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Think EnterprisePublication | April Edition

Vol.18

SPOTLIGHT ON...

READ INSIDE

AWARD SHORTLIST

CASE STUDYMENTORING

ANASTASIA & JOHN

KAREN BROWN

CELEBRATING ENTERPRISE

ANNOUNCED

2 | Think Enterprise

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April EditionVol. 18

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Think Enterprise | 3

SARAH TROUTEN, IOEE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Hello and welcome to our April edition of Think Enterprise. This issue we’ve taken a look back at last year’s event ahead of 2018’s event which I can’t believe is happening this week- how quickly it seems to have arrived! We have also named our shortlist who I am delighted to be able to welcome to the Houses of Parliament this week. Congratulations to everyone shortlisted and I wish you the very best of luck. We’ve shone the spotlight on Karen Brown an enterprising learner who has recently undertaken a level 7 Diploma in Enterprise Support and I was really interested to hear how the programme has supported Karen’s development within her role. You may have about the new GDPR regulations coming in to force from May, this will affect all busi-nesses involved in processing data. There are implications for businesses found not to be adhering so if you haven’t already begun then take a look at our article on page 14 and make a start. This month we feature work being undertaken by Leigh Sear, who is undertaking a fantastic project de-veloping peer to peer networks, Leigh is calling for examples of good practise. You can read more about the project and how you can get involved on page 6. Finally, enjoy this month’s catch up with Enterprisingly Me, and the long weekend – hopefully in the sunshine J x


Contents

Celebrating EnterpriseAnnouncing our Award Shortlistsand Last Year’s Winners

08

Spotlight On...

Karen Brown

GDPR Update

12

14

Unlocking the Potential: Developing micro enterprise owners and managers

06


16Enterprisingly Me x

Mentoring Case Study:

Anastasia and John

18


Unlocking the Potential:Developing micro enterpriseowners and managers

In recent years one of the central ‘big ideas’ emerging from policy development has been the employer ownership of the skills agenda – i.e. moving from the traditional supply led model to one where power is shifted to employers by devolvement of funding in order for vocational education and training to become demand led. In return employers will reciprocate by designing new and better forms of provision and invest more of their own money in skills development. This has been labelled as ‘a something for something deal’ .

This agenda is not new. For many years policy-makers have been claiming that they want to give employers greater control over the publicly funded education and training system, often via making it more ‘demand-led’ or ‘employer-led’. For instance, at the turn of the millennium, in their report ‘Managers and Leaders: Raising Our Game’, the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership (CEML) highlighted the ongoing issue of attempting to provide more fit for purpose management and leadership development, particularly in small firms. The Council noted that whilst demand had increased considerably for management and leadership learning, much of this activity did not involve small firms employing less than 50. One of the key barriers that needed to be addressed in order to implement a demand led approach was for learning and skills providers to ‘join entrepreneurs in their world’ .

Again, in 2006, the Leitch Review recommended that employers should be given almost total control over the national skills budget and the design of vocational courses that are paid for by state money. In reviewing the country’s skill requirements needed to support economic growth and

productivity, Lord Leitch suggested that all publicly funded, adult vocational skills training in England should go through “demand-led” routes that will put businesses in the driving seat.

Despite the rhetoric and attempts to implement a more responsive learning and skills system for meeting the needs of employers, there is evidence that many businesses are still failing to fully grasp the opportunities. The current trends in apprenticeship registrations and use of the Apprenticeship levy are a good example here.

In addition, there still appears to be a number of challenges for smaller, particularly micro-businesses in engaging with a more demand-led system. One of the key barriers to unlocking the potential in these businesses is a recognition that the owners themselves do and can act as developers within the business and that they possess knowledge, experience and skills that would be useful to develop in other business owners. Another challenge is that for external providers to fully understand the needs of micro businesses by ‘joining entrepreneurs in their world’ they also require professional development.

