City of Liverpool College Students Battled Through #IAmEnterprising BootCamp

Yesterday saw the next round of the #IAmEnterprising competition over at City of Liverpool College. And college students were put through their paces for BootCamp!

The students spent the day in intensive sessions learning all about Market Research, Marketing and Branding, Legal Aspects, Financial Planning, and Presentation skills.

After a few light exercises to start the day and wake up the students we got down to business and started with Marketing and Market Research sessions.

Senior Business Advisor Mike Marsden told the students: ‘You don’t realise it but you are researching every day. Every Facebook comment and status you read. Every trip advisor or ebay review you read is giving you insight into what people think. So when you are asked to go out and conduct market Research, don’t feel like you are starting from scratch’.

Over in the Marketing session, students learnt about branding, packaging, creating a buzz and money saving tips to get their word ‘out there’.

Following to morning sessions we were on the move over to a VIP room over on Prince’s Dock waterfront for the afternoon sessions. It was all very ‘Lord Sugar will see you now’.. a great environment for the budding entrepreneurs to feel inspired and empowered.

But not before we all refuelled with a good helping of Domino’s pizza.  

*And there was more...

The afternoon session started with a very special guest Donal Bannon from Morecrofts, and lead sponsors on the competition, who came and talked about legalities of business. Everything from trademarking to terms of business, he had it covered. And anything he didn't, the students were not afraid to ask.

Finance and presentation skills were the last sessions of the afternoon where training co-ordinator from The Women’s Organisation, Bernie Cox, helped the students with hints and tips for if they reached the final stage of the competition. And Mike Marsden presented cashflow exercises and advice to help students understand the numbers.

We don’t call this stage of the competition BootCamp for nothing! It sure was an intensive day but the feedback was great and students and now armed with lots of information to develop their ideas ahead of the 8^th April where we will then short list the best five to come through to the final pitch of the competition. 

Good luck to all of the entrants, thank you as always to all of our sponsors and may the best business win.