Just because your business is doing 'ok', doesn't mean it can't benefit from the ideas and experiences of others.

This is the message of the owner of Birmingham accountancy firm Andersons KBS.

Fed up with the lack of networking events for medium-sized businesses in Birmingham, Karl George founded the Open event as a way to bring the region?s likeminded entrepreneurs together.

First launched in 2004 the conference was a personal realisation of something that Mr George claims had been missing from the city for some time.

?I found that networking conferences I attended only seemed to have delegates from micro-business looking for funding or big business,? the 36-year-old businessman said.

?I would go to networking events but wouldn?t see my peers.

?It was very rare for me to find #1 million to #1.5 million turnover companies with around 20 employees.

?These firms often stay away from events because they?re doing OK and don?t think they need to go ? but they really could learn from each other to do better.? Mr George, who has headed Andersons KBS for the past 13 years, founded the Open conference with a view to achieve just that. Speakers at the event included Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, Sahar Hashemi, co-founder of Coffee Republic, and Mike Southon, co-author of the Beermat Entrepreneur.

Mr George believes that what distinguishes Open 500 from any other networking event is the ?Open Talk? format which he describes as ?a cross between Question Time and Dragons Den?. The audience are encourages to participate in discussions and delegates are split into small ?Mastermind? groups which are required to come up with ideas related to this year?s themes - sales growth and networking.

The event attracted 300 business people from across the Midlands last year and Mr George also plans to hold a second event this autumn.

?Birmingham is an entrepreneurial city and we need to promote this through events like the Open conference,? Mr George said.

* Mr George will be speaking at Open05 on October 12 at the ICC in Birmingham.

To book, visit www.open500.co.uk or call 0121 237 6924.