Congregation of Inspiration: livin’ the dream

Your vibe attracts your tribe. And never more so than when the invincible Holly Tucker is at the helm. We partnered with her for the incredible Congregation of Inspiration, on 20 September 2019. Set in the stunning St Mary’s Church, Marylebone, this event attracted more than 400 like-minded, positive-thinking creatives and entrepreneurs who really wanna go places. And, we certainly all went ‘there’. And then some.

The event was the brainchild of Holly, unstoppable founder of notonthehighstreet.com and all-round awesome woman, entrepreneur and small business champion. You only have to listen to her journey – from making vegetable wreaths (who knew?) and selling her wares at numerous local markets, to the massively successful notonthehighstreet.com – to feel you can take on the world. Notonthehighstreet.com has helped grow 5,000 small businesses, who employ 10,000 people, and has contributed £900million into the UK economy. Wow.

From the moment the Urban Voice Collective choir started a stirring rendition of Rihanna’s Shine Bright Like a Diamond, this balloon-filled, glitter-tastic event (laid on by Holly & Co. PR) was set to be a life-changer. Holly’s opening talk geared us all up for a day and night of motivation. Speakers like Charlie Gladstone, co-founder of The Good Life Experience; imagination and illustration genius, Rob Ryan; and author of Happy, Calm and Quiet, Fearne Cotton helped us believe that anything is possible. In fact, if this event doesn’t help you make it happen. Nothing will.

The theme of the event was about making dreams come true, and many of the amazing speakers spoke about the need to dream BIG and to take risks when many won’t. It takes guts and sheer determination to build your own business – and that’s the reason we partner with some amazing brands to offer free benefits for everyone on our business phone and broadband plans. So, it felt right that we should demonstrate that Three Means Business, by making some big dreams come true.  We asked everybody attending the Congregation of Inspiration to write down a dream of theirs – something that would help take their business to the next level. And here’s what happened next.

First up, meet Wendy, who designs beautiful notebooks and planners for her company Doris & Fred (named after Wendy’s late grandparents). The brand logo is actually based on Doris’s own handwriting and all the artwork is simply gorgeous.

Wendy posted on our dream board that she would love a new computer. Her current one was deemed ‘vintage’ by Apple and the need to refresh her tech was getting more and more urgent. So… with Holly acting as our fabulous fairy godmother, we presented Wendy with a brand new MacBook. She was in total shock when she was called up onto the stage by Holly and announced as a ‘dream winner’.

Next, is Steph, founder of Flat102. Mum of 2, Steph completed a screen printing course in 2013 and “fell in love” with the whole process. She now works from home to create beautiful prints, wall hangings, wine boxes, and cards that brighten up the home. From her bedroom and her garage, to the kitchen table, Steph’s creations were taking over – she really wanted a workspace close to home, that would allow her to balance her expanding business with her young family. So, Three gifted Steph a beautiful wooden cabin for her garden, to kit-out as she desires. We can’t wait to see the positive impact this has on the future of Flat102.

Our third business owner is Ruth, founder of the Colour Chronicles. Ruth started her business after she realised the traditional baby book doesn’t capture all the moments that matter – in fact they pretty much stop recording anything after the age of 3. The Colour Chronicles introduces a more complete book of memories. Children can write their name for the first time and share their key moments – alongside their parents or carers – in a beautiful, colourful diary that can be used until the age of 16.

Ruth’s dream was to take her growing business stateside, and to break into the US market. So, Holly called her up to the stage to announce that Three had made this dream possible. We gave her 2 tickets for a 5-day stay in New York, with £1,000 spending money and an all-important meeting with Scholastic Books in the diary. Watch this space…

The event continued with awesome talks from ultra-determined and passionate Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of The Black Farmer; Cook co-founder, Edward Perry; and Cosmo’s Influencer of the Year 2018, Freddie Harrel, among other inspirational people.

Finishing up with more inspiring and uplifting singing from Urban Voice Collective, a G&T (or 2) on the house and the chance to mingle and make plans. We were blown away by the businesses exhibiting on the day. Particularly The Diabet-This Kid, who turned his own diagnosis at the age of 5 into something positive and powerful. Lochie was just 9 when he started designing his quirky brand of diabetes-themed prints, bags, tees, and more, to drive awareness of type 1 diabetes and help children in the same boat.

It was a truly inspiring day and fits perfectly with Three Means Business and our aim to give entrepreneurs and small businesses a boost. With 6 months’ free subscription to WiX, FreshBooks and WeWork; 20% off smart stationery with Moo. Holly said that she “only dreamt of web-building tools like WiX” but today, it’s all a swipe or a tap away.

All the entrepreneurs we spoke to talked about how connection is key to running your own business. You need to be able to network, complete sales, deal with queries and manage your website whenever, wherever. That’s why we offer truly Unlimited Data, without any caps. Who wants to worry about a Wi-Fi hotspot while they’re making stuff happen? Here’s to getting started and dreaming big.