Last week saw the first lecture in a new series of events for Caerphilly Business Forum organised by Grapevine Events since coming on board as Forum coordinators.

The event, which was held on Tuesday 9th May at Coleg Y Cymoedd, Nantgarw campus, welcomed Falklands war veteran, Simon Weston CBE to the Forum.

(From L-R) Liz Brookes - Forum Coordinator, Simon Weston CBE - Speaker, Denise Lovering - Chair of Caerphilly Business Forum

Simon, who hails from Nelson spoke to the Forum about how he recovered from the events which changed his life aboard the Sir Galahad on June 8th 1982 to how he now runs a successful security company.

About being in business, Simon said “if you always keep your eye on the ball, you will only ever see the ball”. When you run a company you need to know what is going on around you; be it changes in government legislation or what your competitors are doing. When running a business “if all you do is plan for what you expect, then trust me, the unexpected will catch you out”.

Caerphilly Business Forum is the perfect arena for connecting with local businesses with customers and suppliers, offers the opportunity to learn useful skills and information for your business, and has an influence on local and regional government over issues that affect the businesses in Caerphilly Borough.

Grapevine Events has been recruited to help the Forum grow and to engage with all the businesses in the Borough. A new calendar of events has been created with a mixture of evening lectures and morning breakfast seminars for members to enjoy. There is a new website currently being developed and new opportunities for membership.

This new calendar of events will complement the offerings of the Forum and also the Caerphilly Forum Business Awards that are now in their 16th year. This year the Awards have a new home at Llechwen Hall and will be held on the 17th November. It's always a great night of celebration and will be launched next month.

We are excited to see where the Forum will be in 12 months time! If you would like to get involved in the Caerphilly Business Forum, whether to join, attend an event or enter the awards, all the information can be found at www.cbforum.co.uk