Think Enterprise December 2017

Think Enterprise Publication | Christmas Edition

Vol. 14

MAGAZINE Christmas Edition Vol. 14

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 Wow it’s December already! Where has this year gone to? Running a small business it can be hard to switch off but Christmas is the perfect time to unwind with family and recharge those batteries.

I’m delighted to announce that nominations are open for our 2018 Celebrating Enterprise Awards event and this year we’re holding the event in May with the hope that we can bask in some sunshine on the terrace whilst toasting the many successes being recognised on the day. You can find out more about the award categories and nominate by visiting www.celebratingenterprise.com. This year we have included two brand new award categories, the first to recognise our most exceptional IOEE member and the second recognising entrepreneurial individuals working hard to make a difference within larger organisations. So have a think and get nominating - I can’t wait to read all the applications!

This month we have a fantastic mentoring story focused on Donna Marie Jewellery and the support she received from Lloyds Banking Group mentor, Debbie Carter, who helped her move her business forward positively.

We have also shone the spotlight on a learner from New College Durham who has undertaken a module accredited by IOEE, we spoke to Lauren to find out more about the programme, what this means for her and her plans for the future.

Finally I’d like to thank all our members for their support during 2018, IOEE couldn’t do the great work it does without YOU. I hope you have the most wonderful Christmas and lots of happiness and prosperity in 2018. So, enjoy our last publication of 2017 with a mince pie (or two) and we’ll see you again next year.

Sarah x

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Content 06 IOEE Mentor recognised at IAB Awards 2017

07 2018 SFEDI and IOEE Awards Announcement

10 Spotlight On...

Enterprising Learner Lauren Proctor

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12 Experts from over 35 countries meet in Belfast to debate ‘borders’ in entrepreneurial research

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Enterprisingly Me x

16 Donna Marie Jewellery turning a creative hobby into a successful business

19 Sharon Goodyer speaks out at London’s Peas Please conference Making a Pledge for More Veg

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IOEE Mentor recognised at IAB Awards 2017

The International Association of Bookkeepers held their annual UK & International Business & Skills Awards in the House of Commons on Thursday 7 December. The winners were honoured during a prestigious drinks reception ceremony celebrating the achievements of a host of highly accomplished IAB members and industry professionals.

had the pleasure to attend the awards ceremony at the House of Commons.”

SFEDI Group and IOEE were proud to sponsor the IAB Small Business Mentor of the Year Award, which was won by Kris McCulloch MIAB.

“It was my pleasure to present the award to Anastasia Georgiou for IAB Small Business Mentor of the Year runner-up. This award is rightful recognition for her volunteer mentoring over the last two years, where her dedication has been demonstrated by helping mentees during difficult periods to make tough decisions. Anastasia has supported developing businesses, which have seen their businesses go on to excel and grow.”

We were delighted that Anastasia Georgiou, a Manager with Lloyds Banking Group and a committed IOEE Mentor, was announced as the runner-up for this award.

IOEE Mentor Manager, Paul Harper, who attended the event and had nominated Anastasia for her hard work and dedication to her mentees, said:

Anastasia, who attended the event in the House of Commons, said: Other award categories included the: “I felt shocked, humbled and honoured to have been nominated and shortlisted for the award not to mention very privileged to have

• • • • •

IAB Payroll Professional of the Year awarded to Emma Fone MIAB (sponsored by CIPP) IAB Bookkeeper of the Year awarded to Samantha Nelmes FIAB (sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group) IAB Accountant of the Year awarded to Julie Grant FIAB (sponsored by F A Simms and AMLCC) IAB Student of the Year awarded to Sarah Smith (sponsored by Butler Rose) Vivienne Burrows Award for Longstanding Commitment to the IAB awarded to Beryl Shepherd FIAB.

SFEDI and IOEE would like to congratulate all the award winners and runners-up.

Malcolm Trotter, IAB Chief Executive and Chair of SFEDI/IOEE Advisory Council at the IAB Awards event in the House of Commons.

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For more information about the awards , please contact Kelly Orford at the IAB on 01732 897754 or kellyo@iab.org.uk

ANNOUNCING...

AWARD NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!

CELEBRATING ENTERPRISE AWARDS 2018 LONDON - WED 2 MAY

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AWARD NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

SFEDI and IOEE are delighted to announce that our Celebrating Enterprise Awards 2018 nominations are now officially open!

