The future is digital

ENTREPRENEUR Neil Lewis believes that businesses can achieve greater success by working differently ? and he is talking from experience.

The media entrepreneur, a partner in MediaModo and the driving force behind the new digital magazine Rags to Wreckages to Riches, is currently running a series of Enterprise & Freelance Fairs across the North West.

Neil believes that as a business grows it needs to employ people with different skills sets ? making outsourcing to freelancers the ideal solution.
His concern is particularly for new and developing businesses. ?A fast-growing business will need to change its staff about three times and if you don?t have flexibile contracts you will prevent your business from growing,? he says.

?You may have employed staff with certain skills and think that they can have a go at anything, but it?s better to find the person who is really good at doing something and let them do it.?

Neil and his family have now settled in Chester, after returning from Spain, where he ran a business for eight years. He readily admits to having made and lost a fortune, his company, having gone from a £2k start to a valuation of £12m in 2007, closed its doors in 2009 and his shareholders walked away with nothing. He says Spanish employment law, and having a full-time staff, contributed to the eventual downturn in his fortunes.

Now he is looking to the future again ? and says the future is definitely digital.

He has more than 20 years? experience in publishing and investment and is soon to publish his first book, 100 Rules for Successful Entrepreneurs.
Now he hopes the Enterprise & Freelance Fairs will reinforce his message ? and put companies in touch with a pool of talented freelancers.

?We?re seeing lots of agencies, PR firms and companies reaching out to the freelance sector to find people who are creating success with the big social media sites,? said Neil, before the first event which was held in Warrington.
Developers who can design and build applications for iphones and ipads are also in demand.

?Mobile media is the new growth sector and we are seeing lots of interest from Cheshire-based companies to communicate in this new way,? he said.
Three more fairs are being planned for autumn. These will take place on October 14 at Egerton House, Wirral; November 9 at the University of Manchester?s Innovation Centre; and on November 19 at the Daresbury Innovation Campus.

For further information, visit the website www.enterprisefreelancefair.co.uk