey Editor of Business News Wales
Gemma is the Editor of independent media and communications firm Business News Wales. She started her career in journalism on local newspapers and became Wales Editor at the Press Association before joining BBC Wales, where she worked in radio, TV news and current affairs. She then led a pilot programme in hyperlocal broadcasting which set out to test how the medium could support local SMEs.
She spent a decade at a major high street bank, looking after regional PR as well as hosting events for businesses of all sizes and in all sectors, leading on its support programmes for SMEs, with a particular focus on initiatives for women in business and ethnic minority entrepreneurs.
Gemma is a passionate advocate for SMEs, something she puts down to growing up in and around a small business in the South Wales Valleys which was in her family for four generations.
Business News Wales is an independent digital media platform dedicated to providing intelligent, targeted news and analysis to the Welsh business community. They connect organisations, policymakers, and entrepreneurs through sector-specific content, campaigns, and events that promote sustainable economic growth across Wales.
With a team of journalists and storytellers located in all regions of Wales, their platforms, communication services and highly targeted distribution networks offer clients a proven, strategically connected one-stop-shop solution for business sectors in Wales and beyond.
Hosts
John Hurst FSB Wales Chair
John is co-director of Cardiff-based B2B IT Services. He and his business partner completed a management buy-in of the company in 2016 and have since built a team that shares their vision for excellence in IT. The business has gone from strength to strength and now operates from offices in Cardiff, Torfaen, and Bristol.
John has previously worked across manufacturing, technology, and professional services, giving him a broad perspective on the realities of running a business. Having spent years working in international trade, exporting to over 100 countries, he understands the challenges of growing a business in an unpredictable world.
John studied Business Studies at Cardiff Metropolitan University before earning an MBA with distinction from Cardiff University Business School.
As well as being a business owner, he is a husband and a dad with a deep love for Wales - its people, its landscapes, and the energy of its business community. John has also been an active voice in business and policy for years. He has been a member of FSB’s Wales Policy Unit for seven years and represented FSB on the Ministerially appointed Apprenticeship Advisory Board for five years. He has also held other board positions and has given evidence to the Senedd Accounts Committee, bringing his experience and insight to help shape policies that support small businesses.
Speakers
Lianne Weaver
Beam Development & Training Ltd
Quick Overview:
Even the most brilliant business owners can find themselves procrastinating, doubting their worth, or holding back from visibility, not because they lack strategy, but because of subconscious patterns designed to keep them “safe”. In this powerful session, Lianne will explore the hidden link between fear, success and sabotage, and uncover how to break free using tools from psychology, neuroscience and behavioural science.
Company Information:
Lianne Weaver is an author, speaker, trainer, therapeutic coach and the Managing Director of Beam Development & Training Ltd, a unique and impactful wellbeing and personal development training and support organisation.
Beam have been delivering exceptional wellbeing and personal development training for over a decade to some of the largest employers in the world, with unique courses being highly focussed upon the most up-to-date Neuroscience, Behavioural Science, Psychology and Positive Psychology.
Lianne has worked as a wellbeing and personal development expert for large organisations, featured on many international podcasts and as an expert on panel discussions as well as contributions on websites and in the local press and speaking on stage as a leader in her field.
Contact Details:
Website: www.beamtraining.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lianneweaver
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeamTherapyandTraining
Speakers
Rebecca Ahern Neo Partners Ltd
Quick Overview:
Rebecca will provide insights during this session into learning how to stand out to your customers, highlighting how clear differentiation helps small businesses make better decisions, sharpen their offer and build a lasting competitive edge.
Company Information:
Rebecca Ahern is the Managing Director of Neos Partners Ltd, a consultancy business bringing strategy, innovation and commercial solutions to SMEs looking to develop and grow. Rebecca is a strategy consultant with 20+ years of leadership experience in commercial strategy, general management and business transformation.
Neo Partners Ltd tailor a strategy-built approach specifically for your business, helping to tackle unique challenges with a fresh perspective. By cutting through the noise and achieving clarity from complexity, challenges are turned into clear, focused strategies that drive action, with the support needed to turn plans into measurable results.
Contact Details:
Website: www.neospartners.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-j-ahern
Speakers
Miles Courtney-Thomas Customer Start
Quick Overview:
Miles, one of the leading experts in the Customer Experience (CX) field, will deliver a refreshing, fun and highly engaging session designed to captivate, inspiring teams to see the transformative potential of CX, providing actionable takeaways for businesses to equip themselves to drive meaningful change in their organisation.
