Think Enterprise July 2018

Think Enterprise Publication | July Edition

READ INSIDE

IOEE MEMBERS

SPECIAL

ENTERPRISE LEARNER

OLUSHOLA BUKOYE

HALEH MORAVEJ

METMUNCH

PITCHER & PIANO HOSTS

THINK & A DRINK

Vol. 21

MAGAZINE July Edition Vol. 21

CONTAC T US 53 Coniscliffe Road Darlington DL3 7EH 0845 467 4928 newsletter@ioee.uk ioee.uk

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SARAH TROUTEN, IOEE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Hi and welcome to this gloriously sunny edition of July Think Enterprise!

This month features many of our interesting and diverse members, we’ve spoken to international members, acacademic members and students who are all flying the flag for enterprise in all things they do!

Prime Cymru an IOEE Academy held their annual awards event earlier this month in Wales, to which our very own Ruth Lowbridge MBE and trustee of Prime attended and provided the closing speech.Prince Charles, patron of the charity attended and provided a warm speech and congratulatory messages to the winners and those involved in Prime Cymru for the great work being done there.

I am delighted to announce this month we are launching our very first meet up for our members in partnership with Martsons Teelecoms being held at Pitcher and Piano in London. I hope to see lots of you there and hope that it’s the first of many across the country to provide valuable (and FREE) support to our members.

Finally, enjoy Enterprisingly me with this month’s sequel which I’m sure strikes a chord with lots of us!

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Contents 08 Enterprising Learner

10 IOEE Membership Special

18 IOEE Member Thoughts

20 Enterprisingly Me

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22 Prime Cymru Awards

24 Think & A Drink Event

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Visit http://ioee.uk/become-a-member/ to find out more about IOEE Membership and the payment options available.

Business Planning

ENTERPRISING LEARNE ENTERPRISING LEARNER OLUSHOLA BUKOYE

This month we are looking at some of the fantastic work Olushola has been doing with her baking business Buks Cakes. Olushola won a place on the Graduate Entrepreneur Scheme (GES) at London South Bank University (LSBU), an IOEE Centre of Excellence. As a graduate of the School for Applied Sciences, Olushola Bukoye set up her Buks Bakes business in 2014 and was awarded a place on LSBU’s Graduate Entrepreneur Scheme for 2017/18. As a master baker, she participated in the BBC’s British Bake Off Extra Slice in 2016.

Olushola saw GES as an opportunity to improve her business skills and knowledge. Olushola says that she took part in the graduate enterprise scheme – three years into her own enterprising endeavours – because GES “is a very good opportunity for me to improve my business. I saw it as a chance to evaluate my business, rebrand and scale up its operation, with the support of experts and mentors.

“I am attending a lot of business programmes and seminars, which are very helpful in the development of my business. In so doing, I have learnt how to understand my market, how to attract the ideal customers, develop pricing strategies and organise my accounts. I strongly feel that these are important tools and skillsets in developing a contemporary business.

Overall, I would say that I am getting a lot out of it so far. The highlight for me has been receiving the full support of the Enterprise team. They are always giving you expert advice and guidance. Thanks to this, we were able to rebrand and rename my business.”

After Setting up Buks Bakes in 2014 on a part-time basis, Olushola committed herself to it fully after completion of her MSc in Food Safety and Control. Now called Iconic Bakes, the business produces made-to-order personalised wedding cakes and celebration cakes, which are unique to every individual and celebration.

“I’m really enjoying running my own business, and my goals are to keep delivering quality baked products in real time as well as teaching baking, food safety and control. Having recently concluded an MSc in Food Safety and Control course, I believe that the proposed training arm of my business will be a real asset, should help to enhance LSBU’s profile and the

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ER OLUSH OL A BUKOYE UK economy at large. My classes will be offered to enthusiastic youths, women who are both employed or need to return to work, and other interested Londoners. This will greatly improve social inequality by ensuring that more youths and women are able to gain valuable skills and an income,” she says.

