Make Your Mark Blog

A young man from Lowestoft has been chosen for the prime minister’s Global Fellowship - having found success during the Make Your Mark Challenge.

19 year-old Richard Miner from Lowestoft, is one of 100 young people chosen for the prime minister’s Global Fellowship - a programme designed to encourage and nurture oustanding talent and enterprise.

Depsite his obvious hard work and talent, Richard credits his success to the Make Your Mark team and his participation in the Make Your Mark Challenge whilst at school. During the challenge,  Richard and a group of friends established ‘UnHeard Entertainment’, a music management and PR company and as a result of their success, went on to attend the Make Your Mark in Music networking event in london, with Richard also becoming a founding member of YELP (Young Enterprising Lowestoft People) - a local network set up with the help of the local Make Your Mark team.

Richard says:  I believe strongly that getting on this chance of a lifetime, is in part due to the huge amount of support you and the whole Make Your Mark collective  gave myself and ‘UnHeard Entertainment’. It certainly allowed us to all become more knowledgeable about the ways of business and helped greatly in building a self-confidence in ourselves. The experiences that I have had due to ‘Unheard’ were priceless and I personally have a lot to owe you for those and the contacts made from Make Your Mark.”

As part of the fellowship programme, Richard is due to spend six weeks in India including two weeks in a school or college working as a language assistant and two weeks as the guest of a global company to get an understand of international business.

In November, Richard and the other fellowship members, will join the prime minister Gordon Brown to take part in ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ as part of the Make Your Mark campaign.

The Eastern Region Make Your Mark Team would like to congratulate Richard on this fantastic achievement and highlight how participating in Enterprise Week can really help young people to make their mark!

A report from DEA claims today that half our children do not want foreigners living abroad and that a fifth of youngsters do not talk about major worldwide issues. They are concerned that schoolchildren are becoming ‘globally illiterate’.

This is of great interest to us as this year’s UK Enterprise Week is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the aim of which is to unleash young people’s enterprising ideas to address society’s biggest issues. We’re also involved in a progamme called Global Fellowships which is funded by the Department of Children, Schools and Families and looks to nurture outstanding talent and enterprise through international exposure to different countries and their way of life, addressing some of the concerns of the DEA findings. They are sending 100 students to Brazil, China and India and will share their learnings with peers and the wider community when they return.

We’re hoping to speak to the DEA about how we could work together on this agenda and encourage more young people to take an international view of the world, particularly in regard to their enterprising ideas.

What do you think about global education in the UK?

This week is Shine Week, a national celebration of young people’s talents.

Britain’s young people are by nature an enterprising bunch, but here at the Make Your Mark campaign we believe more needs to be done to encourage the focus and application of talent in an enterprising way, which can lead to making money and/or social good.

We are today calling for enterprise education to focus on enterprise mindsets such as a can-do attitude and ability to take risks, rather than teaching business theory which will be tired when today’s students become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.

The Future Face of Enterprise report, published by Demos and commissioned by us, suggests that we need to prepare young people with mindsets which can adapt to the changing industries and challenges of the future.

We’re also using the Shine week to showcase our network of more than 300 Make Your Mark Clubs across the UK, space for students to run real life businesses and take risks in a safe environment.

The students are taking their talents – from bee-keeping, web knowledge and gardening through to art and a passion for fair-trade – and turning them into money making ideas. In addition many of their ventures are making a difference to their community or to a wider social or environmental issue. Some have linked up with local companies to solve real-life business issues or to fundraise for international causes.

Tell us what you think? How can we further encourage enterprising mindsets?

A man left 17 camels to his 3 sons. He left half to his eldest son, a third to his middle son, and a ninth to his youngest.

The 3 sons set about dividing up their inheritance but could not negotiate a solution - because 17 cannot be divided by 2 or 3 or 9.

The sons need to consult an enterprising young person to come up with a solution…

Can you come up with the PERFECT solution to keep all 3 sons happy?

Can you solve the riddle with a bit of creative thinking and a little bit of maths?

Please send your solutions to julie@makeyourmark.org.uk

Wow, what a great day it was - Tuesday that is (not today. Today I just had too much work to do for Enterprise Week!).

On Tuesday, I went up to the North East Enterprise Week event which brought together EW event organisers, enterprise delivery organsiations and young entrepreneurs to introduce them all to EW08. And for once, it was not me and Eimear (Make Your Mark, Ambassdors and Networks Manager) organising it!

For the past fews months, Eimear and I have been running Unleashing Ideas for Enterprise Week events all over the country - Bristol, Leicester & London so far. So it was a refreshing change to go to the North East meetup and not have to do anything other than take pics and take part in Talkaoke. Katy from our Tees Valley office took care of everything.

The venue was incredible, people were great (massive turn-out) and the best part was… the sun!

Take a look at the pics from Durham

Lauren

We met this morning with Geraldine from Community Links, the organisation behind Chain Reaction - a global forum of social leaders to connect people together, to provide spaces - in the real world and on line - in which people can collaborate with others across the boundaries that divide us and commit their energy to new ideas and new ways of working that will change the world.

