CHRIS LAUNCHES GENI-US BUSINESS IDEA

A BUSINESS coach who has gained years of experience in guiding top entrepreneurs to build their businesses has decided to take the leap of faith and go it alone.

If we can, you can member Chris Baxter, 44, from Houghton le Spring has set up his own business coaching company, Good Enough Never Is (GENI) after being the UK’s leading franchisee for global coaching network Ology for four years.

Teaming up with his wife Heather Baxter who has 16 years’ experience in the recruitment industry, the duo intend to mix business coaching with a specialised people finder service to help businesses grow through optimum people performance.

GENI’s performance and leadership coaching and team development programmes are delivered either in teams through a series of training workshops on issues such as delegation and behavioural attitude, or via one to one coaching with business owners, directors, and managers.

Chris, who is a professionally trained coach and facilitator, is also currently writing a book called “The Effectiveness Map”, which will be launched in early 2010.

He said: “GENI is dedicated to helping businesses learn how to be brilliant. We help people to produce excellent performance at work, because every organisation will only ever be as good as the people who work there.

“I decided to set up my own coaching business as I was Ology’s top performing franchisee for several years and I felt like I had taken it as far as it could go. GENI allows me to have greater control over the content of the coaching sessions and I can add my own ideas and psychologies to the training.

“I have since developed my own psychology-based model for understanding and transforming individual performance, which I can now implement into my own coaching sessions.

“I have a ‘fearless thinking’ approach in that great performance only comes from great people working together to produce great results.”

Heather Baxter said: “We work with businesses to help them identify where they want to be and how to get there practically and promptly.

“Now not only can Chris offer coaching to businesses but we can also help them fill that gap when it comes to finding the right person for a particular role, which sometimes businesses aren’t fully skilled at doing.

“Whatever we do, individually tailored, bottom line impact and tangible benefit is the name of our game.”

Chris’ past clients include, CJ Garland & Co, CTC Marine Projects, Imass, ITPS, Bastion Security Installations, Kromek, Arriva, and The Specials Laboratory.

Before he entered the coaching industry, Chris worked for a number of manufacturing companies in the North East, which included roles in planning, purchasing, systems management, project management, warehouse, distribution, and ultimately becoming a supply chain director.

Chris is trained to International Coach Federation standards, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and has a MBA from Durham Business School.

You can now read Chris' updated If we can, you can story by clicking here, and you can also follow his blog and read his latest news by clicking here

Young Asylum Sekers Take Refuge in Art of Film Making

Newcastle-based Superkrush Films has seen its award-winning asylum seeker film premiered in London.

Highlighting the personal traumas and struggles faced by young asylum seekers, the thought provoking film was screened during National Refugee Week in the capital’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

Superkrush, in conjunction with Save the Children, organised a series of drama workshops for a group of young asylum seekers and refugees back in 2007 to produce the film called Tuesday at the Grand.

Set in a hotel called ‘The Grand’, the film, which was joint funded by the Department of Education and Skills and MEDIABOX, explores the contrast between the comforts of British workers and the issues faced by young asylum seekers and refugees coming into the country.

Superkrush director and If we can, you can member Chris Taylor said: “As part of Refugee Week, the V&A Museum will screen Tuesday at the Grand to allow these young people to get their voices heard and get their films watched by a wider audience.

“The film highlights not only the issues that these young, vulnerable people face in the workplace, but also their enormous skills set in front of, and behind, the camera.

“Tuesday at the Grand aims to show people that these troubles are happening all around them on their doorstep and not just in the news.

“The film presents an important and frequently silenced subject matter from the fresh prospective of those individuals most closely affected by it.

“By allowing these young people a platform to voice their opinions, these films not only present thought-provoking and original dramatic material, but also serve as a springboard from which the matters of asylum and refugee status can be evaluated, understood and discussed.

“The film will now be used as an aid to understanding a marginalised and often misunderstood sector of society.”

Tuesday at the Grand won the Special Commendation category at the International Community Film Festival in 2008.

Save your dough as bakery store joins discount card

Two of the North East’s most successful young entrepreneurs, both If we can, you can members, have combined to help the region’s food lovers save their dough when buying their favourite bakery products.

Jonathan Grubin, of Live Newcastle, and Greg Phillips, Managing Director of North East Bakery, today agreed that all Live Newcastle members would be offered 10% off all their purchases at Nichols bakeries.

North East Bakery, which operates 14 stores throughout the region, has become the latest local business to sign up to the Live Newcastle card, which offers members discounts at the best places to eat, drink and shop in the region.

The card is the brainchild of Jonathan, an 18-year-old entrepreneur from Newcastle. Though he is currently sitting his A-levels at Newcastle’s Royal Grammar School, he is signing local businesses up to the card every day, and plans to launch it to the public in the summer.

