West Country Business Show

"Young people are not a “future workforce” — they are a current opportunity. At a time when businesses face persistent skills gaps, retention challenges and productivity pressures, the untapped potential of young people represents one of the UK’s greatest economic assets. In this keynote, Clare Ansell, DWP Group Director for South West England, sets out a practical, optimistic, and delivery-focused vision for youth employment. Drawing on frontline insight, employer partnerships and place-based approaches already making a difference, Clare brings a perspective shaped both inside and outside government. The session will explore: Why youth employment matters now — not just as a social issue, but as a competitiveness and growth priority for employers and regions What works in helping young people move into work earlier, build confidence and sustain progression The evolving role of employers in creating youth-positive recruitment, retention, and progression pathways How government, business and local systems can work together to unlock talent, support growth sectors, and strengthen communities Grounded in real experience and focused on collective action, this keynote invites the audience to see youth employment not as someone else’s responsibility — but as a shared opportunity we build together. "

"Domestic abuse, sexual harassment and stalking do not stop at the workplace door. Their effects can show up through absence, reduced productivity, changes in performance, staff turnover and, sometimes, an employee simply struggling in silence. At the same time, employers are facing greater expectations around workplace safety. Employers now have had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, moving the emphasis increasingly towards prevention rather than simply responding when something goes wrong. In this practical session, Justin Horton from FearFree will explore what this means for employers and why creating a safer workplace is about much more than compliance. The session will look at the hidden impact of domestic abuse on working lives, the role managers can play when someone asks for help, and the simple steps organisations can take to improve confidence, policy and culture. This is not about turning managers into counsellors or asking employers to solve problems outside work. It is about helping organisations recognise when something may be wrong, respond appropriately and make sure people know where support is available. Attendees will leave with practical ideas they can take back into their own organisation, and a clearer understanding of why safer workplaces are also stronger workplaces."

"The way people find businesses online is changing, with platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools increasingly influencing how people discover, compare and choose brands. In this session, Peaky Digital will explore what this shift means for businesses and introduce Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, in a practical and accessible way. We’ll look at how traditional SEO is evolving and what this means for you and your business. You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of GEO and the practical steps your business can take to improve its chances of being found. If your customers are"

"One business owner made £18,700 in three months and felt like a success. However, the maths said something different. This interactive session gives the audience Three Top Tips to improve how their business runs based on real events. Most business owners know their turnover. Fewer look at their true operating costs, and struggle to see what is costing them money or ways they could work more efficiently. This session is about spotting the patterns behind these challenges and what to do about them. Working with businesses across sectors and with very different ways of working, we see these same patterns over and over. Whether the business is in logistics, hospitality, or technology, the underlying lessons are surprisingly similar. More surprisingly, they are simple to fix once you can see them. This interactive talk focuses on real-life scenarios along with a live demonstration on just how easily a simple instruction can go wrong. And the easiest way to fix it. No jargon, just three practical tips you can take back to your business the next day. This session is perfect for owners of growing businesses who want to know why there feels like a gap between how hard they are working and their returns. "

"Every speaker this year will tell you AI is changing everything. Meanwhile most small businesses are still at the stage of trying ChatGPT for the odd social post and wondering why the result sounds like everyone else’s. So relax. You’re not behind, and you’re in good company. James will explain what’s actually going on. The tools are fine and the training is mostly unnecessary. The real gap is that AI knows nothing about your business, your customers or your local market, so it hands you the same generic marketing it hands your competitors down the road. Close that gap and the same tools start producing something useful. Leave it open and you’ll produce more content, faster, that nobody reads. He’ll show you how to close it without a data team or a big budget, using a live map of a real West Country market to show what AI can do once it understands who you’re competing with and where the demand sits. He’ll also cover the question most owners never get a straight answer to: how to tell whether anything you do with AI is bringing in customers, rather than just keeping you busy. This is for owners and managers who run marketing themselves or with a small team and want a plain answer on where"

"Can Your Workforce Touch Their Toes? Here's Why That Question Matters More Than You Think We're opening with a simple experiment: reach for your toes and notice where you stop. It sounds like an odd way to start a business talk, but that small physical test reveals something most HR reports never show you, how much accumulated strain your people are carrying, and how that strain quietly affects energy, focus, and performance long before it shows up as a sick day. In this session, Wellness Compass Team unpacks the hidden connection between physical stiffness, the well-known 3pm energy slump, and workplace productivity. We'll look at why prolonged sitting affects far more than posture, why the instinctive fixes for afternoon fatigue often make things worse, and why presenteeism, being at your desk but running well below capacity, may be costing your business more than absence ever does. This isn't a talk about wellness as a nice-to-have. It's a practical look at two everyday signals, movement and energy, that are more connected, and more measurable, than most leaders realise. Expect straightforward science, no jargon, and a few things you can start noticing in your own team from tomorrow morning. Purely educational, with no sales pitch, just a fresh way to think about a question every business should be asking."