“Statistically, in the United Kingdom a considerable amount of bakery products are consumed yearly, yet there are still some health concerns with companies, particularly SMEs, which provide these bakery products. This can be attributed to a number of reasons, but is primarily

“I’m really enjoying running my own business, and my goals are to keep delivering quality baked products in real time”

a result of the inadequate or non-implementation of food safety management systems. I hope to help educate people and start to implement a change.”

With Iconic Bakes all set for a bright future, how important does Olushola feel the support from LSBU has been so far? “LSBU has been supportive in so many different ways. First, I have been able to gain access to experienced mentors. Personally, my mentor supports me to achieve milestones, produce business trademarks and intellectual properties, alongside other things. Second, I am provided with an office space for my administrative work. Finally, there’s opportunity for financial support to upscale my business. Combined together, these things put you in a much stronger position for taking your business forward.”

And finally, how was the experience of appearing on TV? “I really enjoyed being a participant in the Great British Bake Off Extra Slice. It was a great experience to see how TV studios are set up, see the show before it was aired, see Jo Brand and network with other bakers. More importantly though, it was a great opportunity to directly understand the expectations and perceptions of renowned bakers, something that I will keep in mind as Iconic Bakes continues to grow.”

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MEMBERS SPECIAL

“

Whether you’re a student looking for additional resources, preparing to start your own business or a serial entrepreneur simply looking for professional recognition there is something for everyone with IOEE Membership.

WRITTEN BY NATHAN HARDWICK

The IOEE story started ten years ago when we wondered why there wasn’t an institute for those starting and running their own business and the people who supported them. Then in 2010, after two years of planning, the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs was recognised by the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise, Innovation and Skills as the only learning institute dedicated to enterprise learning and skills. Since then our membership has grown, year on year and we now have members all over the country and even across the world.

With technological developments reshaping our workplaces and changing how businesses are operated, enterprise learning and skills are more important now than ever. We need to equip ourselves with the skills and mindsets to navigate a world of work we can’t yet envisage. We need to learn to think differently, to take risks and to be entrepreneurial and to succeed we need support and training. An accountant would not be able to complete a tax return without being shown which boxes to fill; similarly a manager would not be able to relate to their team without having learnt about working practices. Then why should becoming entrepreneurial be any different?

Although we may be born with a natural aptitude for a subject or discipline, any skill is able to be improved if there is a willingness to learn.

Therefore it’s important that, as enterprising people, we continue to increase our knowledge, and develop our ideas and businesses. The future belongs to the innovators and creators, and enterprise learning and skills are vital for the types of creative, innovative ideas our world needs in the 21st century.

Indeed, the benefits of entrepreneurial learning spreads further than being purely personal; it is also good for society. Entrepreneurial innovation and new enterprise are essential for a country to be globally competitive, with new technologies creating new jobs. So, this issue celebrates you, our members, and we hope you continue on this enterprise learning journey with us in support.

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PHIL BRAMHALL IOEE MEMBER

THIS MONTH WE ARE DELIGHTED TO SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON OUR VERY FIRST RWANDAN IOEE MEMBER, THE INSPERATIONAL EPHASTE NIYIGENA!

The IOEE’s roots may lie in the UK, but we spread our enterprising message far and wide. This month we are delighted to shine a spotlight on our very first Rwandan IOEE Member, the inspirational Ephaste Niyigena. As the ‘man on the ground’ for UK-based charity The Goboka Rwanda Trust, Ephaste manages multiple projects, from supporting young entrepreneurs to set up micro businesses, all the way to large-scale operations, such as installing drinking water supplies to villages in poor rural communities.

Nominated by Phil Bramhall, one of the charity’s trustees, Ephaste has recently been awarded IOEE Member status, and this month we caught up with Phil to find out about Ephaste’s outstanding contribution to the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship in Rwanda.

