I went to a lot of small business-related events in 2010 but one of the best was the MADE Festival. Taking place in venues all over Sheffield, it was a real celebration of enterprise with everyone from Peter Jones to David Blunkett to Vince Cable taking part.
The festival returns next week and it's set to be even bigger and better!
Around 2,000 entrepreneurs are expected to descend on the Yorkshire city to attend a wide range of events between 21 and 24 September. Most of them are free.
We are delighted to be part of the festival once again with a special version of our small business contest The Pitch 2011, giving entrepreneurs the chance to practice their pitch in front of our expert judges Paul Boross, The Pitch Doctor and Marcus Walley-Cohen, co-founder of Firefly Tonics. That event is sold out unfortunately but we will be live blogging the action from 3pm on 22 September.
If you haven't been lucky enough to get a ticket to The Pitch at MADE Festival, there are plenty more events to wet your appetite so have a look at the full programme.
If you're still not convinced, here are some reasons to attend from some famous entrepreneurial faces:
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