A Farewell thanks to Brexit

It is surely not a secret anymore: BREXIT did hit the British economy!

An era ends for now - tribute to my life project

In the current political climate it’s an understatement to say a lot can happen in 24 hours. In my case It’s been an interesting few weeks and months, some which saw my business struggling of the uncertainty our clients face.

8 years ago I decided to relocate from Germany to the UK and to rebuild my business (Rock Ya Events Group Ltd.) in Scotland. The country I am very proud to call now my home! The home where you settle and where you want to stay for the rest of your life. Fairly quick I learned about the culture, the history and also everything what I needed to know about the tourism industry to start my first job as tour guide. I started to follow my personal dream - to explore and experience Scotland, my new home.

Everything went pretty much to plan and I have been able to form a business in the event and tourism industry. After a couple of years of guiding I have been able to generate a decent turnover as sole trader delivering travel expeiences next to my event business. A start of a great journey since this changed my business model and we developed to an Event & Destination Management Company with loads of great clients and projects. A journey which did reach the next level another couple of years later ... Private Limited status. This was certainly a new chapter not only in business life also as private person. Different approaches, more responsibilities and also creating job opportunities. Another mile stone reached. 

Anyway, this journey now seems to take a complete different direction. Lots of things changed not that long ago and reason for this is very much in every one's mind these days. As company working predominantly for the European market the political situation around the UK became more and more of a uncertain terrain and with this some sort of a hassle. I understand that this topic devides opinions and could also cause a bit of unease. But for quite a while now I have quitely listened to people talking about this situation. I tried to stay away from rumour as long as possible for the sake of not getting dragged into this too much myself. I experienced the change from "Will be fine" to "Not sure how this will end", about issues and fear regarding the uncertainty of what to do. Even after all this I still tried to stay away from all the scaremongering and overreaction, all the avoidable actions to be made mainly for preperation and protection.

The UK is renowned for its events industry. Worth an impressive £42.3bn to the UK economy in 2018, the sector is made up of over 25,000 companies – spanning from venues to marketing organisations and suppliers. With the UK consistently ranking third place in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 ICCA rankings as a destination for business events, it's responsible for a huge influx of international entrepreneurs every year. Hence it accounts for £19.9bn annually, overseeing 1.3 million conferences and networking sessions. The looming uncertainty surrounding Brexit, however, has made it difficult to pinpoint exactly how the UK’s departure from the EU will affect businesses involved in running and managing events. For instance, international trade and investment are fundamental to the events industry which relies on strong business connections and trade links.

Within 12yo providing unique and bespoke events to hundreds of clients in Europe we experienced a lot of great development and changes. Innovation and also creativity. But now it’s time to invest in myself, focus on my path and find a new assignment. Change is a constant we all live with and being the person we are, in our book, it’s not something to run away from. Instead it presents an opportunity for reflection, renewal and growth. The change also comes with new perspectives, new perceptions and purposes.

Without bringing politics to much into this.... since I had to apply for the Indefinite Leave in the United Kingdom under Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules (so called "settled status") with the British Goverment I have voiced my opinion to everyone who asked me and I can openly admit that I am a proud European citizen. One who doesn't agree with the current leadership of the United Kingdom and what also happened in 2014. However, as buisness owner I don't wanted to upset anyone or even cause any harm.  Interesting video for this here .

Although my email inbox is still filling up with tips and news about Brexit prevention, every day I hear, read and see the anxiety becoming more and more present. Companies start to change their concepts or close down, suppliers start struggling to deliver, clients cancel jobs, employers start to panic, staff are getting made redundant. But even more scary.... contracts with loyal staff are not getting extended and so these professionals have to start looking for job opportunities. This made me think and I started researching and wondering. Will Brexit affect me? Will I suffer from it? What could I have done better? Until I found out that there is nothing really what could have done different. But it is how it is ... the UK will most likely leave the European Union and with this will also loose a lot of economical connections. Scotland and some of it's businesses reached the point not knowing how to survive this ucertainty. How to overcome the struggle of loosing business and the financial long haul.

As founder and director of a SME in the event industry working closely with the European market I now sadly reached the point where I have to realise that I can't ensure a consistent service to our clients any longer due to the political uncertainty. After long and intense considerations, I decided to put our event department (Rock Ya Events) on hold until the economical and political situation settled down and developed more clarification. Although we will still operate with our existing DMC department (Rock Ya Scotland), we hope very much to come back soon in full scale continuing to create memorable and unique event experiences for clients who appreciate the dedicated work containing in our bespoke and unique services.