In terms of approaches to address these two barriers, SFEDI are currently part of an Erasmus Plus Project (Me2Me) which will provide a route for:

• Micro business owners to engage in peer to peer learning and enhance their skills as creators of demand-led learning and skills curriculum

• Vocational education and training providers to access CPD opportunities to more fully understand the life-


world of the micro-business owner manager.• Over the next two years, the project will be developing:• A learning portal including access to peer to peer

networks• An enterprise curriculum and learning resources

available to micro-business owner managers through digital technologies

• A new in-service professional development training programme for vocational education and training professionals

• A briefing paper which will provide a comparative study of peer to peer learning amongst micro-businesses across the partner countries and associated policy and practice implications.

To date, an initial needs analysis has been completed with a sample of business owners of micro-businesses and vocational education and training professionals in the eight partner countries. This has identified a series of indicative content areas to underpin the development of the curriculum and learning materials.

If you are interested in learning more about the project and the outputs to date, please visit: https://www.me2meproject.eu. If you are a micro-business owner manager and/or a vocational education and training professional who knows of examples of good practice in peer to peer learning or demand led provision please do get in touch. Also, if you would like to explore ways to be involved in the project please contact Leigh Sear at SFEDI ([email protected]).

LINKShttps://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/unlocking-workplace-skills-role-employers_2015-november_tcm18-10227.pdf

https://www.ft.com/demandledapproachtoskillsurged/december2006

CELEBRATING ENTERPRISEAWARDS 2018

SHORTLISTED NOMINEES


N O M I N E E S : E N T E R P R I S I N G L E A R N E R O F T H E Y E A R

G A R Y R O C K C L I F F E

A W A R D S P O N S O R E D B Y

At SFEDI and IOEE, we are proud to recognise the very best in enterprise, awarding individuals and organisations who excell in enterprise learning and skills in the UK and beyond. Here are the shortlisted nominees for this year’s Celebrating Enterprise event.

T R A C E Y M U L Z A C H A Y D A R - A L I I S M A I L

N O M I N E E S : E N T E R P R I S E E D U C A T O R O F T H E Y E A R


C L A I R E B A I R D K I N G S L E Y O M E I H E R O B E R T T U R N B U L L S H E R A L E E F E L D M A N

N O M I N E E S : E N T E R P R I S I N G L E A R N I N G P R O V I D E R O F T H E Y E A R


N O M I N E E S : E N T E R P R I S E S U P P O R T C H A M P I O N


B U S I N E S S S O L U T I O N S C E N T R E ,

L S B U

N E W C O L L E G E D U R H A M

R O Y A L B A N K O F S C O T L A N D

G R I M S B Y I N S T I T U T E

New College Durham

A D R I A N A S H T O N S H E I L A M C F E E S H E N A A Z C H E N I A


N O M I N E E S : I O E E M E M B E R O F T H E Y E A R

A D R I A N A S H T O N D A V I D M O R G A N S T E V E H O O P E R


N O M I N E E S : I N T R A P R E N E U R O F T H E Y E A R

H A L E H M O R A V E J L I S A S O D E R M A N O l ú t á y ò À r í k à w é

#CE2018

On Thursday 10 November, SFEDI and IOEE hosted the annual Celebrating Enterprise Awards, bringing together educators, entrepreneurs and other key figures from the UK’s small business, enterprise and skills sector. In the prestigious setting of the House of Lords, we recognised the individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution in the field of enterprise, skills and entrepreneurship.

From start to finish, the Celebrating Enterprise Awards were a fabulous success. Simultaneously a fitting way to mark the close of a productive, rewarding 2016 and a great way to look forward to all that 2017 may bring.

As a quick preview of what we can expect, here are last year’s Celebrating Enterprise award winners:

Enterprise Learner of the YearRoxanne Kelly Presented by Nic Preston, CEO, SFEDI Awards.

Roxanne Kelly has overcome real adversity and was referred by youth homelessness charity Centrepoint to Bradford Floating Support in October 2014. Since then she has completed a series of enterprise qualifications and developed her own fledgling enterprise.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Enterprise Educator of the YearChristine Atkinson Presented by Leigh Sear, CEO, SFEDI Solutions.

