Archive for May, 2009

We Endeavor to strive for the best Global Entrepreneurship Week yet..!

May 19th, 2009 by lauren

Oh, we’re ever so proud. The founder of our brilliant Global Entrepreneurship Week partner, Endeavor Global, has won a sparkly award.

Ms. Linda Rottenberg, CEO and CO-Founder of Endeavor Global, was awarded the 2009 Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship at Brandeis International Business School. Her vision of an organisation that transforms emerging economies through supporting high-impact entrepreneurs, has gone global in over 10 countries. Very excitingly, she’s the first ever social entrepreneur to receive the Asper Award. Read more about the award

Endeavor Global are still committed to supporting Global Entrepreneurship Week, and we certainly can’t do it without them!

Women mean business!

May 19th, 2009 by diana

You may have spied this article in yesterday Times about women in work. It didn’t make for very optomistic reading but I believe that even in the downturn being positive is one of the most important things you can do!
To back up my claim I decided to invite Samata Angel and Julie Hall to join our webchat tomorrow. They’ll be talking about all things enterprise from 1pm so make sure you join them or get your questions in now!

Diana x

Samata’s musings

May 19th, 2009 by diana

Make Your Mark ambassador Samata Angel is a self taught fashion designer and owner of label to the stars Samata’s Muse. As a fearless entrepreneur she has bags of useful advice. In the first of a series of exclusive articles, Samata shares her top tips on how diversifying can help you weather the economic storm. Have a read….

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my recession blog special! I hope you guys enjoyed the first installment and a huge thank you to all the people who have sent me questions or comments, keep ‘em coming!

Taking control…in a greenhouse

May 18th, 2009 by hbourne

Being green fingered myself and a lover of good food I was particularly pleased to be alerted to the story of Andrew Johnson in the Guardian. He was made redundant in 2004 but is now running a business expected to turnover more than £1m next year.

His business is Living Salads, a great supermarket alternative to the chlorine filled bags of salad you get offered. His living alternative works in a similar way to the pots of herbs you are probably used to buying.

Great idea and a great business - well done Andrew. A great inspiration for anyone else who has been made redundant and fancies going it alone!

Changing Tides

May 15th, 2009 by laurie

With talk of environmental impact, carbon footprints, and the current economic situation, tourism agencies have reported fewer people travelling abroad and a greater interest from UK residents in holidaying in the UK.

This is a real opportunity for seaside towns to undergo a rebirth and rebrand and benefit from increased tourism to their area. The Olymipcs coming to London in 2012 is a chance for such towns to piggy-back on the influx of overseas visitors to London, encouraging them to visit other places in the UK. But how do seaside towns in decline market themselves as attractive holiday destinations?

The big win!

May 15th, 2009 by diana

With Scarborough (previous winners of Enterprising Britain) being crowned best of Europe on Thursday we sat down with a few of the locals to get their thoughts on their winning town, check it out!

Nick Taylor

Adrian Riley

Wendy Clews

Ebb and Flow

May 14th, 2009 by travellingjames

My surname has long determined an association with the sea. Growing up in a small seaside town on the South Devon coast I developed an appreciation of a way of life that is often misunderstood and mocked with equal measure.

However, the coast has very much swept back into vogue of late as waves (sorry for that one) of regeneration and targeted initiaitves have made the prom a magnet once more.

Scarborough is the best of Europe

May 14th, 2009 by diana

Scarborough, winners of Enterprising Britain 2008 has been crowned the most enterprising place in Europe at this year European Enterprise Awards. The awards run by the clever folks at the European Commission felt that Scarborough was a pretty creative and inspiring place and we couldn’t have agreed more!

The seaside town was up against some cracking places including Helsinki, Valencia in Spain and Liege in Belgium. Despite having a population of just 50, 000, Scarborough was able to encourage local residents to start up or grow in business and by doing this they were able to create jobs and prosperity.

Inspiring + Big Award Nominee = Lisa Newton

May 13th, 2009 by Lynne

Make Your Mark Ambassador Lisa Newton of Boogles has been shortlisted for 3 awards (so far this year!). The latest one of which is for the RBS South London Business Awards 2009 in the Entrepreneur of the Year category. Our Lisa has beaten over 200 nominations across the 12 South London boroughs to make it to the shortlisted final 6. The winners will be announced at a lavish black tie ceremony to be held at Crystal Palace Football Club, on 20th May. Best wishes from the MYM team to Lisa!

