“What made you leave managing international marketing teams in the corporate world to start running your own business,” I asked Lou Eddy of Activ Marketing by Lou Eddy, when we met for a one-to-one recently.

“I realised I wanted to do the same thing, but in a more personal, hands-on way for businesses that needed practical support without all the fluff and jargon.

“I work with local businesses of all sizes – from brand new startups with a blank sheet of paper and a million ideas, to growing companies that know they need marketing support but don’t know where to focus first.

“My role is often part strategist, part project manager, part cheerleader, and occasionally therapist when marketing overwhelm kicks in.”

What part has networking played?

“Networking with BNI has played a massive part in my journey over the past two years.

“Having worked remotely before that, stepping into local networking groups completely changed things for me. It introduced me to an amazing business community full of people juggling the same challenges, wearing too many hats, and trying to grow something they genuinely care about.

“Networking helped me build confidence in my own business, become known locally as the marketing person, and reminded me how powerful real human connections still are in business.

“For me, networking isn’t about hard selling. It’s about conversations, relationships, supporting each other, and sometimes simply being the person in the room who says, ‘I can help with that’.”

If BNI’s supportive ethos, which Lou has described, appeals to you, please do get in touch with me – [email protected]. To give every member maximum value, we only allow one person from each trade or profession to join any given group, so let me introduce you to a chapter that has business to pass to you right now.

By Alyson Roach