Think Enterprise: February 2018

Think Enterprise Publication | February Edition

READ INSIDE

ANDREW GRIFFITHS MP

SMALL BUSINESS MINISTER

ATTENDS UNLOCKING POTENTIAL EVENT

SPOTLIGHT ON...

PAUL UPPAL

SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSIONER APPRENTICEMAKERS AND

BRITISH MARINE WORKSHOP

Vol. 16

MAGAZINE February Edition Vol. 16

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SARAH TROUTEN, IOEE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Welcome to our slightly late February issue of Think Enterprise. We were most definitely caught out by the snow last week and for the first time ever had to admit defeat to the weather and shut up shop! I read that the cold snap has cost the UK economy over £1bn per day but what is the cost to small businesses and how do we ensure our businesses are equipped to survive when the unexpected happens? Thinking about potential risks and planning before they actually happen helps to ensure your business will be stronger and more resilient and it doesn’t have to take as much time as you might think…

Last week we held our Unlocking Potential event in Westminster London at which we were delighted to welcome Andrew Griffiths MP for Small Business, Commerce and Culture to open the event. Andrew clearly shares our passion for supporting individuals whilst in prison and providing opportunities to ensure reoffending rates are reduced. I was so pleased to see so many in attendance at the event, who joined us to celebrate the great achievement of supporting over 10,000 learners within prisons to develop their enterprise skills. The commitment to enterprise education within prisons holds much promise for the future and we look forward to measuring and reporting this impact with our research, launched last week in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University. The event showcased many fantastic speakers including our centres, a number of employers we work with to provide post release opportunities, however the absolute highlight of the day for me was hearing two of our learners talk first hand about their own journey – Daniel and Gary were both inspirational and evidence the power of enterprise education. You can read about the event on page 6.

Our Apprenticemakers project continues to build momentum providing valuable mentor skills and training to those involved within the apprenticeships arena and with National Apprenticeship Week almost upon us we feature one of our recently trained British Marine mentors John Bland who explains how the training has supported his own business’s apprenticeship plans and how he’s putting his newly developed skills in to action. You can find out more about National Apprenticeship week and what’s on near you by visiting https://nawevents.co.uk/ I am particularly pleased to see this month’s feature on the new Small Business Commissioner, Paul Uppal, who has been tasked by government with ensuring small businesses receive fair and open payment terms. The commissioner will ensure that business owners have somewhere to turn and depend on - currently the only option is a small claims court. I am encouraged

by Paul’s interview and feel this new service for small businesses will help to ease very often unnecessary financial burdens.

Last month saw the launch of the new QAA guidance, to which we were honoured to be able to contribute, and this month we chat to Andy Penaluna, an IOEE Fellow who chaired this working group, in addition to the many other roles that Andy undertakes in the name of enterprise education.

This month we feature a fantastic enterprising learner from New College Durham, and we speak to an IOEE mentor supporting a gorgeous new lighting business in the North.

Grab yourself a hot drink and enjoy this month’s Enterprisingly Me, who I’m pleased to report is going from strength to strength, as we read about the prospect of new premises! Enjoy!

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Content 06 New Research Project to Explore the Impact of Enterpreneurship Education on Ex-Offenders

08 Celebrating International Women’s Day

11 The Supportive Institution: Andy Penaluna on How the QAA’s Enhanced Definitions Inspire Young People in Education

12 British Marine Apprenticemakers Workshops Help Businesses Navigate Their Way to Success

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14 Spotlight On...

Paul Uppal Small Business Commissioner

16 Spotlight On...

Enterprising Learner Matthew Bell

18 Enterprisingly Me x

20 Innovative Start-Up Business Illuminates the North East with its Creative Neon Designs

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Small Business Minister, Andrew Griffiths MP, speaking at the event

New research project to explore the impact of entrepreneurship education on ex-offenders On Monday 26th February, SFEDI Group and IOEE celebrated the national milestone of 10,000 custodial learners to benefit from access to their entrepreneurship education programmes and the launch of a new national research project, in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, to explore the impact of entrepreneurship and enterprise education on ex-offenders.

Small Business Minister, Andrew Griffiths MP, attended and spoke at the launch event held in Westminster.

whilst within prison attended the event and spoke about their personal journey and the powerful impact undertaking these programmes has had. There were also speakers providing insights into current best practice, policy and the future research agenda, including representatives from HMP Kirkham and HMP Standford Hill, Darren Burns of Timpson, David Glendenning of TONI&GUY, Janet Boston of Liberty Kitchens, Dr Matt McDonald of Manchester Metropolitan University and Richard Ward of the Ministry of Justice.

