Commercial cleaning firm comes clean with a new reporting system

A north east-based commercial cleaning organisation has created a new computerised system which will allow its clients real time analysis of their performance.

Paul Edwards, managing director of Edwards Commercial Cleaning Services (ECCS), has developed the system with the assistance of current clients who helped offer suggestions on what variables should be included in new reporting system. The traffic light system allows for early warning signs of potential flashpoints in ECCS service, meaning potential issues are addressed at the outset.

Paul explained: “There is huge difficulty for a client to know whether or not we’ve done a good job. We spend hundreds of thousands of pounds every year checking the quality and consistency of work, training staff and organising cover for absences which the client just doesn’t see.

“We need to show where their money is spent and demonstrate that we work hard to deliver what we say we do and that they are getting the best value for their money. Clients don’t have the time to check every desk or toilet cubicle to ensure they have been cleaned, why should they? They pay us good money to do that for them.

He added: “To compound this, our cleaners work at hours that ensure minimum disruption to staff, so they are often working late at night or early in the morning, when the client is not there.

“Both my clients and I thought there must be clearer, more transparent method of reporting and so we’ve developed this system. I took the step of actually asking my clients on what variables they would like to measure the performance of ECCS and with their input, I’m really confident it will greatly benefit all our customers.

“All the current reports from my Operations Managers come in paper form so this system will do away with the masses of paper we currently use. This means both the clients and the environment benefits, which can’t be a bad thing?”

The system carries a long checklist of items that, once completed, are then automatically forwarded to the client, by e-mail, with green, amber or red coding to show the customer what has been checked on their site and in the case of any rectification needed, when and what is being done and when it was checked again.

Paul continued: “Most cleaning companies have no way of letting their clients know what they’re doing and when things have been done. This will help them in measuring the value they get and provide a record of what was checked and when or when new staff started or re-trained.

“The system can also assist clients in their health and safety or facilities management by providing an electronic ‘paper’ trail. The new system is being trialled now ready for implementation in a couple of weeks and the feedback has already been excellent.”

Paul Edwards has spent a five figure sum in developing the software, buying hardware and developing a new website and server to accommodate the new technology.

Paul established the business in 2003 with his wife, Hazel and now has more than 160 employees servicing more than 150 contracts across the region.

One Day Can Make A Difference

A regional campaign aimed at encouraging more businesses to support enterprise education has smashed its initial targets – benefitting over 1000 additional young people in the North East.

At the beginning of last year, enterprise education charity Young Enterprise North East set a target to sign up one new businessperson every working day throughout its 18-month ‘One Day’ campaign.

The One Day call-to-action campaign, supported by regional development agency One North East, was targeted at business owners and encouraged them to sign a pledge to give up either one day of their time, staff, expertise or profits to help support the region’s future economy and create the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Now, as the campaign ends to make way for a fresh call to action, organisers have announced that the campaign has beaten initial targets by signing up 72 new businesses and recruiting a whopping 180 new volunteers to help deliver enterprise education lessons in classrooms throughout the North East.

Since the campaign inception, almost £2000 in cash donations was made to the charity, through business fundraising events, which will ensure that an extra 1333 young people in the region will benefit from YENE enterprise education programme.

The campaign also encouraged businesses to allow students to undertake work experience placements and job shadowing – since its launch an additional 350 students visited a workplace.

Young Enterprise North East chief executive Catherine Marchant said: “When we first set the initial target to sign up one new business every day throughout the campaign we thought we were being ambitious. The number of businesses and individuals that have given their support and that we have actually beaten this target has staggered me.

“New businesses that have come on board include Royal Mail, the Department for Work and Pensions as well as smaller enterprises such as Aycliffe Fabrications and Carrot Media - all of which have made such a huge difference in the way we can now deliver a more robust, credible inspirational service.

“Our aim was to also keep the flame of enterprise alive in young people and with this wider support from regional business community, I believe we have been able to plant the seed of enterprise in more young people’s minds and have certainly helped to develop more enterprising attitudes and work based skills.

“The fact that the One Day pledges were so flexible and could be implemented into daily business life has been the crux of the success and we have even had businesses implemented YENE activity as part of their CSR plans.”

One North East head of business, enterprise and skills Tim Pain said: “The One Day campaign was an excellent way of showing businesses just how simple and easy it is for them to inspire the entrepreneurs of the future.

“Equally, the young people who have taken part have been able to develop their enterprise skills by meeting real-life entrepreneurs, spending time in a business environment and seeing how ideas grow into a new product or service.”

Now, Young Enterprise North East is planning the next phase of its promotional drive, which will focus on looking beyond the recession and preparing for an upturn. It will seek to gain longer-term and more sustainable commitment from the business and education community. The official launch will be in January.

Anna's mission to bring all her neighbours together

A young entrepreneur knew nothing about her business neighbours and has used that fact to launch a new company.

If we can, you can member Anna Smith, 23, from Middlesbrough, currently works as a client relations manager for a creative and digital agency based at the town’s Riverside Industrial Estate.

She realised that she knew very little about other companies at the estate or how they might work together.

And that was the springboard for the launch of the Industrial Estate Network which aims to bring together businesses based at the Riverside, but with a long-term goal of rolling out the scheme nationwide.

Anna said: “The Riverside is a massive estate with lots of different kinds of businesses but nobody really knows about each other. It’s a shame because we could all be missing out on providing services to other companies on the estate.”

The Industrial Estate Network has already won a great deal of support from organisations including Cleveland Police, Middlesbrough Council, Love Middlesbrough, PD Ports and AV Dawson who have all recognised the benefits.

Anna’s plans include an official launch of the network, and is also offering businesses on the estate the chance to join for free for a trial period.

“Being part of an organisation like this is about forming a new community and network.
“A lot of people recognise this which is why I’m getting such a positive response.”

To find out more, visit the website at http://www.riversideparkmiddlesbrough.co.uk/

Click here to read Anna's story: http://www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/Entrepreneurs/AnnaSmith

Ten Alps Vision Launches

Ten Alps announce today the launch of a new powerful force in marketing and digital communications. Ten Alps MTD, the established, successful ‘Top 10’ Scottish communications agency based in Edinburgh merges with the award winning, Newcastle based visual digital communications company, Twenty First Century Media.

This significantly enlarged operation will be called Ten Alps Vision.

Ten Alps Vision will provide an integrated approach to marketing and digital communications with leading skills in the following areas:

Advertising, Design, Direct Marketing, Corporate Video, Strategic Planning, Online Video and Viral, Digital and Web TV.

Our combined client experience will be far reaching in terms of market sectors and geographies. We will be servicing over 100 clients and work for a number of market leading organisations including

Adam & Company, Ahlstrom, Arla, Carronvale Homes, East Ayrshire Council, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Fused, FPP, Forestry Commission, Nike, One North East, Glasgow Metropolitan College, Golden Charter Funeral Plans, Johnson Matthey, Business Link, Lego, Mamas & Papas, Multiplex, NHS, Nestle, Northern Film & Media, P&G, Prince’s Trust, Sage, Reid Kerr College, Scottish Public Pensions Agency, Scottish Qualifications Authority, Semichem, Thomas Mitchell Homes, Tommee Tippee.