The awards ceremony will be held in London on Wednesday 2 May 2018, bringing together key figures from the small business, enterprise and skills sector in the UK to celebrate and recognise the very best in enterprise learning and skills.

With eight award categories, the awards recognise enterprising excellence in a range of settings. The awards are given to learners who’ve demonstrated their dedication to bolstering their own enterprise skills. They’re given to organisations that have gone above and beyond in championing and facilitating enterprise learning, and they’re awarded to employers who make enterprise learning and skills a key component of their operations. Last year, winners included academics, apprenticeship champions, start-ups,

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politicians, enterprise support workers and many other people, all of whom had shown real commitment to putting enterprise learning firmly centre stage.

The Lifetime Achievement Award and International Lifetime Achievement Award have been presented to highly respected individuals for their contribution to developing enterprising skills within their industry. Previous winners of these awards include Kanya King MBE from the MOBO Awards, John Timpson from The Timpson Group and Toni Mascolo OBE from TONI&GUY. We are proud to announce that Lloyds Banking Group is the Headline Sponsor of the awards event and further sponsors including IAB and ISBE have already been confirmed. To find out more about the event and our sponsorship opportunities available, please visit celebratingenterprise.com.

The nominations are now open for the Celebrating Enterprise Awards 2018. This is your chance to put forward the individuals and organisations you believe deserve recognition for their dedication to enterprise learning and skills.

This years awards include:

E n te r p r i s i n g L ea rn in g Provid er of t h e Year The Enterprising Learning Provider of the Year is awarded in recognition of a learning provider that has delivered beyond its remit, both meeting complex learner requirements and exceeding SFEDI and IOEE’s exacting standards.

Ent er pr ise Educator of the Year The Enterprise Educator of the Year Award recognises an individual who has demonstrated an enterprising approach to developing and delivering enterprise and entrepreneurial learning and skills, inspiring students and enabling them to realise their enterprise potential. The Enterprise Educator of the Year is someone committed to continually developing their own skills and who champions enterprise education widely.

Ent er pr ising Learner of the Year The Enterprising Learner of the Year Award is given in recognition of an individual who has both embraced their learning programme with passion, and also shown a commitment to applying their newly acquired skills to pursue an enterprising activity.

as individuals, an Enterprise Support Champion is someone who promotes and champions business support, and is also committed to their own continual development as a business support professional.

I O E E Me mbe r o f t h e Y e a r The IOEE Member of the Year is an individual who has demonstrated a commitment to their own development journey as well as being a proud champion for the IOEE and all things enterprise.

I n t ra p re n e u r o f t h e Y e a r The Intrapreneur of the Year is an individual who has demonstrated an enterprising approach and activities, which have had a positive effect within the organisation in which they are employed. This could be by way of a special project or by how they’ve integrated an entrepreneurial approach into their role.

L i f e t i me A c h i e ve me n t A wa rd Chosen by our Advisory Council.

Ent er pr ise Support Champion

I n t e rn at i o n a l L i f e t i me A c h i e ve me n t A wa rd

The Enterprise Support Champion is an individual who has worked to ensure businesses have the skills and knowledge required to start, survive and thrive. Supporting a range of businesses, as well

Chosen by our Advisory Council.

We welcome award nominations from our Advisory Council members, IOEE members and SFEDI’s partner and support network, including event sponsors.

To view the nomination criteria and make a nomination, please visit celebratingenterprise.com.

The closing date for nominations is midnight on Thursday 1 March 2018.

All nominations will be considered by a panel of judges representing SFEDI and IOEE, with all shortlisted nominees notified by April 2018. A full list of nominees will be available on our website. Each of the nominees, along with a guest, will be invited to attend the Awards event in London on Wednesday 2 May 2018.

To find out more about the awards event or to enquire about sponsorship opportunities, please visit celebratingenterprise.com or call the IOEE team on 0845 467 4928.

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Spotlight On...

Enterprising Learner

Lauren Proctor

Lauren Proctor, 20, is in the second year of her Foundation Degree in Business and Management at New College Durham, an IOEE Enterprise Academy, where she is also working full-time in the Apprenticeship department.