Small Business Minister Andrew Griffiths said:

In a government review published in 2016, entitled ‘Unlocking Potential: A Review of Education in Prison’, Dame Sally Coates highlighted the importance of self-employment as a ‘key route for offenders where the nature of their offending may make them unsuitable or unlikely to get jobs with employers.’

“I am delighted to support this event to launch SFEDI and Manchester Metropolitan University’s research project into the impact of entrepreneurship and enterprise education on ex-offenders.”

Ruth Lowbridge MBE, Executive Chair of SFEDI Group said:

In response to this report, SFEDI and the IOEE developed a range of qualifications exploring the benefits of enterprise learning and educating offenders to develop key employment skills, which will enable them to secure work or set up their own business when they get out of prison. These are now being delivered in over 70 prisons across youth, adult, male and female prisoners.

A number of learners who have undertaken SFEDI/IOEE programmes 6 | Think Enterprise

“We are proud to be part of this essential move to empower disadvantaged individuals through enterprise and entrepreneurship.

We have demonstrated that self-employment provides a positive route for ex offenders to re-integrate with society and their communities whilst instilling a confidence that reduces recidivism. I am excited for the future and feel honoured to be able to contribute to such an important body of work.”

Nic Preston, Director of Quality, SFEDI Group

SFEDI Executive Chair, Ruth Lowbridge MBE, presenting the 10,000th custodial learner certificate to David Morgan, accepted on behalf of HMP Kirkham

Richard Ward, Prison Reform Directorate, Ministry of Justice

IOEE Chief Executive, Sarah Trouten, with Daniel Levy (left) and Gary Rockcliffe (right), who both undertook SFEDI programmes whilst in prison

Dr Matt MacDonald, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Manchester Metropolitan University

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Celebrating International Women’s Day T HURSDAY 8 M A RC H 2018

International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Run annually on March 8, the day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. IWD provides an important moment to showcase commitment to women’s equality, launch new initiatives and action, celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness, highlight gender parity gains and more. This year, the IWD campaign theme is #PressforProgress.

DR JULIA GOGA-COOKE, GCONSULTANCY INNOVATION

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At IOEE, we like to share the achievements of our IOEE members, networks and partners and to celebrate International Women’s Day, we’ve collated a selection of previous articles featuring inspiring female entrepreneurs, enterprising learners and academics.

To find out how you can get involved in International Women’s Day, visit www.internationalwomensday.com

DR LOUISE CHALKLEY, ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY

KATIE GEDDES, THE DANCE STUDIO LEEDS

EMILIE MENDY, LONDON SOUTH BANK STUDENT

JANE BAINES, WOO ‘B’ WOO

HAMRA ALAM (RIGHT), LIGHTS CAMERA FASHION

DONNA MARIE, FINE ARTISAN JEWELLERY

KERRY HECTOR (SECOND LEFT), MOVIEMOBIL

ALYSIA SILBERG, IOEE FELLOW

CLARE TALBOT-JONES, TALBOT JONES RISK SOLUTIONS

VIV BELLAMY, AILSA VICTORIA MILLER, ENTERPRISING LEARNER AT CCBED ARTIST

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AWARD NOMINATIONS DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL FRIDAY 16 NOW MARCH - APPLY NOW! AWARD NOMINATIONS OPEN! THE AWARD CATEGORIES ARE: Enterp rising Le a rn i n g P rovi d e r o f t h e Y e a r Enterprise Educator of the Y e a r E n t e rp ri s i n g L e a rn e r o f t h e Y e a r Enterprise Supp ort C h a mp i o n I O E E Me mbe r o f t h e Y e a r Intrap reneur of the Y e a R L i f e t i me A c h i e ve me n t A wa RD International L i f e t i me A c h i e ve me n t A wa rd

FIND OUT MORE AT CELEBRATINGENTERPRISE.COM

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The Supportive Institution: Andy Penaluna on How the QAA’s Enhanced Definitions Inspire Young People in Education

Andy Penaluna is the Director of the International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Andy sits on the Advisory Board for SFEDI and IOEE, and is the Chair of the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education) Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Review.

The QAA released its first Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Guidance document in 2012, and January 2018 saw the release of a new enhanced and updated version, to which SFEDI and IOEE contributed. We caught up with Andy to discuss the changes made and his aspirations for the future.