The new business is headed by Vince Meiklejohn with a management team of Vic Covey, If we can, you can member Sam Morton and Nick Imrie. Ten Alps Vision will have offices in Edinburgh, Newcastle Manchester and London and will join the other recently created business clusters within the Ten Alps Communications Division.

Vince Meiklejohn commented

“Ten Alps Vision is an exciting new business which combines the creative flair of a leading marketing services business with the delivery skills of a dynamic digital and video production company.

"The new combined offer is exactly right for the market with communication campaigns increasingly multi platform. Ten Alps Vision brings together exactly the right skills and talent to deliver for our clients across the full range of media.”

Sam Morton said

“This is a really exciting time for communications. It’s an ever changing market place we’re finding more and more of our clients require a greater range of services from online marketing to a full Web TV offering.

"This merger gives us the opportunity to offer those extra services whilst continuing to grow in all of the areas in which we’ve traditionally been successful. Becoming Ten Alps Vision is the next natural step for us and it’s one that will open all kinds of new and exciting doors.”

The Merry Little Christmas Party

There’s certainly no need to be lonely this Christmas especially if you are a sole trader or very small company!

The Merry Little Christmas Party is being organised by If we can, you can member Melissa Wood, a marketing consultant from I Certainly Wood and a network of other small businesses who are supporting the event.

The idea is that as a sole trader or a company with just 3 or 4 people, the possibility of
Christmas Party can be fairly slim. Melissa, herself was not keen on the idea of a
party for one!

“I always like to have a good party and meet new people. I work with a lot of sole traders and smaller companies and we all thought it would be a great idea to get together for Christmas. There must be lots of other people in similar situations, so why not share a party!”

Partnering up with Oldfields Noted Eating Houses means that the food as well as the atmosphere will be fantastic. Oldfields are know for real British food that is cooked simply using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. They are also excellent hosts!

The event details are as follows:-

Date: Wednesday 16th December 2009

Venue: Oldfields Noted Eating Houses
Milburn House
Dean Street
Newcastle
NE1 1LF

http://www.oldfieldsrestaurants.com/

Ticket includes: Complimentary reception drink
Wine and ale tasting
3 course meal
Competitions and prizes

£20 per head (plus £1.50 booking fee)

Tickets can be purchased from:-

http://merrylittlechristmasparty.eventbrite.com/

1DayLater: An Update

When brothers Paul and David King (aka the Kings) first joined the IWCYC community back in May this year, they spoke about how they are trying to ‘break’ into entrepreneurship, with aspirations of one day giving back to the community after all the help they had received in setting up their joint venture thus far.

Cut to six months later, and plans are full steam ahead for the launch of their company 1DayLater, an innovative activity tracking tool which helps start up and small businesses to keep track of their time, receipts, payments and business miles using a simple web interface.

Rather than scribbling activities onto the nearest post-it or the back of your hand, 1DayLater lets you log these snippets of activity in under 10 seconds. The result is that you have a valuable resource which can help you become more productive and profitable through improved working habits.

The brothers have currently launched their beta version whilst they gather feedback and iron out their offering, under a freemium model. You can log onto http://www.1daylater.com/ and benefit from their services for no charge until further notice, and have a sneaky peek at new features as they are developed.

Paul and David have also set up an online blog, http://blog.1daylater.com/, charting their start up journey through the challenges, including pitching to investors, the successes, such as the release of their animated introduction feature and being asked to speak at the launch of Durham Entrepreneurs’ Society.

It’s a fascinating ‘diary’ which provides a unique insight into the impact of their decision to start their own business and the difference it has made on their lives, their views on the North East’s technology industry, how they are now tackling the world of entrepreneurship and building research for their company. Here’s a very smaller taster of some of their highlights so far.…

In May, 1DayLater was identified by The Journal in the Top Ten North East Brands. The newspaper asked their readers which big names they thought were most synonymous with the North East and to nominate the brand names that they were proud to have associated with the region.

1Day Later was named as an “Up and coming contender which could soon be helping to organise us all,” and joined the ranks of well established companies such as Berghaus, Abbey Well, Nissan and Brown Ale on the impressive list.

In June, Paul and David were part of a number of entrepreneurs in the North East who came to the rapid defence of the region when it came under attack from an article by Telegraph reporter Milo Yiannopoulos. Milo’s piece, entitled, “Its [still] grim up North” was roundly criticised and labelled ‘ignorant’ and ‘outrageous’ for its views on the North East’s tech scene and it’s support structure.

Paul and David said in response, “I think the North East is a fantastic place to set up a business. The talent is here, the minds are here, and the infrastructure’s here. And the region is full of passionate people.

“So far we've been helped by many local regeneration schemes in the North East including Sunderland Software Ventures, Teesside IDI, and expert advice from Codeworks. I think that rather than being "grim up north" it's actually an exciting and thriving environment to be starting a business in.”

In September, 1DayLater was shortlisted for the Kingpin Intelligence competition. Kingpin are a London based marketing agency focussed on technology, and the prize involved £7,500 worth of marketing and PR expertise.

Paul and David were told to prepare a two minute ‘sans PowerPoint’ presentation, which sold the business idea and formed a convincing argument as to why they wanted to win, and how the money would be used. Beating off stiff competition from five shortlisted finalists, 1DayLater emerged as the overall winner.

Speaking about their journey from the beginning of the year, Paul said, “To date, everything has gone even better than we could have hoped for. It’s been a complete rollercoaster ride and we’ve met lots of inspirational people. I guess we’ve learned to expect the unexpected now!

"The fact that I’m working alongside my brother means it’s less like work and more like an adventure. Also the knowledge that we are helping small businesses become more productive and potentially creating a better future for ourselves and our family is great."

Award-winning start for new online business

It has been a memorable – and award-winning – two weeks for a new Hartlepool company.

Restoration & Beyond launched its online store for self-builders and period home owners on November 6th at one of the UK’s biggest homes shows - the Home Building & Renovating Show in Harrogate. And two weeks later, one of the company’s founders Christine Pearce picked up the ‘One to Watch’ award at the 2009 Women Into the Network (WIN) awards which celebrate female entrepreneurship.

“The launch was a huge success” said Christine. “We attracted many homeowners to our stand who said that our site is just what they need to find the right suppliers and service providers”.

Fellow director Paula Smith added: “We also had many other exhibitors come to us to find out how they could join as they were very impressed with what they saw. This is very heartening after a year of extremely hard work in developing the business and website”.

The pair barely had time to unpack their bags before heading up to Tyneside for the 2009 WIN Awards, (Women into the Network), sponsored by Business Link on Friday 20th November. The event, now in its 10th year, honours enterprising women from all around the North East. Hosted by former BBC presenter Wendy Gibson, more than 400 of the region’s most enterprising women and their supporters gathered at the Hilton hotel on the Quayside .

Christine received the ‘One to Watch’ award on behalf of the company. That award is given to a business that has either just started trading or is close to launch and recognises "vision, determination and a business idea that demonstrates real market and commercial understanding."

Christine also became an ‘Ambassador for Entrepreneurship’ in the ‘If We Can, You Can’ Challenge earlier this year, organised by the Entrepreneurs Forum.