Christine Atkinson is Co-Director of the Centre for Enterprise and heads up the Women’s Entrepreneurship Hub at the University of South Wales. Since joining the university in 1999, she has worked tirelessly to promote enterprise and career progression for women.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Enterprise Learning Provider of the YearIgnition Auto Training Presented by Sarah Trouten, CEO, IOEE.

Ignition Auto Training is a social enterprise that supports the disabled, ex-offenders and people with addictions back into employment via motor mechanic training. It is the brainchild of David Brazer who set out with a starting grant of just £30,000. The enterprise is estimated to have already saved local services over £224,000 and has moved 22 ex-offenders into employment from the initial pilot.

London South Bank University received Highly Commended status for this award.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Small Business Apprenticemaker of the YearAnthony Impey Presented by Sophie Hardwick, Head of Apprenticeships, SFEDI Group.

Anthony Impey is Founder and CEO of Optimity, a wireless broadband company. He has made apprenticeships a core component of Optimity’s talent strategy and is passionate about developing talent for the tech sector more widely. Anthony started Tech City Stars and Tech Up Nation to help local young people ignite careers in East London’s tech sector.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Enterprise Support ChampionSamuel Kasumu Presented by Malcolm Trotter, Chair of the SFEDI/IOEE Advisory Council and CEO, IAB.

In 2012, Lord Young launched the £160 million Start-Up Loans

Last Year’s Winners


Company to award low interest loans to 60,000 early stage businesses. However, entrepreneur Samuel Kasumu recognised that those from Black and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds (BAME) were not benefiting from the initiative. He campaigned to promote the opportunity to the BAME community and, thanks to his efforts, some 6000 people received support to develop business plans and access funds.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Innovative Partner of the YearThe Institute of Supply Chain Management, IoSCMPresented by Ruth Lowbridge MBE, Executive Chair, SFEDI Group.

The Institute of Supply Chain Management (IoSCM) is the UK’s leading professional organisation within supply chain management. Founded and led by Kevin Rumfitt CEO, the IoSCM has worked with SFEDI to create a new suite of professional qualifications perfectly tuned to the needs of both small and large businesses operating across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -IOEE International Lifetime Achievement AwardDr. Ernesto SirolliPresented by Gary Lapthorn, Head of Community and Charity Engagement, Commercial Banking, Lloyds Banking Group.

A world leader in the field of local economic development, since beginning his career in International Aid in Africa in the early 1970s Dr. Ernesto Sirolli has worked across the globe promoting and facilitating local entrepreneurship and self-determination. He is also the founder of the Sirolli Institute, a social enterprise dedicated to teaching civic leaders how to capture the passion, energy and imagination of their own people.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

IOEE Lifetime Achievement AwardKanya King MBEPresented by Stephen Pegge, Group Competitive Markets and Business Policy Director, Lloyds Banking Group.

Kanya King MBE is an internationally renowned entrepreneur best known for her role as CEO and founder of the MOBO Awards. Much more than just an awards ceremony, for almost two decades MOBO has provided training and guidance to generations of aspiring music industry professionals. Persuasive, insightful and energetic, Kanya King is a real shining star both of the UK’s music industry and of its enterprise community.

Ruth Lowbridge MBE, Executive Chair of the SFEDI Group, said:

“Everyone who has received an award at this year’s Celebrating Enterprise event should be incredibly proud of their achievement. The standard of the nominees was exceptionally high, with the judges having difficulty choosing. Each individual had their own unique enterprising achievements. I’d like to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate all the nominees and winners and to thank them for all their hard work and dedication. Well done!”

The award celebrations continued into the evening at the PRIMO Bar, Westminster, where we celebrated 20 successful years of SFEDI, the Sector Skills Body for Enterprise and Enterprise Support. The aftershow party included an awards presentation recognising our new IOEE Honorary Fellows, a live band and photo booth.

Photographs from both events are available to view online here.