Based in North Yorkshire, Phil Bramhall was instrumental in helping to establish The Goboka Rwanda Trust as a UK-registered charity, and he became an official trustee back in 2013. His passion for the Trust is evident, his energy and enthusiasm is infectious, and he is wholeheartedly devoted to his role of developing numerous fundraising initiatives for the Trust. Phil co-organised Ride for Rwanda, a charity ride for bikers to support the building of a health centre in the west of Rwanda, and he competed in the Isle of Man’s 85 Miles in 24 Hours walking challenge to raise funds for a youth community centre in Rukumbura, one of Rwanda’s most remote villages.

However, despite being an influential member of The Goboka Rwanda Trust, Phil tells us that none of it would be possible without the hard work and commitment of Ephaste Niyigena, the ‘man on the ground where it matters’. Phil says: “The Goboka Rwanda Trust has the great fortune

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of having Ephaste Niyigena working as a Project Officer on the ground in Rwanda. The charity operates through raising money in this country, through various methods, and we then ask our Rwanda partner organisations where the money would best be spent.

With us being based here in the UK, we’re simply not going to be the best people to understand what would be most impactful in Rwanda. Ephaste is our principal person out there, and his hands-on work and experience and understanding of the country enables him to accurately report back this information.

“Ephaste will assess which projects will have the biggest impact and he gives answers to those questions, such as whether the money would be best spent in small rural communities or in bigger city communities. We’re a small yet successful charity, but we don’t have huge amounts of money, so it’s important that every penny we spend is carefully considered.

Ephaste monitors and manages the use of the Trust’s funds and support for enterprise and education projects in Rwanda to make sure the money makes a real difference.”

Ephaste’s admirable work with The Goboka Rwanda Trust is not the only reason that Phil wanted to nominate Ephaste for his accomplishments - he also wanted to commend him for his academic achievements, as Ephaste has recently gained both a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Business Management.

Phil says: “It can be very challenging to get an opportunity for secondary education in Rwanda, let alone tertiary education, so to see Ephaste develop his skills and his knowledge and his understanding of enterprise in this way is incredible. Ephaste doesn’t only have academic qualifications

in a Rwandan context, but he now has a degree and a Master’s that are recognised in an international context. It’s one of the reasons that I put forward an application for Ephaste to become an IOEE Member, because he is so deserving of recognition for both his ongoing efforts and his educational achievements.”

One of the current projects that Ephaste is leading with The Goboka Rwanda Trust is in a small and remote rural village, where the community has requested a grinding mill to grind sorghum grains to make into porridge. As well as it feeding a community with nutritious food, the grinding mill will also gainfully employ two or three people, thereby generating income into the village. Ephaste has

conducted a detailed breakdown of such things as what the project will cost, what it will look like, how people will benefit, sustainability and community, and he is then going to take it from the trial phase and into the operational phase.

Phil says: “I’m very proud of our work and exceptionally proud of Ephaste, but our Trust also wants to acknowledge and celebrate other charities too. There are so many amazing organisations across Africa that are doing great work like this, and we recognise that we may be just one drop in the ocean – but we’re not an insignificant drop. This is work that really matters and makes a positive difference to daily life.

“When we set up the charity we felt that it was demonstrating how a project can

bring about much more than economic value – it has real social value too. These projects are bringing people together to do meaningful, purposeful and enjoyable work. There are benefits for physical health, mental health, emotional wellbeing, social bonds, teamwork, friendship; the list is endless. The Goboka Rwanda Trust brings people together to create possibility and long-term healing. We wouldn’t be where we are without Ephaste’s passion, devotion and integrity, and I’m delighted that he has been awarded his IOEE Member status.”

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IOEE ACADEMIC MEMBER

Haleh Moravej:

MET MUNCH This month we have been catching up with Haleh Moravej who was previously nominated for Intrapreneur of the Year at the Celebrating Enterprise Awards 2018. Haleh has been able to create a social enterprise, MetMUnch based at Manchester Metropolitan University who are a IOEE Centre of Excellence.

Haleh has won a vast array of awards throughout her career so far including Outstanding Teaching for Employability in MMUnion Teaching Award 2016 and EAUC Green Grown Award 2014.

