Make Your Mark Blog

Having just spent my first day in Abuja with the Global Entrepreneurship Week Nigeria team (lead by UNESCO Centre Abuja), and some of its partners, I am feeling totally inspired.

In the first half of the day, I did a short presentation on Global Entrepreneurship Week and its aims, and gave a brief background on Enterprise Week and its history. About 40 people joined us for the meeting and it was held in the offices of the team’s recently acquired strategic partner, the Abuja Enterprise Agency. Many of the attendees travelled very far for the meeting (it is over 300 miles apart), from different states, but they were all passionate and united by the same thing - building economies and communities through youth entrepreneurship. Attending organizations included Junior Achievement Nigeria (it’s called Young Enterprise in the UK), the Nigerian Association of Students, SIFE Nigeria, and a range of other NGO and state representatives. We were also joined by the Global EW Host organization from Cameroon, Youth Business Cameroon.

For the second half of the day, I met with two of Global EW Nigeria’s key stakeholders. The first was a Director at the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, who I met at the Federal Secretariat buildings. She has pledged support for the campaign and will act as a champion for it within government and particularly with the Vice President. The second was an eminent businessman and statesman called Bamanga Tukur. Bamanga has agreed to become one of the first campaign ambassadors in Nigeria (and beyond), in his capacity as the President of the Africa Business Roundtable (ABR), Executive Committee Member of NEPAD and former GM of the Nigerian Ports Authority. Along with sending letters and making introductions on behalf of the Global EW Nigeria team - he’s an all-around cool guy. He was once asked in an interview: “At 72, is it not time you slowed down?” He thundered back: “”No I won’t. I eat, dream and think of African business. I want the younger generation to join me so that we can become a louder authentic voice of business in Africa. We need more global ambassadors for business in Africa.”

I was honoured to meet Bamanga at his residence and present him with a framed certificate, recognizing his contribution to Global Entrepreneurship Week in Nigeria. For more info on him, check out wikipedia - for some visuals, check out pics below.

If you’re a shopaholic and you like the thought of trading clothes, this could be the opportunity for you!

BBC2 is about to launch a brand new fashion show called Twiggy’s Frock Exchange, hosted by Twiggy, Lauren Laverne and Grazia magazine’s Paula Reed. The show will offer 100 women the chance to swap quality old clothes and get styling tips from the experts.

To be part of the swapping fun you need to be prepared to part with 5 good quality items of clothing – and in return you have the chance to walk away with 5 ‘new’ items. What one person has grown tired of or doesn’t fit into anymore may be someone else’s next party outfit – without any money being spent! 

The event will take place at The Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RL. To take part you would need to be free on either Wednesday 13th or Thursday 14th August, and be available 11.30am until about 6pm.

We think this is a great opportunity for Girls! Make Your Mark ambassadors. After all trading up clothes is enterprising - and green. If this sounds like your kind of shopping (i.e. free!) then get in touch ASAP to chat to a researcher who will get some more information about you and answer any questions you may have.

Email fashion@silverriver.tvor call Caroline Walsh or Anna Haysom on 020 7307 2746 / 020 7907 3424 for full details.

Anyone can apply, but if you are a Girls! Make Your Mark ambassador please do let the team at Make Your Mark know that you’re planning to take part. Happy swapping.

Hunter and Taylor, identical twins aged 7 who live in Australia, have been talking on and off about starting their own business for years. They had been taking old Lego parts to school and selling them for a dollar to kids in the playground. After they each saved up their small pocket money allowances over two years to buy individual laptops -  they decided they wanted to make enough money to buy an iMac. After a few days of discussion, business planning and logo design, they have now launched Kids Candle Company and are blogging about their progress.

Why did they want to do it? Best summed up in their own words:

“Well I wanted to get more pocket money and give some money to poor people. I’m giving a quarter of my money to the business, a quarter of it the poor people, and a quarter of it to Taylor and a quarter of it to myself.”

