Enterprise Day
Yorkshire entrepreneurs learnt start-up secrets at
Enterprise Day
Inspirational entrepreneurs who have made a
success out of the Dirty Dancing stage show, selling exclusive
women’s clothing online, making healthy smoothies and providing
private ambulance and medical services shared their secrets at
York St John Business School’s Enterprise Day on Wednesday
1st February 2012.
The free event has been organised by the
Business School to help new entrepreneurs in the region transform
their start-up business idea into reality, as well as provide
existing small businesses with a visionary and practical skills
boost.
The morning session featured presentations
from four successful entrepreneurs will feature in. These
provided delegates with the opportunity to learn how to overcome
some of the common hurdles that start-ups face and what is most
important in creating a thriving business amidst a challenging
economic climate.
The first presentation was by Michael
Jacobsenan Australian entrepreneur, businessman and business mentor
with involvement in the Start Up Britain initiative. Michael
co-founded and co-produced the stage show of Dirty Dancing, which
has set box office records in Germany and London, and he has
promoted concert tours for the likes of Elton John and Bruce
Springsteen.
Further insight and advice was
provided by Helmsley based entrepreneur Susan Johnson, who
runs a £2 million turnover online lingerie and women’s clothing
business called Bella di Notte. She told the story
of how she transformed her kitchen table idea into reality with
very little financial investment but plenty of hard work while
maintaining a delicate family-work balance.
Another local entrepreneur who shared his
secrets was Simon Long who set up smoothie and healthy eating
business Xing in 2008. Simon’s inspirational presentation
provided a journey through his experience of starting up Xing,
which operates a busy food outlet on The Shambles in York and
provides training for schools to set up their own smoothie bars,
including the important lessons he learnt along the way and
insights from his time in the USA.
The final presentation came from Ashley
Mason, who at the age of just 17 formed YorMed Ambulance
Service. Ashley was the 2011 York Press Awards Young
Entrepreneur of the Year winner in recognition for his
achievements in setting up a successful ambulance and medical
service, which provides independent services to the NHS, local
authorities and festival and event organisers.
The afternoon session comprise of parallel
sessions including an "Identify your target markets" workshop by
York St John Business School senior lecturer Keith Brighty and a
panel discussion from those who have been involved with the
Business School’s Acorns start-up business programme - the owners
of B&A Careers, Orillo Productions and Ownbeat Creatives.
This provided a forum for those in the process of starting up to
ask their burning questions to entrepreneurs who are already off
the ground.
Enterprise Day also included an exhibition
zone for entrepreneurs to meet successful business owners, finance
and tax experts, plus other business support companies, along with
plenty of networking opportunities. Delegates will
also heard about the Acorns Enterprise Club which the Business
School is launching late February to provide valuable additional
support for its already over-subscribed Acorns start-up
programme.