Selling the Experience, Not the Product with Nigel Halliday

In this episode of Event Matters, David Watt is joined by Nigel Halliday, Managing Director of Ministry of Colours – a specialist business supplying colour powder for events, schools, charities and communities across the UK. Nigel’s route into the business was far from planned. After redundancy and a difficult period personally, an unexpected opportunity led him into a business he would eventually reshape around a relatively small part of its original offering: colour powder. He shares how Ministry of Colours grew from supplying fundraising merchandise to building a focused business around an experience that brings together events, fundraising and fun. As Nigel puts it, they aren’t really selling colour powder – they’re selling the experience that comes with it. The conversation also explores how Nigel has built a lean business around strong processes, trusted partners and increasing levels of automation. He explains why he believes in giving people responsibility rather than managing every detail, how the team works with the natural seasonality of the business and why technology should take care of repetitive work so people can spend more time on the things that actually move the business forward. Expect insights on: - How Nigel rebuilt his career and found an unexpected route into running his own business - Why Ministry of Colours shifted its focus from general fundraising merchandise to colour events - How selling an experience rather than simply a product has shaped the business and its marketing - Why doing fewer things better has been central to the company’s growth - How empowering people and building good processes can keep a small team effective - Why partnerships with suppliers, agencies and other specialists are so important for small businesses - How automation and AI are helping remove repetitive work from customer service and operations - Why seasonal businesses can benefit from working with their natural peaks rather than fighting them - The importance of knowing when to outsource and recognising the value of your own time - Why resilience, asking for help and learning from other people’s mistakes matter when building a business Nigel’s story offers a different perspective on the events industry, showing what it takes to build a successful product-led event business around a simple idea, strong customer experience and disciplined operations. It’s also a practical look at staying focused, adapting when needed and creating a business that ultimately gives you more choice over how you want to live and work. Host: David Watt, Partner at Kershaw Partners Guest: Nigel Halliday, Managing Director, Ministry of Colours