Karen Brown has a busy career as both the Office Manager and PA to the Director at Growth Lancashire Limited; a company owned by several Lancashire local authorities to aid business and economic development across the county. Through Boost Business Lancashire’s Growth Hub, Karen has recently completed her Level 7 Diploma in Professional Business and Enterprise Support Services, which is accredited by SFEDI. This month we caught up with Karen to discuss how the course has impacted her professional performance and given her a newfound confidence in her job role.

Growth Lancashire is on a mission: to grow jobs, prosperity and skills across the whole county. Over the last three years the company has supported thousands of businesses, created over 4,000 jobs, provided £12m in direct grant support, and has helped over 1,000 start-up businesses get off the ground.

Last year, Lancashire Country Council sought to engage with a partner to deliver fully-accredited business support and training that would help numerous businesses to grow and thrive in the local area, which led them to unite with Boost. Together, they delivered learning and skills development programmes that would add further value to employees’ wealth of knowledge and expertise, enhance their understanding of their roles, and equip them with the skills and tools they need to advise businesses and get the best results. The Level 7 Diploma in Professional Business and Enterprise Support Services is a demanding course. It requires a significant investment of time and dedication, but Karen was determined to throw herself into the studying, develop her professional skills, and get a higher industry qualification. Karen says:

“I already had a Level 5 Diploma in Management, so when Lancashire County Council offered me the chance to get a further qualification, I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to take my role to the next level. It was always going to be hard work, but I wanted to develop

my skill set and my confidence within the role, and gaining a higher qualification whilst doing that adds that extra stamp of credibility to the experience too.”

The Level 7 programme was made up of a number of workshops that were supported by self-directed learning, covering such elements as developing the client relationship, analysing support needs, accessing different forms of business and enterprise support, developing skills as a Business Support Professional, and reflecting upon your own knowledge, skills and learning. There was a great deal of theory to learn, and assessments mostly took the form of ‘mini dissertations’, and Karen tells us about the challenges of juggling a heavy workload with an already full working life:

“There were so many hours - about 150 in total – this wasn’t a little extra qualification you do on top of work, it was a real commitment. There were a number of group workshops for hands-on learning, but they laid the foundations for you and then you went away to build on what you’d learnt in the class.

“There were seven pieces of written work to submit, like ‘mini dissertations’. Each was around 10,000 words on a specific topic, so there was a lot of research and theory and a lot of information to take in and soak up – and yes, this is on top of an already busy day job!

“It is a big undertaking, there’s no doubt about it, and you inevitably have to do a lot of the work in the evenings and at the weekend, so you do have to be incredibly dedicated and focused to get that work-life-balance. However, whilst it was hard work, it was very enjoyable work too. You know that you’re learning things that you’re going to be able to use and implement immediately, so it’s not a qualification that’s going to sit on the shelf. It was challenging and I’m very glad that I did it – but I’m also very glad that the studying part is over and I can get on with using it now!”

Spotlight On...Karen Brown


Karen is already seeing the effects of her new Level 7 Diploma in the workplace, and is even considering undertaking further professional qualifications in the future. Karen says:

“I’m already seeing the benefits of the diploma in my day-to-day role, especially when it comes to bringing added value to the clients out there. The client is getting someone who absolutely knows what they’re talking about, who fully understands everything about the field they’re working in, and who has the knowledge to impart and the skills and tools to do so. I was certainly capable in my role beforehand, but whilst the diploma has taught me some new skills, it has also really enhanced things I already knew. Certain elements on my job just needed to be highlighted or theorised, to give that authority that you should be doing what you’re already doing, and I feel more confident having the qualification to back up my knowledge and abilities - I now have the theory to marry up with my experience.

“As a result of gaining this Diploma, there is also the potential to study further and turn this Level 7 Diploma into a full Master’s qualification. For now, I just want to concentrate on implementing what I’ve learnt into my current role - but never say never!”