Jonathan said: “The idea is that, during a recession, customers are hungry for discounts, while shops and restaurants are eager to get people through the door. Live Newcastle solves both of these problems, while encouraging us all to spend more of our money locally.

“We’re delighted that Nichols has agreed to offer our members 10% off all their purchases. North East Bakery is a great regional success story and I’m proud to able to encourage more locals to enjoy shopping there rather than at generic national shops.”

Greg, a 30-year-old Newcastle University graduate, launched North East Bakery in 2004. It has since expanded to include 14 stores and a wholesale bread, confectionery and patisserie business. The company recently invested in a 20,000 sq ft facility in Newburn.

Greg said: “We’re very happy to be in a position to offer Live Newcastle members this discount. As a business, we’ve always promoted the region where we can by purchasing and using local and regional produce and suppliers, and we know Jonathan shares our vision.”

Nichols join a rapidly increasing roster of local businesses partnering the Live Newcastle card. Other North East companies offering discounts to members include Tup Tup Palace, Barn Asia, Acanthus, Starters and Puds, Union Clothing and The Rupali.

Though the card does not launch officially until July, shoppers can register their interest at livenewcastle.co.uk.

PR agency gets outdoors and active

PR and marketing company Press Ahead, will be getting outdoors and active over the next few months after winning two major contracts to promote the region as a great place to explore this summer.

Sunderland based Press Ahead is managing an in-region campaign, working with Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, County Durham Tourism Partnership and Visit Tees Valley, to promote Tyne and Wear, Tees Valley and County Durham.

In addition the company is driving a national campaign to promote North East England as a great place to visit and get outdoors and active over the spring and summer.

The contracts are a significant addition to the company’s growing portfolio, and a further sign of its sustained success. Over the past year, the business has relocated to larger premises in the North East Business and Innovation Centre to accommodate its growth, as well as employing new members of staff to manage its increased workload.

Erin Casey and Matt Hipgrave are two of the company’s most recent recruits. Erin joined Press Ahead after graduating last summer from the University of Sunderland, following three years of study for a BA Hons degree in Public Relations. With a strong background in finance and customer relations she will bring her skills to work as an account executive.

Matt joined the team as a senior account executive after relocating to the region from London. Matt graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with BA Hons degree in History, then went on to gain experience as a journalist, before joining the former editor of the News of the World and Hello! magazine Phil Hall at his PR agency.

Press Ahead’s two new account wins add to the company’s client list, which includes Berghaus, Business and Enterprise North East, One North East, Newcastle Racecourse and Conference Centre, the North East England Food & Drink Group, Penn State Pretzels, Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, The Outward Bound Trust and the Outdoor Industries Association.

Press Ahead director, Chris Lines, said: “These new contracts are great additions to our portfolio. We have already started to deliver what will be high profile campaigns, regionally and nationally, that demonstrate the many outdoor assets we have here in North East England and encourage people to explore the region.

“Both projects complement the work that we already undertake for a number of clients, to communicate what a great part of the world the North East is. We are proud to be based here and are delighted to be playing a role in promoting the region.”

The latest news and views from Press Ahead can be found on the company’s re-launched website, http://www.pressahead.info/3 and on the Press Ahead blog, http://www.pressaheadpr.blogspot.com/.

You can also read about Press Ahead founder, Russell Borthwick by reading his If we can, you can story

Amazing Launch on DAB Digital Radio

A digital innovation in radio has been launched: the world's first interactive radio station. Since it's also the world's first station playing 100% new music and the first whose presenters are new to radio, it's no wonder it's called amazing.

Amazing Radio starts a 6 month pilot on Digital One's national DAB radio network. Instead of a restful dawn chorus, music fans can now awaken to the sound of brand new indie, urban, rock, jazz and pop music. It's an incredible diversity of songs, all written and recorded by undigned artists outside the conventional music industry.

The artists uploaded their music to ethical website amazingtunes.com over the past four years. amazingtunes.com gives artists a legal, global means to sell their music, receiving 70% of download revenues.

"There's fantastic music on amazingtunes.com," says If we can, you can and Entrepreneurs' Forum board member Paul Campbell, founder of the Amazing Group. "And our 'ethical downloads' give musicians the chance to make money from the songs they wrote and recorded. But we wanted to go further, to find new ways to get their talent noticed. It's normally impossible for new artists to get onto big radio stations. So we made our own.

Read about Paul's journey with Amazing by clicking here

Gavin Blowman: Update

When Gavin Blowman won If we can, you can Challenge for the Sunderland Echo last year, he was set to revolutionise the beverage industry with his ‘Chooba’ drink; made from quality ingredients like milk, blossom honey and Chinese red tea. The drink also contained 'Cassava' balls which are sucked through a fat straw and chewed along with the drink which are made from all-natural (and 100% vegetarian) ingredients, and Gavin had just created the world’s first instant Cassava following intense production and manufacture testing. On the cusp of sweet success, we caught up with Gavin to see how it was all going.