With the Foundation Degree’s Innovation, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship modules being accredited by the IOEE, this month we chatted to Lauren to talk about the challenges of balancing studying with working, and why she believes that combining the two gives her the best learning experience.

Lauren is incredibly ambitious, hard-working and motivated.

She is already working a 37-hour week, she attends

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her Business and Management classes on Monday and Wednesday nights after work, and she has also taken on an additional Advice and Guidance course to develop her skills even further. However, Lauren doesn’t seem to be deterred by her heavy workload, and explains how she sees it as a real positive: “I just want to build up as many skills as possible - as quickly as possible. Fortunately, I like being busy, so I take it all in my stride, but it can be challenging doing all of this and then the assignments on top of it too! But I actually think that doing all these things at the same time works to my advantage. It’s

New College Durham

interesting to think about that - I don’t know if I was doing it full-time whether I’d get all of the same skills - or at least not as quickly. Because I’m studying part-time, I’m getting to use what I’ve learnt and apply it in the workplace straight away. It makes it easier to better, develop and apply what I’ve learnt to whatever I’m doing. There’s nothing wrong with studying full-time, but for me part-time is a really good option. It shows strong time management skills too.”

Part of Lauren’s motivation comes from the desire to one day be a ‘good manager’ and create a work environment that inspires people, though she is also considering going into teaching further down the line: “So many people have bad experiences with their managers; managers who have gotten power hungry. You hear about and know people who just don’t want to go to work because of this reason, and that in itself makes me want to be a really good manager, so people can have a positive experience in the workplace. After the Foundation Degree I’ll do a top-up third year, and after that perhaps a PGCE. It’s still early days, so I have time to figure out where I want my career to take me.”

Lauren’s classes cover a broad range of enterprise-related subjects, including Business Finance, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship - where students learn how to put together detailed and structured business plans and proposals. One of the aspects of the course that Lauren enjoys the most is its practical and hands-on approach to teaching and learning. One example of this would be the Debate classes, where all manner of subjects, both directly business-related or otherwise, are critically discussed, such as the cost and impact of technology on the mental health of young people.

Students also participate in a Dragon’s Den-style exercise, where they have to pitch their business ideas to a panel of employers and teachers. Lauren says: “You have 15 minutes up there in front of the judges and they’ll ask you lots of questions to make you critically analyse

your business idea and think about what you could tweak and change to improve it. It’s daunting, you have to double-think everything you say and the pressure’s on, but the exercise, along with all the presentations you have to do, ultimately gets your confidence up.”

By coincidence, Lauren’s mother has also completed a Foundation Degree in Business Management herself, and this helped to give Lauren a boost when she was going into unfamiliar territory with learning new subjects, or preparing for a new style of assessment. Lauren says: “My Mam did this course at another college and she was doing her final year whilst I was doing my first year, and this really encouraged me and inspired me. Obviously, she didn’t do the work for me, but she was able to give me advice on things like which theorists would be useful to look up, or reassure me when the idea of the Dragon’s Den presentation seemed terrifying! It gave me a bit of a ‘teacher at home’, which was really helpful. And, you know, your Mam doing the course first so that she can help you is really good parenting!”

Lauren may have that support system at home, but she says that she is also really impressed with the support system in place at the college too: “The teachers here are just amazing. There is always someone to go to if you have questions, whatever they are. If you need advice on writing a report, say, because you’ve never done one before, or you want a list of useful websites for research whatever it might be, there are academic tutors and support advisors available to all students for every area of Higher Education. It’s fantastic, you couldn’t have a better support system in place.”

For more information on IOEE Enterprise Academy, New College Durham, please visit http://www.newcollegedurham.ac.uk/

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Experts from over 35 countries meet in Belfast to debate ‘borders’ in entrepreneurial research.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, came to Belfast on the 8th and 9th of November. The ISBE Conference has become one of the major events in the entrepreneurial calendar; bringing together over 350 highly-acclaimed academics, speakers and business leaders from over 35 countries, to inform, engage and debate the issues relating to small business. Building upon IOEE’s long and successful partnership with ISBE, we were delighted to be a part of ISBE’s celebrations this year as a sponsor of the annual conference.

City’s significant investment in small business and entrepreneurship. On the second day, delegates were invited to tour the Council’s business incubator, Innovation Factory, and meet with some of the entrepreneurs and business-owners it supports.

