This Little Bird

Business Owner:  Michelle Corrigan

Name of Business: This Little Bird

Website address: www.thislittlebird.org     Twitter : @thislittlebird_M

 

Tell us about your business: Delivering  relationship and sexual health education in schools. After doing some research I discovered a gap and wanted to work in this area. I was struggling with resources and materials and I approached the Centre for Entrepreneurship at LJMU, they helped me with funding which enabled me to get my business off the ground.

Who are your customers? Secondary schools and Academies

What is the best thing about owning you own business? The freedom and opportunities that it gives me 

 

What is your top business tip? "Seek advice and ask questions"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Teabox Company

Business Owners:  Omar Farag and Phil Perera

Name of Business: The Teabox Company

Website address: www.teaboxcompany.co.uk Twitter: @teaboxco

 

Tell us about your business:  The Teabox Company is on a mission to get the world drinking loose leaf tea, one cup at a time. We’re passionate about sourcing the best teas from all over the world for our customers.  We never (ever) use teeny or dusty leaves and we don’t shove anything into a crowded little teabag.

We love tea.

Whilst at university we were part of the young enterprise programme which was delivered through the Centre for Entrepreneurship at LJMU. The LJMU Graduate Enterprise module gives students a real-life experience of developing a business idea in groups.  We started out as a group of 7 as part of a university project, the centre gave us business advice and contacts which led us to winning the UK start up final and then came third in Europe. Since then Phil and Omar realised there was a real demand and decided to keep the business going!

 

Who are your customers? Hyundai, LJMU and over 25 cafes and restaurants over England

Have you employed anyone since starting up? 2 work experience interns

What is the best thing about owning you own business? Being your own boss and being able to be passionate about what you do.

What is your top business tip? "Believe in your product and yourself"

 

 

 

 

 

Wildwriters

Business Owner: Michael Fowler

Name of Business: The Wild Writers

Website address: www.thewildwriters.co.uk  Twitter : @wildwriters

Tell us about your business: The Wild Writers are a literary arts collective made up of 13 writers based in Liverpool. My business is a social enterprise which helps grass root writers using a DIY approach. When I had this idea I approached the Centre for Entrepreneurship and they helped me get my business together

Who are your customers? North West public

What is the best thing about owning you own business? It gives me a purpose and being able to do something that I want to do

  

What is your top business tip? "Only get involved with things that your are passionate about!"

MgMaStudio

Business Owners:  Matthew Ashton and Mathew Giles

Name of Business: MgMaStudio

Website address: www.mgmastudio.co.uk  Twitter @mgmastudio

Tell us about your business : MgMaStudio Ltd. is a young, creative architecture and design agency, established in Liverpool by Chartered Architects Mathew Giles and Matthew Ashton. We had a business idea and by attending the Enterprise fellowship programme through the Centre for Entrepreneurship at LJMU this crystalized our idea and gave us the motivation and we received ongoing support to establish our business.

Who are your customers? Refurbishment and new builds private sector, residential developers and private individuals

Have you employed anyone since starting up? 3-4 apprentices and freelance developers

What is the best thing about owning you own business? The different challenges that you face on a daily basis

What is your top business tip? "It is important to be able to understand your essential objectives as to why you are in business"

Merseyside Inclusion Network CIC

Business Owner: Lee Donafee

Name of Business: Merseyside Inclusion CIC

 Website address: www.mincic.co.uk Twitter: @min_cic

Tell us about your business:  Merseyside Inclusion Network is an award winning company which provides a flexible and holistic environment in which a young person’s multiple needs can be met. It is a true grass roots engagement model that engages young people at their level and will empower and support to progress positively into the future. I had a business idea and was sign posted to the Centre for Entrepreneurship who gave me support, advice and guidance but above all gave me the tools to get my business off the ground.

 Who are your partners? Merseytravel, Merseyrail Network and National Citizenship Services

 

Have you employed anyone since starting up? 6 casual workers

What is the best thing about owning you own business? "Being your own Boss!"

What is your top business tip? "Go with your gut feeling and take risks!"

Klinked

Business Owners:  Kyle Corfield and Anthony Packwood

Name of Business: Klinked

Website address: www.klinked.co.uk    Twitter: @getklinked

 

Tell us about your business:  After working in the USA and graduating we came together to develop our business, after discovering a gap in the market for local offers that could be downloaded in real time. With the support of LJMU’s Enterprise Fellowship Programme (EFP) the Klinked app is available on iTunes and Android and provides offers for bars, restaurants and shops.  We now have over 100 businesses and 12,000 users.

Who are your customers? Bars, restaurants, hotels, retail, Camp and furnace, Amalia and Hooka

Have you employed anyone since starting up? 6 staff

What is the best thing about owning you own business?  Having the freedom to make your own decisions, not relying on anyone else to provide you with an income and every day is different.