"What gives your people energy at work, and what drains them? It’s sometimes a difficult question to answer but worth working out. When people use their strengths, the things that bring energy to their day, they feel more confident and motivated, and their wellbeing rises. When strengths go unused, or are pushed into overdrive, the result is often stress, frustration and burnout for the individual and their team. In this interactive 30-minute session, Nic Jackson will explain what strengths really are and why they matter for wellbeing, sharing practical tips you can use straight away. You’ll explore why moving from fixing weaknesses to building on strengths is one of the simplest ways to boost sustainable energy and reduce burnout. After identifying a strength of your own, you’ll experience how this builds confidence and motivation. Nic will then turn to teams, showing how a shared awareness of each other’s strengths improves collaboration, helps managers delegate with confidence, and opens up more honest, supportive conversations. You’ll leave with simple, practical tips for bringing the benefits of positive psychology back to your own teams, including the questions that help people embed their strengths every day. Whether you lead a small business or support people across a large organisation, this session will turn your focus to your people, giving you fresh ideas for building more energised, connected and resilient teams."

"With half of the global workforce now self-employed, the fractional C-suite population growing at an unprecedented rate, and an explosion in demand for both flexible talent and fractional leadership solutions, what are the implications for the future of work and how businesses scale? How is this transforming the competitive landscape in recruitment and consultancy, and enabling SMEs to access the best executives more flexibly to build dream boards they can afford? Liberti Club Director Alex Evans will present analysis of the new accelerators of scale and explain how over 60% of global SMEs are maximising fractional leadership to grow more profitably, enhance equity value, and avoid the most costly mistakes. Alex will also highlight the growing trend toward growth through strategic partnership, how to maximise referrals, and the role of fractional leaders in finding and optimising the best partners."

"Join an inspiring panel of women making their mark across the South West business community. From leadership and entrepreneurship to overcoming challenges and creating opportunities, our panellists will share their experiences, lessons learned and practical advice. Expect an open, engaging conversation celebrating success, tackling the realities of doing business, and exploring how we can continue to champion and empower women across the South West."

"With the UK facing the challenges of climate change, from biodiversity loss to flooding and droughts the outlook can be bleak, but challenge brings opportunity and hope. We know how to overcome these challenges. Trees are the most valuable assets in the fight against climate, from producing clouds, stabilising our climate, preventing floods and drought, even supporting fish stocks. Trees are a powerful tool, but without collaboration we won’t achieve our woodland creation targets and make a meaningful change Collaborating with businesses and the economic force this can unlock is key. Plant One has successfully collaborated with Finisterre, Fat Face, Verdant, Olbas Oil, Aviva and many more organisations to work together to reverse the decline of biodiversity and push back against climate change. This is a win for nature but also supports the growth of the businesses we collaborate with, from successful marketing campaigns, staff engagement and buy in from consumers, partnering with nature is the right collaboration for businesses, in this 30min talk Carl will showcase how Plant One's collaboration with businesses is a partnership that works both ways. "

"When several businesses offer similar services, what makes someone choose yours? Being good at what you do matters, but potential clients need to understand why your business is the right fit for them. That can be difficult to explain when the things you talk about, like quality, experience and personal service, sound much the same as everyone else. Without a clearer reason to choose you, clients can end up comparing on price or overlooking what you could bring to their project. In this session, brand designer Tanya Rodgers explores how brand positioning helps you communicate the value of your work to the people you most want to work with. Through examples and practical questions, you’ll look at what your ideal clients are looking for, the alternatives they’re considering and what makes your approach particularly valuable to them. You’ll learn how to recognise strengths you may take for granted, support your claims with evidence and use those insights to explain why someone should choose your business. For independent business owners who struggle to put their value into words, this session offers a clearer starting point for talking about your work across your website, marketing and conversations with potential clients."