Christine said, “If you have a business idea, don’t keep it to yourself. There are so many excellent organisations available who can offer real help to get your business off the ground. We have had help from Business Link, Hartlepool Enterprise Agency, Be-Enterprising, the ‘If We Can, You Can’ team (Entrepreneurs Forum) and Women into the Network and also really good help from our bank and mentor, James Robson of Exwold. If you’re willing to work hard and believe in your idea, it will eventually pay off”.

Jonathan helps to launch new venture, 'SendSocial.com'

SendSocial.com, the world’s 1st address-less parcel delivery service, has launched in the UK. SendSocial.com provides the public with the ability to send parcels without an address to anyone with either a Twitter account or e-mail address starting from £3.99, which includes both collection and delivery.

SendSocial.com is the latest creation by noted Entrepreneur Ben Way, who is best known for his appearance on Channel 4’s “Secret Millionaire”. Ben posted the idea of address-less delivery on his blog and selected 8 budding entrepreneurs who engaged with him through Twitter. Within hours of assembling the management team they began working on the concept.

Thanks to online applications, Google Docs, Skype and other communication and social media tools the team were able to ignore their geographic displacement. The team consists of Ben Way (29, Florida), Glen Richardson (27, Cumbria), Antony Stevenson (24, Derby), our very own Jonathan Grubin (18, Newcastle), Marc Falk (21, Denmark), Simon Campbell (31, London), Tom Beckenham (35, London) and James Cranwell-Ward (24, London).

Senders make a request to their recipient via SendSocial.com and a Twitter message or e-mail is sent on their behalf. Once the recipient accepts the request, they can choose where they would like the parcel to be sent; the sender never sees the recipient’s address.

The sender is then provided with an address-less label and the parcel is collected the next day. Conveniently, the parcel can be stored in a safe place in case the sender isn’t around.

myHermes, SendSocial.com’s courier partners, scan the barcode on SendSocial.com’s unique address-less label, and the parcel is then automatically routed to the recipient within 3-to-5 working days.

Ben Way, Co-Founder of SendSocial.com, shares his enthusiasm for the launch of SendSocial.com: “I’m truly excited about the launch of SendSocial.com. Like most people in this fast-paced world I have lost track of the addresses of people I need to send things to and could not believe that there was not a better solution to the old-fashioned address. I predict that with a little help from SendSocial.com, in another few years nobody will have to use a physical address to send anything again. Sending things to friends and family has often been inconvenient, as well, and SendSocial.com takes the pain out of sending.”

Hundreds of ordinary Twitter users were given shares in SendSocial.com for offering feedback when Ben floated the idea in March, and the management team is working hard to make them all millionaires.

The team chose to partner with myHermes, who have a 30-year trading history and are the UK’s largest courier-based home delivery network, delivering over 100 million parcels every year.

The partnership between SendSocial.com and myHermes enables consumers to send parcels to anyone they wish by simply knowing the Twitter name or e-mail address of the recipient. SendSocial.com allows users to manage their addresses and select the most convenient location for delivery to be made, such as work or home.

Commercial Director of myHermes, Jon Tobbell, comments on the partnership with SendSocial.com: “Everyone at myHermes is bursting with anticipation with the launch of SendSocial.com. We’ve been working extremely hard to accommodate address-less parcel delivery to ensure the recipient’s address is kept confidential via our new handheld terminal technology. We’re ready for volume sales, given our existing corporate client base, including Next, QVC, and other well-known companies.”

As SendSocial.com is a secure repository of addresses, SendSocial.com will soon be integrating with major online retailers to allow their users to send gifts to friends and family using just a Twitter name or e-mail address.

Prime Minister backs ‘can-do’ campaign

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has lent his support to the ‘If we can, you can’ campaign, inspired and driven by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

The campaign was launched last year to help raise aspirations and ambition in the region, inspire people to set up businesses and grow them faster, and to re-instill the North East’s ‘can do’ culture that is famed for the world over.

The region’s entrepreneurial activity has been increasing since 2002, and ‘If we can, you can’ has been designed to help push this rate of growth further.

Yesterday, Mr Brown praised the efforts of the campaign, run by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and said such initiatives would help ensure a strong future for Britain.

“I am pleased to support the ‘If we can, you can’ campaign which provides a great opportunity for the business leaders of the future to showcase their talents and embark on an exciting entrepreneurial journey.

“With overall early stage entrepreneurial activity in the North East increasing by almost two per cent from 3.2 per cent in 2002 to 5.1 per cent in 2008 and communities working together to see Britain through the economic downturn, now is the ideal time for the next generation of entrepreneurs in the North East to realise their enterprising potential.

"I want to congratulate the Entrepreneurs’ Forum on this campaign which I hope will inspire more and more people to turn their ideas into reality and start their own business. Initiatives of this kind will help ensure a strong entrepreneurial future for our country.”

Nickelodeon says ‘I like’ Back 2 Front’s Animations

An animation company from Teesside is celebrating its work being aired on NickToons, the UK animation channel that promises to make you ‘Laugh Your Pants Off’.

The Nickelodeon team was so impressed with a taster animation they found online that they commissioned husband and wife team Talib and Sarah Kadhim at Back 2 Front Animation to produce six humorous shorts.

The series of short films entitled ‘I Like’ has developed from the innovative company’s original taster, ‘I like Brains’ which sees a cheeky and slightly gruesome central character prod and poke the inside of his exposed brain then lick his finger; only to regret his actions soon after!

Delighted about working with the Nickelodeon network, Talib Kadhim, Creative Director at Back 2 Front Animation, said:

“We’ve always been a massive fan of Nickelodeon and had often thought about approaching them with our work. When they approached us earlier this year after seeing our taster online we were so excited.”

Peter Drake, VP, Creative Director for Nickelodeon said: “At Nickelodeon we pride ourselves on working with talented animators that show passion and enthusiasm. We’re delighted with the work Back 2 Front Animation has produced for NickToons – it fits in perfectly with the irreverent humour of our channel. I’m excited to see what they come up with next.”

The series of ‘I Like’ short films premiered on NickToons this week. Sarah added: “To see our work on a channel we’ve always admired is like a dream come true. We’ve really enjoyed working with everyone at the Nickelodeon network and hope to work with them again in the future.”

Currently experiencing demand for its animated Christmas cards, the award winning animation company not only produces animations in 2D and 3D, but also visual effects, illustration, sculptures and high end post production services.

Some of the work commissioned for NickToons can be seen at http://www.b2fanimation.com/ by clicking the showreel.

Global Entrepreneurship Week Is On Its Way

Businesses in the region are being urged to get involved in Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which takes place in the North East from 16 – 20 November 2009.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, with millions unleashing their enterprising talents and turning their ideas into reality.

Small companies, large corporates and social enterprises, have one last chance to get involved in GEW in a number of ways.

Enterprise UK head of North East region Louise Kempton said: “Why not use Social Enterprise Day to shine the spotlight on the inspirational people in your workplace using their ideas for social or environmental change.

“Social enterprise is an amazing opportunity for us to shape the future of the world.

“Encourage your employees to design new products or processes, set up a mentoring scheme or get involved with your local community. Global Entrepreneurship Week UK also provides a great opportunity to support and enhance your learning and development programme, HR vision and CSR policy.

