Enterprise UK Blog

Briefly this morning I strayed into an unknown wilderness. But after a few familiar icons came into focus I realised- I was back at the office!

But not for long (not even enough time to glug down a cappucino from that machine that has got it in for me).

Today- Women’s Enterprise Day- threw me to the east end of London. East Ham to be precise and a million miles from the dodgy BBC soap. I was helping out our Womens Enterprise Team at an event “Women helping Women” held at Newham College’s Women’s Business Centre. A day aimed to give women thinking about or growing a business some pointers in the shadow of the credit crunch and the looming Olympics (apparantly it’s in 2012 and will reshape Newham).

I met some great people. One in particulalr stood out. Christiane Link, a German ex-pat in London, who had started a magazine for the some 300,000 Germans who live and work in blighty. Christiane had been consistently knocked back in her home country when she put forward the idea of a career in journalism. From the talk she gave, what sparked her determination was being told by a teacher that she wouldn’t go far or be able to learn English very well. Being a young disabled women at the time was looked on awkwardly. Years later she was able to call from her office at the BBC and put them right. Inspiring stuff. A great example of the power of positive thinking and self-belief. Christiane’s magazine “The German Link” is available across London & the UK. For more info- www.germanlink.co.uk.

After this blast of inspiration there were some activitites that involved coming up with as many ideas for using a carrier bag- creative thinking they called it- followed by an exercise that asked us to close our eyes and enter dream space. It’s been a busy week so far, so an opportunity to close my eyes was welcome. I’m sure that the aborigines have cornered the market on this already.

As I write, I am sitting in City Hall. That large glass armadillo like building that threatens Tower Bridge on a daily basis. The Pocket the Problem Exhibition is in full swing. There are some really powerful and thoughtful projects on show. I am perched next to a 100 weight of Clippy Kits- the bag that lets you express yourself. I am not, however, brave enough yet to sport an Italian style man-bag. But there is still time.

Well done Women’s Enterprise Team for a great event in a stunning venue and Happy Women’s Enterprise Day (or early evening now I suppose)!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Global Entrepreneurship Week, Women's Enterprise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.