Company Information:
Miles Courtney-Thomas is the co-founder of Customer Start, a leading Customer Experience (CX) consulting and training firm, working with clients all over the world. Customer Start helps businesses of all sizes become more customer centric, through expert advisory and consulting services, building a base of loyal customers who buy more and recommend, becoming advocates for your business.
Companies providing a superior experience perform better financially, are more efficient and innovative and lead the ways in terms of employee experience and Customer Start are proud members of the largest CX professional body in the world, the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).
Contact Details:
Website: www.customerstart.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/milesct
Facebook: www.facebook.com/customerstart
Speakers
Will Roberts WebBox Digital
Quick Overview:
If you are frustrated with a website that isn’t delivering the leads, sales, or engagement you hoped for, and you find yourself wondering how to convert more visitors into customers, then join Will for a deep dive into the world of Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO). Will will share actionable techniques and tools that can be implemented immediately to enhance your website’s performance.
Company Information:
Will Roberts is the Founder & Managing Director of WebBox, a company that builds innovative websites and manages performance marketing campaigns, helping businesses get digitally fit and stay ahead of the competition. His entrepreneurial and problem-solving approach allows him to get to the heart of the client’s requirements while keeping abreast of the latest industry developments.
WebBox works with organisations in the health, leisure & tourism, and sports sectors delivering user-centred websites and performance marketing that turn digital ambition into measurable growth. They begin by uncovering what your audiences really need online, then translate those insights into high-performing digital experiences, driving more leads and enquiries while freeing teams from inefficient tech and manual work.
Will is particularly proud of their work for DS Smith Plc, an industry-leading solution that has scaled internationally, their health sector resource platform for Airlocum, and their PPC campaigns for Fever-Tree.
Contact Details:
Website: www.webbox.digital
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/webbox-digital
Facebook: www.facebook.com/webboxdigital
Speakers
Isabella
Venour
Mindstyle Ltd
Quick Overview:
Does your business treat Marketing as a necessary but dreaded task, instead of a secret weapon? This energising session from Isabella promises to completely transform how you think about Marketing, combining practical business strategy with mindset shifts, with actionable advice you can implement immediately.
Company Information:
Isabella Venour is the founder of MindStyle Ltd and is a Business Alignment Strategist and NLP Mindset Coach, supporting businesses from ‘Passionate & Plateauing’ to ‘Successfully Scaling’.
As a Certified Business Strategist and NLP Practitioner, with over a decade in Marketing, Isabella brings a blend of practical business architecture and powerful mindset to guide clients toward a business that fuels both financial success and personal fulfilment.
Isabella busts the biggest marketing myths keeping small business owners stuck in overwhelm and spinning their wheels on social media without seeing real results. Her Marketing Clarity Framework turns scattered efforts into strategic growth and teaches why emotional connection trumps big budgets every time, combining practical business strategy with mindset shifts to help you fall back in love with Marketing whilst creating the sustainable growth your business deserves.
Jonathan will be sharing practical tips at this session, identifying how small businesses can boost sales using tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot, with no tech background required, just useful practical advice that you can put into action straight away.
Company Information:
Jonathan Pollinger helps small businesses use social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in simple, effective ways. With over 15 years of experience, he’s known for making tech easy to understand and showing people how to get real results without the jargon.
As a trainer for NILC, Jonathan helps organisations improve how they work, get noticed online and connect with customers.
NILC is Wales’ leading IT and Project Management training provider, offering over 500 industry-recognised courses and qualifications designed to boost your professional development. Whether upskilling or starting afresh, the expert-led training equips you with the skills for tomorrow, with many of the courses fully funded to make it even easier for small businesses to invest in growth.
Contact Details:
Website: www.nilc.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/nilctraining
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nilctraining
Speakers
Melissa Curran Modern Mind Group
Quick Overview:
Melissa will provide insights into learning sales success strategies at this session, detailing how to build stronger customer relationships and to close deals more effectively. The actionable advice provided will be beneficial in learning how to boost sales performance, and unlock sales potential, with courage and confidence.
Company Information:
Melissa Curran is a Business Owner, Performance Consultant, and bestselling author, with over 20 years’ experience in service based sales.
As a trusted global consultant, Melissa set up The Modern Mind Group in 2019 offering consultancy services for businesses looking to increase profits, create highly engaged teams and achieve record-breaking results.
