What makes a good entrepreneur?

This article gives 5 key attributes of an entrepreneur, and while I recognise that they are all important, I question whether they are the most important ones. What about having a good idea? Is that an attribute worth having?

What do you think?

Blogging for Business

photo credit: Will Lion

Is it worth blogging for business? This article seems to think so, although I'm not sure I agree with the daily updates instruction!

View from the Top

First pictures of our exhibition. If you have any to add, please let me know or upload them to the Facebook group.



More to follow!

Thanks again!

A quick post to say thanks for your support with our event at View from the Top, photos to follow.

If you weren't able to make the awards ceremony and networking lunch and still want to see what we've been up to, take a trip up to the 4th Floor of Waterstones and look at our exhibition. We'll be there until Monday 24th.

Oh and for those of you who took our marketing seminar with Russell Kennard, remember his willow pattern plate exercise??? I think this takes it one step further!

Celebration of SPEED at Nottingham Trent University

To mark the final months of the SPEED (Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education) programme, Nottingham Trent University’s business incubation unit, The Hive, is holding an exhibition of SPEED businesses and projects.

The revolutionary programme has provided students taking a placement year the opportunity to set up and run their own business in The Hive, instead of pursuing a standard industrial work-placement scheme.

The event will take place during Enterprise Week at the View from the Top Gallery on the top floor of Waterstones Bookstore in Nottingham, from Wednesday, November 19 to Sunday, November 23.


We are really looking forward to meeting 'The Ideas Man' Shed Simove at our special event on Thursday 20th November, and also at Thirsty Thursday at Oceana at 6.30. Why not meet us there and network, learn and be inspired!

New Pathway To Enterprise Event

‘Pathway to Enterprise’

Forthcoming Events

Wednesday 3 December 2008

12.00 to 2.00 pm

Hive Seminar Room

‘Getting to grips with PR Planning’

Presenter: Vivienne Tregidiga, Managing Director, Impact 108

Vivienne, whose senior management experience working in
newspapers & magazines spanning over 20 years, will deliver this
interactive workshop and will cover topics, such as:-

Getting your business out there
Public Persona
Your image
How do your customers perceive you
Crisis Management

Never under-estimate the value of PR and what it can do for small businesses
– not to be missed!

Suitable refreshments will be provided

If you are interested in attending this event,

please contact Karen Doxey on 0115 848 4354 or e-mail: karen.doxey@ntu.ac.uk

We've been asked to distribute this information across our networks. It could be an interesting and informative event, check out the website for more details. It is the day before our event..forgotten what that is? Click here!

EXPO 2008

19 NOVEMBER 2008

EPIC CENTRE, LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWGROUND

EXPO in the East Midlands is an annual free event focusing on sustainability. It provides an opportunity to see how we can achieve our vision of a vibrant economy that values all our people and protects and enhances our environment locally and globally.

This year we are focusing on Climate Change and the ways that as a region we can respond innovatively to this serious challenge. The EXPO will provide a showcase of solutions for reducing our carbon impact of our buildings, our use of energy and resources, the goods and services we consume and the ways we move around. It provides a unique opportunity for networking across many sectors and to tour round the Epic Centre, the UK's largest 'green' conference and events centre.

Meetings at this year's EXPO include a Green Infrastructure Network event, Building Climate Friendly Communities workshop and a RSS seminar on low carbon design and renewable energy.

Full details are available at: http://www.emra.gov.uk/news/events/east-midlands-expo

New Hive@Mansfield Business

• Are you a professional or skilled person?
• Are you working the way you want to?
• Are you working enough?
• Maybe you are a freelance or self-employed and would like to know what opportunities there are for you … who wouldn’t?

None of the above?

• Are you are an employer who would appreciate a simple, time-efficient and cost effective way to recruit the skills you need for your business.
• Would you like to avoid commissions and other hidden costs?

No?

Go for the back button then, UNLESS, of course you have managers, colleagues, family or friends who are frustrated by restrictive and expensive recruitment channels and would like to find a better way.

Share this post by clicking the little envelope icon below - and do someone a favour today.

Empowerment in recruitment begins with www.Qan-Du.com

Things are getting there, slowly!

I am off to the View from the Top today to have a look at another exhibition that's similar in format to ours. I'm going to check out how they have hung their posters, fascinating I know but pretty important for our expo!

Things are coming together, but as I said to someone yesterday, I abandoned my to do list this week as it was actually distracting me. I have been a 'one-job-at-a-time worker' for the past few days, just so I can complete some tasks and move on. It's been quite liberating, I have to say!

I am beginning to get worried though, we've got a whole bunch of people joining us for the main event on the 20th November...WILL YOU BE THERE?