"What if you could employ someone tomorrow who worked 24 hours a day, could analyse huge amounts of information, never got bored with repetitive tasks and cost a fraction of a traditional employee? What would you ask them to do – and, perhaps more importantly, what would you never allow them to do? Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how businesses operate, but for many business owners the challenge isn't understanding the technology – it's knowing where AI can genuinely make a difference. In this practical and interactive seminar, Nigel Gooding FBCS will cut through the hype and explore how businesses of all sizes can use AI to save time, improve productivity, support customers, develop marketing, analyse information and make better-informed decisions. Using the idea of AI as your newest employee, Nigel will help you identify tasks you could delegate to AI, where human judgement remains essential, and how to introduce AI without losing control of your data, your customer relationships or your business. You don't need to be an AI expert or run a technology company. Come with a business challenge, a repetitive task or simply some curiosity. The aim is simple: leave with at least one practical way you can put AI to work in your business tomorrow. "

"You’re under pressure to show LinkedIn delivers more than impressions. Your content gets likes, but not pipeline. Your outreach is ignored. Sales say the leads don’t convert. These gaps cost you budget and credibility. This session shows what will be critical for getting ROI from LinkedIn in 2026 - You’ll see what’s driving revenue with organic content, direct outreach, and how lead gen performs when marketing and sales are aligned. T1: Which types of content are driving engagement and leads T2: What outreach is working for top performers T3: What organic campaigns are driving results"

Andys Man Club is a suicide prevention charity and we hold peer to peer support groups at 7pm every Monday (except Bank Holidays) We will talk about the what, when, where and how of Andys Man Club.

"Your brand is everywhere - from social feeds and websites to emails, campaigns and print. But does it always feel like the same brand? This talk explores why consistency matters across every touchpoint, helping businesses build recognition, trust and a stronger connection with their audience. We'll look at how to keep your brand joined-up without becoming repetitive, and how to flex your identity across different channels while still remaining unmistakably you."

"In a world overflowing with noise, businesses often believe the answer is to speak louder. The reality is that the brands that cut through are rarely the ones shouting the most. They're the ones that make people feel something. Your brand is making an impression long before anyone reads any of your material. The question is: what is it saying? This session explores the powerful role emotion plays in shaping perception, trust and buying decisions. Through real-world examples and practical insights, Darren reveals how visual cues influence the way people judge, remember and connect with brands. You'll discover why first impressions matter more than ever, why people really do judge books by their covers and how something as simple as colour, typography and space can dramatically change the way a business is perceived. Whether you're a business owner, marketer or leader looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace, you'll leave with a fresh perspective on how to create a brand that connects emotionally, builds trust quickly and remains memorable long after the conversation ends."

"Clear, compelling communication sits at the heart of success in today’s competitive B2B landscape. In this interactive seminar, TEDx speaker coach Barney Grenfell will share proven techniques for crafting and delivering a powerful business story, drawing on his experience coaching hundreds of TED speakers and working with international organisations. We’ll explore: how to understand what your audience needs to hear, and why that can differ from what you want to say. How emotion shapes decision-making and can help muster audience buy-in. We will also uncover some common presentation flaws that quietly undermine impact, explaining why so many presentations fall flat and what to do differently to ensure yours resonates. In a world where influence happens across boardrooms, conference stages, and digital platforms, the ability to present with clarity and confidence is no longer optional, it is essential. Whether you are pitching to potential investors, engaging new clients, or strengthening relationships with existing customers, the insights and techniques outlined in this seminar will help you elevate your presence, sharpen your message, and create a lasting impression. The difference between a good business and an extraordinary one isn’t just in its products, its services, or even its strategy, it’s in how powerfully it tells its story. Because people don’t just buy what you sell, they buy the story they feel, remember, and want to be part of. In this session we’ll show you how to create those stories and elevate your business to the next level."

"What happens when the “I’m fine” stops? As a psychotherapist and founder of Pegasus – Men’s Wellbeing Centre, Beata Webb has spent more than a decade listening to men talk about the things they rarely say out loud – and almost certainly don’t tell their boss. Behind the job titles, professional confidence and everyday banter are often very different conversations: pressure, self-doubt, burnout, loneliness, relationship difficulties, fear of failure, financial worries and the expectation that they should simply be able to cope. Drawing on lessons from thousands of hours in the counselling room, Beata explores what those conversations can teach us about the workplace. Why do some men wait until crisis point before asking for help? What might be happening behind changes in behaviour, performance or attitude? And what can leaders do differently? This isn’t about turning managers into therapists or expecting employers to solve people’s personal problems. It’s about noticing, listening and creating workplaces where a conversation can happen before someone reaches breaking point. A human, practical and sometimes uncomfortable conversation about what men don’t tell their bosses – and why perhaps we should start asking better questions."

