It is never too soon to start a business and this profile illustrates that point completely. Patrick Philpott, 16, is still studying at school yet he is also simultaneously running Intelligent Networking Events. He tells us how he is overcoming his slender years and making a name for himself in the world of networking. 

Name: Patrick Philpott
Age: 16
Business: Intelligent Networking Events
Type of business: Networking & Property Events
Start date: September 2005

When did you first decide you wanted to start your own business?
I first decided I wanted to start a business back in July 2003 when I formed a legal entity at Companies House. However, despite having several good ideas the main stumbling block was the funding to get the businesses underway. In September 2005 I had the backing of a friend and contact I’ve known for over two years and, being a low capital outlay business, Intelligent Networking Events was the ideal business for me to start. I’ve wanted to own a business for over five years, so for me it was something I’ve always wanted to do.

Tell us about your business.
Intelligent Networking Events is a business networking event organiser, running networking evenings every 2-3 months at a four-star hotel in Waltham Abbey, Essex. The hotel, The Marriott, cannot be faulted and offers the perfect setting for my business events. We started on September 27 2005 and we had over 20 delegates at our first event, from the immediate area and from up to 35 miles away. They were all key decision makers at their companies and major influencers in their respective areas, so it was a great opportunity for those people to meet with one another and build business relationships. We are now moving into property-focussed networking events, as there is a vast property industry in my area.

Where did the idea for your business come from.
The idea for Intelligent Networking Events came from the need for networking opportunities on the Hertfordshire/Essex border area. I recognised a need for local business people (of which there are hundreds, if not thousands) to be able to network close to their businesses and homes without having to travel into London or be a member of a Chamber of Commerce. Business support agencies provided this opportunity but they often have hidden agendas, as do Commerce Chambers, and so I thought it was time to bring an independent networking forum to the area.

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals?
Of course, your family have a major role in your life and as a result my family got me interested in business and finance, which subsequently led to me setting up my company and researching business concepts. I started networking at the age of 13 also. At present, I have a global network of over 1500 people and that has been developed in the space of a few years, with some of Britain’s top business people being included in that network. My current inspiration stems from some friends of mine who are very successful entrepreneurs and my ultimate business inspiration is Philip Green of Arcadia/Bhs.

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
I think there’s a market for my business in that people want to network amongst like-minded individuals in a relaxed, informal yet quality environment close to their businesses and homes. By offering business people events that have a broad range of businesses represented and by being entirely independent of Commerce Chambers and business support groups, Intelligent Networking Events is ideally placed to be a leader in local business events.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
Once I’d decided that networking events were what I would be involved in commercially, I set about researching the marketplace and contacting friends, associates and other contacts asking them about their experiences.

What research did you do?
My contact network proved invaluable at this juncture as it was the key sounding board for my ideas and what I wanted to achieve with Intelligent Networking Events. Further to that, my contact network had many individuals within it who were quite savvy in a networking sense and attended many networking events themselves, so it acted as an ideal and free market research resource and a potential client base. Also, it was important I found out who my competition was, so I attended several networking events to get an idea of what I needed to do myself.

Talk us through the process of writing your business plan.
For this business, I did not need to write a business plan for two reasons. Firstly, the business has low initial capital outlay and therefore does not really require a business plan. Secondly, my friend who financed this business knows me well enough to know that I would not lose him significant amounts of money and therefore his input was based on mutual trust. I have written two business plans before though and they are arduous processes but very rewarding. Due to my current commitments I have not pitched my business plan to anyone as yet but I plan to in the near future. My piece of advice when writing a business plan is to always write a section, about a page in length, detailing what you require. Many people write plans that put everything out on paper that a potential investor needs to know but never lists what the investor needs to be putting into the business. That missing piece of information makes the plan worthless. Also, always ensure you keep your plan up-to-date, for example adjusting your financial forecasts to include revised inflation figures if the Government changes the rate of inflation. That’s vital.

How useful has your business plan been and do you think you’ll stick to it as your business begins to grow?
I didn’t have a business plan to start with but I have written a short report detailing where I should be in the coming years with this business and what I need to do to ensure growth occurs in the business. I’m confident that I will follow that growth plan but one has to adapt and change with the times and that’s essential.

How much did it cost to start the business?
I wouldn’t like to say specifically but it was less than £1,000.

Similarly, how are you funding your running costs until the business takes off?
Running costs are not a problem as the significant costs come at the start of the business’ life and when the next event date is near. Between events however, the running costs are nominal.