Nighat Awan OBE, Chief Executive and Co-Owner of Shere Khan restaurants and Founder of Suki International floristry, and Perween Warsi CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of recipe dish manufacturer S&A Foods, will be the keynote speakers at the Growing Your Own Business Exhibition & Conference at the NEC, Birmingham on 7 & 8 October 2005.

ABOUT NIGHAT AWAN

Nighat Awan OBE was born and bred in Manchester and took charge of her own garment factory at the age of 18. She then moved on to set up a floristry business that was sold to Interflora in 1987. Nighat now heads the international Shere Khan empire of restaurants and curry products, which sells curry sauces and accompaniments in major UK supermarkets as well as exporting to Hong Kong, Canada, USA, Spain, France, Belgium and Australia.

In her role as a businesswoman Nighat has worked hard in corporate social responsibility. She is one of only 27 ambassadors nationwide for the Business in the Community (BITC) organisation, and encourages other businesses to give time and money to the community.

Nighat has been no stranger to awards. In 2004 Nighat was awarded an OBE in recognition of her services to export and to charity. She has also won a variety of awards through her success in business, including the 2005 Business Award in the Muslim News Awards for Excellence and the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.

Nighat will be revealing the secrets of her success at the Growing Your Own Business Conference at 10:30 on Friday 7 October, with a seminar titled, 'The challenges of building a business.' This will include the key principles in building any business, evolving business acumen with company needs and achieving and maintaining business success.

ABOUT PERWEEN WARSI

Perween Warsi CBE has in nineteen years masterminded the development of the UK's fastest growing independent food manufacturing company, S&A Foods, from a cottage industry to a £65million turnover business. In 1986 Perween founded S&A Foods and 10 years later she received the Woman Entrepreneur of the World award.

In 1997 Perween was awarded the great privilege of an MBE in the British New Year's Honours list. Furthermore, in 2002 Perween received the prestigious CBE award and in June 2005, Perween was awarded the First Women Lifetime Achievement Award alongside Baroness Hogg, chairman of 3i.

Perween believes firmly in building a team of highly qualified people around her and in developing a strong 'family' culture amongst employees who are encouraged to challenge their personal and professional boundaries and strive for excellence.

Perween will be presenting the keynote speech on Day Two of the conference at 10:30 on Saturday 8 October, with a presentation titled, 'Growing into an inspirational leader.' This will include topics such as how to develop your skills as your business evolves, becoming a role model - inspiring by example, and thinking strategically for long-term growth.

The Growing Your Own Business Exhibition & Conference is the perfect place to gain advice and support when developing a company. Free seminars, successful entrepreneurs revealing the secrets of their success and experts with services to help businesses grow are all featured at the event.

Other speakers at the Growing Your Own Business Conference include: Rocky Mirza, Founder, iBETX; Keith Johnston, Managing Director, GoinGreen; Ravi Gehlot, Founder, OneOffice; Douglas Struthers, Founder, Frumba Limited; Ashley Wheaton, Chief Executive Officer, InfoBasis Limited; Jurga Zilinskiene, Managing Director, Today Translations Ltd.; Jamie Moodie, Founder, UK Speed Networking; Nadine Lewis, Founder, Identikids Limited and Hannah Reynolds, Managing Director, Zarr Internet Services.

Co-located with The National Franchise Exhibition, Growing Your Own Business takes place on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 October 2005 at the NEC, Birmingham. It features companies and experts offering highly valuable advice and services to enable businesses to expand much faster, increase their efficiency, and most importantly, improve their profitability and develop sustainable growth. A series of professional organisations including accountants, lawyers and small business support services will also be on hand at the event to advise visitors on all aspects of developing their business.

Visitors will be able to visit the free Business Advice Zone, which offers small business owners unique one-to-one advice from key experts as well as invaluable networking opportunities with their peers.

Growing Your Own Business is open from 10:00 each day, closing at 17:00 on Friday 7 October and 16:00 on Saturday 8 October at The NEC, Birmingham. For tickets please call the hotline on 0870 7771048 or visit www.growingyourownbusiness.co.uk. Callers can purchase tickets in advance by credit card for £8 each or £7 each for two or more. Admission on the door is £13.

