Former social media guru with Leamington business now says it’s time to put down our phones

Michael Thomas, who launched his business in Leamington Althorpe Enterprise Hub, has now established DARWIN.vip academy in a bid to help other businesses grow.

Amid the challenges of post-pandemic and cost of living crisis, Michael takes a swipe at the likes of Facebook and Instagram, claiming it’s more vital than ever to small business success to get people face to face again.

It also marks a proud chapter for the entrepreneur whose own business is enjoying success, despite him having to overcome two debilitating conditions – ulcerative colitis and spastic paraplegia – leaving him to navigate a life of operations, treatments, drugs and hospital stays.

In his latest Valentine’s campaign, launching on February 15, he promises to show business owners how to ‘fall in love’ with networking.

He said: “I think those all-important soft skills are being lost by everyone.

"We sit behind a computer and are on our phones, we don’t stand up and talk to people face to face as much as we used to which is a real shame, so my mission is all about helping people fall in love with networking again.

“Covid has also made us appreciate face to face communication even more. It made that urge for meeting people and getting out there crucial as a lot of businesses were hit pretty hard.

“The idea of the campaign is very much to help people overcome the fear, get out from behind their screens and go out and meet people, back to the old way of doing things.

“It’s not just teaching networking, it’s teaching people skills, skills we all used to innately know because we didn’t have mobile phones, social media etc.”

“Networking is a vital tool for any small business owner who wastes a ton of money on Google and social media advertising etc. which rarely leads to serious business.”

Born to English and Welsh parents, Michael, now 36, relocated to Stratford from Illinois as a teenager when his father took on the role of Dean of Warwick Business School.

Today he regularly reflects on his own journey to entrepreneurial success, after overcoming a series of health challenges along the way which, he says, only made him even more determined to succeed.

“If I’d let my physical decision decide my destiny I certainly wouldn’t be running a business today. I wouldn’t be doing what I always wanted to do,” said Michael.

Over the next 18 months he plans to turn his academy into a community of up to 1,000 small businesses.

He said: “We’re all business owners, we’re all in the same boat and we can learn a lot from each other.

“It is very rewarding, especially when people have confidence issues or come in with a particular view on networking because it does have a bad rap.

"But I get so much satisfaction from seeing people gain that confidence and go on to grow their business. I am all about making networking less stressful and more successful.”

For more information go to: https://darwin.vip/