Q. What was your role in the QAA review of the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Guidance?

A. In essence, I conceptualised the first QAA from a multidisciplinary approach. Rather than teaching the same traditional business skills to a variety of different subjects, I turned it on its head and looked at it the other way around. It was important that entrepreneurial skills could be developed in different subjects, and in many of the subjects we considered some of the approaches were already there.

QAA subsequently invited me to put together a team, and together we developed the 2012 Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Guidance.

This was described as a landmark document by the British Government’s Chief Entrepreneurial Adviser, and was used to inform international initiatives such as the European Commission’s EntreComp Framework. On 18th January 2018, after a year of consultation and review, we released an updated guidance that builds on the success that has been evidenced, learns from interpretations derived from it, and once again looks forward in order to support educators to teach entrepreneurial skills as part of their core subject.

Q. What impact do you see the refreshed QAA guidance having?

A. We had a series of meetings all over the UK before we decided to update it, and the changes we have made were called for by

the educators who joined our consultations. However, these new additions are simply enhancements, in-line with what the community of practice has called for - definitions have been elaborated upon, a new breadth of impact measures have been developed, and the pipeline of learning activities is aligned to institutional support.

We’ve made clearer distinctions between enterprise and entrepreneurship and included such elements as ‘incubators’; a method for students to develop business ideas, which was only in its conception stage when we first began back in 2012.

However, most significantly, we’ve added an entirely new section called The Supportive Institution. This lays out a map of what a successful entrepreneurial institution will do, with such elements as strengthening links and relationships with businesses, social enterprises, alumni and relevant organisations, by inviting entrepreneurs to be guest speakers or visiting lecturers – really honing in on how to personally support, motivate, inspire and nurture a student’s entrepreneurial spark. This way success can be aligned to institutional support, which means bigger pictures of impact can be gained.

Q. How would you like to see government support raising the profile of enterprise education in schools, colleges and higher education?

A. I’d strongly urge the Government to offer more enterprise education support in English schools. In terms of universities they are leading international thought, but it is falling behind in this area in the school sector, whereas Scotland and Wales are moving forward. Look forward to 2022 and we’re going to see some huge changes in the Welsh curriculum, with a real focus on developing creative enterprising contributors, and the necessary changes are underway now. My call would be to the English system – we need to get something solid in development that’s going to prepare pupils for that next stage, whether it be in a university, a job in a small business or, quite possibly, developing an idea or two into a business of their own.

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British Marine Apprenticemakers Workshops Help Businesses Navigate Their Way to Success

The IOEE continues to develop skills within the apprenticeship sector through its Apprenticemakers project. Apprenticemakers provides a range of support to businesses involved in apprenticeships, including mentor training for individuals who are supporting apprentices.

Apprenticemakers has worked with a variety of organisations to build and strengthen apprenticeship programmes, and this month we caught up with a recently trained British Marine apprenticemaker mentor, John Bland, to find out about the impact the workshops have had, and how he’ll be taking using his new business skills to support and mentor apprentices moving forward.

John Bland went into business with his father, George, in 1981, creating Tecsew; a manufacturing company that designs and creates marine covers and upholstery. Fast forward to today and John now runs the company with his wife, Ally, and they both recently attended two one-day British Marine Apprenticemakers workshops. They wanted to offer apprentices at Tecsew the most positive and enriching experience possible, and inspire young people to enter into this industry with aspirations for long-term careers within the company. John says: “In this specialist field you can sometimes find skill gaps that the industry needs help filling, and we felt that one of the key things we could do was to ensure that we’re recruiting the right people from the apprenticeship stage, giving them the best

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experience that we could so that, hopefully, they’d want to be with us for 10-15 years - or even be thinking of this as the first stage in a lifetime career.

“In this industry the apprenticeship route is particularly important as there are so few marine-related courses that tie in directly to this trade. You get a lot of people who’ve studied such things as the broader subject of engineering, making it harder to find the right person for this job. So, not only do we have to attract the right candidates from the word go, but we need to make sure they have all the support to excel in the role.”

“

You need to build rapport, give mixed praise and feedback, and make the apprentice feel like they’re already part of the team, rather than that being something that they graduate to if they ‘pass the first year’.”