As a senior lecturer in Nutritional Sciences, Haleh strives to provide an exceptional student experience, often breaking the boundaries for what is expected from food based courses.

Haleh has been able to understand the importance of business and entrepreneurship across the University and outside of the MMU Business School.

Turning Foodpreneur seems to be on the rise. Passionate graduates with the right enterprise training, mind-set, knowledge, resilience and passion can go from kitchen table to production kitchen in no time. Food is a universal language of connecting people and food and good nutrition is more important than ever. With one in 10 people out of the current global population of 7.4 billion already going hungry, ensuring that everyone has daily access to nutritious food is an ongoing challenge and one that can be solved and tackled by an entrepreneurial mind-set. Diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease are amongst the greatest global health challenges society faces. Understanding how to make the right food choices plays a key role in our health and one area that entrepreneurs can make a huge contribution.

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So what is MetMUnch? MetMUnch is a global award-winning, student-led social enterprise based within MMU. The goal of this enterprise is to help promote sustainable, healthy & nutritious food. We were interested to find out what it was that made Haleh want to start this enterprise in the first place and wether she expected it to grow as much as it has done.

Haleh believes that Enterprise and Food can often be so closely linked. Giving students the ability to combine the two is an excellent way to not only build knowledge in Food & Nutrition but also build a very valuable entrepreneurial mindset.

Some of the work on Haleh’s course is often inspired by IOEE Case Studies & looking forward MMU hope to embed more of the excellent IOEE Membership benefits and IOEE Resources thus allowing students the perfect start-up information when beginning in business and enabling them to take this out into the wider industry upon graduation. MMU have just approved resources which are available on the IOEE Campus for masters students, giving them the perfect foundation for their course.

We asked Haleh about some of the awards MetMUnch has won to date and how these inspire Haleh to continue the work she does - “MetMUnch and I, have received 18 national and international awards and nominations in the past 7 years including MMU Union Best Teacher of the Year 2012; National and International EAUC Green Gown Award Winners in Student Engagement 2014, Manchester Met Green Impact Environmental Hero 2014; UnLtd/ HEFCE SEE Changemakers: Social Enterprise Outstanding Achievement Award 2017 and many more.

Each award creates the next stepping stone helping us on our creative journey. I am proud that the work we carry out with the students has made a positive impact and has gained national and international recognition. As a entrepreneurial academic I am passionate about young people to achieve their full potential and winning a multiple awards has proven to them to not settle for anything less than excellence and if they work hard enough with passion and creativity anything is possible. Every award is an example of staff and students working together to create extraordinary impact locally and nationally.

Here at the IOEE we were curious as to how Haleh came up with the idea of MetMUnch and what it was she expect students to be able to gain from the the project, when asked, Halh had this to say “In the first year, MetMUnch developed its reputation with a series of ‘flash’ interventions & pop-up cafes, in the second year, activities moved into the local community,

and in the third year addressed skills and knowledge acquisition through the delivery of workshops to external and internal partners. MetMunch’s story demonstrates how nurturing entrepreneurship and transforming engagement skills for students & staff can enhance student experience, create global citizens & life-wide and life-long education for individuals through foodie fun! MetMUnch won the International and National EAUC Green Gown Awards for Student Engagement in 2014, this was the catalyst to evolve from a successful popup into a dynamic, passionate social enterprise that forges commercial and community partnerships.

As a social enterprise, MetMUnch is forging a new path to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges and is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It’s not just an ‘add-on’ to a degree, it’s about developing enterprising, innovative and driven graduates who go on to make their mark on the world.

Evidence indicates that MetMUnch is transformative. Ultimately it builds confidence. Confident students are better learners.

It’s incredibly important to me that I’m building inquisitive, intelligent students that become informed, innovative and enterprising graduates. MetMUnch demonstrates my commitment and desire to make a real difference with employability. It’s the thread that runs through my career and demonstrates the best of my dynamic teaching style, learning and social enterprise. It brings together entrepreneurship, nutrition and sustainability – the three pillars of my approach to enhancing knowledge and creating global citizens. I have lead and created an extensive range of activities for students to enhance their creativity, sustainability and employability skills seeing over 250 separate engagement activities that have led to over 70,000 individual interactions with staff, students, communities and external organisations locally and nationally.”

