World Renowned DJ, Yousef Inspires Young Entrepreneurs To Start Realising Their Dreams Now

We are delighted to announce that #IAmEnterprising has interviewed Crosby’s own Global DJ Yousef, a force to be reckoned with in the music industry on everything to do with his career, his journey to success and his advice to the City of Liverpool College students on how they can begin to realise their dreams and start turning them into a reality, now.

Yousef is a complete force within electronic music, and has come to represent the ethos of the modern DJ. He’s a seasoned authentic and peerless DJ, a label owner, a producer and remixer, an event organiser, a mentor, all with a seemingly relentless amount of vision. You can’t discuss Yousef and not mention Circus, his world renowned club event. Now in its 13^th year of activity in its home city of Liverpool, it’s one of the most important soirees of its kind, anywhere… And he’s done it all himself!

He’s a very busy guy but we managed to squeeze half an hour into his incredibly busy diary for a quick chat with him. Here’s what the man himself had to say…

What are your businesses called, and how long have you been running them for?

I have run my own business as a globally touring DJ for over 15 years, Circus Club events for 13 years and Circus Recordings Record Label for 6 ears. As well as this I have been producing music for 10 years.

What is the best part about running your own business?

I like to make my own decisions, I think about an idea and I try to put it into practice without anyone getting in my way. Being self-sufficient is very important to me.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I would suggest getting on with the wider side of DJ-ing like a label, events and producing music sooner, and to stop relying on others to give you a leg up. It’s quicker and more effective to learn what you need to know yourself and then you armed sooner, better and stronger.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own business?

For my field, it was always about being honest, hard-working and dedicated to music. I would always say be fair wit people and respectful and patient too. Being your own boss sounds like fun but its many more hours and little in the way of safety nets. A boss does not have a baby sitter, so be prepared to put the hours in no matter what vocation you choose. Hard work equals a result, that’s the formula.

Why should students enter #IAmEnterprising to be in with a chance of winning a £3000 business investment?

Having a mentor and a guide is much more valuable than £3000 in the long run so make the most of the expertise of the prize sponsors. I was lucky enough to get £650 to buy my decks when I was 17; there was no other way I could have afforded them otherwise. So get the right kit that you need for your business, use it wisely and take care of it because it could set you up for the rest of your career.

Anything else you would like to add?

While your friends are messing around on Social Media and games consoles, be smart and focus on your goals. Put the hours in and see the results in a few years rather than if at all. Live and breathe your idea and it will come to life. 

Find out more about Yousef by visiting his website 

So... You've heard the words from the man himself, work hard, learn your craft and find yourself a mentor to inspire your journey. Now you've got his advice, put it into practice and enter #IAmEnterprising NOW! 

The Cost Of Starting Your Own Business

So you have finally decided to take the plunge and plan for that business idea you have been thinking about for a while. As you work through the list of things to consider before you start (aka a Business Plan), there is one vital thing that needs careful consideration and thought to help you understand the viability of your idea. – Financial Planning. And more specifically, Start Up Costs.

When planning for your business it is essential to do that number crunching at the start. The start up costs required for businesses vary massively and depend on many different factors, mainly your type of business.

Here are some typical start up costs to consider when starting up:

Stock – if you are making or selling a product, you may need to buy a supply of stock to help you get going. For retail businesses, more consideration needs to be given to shop stock in order to fill shelves/rails and present a fresh option for returning customers.

Rent: If you require premises for your business you will need to consider the first month (or two months) rent and possibly a deposit and admin fee. You will also have energy bills and additional costs to consider.

Rates: You may be required to pay business rates to the local authority – 

Business Insurance: This is arguably one of the most important things to research when starting a business. The type of business you are starting will determine the  type and level of insurance needed. Shop round for a range of quotes. 

Marketing and Advertising: Give careful consideration to your marketing plan as you start out in business. Where possible (and appropriate) use free tools such as social media to promote yourself. Business cards, websites, leaflets and design can all vary massively in price and the impact of your tools must be considered before spending huge amounts budget on them.

Telephone and Internet: If you are using a separate phone for your business you will need to take into account additional bills/connection fees. This will also apply to internet packages.                                                                                          

Postage: if you run an online business ensure that you factor in your postage costs. Not accounting for postage costs can seriously eat into your profits to it’s important to consider this from the outset.

It is crucial to be realistic about these costs from the outset as underfunding can often be the downfall of new start up businesses.

You may want to start with a ‘wish list’ and work backwards from there and you should always consider when your income from sales will come into the business (Cashflow) as you might need to plan for the first few months costs initially.