A number of different companies in similar fields attended the Apprenticemakers workshops last year, and John says how this collaborative community was key to making the events so beneficial and successful, and that they were very enjoyable too:

“Various businesses shared their experiences, and having that line of communication opened up was really interesting. We heard from other British Marine member companies who were responsible for training apprentices, and it was great to get their ideas and insight. We also took part in roleplay exercises where we acted out various scenarios and looked at the different outcomes – really hands-on stuff that made the courses relaxed and fun, and took us away from that traditional ‘sitting in a classroom’ learning.

“Of course, the focus was on mentoring and how it can impact our young staff, and our perception of mentoring has changed dramatically as a result. It’s about creating a supportive and encouraging environment and doesn’t actually need any formality; that’s what we really took away from the workshops. It’s about setting the right tone and catching up with your apprentice on how they’re doing over a cup of coffee – changing that set-up so it’s not, ‘oh, I’m being called up for a meeting with the boss, so I must be in trouble’. You need to build a rapport, give mixed praise and feedback, and make the apprentice feel like they’re already part of the team, rather than that being something that they graduate to if they ‘pass the first year’.”

John is a very hands-on manager and has always promoted a ‘can do’ attitude in his company that he passes onto his staff, with a strong business ethos that focuses on fairness, passion and positivity. Reinvigorated by the two Apprenticemakers workshops, John and Ally have made changes within Tecsew Ltd, and John says that they are already starting to see the effects of this: “You see it almost straight away when it comes to teamwork, as the apprentices are feeling valued as an integral part of the organisation. We had two apprentices last year, one of whom is now full-time employed, and the other has been offered a fulltime position at the end of his apprenticeship in April.

“Sadly, there are a lot of companies out there who take on an apprentice and then let them go at the end once they’ve

completed their apprenticeship, and I think that’s incredibly unfair – people use it for cheap labour too, and that’s not right.

Of course, there will always be the chance that the apprentice and the job aren’t right for each other – especially in this industry, with such elements as having to work in the cold – and that’s okay, sometimes you have to try it and have a taster to find out if it suits you or if you’re best suited to something else. But what we want to do is create the right environment and the right relationship with an apprentice, so that if it is the right fit, then they have all of the support and resources to help them make this a long-term career, and that’s what we’re doing through our mentoring.”

Recent research undertaken by British Marine highlights the skills shortage facing the industry. In 2016, British Marine’s report on the UK Marine Labour Market highlighted that 30% of companies responding to the survey identified critical skills gaps that are holding business back, with technical skills being the biggest obstacle to recruitment. 74% of businesses cited a lack of technical training, such as in manufacturing and engineering, as a barrier, and in its most recent Industry Trends Survey, published in January at the London Boat Show, one in five members reported a skills shortage.

Chris Holmes, Training Executive at British Marine - the representative body for the UK marine industry - commented on how British Marine is aiming to build on skills development across the industry: “Helping our members to understand the benefits of apprenticeships is just one part of our role. British Marine is also supporting members who wish to form employer groups on how to develop the new, more robust marine-related apprenticeship standards.”

For more information on Apprenticemakers, visit: http://apprenticemakers.org.uk/

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Spotlight On...

Paul Uppal Paul Uppal has many years’ experience of running his own business, as well as being a Member of Parliament, and in 2017 the Government announced that he was to be appointed the first Small Business Commissioner (SBC). This month we spoke to Paul to find out how his new role unites his business and political experience, and how working closely with the IOEE will help him to further support SMEs in his new role.

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Created by the Enterprise Act 2016, the SBC is an independent public body that covers the whole of the UK – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – and it is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector, and enable significant positive changes to be made. Paul says:

When I started out I had two young kids and lost count of the times I made fish fingers and beans and tried to get a couple of phone calls in whilst they watched a video – but that is just the reality of it a lot of the time!

“There are three key elements of the role. Firstly, the SBC will signpost small businesses to existing support systems out there. Secondly, it will assist in the resolving of payment issues between small business suppliers and their larger customers. Thirdly – and probably the most interesting point – it will really champion small businesses out there, and that’s what I’m really excited to be in the position to do.”

“I was very lucky when I first set up my own business as I had strong mentors, which was a hugely helpful aspect in terms of me just getting through those difficult first few years. It can be very stressful and lonely and you have to take risks, so you have many moments when you’re wondering if you’re doing the right thing. For me, my Dad was actually my biggest mentor, and he has the experience of running a business in East Africa. That’s really what I see as the SBC – being a sort of mentor to small businesses, especially micro businesses, and it’s my plan and ambition to deliver that level of support.”

