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

Emergency contact details over the bank holiday weekend

As we go into the last few days of the entry period for the If we can, you can Challenge and head into the long weekend, we just wanted to provide extra contact details just in case anybody has any questions about entering. The deadline for all entries is midnight on the 3rd May.

Please email hazel@entrepreneursforum.net or stephen@entrepreneursforum.net any time and we will endeavour to respond as quickly as we physically can. You can also contact us on our mobile numbers - Hazel 07771 330328 and Stephen 07970 512413

Have a great weekend everybody!

Not much time left!

As we come to the final week of the entry period for the 3rd If we can, you can Challenge, we just thought we would take the opportunity to reflect on what’s been an amazing, exciting, challenging and fulfilling few months here at Entrepreneurs’ Forum HQ. It’s not that the rest of the year for us is dull, unimaginative and, well, unfulfilling, it’s just that we always look forward to this time of year due to all the new people and businesses we get to meet and be inspired by, and this year has been no exception.

Take for example the words of just a handful of entrants to the Challenge so far. Here’s a pick of what they had to say to the difficult question, “What are your aims and aspirations?” in their entry forms:

“I can see the business growing with local support and with people outside of the area that will help our local rural community and help promote enterprise and stimulate our economy. I would like to see my business create enough revenue to allow more employees, a premises to operate from instead of my home and new opportunities to form for myself and others. I have said in the past that I would like to become a commoner when I retire but try to live life to the full and to challenge myself in places that would be beneficial to obtaining new markets and seeking to help others.”

“A vision is something that I think is very hard to put into words. My 'vision' of where I see myself in five or ten years' time is something very personal to me - I know what I want to do with my life, and that is what drives me, and to write that down would be a very hard thing to do. I want to do big things; I want to influence lives and have a positive impact on the world.”

“My ambition is simply to grow a good strong solid company that may possibly employ people in the future, and create a working environment that promotes lateral thinking within the work force.”

“I want to do well and be happy with what I have achieved. What I have also learnt is that there are so many great and successful people out there who give their time and who work tirelessly for other disadvantaged people. I aspire to be like them and to do the same. If ever my business was to take off I would not hesitate to do likewise....if I fail to do this you can give me a stern telling off but it shouldn't happen :D”

“I feel that with enough hard work, determination and the right ideas I will establish and run a number of successful businesses whilst also in time investing in and nurturing new business talent.”

“I want to be a successful business woman. I want to be financially independent and be able to provide for my mother and daughter. I also want to be a great role model for my 12 year old daughter and demonstrate that a lot of hard work goes a long way and does pay off. I'm now taking my first steps towards fulfilling these goals and ambitions, but I know I have a huge amount of work to do before I get there and the vision will evolve and change - nothing is ever set in stone.”

Inspiring stuff we know you’ll agree. It seems that we’ll continue to have our socks knocked off by the amount of sheer passion, dedication and bloody mindedness of the North East’s entrepreneurs – no matter how experienced they are, if they’re in the process of making their business happen or they’re exploring new opportunities to grow, it seems there’s no barrier too high or learning curve too steep. That’s what sums up the region’s entrepreneurial spirit it seems, and it’s part of our job to continue to nurture and encourage that and keep the entrepreneurial beacon shining brightly in our region.

In spite of the current climate, there are plenty of opportunities and the ‘can do’ entrepreneurial spirit shown by previous winners of the ‘If we can, you can’ Challenge is a shining example of this.

For example, when 2009 Middlesbrough Evening Gazette winner Louise Bell won the Challenge she was just starting her home spray tanning business, Healthy Glow. She says, “Since winning the Challenge the business has moved forward more than I could have imagined. I was really pretty naïve and probably didn’t know much about running a business, but I knew I had something worth pushing and the determination to get Healthy Glow going, whatever it took. I’ve got two Healthy Glow franchisees in place – in Darlington and Stokesley. The Challenge has given me so much confidence to trust my instinct, get on with it and not let any hurdle stand in my way. I know there are lots more opportunities and lots of challenges to come but the ‘tada’ moments keep coming – and long may it continue.”

