Spotlight Series: delegate wranglers

Legacy Club goes under the hood of some ofcommunity, to see what makes them and their businesses tick!

Founder & MD THE DELEGATE WRANGLERS, NEIL THOMPSON

Please tell us a little bit about you the person (not you the business owner): With 22 years experience in the event industry, I've travelled all over the world but there's nothing I love more that being at home with my family and watching my beloved Liverpool FC (season ticket holder since I was 7). I was a semi-pro footballer in my youth and still enjoy playing football, keeping fit, walking & running. I'm also a HUGE movie fan and during normal times visit the cinema at least twice a month.

I've been married for 21 years to Diane, we have two children (Charlotte 16 & Alex 18) and we are based in Ainsdale, near Southport in the north west. We live 5 mins walk from the gorgeous Ainsdale sand dunes and spend a lot of time there during the warmer months.

Describe your business in less than 30 words: We’re a platform for the event industry to connect, collaborate and do business. We’re official community partners with Facebook, with 21,000 highly engaged members. Pre-lockdown over £1M business leads placed weekly

What industry or sector does your business fall in to?: Events / Hospitality

What did you do before you started your business?: Senior Event Manager with my own freelance company

What have been the biggest struggles that you have encountered, and what did you do to overcome them?: Initially, disrupting the tried and tested format of networking and sales that the industry had always followed. But by showing up, treating people fairly and consistently, as well as being agile and making the group fresh, exciting, necessary and ultimately worthwhile for people to keep coming back to, we've developed a huge, loyal and engaged following that is showing no sign of slowing up. We would like to think that we've turned 99.9% of those initial doubters in believers to earn our place as an absolutely vital business community to be a part of. We currently have over 75% engagement levels of our members using the group every month - event during the covid crisis.

Have you had any external investment to date?: No

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on your business and did you make any changes, or pivots?: It has been a huge struggle for the event / hospitality industry - probably the most affected by the struggles of this crisis. But this was the time that we really showed up as a vital community. Most (if not all) of the community were furloughed or even worse, made redundant, so we made sure we were there for every single one of them. So we did EVERYTHING for free on the group - free job & event listings, free promotional features, free newsletter ads, numerous free online social events, and most vitally, we started a new feature called the DW Live Show giving free upskilling and masterclasses in all aspects of the event industry as well as business training. We are continuing this work into 2021 with the anticipated return of normality...

Do you struggle with, or have you found any of the following barriers to your business growth?: Infrastructure

Do you have any business hero's, if so, who are they?: My Dad, John Thompson. He's had his own businesses since the 1970s, taught me the art of working hard but mostly working smart. Taking the plunge when you're ready, being brave and always having not only a plan B, but also & a plan C & D. He was always obsessed with processes and improving them, and I've definitely inherited his traits. He's still doing bits now and regularly gives me advice as he approaches 75 years old. What a man.

Financial Rewards or Business Awards?: Financial Rewards

What was the last book you read?: The Positive Leader by Jan Mühlfeit & Melina Costi.

Tell us something totally unique about your business: We don't allow any negativity in our group whatsoever. The positivity breeds success and collaboration for everyone. It's our no.1 focus

Finally, please tell us what we can look forward to with your business as we head in to 2021: We have started an option membership enhancement called DW Superstars - which gives members access to our Superstars Testimonial service so you can let your clients do the talking for you and then build up your 'Superstars' and use them to win more business on the group.