Paul graduated from Warwick University with a degree in Politics and Sociology, going on to run his own small business in the construction and real estate sector for over 20 years, before he became a politician; an experience that he feels will enhance his role as the SBC. Paul says:

Paul also strongly believes that failure is part of the process of finding success when setting up your own business, and that the community support and awareness of other start-ups going through the same experiences will help to motivate and inspire SMEs on their journeys:

“I do think that the public perception is that a lot of people in business transition into politics - but in my experience, that was incredibly rare. I actually found that there aren’t that many politicians who’ve got a genuine business background; it was certainly something that I noticed in my time in Parliament. When I first saw the role of SBC, I thought that it was something where I could really make a positive contribution, as I could bridge the gap between the two: I can bring the political side to the business field, and my business experience to the political field, and really combine both to the benefit of SMEs.”

“It’s probably the case that you’re not a real entrepreneur until you have fallen on your face a few times - which I did spectacularly! You have to get through failure to become the polished article, and it makes you more worldly wise and adds to your skill set in the long-run however, it’s a painful thing to go through, so knowing that other entrepreneurs are going through the same thing helps keep that entrepreneurial spirit high when it feels challenging.”

It’s through Paul’s experience of running a business that he learnt first-hand the benefits of mentoring and, having been the mentee in the past, he is now going to use his position to give others the same positive mentoring experience: “There’s so much information out there for small businesses to access, but sometimes, when you’re in the thick of setting up your own business, you can’t see the woods for the trees. I want this to be an organisation that helps to guide people in the right direction. The emotional side of starting a business can get pushed into the background, and nobody really mentions how isolating and exhausting it can be, but it’s just as important to consider. Of course, there are lots of pluses and it’s empowering and you’re in charge of your own destiny, but there are minuses too and it can be very challenging.

At the beginning of 2018, the IOEE and the SBC united to increase the outreach to entrepreneurs even further, and Paul tells us what this relationship means to him and his role moving forward: “As the Small Business Commissioner, what I firstly want to do is raise our profile, so that entrepreneurs and small businesses know we are here to support them.

I’d like to have more conversations with businesses and IOEE members to develop a greater understanding of what people need and further look at what we can offer them. So, in a sense, this could be more of an appeal: If there are entrepreneurs out there who feel that they are struggling with their supply chain, it is our statutory duty to not do anything to materially damage somebody who comes to us with a complaint - we exist, we’re on the side of entrepreneurs and enterprise, and we want to talk to you, have a genuine candid conversation, and we’re here to support you and make a real difference.”

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New College Durham

Spotlight On...

Enterprising Learner Matthew Bell Matthew Bell is studying for a Foundation Degree in Business and Management at New College Durham, whilst also working fulltime in the Co-op Food National Transport Department. With the Foundation Degree’s Innovation, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship modules being accredited by the IOEE, this month we caught up with Matthew to find out how he balances working and studying together, and his plans for a future in Logistics.

Matthew may only be 23, but he has shown signs of ambition, professionalism and work ethos of someone who has been in business for much longer. Matthew knows what he wants, and is prepared to work hard to get there. Matthew says: “In terms of goals and where I see my career going? To be honest, I think I’ve almost planned a bit too far ahead! I want to go into some form of Logistics Management, and I’ve already scoped out a long-distance learning opportunity with a Logistics Management Degree at the University of Lincoln. Eventually, after that, I’d like to get a Master’s degree. Logistics can open doors to lots of opportunities, and there are a lot of jobs in Saudi Arabia and Dubai in this field due to there being so many English construction companies out there, and they all need logistics connections for new buildings and railways etc. So I have big plans and I work hard, but I’m right at the beginning.”

Matthew began his career as a Business Admin Apprentice, working for a road marking and construction company, before taking on the role of Transport Administrator. After two years, he decided that he wanted some form of career progression and more responsibility, so began looking for other opportunities. When an opportunity arose at the Co-op Food National Transport Department for a Support

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Clerk, Matthew went for it, and it is this role that he now balances with his Foundation Degree. Matthew says: “It’s full-time and full-on and I’m here five days a week. Logistics is essentially getting things from one place to another via complex supply chain management. Everything you buy is part of this, from a loaf of bread at the supermarket, to cars that have had intricate operations to get here from another country through shipping containers and international logistics management. The Co-op deals with a lot of fresh produce, which means performance is key due to deliveries being more time-sensitive and deadline-driven. If a fridge or freezer breaks on a wagon or gets delayed, that has an economic effect. This can be very challenging for the depots.

