Make Your Mark Blog

The Networks team here at the Make Your Mark Campaign produces a monthly newsletter bringing you the latest news from the world of networks. Get it here: connect-newsletter_mar08.pdf

Take a look inside this edition for a word on Social Enterprise from Phil Tulba, Make Your Mark’s Social Enterprise Campaigner and find out more about becoming a Connector. If you’re already a Connector then you’ll be excited to know that there are nine regional Make Your Mark Meet-ups coming up and details of the first two are inside. To begin with it’s London on 8 April and Leicester on 15 April. We’re also in Bristol on 16 April for some Connector networking at the Women’s Business Workout, so book your places now as we’re really looking forward to meeting you at these events.

Check out the latest BBC online blog http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7315598.stm

from entrepreneur and Make Your Mark ambassador Kulveer - who has just sold his company which he runs with his cousin for ‘millions of dollars’.

His move to Sillicon Valley in the States has undoubtedly played a part and I wonder whether we can ever hope to reproduce this fostering environment for tech companies in the UK. It’s a point which Kulveer raises within a view point he wrote for us last year.

http://www.makeyourmark.org.uk/policy/future_face_of_enterprise/who_else/viewpoints/stoz/

Let us know what you think…

Channel 4 is looking for 16 to 21 year olds…

…to take part in a new and exciting interactive project.

Interesting Year Ahead?

In the next 12 months are you hoping to achieve a certain goal?  Deal with personal issues? Make a professional dream a reality?  Address relationship problems with family or friends? Get your life back on track?  Are you willing to be filmed for the next 365 days?

Maybe you are off to university, taking a GAP year or going into the world of work…

Whatever you are up to, we want to hear about it!

To find out more please email youth@sotelevision.co.uk or call 0207 960 2009

www.myspace.com/YoungAmbitions

All enquiries will be treated in the strictest of confidence

The Innovation Edge Conference – Tuesday, 20th May 2008

NESTA’s Innovation Edge conference is an unrivalled opportunity to get under the skin of innovation in the UK – and consider the impact it will have on our future.

The conference brings together a powerful mix of experts from industry, culture, politics and academia. Bob Geldof, Lord Puttnam, Helen Alexander, Michael Birch and urban artist ‘Inkie’ are just a few of those who’ll be fuelling the discussion.

Be a part of it. The Innovation Edge is free to attend. Register now at www.innovationedge08.co.uk

A speaker event on how to be a great entrepreneur in the workplace!

Wednesday 9th April 6 - 8.30pm at the British Library Conference Centre

• Are you creative, enterprising and innovative in the workplace?
• Are you bursting with ideas on how your company could innovate it’s internal systems or external services?
• Do you know how to manage this energy and present ideas effectively to management, generate buy-in and successfully thrive within the workplace?

How can companies effectively nurture this type of environment to encourage innovation greater knowledge exchange and improved recruitment, retention, development and deployment?

This event is for professionals who desire to be entrepreneurial in the workplace and wish to know how to present and develop their ideas effectively to management?

PLUS HR/Learning and Development teams who are keen to enable an entrepreneurial culture within their company.

A panel of speakers have harnessed this creative potential:

Claire Purchase from Freshminds
After graduating from the University of Manchester with a first class Economics degree, Claire brought her creativity and energy to FreshMinds Talent. She is known by her colleagues as incredibly innovative and is the key contributor to the “Ideas Surgery” that the FreshMinds CEOs hold each month.

Justin Champney, Head of Brand Innovation EMEA,McCann Worldgroup
Justin has extensive expertise in leading teams across multiple European countries, innovating creative management solutions and processes. As an internal entrepreneur, Justin also adds value to the operation of the overall agency.

Ashley Sweetland, Director of Youth Strategy, Corporate Culture Ltd
Ashley, 24, leads Corporate Culture’s focus on children, young people and education. Prior to joining Corporate Culture he has worked for The National Youth Agency and the Department for Education and Skills.

Find out more and register here http://www.stridingout.co.uk/networking-events-london.php

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion is an Award designed to celebrate and recognise the activities of individuals who have played an outstanding and significant role in promoting enterprise skills and attitudes in others in the UK.They are looking for:

• Entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, inventors and innovators who give their time and, possibly financial support, to other potential entrepreneurs whether or not they are still in education or at the business start-up/growth stage.
• Those in education, training and youth work who are providing people of all ages, particularly the young, with enterprise skills and attitudes.
• Those involved in social enterprise who achieve business outcomes or equip others with business skills

For more info see www.queensawards.org.uk/individual

Students from Trafford College who competed in the Make Your Mark Challenge national final in Dec 07 are now going to represent England at the Global Entrepreneurship Challenge at the European event in Germany.

