Ever fancied running your own business? You may be interested in an offering at the NEC.

Two successful entrepreneurs, including one of Alan Sugar’s original Apprentices, are among the many industry experts who will share the secrets of their success during the Growing Your Own Business seminars at The National Franchise Exhibition taking place on 24th & 25th February at the NEC.

Thomas Power is delivering the keynote address at the exhibition, called ‘Twitter can rule the world’. Thomas is an internationally acclaimed speaker on digital media and coaches business people worldwide on how to ‘Go Social’ online. A  former Alan Sugar apprentice in the eighties, he founded Ecademy, offering business support and networking groups for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Nicolas Holzherr will deliver an inspiring session called ‘Anyone can do it: choosing the right ideas, testing them and developing them into a business on a shoestring budget.’ Since graduating in 2009, Nicolas has already founded three companies, QRky Ltd, which uses quick response technology to link digital contact and multimedia data to printed business cards; Recip.ly, which links recipe websites with online supermarkets; and Co-Go Coffee To Go Ltd, which sells high-quality, ethical takeaway coffee.

The series of seminars is just one of the many features at the National Franchise Exhibition, which also has a wide range of franchise businesses exhibiting from the UK’s biggest brands to smaller recession-resilient enterprises.

To register for The National Franchise Exhibition, call +44 (0)844 257 8668 or visit www.franchiseinfo.co.uk.

Callers can purchase tickets by credit card for £10 each or £8 each for two or more in advance.

Admission on the door is £15. However visitors can gain free admission by using the promotional code GYOBPR when registering at www.franchiseinfo.co.uk