Who are you?

Briony Cullin, 34, from Glasgow.

What does your business do?

One half of my business is organising food and drink events like The Finnieston Food Crawl, a monthly event featuring three of the best restaurants in one delicious evening of dining.

The other half of my business is a digital media consultancy where I work with small businesses who need marketing support – whether that’s SEO, social media or setting up a website.

Where are you based?

I’m based on the south side of Glasgow. I work from home but also work from the co-working space Collabor8te in Merchant City as I’m very focussed and productive while I’m there.

How did you get started?

I was made redundant in November last year and knew straightaway what my next step was going to be. I launched my business in January 2017 and it’s been a total whirlwind since then. I’d built a really great network in Glasgow so I was really excited when people wanted to work with me!

What is your background?

My career path has been an unusual one. In Australia, I was a property lawyer and then I went to Japan, fell in love with a Scotsman, and moved to Glasgow in 2009. I wasn’t able to practice law here so worked at the University of the West of Scotland as an associate lecturer, and I started The Glasgow Food Blog. For a short time, I ran a small business called Briony Buys UK which was a buying service for Australian shoppers who wanted to get their hands on clothes from Zara and H&M!

In 2013, I moved into a marketing role with Yelp as the Glasgow Community Manager, and in 2017 I launched my own business.

What is your top tip?

I’ve found that my reputation has been key to building my business. People work with me because they know I’m reliable and trustworthy. I arranged Scotland’s First Cheese Toastie Festival last year and that got a lot of media attention and more than 13,000 RSVPs on Facebook. I knew the event had to be even better than the hype around it! The event got amazing reviews and I knew that all those sleepless nights had been worth it.

How long has your business been running?

Since January 2017.

Has anyone helped you get started and how?

Networking groups like Scottish Women in Business and WE Mean Business have been really useful to me. I’ve found their communities incredibly supportive and encouraging.

Where do you plan your business to be in five years time? (Optional answer)

I wish I knew! My career has been an adventure so far and I know that life tends to throw a few curve balls out there, so I’m not planning that far in advance yet. For now, I’m working on a product to help small businesses improve their marketing efforts with a small budget.

· Useful contacts e.g. business emails, websites etc - entrepreneurial spark/Chamber of Commerce etc.

Website: www.brionycullin.com and www.theglasgowfood.co