Their tutor Amanda said ‘My students learned so much from the Make Your Mark Challenge in London that I am positive of a really strong result.

I cannot begin to tell you how much of an impact make your mark has had on us. We have quite a few clubs up and running now, and the Business studies results in January were nothing less than astounding.

Please keep doing these worthwhile things, as next year we are taking all of our A-Level students and all of our Business Students out of classes to take part in the Global Enterprise week. If I have my way, it will be the entire college.’

We wish them lots of luck and we’ll keep you posted on how the students get on this summer.

Women’s lives have improved beyond recognition in Britain and other rich countries in recent years - although we still have some way to go!

International Women’s Day, which took place last Saturday, is about celebrating the achievements of women and encouraging them to achieve their full potential - but what about girls and women in other countries?

To mark International Women’s Day ‘08 a number of Girls! Make Your Mark ambassadors from Wakefield went to a fundraising dinner hosted by Linda McAvan, MEP to raise money for women in Ethiopia who are suffering from a preventable condition linked to child birth. The money raised will go to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The hospital was set up by Catherine Hamlin – an Australian doctor, back in 1959.  

Women in the UK are powering ahead in business and in other areas of life but unless we do something less fortunate women in other countries will struggle to get off first base. Find out more

Who’s in the picture? Jennie Flockton, Jane Walton - campaign leader for Make Your Mark, Rimas Morris – who is part of Into Africa, a company that specialises in eco-friendly and fairly traded trips to Kenya and Tanzania, and Linda McAvan MEP. 

Kirill Makharinsky, 21, and Bob Goodson, 27 have just launched a new website for start-ups. It is called YouNoodle and is a place to discover and support the hottest early-stage companies.

You can browse innovative startups and follow their progress. You can also register your own startup and use YouNoodle to build up a following as well as develop a team of specific supporters.

It over turns one of the biggest fears that many people have - that if they share their idea in public, someone will steal it. It’s refreshing to see a tool that highlights the importance of collaboration. By sharing your idea you are more likely to attract the right people to support your business, find deals, find opportunities and ultimately succeed.

The founders of YouNoodle are also developing a model which will predict the future success of a start-up. This will use rigorous mathematical analysis to track how social networks and business contacts impact the company’s performance. Definitely one to watch…

Have you seen the Government’s new Enterprise Strategy?

You can view it at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_08/documents/bud_bud08_enterprise.cfm  

Make Your Mark welcomes the focus on untapped potential in new strategy.  

Commenting on the strategy Harry Rich, Make Your Mark Chief Executive, commented:  “We welcome the strategy’s endorsement of our achievements to date and look forward to building on this success.  Since 2004 our programmes have unlocked the talents of young people and encouraged 200,000 more 16-24 year olds to start a business. By widening our reach and releasing untapped potential irrespective of background, gender or race we aim to have a similar impact in areas such as women, ethnic minorities and the over 50s.“

Enterprise Insight’s Make Your Mark campaign will lead on the following areas of the new Enterprise Strategy: 

To build an enterprise culture… “The Make Your Mark campaign has been increasing the number of people who see the value of being entrepreneurial, are inspired to engage in enterprising activity and have the self-belief and confidence to do so. “Since 2004 Enterprise Week has engaged over 1.5 million young people in enterprising activities. The number of young people having business ideas was 50% higher for participants in Enterprise Week 2007 than in non-participants.” 

“We will continue to focus on inspiring young people to make their ideas happen – through high profile platforms such as national Enterprise Week, which will this year become part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, jointly co-ordinated by Make Your Mark and the US Kaufmann Foundation; and strategic partnerships including work with the Premier League to use football as an enterprise engagement tool. In addition we will focus on releasing the untapped potential of women through a high profile media campaign and other groups including the over-50s and ethnic minorities.” 

To increase enterprise knowledge and skills…“The Make Your Mark campaign is working to increase the number of people who have enterprise experiences, skills and capability and are ambitious to apply their talents in entrepreneurial ways.”

“We are glad that the strategy recognises the need for a consistent enterprise education journey for young people delivered through new investment in enterprise in primary and further education, and ensuring all new Diplomas place enterprise at their heart. We will continue to help build enterprise skills and capabilities through the roll-out of student-led Make Your Mark clubs, in 90 schools and 30 FE colleges. Clubs provide space for students to develop business ideas outside the classroom. “ 

“We will be working in close partnership with the National Enterprise Academy, focusing on sharing best practice and developing enterprise skills and knowledge. We will also be working with RDAs to embed mentoring capabilities within Spark, the Women’s Enterprise Ambassador Network.”