For more information about Boogles (and to hear the Boogles song!) visit the website.

Media Moguls and Speaking Sensations

May 12th, 2009 by Lynne

Recently we held more Ambassador training at our London premises. We saw media know-nothings turn into media extraordinaires with the Media and PR Training run by Media Trust. Also more of our ambassadors undertook the Advanced Public Speaking and Presentation Training with James and Al from SpeakersBank. Check out the previous blog about the training sessions and what other ambassadors had to say.

Missed the Advanced Public Speaking Training you say?? Never fear! We’ve captured a short clip of James outlining the points that were covered … Have a look! It could help you turn into the next Barrack Obama!

Enterprise is a big issue

May 11th, 2009 by hbourne

If you want a good read this week look no further than the Big Issue. Not only is the BI a fantastic example of a social enterprise which does great stuff for homeless people but this week it includes articles about ethical fashion. Contributors include our very own Amisha and Lauren who both work for Make Your Mark but also run www.numagazine.co.uk an ethical fashion magazine, in their spare time. And as if that wasn’t enough on the next page you can read about Samata Angel, one of our Ambassadors who also mentions Make Your Mark.

Awwww, we’re so proud.

Ambassadors take control

May 11th, 2009 by emma_kate

Right now at Make Your Mark we’re highlighting people who’ve taken control - people who’ve taken the leap into entrepreneurship as a way of seizing control and making a positive change in their lives. Here’s a handful of our inspiring Ambassadors who’ve done just that…

  • Businesswoman and mum Ranbir responded to the long hours and politics of some traditional office jobs by creating a whole new working environment in her own business.
  • After training for years to be an Officer in the Royal Marines, Peter failed the final test and his confidence took a serious knock. A year’s travelling and some supportive tutors helped him reassess his options, and after graduating he set up his own business.

Levi Roots at The 10/10 Summit?

May 8th, 2009 by polly

Today’s preparation determines tomorrow’s Success - Samuel Jonathan

Date: Saturday, 27th June Time: 12noon-4pm Venue: The May Fair Hotel

The 10/10 Summit is an inspiring youth leadership forum with the primary objective of provoking young people to prepare for a successful future.

“Being Your Personal Best” is a consistent theme at this powerful event. Hence, the name “10/10″ Summit. On Saturday, 27th June 2009, the primary areas of focus shall be Responsibility, Attitude and Discipline.

The London Youth Conference purposely combine being dressed for success with being in a world-class atmosphere. Therefore, the dress code (no exception) is business/formal and the venue is the world renowned May Fair Hotel … a 5-star grandeur edifice nestled on Stratton Street, in the very heart of London.

Young people aged 12-25 from all over the globe are welcome and admission is FREE. However, registration is mandatory. Seating is limited! If you have a genuine appetite for growth and success, click here to register.

New kid on the ‘Blog’

May 7th, 2009 by phil_c

Hi all, my name is Phil Crowshaw and I am one of those weird folk, people call an Entrepreneur. I run a business called Experts Business Solutions (www.expertsbusinesssolutions.com) but I am probably best known as the founder of online business TV web site www.expertsonline.tv , which I started in 2004.

All sorts of stuff runs through your mind when writing a blog. What style should I write it in? How controversial should I be? How real should I be? Who will be reading it? (if anybody). What will people be interested in?…the list goes on. I soon realised that you can analyse it to death so I will write what pops into my head based on my insights and experience in business and let you decide if it’s any good…or not.

Fantastic Opportunities for Make Your Mark Clubs!

May 7th, 2009 by martha

The summer term is well underway and here in the Education corner at Make Your Mark HQ we are very excited about all the great things we have on offer for our Make Your Mark clubs this term.

Firstly, we are holding our annual meet ups which are a great day out for our clubs, they are a chance to network with other enterprising clubs, meet our Ambassadors, take part in fun enterprise challenges and generally enjoy being around other creative and entrepreneurial students.

The details are

Friday 10th July - The Studio, Birmingham 11.00-3.00pm (tbc)