During the two days, experts debated the latest research in small business and entrepreneurship across 16 themed tracks, including Gender & Enterprise, Business Creation and Family & Community Business.

This year’s conference theme ’Borders, prosperity and entrepreneurial responses,’ while influenced by the advent of BREXIT and its possible impact on small businesses and entrepreneurial endeavour, also recognised that ‘bordered thinking’ can exist more widely in entrepreneurship research and practice.

The conference opened with a welcome from Professor Paddy Nixon, President of Ulster University Business School, followed by an address from Lisa Toland of Belfast City Council who spoke about the

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ISBE’s Professor Pauric McGowan welcomes Councillor Jeffrey Dudgeon MBE to the pre-conference Welcome Reception at the Europa hotel.

Keynote speaker Professor Barbara J. Orser of Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, shared her thoughts about how academia can build bridges across ‘bordered’ thinking. Professor Neil Gibson, Chief Economist at EY (Ireland), then asked the question

Professor Pauric McGowan at the Conference Gala Dinner and Annual ISBE Awards Ceremony, held at Titanic Belfast.

‘Why are borders coming back?’, considering the socio-economic drivers at play, and highlighting the opportunities that radical change can offer.

Headline sponsors for the international conference were Ulster University Business School (UUBS), Belfast City Council and the Federation for Small Business.

Here at IOEE, we were proud to be a High Level Sponsor for the conference, along with Visit Belfast.

Pauric McGowan, ISBE’s Outgoing President and Professor of Entrepreneurship and Business Development at Ulster University Business School, said: “The event provided delegates with an opportunity to meet with like-minded individuals, to present their latest research and to hear the research output of others, and to listen to keynote speakers who spoke with passion and authority on their subject. They had an opportunity to engage in debate about current issues in entrepreneurial research, to be provoked, stimulated, and engaged. They had opportunities to meet long-standing friends and to make new ones”.

Leigh Sear, Chief Executive of SFEDI Solutions and ISBE’s Vice President for Policy and Practice, attended the conference and reflected that:

“As always, the ISBE Conference in Belfast provided an opportunity to meet old friends whilst developing new networks and relationships. It was also a great opportunity to reflect on different aspects of understanding and supporting enterprise learning and skills development from different perspectives. For example, there were some really interesting papers relating to enterprising activity amongst different groups of refugees in the UK.” Delegates also enjoyed the conference’s Gala Dinner at the Titanic Belfast where they were entertained by traditional Irish dancers and a keynote speech by Dr James Nesbitt OBE, Chancellor of Ulster University, actor, comedian and entrepreneur.

Outputs from the conference will be shared in due course via the Institute’s website: www.isbe.org.uk The official ISBE 2017 video is now available at http://isbe.org.uk/isbe2017/video/ and photographs of the conference are available to view here.

The 2018 ISBE conference will be held in Birmingham from the 7th to the 8th of November. More details are available at http://isbe.org.uk/isbe-2018/.

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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

It’s good to be back from my travels!

Holidays are fine but I just couldn’t switch off – thank goodness for wifi. At least I could keep in touch with what was going on at home whilst spending some quality time with my daughter. The girls in the office looked after everything perfectly whilst I was away so I’m not sure what I was worried about and actually, I think they enjoyed being in charge. I made a note to myself to give them a bit more freedom in the decision making as they become more confident in their roles. I do tend to be a bit of a control freak, always wanting to be in control of how the business is run, but I’m realising that to keep staff motivated I need to involve them more in the day to day running of the business and in planning for the future.

Things are looking positive in terms of new business opportunities, but I hadn’t realised what an effect the summer would have on us. Everything’s gone really quiet - everyone is either on holiday or thinking about going on holiday and the last thing that’s on their mind is talking to us. Not good for cash flow. We’ve got a great new training room so we’ve started thinking about how we can earn some income from it when we’re not using it.

I really hadn’t thought about how seasonal training is and how we could lose almost three months of the year whilst people are in holiday mode.

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I think I’ve been a bit complacent up until now as all of our work has come to us by word of mouth, but I realise that if I want to grow the business then I need to have a better plan for how I will promote the business – I’ve mainly done this myself up to now.

