Introducing Amy Woodthorpe, Director and Co-Owner of Venues for Business
Amy Woodthorpe
Meet Amy, co-owner of Venues for Business. A global Venue Finding and Event Management agency based in the UK. They assist corporate clients with their venue search, negotiation and contracting of their events within the UK, Europe and The Middle East. Working on every type of corporate event from C-Level incentive trips, to product launches, team building, award ceremonies, summits and large conferences with up to 5000+ guests they also offer a complimentary service to PA’s, EA’s, Event Managers and teams.
Here she shares how she took over the business at 25 with her friend, her optimism for the events industry and her ambitions for the future.
Website: Venues For Business
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“I have been in the events industry for 12 years pretty much full time (with a degree in the mix too), but not always within the venue finding sector. I came from a hotel operational and sales of events background, before taking on Venues For Business in March 2019 with fellow co-owner and best pal, Magdalena”
Venues for Business
What does a typical ‘day in the life’ look like for you?
With Covid-19, I find myself sleeping in until 8/8:30am and am enjoying the lay ins as I don’t think I will ever get this amount of sleep and ‘me’ time, ever again!
Prior to Covid-19, if I didn’t have an event, FAM (familiarisation trip) or meeting, I would always be up early having walked my two dogs Rufus & Taco with a black coffee and then at my desk by 8am latest.
Once at my desk I start by either finishing off a proposal ready to send to a client or going through emails and creating my to-do list for the day.
Every day is SO different. I could be working virtually with hotels and venues in Barcelona, Paris, Madrid, London and Frankfurt, then the next day be working with Zurich, Lisbon or Montenegro for example; organising multiple events, negotiating rates, securing contracts and venue finding for various clients.
We manage multiple projects at the same time, so I find myself being stuck to my laptop and phone for most of the day. Luckily by about 17:30/18:00, I feel some little paws up at my chair begging to go out on another walk. The dogs really keep me in check and MAKE me get out of the house.
What have been some of your professional highlights?
I think having my own company, co-owned with my best friend and business partner at the age of 25 has to be the biggest achievement. I rarely discuss my age because I have found it makes some people question your ability, due to their assumption of lack of experience.
I have been lucky enough to work on some amazing events where I have been responsible for 1000 guests a day, leading a team of 90 people and been able to work at events such as RIAT, Farnborough Air show and Gay Pride.
What are your main business resources?
My Laptop with WiFi, a phone and my ability to travel to venues and hotels around the world to ensure they would work for our client’s events. I can literally work from anywhere if I have internet and some sort of device to work from! We are 100% commission based so I rely on all 3 of the above, to make money.
Venues for business
What are your top financial business tips?
Save, Save, Save and re-invest for the first few years! You never know what will hit you in your first few and most vulnerable years of business, i.e. Covid-19!!
Make sure you always have enough set aside for VAT, Corporation Tax & your own taxes once you get into Salary & Dividends. Put it into a separate business account so that you don’t see it in your day to day banking.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to start their own business?
Take the leap, you will never be ‘Ready’ so make sure you are prepared of course but GO FOR IT. It is not easy and isn’t always plain sailing.
Try not listen to anyone if they have anything negative to say towards your ideas/plans. I was told by my previous boss, that our business would fail so there is no point in doing it as there is already ‘So much competition’. Here we are, a year and a half later, successful! We have been impacted by The Corona Virus of course but we will not let that stop us! Bring on events in 2021!
Venues for Business
Given the significant impact of Covid-19 on the events industry how do you see the future and do you have any predictions for recovery time?
I remain optimistic and positive. I believe by September/October time, we will start to see some smaller events return to the UK (up to 200 guests) and by Jan/Feb 2021, I expect to see some international events returning but we wont see any of the large conferences (500-1000+ guests) for a while. Who knows when! The events industry has ‘pivoted’ fast and very well. We will have to look at virtualising events where possible. For the live events, which will inevitably be back as the power of face to face is too strong, we will be bringing in technology to heat scan delegates on arrival to determine whether they are safe to enter or not, as well as lots of automatic hand sanitising machines around. We have also been working with some of our regular hotels & venues to determine their new maximum capacity numbers, to support social distancing measures.