There’s still time left to enter the Challenge and be crowned our 2010 winner but not much! You have until the 3rd of May (midnight) to log on at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge and put yourself forward.

To see what previous finalists have said about being involved with the Challenge, click here

More details of the format of the competition and the all important prizes can be found on this page too. Good luck to all.

Challenge alumni share their views

Finalists from the 2008 and 2009 If we can, you can Challenge talk about what they've gained from being involved, and how their aspirations for their businesses have since evolved

If you would like to enter this year's Challenge, don't hesitate to do so at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge before the deadline of May 3rd 2010

"Since winning the 2009 IWCYC Challenge..." by Louise Bell, Healthy Glow

Since winning the Ifwecanyoucan Challenge the business has moved forward more than I could have imagined.

Looking back I didn’t really understand most of the questions people asked me when they were writing articles about me for the press. I was really pretty naïve and probably didn’t know much about running a business even though I was convinced I had something worth pushing and the determination to get Healthy Glow going, whatever it took.

How times have changed. And I’ve learnt so much in such a short space of time.

Winning the Challenge has been fantastic. I seem to have done lots of things right, I’ve done lots of things that I didn’t realise I knew how to do and I’ve met lots of people who have pointed me in the right direction and offered support when I needed it (I’ve met a few who I wasn’t too keen on but you’ve got to expect that – you’re never going to click with everyone).

We’ve got the set up in Tees Valley spot on. I’ve got two Healthy Glow franchisees in place – in Darlington and Stokesley – and we work really effectively as a team so we never let a customer down. Both of the girls do 60 spray tans a month (about half an hour per tan) and two thirds of the business is down to repeat customers which is perfect.

The next step was working out how to grow from there – and I’ve got the guys at the Entrepreneurs’ Forum to thank for an introduction to Graham Mylchreest from Be Franchising. It turns out they were looking for an opportunity that they could open up for women in the County Durham area to buy into as part of the LEGI programme – helping them to get back into work. So all of a sudden I’d got a partnership and my first master franchise licence was in place. Tada!

I’d also been doing a lot of work with my Google adwords which seemed to be working well (I rank number one for spray tanning) and one day I got an enquiry through from a woman with a marketing background who was looking to get back to work after having children. What I didn’t realise was that she’s from Germany – I didn’t even know that the adwords were international!

So I went about getting a ‘Passport to Export’ through UKTI so that I could get as much information as possible on the German market – do my homework! Germany is way behind us in terms of their attitude to sunbeds but things are changing so it’s the perfect time to get into the market.

I’ve teamed up with Claire Mitchell who’s a brilliant marketeer – who I met through ifwecanyoucan (she was a finalist in the Northern Echo area) – and we went out to Germany together to meet with Christina and we’ve started discussions about a master licence for her part of Germany.

The Germany trip was a valuable learning experience, I have decided to concentrate on the UK for the time being as I think the control of another country would stretch me too far at this stage. We need to expand in the UK first and that is where hopefully an Entrust programme called Coaching for High Growth will help, with guidance from people who have done it before.

It was great to spend time with Claire and we were able to get our heads together in how we are going to market Healthy Glow in the UK. Quite scary that we both had to go to another country to get time to talk to each other without interruption, but fab anyway!

I’ve been signposted to all sorts of people – and they keep telling me that I’m doing everything right and they can’t add anything. And eventually I was signposted to the very person I needed to speak to apparently – and the Forum had already put me in touch a few months earlier!

I’m in the process of getting my product IP sorted (I know what that means now!) – and I’ve got the supply sorted. In fact, I set the girls targets and it means I can pre-order because I know exactly how much I need. It’s a big relief because I went through a very dodgy period when I wasn’t sure I could get the stock I needed when I needed it.

I guess the next step is rolling it out! Which is so exciting and has come much quicker than I could ever have imagined.

I’d like to think I’d have got to this point eventually but winning the Challenge and the support I’ve had along the way has certainly got me there quicker and it’s given me so much confidence to trust my instinct, get on with it and not let any hurdle stand in my way.

