Incredible! In the last four days another hundred people have registered to attend the very first Sheffex. With 9 weeks still to go it looks like it’s going to be a really busy business event.

When we first decided to go for it we had no idea if the idea would fly, but we set out to do the job properly and undertake plenty of market research. After dozens of conversations with business people around Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley Doncaster and Chesterfield, it was obvious that there was a space for something that was business focussed rather than sector focussed.

The MADE Festival being held in September already does a fabulous job in attracting entrepreneurs to hear about the high level aspects of creating businesses. It’s hard not to find something of interest with speakers ranging from hypnotist Paul McKenna and fashion designer Wayne Hemingway, to hot sauce entrepreneur Levi Roots and Doug Richards who needs no introduction.

The Global Manufacturing Festival is another well put together event that celebrates the strength of the sector in Sheffield as part of the UK wide International Festival For Business.

But, as good as MADE, GMF, and other events are, it was clear that we needed something a bit more grassroots and biased towards Sheffield was wanted by the people we spoke to.

We also felt that we should strip away the barriers to entry. In other words, it had to be free to walk through the door, and it had to be cheap enough for any sort of business to exhibit. That didn’t mean that it had to be cheap and nasty, but we had plenty of contacts to mobilise to help bring it together. We’ve been genuinely touched by the enthusiasm being shown by so many people and we owe them huge gratitude for their time, effort, and support. 

Sheffex will get to the heart of what we’re all interested in – doing more business! If we put plenty of people together we’re confident that contacts will be made, deals will be struck and profits will be built right here in Sheffield.

Looking forward, there are still lots of things to be revealed about the extra activities at Sheffex, but we hope that you’ll like them and get involved. The core reason behind everything at Sheffex is to build business in the Sheffield City Region. There’s no agenda to fulfil, no KPI’s to meet, and no inward investment reports to write afterwards. It’s just about US. The event stands and falls with the involvement of us all, but I’ll say it again – 400 registrations before launch! No more needs to be said apart from thank you.

Please keep an eye on your inbox for updates, make sure that you take advantage of the free registration, and take a look at the exhibition stands to see if you want to put yourself on show too.