Women Entrepreneurs Help Light The 'Spark' In Others

North East women are about to experience a sparkling event that’s all about successful female business owners helping them turn their own ideas into money-makers.

The FREE Spark Your Potential event is taking place in Sunderland on the afternoon of Wednesday 15th October, coordinated by Spark, the Women’s Enterprise Ambassador Network and Make Your Mark. It will bring successful entrepreneurs and enterprise experts across the region together to encourage women to recognise the brilliant business opportunities for them.

Some of the region’s top female entrepreneurs are giving up their time to meet with women with a spark of an idea, or a business that they intend to grow. Sessions include ‘Inspirational Women’ seminar with guest speaker Kim Inglis, local ITV presenter and Nickie Gott North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, and the secrets of PR and marketing in the modern age by Kari Owers of O Communications and Siobhan Bales of the bgroup.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear first hand anecdotes and advice from their own personal journeys. The highlight of the day is an invaluable opportunity to experience a one-to-one advice session with an industry expert of their choice - individuals the women feel can help them the most; be it general business advisors, marketeers, accountants or lawyers.

In the North East there are 107,000 self-employed individuals, of which 28,000 are women*. Spark wants to celebrate the success of those already out there, being enterprising, and encourage others to do the same. Make your Mark works in the north east to bring the message of entrepreneurship alive for younger people, and has already successfully launched the Girls, Make your Mark! programme across the region.

Kari Owers is a local successful female entrepreneur who runs the award winning PR agency, O Communications in Newcastle and will be sharing her story at the event. She comments, “I know from experience how daunting getting that project up and running can seem at first. But once you’ve taken the plunge and enlist the support available to you, it’s an empowering and life-changing experience.

The Spark Your Potential Personal Venture Workshop for Women will help you to shake off any inhibitions, talk to people who have already made the leap and get some practical tips and tools to help you achieve the success you’re dreaming of.”

Emma Thorn from Spark, the Women’s Enterprise Ambassador Network coordinating the event comments; “The north east is already home to many successful female entrepreneurs – just look to your local high street for inspiration. The workout will energise and inspire more women to go out and grab opportunities whilst also connecting them to like-minded others to make their dreams become a reality.”

One NorthEast’s Head of Business, Enterprise and Skills, Tim Pain, said: “The Regional Economic Strategy sets out the aim of substantially increasing the number of businesses in North East England by 2016, and enabling more women to become their own boss is an important factor in making that happen.

Often, it’s hearing about the experiences of other female entrepreneurs which can really inspire women to take the next step - this event is a valuable opportunity to do that, as well as picking up information about the excellent support available to new entrepreneurs in the North East.”

The Spark Your Potential event will be held at the Sunderland’s National Glass Centre. To register please log onto www.sparkambassadors.org.uk and follow the registration process

If we can, you can has also been working in partnership with Spark Your Potential. Having interviewed some incredibly inspirational women entrepreneurs, we've designed a series of postcards with the aim of looking at what really drives women into business.

Each woman has their own reason for doing it, but it's their unique qualities, whether they're conscious of them or not, which will make them into successful entrepreneurs. Look out for the postcards in the delegate bags!!

Exclusive Make Progress In O2 X Awards

York-based retailer Exclusive Footwear have been shortlisted in the Fashion category of the 2008 O2 X Awards.

Exclusive Footwear was launched three years ago by managing director and If we can, you can member Frances Chalmers. Initially an online venture, the company launched a store in the city's Gillygate in order to secure the prestigious brands which have fuelled their growth.

The competition was launched by 02 to recognise success and vision within the world of small business. Other award categories include Music, Food & Drink and Technology & Innovation.

Success in the Fashion section of the awards, which is supported by Grazia, could leave Frances with an opportunity to win the overall competiton, which is now in its 5th year and carries a £10,000 cash prize. The overall winner will be named 02 X Entrepreneur of the Year at the final on 13th October.

To see more about Frances, click www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/entrepreneurs/frances-chalmers

Greg attends Service Excellence

If we can, you can Challenge winner for the Evening Chronicle Greg Phillips has been busy embarking on his re-branding and re-fitting campaign for his new Nichols stores. He cited that the people working in the stores, and who have a one to one relationship with the customer, are delivering his business plan at the end of the day and Greg wanted to make sure that this side of the business was spot on.

So, as part of his prize, we here at If we can, you can headquarters thought Greg could really benefit from going to the Service Excellence conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in Newcastle Gateshead.

Greg said of the conference, “The day was really good. I learnt a lot from it and came away with lots of ideas and things that I can start doing here in my business. In particular I’ve learnt a lot about getting staff on board- it was something that really came across in terms of what we should expect of them, and about how we can be more explicit about the Nichols brand and how we want staff to represent us.

I learnt a lot about engaging and rewarding them, as well as encouraging and training them. We want our staff to take service seriously, as this is one of the most important elements in a retail business.”

When I spoke to Greg he had just opened his second store that day in Cramlington after completely re-inventing the old site, and he’d just received a text message saying how much they had taken. He said, “Even on the first day it’s flying so I’m absolutely over the moon about that. We’re hoping for the same result we had in Sunderland.

There’s always obstacles to overcome, such as landlords’ consent and planning applications. We’ve often thought of what we want a particular shop to look like but in practicality terms it sometimes doesn’t happen like that.

All the units have their own challenges, but once we get them open to the public I’m always so proud of what we’ve achieved. They look really fantastic and I’ve had text messages from people saying that the shops look great. It’s a real buzz at the moment and I’m really excited about getting to Nichols brand across the region.”

Couple raffle £650,000 house

A couple in the Tees Valley are raffling their £650,000 dream home in Ingleby Barwick, Stockton in a bid to beat the housing slump.

Tickets to win the luxury six-bedroom mansion are on sale for £25 each via a website.
Vicky Brown and her husband Simon need to sell a staggering 28,000 raffle tickets to cover the mortgage and legal fees.

The couple, who have a 20-month old daughter Lexi and with another baby on the way, only moved into the house that Simon designed himself late last year, but less than a year on they want to downsize.

Simon, who owns successful creative agency, Calm Asylum, said “We built the house with the intention of selling it and moving on to the next project, but with the credit crunch and the decline in the housing market we’ve decided to give the raffle idea a go”.

Vicky, who works in marketing and 33 year old Simon, said a friend gave them the idea to try and raffle their home.

The couple are donating some of the proceeds from each ticket sale to charity – The Main Project for autistic children. The sale of tickets and prize draw is being supervised by solicitors.

If the Browns don’t manage to raise the amount they need from the raffle they will hold a prize draw for the money they have raised less admin, marketing costs and charity contributions.

The website address for the house raffle is www.winfellowshall.com

FELLOWS HALL featured on Channel Five’s Property List in July this year and also appeared as the “dream home” in the Tees Valley Evening Gazette’s Homemaker property supplement in April.

The Ingleby Barwick property was described as a mix between contemporary design and grandeur from bygone days.

The name “Fellows Hall” refers to the vaulted entrance hallway, which has high ceilings and a grand staircase, like and old Victorian hall.

Special features include an open plan-style ground floor, a garden room, a cinema/video-games room and views over open fields and the Cleveland Hills.

Simon also runs Teesside based digital branding agency Calm Asylum. Keep your eyes peeled for his entrepreneurial story, which will arrive on If we can, you can on Friday afternoon.

MiniG launch free Christmas present website

If we can, you can member Jonathan Grubin has come up with an ingenious way to help parents beat the anticipated recession this Christmas, by launching a website letting people choose the most wanted Christmas presents for free.

At a time when families are struggling to cope with the effects of the credit crunch and the housing market slowdown, Jonathan, a 17-year-old student from Newcastle upon Tyne, today launches FreeXmas.co.uk.

The website allows its members to claim items like the new iPhone 8GB, iPods, Xbox 360s, Nintendo Wiis and Playsation 3s – all at the top of children’s letters to Santa this year.All members have to do in order to claim the presents is complete sponsors’ offers and recommend their friends to do the same.

FreeXmas.co.uk is the newest of four online networks that A-level student Jonathan owns. He set up his first business, which gives away free mobile phone accessories, when he was just 12. His other businesses include livenewcastle.co.uk, a listings site for the city, and forfree4u.co.uk, another rewards website.

Jonathan said: “I think it’s unfair that the international economic climate should mean that parents have to feel they’re letting their children down, as pennies are counted all over the country. I hope that FreeXmas.co.uk will take some of that pressure off parents.

“I’ve been fascinated by the internet since I was a young child and I’m really privileged to be able to look back on five years in business at the age of just 17. Hopefully my newest website will help people struggling to pay for the perfect present this Christmas.”The website is now online at www.freexmas.co.uk.

Newcastle Work Experience

If you’re looking for a work placement student to undertake a specific project, Newcastle University's ‘Newcastle Work Experience’ programme could be the answer.

We used the programme last year at the Entrepreneurs’ Forum and took on an excellent undergraduate to help us implement our new CRM system.