“Your employees have fantastic ideas and know the business inside out, so inspire an intrapreneurial culture by encouraging them to share ideas across the company. You could use Global Entrepreneurship Week to recognise and celebrate your most innovative and enterprising employees or develop your staffs creative and enterprise skills by matching them with senior staff in a buddying scheme.

“We will help you to promote your events and give you merchandise to do so.

“Let’s shine a spotlight on the North East as a hub of entrepreneurial action.”

Register your event on http://www.gew.org.uk/register_an_activity

Young Blood ‘O Communications' Win CIPR Pride Awards 2009

Fast expanding PR firm O Communications is feeling proud as punch after being named Outstanding PR Consultancy of the Year at the CIPR North East PRide Awards on Friday night (Nov 6).

The four year old communications agency took away the top honour at the NewcastleGateshead Hilton, with judges praising its hard work in “talent development, their culture of innovation and enjoyment of work”.

The growing firm, based in Ouseburn, Newcastle, also came home with the Best Not-for-Profit title and a silver award for Best use of Photography and Design for Young Enterprise North East’s One Day campaign and silver for Best Use of Social Media.

The judges said: “Established in 2005, O Communications has grown rapidly, to become one of the region’s most highly respected and creative PR agencies. O’s client base is a representation of business throughout the North-East. They work hard at talent development, their culture of innovation and enjoyment of work.”

The CIPR PRide Awards are hotly contested and recognise creativity, planning and outstanding execution of PR campaigns. It is the only awards scheme which showcases the best PR work being carried out across the UK regions and nations.

O Communications is run by 36 year-old Kari Owers, and employs eight people at its converted pottery offices in the burgeoning creative quarter of Ouseburn.

O Communications managing director Kari Owers said: “To win this coveted award so early in our journey, and in a year of country-wide recession, proves that clients are seeking young, hungry and innovative PR agencies to deliver new ways of thinking and make their brands stand out.

“We are delighted to have been recognised by the CIPR for doing something different, and look forward to using the award as a basis to grow further in the next year.”

The firm represents a wide range of top north east businesses, in sectors such as retail and leisure, arts and culture, technology, process industries, skills, education and enterprise. It is known for its work for organisations such as the Entrepreneurs’ Forum and Young Enterprise North East, and was this year appointed to represent Enterprise UK in the region; promoting Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Since the appointment of former The Journal commercial property editor Rebekah Ashby to the team last year, it has also grown a strong portfolio in property and construction, including England’s biggest speculative business park, Quorum.

Innovations such as Ovolution, its social media arm, have helped the creative communications agency pioneer online PR campaign delivery, having recently won a major contract to deliver video case studies for the science industries across the UK. Its team includes two video journalists, blog writers and in-house design studio allow O’s clients to embrace the growth of media channels such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Sally Keith, Chair of CIPR North East said: “A CIPR PRide Award is a hallmark of professionalism and success – it identifies, recognises and rewards the outstanding achievements of those working in the PR industry outside of London. To win a CIPR PRide Award is a tremendous achievement and I congratulate all of this year’s winners.”

Ali intervenes to save couples' dream honeymoon

An engaged couple who cancelled their honeymoon to Norway after the fiancé's pay was cut have had their dream trip saved by a travel firm, which is paying the whole bill.

Julie Berry, of Knole Road, Dartford, is due to marry fiancé Nigel May on January 3, but she was devastated when they had to make the hard decision to cancel their honeymoon.

But Ms Berry got the surprise of her life when travel company Activities Abroad called her back after she cancelled the trip, which includes husky sledging and the Northern Lights.

The 39-year-old said: "We were desperately looking forward to our honeymoon. It is such a romantic place to go and then we heard the news that Nigel had to take a massive pay cut, along with everyone else in his company, because they're just not taking a lot of money during the recession. So although we're not destitute, something had to give and it was the honeymoon.

"We were so disappointed and all weekend I was dreading making the call to the company.When I called up, my voice broke and I think the woman could tell I was on the verge of tears and must have told the manager, because he then called me back and offered to pay for it!

"I was completely overwhelmed and shocked. I phoned back three times to make sure I wasn't dreaming."

Ms Berry has been with Mr May, 42, for about four years . He proposed on New Year's Day this year.

She said: "I just want to say a massive thank-you to the company and especially the manager for such an amazing gift. "You have no idea how happy you have made us."

IWCYC member Alistair McLean, who owns the Northumberland-based company, said: "Julie rang us up and they were having a bit of a tough time of it and she sounded so distraught that I thought, ok, I'll do something nice and cover it for them.

"Everybody is having a hard time at the moment and not enough people help each other out.

"They were absolutely delighted - it gave me a very warm feeling inside!"

To find out more about the company's holidays, visit http://www.activitiesabroad.com/

To read about Ali's entrepreneurial journey, click here http://www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/Entrepreneurs/Alistair-McLean

A message from Sarah Parkin, Kids Deserve the Best

Kids Deserve the Best Celebration Day
Saturday 21st November 2009 – 10am-3pm
Tyne Hall, Trinity Church, Gosforth High Street, Gosforth

"Some of you may be aware that Kids Deserve the Best is approaching the end of its first year in business, and it has been a really exciting time for me. I truly enjoy and care about what I do - being able to support both nannies and parents with their employment and childcare requirements is what I love the most.

To mark the occasion of my first year in business I am holding a Celebration Day which would give the opportunity for parents to come along, (past, current and future parents) to chat about their childcare needs and for nannies to meet other nannies. It is just a good excuse to get together to share the celebrations and have some fun. I am also holding a raffle with proceeds going to the Metro Radio North East Charity ‘Cash for Kids’. It really will be day to support people of the North East.

The theme of the day is Kids!

The aim of the day is to raise company awareness which will hopefully mean more families needing nannies and making use of the babysitting and wedding day childcare services.

I have invited some other child friendly local businesses along too, so they can showcase what they have to offer. I have arranged for Wanda the Magician to do 2 mini magic sessions (11.30am and 1.00pm) and there will be a drawing/ craft table for the children to play whilst the parents mingle.

I am hoping that nannies will come along and be part of the day too. You do not have to stay for long, but you would be more than welcome to stay for the day if you wish. I will be needing a few volunteers on the day to supervise the children’s corner and also to greet visitors.

To try and estimate numbers, if you are interested in coming along, or if you are willing to volunteer on the day, can you please let me know either by emailing me sarah@kidsdeservethebest.co.uk or by leaving a message on 0191 2507025. If you could let me know by Friday 23rd October that would be helpful.

I hope you will be happy to join me for this special day.

See you soon

Sarah Parkin"

Press Ahead scoops business award

North East PR and marketing agency Press Ahead has proven it's 'the business', after winning a prestigious regional award.

The Sunderland based agency scooped the Small Business of the Year Award, at the Sunderland Echo Portfolio Business Awards 2009. The award was presented at a glittering ceremony, held at the Stadium of Light.

Press Ahead managing director and If we can, you can member, Russell Borthwick, said: "We felt that as a business, we had made great progress in a difficult trading environment, but that we were still perhaps a little way short of achieving an accolade like this - given the number of excellent small businesses in the area.

"The award is genuinely a team one - reflecting the input of staff and the confidence shown in us by our clients and partners. Just over five years after the business started, this feels like a coming of age - onwards and upwards."