§             Check out their website http://kidscandlecompany.com/

§             Watch this really sweet video about what they’re up to http://kidscandlecompany.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/making-our-first-batch-of-candles/

§             And here’s a news article on it: http://blogs.theage.com.au/enterprise/archives/2008/07/the_youngest_en.html

Channel 4 is currently searching for philanthropic stars of the future to take part in its hit series, The Secret Millionaire.

 In fact our very own ambassador Ben Way was a knight in shining armour during the 2006 series, when he gave £40,000 of his fortune to Hackney charities!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, each programme follows a different benefactor as they face the challenge of living ‘undercover’ in a socially deprived area of the UK.

The programme doesn’t initially reveal the person’s true identity or wealth. Instead, they immerse themselves in the community for ten days; meeting the local residents, making new friends, taking on jobs or doing voluntary work - all with a view to experiencing real life situations and deciding who they want to help. At the end of their visit, the generous entrepreneurs finally reveal their true identity and have to come to their own conclusions as to who and what they want to offer financial assistance to.

If you think you would be perfect for the new series and are keen to find out more, or you know someone you think would fit the bill, you can get in contact with Jen at jen.cockburn@rdftelevision.com.

Last week I attended the south-east region meet-up at the Mercure Hotel in Gatwick. The day was a great success and kicked off with some speednetworking which broke the ice and got everyone mingling. We then heard from Jane at Buckingham New University about what she got up to during Enterprise Week last year and what they’re planning for this year’s Enterprise Week. We then heard an inspiring story from local entrepreneur Dominique Oliver who told us about setting up her business in film training, Resource Productions.

There were also talks from our Make-your-markers: Anjoum encouraged us to give our events a global theme and the web-saavy Eimear and Lauren talked us through how to use the web in our events with their ‘Web magic’ workshop. 

The whole day was very inspiring and some great networking and connections took place. Big thanks to everyone who came along and SEEDA for co-hosting the event.

We’re looking forward to the next meet-up which is for the East of England region on 17 September held at Ipswich FC. To come along to the next one email sarahsummers@makeyourmark.org.uk 

To see photos from the south east event go to: www.makeyourmark.org.uk/news_and_features/galleries/72157606347798849

The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards are designed to find a new generation of role models - whether they are new businesses, young entrepreneurs or social enterprises with vision and drive who are based in North Wales, Merseyside, West Cheshire, Shropshire and the Wolverhampton area . We are also looking for a special person or business that has overcome obstacles and succeeded ‘against the odds’.

In 2008 there is over £150,000 of prizes on offer, made up of professional services and £105,000 cash, split over 5 categories which include

• Best New Business (less than 4 years old)
• Best Business Providing Economic and Social Contribution to the region
• Best Social Enterprise or Charity
• Best Young Entrepreneur (under 25)
• Against All Odds (person or business overcoming the greatest obstacles to succeed)

For more detials and how to enter go to http://www.mf-awards.co.uk/about.html

Ok so I’ve stolen my headline from the Sun’s article but hey it’s a goodun.

This morning I went to the UK Catalyst Award ceremony which was a glittering affair attended by nearly 200 people with an interest in how technology is being used to tackle social issues. The winners included Gordon Brown’s favourite (yes he was there) savvychavvy.com which brings gypsy travellers together online to discuss common issues and change society’s perceptions about them.

Also on the list was Wheelies - the world’s first disability nightclub - which exists in Second Life and enables disabled people to link up, chat and talk about shared problems. Take a look at the full list of winners and let us know what you think. Which other social issues could be tackled in this way? For example I think cancer patients could share experience of chemotherapy via Twitter or other social networks (maybe they are already).

We’ re using these stories to inspire others, and also to call for Government to champion this approach and for investors to come forward to scale up some of these ideas. All thoughts welcomed!

