Doing versus talking

Following on from my Double Standards? post, this blog is a celebration of the tremendous work being achieved in Yorkshire and the Humber to promote and nurture female entrepreneurs. Our regional development agency Yorkshire Forward is supporting dynamo Etta Cohen who, from scratch, has built up a 3,000-strong “Forward Ladies” forum (above) which provides business support, a confidential mentoring service – and vibrant networking events.

The phenomenal success of Forward Ladies has resulted in 100 of its members, including myself, being invited as ambassadors onto the Women’s Enterprise Ambassadors Network, set up by the Government to give more women the self-belief, confidence and support to start their own businesses. As ambassadors we will share our “learns” and experiences to support and inspire fellow female entrepreneurs to discard their self-limiting beliefs and reach for the stars. We marked the launch at the Queens Hotel in Leeds with a motivating presentation from Julie Kenny CBE, managing director of Rotherham-based Pyronix and board member of Yorkshire Forward.

Sharing best practice is key to stimulating business success and Etta, a firm believer in lifelong learning, has also launched two pro bono dedicated mentoring and support groups called FEE (Female Emerging Entrepreneurs) under the Forward Ladies umbrella. Playing a key role in getting the first group off the ground was Deirdre Bounds, who
earlier this year sold specialist travel company i-to-i to First Choice Holidays Plc.(LINK) for £13.6 million with a £7 million earn-out – and who starred in a four-part documentary series on Channel 4 called ‘The Mission’.



The FEE formula is based on the robust processes of Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO membership organisation, which supported Deirdre Bounds in powering her business forward and which has supported and developed me for four years. Vistage has more than 14,000 members worldwide and is marking 50 years of developing CEOs and MDs. Members meet for monthly intensive development sessions, facilitated by chairs who also act as mentors, in which they are challenged and act as each other’s non-executive directors. On average those who join double their turnover and treble their profitability after three years. Vistage Yorkshire chair Richard Bosworth, a master strategist and mentor , who has been central to growing the number of Vistage groups in Yorkshire from 2 to 11, has also shared the benefit of his experience with Forward Ladies in a presentation entitled “Have you got the right people on the bus?”.

The first FEE group has proved such a success that we have now rolled out a second group which I am delighted to chair as we plan a packed learning agenda for 2008.

Great inroads have been made, with women-owned businesses contributing to about £60 billion to the economy, yet we are still only skimming the surface. An increase in numbers of women business owners could boost UK productivity by up to £23 billion – that’s 2 per cent of GDP. If the UK matched US levels of female enterprise, there would be 700,000 more businesses in the UK – all of which reinforces the need for more support groups like Vistage for larger organisations and FEE for sole traders. SMEs are the lifeblood of our economy, so come on ladies - we need more talented, passionate, energetic and determined women to boost the confidence, business acumen and success of their peers – and accelerate female entrepreneurialism to new levels.

Double standards?

Consultation exercises such as local communities railing against a NIMBY planning application are frequently slated as mere “talking shops” going nowhere.

It was therefore with a degree of scepticism that I accepted an invitation as “A female business owner who will shape the future face of enterprise in the UK” – to join fellow female business owners from the length and breadth of the UK at Westminster to attend a Government consultation exercise and contribute to a strategy document.

Entitled “The 11th Women's Entrepreneurs Enterprise Consultation Event,” the session was led by a panel including the Minister of State for Competitiveness, Stephen Timms. Also present were the good and great from Regional Development Agencies – our highly accountable regional custodians –represented by Seeda (South East England Development Agency) CEO and women’s champion, Pam Alexander.

The elegant room was charged with the energy and buzz of people who are excited about making changes for the better. Some of the inspirational entrepreneurs included Margaret Wood, chair of development agency Wakefield First and founder of award-winning ICW modular glazed systems.

Our particular breakout group, equipped with a Government “scribe”, was tasked with identifying issues and challenges centred on business growth. Responses articulating our aspirations and frustrations flowed thick and fast and included funding, business support – and lack of self esteem. This was duly logged by our scribe and each table nominated a spokesperson to relay our suggestions on how the RDA’s can encourage and support start ups and growing enterprises. Seeking evidence that the panel was wholly accountable and passionate about making a difference, my enthusiasm and energy levels began to wane when my questions (we were also asked to submit written queries) on how the Women’s Task Force initiated by Margaret Hodge had performed against its objectives over the last 12 months, went unanswered – as did a query on how the Government intends to make Business Links across the country accountable.

The following day my cynicism was further exacerbated by nagging doubts as to exactly how our contributions to the strategy would be taken forward when I received a follow up self-congratulatory “thank you” email saying: “Yes, Government has done well over the last ten years (we had not been asked if Government had performed well, badly or indifferently!) and we have an environment in the UK that encourages and supports entrepreneurs”.

Fast forward another two weeks and the rot truly set in with a Sunday Times revelation of free-spending RDAs clocking up the most expensive flights and corporate entertainment on tax payers’ hard earned money.

Making the headlines was Seeda which had wasted over £50k on cars and other luxuries - £18k of which was run up by Pam Alexander whose photograph was prominently splashed across the article.

So much for our accountable and transparent custodians – and I won’t be holding my breath for the launch of the new framework document next spring.