Melissa has provided over 15,000 hours of coaching from frontline employees up to executive level and delivered over 1000 in person training workshops. Melissa uses her own Emotioneering® Business Formula as a framework alongside the Emotioneering® Blueprint Scorecard to measure success with each team that the Modern Mind Group works with. This is also detailed in her bestselling book Emotioneering® Business Results: Improve Your Team Performance
Contact Details:
Website: www.modernmindgroup.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-curran
Facebook: www.facebook.com/modernmindgroup
Panellists
Darryl Morton Summit Venture
Darryl Morton is a seasoned tech entrepreneur with over two decades of experience founding software ventures.
He built a successful agency working with major UK clients before cofounding The Safeguarding Company, a SaaS provider for child protection in schools. He led its growth to 100 employees and secured £3.2m in VC funding before its acquisition by Tes Global in 2023.
Following a short earn-out, Darryl transitioned into strategic advising. As a founder, he has worked in a hands-on capacity in nearly every aspect of a business during his career: leadership & management, sales, marketing, operations, customer service, engineering, finance, HR, legal etc. Darryl established and scaled these functions and then recruited excellent people to take them over.
He now works as an advisor to ambitious leaders of scaling businesses delivering honest, pragmatic and direct advice on strategic planning, talent development, operational systems, and business growth.
Emma started her career at PwC Cardiff, where she became a Chartered Accountant, progressing to Senior Manager, managing a portfolio of ownermanaged businesses.
Based in Cardiff, BOD was founded in 2017 by Carrie Barford and Emma Owen Davies, after both working closely together at PwC and developing a shared passion for helping Welsh privately owned businesses.
Barford Owen Davies (BOD) is a specialist financial consultancy team based in Wales who work closely with ambitious owner managed businesses and entrepreneurs across a range of sectors. They are passionate about helping their clients grow and realise their potential, striving to deliver beyond expectations by leveraging their extensive experience, broad range of expertise and commitment to deliver.
Lisa is now the Director of Sunny, overseeing the day to day running of the business, but she started her career in accounts before moving between sales, accounts and office management within small businesses. Three years ago, Lisa opened a café alongside a co-director, employing 27 people, as well as starting Sprout Consultants in 2024 to support companies wishing to start up or grow.
Sunny is a recruitment agency with a long-proven track record of providing skilled, motivated and enthusiastic talent to ensure organisations always have a winning team in place. Recruiting for permanent and temporary positions, they also specialise in recruiting for key sectors including Oil, Gas & Renewables, Pharmaceutical, Food & Drink Production and Engineering.
As an independent agency Sunny embrace being able to tailor all of their services to suit any and all of client’s needs, giving the flexibility required to find the ideal person for the job without any stress or hassle.
Contact Details:
Website: www.sunnyrecruitment.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-dagge/
Exhibitors
NILC Training
Gain essential IT & Project Management skills to thrive in your career! NILC is Wales’ leading IT and Project Management training provider, offering over 500 industry-recognised courses and qualifications designed to boost your professional development. Whether you’re upskilling, reskilling, or starting fresh, their expert-led training equips you with the skills for tomorrow. Many of the courses can be fully funded, making it easier than ever for small businesses to invest in growth.
From start up to scale up, the FSB are here to help you on your business journey with a mission to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. We offer our members a wide range of vital business services including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice in government.
Contact Details: Rob Basini www.fsb.org.uk rob.basini@fsb.org.uk
Indelible IP Limited
Founded by Michelle Ward in 2016, Indelible IP provides bespoke friendly advice and consultancy services, specialising in the protection of brands and product and packaging designs for the UK, EU and wider global markets. Based in Monmouthshire, the firm guide businesses through the registration process, advising on the related areas of copyright, unregistered design rights and domain name disputes.
RCS is a social enterprise based in North Wales that delivers personalised support, training and therapies to help individuals and businesses across Wales improve their wellbeing for work. They pride themselves on delivering high quality and engaging wellbeing training, including Mental Health First Aid, Wellbeing Champions, Mental Health Awareness, Motivation and Resilience, Living with Change and Dealing with Stress. Their quality services transform thousands of lives and businesses every year.