Haleh believes that Enterprise and Food can often be so closely linked and giving students the ability to combine the two is an excellent way to not only build knowledge but build a very valuable entrepreneurial mindset. Haleh had this to say on how she see’s Nutritional Sciences and Business Enterprise coming together going forward “As an academic fellow of IOEE I am keen to link research to practice by providing our postgraduate students registering on Manchester Metropolitan Nutrition and Health master courses to all the exceptional resources available at IOEE. My goal is to give our students the practical advice, tools and the confidence to manage their potential businesses more effectively and more profitably.”

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FL YR

Alex Kostyakov is a recent graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University, throughout his time at MMU Alex was enrolled within the ICE Programme. The programme is accredited by the IOEE and gives students the knowledge to become a confident entrepreneur and potential business owner. Alex whilst at University started his own business called Flyr Artists and at one point gaining a £30,00 investment in the company. Flyr Artists gives promoters and venues the ability to book DJ’s directly and at a moments notice, they act as an agent, handling cash, riders, contracts and tech specs for less than half of a usual agents fee.

Alex was born in West Yorkshire and grew up within the care system, money was not something which came freely. Alex would often find himself doing work to make money on the side, from cleaning cars to selling bottled water on hot days, his brother always said to him he would be an entrepreneur one day.

Highschool was a tough period for Alex both in and out of school, finding himself heading down the wrong path in life. After scraping through college Alex wasn’t sure what he wanted from life but through an excellent family support network he found himself applying for a foundation degree at University. Attending MMU enabled Alex to turn his life around, giving him the independence needed but also the self obedience needed to succeed in life, he is now looking at a guaranteed 2:1 and potentially even a 1st when graduating this summer!

We asked Alex what it was he believed being involved in the ICE Programme gave him and how this in turn assisted him in taking his business forward. “Coming into ICE, I think I was a bit of a know-it-all, almost cocky student start up entrepreneur. What ICE really did for me was make me take a step back and realise that there are so many invaluable tools out there, and that arrogance can be an enterprising person’s worst enemy. Of course, I 16 | Think Enterprise

think that confidence is essential for any person wanting to make a go of their own business, both in terms of taking the plunge, managing a team and being the face of a company, but when you do this, it is easy to get carried away. Being one of the few students doing this kind of thing around me, I feel it started to go to my head somewhat.

Going into ICE showed me that there is ALWAYS an opportunity for learning, whether it is new models, or guest speakers, having the willingness to learn is something that I think even the biggest CEO’s could do with doing more and is something I will take with me in my entrepreneurial journey forever.

So what was Alex’s favourite parts from being enrolled in the ICE Programme and what did he find particularly useful? Alex said “It’s actually a bit funny, because in our first assignment of the year, we had to come up with two business ideas and generate a creative proposal for each. The key point being they couldn’t be pre-existing business such as mine. At first I was a bit annoyed by this, as I thought, why not be able to do it on my own business (Flyr Artists) as it would really help me. However, after a while, it was really nice playing around with a new business idea, and remembering the fun things about being an entrepreneur, and thinking about making the impossible, possible. The huge ideas and ambitions that I have since found can get bogged down by monthly targets, keeping the invoices in order and general labour of actually trying to get a company off the ground. The design, the creativeness, the endless opportunities is what entrepreneurs really want to talk and think about and the first coursework really allowed me to fall in love with being an innovator again.”

What difficulties did you face when initially setting up your business? “I mean where do you start? I think that anyone who hasn’t run a business really assumes that it will be super easy. Think of an idea, pay someone to build it, and millions of students will download it overnight. Oh the naivety, it’s almost cute thinking about me three years ago. I think most young entrepreneurs will say getting the capital to start their business is the hardest thing, and that’s natural because they want an office, a team, contractors and all the rest of it. But really, the hardest thing is getting customers, and then getting them to actually pay for your

services. The amount of times i heard ‘yes i would definitely pay for that’ whilst doing my market research gave me a false sense of confidence in the product and that’s probably why we have had to pivot our idea to three different products / companies since we started.

