On Saturday 1 June our annual business summit Esquire Self-Made, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz X-Class, returned to host a group of inspiring business leaders, fashion entrepreneurs and motivational speakers for panel talks and discussions.

Featuring the likes of British menswear designer Oliver Spencer and co-founder of Frieze Mathew Slotover, the event at the Ham Yard Hotel offered networking opportunities, valuable advice for those looking to start or develop their business and debates on issues such as growing an ethical brand.

Watch the video above to hear some valuable business lessons from some of our esteemed speakers, and see below for a summary of some of our favourite takeaways from the day.

"Find your competition and go and work for them. Go and spend time getting paid to learn in an environment that you see yourself in in five years time" – Oliver Spencer, Designer.

"Find a great business partner. If you're the creative you need to find somebody who is really sound on the numbers. That partnership will keep you going when times are tough." – Helen Brocklebank, Chief Executive of Walpole.

Event, Conversation, Human, Performance, Sitting, Suit, White-collar worker,
Oliver Holms
A panel discussion at Esquire Self-Made

          "Obsess about the product that you have. You can always improve something by tweaking it and playing with it." – Pip Murray, Founder of Pip & Nut.

          "Learn the art of resilience. You're going to face so many challenges that unless you have that deep, deep resilience within yourself, it's going to be a very difficult journey." – Tom Beahon, Co-founder of Castore.

          "Don't follow conventional business advice. The best people are those who execute well and who bootstrap themselves up." – Jonathan Moules, Enterprise Correspondent, FT.

          "If you're an artist spend time making your work and making it as good as possible. Don't worry too much about the career side of it because that will follow if your art is fantastic." – Mathew Slotover, Co-founder of Frieze.

          "Get up early in the morning!"– Erling Kagge, explorer, entrepreneur, author, art collector and publisher.