The first Chain Reaction forum will run during Enterprise Week and in the spirit of our campaign we’re partnering with them to deliver our flagship Enterprise Week event as part of this. So watch this space - we’re planning our bit to be an interactive event which explores the role of enterprising social leaders, locally and globally and will include lots of our partner organisations.

If you are interested take a look at Chain Reaction where you can already sign up to be part of the whole event.

And if like me it reminded you of a certain Diana Ross tune - then check this out! Chain Reaction!

The students at Staindrop are not wasting any time when it comes to their careers. Hosting a ‘Careers in Action Day’, students got to grips with just what it takes to make their mark in the armed forces, catering and even teaching. With these students getting so clued up, their assault on the work place will be unstoppable.

Let’s hope we can keep up!

Yesterday I attended The Enterprising Colleges Conference 2008 which took place at Smithfield. The event went was well attended and had some interesting speakers with a lot of information to share. One clear message which came out of the event was that there is fair amount of enterprising activity in Further Education already. We now need to make sure that the work done is recognised and, that this good practice is shared throughout FE for all to benefit from. 

Make Your Mark was in Newcastle last week to talk to students about the importance of networking.

Pure Potential is the only independent organisation that helps tens of thousands of bright students from the state sector with their journey through UCAS forms, university life, student finance and career choices.

There were presentations on how to write personal statements, how to impress at interviews and how to budget.

Make Your Mark made a presentation to the students on the importance of networking. ‘Innocent Smoothies’ was discussed as a case study on the importance of networking. Did you know that the founders of the business decided to give up the traditional route to graduate careers and set up a smoothie making business? They were three young people with no money and therefore getting a new business off the ground looked like a tall order. So…they asked for help. They thought about their personal network, and got in touch with everyone they knew, asking for help with their business idea, and by contacting business contacts, family and friends they eventually met an investor who gave them the essential start-up cash they needed to make their idea happen.

The students at the Pure Potential event were encouraged to think about THEIR network of friends, family, neighbours.. and put a plan in place to start building it.

Three simple ways to make networking work:

Your Profile: Get known and make sure people remember you.

Good will: Create good will and people are more likely to support you.

Keep in touch: Network to build contacts – 80% of opportunities come from people you know!

Are you a student in the North East who wants to make their mark at school or college? Why not set up a Make Your Mark Club?

Contact Julie@makeyourmark.org.uk / 01642 451826 for more information.

Yesterday we hosted an event to unleash ideas for Enterprise Week 2008 at Beamish Hall. The day saw lots of networking amongst teachers, business people and those involved in enterprise delivery.

Pamela Hargreaves, Head of Campaign, welcomed our guests before Chris Spavin gave a presentation on Global Entrepreneurship Week and many of our guests shared ideas they have about how they plan to give Enterprise Week’s events an international flavour. Durham Community Business College are interested in ethical fashion. St Michael’s School in Billingham will be handing over Enterprise Week 2008 to the students who will be arranging events with an ethical twist. Staindrop Business and Enterprise College will be investigating why China’s economy is booming. Students will be looking at products that are made in China and investigating why they are made there. The students plan to visit China and go into a joint venture with a school there.

Tori James gave an inspirational speech. She was the first ever Welsh female to climb Mount Everest and shared the highs and lows of her adventure.

Tori also talked about Make Your Mark Clubs for schools and colleges. The Make Your Mark Club is for young enterprising people who want to make ideas happen while they’re at school or at college. It’s easy to run your own Make Your Mark Club and you can use this site to swap ideas or share information about your club. Want more information? Contact Julie@makeyourmark.org.uk / 01642 451826

Guests were then treated to 2 workshops……

One was delivered by Emma Farrell. This was all about Web Magic! She showed us how to utilise wikis, blogs, virals and other digital marketing techniques. Would you like to take a look at our twitter feed?

http://twitter.com/makeyourmark

One was delivered by Phil Tulba. He showed us the exciting world of social enterprise. He explained what a social enterprise is and gave examples. We watched the ‘Trailblazers’ DVD. Copies of the Trailblazer’s magazine can be downloaded at:

http://www.makeyourmark.org.uk/get_involved/mym_change_lives

Phil informed our guests about the One Water Challenge. This year, One Water and Make Your Mark have teamed up to launch the One Water Challenge for schools in the UK. Teams of schoolchildren (aged 14-19) will be given bottles of One Water and just one month in which to sell as many bottles as possible, in as innovative a way as possible. They could get them signed by a celebrity, or turn the bottle label into a piece of artwork, or sell them at school or at their parent’s workplace. The idea is to use all of their creativity and enterprise skills to sell One Water. After repaying the original cost of the water, what they do with the profit is up to them. They can keep it, invest it in more water, or even pursue another idea. Schools will be encouraged to sign up in September and bottles of water will be delivered to students for Social Enterprise Day (Thursday November 20, 2008) during Enterprise Week and Global Enterpreneurship Week. More information available at: http://www.enterpriseweek.org.uk/getinvolved/onewater

Guests could also take part in ‘Talkaoke’ – known as the ‘doughnut’ of chat, is a mobile chat show which invites participants to sit down and air their views around the Talkaoke table, as well as North East Bond’s Launch Pad which isdesigned to encourage all kinds of people to set up in business or to create a social enterprise.