Finding a team is also hard. I’m lucky now, that we have a tech team that medium size creative agencies could only dream of.

I didn’t need a fancy office to attract the best talent, I just had to patient and give enough people a decent chance to prove themselves. Create a culture of learning and understanding and depressurisation, so that working on the project remains fun and exciting, we really are trying to change the music industry. I think having a central goal as big as that, that people can rally around is one of the most important things.” Now that Alex is graduating University he is leaving what many believe to be the safe business incubation space that University provides. This has the potential to cause issues for Alex and his team as the business will have to scale quickly in order to fund himself and the team continuing to work on it, this is as a pose to working on evening and weekends as has to been doing throughout University life.

Alex had this to say on the continued growth of Flyr “The thing is, going in our favour, is that we have proved people use the product, and they will pay for it. There is an old saying that if one person will pay for your product, so will 100, and then 1000, and then so on. You just have to get it to them.

So we are really focusing now, on getting ready for our big ‘out of Beta’ launch in September which we hope to be the next big chapter in the company’s life. We are also in talks with a couple of investors who are showing interest in helping us to fund the next stage of the company, so its both an extremely frightening, but exciting time. All I want, is to get the whole team working on the project full time. I think if we can get that, we can really go about changing the music industry.” As an IOEE Member Alex also has access to a vast array of business information and templates, as well as best practise material and the potential to receive mentoring support, giving Alex every opportunity to make Flyr Artists successful.

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Membership Whether you’re starting out, looking to grow your business or involved in enterprise education or support, IOEE membership will support and inspire you every step of the way. Enjoy access to the latest enterprise resources, development tools and networking opportunities all just a click-away.

Affiliate

Professional

Academic

TAKE THE LEAP

BE RECOGNISED

ENTERPRISE EDUCATORS

Anxious about taking the leap? Don’t be, gain trusted enterprise resources and guidance as you take the leap! Affiliate Membership of the IOEE is for those seriously considering, or preparing to start, their own business.

As a professional you’ll be able to demonstrate your entrepreneurial expertise and credibility with our professional recognition. Become part of a world-renowned professional body representing thousands of entrepreneurs, from those just getting started to highly experienced serial entrepreneurs and respected support professionals. Join as any following tiers and even get paired up with a mentor!

•

Associate (AMIOEE)

•

Member (MIOEE)

Academic membership recognises expertise in the development and progression of ‘thinking and knowledge’ of enterprise and entrepreneurship. Academic membership has been developed in consultation with academics and researchers from a range of organisations and countries. Growing in popularity, it fully reaffirms our commitment to professional membership based on demonstrating the ability to deliver and make an impact in education, based on what you know, what you do and how you do it. Join as any of the following tiers.

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Fellow (FIOEE)

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Academic Associate (AcAMIOEE)

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Academic Member (AcMIOEE)

•

Fellow (FIOEE)

FE/HE Student UNLOCK YOUR ENTERPRISE POTENTIAL We believe that self employment is a viable and exciting option for people leaving College and University today.

In these economic times, when jobs for graduates are hard to come by, self employment can offer you the opportunity to control your own destiny and career options. As a member, you have access to a wealth of knowledge, helping you learn and keep up-todate on the latest thinking in enterprise and entrepreneurship.

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Members This month we reached out to some of the latest individuals to join the IOEE and asked them why they joined us and what exactly is was that made them join. We believe we have something to offer for everyone be it students at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey or seasoned academics & business professionals looking to expand their knowledge even further.

Dr. Yaz Osho, Senior Lecturer at GSM London

“

As a Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer in Enterprise, I find my IOEE membership invaluable in providing me with up-to-date news within the world of enterprise education. Having contributed to an issue of Think Enterprise, I know it is read by entrepreneurs and enterprise educators alike. I especially value the network of professionals that I have access to as part of the membership and the free courses that are included in the membership. As a bonus, I have taken advantage of reduced membership to which is a plus!

