Rural Challenge Finalists announced

The time has arrived for us to announce our If we can, you can Rural Challenge finalists! This is the first year we’ve run this part of the Challenge and we’ve been superbly supported by the Country Land and Business Association, who have made it their mission to help us spread the word about the entrepreneurial talent in rural North East England.

Below is some information on our finalists – they are now looking forward to our Pick Our Brains Opportunity panel taking place next week, with high calibre entrepreneurs Keith Miller, Tony Trapp, Ali McLean and Angus Collingwood Cameron of the CLA offering advice and guidance based on their years of entrepreneurial experience. From this our new Face of Rural Entrepreneurship and Ambassador for Rural Entrepreneurship will be announced so watch this space for all the latest news.

Justin Souter took voluntary redundancy from a major corporate just before the recession took hold. A friend suggested he start a business so he could sub-contract to other people, but he realised he could fulfil some long-held ambitions by setting up Souter Consulting Limited. SCL helps customers create ‘digital nervous systems’ which allow information to flow around their organisations, with leading edge thinking and tools to create competitive advantage.

James Brown worked as a land agent since leaving college, but now feels that it is time to branch out on his own using his experience and contacts to create a new successful business, which involve some ambitious future plans.

A serial entrepreneur from school age, Maddy Stuckey runs organic beauty company Natural Empathy with her mum. Natural Empathy products provide nature’s way to beauty with gorgeous organic essential oil fragrances and locally grown ingredients. Plans are afoot to sell the spa range across the country and eventually showcased on a global stage.

Jimmy Bell comes from a farming family that has farmed in Northumberland for over 400 years. In 1992 he and his wife bought East Wingates Farm and over the years he has come up with many intuitive ideas to expand his market and showcase new products.

James Cookson owns Meldon Park, a traditional rural estate based in Northumberland just West of Morpeth. The estate boasts new enterprises including the Kitchen Garden, a walled garden which now houses a café and shop. James is also starting new rural enterprises aimed at different markets to strengthen the rural economy.

Having worked as a civil servant for many years and progressed to working for a registered charity helping people from disadvantaged background, Ian Nelson decided it was time to put one of the many ideas he came up with into action and start his own business. Whilst playing golf he came up with the idea of a product that would remove the inconvenience of raking through bags for golf balls, tees and other essential accessories. The T Caddy was born.

Challenge Celebration BBQ 2010

Date: Tuesday August 10th

Time: 4:30pm arrival for a 5:00pm start.

5:00 pm – 6:30 Presentations and Awards.

7:00pm BBQ and entertainment.

Venue: Unit 26. Hoult’s Yard. Walker Rd, Newacstle NE6 2HL


Another Challenge is over and so it is time to celebrate!! This year’s celebration BBQ will be more stylish, and jazzed up more than ever before thanks to the hugely kind support of The R&B Group.

This year’s If we can, you can Challenge proved yet again that there is a phenomenal amount of entrepreneurial talent in the North East. We were delighted by the quality and quantity of entrants, and even more so by their passion and determination for their businesses to succeed.

Our fourteen finalists have thrown themselves into the Challenge with the energy and enthusiasm you’d expect from a group of driven, dedicated and ambitious entrepreneurs. Our main presentation will be a tribute to these fantastic people and the Challenge, as well as the unveiling of future plans of If we can, you can and its buzzing community.

Then it’s time to let your hair down and relax! For those who attended the last year’s Celebration, the format will be pretty similar - it’s all about you and your businesses.

We would also love for you to showcase your business so if you would like to bring something along to display, or have an idea of a different way you can demonstrate your services then please let us know!

This will be a great opportunity for everybody to meet face to face, and be part of the entrepreneurial revolution that is transforming the region’s economy. We would be delighted if you could join us for either the presentation or the party (but preferably both!)

If you would like to attend please email will@entrepreneursforum.net or call us on 0191 226 7488. Places are limited so please book soon to avoid missing out on a great chance to celebrate and meet some of the new faces from the community as well as catch up with some of the older ones too!

The big reveal...

We will be revealing the 2011 Faces of Entrepreneurship on this page on Thursday morning - please stay tuned!

Meet our finalists

Meet our finalists in the flesh and find out how they got on at the Entrepreneurs' Forum's Annual Conference, SEVEN

This video is taken from our brand new TV channel which seeks to add to the voice of the region’s emerging entrepreneurial talent by creating an opportunity to share their news and views, wisdom and perspectives.

http://www.ifwecanyoucan.tv/home/playlist/resource/EXUX-3JQB-XPWH-D2AL-BW4O

Challenge 2010 Finalists are revealed

Wow – what a tough job our judges had across the region!

But all made worthwhile because we got to meet some amazing people at the 'Pick Our Brains' Opportunity Panels and have some great discussions about their ideas and businesses. We hope everyone who took part took away some valuable food for thought and maybe even a few actions.

Thanks again to our judges. We’re planning to hold some none-competitive panels so please let us know if you’d like to get involved in the future – on either side of the table!

To find out who the finalists are, please visit www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge

Don’t forget that you can vote in all seven media regions – and voting is simple. All you need to do is either email your selections to Stephen or text 07624 803 199.
(Voting closes at 12 midnight on June 13th - and no multiple votes please!!!)

We’ve set up blogs and twitter accounts for all of the finalists – and even though some are new to the world of social media there are already some great posts. You can access their blogs through the Challenge page.

So good luck everyone! And please tell your friends, family and colleagues about these 14 inspirational entrepreneurs – let’s make this as viral as possible and make sure as many people as possible in the region and beyond (we’ve had votes from all over the world) know about the great things that are happening in the North East.

Rules on voting

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all enjoying reading about our fantastic finalists (and their often humerous blogging!)

We just wanted to make clear that we can only accept one vote per person for both text and email voting (you can vote for as many finalists as you like, but your vote for each will only be counted once), so therefore multiple texts and emails for one person we won't be able to accept.

Voting will close promptly at midnight on the 13th of June.

Please accept our humble apoligies for not making this as clear as it should have been

The IWCYC team

All 'Rural' Challenge enquiries this way

For a number of reasons, we have had to delay the North East's 'Rural Entrepreneur of the Year' which is part of the If we can, you can Challenge by two months. So you can still enter for this award and be in with a chance of being crowned the 'Rural Face of Entrepreneurship 2011' if you are based in a rural part of the North East. Entries will close at midnight on the 3rd July and you can enter if you are thinking about starting a business, in the beginning phases of setting one up, or if you are an established business and are looking to grow and take your business in a new direction.

Unfortunately you cannot enter online for this award, but if you would like some more information and a copy of the entry form, please email hazel@entrepreneursforum.net or call 0191 2267491 to chat to us.

Best wishes,

The If we can, you can team