Are you an employee who would really like to start a business? What’s holding you back? Well, the Household Survey of Entrepreneurship identified five key barriers for employees who want to start up a business including:

• Fear of debt
• Fear of failure
• Losing the security of a job
• Worry of not making enough money
• Not enough time to put into a start-up whilst employed

Any of those sounds familiar? So what’s the solution?

Here are some great examples of employers who give their staff time off work to explore starting a business or developing an enterprising new project:

CAP Création Sarthe, France

French law allows every employee unpaid leave to start-up. This ‘enterprise sabbatical’ can last up to two years and if the business fails, entrepreneurs return to their jobs. CAP Création Sarthe, has taken this further and with funding from the council, financially supports those wanting to take the leap. During the first six months of starting up, entrepreneurs receive 70% of their salary, receiving 50% of their salary in the next six months. Entrepreneurs also have access to business advisors. A total of 28 companies have been set up since 2002, when the scheme started, and 96 jobs have been created.

Google 20% time

Through its ’20 per cent time’ initiative Google encourages its engineers to spend one day a week, or 20% of their time, on projects that are unrelated to work. The initiative has helped the company dramatically expand its offerings, including, for instance gmail.

Friday Entrepreneurs Initiative

Northumberland County Council has developed the Friday Entrepreneurs Initiative gives council employees the opportunity to take one unpaid day per week to pursue other enterprise opportunities from their desks at work. The aim of the initiative is to make an innovative contribution towards the growth of enterprise in Northumberland.

If you are an employee but would really like to be an entrepreneur – what would help you take the leap?

If you are already an entrepreneur - what helped you take the plunge?

Did you know that the Make Your Mark campaign has an office in Tees Valley?

Julie Nelson, Networks Campaigner for Make Your Mark in Tees Valley is excited by the number of local networks that have recently become involved with the campaign. In the last 8 weeks a total of 20 networks have joined the campaign, 12 from Tees Valley and 8 from the wider North East region. 

Julie attended the Middlesbrough Forum Breakfast Exchange on Thursday 28th February which was supported by Middlesbrough Council. The aim of the Breakfast Exchange was to provide the local business community with a friendly, social networking environment in the centre of town. Everyone enjoyed a 10 minute ‘Business in the Spot light’ session where local entrepreneur Jo Hans gave advice on setting up your own business. After that, everyone spent time networking in the very pleasant setting of Al Fornos’s restaurant.

If you run a network in the North East why not use www.makeyourmarkconnect.org to raise its profile and publicise your forthcoming events. Simply click on ‘Register Your Network’. To contact Julie call 01642 451 840.

It’s International Women’s Day tomorrow and entrepreneurs have been using it as a chance to shout about the great female success stories out there and bang the drum for Make Your Mark. Apparently we were mentioned in the House of Lords yesterday in a debate about International Women’s Day and Lynne Franks spoke to Telegraph TV on our behalf.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/ttv/business.jhtml

Want to start your own business?
Got an idea and need to know how to make it happen?
Want to take your small business to the next level?
Not even thought about starting a business?

Then you need to get your enterprise muscles into shape at the… Spark Women’s Business Workout!

What’s it all about?
The Women’s Business Workout is a fitness workout like you’ve never experienced, where it’s all about learning how to put on the pounds…Pounds Sterling of course!

Toned arms, taught tummies and firm thighs are old hat; pumped up profits, energetic turnover and a strong client portfolio is where it’s really at in 2008.

Come and be a part of a unique event near you, providing women with the opportunity to undergo an interactive and fun programme.

What will happen at the events?

* Inspirational stories
Hear from female entrepreneurs from your area who will share their personal business journeys, how they took the plunge and got started to where they are now and their advice for you.

* Personal advice sessions with a business fitness guru tailored to your needs
Every pre-registered attendee will have the invaluable opportunity to experience a one-to-one training session with a ‘Business Fitness Trainer, who will provide specific guidance according to the stage of business you are at – whether it’s help coming up with an idea, or what to do with one!

* Practical business gym classes
Attend straightforward and interactive sessions with experts covering everyday topics needed in business. From how to get started, to getting your finance sorted.

* Networking
Get to know the local businesses, support organisations and networks in your area - and how they can help you. Share your dreams, fears and ideas with other likeminded women.

* The market place
An opportunity to offer services and advertise your business needs on a trading board.

Where will the events be?
The Wirral on 12th March, Norwich on 13th March and Bristol 16th April.

Find out more and book your place at www.sparkambassadors.org.uk

Kasabian, the cast of Eastenders and JK & Joel have each customised a ball and they are being auctioned on ebay for Sport Relief - as part of Make Your Mark with a Ball. You have until 16th March to make your bid, so what are you waiting for?!

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZmakeyourmarkwithaball