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Resilient, purposeful, and customer-focused: Lessons from a group of leading entrepreneurs.

Last month I traded the boardroom for the banks of the Thames when I joined a group of small business owners for a walk and talk session in London. It was a real pleasure to be invited to a grid – one of the monthly sessions that Small Business Britain and BT host to bring local businesses together, get some fresh air and talk about the realities of running your own operation. This seems more important than ever when you consider that the vast majority of UK SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) work alone.

Since the creation of BT’s new business unit, I have made it my mission to listen to as many customers as possible. BT works with around a million small businesses, and it’s not often that you get the chance to spend face-to-face time with such a dynamic group of people building their own business from scratch. Overall, Netwalk left me feeling proud and inspired. Even in difficult economic times, with the international bar set very high, it is clear to me that UK entrepreneurship is punching well above his weight.

As a result, I have the energy to bring more of that entrepreneurial spirit into my day-to-day leadership: thinking less like a big corporation and more like a small business.

Be brave enough to take the risk

SMEs represent 99% of the UK business population and contribute around half of private sector turnover.¹. These entrepreneurs play an important role in the development of the economy, and Netwalk really brought this to life for me. When I arrived, the first thing that struck me was the wide variety of businesses, from a security specialist to someone who creates games to keep kids off screens. In just one session I met people who were self-employed, people who provided valuable services, people who made products, people who were starting over.

I also got a real idea of ​​the courage of these entrepreneurs. They are putting their hearts and souls into making their businesses work, some toiling, some literally staking their house on something new, but there was an overwhelming sense of optimism and camaraderie in the air. In the corporate world, there is definitely something we can learn here: be bold enough to take risks when it feels right.

Focusing on the customer

It is this entrepreneurial mindset that brought me back to BT. At a time when businesses of all shapes and sizes are under increasing economic pressure, SMEs are having to do more with less.

This is not an easy time for small businesses. What becomes clear from talking to them is that their relationships with customers and the communities around them are the glue that holds their businesses together. They can’t afford to let this go, and neither can we. We need to keep a laser focus on delivering to customers, giving them what they need now and in the future.

Connecting people with purpose

Whether they are large multinationals, utility providers, wholesale partners, large corporations or SMEs, meeting more UK customers this year has left me in awe of what people can do with connectivity. And the Netwalk just amplified this for me. People who achieve great things for their communities: They dedicate their time and expertise to give back through their businesses.

This got me thinking about the ways we further embed purpose into everything we do as a large company and how we continue to advocate for our smaller customers. We need to do more to equip them with the tools and skills they need to thrive and use our platform as one of the UK’s best-known B2B brands to give small businesses a stronger voice.

It’s humbling to think that over a million people like these are building their businesses on BT. At Netwalk I heard about people building entire sales strategies on social media, or relying solely on their phones to run their day-to-day operations. It’s up to us to build and maintain a rock-solid digital foundation for your success, today and tomorrow. After all, if they can’t trust our network, how are they going to reach their customers, their supply chain, their communities? How will they evolve, expand and strengthen their role as the foundation of the economy?

It is our responsibility to keep entrepreneurship alive by showing SMEs we support them, building and empowering them to take risks, unlock their potential and play their part in making Britain grow again.

[1] UK Small Business Statistics | FSB, The Federation of Small Businesses