I know there are lots more opportunities and lots of challenges to come but the ‘tada’ moments keep coming – and long may it continue.

'What Being Part of If we can, you can has meant to me', by Christine Pearce, 2009 Challenge Ambassador

This last year and being involved in the If We Can You Can Challenge has had an extremely positive affect on Restoration & Beyond. The publicity gained through the Hartlepool Mail has been invaluable and really helped our business to become known and even finding a new supplier.

When we entered, we had no idea just how much being linked to the Entrepreneurs Forum would help us to grow and become established.

When we were first short-listed we were invited to be questioned by a 'Dragon's Den' style panel consisting of local successful entrepreneurs, last year's finalists and representatives from ONE (One North East) and NECC (North East Chamber of Commerce).

At first it seemed a little daunting, but we soon got in to our flow and not only enjoyed the experience, but took a lot away from it too. It gave us the opportunity to have our business idea scrutinised by very experienced people in business and also to confirm to us that the concept and plan did stand up to scrutiny and was definitely worth pursuing. The unexpected outcome was that one of the judges, eventually became our mentor and investor as he was so convinced by us and our business.

Setting up in business is like a roller-coaster ride, but having the 'If We Can You Can' team and Entrepreneurs Forum behind us offering support, mentoring, introductions and much more, has really helped us to reach the summits. All of the other finalists have become friends too and we all support each other.

We like to express our thanks and appreciation for this to the whole team. We were delighted to attend the Entrepreneurs Forum Annual Conference last year which was a fantastic and inspirational experience and we hope to attend it again this year.

I would like to say to anybody who is either thinking of starting a business, or who is already up and running, to seriously consider entering this year on the 8th March. Why struggle alone when you can have all of the help, support and experience of seasoned entrepreneurs at your fingertips.

Our business emerged from the recession and redundancy. We hope we can show others that it is possible to turn your life and fortunes around by staying positive and turning problems into opportunities. After all, If we can, you certainly can!

Enter the Entrants....

Here a just a few quotes from the inspiring entrants taking part in the Challenge so far. Already there have been far too many to mention, but we’ve picked out a few lines from some people’s answers that we thought well worth sharing.

“Everyone has a purpose and a goal. My goal is to continue to develop my skills and business ideas which I have a passion and desire for.”

“I would like to see my business create enough revenue to allow more employees, premises to operate from instead of my home and new opportunities to form for myself and others. I have said in the past that I would like to become a commoner when I retire but try to live life to the full and to challenge myself in places that would be beneficial to obtaining new markets and seeking to help others.”

“I am of an age now that every day counts. There are a lot of people in the north east that have always wanted to do something good, something positive with a fantastic outcome, and as people get older they tend to think, hmm it’s all over for them. I do not feel that way, and if won I could be a role model to motivate and give hope that it’s NEVER too late to do something great with your life.”

“My life has been full of twists and turns, chances and opportunities. Knowing an opportunity and grabbing it with both hands and riding the very life out of it has been my greatest success to date…. I think being able to show your story off to everyone, especially the young’uns, will show them if a young lad with no college or university qualifications and a disability can go from always being £500 a month in debt to turning over £1.1 million pounds, then “If I can do it, so can you”. I would like to win to inspire people.”

“I want my kids to see that you can succeed if you work hard, put in the time and effort. I want them to learn that working to support yourself doesn’t have to mean working in an office and that it can actually be fun.”

…and here’s a comment we received when an entrant had submitted their answers:

“I have found these questions both inspirational and emotional, a fine way of concentrating the mind to the tasks ahead! So win or lose, thank you for the opportunity, here's to entrepreneurial potential!!!

Here’s to it indeed!

To get inspired and be inspiring, be crowned the Face of Entrepreneurship 2011, be part of a community and talk to others who’ve been there and done it, and lots of other benefits, visit www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge.

Whether you’re thinking of starting, getting off the ground, or growing your business, be part of something amazing across the North East.

Welcome!

Welcome to the If we can, you can Challenge 2010! Keep coming back to this page for all the latest updates on the entrants, press coverage, inspirational stories and announcements.