The Small Business of the Year Award is the Portfolio Awards' most hotly contested accolade. Press Ahead beat off competition from a large number of entrants, and was chosen over four other shortlisted companies.

The judges commended Press Ahead on establishing itself as "a leading player in its field, both in the city and on a wider stage", adding that "it has grown its reputation by continually exceeding the expectations of its many clients, from Wearside and beyond".

NORTH-EAST DIGITAL MINDS SET SAIL FOR SWEDEN

Entrepreneurs and business leaders forge new links at conference

Some of the north-east’s most creative business minds are heading off to Sweden next week, with their sights set on forging new links with Scandinavia.

Their destination is the ‘Digital Minds: The Nordic Light’ conference in Gävle, a historic city two hours north of Stockholm.

Speakers at the event include Codeworks CEO Herb Kim, James TerKeurst from the University of Teesside’s Institute of Digital Innovation, and Steve Blanks of Newcastle-based Fat Frog Media.

A number of the region’s digital creative businesses are also making the trip, hoping to encounter new ideas and global business contacts.

Georgia Rakusen, of digital arts production company Haus Projects, is one of those attending the conference.

“Digital Minds: The Nordic Light is a conference all about cross-pollination and creative people sharing ideas,“ she explains. “I was at the Thinking Digital conference in Gateshead earlier this year, so I know what a huge impact this sort of cross-genre event can have. I’m very excited to see what new opportunities we can develop collaboratively with our Swedish digital counterparts.”

Other digital creative entrepreneurs attending the conference include:

Rob Colling of Gateshead-based internetsubtitling.com, which produces subtitles and captions for web video

Frances Calvey of Middlesbrough-based video production firm Kirkwood Media

Adam Green of Assyria Game Studio in Middlesbrough.

"It's an amazing opportunity and I'm looking forward to representing the north-east internationally,” says Frances. “Spreading the word about what digital industries have to offer in the region is an exciting prospect."

“In difficult times like these, there's more reason than ever to establish relationships outside the UK, with an eye to trading globally rather than just regionally or nationally,” says Rob. “The region’s business community is going to be very well represented in Gavle, and it’s great to see that north-eastern firms and organisations are so far ahead of the game when it comes to thinking internationally.”

Grand Designs star to launch period homes business

Two local business women launch their online homes restoration service next month with the help of a special guest – and they are giving away free tickets to the launch.

Restoration & Beyond, which helps period home owners and self builders to source specialist products and services for their homes, is being launched at the Home Building & Renovating Show in Harrogate on 6th November.

Christine Pearce from Hartlepool, and Paula Smith from Peterlee, have spent the last year developing their business and creating a service that is currently not available anywhere else.

And they will be joined for the launch ceremony by Francis Shaw of Peel Castle, whose inspirational transformation of the 14th century Yorkshire ruin was a favourite of viewers of the Channel 4 Grand Designs series.

Mr Shaw will be at Restoration & Beyond’s exhibition stand (number 335, in Hall B) at 3pm on the 6th November to cut the ribbon and officially launch the new web site.


Restoration & Beyond are giving away free tickets to the show with visitors to their stand also having the opportunity to win a two nights stay at Peel Castle. To claim your free tickets simply follow the link at http://www.restorationandbeyond.co.uk/ and sign up for their e-newsletter.


Looking forward to the launch, Christine Pearce says: “Restoration & Beyond is an exciting new concept that will revolutionise Period Home and Self-Build shopping. It is not a directory but a time-efficient way of sourcing and purchasing everything from reclaimed stone to works of art, as well as the people with the expertise to restore period homes sympathetically and help self-builders to create new homes to the highest of design and eco standards.

“It is the only website where products for this market can be purchased from many different companies through one simple checkout and where service providers can be found through 'mini-sites' within the site, rather than directory listings, making it much easier to use”.

Christine is herself a period home owner and for the past 17 years has been frustrated by the difficulty in finding the right products and services for the restoration of her home. Restoration & Beyond aims to save others that frustration while at the same time promoting a wide range of independent home-related businesses.

To find out more, visit http://www.restorationandbeyond.co.uk/

From Flying Start to Exciting Growth: Richard Mairs Update

When Richard Mairs first shared his If we can, you can story a year ago, it was also a bit of a fond farewell to this side of the pond as he had just been awarded a place on the prestigious NCGE Kauffman Scholarship as a ‘Flying Start Global Entrepreneur”. It included training with NESTA here in the UK, before heading to America for 6 months to study at Harvard, Stanford and MIT, and visit innovative companies such as Google, Cisco and Adobe. We asked Richard if he would mind keeping in touch and letting us know how he got on.

And keep in touch he did. We received a great email from Richard once he returned from his adventures and things certainly have moved on from the last time we spoke.

Before jetting away, Richard was running Gizmo Visual Studios in Middlesbrough, a multimedia studio and consultancy all about inspiring creativity. Richard set out to do this by combining cutting edge technology and visual media to both inspire and educate people about the creative thinking process.

During Richard’s time in America, he met his new business partner, Jonathan Lloyd, a fellow Global Scholar. They decided to combine forces and are together now running Falling Pixel Ltd (http://www.fallingpixel.com/). Falling Pixel is a high quality 3D asset marketplace and proudly sits as the leading marketplace in Europe.

They supply their services to a range of industries that demand high quality content from architectural visualisation to interactive education and even military simulation.

Richard says, “Supplying these resources saves companies time in the development process, development costs and allows smaller companies to actively compete on a higher level, enabling them to create bigger and better projects through outsource of content .”

At the moment Richard and Jonathan are both working hard to continue to growth of both the marketplace and newer arms such as 3D Request ™ and FPLabs which they will be working on in the coming months. Labs focuses on research and development of new technology in areas such as augmented reality, real time rendering and stereoscopics. They are also looking to work with Universities and strategic partnerships to strengthen their offering.

Richard commented, “It’s still early days having only been trading three years but we are excited about the future and the new direction of the company.”

If we can, you can Unplugged events are launched!

We always said that this was all about building a virtual community, but there’s nothing quite like getting together with your colleagues to share ideas and experiences in person, face-to-face.

‘If We Can You Can’ is hitting the road and coming to a venue near you!

The Unplugged events are an un-missable opportunity for you to meet likeminded entrepreneurs from the IWCYC community in a relaxed and informal environment.

We have two fantastic speakers from the community who will share their entrepreneurial highs and lows with our guests, and there will be a Q&A and a chance to discuss common challenges and aspirations, followed by a delicious supper and time for you to mingle and chat.
Date: Wednesday, October 21st

Venue: The Sporting Lodge Inn, Middlesbrough

Time: 6.30pm - 7:00pm arrival
9.30pm event close

Our first Unplugged event is coming to the Tees Valley. Our speakers will be Mark Easby, Managing Director of Better Brand Agency and Claire Mitchell, of http://www.astonmitchell.com/.

Mark Easby, born and bred in the Tees Valley, started Better Brand Agency in September 2008 with two friends. Better specialises in brand, design, marketing and social media campaigns, already has more than 20 clients and recently scooped the Best Social Media Campaign at the North East Digital Awards.