Whilst uncertain I’ll embrace the opportunity to reach out to all our clients we’ve had the privilege of providing and all the partners whose support has proved invaluable to say  

"Thank you!"

I sincerely hope we’ll find a means to continue working for and with you. I'll now look for alternative options, to which I can bring my extensive work experience and skills achieved within many various environments in the event and tourism industry to the table.

#positive #attitude #entrepreneurship #eventprofsUK #eventprofs #bettertimesahead #worklifebalance #development


Pierre Kruff
Managing Director
Rock Ya Events Group Ltd.

UKs ugliest word of the year

Back in the days, where the ‘ugliest word of the year’ haven’t affected society, we kind of made fun out of the choosen word. We used this unloved word whenever and whereever we could, just for fun.

Today, I am getting quickly annoyed of that word  everyone seems to talk about. The word what caused already a lot of problems, suffer and anger in the same time. The word everyone is not even about how much more damage it will cause. The word which started speculations, indications, closures and arguments. The word what let’s us from other countries look like unwanted immigrants. The word which would never caused such problems if we all would have listened carefully to John Lennon’s famous lyrics of “Imagine”...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace.

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

Do you also start thinking now about the “ifs” the “woulds” and the “coulds”? Then you feel my pain and you also might understand why I started to feel very irritated about the whole thing.... BREXIT

Often I get asked how this could affect me at all since I live now since such a long time in the United Kingdom. It’s quite easy to explain:

1) The contents of my shopping basket changed...

Almost 30% of our food currently comes from the EU, and it is likely that some foods, such as fresh vegetables and fruit, will become more scarce and more expensive in the event of no deal.

Increased import taxes and transport delays could all mean a rise in prices. And if a no-deal Brexit was followed by a fall in the value of the pound, that would also have the same effect.

Supermarkets themselves have warned that there could be empty shelves and higher prices. And Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that, in a worst-case scenario, our shopping bills could increase by 10%.

The government has said that while a no-deal Brexit alone won't lead to food shortages, consumer behaviour could. Panic buying could mean food retailers run short of some products. 

In preparation, supermarkets say, they have been stockpiling some foods - but they are unable to do that for some fresh fruit and veg. Sainsbury's has also said October would be one of the worst times for the UK to exit the EU without a deal because warehouse capacity is already strained by he seasonal stock build-up ahead of Black Friday and Christmas, limiting supermarkets' ability to store goods ahead of Brexit.

Shoppers planning to buy from companies based in the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland after a no-deal Brexit have also been warned credit and debit card charges may be higher and payments may take longer. 

2) We will need to take extra measures when travelling to Europe

Millions of people from the UK travel abroad each year - the vast majority of journeys made to Europe.

With this issues with passports, visas, border control, health cover, travel itself and bank cards will arise.

3) Medication might be not available or it may be more expensive

Ministers and NHS leaders say every effort is being made to ensure there will be enough medicines and clinical equipment available in the event of delays to imports from the EU. While there are regular fluctuations in medicine supplies, there are concerns a no-deal Brexit could make shortages worse. 

About three-quarters of the medicines and most of the clinical products we use come from or via the EU. 

4) EU citizens need to apply for 'settled status'

Just today I had to experience a complete different level of frustration. Visiting the local migrants help group to get informed about options, opportunities and help for applications. The UK government has reached an agreement with the EU, as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, that will protect the rights of EU citizens and their family members living in the UK.

There are about 3.7 million EU citizens living in the UK.

5) Importing goods from the EU may get more expensive

Importing goods from the EU is likely to get more expensive when free movement of goods ends with the UK's departure.

As a member of the EU, UK firms don't have to pay extra duties, taxes or have customs checks on goods travelling to or from the EU.

But after a no-deal Brexit, new rules will apply. UK businesses will need to apply the same processes to EU trade that apply when trading with the rest of the world.

Working in the event and tourism (inbound) industry (link) I am predominantly working with the European market. We organise corporate events, incentives and travel experiences in/to Scotland. With all uncertainties arising our clients have decided not to invest in an event or in travelling in UK. But with us specialised in tailor-made whisky tours we also face the problem coming up with the whisky market. What will it mean for us and how will we be able to generate business in future?

Running your own business as entrepreneur during such a difficult time obviously affects your entire life circumstances. Therefore also social contacts such as family, friends and colleagues and everywhere you can feel a tightness. Trying to find answers and security is tiring and you come to the conclusion that whatever will happen it will happen anyway. But thanks to Brexit supporters such as David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson the United Kingdom’s economy will crash...sooner or later. But the perspective on Brexit is changing... read here

Farewell Europe. Farewell “united” Kingdom