Contact Details: Sian Parry www.rcs-wales.co.uk/en hello@rcs-wales.co.uk
Cwmpas
Cwmpas is a co-operative development agency working for positive change, in Wales and across the UK, with a focus on building a fairer, greener economy and a more equal society, where people and planet come first. Established in 1982 as the Wales Co-operative centre, Cwmpas have made it their mission to change the way the economy and society works, bringing funders and partners together to make communities more confident, ambitious and more co-operative.
Contact Details: David Madge www.cwmpas.coop david.madge@cwmpas.coop
Glew Marketing
If focusing and managing your marketing activity is a challenge, you’re not on your own, as even the most well-resourced organisations struggle to fit it all in, as well as fitting it all together. Glew Marketing’s strategic marketing services give you the capacity to reflect on the full picture, clarifying your strategy so it confidently aligns with business goals.
Debbie Basden is an accredited Advanced EFT and NLP practitioner in South Wales, assisting people all over the world to balance their outlook and improve their mental health. Using techniques including Havening, EFT, Tapping and NLP, Balance Your Outlook assists in calming distressed adults from anxiety, phobias and traumas.
Hayley T Wheeler is a renowned thought leader, challenging and changing the way we think about emotional and mental wellbeing. As the creator and founder of EmotionMind Dynamic, Hayley has helped countless children, adults and organisations achieve unprecedented levels of emotional success, bridging the gap between emotional health and real-world results.
Established in 2019, The Modern Mind Group is a People Operations (HR) and Performance consultancy offering professional outsourced services with over 12 years of expertise in people, operations learning and performance. They offer trusted advice and guidance with a high-quality service, providing competent and approachable consultants with a personal and unique approach.
Branding by Becca offers a wide range of marketing services to help you to stand out from the crowd, helping businesses and organisations to establish and continue their brand identity in today’s digital climate. From websites and social media to leaflets and billboards, find out how to bring your brand to life!
WebBox works with organisations in the health, leisure & tourism, and sports sectors delivering usercentred websites and performance marketing that turn digital ambition into measurable growth. By uncovering what your audiences really need online, WebBox translate those insights into high-performing digital experiences, driving more leads and enquiries while freeing teams from inefficient tech and manual work.
Contact Details: Will Roberts www.webbox.digital will@webboxdigital.co.uk
Undivided Training and Consultancy
Undivided Training & Consultancy was founded in 2014, providing bespoke training packages surrounding LGBTQIA+ inclusion and policy guidance. Whilst supporting a multitude of agencies, businesses and organisations, they specialise in providing training, guidance and resources for schools, social and youth workers and other professionals who work with children and young people.
Contact Details: Sarah Maslen www.undivided.org.uk info@undivided.org.uk
Exhibitors
Agor Innovation – Swansea University
Agor Innovation is driving the development of Wales’ innovation ecosystem, empowering business growth through leadership, learning and collaboration. Demonstrating what Swansea University has to offer, Agor Innovation will direct businesses to the expertise that can be provided, bridging the gap between industry and academia.
Contact Details: Adam Fairbank www.swansea.ac.uk/humanities-and-socialsciences/ research/agor-innovation a.r.fairbank@swansea.ac.uk
Service Technology Group
Service Technology Group support SMEs and corporates in the adoption and use of technology, with a portfolio of digital platforms helping companies operate efficiently and increase profits, digitalising essential, value-adding tasks undertaken in the workplace. With a genuine interest in people benefiting from the use of technology, their approach is to understand the business and then implement and evolve, delivering a service with technology at its core.
At It’seeze Website Design Merthyr Tydfil, they craft beautiful and affordable websites specifically designed to showcase your business and connect with customers effectively. As a one-stop shop for all your web design needs, to suit every business and budget, they believe in building partnerships, not just websites, with lifetime web support caring for all your website needs, freeing up time to focus on serving your customers and growing your business.
Contact Details: Alun Hurn www.itseeze-merthyrtydfil.co.uk alun.hurn@itseeze.com
Caffeine Creative
Caffeine Creative are an approachable, people-first, bilingual graphic design agency that crafts inspiring brands and thoughtful visual communications, putting the needs of you and your organisation first. With a background in the creative and marketing world and an understanding of sales and human communications, the team can produce visual work that talks to your customers through powerful visual connections.
Contact Details: Jeff Patreane www.caffeinecreative.co.uk jeff@caffeinecreative.co.uk
Business Wales
Business Wales is a Welsh Government service that provides information, advice and guidance to individuals and businesses at all stages, from start-up to exiting Micro and SMEs looking to develop their business and grow. This specialised support includes business planning, financial management, HR advice, decarbonising the business to accessing new markets. Business Wales plays a key role in supporting the economic strategy by fostering entrepreneurship and encouraging business growth across Wales.
