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!

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.“

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:

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.

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.

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