What do you feel are the differences between the way you run your personal and your business finances?
I manage them very differently. I am in absolutely no debt with the business. We owe personal investors a very small amount still, but I mean debt in terms of a credit card or any loans etc. We do not spend anything and keep everything within the business. I am so happy we have done this as it has allowed us to survive Corona Virus and we are able to pay ourselves for at least a year if we do not have an income in terms of commission from an event, any time soon. With regards to my own finances, I am 27 so I am still learning how to save for a mortgage and other investments. I spent a lot of money on travelling a few years ago after university so I am still finding my feet, to be at my peak financial potential.
Describe your relationship with money and personal finance?
I do not see the business money as my own (luckily) so I am very reluctant to spend on anything and like seeing the figure grow, we had a ‘thing’ with when we got to £10,000 we would see that as £0 in the bank, when we got to £20,000 we would see that as £0 and so on and so forth, so eventually we became great at saving.
With my personal finances, I do not come from a wealthy background and haven’t ever been given any help, even at uni, but I am now very thankful for that. It taught me to be relatively good with money but I am a bit more flexible and will spend on things such as clothes for work meetings/ trips and also will be more frivolous with weekends away/day trips with friends and loved ones.
I do naturally, constantly think about money but my relationship with money is pretty positive I’d say!
Venues for Business
How do you define wealth?
Being comfortable with your finances and not having to say no to things, regardless of how expensive the ‘thing’ is, whether that is a materialistic object or an experience.
What tools or resources do you currently use to invest?
I don’t, but I have been looking at investing in the stock market or into something that has a bit of risk attached to it! VERY open to suggestions here!
What is the best financial decision you have ever made?
I have a few:
Investing in Venues For Business.
To not spend any business money when I got excited about the figure I saw in the bank, from starting at £0.
To remain sensible and vigilant even when you think you are ‘smashing’ it.
To always save for that rainy day!
Amy Woodthorpe - Co-owner of Venues for Business
I really wish that schools, colleges and universities set you up a little better and discussed how to manage personal finances and the importance of staying on track!
Who is your role model?
I have many, but one that is prevalent in my mind when I read that question, is Michelle Obama. She is a super woman. She spans so many different plates, remained successful as an individual, not just as a first lady and because of who her husband was. She stayed level headed and managed to bring up lovely children, whilst running a country, doing the best that she could do, and remained a supportive wife and mother.
Any female entrepreneur or CEO that has come from nothing, is a real inspiration and role model for me. I love reading stories of women that have started businesses from the dining room table and have grown the business organically into their own little empire. That is what I aspire to do and WILL do.
What inspires or motivates you?
Staying busy! I thrive off being ridiculously busy and weirdly like being under pressure. I get very excited about business and making business plans, I am constantly working on other ways to earn money and create a little portfolio of businesses. I am currently working on 3 other business plans that I’d like to have up and running in the next 5 years. As much as I HATE this saying, I like to ‘have my fingers in many pies’ and continue learning new skills outside of the events industry.
Venues for Business
If you could invite 3 artists to dinner, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?
Lady Gaga, as an artist, she is bonkers. But as a person, she seems very real and down to earth and seems very wholesome and normal? I think I would absolutely love her to be a best pal.
Frank Sinatra – Love his music and his era. Would love to sit down and have dinner with him and listen to his stories of what went on back then.
Freddie Mercury- because why on earth not?!
Recommended reading and listening?
I am going to recommend some non-business-related choices as I am sure you will have been recommended lots of business orientated picks already.
Sheerluxe for fashion, lifestyle & wellbeing content & podcast.
I also loved the Fearne Cotton Happy Podcast series.
I haven’t read in a while because I don’t have a commute and haven’t been on holiday to properly stop and read (BAD EXCUSES, I KNOW) so probably 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' is the last book I read and I loved it