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The “Do Business Better Conference” presented by founding director of the Merseyside Women of the Year Awards, Ellen Kerr, is set to return for its second year on Wednesday 14th October 2026, at Blackburne House (9:30am – 4pm).
The conference, which saw a successful inaugural event in April 2025, aims to provide practical guidance with substance, value and purpose, on how anyone can do life and business better by addressing four essential pillars for success: Network, Information, Money and Self-belief.
Headline sponsors, FPC, will deliver an interactive session exploring resilience and our relationship with money, as well as share expert learning from FPC’s 40+ years helping people to achieve financial independence, confidence and live life well.
The information segment of the event will include Good AI, Better Business a panel curated by Gavin Sherratt from Goodship* discussing the world of AI, how it is changing the working world and how it can be used to grow business and do good.
SEO agency Flatdot Marketing will share practical insights with a ten-minute walkthrough of how to audit your own site’s AI visibility, with checks you can run before delegates even leave the room. There also will be a networking session with Denise Chilton Coaching, practical advice for starting or growing a business with Geraldine Fuller from the Business and IP Centre (BIPC) and a business growth session from River Capital,as well as sessions on insurance and pensions, skills for business and wills, legacy and preparedness for businesses and CICs.
There will be a session for charities and CICs focused on Social Value Partnerships and bridging the gap between businesses and grassroots organisations, delivered by Liam Starkey, founder of Not For Profit Consultancy (NFPC).
Liam offers a practical understanding of both how businesses make decisions and the realities facing community organisations. With more than 10 years of corporate experience working with brands including Audi, BMW and RW Invest, alongside eight years of senior CIC leadership at The Inclusive Hub where he helped secure over £1 million in funding and corporate support.
Further speakers are still to be announced across the four pillars of the conference.
Ellen Kerr added: “After a successful first event in 2025, we are bringing back the Do Business Better Conference in October, a time of year when we know that many businesses are looking at future planning and making important decisions.
“The conference is perfectly timed to provide expert advice, practical steps that people can take away on the way we do business in the region and how it affects our lives and the lives of others. We want to empower current business leaders to take their next bold move, and those who are establishing something new, to take that brave first step.
“Our line-up is being drawn from the vast expertise that exists in our city region, so we can build a stronger community and economy together.”
Moira O’Shaughnessy, Managing Partner at FPC, said: “We are delighted to be headline sponsors of the Do Business Better this year – a fantastic conference which focuses on practical ideas that can genuinely make a difference to people’s businesses and their lives.
“At FPC, we have spent more than 40 years helping people make confident decisions about money, but we also know that financial wellbeing is about much more than numbers. It is closely connected to resilience, self-belief, the choices we make and the life we want to create.
“We are looking forward to exploring some of those themes with delegates in October, and to being part of an event that brings together so much expertise, energy and ambition from across the Liverpool City Region.”
Alongside headline sponsors FPC, the event is this year supported by sponsors Carpenters Group, City of Liverpool College and Morecrofts.
Lunch, refreshments, lots of opportunities for networking and chances to browse the conference marketplace will also be available throughout the day.
For further information, stay tuned to: https://merseysidewomenoftheyear.co.uk/do-business-better/