I’ve been contacted by Chris, someone I used to work with, who wants to come and speak to me about a new project he thinks we could do together. I have to silence my inner ‘only child’ syndrome and get used to the idea that if I really want to grow the business then I can’t do everything myself…

I know it’s my fault so as money gets tighter I’m starting to think that I’m going to have to speak to the bank about an overdraft or a loan. Obviously I can take less drawings from the business but that can’t go on indefinitely. I have work starting in September but as July comes to an end we are starting to flag in terms of money in the bank.

Why didn’t I think about this sooner? I’ve been so busy riding along on the crest of success that I just haven’t put money aside for the quiet times.

I’ve made an appointment to see the bank manager and have started to look at my finances in a bit more detail.

I’m starting to realise that we may have moved too soon.

Why is it I’m always looking to put myself under more

pressure when its not needed? Why did I feel I needed to take on even more responsibility? Things were just starting to plod along nicely, but oh no, I had to take the next step and move into bigger premises without thinking that I may need to hold off until after the summer.

Shouldn’t I have thought about business going quiet when we hit the summer holiday season? Too late now given I’ve just signed the three year lease on our new premises. My speculate to accumulate theory is well flawed! I’m realising it’s probably not the same as the theory relating to buying a new outfit and paying to have my hair done to attract my ideal man – is there such a thing? Am I allowed to even think that never mind say it?

Is that what a proper businesswoman would think/say?

Note to self – ask my mentor.

That reminds me, I haven’t heard from my mentor for weeks and I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to speak to my friend and business confidante, Beryl. I’ve made a note in my diary to ring her at the weekend and arrange to meet for a coffee. It will be good to get her take on how to deal with my quieter times and whether I could have done anything different. I probably have the answer to that one myself: 1. Keep an eye on the cashflow and plan for the quieter times 2. Don’t jump into things with two feet until I’ve thought through the consequences 3. Speak to someone who is further down the line than me in terms of business know how 4. Don’t adopt the same theory that I’ve used in my personal life in the business unless I want to end up penniless and destitute.

So moving forward this is what I’ve decided to do to try

and manage through the next few months: 1. Meet with my accountant and get an up to date and accurate picture of where I am in terms of my profit and loss and cash flow – in other words how much do I have in the bank and how much can I expect to come in and go out of the business in the next three months 2. Meet with my bank manager to discuss options – having all my financial information to hand should make the discussion easier 3. Work with Marie and Claire to discuss how we can promote the business better 4. Speak to Beryl about how we can put together some leaflets to send out to people 5. Look to see if there are any local networking groups that we could join as I feel I need to make us more ‘visible’ 6. Get some feedback from our existing customers that we could use in some promotional leaflets 7. Talk to someone about getting a website – although I’ve heard this can be expensive, so I need to think about this a bit more particularly as things are going to be tight for us during the next few months.

I feel a bit disheartened – just when I thought things were going so well. I suppose I should have expected that it wouldn’t all be plain sailing, although owning a business always seemed such a glamorous thing to do. I obviously hadn’t thought that the glamorous bit would be so short lived. BUT, now I’ve had a taste of the glamour (all right, it might not be your definition of glamour but I’ve led a very sheltered life growing up in Hartlepool) I’m even more determined to make the business work.

Me x

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Donna Marie Jewellery turning a creative hobby into a successful business

On a trip to Canada in 2013, Donna Marie discovered a passion for lampwork, and spent the rest of her holiday going to workshops and perfecting her craft. Inspired by the experience, Donna returned home and set up Donna Marie Jewellery, turning what began as a creative hobby into a successful business. In 2016 the IOEE matched Donna up with a mentor, Debbie Carter, who is a Programme Manager in Business Transformation with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG). This month we chatted to Donna and Debbie about surprise careers, the importance of SMEs, and taking yourself seriously in business.

Donna’s Story Although Donna had always had always been creative, in many ways she stumbled upon her talent for lampwork (a type of glasswork where glass is melted and shaped) by accident, whilst visiting her boyfriend in Canada during her university summer holidays. Donna says: “I was studying Geography at the time, so it was a million miles away from what I’m doing now. I needed to spend the summer researching for my dissertation, and thought it might as well be in Canada, where my boyfriend was working as a snowboard instructor.

He showed me the resort where he worked and there was a little bead shop there that I loved, and this is where I discovered their

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offering of lampwork classes. I’d never heard of it before, but then found myself going to classes every day. By the end of the summer I had so, so many beads - my luggage was significantly heavier coming home!”