Claire Mitchell left her job to set up and run her own marketing consultancy, ‘Claire Mitchell Consultancy’, which she has done for the past three years. As well as this, she also runs http://www.astonmitchell.com/, an online men's make-up retail business with her business partner Kate Jones, and counts Barack Obama’s personal make-up artist as one of her key suppliers.

Tickets are free to attend, but places are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment! We would also encourage you to bring along a friend and welcome them along to the If We Can, You Can community!

To book your place or for any more information about our Unplugged events, please email will@entrepreneursforum.net or call 0191 2267488, and let us know if you would like to bring along a friend or a colleague.

“If you’re thinking about starting a business yourself, I believe the most important thing to do is to seek the right support- business support, partners, colleagues, and making sure that your family and friends are right behind you. I can’t recommend this enough.” Mark Easby

“We love what we do, we enjoy our work, we have a great knowledge of the market and it’s felt effortless because we believe in what we do and we have fun.”
Claire Mitchell

As we live in this multi-media age, each event will also have its own PLUGGED section on the website – and we’ll use the blog and twitter to get the discussions started and help us to identify what you want to hear about and talk about.

WIN Get 'Art For Art's Sake' Funding

Networking organisation WIN is celebrating securing £100,000 from the Government to engage North-East businesswomen in the arts, as part of a ‘learning for pleasure’ innovation spearheaded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

WIN’s ‘Art For Art’s Sake’ project will offer the arts as a platform for women in business across the region to explore their own creativity, learn about themselves, and enhance their skills and confidence to develop new networks and re-engage in learning.

Set in inspiring arts venues across the region, women will be offered opportunities to get involved in Art for Art’s Sake through joining book clubs, following creative writing courses, learning about the performing arts or trying out play-writing.

They will also learn the art of networking and presentation skills, as well as the art of self-discovery.

WIN board member Di Gates said: “Winning £100,000 to deliver this innovative project is a real achievement for WIN, its members and the North-East region, particularly having faced such stiff competition - the project emerged as one of the top 15% across the country.

“WIN prides itself on being a current, honest and ambitious network for female entrepreneurs and women in business. The Art for Art’s Sake project provides us a platform to work with over 400 women across the North East and to add even more tangible value to our members, both as participants in the project and through direct involvement in its development and delivery.”

Other projects in the North-East include using the Tyneside Cinema’s new spaces and facilities to deliver digital technology, moving image, communications and IT learning to a wide range of people from different social backgrounds and developing online learning tools for others to share.

WIN is proud to also be teaming up with some of its new members to deliver the Art for Art’s Sake project. Newcastle’s Live Theatre, writing and reading development agency New Writing North and Northumberland-based Butterfly training are also involved, supported by Arts Council England North East.

Participants will be empowered, motivated and more capable of making changes in their personal or business lives through becoming involved in a range of arts-based activities.

WIN Ltd - http://www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/3 - is a brand new membership organisation dedicated to supporting, connecting and promoting women in business.

Arts for Art's Sake is one of over 213 winning projects nationally. Across the country, a diverse array of informal adult learning projects will be getting underway, ranging from creative music master classes for people out of work or education, learning adventures for isolated older people and reading opportunities for the over 60s.

The grant is from the £20 million Transformation Fund, launched by Government to offer funding for innovative, informal adult learning projects in England. This brings to life The Learning Revolution, a White Paper presented to Parliament in March 2009.

The projects, many spearheaded by partnerships between public, private and third sector organisations, will help improve mental health, physical well-being, active citizenship and community cohesion, as well as providing a stepping stone towards further learning, qualifications and employment for many people.

Kevin Brennan, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Consumer Affairs, said: “We’re happy to announce 213 successful recipients of our Transformation Fund grants, awarded in the face of stiff competition from a field of 1,400 applications. With projects ranging from creative writing and music to reading and art, it’s encouraging to see so many imaginative ideas for giving adults more opportunities to learn for the love of it.

“The benefits of learning for pleasure in an informal setting are wide-ranging, and they benefit the community as well as the individual. I hope that many people will develop the confidence and the local connections to take a big step towards a brighter future.”

The announcement about the latest Transformation Fund grants follows the award of £1 million worth of ‘early bird’ funding in July.

Alan Tuckett, Chief Executive of NIACE, added: “NIACE is proud to have the role of supporting the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in managing the Transformation Fund. We argued in our response to the Informal Adult Learning consultation that there is no better stimulus for local adult learning providers than the creation of a fund to trigger innovation and new partnerships.

“There’s already evidence from the ‘early bird’ bids of how creative and imaginative community-based adult learning can be when given the funding to put ideas into practice.”
Informal adult learning encompasses a wide variety of activities and can range from a self-organised reading group in a village hall to a guided visit to nature reserve or stately home.

Other Learning Revolution activities include The Learning Revolution Festival: a month-long celebration of informal adult learning that kicks off in October 2009.

To find out more about the Art for Art’s Sake project visit www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk and for more on The Learning Revolution, visit: www.bis.gov.uk/learningrevolution

Fruit and veg at your service

Brand new If we can, you can member Barbara Chrisp has shared her truly inspirational story online. Here’s a recent article that was featured on her and her business The Cabbage Patch in the Hartlepool Mail, which delves into the impact Barbara is making in the Easington District, as reported by Tracy Walker.

A mum dubbed the "Jamie Oliver of the North East" is helping to give hundreds of schoolchildren a healthy start by launching a fruit and vegetable delivery service.

Barbara Chrisp has started up a business, The Cabbage Patch, which supplies fresh produce and healthy eating advice to SureStart children's centres and other community groups.

The 41-year-old was forced into a change of career when she was made redundant after eight years working for Sunderland-based finance firm CitiGroup.

Barbara, who is mum to 13-year-old Lucy Parkin, grows a lot of her produce in gardens at her home in Stewart Drive, Wingate, and also orders stock from suppliers.

She said: "Finance was all I really knew for the past 20 years and it was a real shock when I lost my job."I've been growing my own produce for a few years and it was something I really enjoyed.

"You hear a lot of things about people in the Easington area not eating a great deal of fruit and vegetables. Easington is generally a low income area, fresh produce isn't perceived as being cheap and I want people to see it as something affordable. "

Barbara launched her business with the help of business advisors Be Enterprising and now works with 10 Peterlee SureStart centres. She also supplies Peterlee's Rosemary Lane nursery with produce for school lunches.

Be Enterprising coach Chris Churms said: "Barbara is incredibly focused and keen to work with everyone. She's the Jamie Oliver of the North-East!"

Barbara also visits Horden Social Welfare Centre every Thursday afternoon to sell fresh produce. She also runs a weekly market stall at Horns Garden Centre, in Shotton Colliery.

Barbara provides weekly deliveries to customers in small, medium and large bags. All contain potatoes, onions, carrots and apples, with customers selecting additional fresh fruit and vegetables on delivery. Barbara also accepts Healthy Start vouchers as part-payment.

Read more about Barbara's inspirational journey by clicking here

Serenity Has A Treat In Store For Local Companies

Newcastle urban day spa Serenity in the City is providing local employers with a unique way to boost staff morale during the economic downturn.

Whilst companies are increasingly looking for extra productivity in the current climate, and stress levels in the workplace have increased, Serenity in the City is offering businesses tailor-made treatment packages at a specially reduced rate, that can be awarded to staff as part of a rewards scheme or alternative salary benefits package.