FINAL SEMINAR PROGRAMME

Growing Your Own Business Exhibition & Conference
7 & 8 October 2005, NEC Birmingham

DAY ONE - Friday 7 October

10:30 - 11:00 Opening Address
1. The challenges of building a business
· Key principles in building any business
· Evolving your business acumen with your company needs
· Varying industries, varying challenges
· Achieving and maintaining business successes
Nighat Awan, OBE, Chief Executive, The Shere Khan Group
In 2004 Nighat was awarded the OBE in recognition of her services to export and to charity; she has won a variety of awards through her successful three businesses, including 2005 Business Award in the Muslim News Awards for Excellence and 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.

11:15 - 11:45
2. Implementing a plan for growth
· Why is strategic planning is necessary?
· How to set realistic goals and achieve them
· The value of creating a flexible plan to enable steady growth
· How can you anticipate obstacles?
Ashley Wheaton, Chief Executive Officer, InfoBasis

12:15 - 12:45
3. Get more done, have more free time
· Getting results, quickly
· Time management: tactics
· Harnessing stress
· Achieving work-life balance
Douglas Struthers, Founder, Frumba
2004 IGD Award Winner for Consumer Insight for the Fruvo range

13:15 - 13:45
4. Financing your business future
· What are the various sources of finance available to you?
· Approaching banks for funding
· How to approach and attract additional investors
· Being realistic in your financial forecasting
Jurga Zilinskiene, Managing Director, Today Translations
Winner of the Shell LiveWIRE Entrepreneur of the Year Award

14:15 - 14:45
5. Using the web to deliver business results
· Making the most of your web presence
· Using the internet to interact with customers
· Structuring your website for search engines
· Measuring your success
Hannah Reynolds, Managing Director, Zarr Internet Services

15:15 - 15:45
6. Marketing your way to success
· How to effectively establish your brand
· Identifying with and relating to your target audience
· Successful marketing on a small budget
· Realistic marketing tactics for a small business
· Integrating internet marketing into your marketing plan
Keith Johnston, Managing Director, GoinGreen
Winner of 2004 Startup Business of the Year and finalist in 2005 Marketing Awards for Excellence

16:15 - 16:45 Closing Keynote
7. How to be a successful entrepreneur
· What skills and attributes do you need to have as an entrepreneur?
· Maintaining motivation and focus to ensure consistent business growth
· Overcoming and learning from obstacles
· The role of advisors and a support network to maintain long term growth
Rocky Mirza, Founder, iBetX

DAY TWO - Saturday 8 October

10:30 - 11:00
8. Growing into an inspirational leader
· How to develop your skills as your business evolves
· Being responsible for your own learning
· Learning from your peers and mentors
· Becoming a role model - inspiring by example
· Thinking strategically for long-term growth
Perween Warsi, CBE, Founder & CEO, S & A Foods
Perween has won a number of awards including the Woman Entrepreneur of the World Award in 1996. In 2002 she received the prestigious CBE award in the Queen's Jubilee Honours list. In June 2005, she was awarded the First Women Lifetime Achievement Award alongside Baroness Hogg, chairman of 3i.

11:15 - 11:45
9. Building your business future through PR
· How important is PR to your business progress?
· PR tactics for optimum coverage with minimum budget!
· How can you establish relationships with the media?
· How to maximise the potential of any PR activity
· Resources for doing your own PR
Nadine Lewis, Founder, Identikids

12:15 - 12:45
10. Networking to double your sales
· Why is effective networking essential to you?
· How to network in any situation
· How to select and develop contacts
· Why would they recommend you?
· Where can I network?
Jamie Moodie, Founder, UK Speed Networking

13:15 - 13:45
11. Raising finance for your business
· What are the sources of funding
· How to secure funding for your business
· Sources of advice and assistance
Doug Barrons, Business Adviser, Business Link

14:15 - 14:45
12. Becoming an employer
· Where can you find the people who will shape your business future?
· Tips on effective contract negotiation
· Rights and responsibilities of employers and employees
· The role of team building, training and development
· How to motivate and build rapport with your staff
Adam Eason, Director, Adam Eason Personal Development

15:00 - 15:30
12. Sell your way to success
· How can you identify viable markets and new contacts?
· Effective ways to approach cold contacts
· Various approaches to selling
· Selling from start to finish - from prospect to completion
Ravi Gehlot, Founder, OneOffice