When Donna returned to England to finish her degree, she joined the university’s enterprising programme, where she had to pitch her business to a panel, and it was through this that she got funding to cover some of the initial equipment start-up costs, such as buying a kiln: “The beginning of setting up my own business was very unglamorous though! I originally set up a workshop in my Dad’s garage - so it was cold, had no lights or windows, and there were a lot of spiders!”

“

When you’ve got somebody there asking you about your goals and your plans and revenue and marketing, it reminds you that this is real; you are running a proper business, and it makes you take yourself more seriously and work harder.”

In 2015 Donna officially launched Donna Marie Jewellery, and she sells her handmade designs in a variety of different places - through her website and an Etsy page (on online platform and community for creative arts and crafts), as well as being stocked in several boutique

shops and regularly attending craft, trade and jewellery fairs. At the end of 2016 Donna was introduced to Debbie, and Donna explains how the relationship has given her the confidence to really see herself as a businesswoman: “When you do something creative, lots of people will talk to you about getting a ‘proper job’ - but this is a proper job! You’re really doing everything yourself, from actually making the product to the PR, the packaging, the accounting, and you’re also working all the hours. However, it’s still easy to sometimes slip into the mindset of, ‘oh, you’ve got this lovely little hobby job making pretty things’, but Debbie pulls me back and makes me take myself more seriously.

When you’ve got somebody there asking you about your goals and your plans and revenue and marketing, it reminds you that this is real; you are running a proper business, and it makes you take yourself more seriously and work harder.

“I’m also a real money worrier, but Debbie has helped me to realise that I can afford to spend more time in the business. I was working three days a week in another job to give me that stability and help me get a mortgage, but Debbie helped me to set goals to shift the balance - so once I was earning, say, X amount, I could drop to two days etc. I’m now only working elsewhere one day a week, which is amazing.”

Donna has recently worked her first wedding season, creating bespoke pieces for couples, to match such things as their colour schemes, initials and birthstones, and this personal touch is one of

the elements that she loves most about her job. Donna says: “I have so many interesting commissions, and have just finished making lots of glass starfish for a woman who was getting married in Cornwall. Christmas is also a great time, as you’re making so many gorgeous sparkly things. However, whatever time of year it is, there’s always that magic when it comes to putting something in the kiln, leaving it overnight and getting up in the morning to see how it’s turned out.

“Setting up a business and working for yourself can be lonely at times, which makes having a mentor even more important - and Debbie’s one of my biggest promoters, always sharing my work on social media. There’s been a lot of little steps, but it’s all coming together now. Aspiring entrepreneurs - go for it! Yes, it could go wrong, but nothing too bad is going to happen, and there’s always support and guidance waiting when you need it. Every now and then when I get either overwhelmed by how much there is to do or start panicking that it’s not going anywhere, I step back and look at where I was six months ago - and everything’s always changed so much, so who knows where I’ll be in six months’ time.”

To find out more about Donna Marie Jewellery, you can visit the website: www.donnamariejewellery.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/donnamariejewellery/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/donna_marie_jewellery_/ Continue to the next page for Debbie’s Story

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Debbie’s Story Debbie works as a Programme Manager in Business Transformation, where she and her team lead big strategic changes for Lloyds Banking Group.

However, despite working for such a large corporation, Debbie has a personal pull to helping small businesses, having grown up with her parents running their own business when she was young. Debbie says: “I have that background of a small business, but it wasn’t always easy in our house when I was growing up, as cash flow could be a problem, as is often the way for small businesses. In our house it was feast or famine, so we were either rummaging around in the bottom of the freezer for something for tea, or holidaying in the Caribbean.

It’s possible that subconsciously is the reason why I’m now in a secure role with a comfortable salary, so perhaps mentoring is my way of staying in touch with that world of small businesses that is familiar to me.”

Three years ago, Debbie became involved in enterprise mentoring through LBG, and has had four mentees over this time. Debbie says: “Lloyds is very strong on supporting community and helping Britain prosper generally, and at my level it’s expected that you do something of value and give back into the community. Enterprise mentoring seemed like the ideal thing for me - and it was. I absolutely love mentoring and being able to make a difference, and if I could do this full-time, I would!”