For further information on Growth Lancashire visithttp://www.growthlancashire.co.uk/


On the 25th May 2018 a new legal framework will come in to force in the European Union affecting anyone or any business that processes personal data. So what does that mean for a small business, well there’s big implications for how you store and process data and if you haven’t started to think about it yet you need to as by the 25th May you need to be compliant, you’ll most likely need to put in place additional safeguards and practises:

Awareness You should make sure that decision makers and key people in your business are aware that the law is changing.

Information you hold Document the personal data you hold, where it came from and who you share it with

Communicating privacy policy Review your current privacy notes and put a plan in place for making any necessary changes in time.

Individuals rightsCheck your procedures to ensure they cover all the rights individuals have, including how you would

delete personal data or provide data electronically and in a commonly used format.

Subject access requests Update your procedures and plan how you handle requests within the new timescales and provide any additional information.

Lawful basis for processing personal data Identify the lawful basis for your processing activity in the GDPR, document it and update your privacy notice to explain it.

Consent You should review how you seek, record and manage consent and whether you need to make any changes. Refresh existing consents now if they don’t meet the GDPR standard.

ChildrenStart thinking about whether you need to put systems in place to verify individuals ages and to obtain parental or guardian consent for any data processing activity.

GDPR: Be prepared


Data breaches Make sure you have the right procedures in place to detect, report and investigate a personal data breach.

Data Protection by Design and Data Protection Impact Assessments Familiarise yourself now with the ICO’s code of practise on privacy impact assessments as well as the latest guidance from the Article 29 Working Party, work out how and when to implement them in your organisation.

Data Protection Officers Designate someone to take responsibility for data protection compliance and assess where this role will sit within your organisations structure and governance requirements. You should consider whether you are required to formally designate a Data Protection Officer.

If your organisation operates in more than one EU member state you should determine your lead data protection supervisory authority. Article 29 Working Party guidelines will help you do this.

The ICO have a specialist advice service for small businesses and charities, you can find out more about the requirements of the new law by visiting https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/business


You’ll be pleased to know the meeting with the agency went really well and they’ve agreed to find a new mentor that will help me face some of the challenges coming my way as I try to grow the business. Fingers crossed they find someone who can genuinely help me. I have come to realise that I need to be clearer about exactly the type of support I’m looking for and to be honest with the new mentor if I feel things are just not working.

So much to do and so little time! As I think back over the past few months, lack of time seems to be a recurring theme. Trying to balance my workload, looking for new work, dealing with staffing issues, balancing the books and trying to have some kind of home life is proving to be extremely challenging. Why is it that from the outside it looks really easy to start and run your own business and if so why isn’t everyone doing it?

Things that people have said to me:“It must be lovely to have a job where you can come and go as you please” – Really? I can only think that I must be doing something very wrong!

“I’d love to have my own business and make lots of money” – Well I can’t wait for that to happen although I’m thinking at the moment that it may not be in my lifetime!

“It must be great to be your own boss” – Seriously?

In reality I’m far too busy trying to keep my staff and customers happy to worry about myself!

Time seems to slip away from me and although I’m never late for appointments or meetings I never seem to have time just to think about what’s important as the business grows.

Funny, I’m sure I didn’t set out to build a business but in some ways I don’t think I thought it through at all in the very beginning. I realise that for some people this is a path they plan from day 1 but for me it was just about working for myself and taking control of my own destiny. I’ve always thought that my growth came from opportunity – same happens when I see a cream cake, albeit that’s obviously a different kind of growth!

I love these questions :

• Do you create your own opportunities or is it down to being in the right place at the right time?

• Do you set out to build a big business or does it happen by chance?

• Do you have to be an entrepreneur to grow a successful business?

Well I’m sorry to disappoint you but I just haven’t got the right answer to any of these questions as I think the answer is that it depends...

‘Enterprisingly Me’ is a monthly feature where you can follow my entrepreneurial adventures. Names have been changed to protect the innocent but everything you read really happened.

I hope my story inspires you to take your first steps, or if you already have, then it lets you know you’re not on your own. Starting and running a successful business isn’t about being perfect. It’s about loving what you’re doing, learning from your mistakes and keeping the faith!