Enterprise Week 2008 is fast approaching and our new site went live this week. Find out more at http://www.enterpriseweek.org.uk/

Download resources and presentations:

Social Media Presentation

Global Entrepreneurship Week Presentation

Enterprise Week 2008 overview - North East

Many thanks to One NorthEast, our speakers and our guests would made yesterday’s meet up a great success!

If you are a woman with a business idea or a new business and are looking for funding, look no further than the Pioneer Category of the Girls! Make your Mark Awards.

Girls! Make your Mark have teamed up with handbag.com to launch the Girls! Make your Mark Awards to celebrate Britain’s female entrepreneurs and encourage more to take the plunge.

A panel of prominent businesswomen including Jacqueline Gold, Head of Ann Summers, Carrie Grant, vocal coach to the stars, and Natasha Aitken, Editor of handbag.com, will help judge the five award categories:
Female Entrepreneur of the Year
Entrepreneurs with a Conscience
The Pioneer (for businesses less than 12 months old or an enterprising idea)
Handbags and Gladrags
People’s Choice (as voted for by handbag.com readers)

The winner of the Pioneer Award will not only win a fabulous £3,000 bursary but will also receive money can’t buy mentoring sessions from a top UK entrepreneur.

The deadline for entries is July 21st.
To enter please visit handbag.com

Plymouth is the Enterprising Britain finalist for the South-West and I joined judge James Capper to find out more about how the area has changed and the ambitious plans for its future.

Plymouth has embraced enterprise as a way to transform a city centre and unite disparate areas of the community. We met people from a number of different projects that have contributed to raising the aspirations of young people in Plymouth, supported new businesses in the area and generated a sense of pride in Plymouth residents.

We heard about the University of Plymouth’s vision to turn the university into an enterprise university with enterprise education at its core, permeating all subject areas. The university actively promotes enterprise competitions and Enterprise Week activities and encourages real-life experience of enterprise: A group of young people run the Pilgrim Cafe in the univeristy and Plymouth is in the process of setting up a Young Chamber of Commerce.

Throughout the city centre colourful banners promote Plymouth Summer Festival which has spearheaded a ‘cultural renaissance’ from the Jazz & Blues Festival to Plymouth Flavour Fest, a celebration of food from the region which draws 100,000 people to the city centre. Exploiting Plymouth’s geographical position, one of the most successful events during the Festival is The Artemis Transat boat race. Re-locating the boat race to Plymouth Harbour has had a huge economic impact on the city, attracting visitors from the UK and abroad and encouraging Plymouth residents to come into the city centre to take part in the celebrations.

Plymouth has a real vision for its future and, led by a group of committed, enthusiastic business and community leaders and supporters, I have no doubt they will build on their success and continue to promote the area as a great place to live and work.

Make Your Mark in fashion is in it’s final stages and our three fabulous teams of ethical fashion entrepreneurs are working to create new stand alone ranges for their respective mentor’s business. Miawi for Junky Styling, R.A.J.E for THTC and Berrie for Enamore will launch their collections in an exclusive catwalk show at The Hopsital Club on 16th September 2008 during London Fashion Week.

To find out more about the competiton and our finalist check out www.makeyourmarkinfashion.org

Just a reminder that there’s still time to get your applications in for the Girls! Make your Mark Awards.

There are four categories of awards<a

Female Entrepreneur of the Year
Entrepreneurs with a conscience
The pioneer
handbags and gladrags

There are some great prizes to win including exclusive and unique jewellery, mentoring, cash prizes and more, so please get nominating.

The deadline for entries is July 21st.

For more details and to apply visit

What a fantastic visit to Tynedale and their enterprise network last week! An excellent example of how a deprived rural community can be transformed through enterprise. The people were so united, involved and supportive of network and the wide range of enterprise initiatives in the community.

The community brought together through a shared entrepreneurial spirit, overcoming the barriers of a population dispersed over a large geographical area and considerable deprivation (worsened still by Foot and Mouth a few years ago).

The enterprise education in schools was particularly impressive with some very dynamic head teachers working very closely together for mutual benefit and innovative ways of involving businesses in schools and exposing young people to business people and enterprising environments.

The highlight at the end of the day was a visit to a nursery that had been set up by a group of young local entrepreneurs. Jamie Murray Wells (Founder, Glassesdirect and the national judge on the visit) was asked to open the new nursery garden and new water feature for the children to play with… the group of 2yr olds playing in the garden then promptly soaked him in water from head to toe!