A carefully thought out financial plan combined with positive market research indications, can be a great recipe for startup success.

You can find out more information about Business Insurance from a great blog, written by Mitchell Charlesworth

Top Tips For Creating A Great Plan For Your Business

So you want to start your own business? Before you do anything, a business plan needs to happen! Sitting down to write a business plan might sound like something you don't want to do, when you just want to crack on with starting the business. But believe us, it will be worth it in the long run.

Writing a Business Plan ensures you are on track, have a clear idea and a clear method to carrying out your idea. As part of the #IAmEnterprising competition, you'll need to complete a short Business Plan to be invited along to our Business Bootcamp where you'll hear from experts on how to better your Business Plan. 

But, in the meantime, get your Business Plan started with our top tips! If you need assistance with it, then give us a shout, we're on hand to help out, you can email us on iamenterprising@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111, or visit Melanie Williams in the Learning Exchange Centre who is on hand for helping you with your Business Plan! 

So, here are #IAmEnterprising's Top Tips for your Business Plan!

Be Organised and Focused

Okay, we're sorry to break it to you, but having a great business idea does not mean you have a great business. To get ahead, you'll need to write a business plan to encourage yourself to evaluate your idea in detail. 

You can use the #IAmEnterprising Business Plan Brief to keep yourself in track and construct your business idea.

Understand your customer

Researching the market that you are thinking of entering is absolutely essential. Talk to your potential customers and get an idea of how they would react to your product or service. How much they expect to pay for your products and services? 

Can you describe your potential customers’ characteristics accurately in terms of their geographic and demographic profile, their employment status, profession, special interests and membership of clubs. Business customers may be located in a specific area or in a particular sector etc.

Understand your competition

Market research also enables you to get to grips with your competition. What other products and services like yours are out there already? 

Not all businesses stem from a revolutionary idea and many successful businesses are born out of an improvement to an old concept. 

Did you look at your competitors? Do you know their strength and weakness? How your competitors promote their business?  How could you compete with your competitors? What makes you different from them? Would you be able to offer customers something noticeably better, cheaper, easier than what they are used to if you are going to draw them away from the familiar.

Be realistic

Once you know your customer and competition you will be able to define your marketing plan where you lay out the products and services you are going to offer, how much you are going to charge, how you would promote your business, would the business operate from online or a venue? How are you going to brand your business i.e. business name and logo?

The final part of the business plan will be focus on the start-up cost and projection of income. You will need to consider all the costs of setting up and be realistic. Projected sale is used to set out realistic targets you would like to achieve in the first 12 month.

If you want to enter #IAmEnterprising, then you can fill in your Business Brief here! 

And if you want to find out more, get in touch by emailing iamenterprising@thewo.org.uk or ringing us on 0151 706 8111

£3,000 Sponsors Confirmed for 2015-2016 Competition

#IAmEnterprising was such a great success in 2014/2015 that City of Liverpool College and The Women's Organisation have teamed up again to offer students support to develop their business ideas.  

#IAmEnterprising will offer students support to develop their business ideas over a series of events between now and April 2016, competing against one another to win an overall £3,000 prize package of investment.  

Morecrofts solicitors have confirmed that they are delighted to again fund £1,000 cash sponsorship towards the prize package. £2,000 worth of business services will also be given to the winner to help them to launch and sustain their business. Also contributing to the prize package by way of services to support business start up are Pink Media, Bold Online Marketing Lewis Evans Accountants and The Women's Organisation. 

Contact iamenterprising@thewo.org.uk for details or

Contact Melanie Williams at LEX Room 2.47 for more info

#IAmEnterprising Ambassador, Gemma Longworth of The Button Boutique Brings Christmas To The Baltic Triangle…

One of our #IAmEnterprising Ambassadors and owner of The Button Boutique is bringing something very exciting to The Baltic Triangle this Christmas, her very own Santa’s Grotto!

The Button Boutique located on Brick Street was launched by textile artist, Gemma Longworth in early 2011 and is there to help others develop a love of all things textile and craft.

The Button Boutique is an art & craft studio based in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. A bright and colourful studio with a friendly, welcoming and relaxing environment, it was set up to inspire and stimulate people from all walks of life providing them with the opportunities to explore their creativity.

Gemma credits the City of Liverpool College in helping her learn her craft and decide which direction she wanted to take. The College with its large and varied range of courses was the perfect place for Gemma to learn more about the art and design industry and become accomplished at many different skills.

