Interviews of some of the UKs leading Entrepreneurs & small business owners
The Enterprising Young Brit Awards for 2010 were announced today at a glittering lunch, attended by Lord Mandelson, at the Institute of Directors in London.
The winners alll received £1,000 for their business, coverage in national media and an invitation to join the Enterprise UK Ambassador programme. As an Enterprise UK Ambassador they will get a chance to network with some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs and help us inspire the next generation of Peter Jones and Michelle Mone!
We talk to Matt Gordon, the managing director of Limited Space about what motivates and inspires him in business and the advice he would give to someone just starting out.
James Caan and webrecruit have reportedly saved UK’s small to medium sized businesses an estimated £6 million in recruitment costs in just one year.
Many think that reality TV shows like The Apprentice & Dragons’ Den are only about giving contestants their five minutes of fame, think again – The Apprentice’s Claire Young says the show has given her “invaluable lessons” on promoting her business.
We get to know Roy Peires, the Chairman and founder of Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels, and find out what motivates and inspires him and what advice he’d like to pass on.
Dean Forbes goes under the spotlight to tell us about his transformation from professional footballer to being the commercial leader of small and medium sized software firms.
In the late 1980’s, Clive Woodcock was about the only journalist reporting on small business issues through his column in Friday’s Guardian. His solitary status reflected the lack of media interest in the subject; the term entrepreneur hadn’t been widely adopted, nor had our work culture embraced the positive options of self-employment.
Entrepreneur Ben Creighton from Newcastle has successfully fought off tough competition from some of the UK’s top business brains to be crowned winner of the Global Startup Challenge.
In a bid to prove that small businesses can succeed in the midst of recession, Alibaba.com, the world’s largest online meeting place for buyers and suppliers, challenged entrepreneurs from across the UK to start their own trading companies with £1,000 each.
Well-known for his two seasons on Dragons’ Den, Richard Farleigh was known as ‘Mr Nice’ but he says he would rather have been known as ‘Mr Fair’ due to his tough but fair approach. When he reviews business proposals that are looking for backing, he assesses these on the quality of the people rather than the product. He comments, “It’s about 90% quality of the people and 10% quality of the product. Most of my effort goes into somehow assessing the person, which can be trickier.”
There is just over a week to go to nominate female entrepreneurs for the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award. Nominations must be received by 18th January and include full accounts, press cuttings and curriculum vitae in order to be considered by the judges.
Michelle Mone, the head of underwear brand Ultimo has received an OBE in the New Year Honours announced today. The 38 year old Glaswegian who founded MJM in 1996 is the highest profile business leader who receives recognition in this years honours list.
Dragon’s Den’s James Caan has handed the contract for revamping his personal and business website to digital marketing firm Digimax.
John Sandom is the founder and chairman of one of the UK’s leading branding companies 1HQ. Since setting up 1HQ in 1993, the agency have gone on to become award winning pioneers in their field working with international brand owners all over the globe.
The entrepreneur behind an ingenious invention to prevent bike theft has been crowned the winner of the UK-wide pitching competition, The Pitch 2009, at a celebrity-packed grand final in London.