Managing business processes can be stressful and time consuming, and running a business is more than just offering great products or services. MyBiz Solution offer a comprehensive CRM, sales and marketing platform tailored to your business with the aim to help streamline operations, enhance customer engagement and boost productivity and profit.
Isabella Venour, Business Alignment Strategist and NLP Mindset Coach, supports businesses from ‘Passionate & Plateauing’ to ‘Successfully Scaling’. Isabella helps businesses break free from the cage of success by crafting sustainable growth strategies, that feel as good on the inside as they look on the outside, bringing a blend of practical business architecture and powerful mindset, to guide clients towards a business that fuels both financial success and personal fulfilment.
Oseng-Rees Reflection Ltd is a Consultancy & Design Service for Artisan Bespoke Fused Recycled Glass Artworks. They are dedicated to creating sustainable fused glass artworks for interior and architectural installations using only waste glass, with an aim to reduce their carbon footprint by using only recycled glass, providing beautiful, unique pieces of art for both commercial and residential spaces.
Business Pathfinders help you through the challenges your business can throw at you, by providing positive business advice. By applying extensive knowledge, know-how and experience they can create a journey that will exceed key aspirations and ambitions identified by business owners, building a pathway to success through diagnostic assessment, simple plans construction and providing your business with confidence.
Contact Details: Matt Preece www.businesspathfinders.co.uk matt@businesspathfinders.co.uk
Business News Wales
Business News Wales is an independent digital media platform dedicated to providing intelligent, targeted news and analysis to the Welsh business community. They connect organisations, policymakers, and entrepreneurs through sector-specific content, campaigns, and events that promote sustainable economic growth across Wales.
Contact Details: Paul Scanlon www.businessnewswales.com paul@businessnewswales.com
The Welsh Whisky Co (Penderyn)
Penderyn Distillery is the home of Welsh Whisky, Wales’ first whisky distillery in over 100 years and pioneers in World Whisky. They produce award-winning single malt whiskies and spirits at their distilleries in Brecon Beacons, Llandudno and Swansea. With investment, inspiration, hard work, attention to detail, the finest barley, expert female distillers and the best American oak bourbon casks, Penderyn Whisky has quickly gained a worldwide reputation for its range of whiskies, available in over 50 countries.
The Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme launched in 2014, to recognise commitment and support from UK employers towards Defence. The scheme included Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards for organisations that can demonstrate varying levels of support and alignment of their values with the MOD’s Armed Forces Covenant, highlighting the benefits of employing veterans and family members by supporting reservists in your workforce.
The Swansea Bay City Deal is pleased to support the FSB in bringing the Small Business Conference to Swansea this year. As an unprecedented investment of up to £1.3 billion across nine headline projects throughout South West Wales, SME’s are at the heart of the City Deal, helping create jobs, grow the local supply chain and improve skills. The City Deal is funded by the UK Government and the Welsh Government, the four local authorities of Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea - together with the Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda University Health Boards, Swansea University, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and private sector partners.
Contact Details: Peter Austin www.swanseabaycitydeal.wales praustin@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
Sight Life
Sight Life, formerly known as Cardiff Institute for the Blind, offers a wide range of local services to support blind and partially sighted people across much of South Wales. Established in 1865 they are one of Wales’ oldest charities with a mission to help people live independent, active, social and fulfilling lives. With a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, they provide help and advice on all issues relating to sight loss, with support available for all.
Barrow HR provides affordable and straight-talking support, advice and training on all of your staff-related matters. From when you start up in business through to times of growth and change, whether you need help with recruiting, staff problems or team building, Barrow HR can help, leaving busy business owners and managers free to focus on running their business. No matter what kind of business – sole trader, family business, franchise, partnership, limited company or charity – they offer an affordable service designed specifically for you.
Contact Details: Deb Barrow www.barrowhr.wales deb@barrowhr.wales
At the Federation of Small Businesses, we’ve supported small business owners like Frank to start, run and grow amazing businesses since 1974.
• Free local and national networking events
• Legal support and tax protection
• 24/7 HR advice
• Built-in legal expenses insurance
• Exclusive discounts for members
• Access to over 1,500 legal documents and templates