Employers nationwide are struggling to keep staff morale high as the effects of the recession mean workforces feel overworked and vulnerable.

But where some companies are offering sabbaticals or pay cuts disguised as extra holidays, Serenity in the City says actually treating workers can be a worthwhile alternative.

Serenity in the City owner Jocelyn Maxfield said: “In the current economic downturn, the potential exists for staff to become anxious or depressed. If someone is feeling down after losing a colleague or suffering because they are taking on extra workload the best solution to keep these workers happy is by incentivising them with little ‘pick me up’ treats.

“Too often employers forget that after they have made redundancies it is the workers that are left behind that are still suffering and feeling the pinch. That is why we are offering businesses a weekday package that they can distribute to staff across their workforce as they like - as a bonus, salary perk or even as a thank you gift.”

Employers can select any of the treatments offered by Serenity in the City from Mondays to Thursdays such as a relaxing Wellbeing Massage for staff to wind down after a hard day at the office, or a confidence boosting spray tan.

One local business, which has been offering employees beauty bonuses for several years, is Newcastle based advertising agency Drummond Central. Drummond Central managing director Julie Drummond said: “We have used beauty and wellbeing treatments for some time, as a way of giving our staff bonuses for a job well done, or completing an intensely busy project. They are really popular, and giving them the time off to go and relax and get spoiled for an hour brings them back invigorated and happy.

“We also use the Serenity in the City day spa as an alternative way of debriefing with a client after a big campaign; by way of a thank you for the business and a treat at the same time.”

HOLIDAY SEASON EXTENSION FOR ASPIRING WOMEN TO ENTER AWARDS

Female entrepreneurs from across the North-East have been given an extra week to enter the region’s top business awards for women.

The entry deadline for The North-East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2009 has been extended to Friday 18th September, after demand for more time after the schools returned for busy women to complete their entries.

The Awards, now in their 10th year and sponsored by Business Link, have been refocused by the board of the new WIN Ltd organisation to include two brand new categories that reward both pre-start up and inspirational entrepreneurs. There is also a new online application process for the awards this year at http://www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/.

The eight categories are One NorthEast’s Best New Business Award, South Tyneside Council’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Durham University’s Best Small Business Award, Social Enterprise North East and SES’s Best Social Enterprise Award, Arts Council England’s Best Creative Business Award, WIN Ltd’s Best Home-Based Business Award, Teesside University’s Innovation Through Technology Award and the flagship Susan Dobson Award for Entrepreneurship.

In addition to the categories open for nomination, this year there will be two new recognition awards – the ‘One to Watch’, to recognise talented entrepreneurs who have not started trading yet, and a woman who others consider an ‘Inspirational Role Model’.

Chair of the judging panel, previous North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and SCM Pharma director Fiona Cruickshank said: “We have extended the entry deadline due to high demand for a bit more time from women interested in taking part. With the summer holiday season just over, and schools just going back many business women that juggle work and family life at this time of year are just settling back into full work-mode this week.

“I myself have just returned from summer holidays to be delighted at the entries so far. There has been a good response to all categories, but we especially urge women with emerging or home based businesses to be brave and enter, or nominate someone they know – WIN Awards celebrate business success from the one man band to the multi-million enterprise. Go for it girls!”

ECCS CLEANS UP IN WEARSIDE

Following landing seven new contracts in a month last month, Edwards Commercial Cleaning Services Ltd (ECCS) is now focussing on cleaning up across Wearside in the new business stakes, and is making great strides.

It seems whatever the economic climate, having a nice working environment is one expense that companies across the region will not cut back on. In just the last few weeks, ECCS secured a number of new contracts in Wearside as well as resigning an existing client in the area, that when combined are worth £100,000. Last month the company secured seven new clients across Newcastle and Gateshead worth a combined £70,000.

Paul Edwards, managing director, set up the business in 2003 with his wife Hazel, and it now has over 150 employees and over 150 contracts across the North East. The newest of Paul’s customers are based across Sunderland and Washington.

Paul said: “Our new clients in Wearside include Team Wearside, NSPCC, Washington Display and Vishay Ltd so there is a real bespoke requirement for each of those sites. We are also delighted to have retained the business from Joplings department store, following a successful relationship over the last year.

“As a fully insured Safe contractor accredited company we can guarantee that our cleaners are the best in the business. As a family run business every one of our team is instilled with our values that the customer comes first combined with a professional but caring delivery.”

The company currently has an annual turnover of over £1 million but Paul is looking to double that as well as grow the team by another 50% over the next two years.
Paul concluded:

“Many think that a cleaning contractor will be an unnecessary expense but we tailor our service on client requirements and budget, and are happy to be flexible as we would rather have a long term relationship with each company we work with.

“Our clients, by having a clean working environment are ensuring that their staff are better motivated and respond well to being cared about. This results in less sick days for our clients along with the benefit of increasing productivity.

“At the moment we are dealing with many companies in trying to keep general infections out of the workplace and are battling the Swine Flu pandemic by introducing disinfectant alcohol wipes and hand santiser foam and gels.

“So, as well as cleaning, we are providing the right products and helpful advice to our clients.”

Further information on ECCS is available at http://www.edwardscleaningltd.co.uk/, or by calling 0191 213 5777.

Read more about Paul's entrepreneurial journey by clicking here

Challenge Category Winners Announced!

Over 100 people entered this year’s ‘If we can, you can’ Challenge, as we sought to award North East entrepreneurs for their outstanding business ideas, inspiring journeys and commitment to making their businesses succeed.

It’s all about encouraging a spirit of entrepreneurship in the North East, and raising awareness of the region’s fantastic entrepreneurs. As we’ve often mentioned, the quality of this year’s entrants has monumentally surpassed all expectations, and we want to thank them all for sharing their inspirational stories.

In addition to our ‘Faces of Entrepreneurship’ and ambassadors, this year we decided to award seven additional entrants. These entrepreneurs were deemed by the judges to have demonstrated pure determination to succeed, often overcoming a challenge or stereotype to follow their passion.

The category challenge winners are:

Maureen Lindberg (Tyne and Wear) – started a business from a corporate background.

Richard Hannam (Hexham) – became an entrepreneur after being made redundant;

Vinnie Morgan (Teesside) – started a business straight after education;

Derek Foxcroft (Teesside) – frustration at work led him to start a business;

Clare Fenwick (Hartlepool) – a parent with small children who became an entrepreneur;

Helen Ledger (Sunderland) – an ‘accidental entrepreneur’; who saw an opportunity

Sarah Pittendrigh (County Durham) – a single parent who started her own business.

Each of the seven winners will be awarded an ipod touch, and an invitation to attend the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s annual SME conference - which will give valuable advice for small businesses on breaking through challenges and opportunities.

Please take a look at our winners and view their If we can, you can profiles – they are all incredibly inspiring.

Last Call For Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Entries

Female entrepreneurs from across the North-East have just two weeks (closing date 11 Sept) left to enter the region’s top business awards for women.

Women are being urged to submit their online entries for The North-East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2009 – which are this year being organised by a group of the region’s top female businesswomen under new membership organisation WIN Ltd.