The GUEST SPEEDy interview- Denis Denisenko

This interview features Denis, who's a SPEEDster in the West Midlands

www.copyfox.co.uk

–State your name for the record

Denis Denisenko

–Please tell us what problem your business solves in 50 words or less

It makes student life easier by providing free photocopying service

–Expand on your idea – how will you make money from it?

Companies finance the service and get advertised

–Explain who your customer is

Any company, charity or/and organisation interested in marketing to the youth

–Describe where you see yourself in 5 years’ time

I will be running a multi-million £ company.

PS We are expanding, so if you think you are an entreprenuerial type of person, do get in touch with me to discuss possible cooperation – dennis@copyfox.co.uk / 07892840399 / skype denis.denisenko

Random Questions

• Who is your hero?

…a person in the mirror, honestly!

What sets the 'stars' apart?

picture credit: Lily Zhu

We've been thinking about the 'Stars' of our SPEED programme here at NTU in advance of our celebration and awards ceremony in November.

I came across this blog post on Lateral Action which is very relevant to our thinking. Everyone has 'it' in them to be successful, but what have the stars got to set them apart? Mark McGuinness says

"Like many of us, the stars began with a dream. But dreams are cheap. Instead of sitting around daydreaming, they took action. Each of them did something very unusual. Something distinctive, outstanding, unique. They learned their craft. They worked hard. They took risks. They took their craft and transformed it into art. They took kicks in the teeth and learned from them. They got effective people on board. They got the word out. They promised and delivered, over and over again."

Read the rest of this well-written post here

Making our Mark

We're on the Make Your Mark Website, check out our SPEED event for Enterprise week here

Patents

Some useful lessons in patents, trademarks and design registraion can be learnt from this post on Steve Van Dulken's Patent Blog.
I'll reproduce it in full below:

The Tangle Teezer®

Dragons' Den is an entertaining TV programme as so often those asking for cash for their ideas are naive, but sometimes the experts do get it wrong. Shaun Pulfrey's Tangle Teezer® is an example.

A year ago he asked for £85,000 in return for a 15% stake in his new hairbrush. Its teeth are designed to flex just the right amount to minimise tugging while smoothing the cuticles, says a story on the invention. An experienced London hairdresser, Pulfrey had thought of the idea 15 years ago but only made a prototype in 2004. All the dragons dismissed it.

A few weeks ago, Boots agreed to stock the product at 600 stores. Turnover (largely on the Internet, at £9.95) is already £800,000 annually, a quarter of which is profit. It looks as if the dragons missed out on a nice profit.

I had a look at the intellectual property behind the idea. In March 2005 Pulfrey applied for a European Community trade mark for the name, probably his most powerful selling tool.

In March 2007 he applied for a British patent, which was published a week ago as a Hair care device.

Then in April 2007 he applied for a Community design, one of the drawings of which is shown here.

In October 2007 he applied for design protection in the USA with American "design patent" D576804.

Finally in January 2008 he filed for a US trade mark/ trademark for the name. There may be other applications waiting publication, such as, perhaps, an American patent application.

The difference between designs and patents is, broadly speaking, that the former protects the appearance while the latter protects how it works. He used Marks & Clerk, a firm of patent attorneys, to advise him on his strategy and to write the applications.

A problem for anyone interesting in foreign protection is that this must be sought within 12 months of filing for a patent, or within 6 months of filing for a design. "Filing out of convention" by missing those deadlines means that your own domestic filings can be used to show that the idea is not new. Many who might be interested in filing abroad do not (yet) have the finance, or are not certain of product appeal, and therefore decide not to gamble on filing. Failure to file in a country means that the idea can be used there by others.

Building an email list - but don't forget the exhibition in November!

Can you use any of the tips in this seminar?

PLus you have to watch this guy's attempt at a viral video...!

Searching Intellectual Property

I'm by no means an expert on Patents, Design Rights and Copyright. I rely very heavily on the Intellectual Property Office, but luckily their website is very clear and loaded with help and information. If you need any guidance on what intellectual property rights you can secure, click here to visit it before going to an expensive Patent Attorney.

Another UK organisation with a vast body of knowledge is the British Library, whose patent blog is written by Steve Van Dulken. I read it through my RSS reader, and he probably updates about once a week, which is just about right in my book, many more update and I have too many blogs to read on a daily basis! Mostly he’s pointing out the quirky and ridiculous patent submissions through history, but sometimes he gives an insight into everyday but revolutionary products, such as the Dyson vacuum cleaner.

The British Library has a Facebook group for aspiring entrepreneurs, click here to visit it. They also have a YouTube channel, which for some reason I can’t locate right now, so check out this video on their Business and IP centre here.