Reece Leggett - FIOEE

“

As the programme leader for Business & Enterprise/ Entrepreneurship at a large FE & HE College it is vital that I am able to continually develop and network with industry and other enterprising educators, this is why I joined the IOEE, initally as an associate member and moving up to a Fellow. The Institute is a fantastic organisation which offers every member the opportunity to access mentoring, support and advice on all things enterprise. I have also really enjoyed completing various online CPD courses through the IOEE’s online platform, these are a perfect way to carry out CPD in a flexible way.

David Harkin, Group CEO of 7BILLIONIDEAS

“

7billionideas is an ideas company that exists to create memorable moments by connecting the 7 billion people on the planet with their own ideas. We recently joined IOEE as we believe it is important for entrepreneurial individuals and businesses to connect with each other and to support one another. We passionately believe in connecting people with their ideas and providing a platform for these ideas to develop and flourish. The IOEE encourages and supports the development of enterprise, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship and as such it is something we are delighted to be part of.

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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!

What a month! You’ll be pleased to hear that the scones were definitely worth the effort and my princess has developed a new skill that should come in really handy should she ever find herself marooned on a desert island with only flour, butter, sultanas and milk for company…

I do wonder at todays curriculum and how important cookery is in the great scheme of things. I mean, isn’t that what M&S is for? No wonder they are closing down branches in every town – I blame cookery lessons!

Another month another challenge – this month its been the challenge of learning how to do the right things. I thought I was doing well until I landed myself in very hot water by taking on a new piece of work which involved providing consultancy support to a hotel which had recently been taken over by a new owner who knew everything about staying in hotels but had no experience of running one.

It started with a telephone call from one of our local enterprise agencies who had received a request for support from a new business in the area. With my background in the trade they thought it was something I could help them with and of course I was delighted to take on this exciting new challenge. Oh dear, little did I know what was waiting for me and how much help and support they actually needed…

I arranged to visit the hotel which was actually a castle full of charm and character which had been operating

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as a restaurant but had been closed for over two years.

The owner was extremely enthusiastic but it soon became apparent to me that he was absolutely clueless about how to start and run any business not least a business that had been closed down due to an outbreak of food poisoning two years ago. Its wonderful when a new business owner is brimming over with passion and enthusiasm but very challenging when its your job to bring that passion and enthusiasm into the real world.

He recounted at length how he had travelled widely and stayed in top class hotels all over the world and how he wanted to use that experience as a traveller to open and run a first class restaurant and hotel that he could be proud of. How lovely I hear you say – well its alright for you, you don’t have to help this new business owner to appreciate what exactly needs to be done to make his dream a reality. I have my work cut out I can assure you!

He was using his own money to finance the business which brings its own challenges. The process of raising finance for a new venture is a really good way of focusing your thoughts on the financial aspects of the business and planning how money will flow in and out of the business is key to starting and running a successful business. This owner was so confident about the success of his business that he hadn’t even thought about how much was going to be needed and how that money would be spent effectively. When I asked to see his financial records he showed me to a small office which held a desk covered

in paper. Turns out he was leaving everything for his accountant to see to and the paper was a mixture of invoices and receipts for money already spent. Oh dear what had I let myself in for?

The next challenge was the staff – he had recruited a chef who had turned up at the hotel one day looking for work.

Without doing any proper recruitment he had taken him on paying him an inflated salary and although he had the gift of the gab his cooking and cleaning skills left a lot to be desired.

I realised very quickly I wasn’t doing the right thing when on that first visit I ended up taking orders from customers who had arrived for lunch before the waiting staff had arrived just because I felt sorry for them all. The problem with trying to do the right thing sometimes is if you can do something and you know you can do it well then its easier to do things right rather than do the right thing – am I making sense? Obviously I shouldn’t have got involved in taking orders as what I’d come to do was help the business owner to understand what he needed to do to operate his business efficiently and effectively but as I had the experience of running a pub and taking food orders it was easy for me to step in and help out. Not really a good long term strategy unless I was planning to join his team of staff.

