Small business conference with a difference to be held at Nottingham café
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 23 September 2025
UPDATED: 24 September 2025
Small businesses owners can do their bit for charity and boost their brains at the same time at a conference with a difference next month.
Cake, coffee and a good walk are all on the agenda at the “mini-conference” being held in aid of Dementia UK at Nottingham’s Forest Recreation Ground.
The day, targeted at small businesses from any industry, is the brainchild of Michaela Parker, of Sherwood, who is organising a series of fundraising events for Dementia UK in memory of her grandma.
Michaela, who runs her own social media advertising agency, is donating every penny raised from the event to the charity, as part of a year-long fundraising effort, which will culminate in her running the London Marathon next April.
She said:
“Dementia UK are so close to my heart and I’m thrilled to be holding this event to raise funds for them. I lost my Grandma in 2022 to dementia and seeing her slip away over the years leading up to her death was truly awful. You almost grieve whilst your loved one is still alive, so the support provided by the Admiral Nurses at the charity is so wonderful when things are tough. It’s a pleasure to be able to raise money to provide more of them.”
Mum-of-two Michaela, who works with lots of local businesses, decided to put her connections to good use to host the mini-conference at Nottingham’s Homemade Café on Thursday October 16.
There will be workshops run by five different speakers, as well as a “netwalk” around the park where attendees can stretch their legs and get some fresh air at the same time as making new connections.
Michaela said:
“Jasmin and I have been running netwalks for a while now and they’re always really inspiring and a great way to meet other small business owners. When I had the idea for the fundraiser, it was a no-brainer that I’d include a netwalk. It’s a great ice breaker! I was keen to bring in some new speakers on topics we hadn’t covered at other events, as well as something creative, so we’re doing a collaging for wellbeing session. I’m really proud of the line-up.”
Workshop topics will include mental resilience, sustainability, digital advertising and how to get PR for your small business.
Sarah Matthews, a copywriter and public relations specialist from West Bridgford, is hosting the PR workshop. She said:
“When Michaela invited me to take part in this event I jumped at the chance. It’s such a brilliant cause and is hopefully going to raise lots of much-needed money for the charity.
“Nottingham has such a great small business scene and the line-up for the day looks so fun. I’m really looking forward to showing some brilliant businesses how to get more coverage for the great work they do.”
Owner of Homemade Jasmin Barlow-Wilkinson, who is donating the use of the venue for free, said:
“There’s something really wonderful and inspiring about the informal nature of networking and walking at the same time. We’ve seen so many great lasting connections formed between local businesses at previous events. It has created a real community feel, with the added bonus of cake! To be able to do it again but with the added extra of all these great workshops is going to be so much fun.
“Michaela’s pulled together a really exciting lineup, where I think there will be something for us all to learn to help our businesses develop and grow. It’s also for such a good cause and I’m really looking forward to hosting everyone at Homemade on the day.”
Tickets for the event, which runs from 10am to 2.30pm, are just £20 and can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-social-live-tickets-1663796021689?aff=oddtdtcreator or by heading to Michaela’s Instagram page @wildsocialuk, where you can also find more information on the full speaker line-up.