The Button Boutique runs workshops and parties of all different kind and this Christmas is launching a Santa’s Grotto for the public to come and enjoy! Gemma says:

‘Father Christmas himself and his lovely chief elf sparkles will be joining us at The Button Boutique for another year as they had such a lovely time with us last year. This will be the 2nd year running of hosting our grotto after the amazing feedback we received last year.

Here at The Button Boutique we transform our independent studio into a magical winter wonderland. Our cosy home from home, warm and friendly environment takes all the stress out of the usual annual visit to Father Christmas. No queuing in the rain; instead book your slot in our warm and inviting studio. While you wait for your visit to Father Christmas the younger ones will enjoy super glittery Christmas craft activities. Sparkles the magic elf will know when it’s your turn to see Santa.

Now for the extra special bit, our magical Santa will spend time talking to your children and tell them all about their most loved favourite things, how they are doing at school, even sing along to their favourite song...they will be surprised how much he knows...as will you!

Each child receives a special present from Santa and has a photo taken with him for you to take home.

After your time with Father Christmas enjoy a hot drink, mince pies, gingerbread, and loads of fantastic festive food some of the whilst chilling in our magical Christmas wond

erland. Festive music and Christmas films will be the soundtrack to your fabulous grotto experience.

Yes we are biased, but our independent grotto is something special.’

If you want to take your family or friends to The Button Boutique’s Santa’s Grotto, then head over to their website to find out all the information about booking your slot! 

Book Your Slot At The Button Boutique's Santa's Grotto! 

#IAmEnterprising Competition for City of Liverpool College Students Returns For Second Year

The #IAmEnterprising Competition, a partnership between The Women’s Organisation and City of Liverpool College, launched last week as it returns for its second year running, giving students the chance to win a £3,000 prize package for their enterprising business ideas.

As the competition was launched last week at The Learning Exchange Centre of City of Liverpool College, student will have between now and April 2016 to engage with the #IAmEnterprising team in a series of activities that will help them develop their business knowledge through different rounds of the competition.

This is the second time that the City of Liverpool College has linked with local enterprise support agency, The Women’s Organisation to showcase the entrepreneurial talent lying within their students through an innovative programme culminating in a business pitch competition.

The £3,000 prize package is made up of a combination of cash and business expertise that has kindly been donated by local business; Morecrofts Solicitors, Pink Media Ltd, Bold Online Marketing, Lewis Evans Chartered Accountants and The Women’s Organisation.

The headline sponsors, Morecrofts Solicitors, are donating a £1,000 cash prize for the winner for the second time running. Donal Bannon, Commercial Partner at Morecrofts Solicitors, said: ‘Morecrofts are delighted to be sponsoring the #IAmEnterprising project for a second time. The show of talent demonstrated in the participants in the first round was exceptional and I have no doubt we will see more bright and bold entrepreneurs shine through this in the months ahead.”

“The City of Liverpool College are known for their forward thinking approach to promoting enterprise and with the help of The Women’s Organisation the possibilities are really exciting. I wish the best of luck to everyone who is entering the competition.”

In 2015, over 20 business propositions made it to the final stages of judging before being whittled down to 8 businesses who were invited to pitch in the Championship Event, with the winner being announced as student, Kate Johnson and her business idea Gallery Cocoa.

Since winning #IAmEnterprising, Kate has launched her business, Gallery Cocoa, making fine chocolates and patisseries. She has been working closely with City of Liverpool College, The Women’s Organisation and the partners of the competition who have offered their business expertise. 

Kate says; “I was over the moon to have won. It was so reassuring to know that other people thought that my business idea was strong enough and believed I could do it. The support from the sponsoring businesses has been brilliant.”

To keep in touch with the developments of the programme follow #IAmEnterprising along with @TheWomensOrgLiv, @TheWomensOrg and @COLCollege on Twitter 

And if you are a student at City of Liverpool College, get in touch to find out how you could be in a with a chance of winning the £3,000 prize package.

You can email us on iamenterprising@thewo.org.uk

OR 

Fill in your THIS questionnaire with some details of your business idea!

#IAmEnterprising 2015 Winner, Kate Johnson of Gallery Cocoa Starts Her Business As 2016 Competition Commences!

With the return of our #IAmEnterprising competition with City of Liverpool College for the second year running, close on the horizon, what better opportunity was there to catch up with last year’s winner; Kate Johnson! Kate went on a roller coaster journey with us last year and was crowned the first ever winner of the #IAmEnterprising competition, receiving a £3,000 prize package which included £1,000 cash from Morecrofts Solicitors to help her get her business underway. We sat down with Kate to find out what she’s been up to and how she found the #IAmEnterprising competition!