The Awards, now in their 10th year and sponsored by Business Link, have been refocused by the board of the new organisation to include two brand new categories, to reward both pre-start up and inspirational entrepreneurs, an online application process and new on-the-night compere, ITV’s Wendy Gibson. The Awards will reward the best individuals, partnerships and business support organisations across eight categories.

They are: One NorthEast’s Best New Business Award, South Tyneside Council’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Durham University’s Best Small Business Award, Social Enterprise North East and SES’s Best Social Enterprise Award, Arts Council England’s Best Creative Business Award, WIN Ltd’s Best Home-Based Business Award, Teesside University’s Innovation Through Technology Award and the flagship Susan Dobson Award for Entrepreneurship.

In addition to the categories open for nomination, this year there will be two new recognition awards – the ‘One to Watch’, to recognise talented entrepreneurs who have not started trading yet, and a woman who others consider an ‘Inspirational Role Model’.

Women can nominate individuals for the recognition categories, or enter the other awards, online at http://www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/.

Chair of the judging panel, previous North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and SCM Pharma director Fiona Cruickshank said: “As a previous winner, I can’t encourage women strongly enough to enter these Awards. Winning an award, or even just being nominated, can enhance your business in many ways — be it by bolstering sales, boosting employee morale or increasing web traffic.

“For new and smaller businesses, winning one really can provide a springboard to growth, add real credibility to what they are doing, and provide fantastic marketing opportunities.

“As we enter the tenth year of the Awards, we continue to be astounded by the amount of talent here in the North East – and it’s our job to ensure this talent does not go un-noticed.”

The all new WIN Ltd will now offer its members an improved service including personalised training, free and subsidised business tools, and collective buying and bidding opportunities to help grow their businesses. WIN Ltd will still be delivering a full schedule of member events, with all profits fed back in to support new members.

Its board of directors is made up of Northumberland’s SCM Pharma director and co-owner Fiona Cruickshank and Mailing House Group managing director Jackie Peddie, Newcastle’s Solutions Recruitment managing director Margaret Clare and The bgroup creative director Di Gates, Ann Stonehouse, owner of Accountancy @ Willowbank and Co-Efficient Outsourcing in Teesside, and Dinah Bennett of Durham University’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning.

Dinah Bennett of Durham University’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning added: “Even if your business has not had the best year financially due to the recession, we would still urge you to enter.

“The judges will be looking at how businesses are riding the recession, what measures they have taken and, if people have had to reduce their workforce, how they have gone about it.

“Meanwhile WIN Ltd has chosen to sponsor the Home-based Business Award as this is a big agenda and we again want to encourage women who are operating their businesses in this popular way.”

The closing date for entries is close of business on Friday, September 11. Enter online and find out more at http://www.womenintothenetwork.co.uk/.

Executives Brave Baltic Conditions

Executives from four local businesses have joined forces in a bid to host the region’s largest charity sleep out.

If we can, you can member Derek Curtis and Jerri Murtagh of Bond Solutions, Codeworks Connect board member Andy Walton, If we can, you can Challenge 09 Ambassador Nigel Begg of Aspire Technology Solutions and Andrew Fisk of Tagish have formed a board to lead Byte Night – an event where the business community sleep outside for one night to experience what it is like to be homeless.

Taking place at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art on October 2, all money raised will be donated to the charity Action for Children, which works with young people who are affected by poverty, disability, abuse and neglect.

In the past year Action for Children has helped over 19,000 young people in the North East and the charity heavily relies on funding from local businesses to continue its work.

Managing director Derek Curtis of Bond Solutions said: “Byte Night is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to make a difference to young people in the region and when Action for Children approached me about hosting the event I knew we had to get involved.

“We are delighted that the BALTIC have agreed to host Byte Night and hope that the business community will sign up and support this great cause.

“It’s amazing how much of a difference giving up just one night of your life can make to young people in the region and it would be fantastic if we could get over 80 sleepers.”

Byte Night was established by Ken Deeks and has been running in London for the past 11 years.
Other cities taking part on the night are Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Thames Valley and as this is the first official Byte Night to take place in the region, the board is determined to ensure it makes its mark.

Andy Walton said: “We have a lot of established, new and cutting edge businesses that are all making a difference in their own unique ways and I really believe that this close knit community can help make a significant difference to disadvantaged and young people.

“All monies raised will help tackle the root cause of youth homelessness and help young people get off the streets of the North East. Knowing that without the hard work and commitment from

Action for Children many more of our young people would be lost to society, gives me a reason to get involved and I hope others will too.”

Managing director Nigel Begg from Aspire Technology Solutions said: “I am passionate about everything I do and when I was asked to join the board I knew it was an opportunity that I could not miss.

“Byte Night will be a fantastic networking opportunity and give businesses the chance to come together and support a fantastic cause. The current economic climate means Action for Children need our help more than ever and this one night event can make such a huge difference to the charity.”

Andrew Fisk, managing director of Tagish said: “I was involved in an event similar to Byte Night last year and I found it to be a fantastic experience, hence the reason I joined the board this year.

“Byte Night provides businesses with the opportunity to focus their minds away from the day to day issues of achieving success and spend a small amount of time thinking and, more importantly, helping those who are not as fortunate.”

To register for Byte Night please visit http://www.bytenight.org.uk/

Press Ahead scores summer hat trick

North East PR and marketing agency Press Ahead has scored this summer, with a hat trick of new staff appointments, and the addition of a major new client.

The Sunderland based company has appointed Lindsey Spears, Deborah Robinson and Naomi Robson as it continues to strengthen its team following a series of major account wins. The three most recent appointments coincide with the addition of Sunderland AFC to Press Ahead’s client list.

Senior Account Executive Lindsey will join the team at the beginning of September. After gaining a degree in Communication Studies from the University of Sunderland, Lindsey has spent the past eight years working on regional PR and marketing campaigns for clients including Business Link, Middlesbrough Council, Wynyard Park and the Learning and Skills Council (North East).

Lindsey’s appointment follows the recruitment of Deborah, who joined the team in June having returned to the region after taking a year out to travel. A Northumbria University graduate with a BA Hons degree in Communications, Deborah has gained experience working as an in-house PR executive at Berghaus, the UK's leading outdoor clothing and equipment brand.

The final recruit, Naomi, joined the team earlier this month. Naomi graduated from the University of Sunderland in 2008, after studying a three year BA Joint (Hons) degree in Marketing and Public Relations. She has a background in customer services, having worked in retail for the past two years. More recently she developed her PR and marketing skills, working for regional station, Metro Radio.

The new recruits will work on a number of client accounts, including the most recent addition to the company’s portfolio, Sunderland Football Club. Press Ahead has been awarded the contract to support the club, including the recent concerts and its bid to become a host stadium for the 2018 World Cup matches, working with the City Council to raise support and secure Sunderland’s place in the England FA’s official World Cup 2018 submission to FIFA.

Press Ahead managing director Russell Borthwick said: “I am delighted with the three new appointments we have made.

“Press Ahead is going from strength to strength, with a fast growing, prestigious client base and a fantastic team. Lindsey, Deborah and Naomi bring a wealth of skills and experience, and I am sure they will help us to build on a record 12 months, and continue to deliver the exceptional results that we are known for as we head into our sixth year.”

To read more about Russell's journey with Press Ahead, please read his If we can, you can story by clicking here