July, a month of networing, events and glamping......

Wow what a first year it's been for Sblash, and at just over a year old it is definitely time I concentrated on my own marketing and let you all know what i've been up to. As a small business I find it as much of a challenge as you all do to get everything done and as my days are filled with writing content and blogs for other people i often neglect my own, but today that changes and while sitting in Cafe Braz in Llandeilo on a Sunday morning (having just enjoyed a full Welsh breakfast) it's time to put pen to paper, the modern way! 

So July has been a busy month which started with me attending the Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE) joint meeting between the lovely ladies of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire's local networks. Anyone who hasn't heard about WiRE, basically it's a networking group for women in rural parts of the UK. Women of all business sectors come together in local networks to offer support, assist and collaborate with a bunch of like minded people. 

I've been a member of our Carmarthenshire WiRE group for over a year now and a number of fellow members have become clients and more importantly friends. What you men have to realise is that running a business as a women is very different and has added challenges, and our WiRE group has become a lifeline and support to overcome those challenges. 

The event saw over 50 women who all run their own business attend and it was inspiring to meet so many wonderful and motivational women all striving to meet their business goals. We had a thought provoking presentation from Nicola Merriman who spoke about her experiences of working with Prince's Gate Water. It was interesting to here her experience of working to rebrand a large established business but more importantly how the principles and tools can be transferred to smaller businesses to achieve results. 

The busy month of July continued with a number of new clients joining the Sblash portfolio. As a country girl, born and raised in Devil's Bridge, Aberystwyth it is always great to work with businesses who contribute so much to the rural economy of Wales. New clients on board include Agri Advisor Solicitors and Ambassador Training Wales. 

The theme of rural Wales continued in the third week of July with my annual pilgrimage to Builth Wells for the Royal Welsh Agriculture Show. It was to be a week of work and pleasure, and as someone who probably hasn't missed the Royal Welsh since I was born it's great to be able to work at the event. As one of the largest events of its kind in Europe, the Royal Welsh is a hive of business deals and networking. My working days involved assisting Best of Wales on their stand, working to attract new cottage owners to their ever increasing portfolio of quality self catering cottages all across Wales. 

My 'spare' time was spent in the Show's Press Office where I help out as one of the stewards. This was my 2nd year helping out and seeing the hive of activity in the media hub of the show is fascinating. Journalists, Media and Photographers all rushing to meet deadlines and all searching for that headline that will make them stand out from others. 

Moving on from the Royal Welsh my attentions turned to another of Wales' iconic festivals, The National Eisteddfod of Wales which this year takes place in Meifod.  Here with Best of Wales the Eisteddfod was to have its first ever Glamping site. 23 bell tents all full of happy and excited guests for the week. Organising this has been a challenging experience, but one I have enjoyed, and seeing our guests reaction when they arrived yesterday made it all worth it. 

So what's on the card for August. The Eisteddfod continues until the end of the week and ensuring glamping guests are happy is a priority. The focus then turns to planning a series of Social Media training courses in collaboration with W3 web design which will run in the Autumn, watch out for announcement on dates on Social media and on here over the next few weeks. The month then ends with a trip to America visiting a number of the State Fairs across Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota. And even though this is a holiday of sorts there is always opportunity to learn form others and I look forward to seeing how they market their events and analysing their social media activity whilst there.