There is already lots of chatter online about this, including:

The Sun

Channel 4

Gordon Brown speech on Moblog

Earlier this week Make Your Mark hosted a women’s only Ambassador Event at Wild Rose Florist in Hartlepool.

Our thanks to Natalie Mullen for proving such a lovely venue. The shop smelt and looked GORGEOUS! Nathalie is a successful young entrepreneur and now employs four people. She has always wanted her own florists and got her first break by recommendation and feels that her business has grown on recommendations.

There was some great networking going on at the event and we were pleased that our guests left with some useful new contacts.  

We played a flower related game to get to know each other a little better. We found out that we have 2 nettles in the office as well as a daffodil and a white delphinium, but can you guess who is who? Careful now…….

Guests (and flowers!) at the event included:

Rachel Powell, Fashion Network Limited, ethical fashion designer

Yvette Sheeky, Penelopes Pitstops Ltd, female friendly vehicle maintenance, MOT and repair

Maureen Colohan, Unique Solutions, providing approaches to support key individuals in business through times of stress or difficulty.

Claire Kruman & Becky Lambton, Orchid Marketing Ltd, marketing and event management consultants.

Melanie Rutherford,  Melanie Rutherford Enterprises, dance instructor

 ……Marigolds, lost of roses, ivy, daisies, a yucca tree, a freesia and a water lily, nettles, a daffodil and a white delphinium … but I’m still not saying who is who!

I’m sure my colleagues would agree that it is inspiring to see local women making their ideas happen and setting up their own ventures.

Are you interested in finding out a little more about becoming an Ambassador (male or female)? Please contact Ann Lee on 01642 451827. 

The Make Your Mark team here in the North East recently had some great photography training courtesy of Make Your Mark Ambassador, Michael Kelly of Construct photographic . Pamela, Ann, Katy and I learned so much from the session. Having started the session not knowing my Aperture from my Exposure, I left so much more confident.

Michael showed us the science behind the camera, how to select the right settings and most importantly for us novices….how to compose a great picture! Look out for some seriously good photos from the Make Your Mark North East team coming soon!!

Michael does some great work, really innovative. Check out this website.

Two quite different but very exciting young entrepreneur awards are open for entries now!

Are you the UK’s Young Design Entrepreneur 2008?  Are you passionate about design, an innovator looking for entrepreneurial ways to move the UK design industry forward? Are you looking to broaden your international business opportunities and to build your network? If this sounds like you then you could be the inaugural winner of this prestigious new award from the British Council, with support from the Cultural Leadership Programme. For more entry details and closing date have a look at http://www.creativeconomy.org.uk/ukyde08

Are you the Young Rural Entrepreneur 2008?  The search is now on to find the 2008 Young Rural Entrepreneur of the Year. The award celebrates and supports the entrepreneurial talent that exists in the countryside, when uncertain environmental and market conditions have forced farmers to change their farming habits or in some cases, get out of farming completely. Are you, or do you know somebody, under the age of 35, who runs a UK business with a rural theme? If so, why not enter the search to find the Young Rural Entrepreneur of 2008? The winner receives £10,000 and will be featured in the November issue of The Field. Entry details can be found at http://www.thefield.co.uk/competitions/show/id/4492 (closing date is the 4th August so get your entry in quick!)

Good luck!

The free papers are not just a hot bed of salacious gossip and fashion tips but also good ideas. Surprised? Well so was I but amongst the pictures of WAGs falling out of tacky clubs an advertisement for an event called Time Banking lay in wait.

Time Banking is an ingenious idea. You get the chance to swap skills and talents with like minded individuals, all within handy hour sized chunks.

So if you’re handy with budgets, finance and Excel Spreadsheets, but would like to get some tips in design to enhance your marketing materials, then Time Banking may be for you.

This event, is going to be held at the London Mela 2008 on Sunday 10th August 2008, and is a really good way of connecting and networking.

So if this sounds like your kind of thing I would get down to London Mela 2008 and swap it like it’s hot!