Hi Gavin, how’s things been going?

“Well unfortunately about 9 months ago business got really tough. Despite usually being the eternal optimist I entered a period where a little dark cloud just hovered over my head. With business hard, I developed a very negative, critical attitude where I just thought things weren’t going to work out. So I really had to re-assess and think how I was going to move the business forward.

“However, I think now I’ve turned the corner. I’ve made some big changes and decisions recently and am feeling positive that I’m about to really move the company forward. I’m no longer in partnership with my former- business partner Fabian, as we just can’t work together! We get on fine, and are still friendly and in contact, but we’re just too different as people and therefore we can’t work on a common business project together.

“I still wanted to keep the Chooba brand, but I was struggling for inspiration on my next steps. I knew that I needed some kind of outside counsel; someone who could help me see the wood from the trees.

I went to Ian Baggett from Adderstone Group, knocked on his door and explained my situation. He convinced me that I’d come a long way, I’d learned a lot, and that I should look for new opportunities within the same industry, rather than give up on something I believe in.

With some thought I explored other options such as selling the drink at festivals, or even removing the chewy Cassava balls from Chooba and selling them separately as a snack. But these just weren’t angles I wanted to take.”


So how have you decided to move the business forward?

“Well the UKTI provided me with funding to go to New Zealand and Australia to carry out market research; the experience really helped clarify in my mind the sort of product I was going to sell and how I would be launching it.

“It was whilst I was over there that I really discovered the new direction to take the business. Not only did I get the opportunity to carry out my research and go to relevant meetings, but the excursion gave me a valuable few weeks to get my head together. I came back a lot more aware of the opportunities out there, waiting for me to grasp.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to move forward with the Tea Frappé brand. It’s a delicious drink, like Chooba, but it no longer involves the production of the Cassava balls that went into the drink. Controlling quality production was a much of a problem as effectively maintaining the natural element which was so important to the drink. So Tea Frappé, our grown up milk shake, is how I’m going to progress and move the business forward.

“The cost of production of Tea Frappé is much less of an issue than it was with Chooba. There is another tea based drink currently produced in New Zealand, properly brewed with cinnamon, berries and other natural ingredients. It’s then filtered, and presented in a glass bottle. It’s a beautiful drink, but quite expensive as it’s naturally produced with no artificial chemicals. It works out at about £2.50 retail price, but people pay it because it’s delicious. So this is confidence inspiring; if a product’s good enough people will pay for it.

“When I was in New Zealand I talked to a company who were extremely interested in the Chooba brand. They told me that a lot of the massive, worldwide companies tend to use New Zealand as a launch-pad for their products. Having a culture similar to western countries they test launch products (such as new Coke flavours) to find out what people think of them. With a population of only 6m, if it’s not well received the brand will probably not be damaged.

“So this is what I’m going to do. I’ll test Tea Frappé in New Zealand and see if the general population likes the brand, likes the product, likes the packaging, etc. If all goes well I’ve got a supplier and a manufacturer in Sydney, who could help expand the brand to Australia. Ultimately, my aim is to license the product out to other countries, so the brand expands without actually having to move operations to each country.”


So is this the way in for Tea Frappé, an overseas launch? Do you not think there’s still a market in the UK? The samples at the If we can, you can Celebration went down a storm!

“There could be….but not yet. As well as being a good platform to launch Tea Frappé, I truly believe that New Zealand, Australia and possibly the USA are ready markets for a cold, milky, tea drink. I think I have a real chance with releasing the brand over there. Unfortunately, the UK consumer market isn’t quite there yet.

“I also have a leg-up from the UKTI. Instead of having to contact the New Zealand equivalent of Starbucks or Costa and persuade them to stock Tea Frappé, the UKTI have helped lever me into launching the product through the British Embassy. Because it’s good for the UK as well as the brand (as we are a British company, exporting a British product to foreign soil), they agree that it’s perfectly in tune to what’s needed in this economic climate.

“I’m really looking forward to launching in New Zealand. People have given me a lot of recognition, told me they’ve loved the product and still look forward to seeing it in stores. And I’m really looking forward to getting out there, and showing everyone what a great product Tea Frappé is. I fully appreciate that I won the If we can, you can Challenge as a result of a public vote – I’ll do all I can not to let those voters down!”


Gavin has promised to keep us updated on how things go in New Zealand and will continue to log on and be part of the If we can, you can community.To check out Gavin’s delicious Tea Frappe drink click www.teafrappe.co.uk, or to read more about his journey with the original brand, Chooba, visit his ifwecanyoucan profile at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/Entrepreneurs/Gavin-Blowman

The Secret Formula to True Love

Joining the Entrepreneurs' Forum and concentrating on the North East has undoubtedly been the key to my success" .... quotes If we can, you can member Sharon Kell, Managing Director of Coco Moon.

Dynamic business woman Sharon Kell who heads up bespoke matchmaking company Coco Moon, has found the perfect formula for a successful business in the region ... a unique and tailored concept built on the basic human need for love and companionship.

The big surprise has been the success of the company during a global credit crisis. Sharon puts her secrets of success down to her relationship and life coaching skills that offered something brand new to the market place - undoubtedly the 'USP' of Coco Moon, with her business tenacity gained at International level working for a major blue chip telephony company.

"I spent years 'flirting' with the idea of my own business and knew that busy, professional people who worked alongside me, were incredibly successful in business, but found it hard to maintain a good relationship. Gradually, the embers burned away inside me for a unique business model.

"The idea quietly gathered momentum with research proving early on that there was malaise around existing dating formulas, to such an extent that many supposedly A list singles had given up entirely on trying to meet someone".

To date ... no pun intended - it's been an effective model, with the company boasting an incredible success rate for matches, way above the industry standard, with members falling for each other after the first few couple of dates.

This may seem too quick to be real, but this is what her secret formula is all about. Sharon is so experienced as a professional relationship expert and life coach, that she knows just the right questions to work out what her members want, and more to the point need.... The key phrase being, that the members THINK they know what want, but in actual fact it takes an expert like Sharon to analyse what they actually really want.

The result of this? You meet a close match relatively quickly - which equals less matches and more precision. Unlike the rest of the flooded dating market which is essentially a numbers game.

A key component of their success stems from a thorough understanding of who their audience is ... in particular getting the male of the species to see that seeking help from an expert can apply to love and relationships as well as in business - and most certainly should not be seen as an admittance of failure.

Not one to sit on her laurels, Sharon Kell has also set up the Coco Moon Hub, a members only social scene in all the latest venues, bars and restaurants so that single members can enjoy a great social life with other professional people, who more importantly are all single and from the region.

To read more about Sharon's journey with Coco Moon, click here

Stand By Your Employees In Times Of Crisis

When a member of staff starts to crack it is in the boss’ interest to lend a hand, says If we can, you can member Maureen Lindberg, director of Newcastle human resources consultancy PPM.

Businesses may have a better chance of surviving the economic downturn if they can identify when their employees are heading for a crisis.

A recent study by Coventry University found that 62% of people had a heavier workload than this time last year and nearly a third felt they were in less control of their jobs.

The world that we are in now means companies are demanding more for less from their staff. If they are making redundancies, they want the people who are left to do more work than they had previously.

Increasingly workers are heading for a breakdown or going on the sick due to stress, increased targets to meet, wage cuts and so on.

If businesses don’t identify this and deal with it promptly and effectively then they could be left with little or no business productivity and profitability.

If bosses see their staff becoming paralysed by stress or otherwise struggling they have to remember it is up to them, as line managers, to do something about it.

Many managers dislike or even fear such conversations, but there is no avoiding them sometimes and it is not a good idea to put it off as things will only get worse.

Managers can tend to shy away from difficult emotional issues, seeing it as a personal issue or feeling they don’t want to intrude but it is their responsibility - employers have a duty of care to find out what is wrong and try to help.

Usually the job of the employer is much more straight forward than they realise. In most cases it is a simple matter of behaving with humanity, seeing what you can do to help and assisting the individual with professional support such as delegating work elsewhere or investing in further training or coaching.

Employers should look out for the following warning signs to spot if an employer is heading for a crisis:

Physical: Weight gain or weight loss, increased susceptibility to colds and therefore sickness periods.

Emotional: Mood swings, tearfulness or aggressive outbursts. · Cognitive: Forgetfulness, loss of concentration or making continual mistakes.

Behavioural: Reduced eye contact and decreased social interaction. If businesses fail to notice the above then they can result in increased sickness, reduced productivity and stressed and frightened staff who will struggle to be innovative and come up with new ideas.

As of April 2009 the current law on workplace grievance procedures was replaced with an ACAS code of practice. This means that if an employee was to complain about levels of stress in the workplace then they no longer have to go through a formal grievance procedure.

The new ACAS system recommends employers to use a mediator who has not been involved in the issue to try to resolve the dispute.

PPM is one of the few organisations who have formal qualifications to deal with this kind of mediation.

The benefit of dealing with grievances earlier through mediation is that it can prevent relationship breakdown, increased sickness levels and so on and this is particularly helpful if the employee is already on the verge of a breakdown or walking out the door.

Also by using independent mediators, it shows that the employer is serious and un-biased and is willing to resolve the dispute without awkward long term reasoning.