"What would happen if someone suddenly collapsed in your workplace? This practical, interactive session explores what employees should do during the crucial first few minutes of a medical emergency before medical help arrives. We’ll take you through a realistic workplace scenario involving a sudden collapse and ask the audience: “What would you do?” The session will explore how to recognise when someone may be in cardiac arrest, when and how to call 999, the importance of starting CPR quickly and when a AED should be used. By the end of the session, attendees will have a clearer understanding of what they can do in those critical first few minutes and why workplace emergency preparedness is everyone's responsibility."

"Despite significant progress in workplace equality, menopause remains a largely overlooked factor contributing to gender inequality, career disruption, workforce attrition, and the gender pay gap. Many women experience challenges during perimenopause and menopause that can impact confidence, performance, attendance, and career progression at a time when they are often at the height of their professional experience and leadership potential. This seminar explores the connection between menopause, gender equality, and workforce retention, while examining the role of the new Equality Action Plan requirements and the increasing expectations on employers to address barriers affecting women's participation and progression in the workplace. Combining expertise with practical workplace strategies, the session will provide guidance on developing menopause-inclusive policies, educating managers, reducing stigma, and creating supportive workplace cultures. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to help strengthen their Equality Action Plans, improve employee experience, support the retention of experienced female talent, and drive meaningful progress towards greater gender equality and organisational success."

Most small businesses pay for Microsoft 365 and use a fraction of it: email, Word, perhaps Teams. In this session, Paul Turner of Cosmic shows what is already sitting in your licence and how to put it to work. You'll see how to check you're on the right plan, end the back-and-forth of booking appointments, get files out of inboxes and into one place, and make safe use of the AI assistant that comes with your work account. Along the way, Paul will take an admin headache from the audience, using only tools included in standard business plans. You'll leave with a Microsoft 365 value check and one thing to switch on by Monday. No technical knowledge needed.

"Could the public sector be one of the biggest markets your business is overlooking? Government and public bodies spend around £400 billion every year, buying everything from food, care and construction to technology, training and professional services – yet many SMEs either assume those contracts are not for them or only start thinking about an opportunity when the tender appears. In this fast-paced, practical session, Steve Pinnell will cut through the jargon and show how smaller businesses can approach public-sector growth more intelligently. You'll discover where opportunities really come from, why winning often starts long before the tender is published, how to decide whether an opportunity is genuinely worth bidding for, and what public-sector buyers are really looking for when they evaluate your response. Steve will also break down common procurement myths, highlight costly mistakes to avoid and demonstrate a simple technique for turning weak, generic tender answers into evidence-led responses that give buyers confidence. You'll leave with a clearer view of whether public-sector contracts could be right for your business and practical steps you can take immediately to start exploring the market."

"This 45 minute keynote introduces the High-Performance Operator, a structured approach to understanding how health underpins leadership capacity, decision quality and sustained performance under pressure. Delivered jointly by Ollie Osborne and Don Armand, the session draws on experience from elite military and international sport environments, translated into a commercially relevant framework for modern organisations. The discussion focuses on how performance degradation rarely occurs as a single event. Instead, it develops gradually through unmanaged pressure, compromised recovery and declining cognitive capacity. Most organisations lack visibility of this process, which means performance variability and risk exposure often go unmeasured until outcomes are affected. Through an interactive format, the session explores how leadership health directly influences operational effectiveness, consistency of output and the quality of decision making at senior level. Attendees will be guided through the relationship between health, capacity and performance, and how this links to organisational risk. The session also introduces a structured pathway for identifying and measuring leadership performance exposure, before outlining how organisations can intervene proportionately. This is not a discussion around wellbeing or engagement. It is a commercially grounded perspective on protecting capability, maintaining performance and reducing avoidable risk within leadership teams operating under sustained pressure."

"The world is accelerating. technology, artificial intelligence and constant change are reshaping how we live, work and lead. But as the pace of change increases, one of our greatest advantages remains our ability to stay calm, think clearly and respond deliberately. In this engaging and practical session, former Special Forces leader Rob Colley explores why the quality of our decisions is often determined by our internal state, particularly when we are under pressure. Drawing on lessons from high-pressure military environments, alongside practical breath and awareness training, Rob will explore how stress influences our thinking, behaviour and ability to lead. Attendees will discover how to recognise when pressure is affecting their judgement, understand the difference between reacting and responding, and experience a simple technique they can use to create greater calm and clarity during demanding situations. This session is not about removing pressure or avoiding change. It is about developing the human capabilities to navigate both more effectively. Because in a world where information is increasingly available to everyone, the ability to turn knowledge into wise decisions may be one of our greatest competitive advantages."