“My role entails producing management information on a daily basis for network-wide depots, and the primary metric we measure is delivery performance. In involves a lot of trend analysis and then looking at where cost savings can come from, for example, and then putting cost benefits in place. I’ll collate all of the relevant information between different systems and see the patterns and where there are positives or negatives, and then look at what action we need to take.”

Alongside his high-pressured job, Matthew is studying for his Foundation Degree in the evenings, attending classes on Monday and Wednesday nights and then working on his assignments at the weekends and in the evenings. However, Matthew is not fazed by his heavy workload. He says: “It’s a big undertaking, but if you can take on this workload now it can set you up for the rest of your career. The part-time Foundation

Degree is still only spread over two years, as it would be with full-time study, so it’s still the same intensity, and it’s definitely a lot to take on.

Matthew also feels that the experience of working alongside students with different career goals to himself works to his advantage, as he explains:

“We have a variety of different modules and classes, but one of my personal favourites is PPD (Personal and Professional Development).

Within this you learn so many transferable skills and how you can apply skills from your studies to the workplace and vice versa - so I can use skills from my full-time job and apply it to the course. We’ll also look at such things as the differences between managing and leading people. So, managing is seen as pretty much giving direction and maintaining performance, whereas leading is coming up with innovative ideas that can transform a team and impact results.”

“It’s really interesting from my perspective, as it opens your eyes to different industries, seeing students aspiring to different lines of work and different career opportunities. Actually, that’s something I’ve learnt in my career and studies so far - to take the time to learn and observe from your peers, be they fellow students or colleagues, and that’s part of my personal approach to innovation.

As well as traditional classroom-based learning, Matthew’s Foundation Degree also includes practical hands-on teaching methods, which he has found to enhance his learning experience.

One example of this would be the Business Finance module he took this year, where students undertook a case study and had to operate as though they were the hypothetical Bank of Durham or Newcastle. Matthew says: “We had to look at a ‘fictional’ company’s financial performance over two years and then make a judgement call on whether it would be able to attract potential investors, or whether a bank loan would be sufficient. You learn a lot by turning the situation on its head and looking at it from the bank’s perspective, as opposed to the new business’.”

“Something I’ve realised about myself is that when I start something new I get so excited about getting the ball rolling that I forget to slow down and step back and take everything in - but I’ve adapted and learnt from my mistakes, and being able to do that is a lesson in itself. For me, innovation is all about observing, being strategic, analysing your position and coming up with the correct solution that will benefit team and company, and not just you. The way I see innovation is that it’s very much a collective experience, and that’s something I’ll take with me through every stage of my career.”

To find out more about IOEE Academy, New College Durham, visit the website at www.newcollegedurham.ac.uk

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‘Enterprisingly Me’ is a monthly feature where you can follow my entrepreneurial adventures. Names have been changed to protect the innocent but everything you read really happened.

I hope my story inspires you to take your first steps, or if you already have, then it lets you know you’re not on your own. Starting and running a successful business isn’t about being perfect. It’s about loving what you’re doing, learning from your mistakes and keeping the faith!

I just wish I didn’t see everything as an opportunity!

Following a meeting with my mentor at the economic development department of our local council I became aware of a larger suite of offices that are being vacated just around the corner from where we have recently moved to. They are very swish and would give us our own reception area along with a lovely office space for the staff, my own office (how important???) and a small meeting room. My justification, not that I need an excuse, is that there’s not enough room where we are now for our new member of staff, Arlette. It seems a perfect opportunity to expand without incurring too much additional expense and we’ve been offered a very attractive rate as its owned by our existing landlord.

What can we lose?

You’d think I would learn from taking on too much at once but visualising our name above the door, the new décor and fancy furniture, the need to buy is just too big of a temptation to pass up.

I returned from my mentor meeting with so much enthusiasm that it was difficult for Marie and Clare to voice any concerns. I realise that my ability to ‘sell’ an idea with so much optimism is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that this enthusiasm allows people to

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be carried along with me and cancels out any negative feelings they might have about the said idea. However it also throws caution to the wind and takes risks that no self-respecting sensible individual would take. It’s so easy for this to happen to me – I can be out with friends or on holiday when the wildest ideas present themselves to me and I can see nothing that can go wrong. Like the time I forgot my glasses when travelling on the train to a meeting and decided that it would be a good idea to have a reading glasses vending machine in stations – after a couple of drinks with family this turned into a vending machine that dispensed all manner of things – some not for public viewing nor consumption. Saying that, I hear the Japanese are vending mad!!