I also subscribe to a website called ‘Killer Start-Ups’, which reviewed a new start up for searching patents. A Patent Search is the first thing you should do if you think you have invented something unique, and this website may help with that. A patent search will show you:

a) If you actually have got a unique invention,

b) Whether you’re infringing someone else’s intellectual property and

c) If it’s really worth pursuing!

If you want to read more about Patents and intellectual property in a language that doesn’t confuse or befuddle, read ‘A Better Mousetrap’ by Peter Bissell and Graham Parker. It makes it clear what you can do yourself and what is better left to the professionals. You don’t even have to buy it, NTU Library has a copy (I know I ordered it!)

Another take on tasks

So I have a to-do list and it seems to works ok.

The Nag is another way of working with tasks, in that they send you 'nags' of things you might do (in their case to help the environment or whatever). So you get a nudge or reminder to do things that you might not otherwise do.

One way of doing this for yourself is to set reminders, for example using Microsoft Outlook, you can set tasks with dates way off in the future. They might be 're-visit business plan' to remind you that you need to look again at the goals you set yourself when you started out, or 'pay council tax' if you always forget to do this regular but mundane task. then you can just forget about it until it becomes due.

Genius

Zen, and the art of to-do lists

Anyone who's sat in an office with me for more than five minutes, will probably know that I like to write a list of things to do. Some of you have noticed that if I don't write down what I say I'm going to do, I probably won't do it. Not necessarily because I look back at my notes, but because the act of writing it down seems to store it in my head.

Plus, I have a note of it to prompt me when I forget.

Head like a sieve.

So when someone gives me a tip on to-do lists, organising my day, generally being task focussed, I feel the need to share it. I found a lovely little web app today that I'm just busting to share. Unfortunately for you guys, there's no-one here right now, so you're all gonna get it!

Its so simple, it's great!


Read this blog post on Manage Life about making tasks easy!

I subscribe to the EnterQuest Bulletin, which is a weekly newsletter about small business issues, and usually includes great articles about sales, staff, commercial behaviour and so on.

I read this morning's headline article as I sat in a (very) quiet Hive, and thought how interesting it was that the Hive provides just such a workspace to NTU SPEED students free of charge and very few of you actually use it. How bizarre! I reproduce the article below, but if you want to read it in it's original location, click here (actually, I'm hoping they'll have it posted by the time you click it!)

The benefits of serviced workspace

Finding suitable and affordable workspace has always been a major hurdle for people deciding to start their own business. In fact, many individuals who initially go down the freelance route often continue to use their home well into their third or fourth year because of the obstacles in taking on permanent premises.

Business owners are faced with a dilemma because location and the working environment can be the difference between success and failure. Yet property management is not something you'll want to worry about, let alone a long-term lease.

Serviced offices enable businesses to have accommodation that suits their needs without the hassle of leasing and managing a place of their own.

One of the main reasons why many businesses choose to take space in a serviced office is the flexibility it gives them. Conventional leases, which typically last for 10 years or more, tie businesses in to their offices. This means that if during the life of a lease, a business's space requirements change, they are unable to adjust without incurring significant costs, administrative issues or delays.

In a serviced office, tenants are able to expand and contract as they wish, usually at very short notice. This can be beneficial to a business when times are good and you need more space quickly, or equally when times are bad and you need to contract.

As well as flexibility, serviced offices allow businesses to enjoy an all-inclusive service. For a fixed price, tenants can expect to receive everything they will need to run their business, from desks, chairs and telephones to staffed reception desks, cleaning services and refreshment facilities.

The costs involved will vary depending on location, how many desks are taken and the length of stay, but serviced offices should not be thought of as an expensive option once all the associated costs involved in leasing or buying an office are taken into account.

Small businesses can benefit greatly from serviced offices, with the ability to set up quickly (within days) and enjoy facilities they would otherwise not be able to afford.

While serviced offices will never be a solution for every business, the flexibility and convenience of serviced offices can offer a great stepping stone on the road to expansion.

So how about it people, are you gonna take advantage of the facilities offered to you?

Competition- just for the Chicas

Women make up half of our population, but interestingly nowhere near half of our entrepreneurs, company bosses or managers. According to the BBC, almost half of private companies in the US are headed up by women but the UK is lagging behind. Many agencies are trying different strategies to encourage women in the workplace, one of whom is the Make Your Mark campaign.

They have launched the Girls, Make Your Mark Competition which is designed to find and reward outstanding female achievement in enterprise. Find out more by clicking the link, and most importantly enter it! (If you're a chica that is)

But hurry, the closing date is the 21st July 2008

Well done to Kawsar, another glowing report in the local press. If you picked up a copy of the Evening Post on Tuesday, you'll have seen three beatific grins looking out at you from the business pages (That's Phil, K and Chris Hall) If you didn't, read the article here

Kawsar's website is www.digicomsolutions.biz and is currently under construction.

Want to promote your business? Get in touch!