Want to win big like Kate? #IAmEnterprising is for all City of Liverpool College students to enter! If you’ve got the seed of a business idea and want to turn it into a reality, then you’ve got to get involved! You could win a £3,000 prize package, including £1,000 cash from our wonderful headline sponsors, Morecrofts. The journey is starting soon, so if you are a student yourself, or know someone who is, be sure to tell them about #IAmEnterprising. They can find out more using the contact details below!

If there is one woman who can wiggle her way into the Pastry Kitchen of The Savoy Hotel in London whilst there for afternoon tea, it’s the talented Kate Johnson! Kate, the winner of our #IAmEnterprising competition with City of Liverpool College and founder of Gallery Cocoa and maker of fine chocolates and patisserie has such a passion and energy for her craft that we weren’t at all surprised that she wiggled her way into the professional pastry kitchens for a look around!

The Women’s Organisation first met Kate back in February of 2014 when we were part of City of Liverpool College’s Enterprise Club and she was completing her NVQ Level 3 in Patisserie and Confectionary. She then found out about the #IAmEnterprising Competition that we were running with the college, giving students the chance to win a massive £3000 prize bundle to help them start up their own businesses. Following Business Bootcamp, Kate worked closely with Melanie Williams from City of Liverpool College's Enterprise Club. Then followed a nerve-wracking pitch in front of judges, business experts and #IAmEnterprising sponsors, Kate was crowned the winner of the competition, and has been working hard all year on her business, Gallery Cocoa. 

We finally got the chance to sit down and have a chat with her about her journey, the #IAmEnterprising experience and the future of Gallery Cocoa.As well as running her business, Kate also works in museum and gallery education and has done for the past 15 years, at the moment she is splitting her time between this and developing her own business. 

But how did it all start? Where did her passion come from? ‘It started with me just experimenting at home, using cookbooks and TV programmes and I started to do more and more. At that time it was mostly baking, and then I found out about a 6 week course at City of Liverpool College, run by Claire Lara, the winner of MasterChef. I took her 6 week fine dining course, and that’s how my relationship with the college began’. After this she took another 6 week course before signing up to Level 2 ABC Pastry and began thinking about setting up her own business, although she says; ‘The timing was just never right for me to do it at that point.’

Although things began to align when she signed up to complete her Level 3 at City of Liverpool College, a day time session, meaning she dropped one day at her other work and spent one day a week with her tutor; Siobhan Sweet, expanding her knowledge and skills of patisserie and pastry. When Kate saw our signs for the #IAmEnterprising completion, she knew she should just give it a go; ‘The competition just forced me to go and do it. Rather than thinking about it all the time.’ Kate herself admits that she is the type of person who likes to plan and plan rather than dive straight into something. ‘Especially with my own business, I was worried about getting it wrong.’

But she didn’t get it wrong! Kate attended our Business Boot Camp and went away again to develop her business plan further using the templates and guidance from friends and her tutor, Siobhan Sweet who she says; ‘Is an amazing chef and brilliant support.’ Kate then pitched and made chocolates for the judges to try so they could see her work. And what was her reaction when she found out she had won? ‘I was over the moon! It was so reassuring to know that other people thought that my business idea was strong enough and believed I could do it. It was a massive boost! The support from the sponsoring businesses has been brilliant.’

Since the end of the competition, Kate has been working closely with The Women’s Organisation and Senior Business Adviser, Francine Taylor, as well as attending nearly all of Bernie’s Social Media training courses! ‘Francine has been great and the support here has been brilliant.’ As well as this she has been busy developing (and tasting!) her products, sourcing her lovely packaging and starting to think about the brand of Gallery Cocoa. Next year will have even bigger plans in store for Kate as she will soon out-grow the Production Kitchen she’s installed in her own home and will need larger premises to be able to properly store and make her delights! ‘I would also like a retail shop or premises; I think there is a space for that in Liverpool, so that’s something to think about for next year too.’

So is Kate glad that she made the jump and entered the #IAmEnterprising Competition – we think so. She says; ‘The instant support network that it created, of people who are so willing to help, has been brilliant! It’s also made me think about areas that I would not have previously thought about and forced me to actually get on with it and put together my business.’ And getting on, she is! 

We can’t wait to see what the next year holds for Kate and Gallery Cocoa and are delighted that #IAmEnterprising, City of Liverpool College and The Enterprise Club helped to make her plans and ideas into a reality! 

Want to enter #IAmEnterprising?

Email -  iamenterprising@thewo.org.uk

And check out Enterprise Club

And follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - @IAmEnterprising