Acorns Plus 2011
Acorns arrive early with summer York St John Business School
start-up programme
Hot on the heels of the success of April’s Acorns Plus
training programme for start-up businesses, York St John Business
School has announced a further one-week intensive course for the
end of July – two months earlier than originally planned.
The new summer date for Acorns Plus –
25th to 29th July – will give York and North
Yorkshire entrepreneurs earlier access to ‘boot camp’ style tuition
and guidance across key business areas. These include
strategic planning, securing and managing finance, sales,
administration, legalities, marketing and networking.
Ten fledgling companies took advantage of Acorns
Plus in the Spring and several entrepreneurs are already
applying the skills they acquired to very positive effect.
One such company is York film production company Orillo Productions
which was formed in 2010 by five York St John University Film and
TV graduates who saw the opportunity to drive their passion and
skills into a successful business venture. The company works
nationally and internationally with high profile brands including
Jack Wills, Tails Cocktails and prestige jeweller Stephen
Webster.
Orillo Productions director James Shannon
says, “We found the Acorns Plus programme enormously useful.
The practical advice is crucial and it is fantastic to be able to
cover so much in such a short space of time. But equally
important is the opportunity to discuss running a business with
others in the same boat and share your issues. Where else
would you get access to these ‘real-life’ tips and
suggestions?”
One of Orillo’s latest ventures, which was
discussed with fellow participants during the Acorns Plus
programme, is its first annual Outdoor Cinema project which takes
place on 26th June in York’s Museum Gardens. Here
they will be screening a main feature film chosen by a public vote
in widescreen and in 5.1 surround sound, to give a cinema
experience in a historic outdoor setting.
Places on the Acorns Plus programme
are strictly limited and a number of fully-funded places are
available. The course combines talks from external speakers
who are all experts in their field with practical workshops and
‘real life’ experiences from other business owners. An
invaluable part of the five-day experience is the mutual support
that entrepreneurs give each other in a non-conflicting
environment.
Acorns Plus is designed to give each
entrepreneur a solid grounding in the areas that are key to getting
a business off the ground, as well as market analysis, networking
experience, a communications plan and a clear idea of where their
business goes next. After the intensive week, monthly
refresher meetings take place throughout the year to help
participants keep their business on track.
Anyone wishing to register their interest in
taking part on the Acorns Plus programme can contact York
St John Business School on 01904 876915, via email business.school@yorksj.ac.uk or
visit www.yorksj.ac.uk/acorns.
Picture shows: (L-R) James Shannon, Richard
O’Hare and Keenan Foley of York film production company Orillo
Productions, one of the companies to benefit from participating in
the last Acorns programme.