It depends whether you have the drive and ambition to create opportunities but I agree that some people are better at spotting opportunities than others. I can be anywhere and see an opportunity and where I don’t see one immediately I take it upon myself to create one. In speaking to one of our customers this week she explained that there was some space being made available to rent in their building. My mind immediately goes into overdrive thinking about how the space could be filled with a new business venture. I have to stop myself reacting to this impulsion to always look to respond to the opportunities surrounding me. No wonder I never have enough time - too busy thinking about new opportunities instead of focusing on the here and now.

It depends on the decision you made when first starting out (if indeed you made one) in terms of what type of business you wanted to own. I tend to think that nothing happens by chance and a good business grows successfully with vision, careful planning, drive and determination…. And of course getting the right people to help you.

It depends on how you define the word entrepreneur. What I do know by reading up on all of the theory behind the trillions of definitions there are out there, is that I do have entrepreneurial traits that I hope will help me in this next phase of my business life but only time will tell. I’ll keep you informed.

The one thing I am learning about this phase of growth is that it is really hard work. I’m trying to curb my enthusiasm for new things to concentrate my mind on getting the right systems and processes in place to consolidate the progress we’ve made so far. Even writing it down is boring... how am I going to keep my interest levels up when to do things ‘properly’ I’m going to have to focus my attention on doing all of the things I dislike? I suppose that approaching things ‘properly’ will mean

that although it will take time initially it should help me to better manage my time in the future. Well that’s the theory anyway.

The good news is that I’ve met my new mentor who seems perfect... He listened to everything I had to say and encouraged me to explore the things that had been praying on my mind with regard to moving the business forward. More importantly he seemed to ‘get’ me! That’s really important as we move into this next phase as there are so many unknowns – my biggest concern is making sure we attract the right staff to continue to grow our reputation for delivering a good service in a friendly but professional way. I realise I’m going to have to let go of the reins a bit but it’s the balance between giving people a free rein and making sure that they don’t gallop way off track.

A huge learning curve for me but I have a good feeling about this mentor. We have agreed some tasks for me to carry out before we meet again and I know he is at the end of the phone if I need a quick chat. He has also signposted me to other sources of help and support which is really useful and I have made a note to make time to speak to people outside of the business instead of spending all of my time in the business. People keep telling me I need to get out more – I’m hoping this is what they mean.

I’m making a list of the things that take up most of my time with the hope that this will help me to prioritise the things that are important for both the business and me.

Wish me luck!

Me x


John Tasker is the Strategy Director of Massive; an events agency that specialises in helping brands and charities to attract, engage and inspire people through mass participation. Last Autumn, John was matched up with a mentor, Anastasia Georgiou, a Manager with Lloyds Banking Group. In a only six months, Massive has sky-rocketed to a point where it can ‘go it alone’, and this month we chatted to John and Anastasia about their mentoring whirlwind and how that final push can steer you to success.

John’s Story

Massive had already been going for three years before John’s mentoring relationship with Anastasia began. The business was doing well, but John decided it was time to step it up and make the transition from ‘getting by’ to soaring successful company. John says:

“Last year I was put in touch with Paul Harper, the IOEE’s Mentoring Manager, who introduced me to Anastasia. The mentoring relationship began at just the right time for the company – we were doing alright and were growing quite quickly, but we needed help with how much was changing, and had to put things in place to make sure we didn’t rush and did everything right.”

Massive works with global brands and charities, with some impressive clients under its belt already, including brands like Nike, Adidas and Aldi, and charities like the British Heart Foundation and the NSPCC. John explains how mass participation events can have such an impact on an organisation:

“Great mass participation fundraising events come in various different shapes and sizes, from the physical events, such as The Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Walk, community-focused campaigns, such as Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, virtual events like The British Heart Foundation’s MyMarathon, or social campaigns like Movember.