Anyway I forgot to tell you about my meeting with my mentor – she is lovely and full of apologies about being incommunicado for so long. It seems that she has had a lot of personal problems that she has shared with me – sorry I can’t share as I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.

I was a bit surprised at the level of detail she went into – so much so that my hours appointment seemed to fly by but I’ve made another appointment to see her next week. She gave me a booklet as to what to expect from our meetings which I promised to read before we meet up again next week.

Things are moving quickly and what with delivering training, promoting our new project, securing even more business and taking bookings for our training room, business is really looking good. It’s quite time consuming making sure that Arlette, our new member of staff, is getting to grips with what we want her to do but it’s early days. I realise that the difference between working for a large corporate organisation and working for a tiny company like ours must be quite daunting for her – its daunting for us too!! But early signs are good and Arlette shares our values which is the important thing. She brings a wealth of experience from her national role which I’m sure will help us to grow the business. Saying that we seem to be doing that ourselves and the more business comes through the door the more our confidence grows.

my moving plans. I would have really appreciated talking things through with her but ended up sharing stories of our personal lives. Lovely as it is to try and work out why I’m so obsessed with growing my business and the effect this is having on my personal life, it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I agreed to speak to a business mentor. I have read the booklet that she gave me on my first meeting with her. It says I should expect my business mentor to:

Moving round the corner into the bigger premises is the next step for us all and I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know that I’ve now spoken to the landlord and he has agreed to let us view the offices once they are vacated at the end of the month. How exciting to know we will be in our new suite of offices very shortly – I’ve already started looking at furniture for our new reception area and given Marie and Claire all of the carpet and paint swatches for them to choose colours. I’m hoping they don’t go too ‘off piste’ but think it’s really important that they feel a valuable part of the team moving forward and choosing colours for our new office allows them to feel involved. After all, it’s them that will have to look at it every day as they welcome our visitors and continue to give Arlette and I the support we need to bring in even more business.

• • • •

• • •

• • •

Provide an outside perspective on both me and my business Listen, confidentially, to the issues that are worrying me about my business Help by sharing experiences of both failures and successes Give friendly, unbiased support and guidance Provide honest and constructive feedback Be a sounding board for ideas Facilitate decision making by suggesting alternatives based on personal experience Supply contacts and networks to further personal and business development Inspire me to realise my potential Give ongoing support and development.

I’m just not sure that this is how our relationship is working and not sure how to broach it with her. Any ideas?

Me x

I’ve had another meeting with my mentor and was a little disappointed that she has continued to talk about herself and didn’t allow a lot of time for me to talk to her about

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Innovative Start-Up Business Illuminates the North East with its Creative Neon Designs Emma Krause is the founder of Light Up North; a cool, creative and innovative company that designs and makes stylish neon lighting art using EL wire. Through the IOEE’s Mentoring Programme, Emma was paired up with Denise Kay, an Associate Director at Barclays Bank. We caught up with Emma and Denise to find out more about their journey and how Light Up North is illuminating the North East.

Emma’s Story Before Emma, top left, set up Light Up North she had a very different career, working as a child protection social worker. It was rewarding but very demanding, and difficult to balance with three young children. It was a relocation and reassessment that led Emma to take the plunge and set up a business that worked with family life.

Emma says: “I’m in the second year of starting a new business, and the stresses that come with that are very real, but there are also so many

20 | Think Enterprise

positives that it’s important to be mindful of. I often say to my husband that we don’t feel the stresses that Light Up North relieves, such as picking up the children or having to make arrangements to make sure one of us can go to the nativity plays. Before working for myself I would often find I was stuck in court late and have to miss things, so I’m really happy to have found something where it works for me, rather than I work for it.”

“

Having a mentor makes me feel accountable Denise is almost like a conscience; I don’t have to please her, but I’d be disappointed in myself if I said I was going to do something and then didn’t follow through.”

It was when Emma relocated to the North East and needed her house rewiring that she met an electrician, Dave, who would become her business partner. Emma says:

More of Emma’s work is available to view online on the Light Up North Instagram page

“Dave’s background was more theatre and commercial lighting rather than domestic lighting, and we were on the same wavelength. Light Up North uses EL wire to make creative neon signs - it’s like an electrical embroidery thread that was originally used for high end dashboards, and we’re the first people to be using it creatively. Traditional neon is expensive and difficult to get and often uncomfortably bright for your home, and once we started working with EL wire, Light Up North was born.”