In 2016 Debbie was matched with mentee Donna, who was then in the throes of frantically trying to find her feet through the high demands of her first Christmas with Donna Marie Jewellery. One year on and Debbie says the difference in Donna Marie Jewellery is amazing: “It’s wonderful to be able to look back to a year ago when Donna was beginning and was feeling like, ‘argh, there aren’t enough hours in the day!’ - as, because of that chaotic Christmas experience in 2016, we were able to set a plan for this year, and now Donna is ahead of the game and totally prepared for the 2017 festive season.

She’s actually probably Christmassed-out already!”

Because of her leadership role at LBG, Debbie says that one of the biggest challenges she has found in her role as mentor is having to ‘pull back’ and ask questions rather than providing the answers. She says: “My role as mentor is not to tell Donna what to do. And you know, I’m really not qualified to do that anyway - Donna is creative and intelligent and her business is absolutely fabulous, and I may work in

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business, but I have no idea about the beautiful work she does and how she makes it, so I’m in no position to advise on that. I have to bite my tongue all the time - I’m surprised I haven’t bitten it off! So that has been the biggest development for me - learning how not to take charge. Instead, our conversations are more about setting goals, creating plans, looking at the business and going, ‘have you thought about X, and how are you going to tackle Y’. I give Donna guidance and support, and it’s great to be able to help somebody in a small business to adjust their path just a little bit, because sometimes that’s all it takes to make a big difference.”

Debbie and Donna speak every few weeks and are planning to next meet up at the beginning of January to look at plans for Donna Marie Jewellery in 2018. Debbie says: “Donna will ring and say, ‘I have this crazy idea’, and I usually say that it’s not crazy, it’s realistic, and then we look at taking next steps towards it. She’s very established now, but you still need that sounding board.

“Mentoring is a fantastic way to give something back, and small businesses are vital to our economy - not just for paying tax or generating revenue, but they prevent us from becoming solely served by homogenous conglomerates, and it’s vital that we support that! Mentoring really doesn’t interfere with my life or my work either. In fact, it’s quite the opposite - mentoring actually enhances them. I get huge amount of personal satisfaction from being able to make a difference.”

Sharon Goodyer speaks out at London’s Peas Please conference Making a Pledge for More Veg

IOEE member Sharon Goodyer is the founder of Our Kitchen on the Isle of Thanet; a self-starting business that is devoted to making healthy and affordable food easily accessible to the masses, by bringing cooking back into the hands and hearts of the community.

In October we chatted to Sharon about embarking on this new and exciting professional venture, and she has since taken her business to the next level by speaking at The Vegetable Summit conference as part of the UK’s Peas Please initiative.

The prestigious event was held at The Chamber at London City Hall on October 24th, where some of the UK’s most influential food players came together to make a ‘Pledge for More Veg’; government MPs, including George Eustice and Neil Parish of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the nation’s biggest supermarket Food Policy Advisors, including Tim J Smith from Tesco; and celebrity names, including campaigner and TV chef Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall.

Sharon left her job as a Head Teacher in 2000 due to being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and went on to set up an extraordinarily successful cake company with an impressive £5million turnover. However, when the recession sadly put her out of business, Sharon refused to let this defeat her in

her new career in food, and so she set up a completely new business and initiative; Our Kitchen on the Isle of Thanet.

With a recent report from the Food Foundation revealing that 80% of adults and 95.5% of 11-16 years old are not eating enough of the stuff, The Vegetable Summit saw various names from across the supply food chain come together to pledge to help the nation to eat more veg, and we were delighted to see one of our inspirational members take to the stage and spread the word so passionately about the ethos of her business and IOEE Academy.

Sharon spoke about how keeping food production local can make it more affordable, and how rediscovering an oftenlost sense of community spirit and working together on this matter can be the key to getting people to eat more fruit and vegetables, and therefore enable the nation to have a healthier diet.

We’re incredibly proud of the work Sharon is doing in her field and support her all the way, and will be catching up with her in the New Year to find out how Our Kitchen on the Isle of Thanet has been developing. In the meantime, you can show your support too by taking the Pledge for More Veg. It takes only a minute to sign up, and every pledge helps to make a real difference. More information is available on the website: http://foodfoundation.org.uk/sign-up-to-peas-please/

Think Enterprise | 19

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