Diana x

The world is more enterprising than ever before, so is work experience preparing young people for this?

Consider the following:

1. The world of work is changing

• Jobs for life are extinct…Portfolio working, changing careers, increased life expectancy and ageing population
• Interest in entrepreneurship on the rise and lifestyle businesses are increasingly popular
• The internet and technology, and globalisation are (arguably) creating a ‘flat world’, and reducing the costs to business start-up

(The NESTA project we’re involved with summarises all this better than i can - see the Future World of Work http://www.nesta.org.uk/future-world-of-work/))

2. So it follows that the nature of work-related learning should change too, right?

• Does the notion of two-weeks sitting in one place reflect the reality of work?
• If young people are involved with business in their spare-time and on the weekends shouldn’t this count as learning?
• Industries are more complex than ever before – every industry has a potential passion that aligns with the interests of young people. For instance, a young person might hate maths - but show them how the only route to being a footballer’s agent (and free tickets top games, and all the best gossip) is by being good with numbers - and get them trading with the players in the premiership.

3. So consider a different world…

• Work experience projects that use the talent of young people to result in real business innovation and real customer feedback from young people.
• Long-term mentoring and networking opportunities as additions to work experience and careers fairs.
• Young people’s insights and skills (e.g. with social media) being used to inform good business and corporate responsibility.
• Updates from Twitter during a placement that keep parents, schools, colleges and other interested parties engaged in the work experience as it happens.

That’s more like it right…?

Given that its work experience season - what are your views? What makes a placement enterprising? What makes work experience fun? Are you on one now?

Do you remember one you did at school - What stands out and is work actually anything like it…?

Thoughts on a postcard!

Any enterprising person should put this in their diary!

The Eastern Region Enterprise Week Meet Up is going to be held on the 17th September 2008!

Where: Ipswich Town Football Club

Time: 10am-2pm (lunch included)

Join us to get fresh ideas and tips on how to participate and get the chance to see what Enterprise Week is all about and how beneficial an enterprise culture can be!

The event is also a great place to network with local companies as well as Make Your Mark ambassadors and champions.

For more information or to book your place please contact beccie on 01502 580977 or email beccie@makeyourmark.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you all there..

Make Your Mark Team - Eastern Region

PLTS are:

• team working
• independent enquiry
• self-management
• reflective learning
• effective participation
• creative thinking

For example, regarding INDEPENDENT ENQUIRY

The student-led aspects of the Make Your Mark Club, and the journey of discovery embarked on to make an idea happen enable the following skills to be developed: 

• Forming a realistic plan and carrying it out
• identifying relevant questions to problems, and seeking out the answers
• realising the consequences of decisions
• developing confidence in decision-making
• recognising the validity of other peoples beliefs/opinions
• presenting arguments that are backed with appropriate evidence.

Thousands of young people all over the UK are making their mark at school or college and joining the Make Your Mark Club.

If you would like to learn more about the Make Your Mark Club, please visit the website or get in touch with your local Make Your Mark team. If you’re based in the North East, that’s me! Call Julie on 01642 451826

They make dreams, they break dreams and all without getting up from their leather chairs! (Which do look very posh. Heals darling?)…that’s right I’m talking about the Dragons of the Den!

And we here at Make Your Mark are already wondering how we would pitch our ideas to Dragons, (a portable cake making machine anyone?) without getting a lick of their fiery wrath.

We would definitely check out our inspiring stories section on the web, it’s one of the best places to gain some tips from those who have climbed to the top. And we’d probably read up on next steps, because after the Dragons have parted with their cash (which they will because a portable cake making machine is the best idea EVER) we will need to know how to take step two on our enterprise journey.

So make a date with your telly for this evening (Monday 21st July) at 9pm and let the Dragons inspire you!

Diana x

PS: Remember I promised to upload the national meet up clips?….well here they are, enjoy!