The IOEE matched up Emma with her mentor, Denise, in 2016, when Light Up North was in the early stages of development. Fast forward to today and the business is flourishing, with a strong social media presence and the orders flying in. Emma says: “Having a mentor has been such an important part of the journey, and I’m really happy to be able to promote the experience and its benefits. I have a great relationship with Denise and am able to call her and talk through everything – it’s a bit like a professional counselling relationship! Really though, she feels like a critical friend

- someone whose opinion I really trust. After all, she doesn’t have an invested interest in Light Up North and doesn’t get anything out of the success or failure of the business, so being able to hear things completely objectively is incredibly helpful.

“Having a mentor also makes me feel accountable – Denise is almost like a conscience; I don’t have to please her, but I’d be disappointed in myself if I said I was going to do something and then didn’t follow through. It keeps me focused and disciplined, and talking about your agenda puts you in that ‘business zone’, and just practising that persona makes you feel more confident in other professional areas of the business too.”

The mentoring experience has been so successful for Emma that Denise is also going to begin mentoring Emma’s business partner this year too: “We’re a great team and Dave is amazing at the technical side and I’m confident in being creative, but we now need a whole new set continued on the next page...

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of skills that we didn’t need before – things such as employing and managing staff and everything that comes with that – so Denise is going to help us with this moving forward. Mentoring is so effective in your business in making you work ‘smart’. You might think you’re really busy, but it’s a wise way to spend your time, and for taking an hour out of my business to work on my businesses, the benefits and rewards are huge.”

Denise’s Story Denise has had a long career at Barclays Bank, working her way up through the ranks over the years, recently settling into a new role as an Associate Director after working as a Credit Manager; the job that actually inadvertently inspired Denise to get involved in mentoring. Denise says: “It felt like the right time to broaden my personal skill set. Working in credit involves a lot of number crunching, which is very interesting to me, but you’re not interacting with clients, and I wanted to explore that personal element.”

Denise first began mentoring Emma in 2016, having regular conversations to discuss such things as how to grow different areas of the business or setting goals and looking at how to make processes more efficient in order to reach them. Denise says: “Emma has come such a long way in the 18 months I’ve been with her. When we met she was right at the beginning of her business and not really making any money, she was just creating pieces with her business partner, Dave, from a workshop in her garage. We needed to concentrate on raising the profile of Light Up North in order to get more orders coming in. From day one I was talking about ‘lean processes’ and asking questions about efficiency and turnaround, such as, ‘how long does everything take to design and create?’, as you need to know how quickly you can deliver, especially once your orders are increasing.”

Today, Emma and Dave have a separate workshop, a strong social media presence, and employ another two members of staff and an apprentice, alongside dipping their toes into the world of festivals and exhibitions. Denise says: “Last September Light Up North teamed up with an artist and held an exhibition in the basement of a shop in Saltburn – it was a moody

22 | Think Enterprise

atmospheric setting where their glowing neon words were put over paintings of music icons, such as David Bowie, George Michael and Debbie Harry, which looked fantastic. They’ve also been asked to take part in the Festival of Thrift, where anything and everything is recycled and reclaimed to give it a new lease of life, and Emma has just returned from a creative workshop in Paris too – Light Up North has evolved and grown so much in such a sort space of time.”

“

It’s amazing what skills and experience you have that you don’t necessarily value or even notice until you start to share them; listening skills, analytical skills, reflection, looking at the broader picture.”

It was Denise’s manager who encouraged her to try mentoring, which she says she was hesitant about at first, but the whole experience and the expert matching of the IOEE’s Mentoring Manager, Paul Harper, ensured that she and Emma were a really good fit. Denise says: “At first, I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it, and my manager pushed me just to prove me wrong! You do ask yourself those questions at the beginning - ‘what am I going to bring to a small business?’ - but it’s amazing what skills and experience you have that you don’t necessarily value or even notice until you start to share them; listening skills, analytical skills, reflection, looking at the broader picture.

“Paul is also very good at matching up mentors with mentees, and Emma and I clicked. I also got a colleague involved, who saw what I was doing and how rewarding it was, and Paul found the perfect mentee for her too. He’s a very good judge of character and matches you with someone who he knows it will work with, and that is everything; in a mentoring relationship, it’s all about that trust and communication.”

Interested in finding out how mentoring could help your business?

For more information, contact IOEE Mentor Manager, Paul Harper, paul.harper@ioee.uk or 07715 905638.

MAGAZINE February Edition Vol. 16

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