So, after the chaos of the morning we sat down to talk about his business and what was needed. Its such a mammoth task to get this business on the right footing that we need to take it one step at a time.

performance.

I must say I was relieved to be driving away from the business but promised to offer support at a distance in between my next visits. What it did was to highlight the things we are doing right in our own business and again how important it is to have clear systems and processes in place to help us run the business well.

Reflecting on the way I handled this experience has also helped me to think about how easy it is for me to get pulled into doing things I like doing rather than the things that are good for the business. Meeting with my mentor has reinforced this and has helped me to use self reflection as a tool to improve the way I approach my own job as a business owner.

What I have learnt: • • • •

I need to think twice about stepping in and doing the wrong things just because I can.

My role as a consultant is to support people in developing their own skills and experiences rather than taking over and doing it for them.

I can’t assume that people who start a business appreciate exactly what they’re taking on.

I love being a waitress.

Me x

Step 1: Create a plan of how best to resource the business in terms of both money and people.

Step 2: Recruit someone to look after day to day finances.

Step 3: Create clear job descriptions and standards of

Think Enterprise | 21

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Founder of PRIME Cymru, met with people aged over 50 who have set up their own businesses in Wales with the charity's help, and presented the winners with awards at PRIME Cymru’s Award ceremony in front of a delighted audience of over 60 guests at Bodysgallen Hall, Llandudno.

The award winners from the PRIME Cyrmu's Award Ceremony day were as follows:

PRIME Cymru is a registered charity and the only organisation in Wales dedicated to providing practical support to people aged 50 and over to help them find work or set up in business. The charity has helped thousands of people in Wales set up their own businesses or find employment and provides tailored one to one support through its dedicated staff and team of over 400 volunteer mentors. The PRIME Cymru Awards celebrate the diversity and success of the businesses that PRIME Cymru has supported recently, as well as the dedication of PRIME Cymru’s volunteer mentors.

Wendy Eaton – Sew Relaxed – Anglesey

The Prince of Wales presented the three winners in the categories of New Business, Growth Business and Mentor of the Year with a certificate of achievement, and a Welsh slate award was also presented by Gary Lapthorn, Head of Responsible Business at Lloyds Banking Group.

22 | Think Enterprise

WINNER NEW BUSINESS

WINNER GROWTH BUSINESS Linda Wongham - Assisted Mobility Services - Maesteg WINNER MENTOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Derek Burnham - PRIME Cymru Mentor - Wrexham

All photo's credited to Stanton Photographic.

HRH The Prince of Wales with Wendy Eaton from Sew Relaxed winner of the new business award.

Think Enterprise | 23

GAIN RECOGNITION FOR YOUR EXCELLENCE IN ENTERPRISE & ENTREPRENEURSHIP Are you an entrepreneurial Higher Education Institution?

Then join our network. Email: Join our growing network of leading Higher Education Establishments who have demonstrated: •

A culture of entrepreneurship

•

Innovative approaches to curriculum development

•

Impact through enterprise education

Working with IOEE provides a wealth of opportunities and benefits including: Recognition of excellence in enterprise and entrepreneurship research and teaching Collaboration on national and international projects Staff development opportunities Validation of enterprise modules Student membership Academic membership Collaborative research opportunities

CURRENT CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

Entrepreneurship is part of the core strategy for the University of Worcester and, as such, we are developing a world class environment for students, staff and local entrepreneurs. IOEE Centre of Excellence recognition that we have demonstrated our commitment to enterprise and also working with our local partners.”

David Bozward Strategic Lead in Entrepreneurship, University of Worcester The Business School at London South Bank University is delighted to have been recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs. The accreditation is recognition that the School is a learning organisation where and enterprise culture is positively encouraged and supported.”

Professor Mike Molan Dean of the School of Business, London South Bank University 26 | Think Enterprise

MAGAZINE July Edition Vol. 21

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Think Enterprise | 27

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