“It is often the simplest campaigns, the ones that can be integrated into everyday life, with cause, motivation, and community spirit at their heart that achieve the most success. These are the events that bring people together, that create conversations and a sense of camaraderie; a shared moment or experience that gives people a sense of belonging to a tribe, and the feeling of being part something much bigger.

“In addition to generating income, these events can also be incredibly beneficial for building your brand too, by growing advocates for your cause who will subsequently recommend and

Mentoring Case Study:Anastasia and John


talk about you and the value of what you are doing, which will in turn help you to achieve a level of cut-through that no amount of advertising can buy.”

Since Anastasia began mentoring John last year, Massive has doubled in size, and with business thriving John is already looking at hiring a further two more employees as a result of this growth. John says:

“When you set up a business there’s usually just a couple of you, and you’re basically doing everything yourselves. But when you start to grow and expand is often the time you realise that you actually need extra support, and that’s why it was great timing to have a mentor. We needed to evolve into a fully-fledged business with systems and processes and policies and HR - and all the rest of the stuff that comes with running a company. We felt quite out of our depth, but Anastasia gave us the push that we needed and steered us in the right direction, and in the last sixth months the business has gone from strength to strength.”

John found that another benefit of mentoring was learning how to step back and look at the business from the outside, and that Anastasia encouraged him to look at it more objectively. John says:“It can be really difficult to see things clearly when you’re actually in

the business, but having a mentor gives you that outside perspective. However, Anastasia also got me to take out time away from the business to think about the business myself, and creating that time and distance is really helpful – it feels challenging when you want to be in the thick of it doing everything, but it’s so important to give yourself that time to stop and assess where you’re at and where you want to go next. I’d recommend anyone to get a mentor – if you’re matched up with the right person and you understand each other and the business’ goals, a mentor can really help you to take your business to where it needs to go.”

Anastasia’s Story

Anastasia has had several mentees through the IOEE’s mentoring programme, helping individuals and companies with a broad range of elements involved in getting a business off the ground. However, Anastasia says that with John it really came down to one element - and that was having the support there in place to give him the reassurance and confidence to take the leap into the next phase of the business. Anastasia says:

“Often you’ll start working with a mentee and they’re in the really early stages of setting up a business and you’ll have to start right at the beginning - which is absolutely fine, sometimes that’s exactly


what people need. But what was great about working with John and Massive is that John already had a really clear strategy - he and his business partner knew exactly what they wanted and needed to do, it was more a case of ‘should we?’, and ‘where on earth do we start?’! They were fearful of doing all of this work and then falling flat on their faces, and just needed the support behind them to validate throwing themselves into making their business a success.”

Introduced by the IOEE’s Mentoring Manager, Paul Harper, Anastasia and John chatted on the phone before meeting face-to-face. The mentoring was relaxed, with the two getting together to discuss ideas and set objectives and make plans over coffee, but Anastasia knew immediately what they needed to do:

“They were holding back, afraid of putting themselves out there. John said, ‘we don’t go out and market, we let the business come to us’, and I knew they just needed that push. And as soon as they started pushing themselves they started to see the benefits straight away. They’ve grown significantly over the last six months – so much so that they don’t need me any more! A lot of mentoring

relationships go on for years, but Massive needed support in that final leg - sometimes you just need someone else to believe in what you’re doing to give you the confidence to go for it.”

If there are other people out there who are considering becoming a mentor, Anastasia says that she would encourage them to ‘just go for it’, and not to be put off by the idea that they may not be in a similar field to their prospective mentees. Anastasia says:

“You don’t have to be an expert in your mentee’s industry, a lot of the time what your mentee needs is a sounding board, somebody to listen to their ideas. And that in itself is a skill you likely need in your day job; for example, having to listen in meetings and presentations before making a plan of action to move forward, so you’re passing on useful knowledge and professional skills as a mentor, but developing your own at the same time. Mentoring gets you a qualification, it gets you out of the office and gives you another element of your working life too, so whilst you’re of course helping the mentee on their journey, you really do get a lot out of it for yourself too.”


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CONTAC T US

April EditionVol. 18

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