NWE provides international students with an opportunity to experience the UK business culture whilst undertaking a challenging project – in anything from scientific and environmental research; HR policy development; international market research; event management; IT systems development. It can be a cost effective and flexible solution to business needs and also a way of bringing a fresh perspective and new ideas to your organisation.

At the moment the NWE can offer up to 20 subsidised term-time places for international students with the possibility of more to come. The cost to the host organisation is £200 and the student receives a £575 bursary on successful completion of the 100 hour project.

It’s “first come, first served” so if you’re interested email nwe@ncl.ac.uk or phone Lesley Cairns, Placement Officer, on 0191 222 6469. (And mention EF or If we can, you can).

Challenge Ambassadors working together

If we can, you can Challenge ambassadors Anh Mao of MaoCouture and David Goldsmith of Summerfield Photography recently teamed up together with an exceptionally glamorous photoshoot featuring just some of Anh's amazing dress designs (see below).

Anh said: "After we met at the if you can we can challenge, I had a look at David's work and they look very impressive, thought we can work together to promote each others businesses.

At the time Miss Newcastle and Miss Durham is wearing my dress for the Miss England Final. I find David is a great person to work with, very down to earth and a good listener too.

He produced a great photoshoot for the first time we work together. and we will keep on doing projects together."

David said: "Anh approached me at IWCYC awards day and asked me to do a photo shot for her. Anh gave me a clear brief to work to and it was a privilege to work with her.
Her work is fantastic the colours and designs of her dresses are flawless and inspiring, making the whole photo shoot delightful to be involved with. I am looking forward to working again with Anh again in the near future.”

To read more about Anh and David, take a look at their stories on the site (www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/entrepreneurs/anh-mao and www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/entrepreneurs/david-goldsmith)

The ‘essence of entrepreneurship’ questionnaire

We want to know what makes you tick

It's all part of the next phase of our PR campaign to encourage people across the North East, whatever their background, to think about starting or growing a business.

What did you do before you got started, what were you like at school, are you naturally bold or cautious, an extrovert or a loner.......

It's nothing too serious, just something to give us a few statistics - and then we're looking for the anecdotes that readers will be able to identify with. You can complete the survey online.

Thanks for helping us with this - we'll be looking for some of you to profile in the regional press.

LANGUAGE COMPANY’S SUPPORT TRANSLATES INTO CASH FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITY!

Newcastle-based translations company, Williams Language Solutions Ltd, has selected The Children’s Trust’s as its chosen charity. The company provides translations, language training and international communications modules to businesses.

As part of this service, an advice booklet on etiquette and cultural aspects of individual countries provides essential reading for clients travelling abroad. For each book sold at £5.00, 50p will be donated to The Children’s Trust, a national charity, which provides care, education and therapy to children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs.

Stefania De Angelis Williams, director of Williams Language Solutions Ltd, said: “We chose to support The Children’s Trust as our UK based charity through meticulous research and visiting the charity’s website, which we found very informative and friendly. Although our initial support is limited, we intend to increase our involvement in the future, as we know that every penny donated makes a real difference.”

Holly Newman, corporate fundraiser at The Children’s Trust added:”We are delighted to be the company’s chosen charity. Communications across countries are vital for good working relationships and the company’s services will greatly help businesses and individuals overcome language barriers.”

For further information on Williams Language Solutions, visit: www.translate-it.org.
To find out more about The Children’s Trust, visit: www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk, and to read Stefania's inspirational personal journey, visit www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/entrepreneurs/stefania-de-angelis-williams

Fantastic times for Scene Group

Glastonbury this year proved to be a fantastic opportunity for Singstar, Sony Playstation's Karaoke brand to bring some new talent to an appreciative audience. Scene Group were there capturing the event and supporting the experiential team. Thanks to Eric and the team from Sony and to our animator Aaron, where did you find that cow?

Continuing our close partnership with Bacardi, Scene Group were asked to support one of their major leisure customers Spirit Group; by creating an exciting training tool for bartenders in top end venues.The shoot was great fun, so many thanks to star performers Jamie and Craig for their hard work in front of the camera. Thanks also to Tokyo Bar and to John for organising the venue, what a fantastic backdrop.

Scene Group also recently completed an education focused project with our partners at Eston Park School in Middlesborough. After initially creating a website based film tool for this hardworking and innovative school, we were pleased to return to make more film and add a ‘sceneconsole’ content management system for use on site. Thanks to Ron, Karen and the team for their continued hard work in making Eston Park a school that staff, parents, students and the local community are justifiably very proud of.

To see more about Scene Group's work, visit: http://www.bescene.co.uk/index.php/customer-list and you can also read about Gavin's entrepreneurial journey so far at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/entrepreneurs/gavin-knights