No Limits founders Joanna Hennon and Karina Ladet
The online business world is noisy, our Facebook feeds constantly filled with news of the latest 6 figure launch or marketing gimmick. For many of the thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurs, especially those solopreneurs working in more heart-centred professions, it can feel overwhelming to say the least. And yet, despite all the digital chatter, for many small business owners working with tiny teams, or even on our own from the kitchen table, we’re feeling increasingly disconnected from each other. The irony is not lost there.
Step in European entrepreneurs Joanna Hennon and Karina Ladet. The innovative duo are working together to break the mould in the European online business scene by taking a community-centred approach. Their aim is to build a more soulful community, a far cry from the corporate expos which currently dominate the landscape on mainland Europe. Tapping into the power of social media, they have been able to bring together a diverse group of like-minded solopreneurs from across the continent including healers, complimentary therapists, artists and coaches.
Joanna, who hails from Poland and now lives in Brussels, and Karina, who is a Swede living in France, first met in an online business academy, and very quickly realised there was a need for a community connecting European entrepreneurs who worked from home building businesses based on doing what they love, rather than following more traditional routes to making a living.
Joanna explains: “There are plenty of business communities in Europe, but they’re aimed at tech start-ups and traditional professions, like accountants and consultants. We feel that we have more than a business, we have a calling, and that our work can change the world. The entrepreneurial scene for non-traditional businesses like ours is dominated by communities and events in the UK, the US, and Australia - there’s not much happening in mainland Europe. We felt a need to change this and to start a community for the growing number of people like us living on the European continent”.
Joanna and Karina spoke to many other entrepreneurs who really felt the lack of community in Europe.
“It’s crazy”, continues Joanna, “there are so many talented people in Europe providing amazing and unique services both in person and online, and we don’t really know about each other. We’re divided by language and geography and get lost in the vast UK, US and Australian scenes where people are more connected. I believe that a tighter community will help us be more successful - and as a result Europe will start to stand out as another hub of entrepreneurial activity.”
Karina adds: “Community is such an important piece of our entrepreneurial journey. How can we change the world if we don’t learn from each other and work together? This seems so obvious to me, and yet we couldn’t find a single European event that catered to our needs.”
This led the enterprising duo to launch the No Limits event in Brussels in 2016, bringing together business owners from across Europe and beyond - it also attracted non-Europeans interested in working on the continent.
“We wanted to run an event that is different from the traditional, formal, faceless business events you normally see, and which celebrates the many small business owners across Europe who are working in more heart-centred, holistic ways,” explains Karina. “We designed it as a series of practical workshops, so places are limited”, she adds. “We want to offer an opportunity to make real connections that will serve people in the future - it’s not an information-only event where you sit and listen to someone else talking. No Limits is a community built with intention, because we know how important it is for entrepreneurs to be able to network in a meaningful way.”
This year, No Limits is taking place from 24th – 26th March.
“What makes our event unique is that we recognise the importance of not only strategy but also the personal development and mindset work that needs to accompany it. As solopreneurs, we don’t have big teams working for us, we are our best assets - so we need to make sure that WE grow along with our businesses, that’s when we can expect the big success we all desire.”
The 2017 No Limits event focuses on scaling your business, reaching more people and having a bigger impact on the world. Joanna and Karina will both host workshops, along with other experts in brand development, sales, marketing and mindset. Find out more about No Limits 2017 here.