 

What is your top business tip? "Learn by other peoples mistakes"

 

Kayley Cope Photography

Business Owner:Kayley Cope

Name of Business: Kayley Cope Photography

Website address: www.kayleycope.co.uk  Twitter : @kayleycope

Tell us about your business:  It provides photography and digital services for advertisers, e-commerce and fashion. For me it all started when I completed my degree I approached the Centre for Entrepreneurship, I then applied for the EFP, this helped me meet other creatives and got my business up and running.

Who are your customers?  Shop direct amongst others

What is the best thing about owning you own business?  Having the freedom to direct my business where I want it to be

What is your top business tip?  "Do your research!"

 

Laura Kate Draws

Business Owner(s):  Laura Chapman

 

Name of Business: Laura- Kate Draws

 Website address: http://www.laura-katedraws.co.uk/ Twitter: @laurakatedraws

 

Tell us about your business:  I am an illustrator and am available for collaboration and exhibitions; I will also be able to offer workshops for children and young people, an affordable place for other artists to print as well as offering bespoke print and illustration services. I left university in 2008 gaining a first class degree in graphic arts. I heard about the Enterprise Fellowship Programme and  went to the Centre for Entrepreneurship and at this point I had no knowledge of how to run a business.  This is where I got the support and business advice and a start-up grant which helped me get equipment to start my business.

Who are your customers?  Birmingham Library, the Olympics, Royal Shakespeare Company and illustrations for children

What is the best thing about owning you own business?  Being my own boss and having the flexibility of choosing my own projects to work on.

What is your top business tip?  "Be prepared to work hard!"

Crosby Tea Rooms

Business Owners:  Jenny Larsen and Lucy Williams

Name of Business: The Crosby Tea Rooms

 Website address: http://www.thecrosbytearooms.co.uk  Twitter : @crosbytearooms

 

Tell us about your business?  
I took my first steps to opening a 1940's inspired tea room, after choosing the self-employment option for my summer work placement.
I then joined LJMU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and used the space and support within the Centre to research my idea and after finishing my degree, immediately joined the Enterprise Fellowship Programme and used the business advice and funding to launch my business in Crosby, North Liverpool.

Who are your customers? Dog walkers, residents of Crosby and Jamie Carragher!

Have you employed anyone since starting up? 6 staff

What is the best thing about owning you own business? Having the ability to change things to meet the customer’s needs

 What is your top business tip?  "Stay focused on customers' needs,  and always remember to take a 'glass half full' approach"

Infinite Promotions

Business Owners:  Jack Rea and Ciaran McConnell

 Name of Business: Infinite Productions

Website address: www.infinitepromotions.co.uk        Twitter: @infinite_promo

 

Tell us about your business: Live professional wrestling promotion company. When we decided to set up a business we approached the Centre for Entrepreneurship at LJMU, this was ideal for us. We started the Enterprise Fellowship Programme which gave us a completely different outlook and the way we thought, this process helped us get our business up and running.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who are your customers? Wrestling fans, families and students

Have you employed anyone since starting up? We hire independent contractors

What is the best thing about owning you own business?  Being able to work from home with flexible hours and gaining job satisfaction.

What is your top business tip? Make sure you do something that you enjoy!

 

 

 

Hack Back CIC

Today's #IFB50* is Anita Morris

Name of Business: Hack Back CIC

Website address: www.hack-back.org.uk   Twitter : @burrowingbolt

Tell us about your business: I started out with a company called Holden Morris Consulting working with birds of prey focussing on leadership and development. I then realised that I wanted to work with birds of prey in a therapeutic setting. The Centre for Entrepreneurship helped me to set up, supported all my work and also supported me in the decision to set up a social enterprise.  

Who are your customers? NHS, Special educational needs schools, care home groups, Bupa and the Merseyside probation trust.

Have you employed anyone since starting up?  We have provided paid and unpaid experience to several LJMU post graduate students that has given them the experience they needed to go on to get wonderful jobs. We also supported them through the job search process. A few examples - Suzannah Moon is now a manager within NHS, Maeve Gallagher is now in Talent Management for a well known brand, Marketa Krzokova is now a Learning and Development manager in a large law firm.

What is the best thing about owning you own business? Having flexibility and you are responsible for your own success

What is your top business tip?  

"Seek help and don’t try and do everything yourself"

 

 

 

Emma Sumner

Todays #IFB50* is Emma Sumner

Website address: www.emmasumner.com    Twitter : @emmasumnerart

Tell us about your business:   Emma Sumner is a freelance artist, writer and curator. I attend the Enterprise Fellowship programme that was run through the Centre for Entrepreneurship at LJMU, this helped me to bring all of the elements of my business together into one clear succinct business plan, which in turn helps me to clearly communicate what and who I am to my customer.

Who are your customers?   art collectors, galleries and arts publications.  

What is the best thing about owning you own business?  Watching it grow and realising that it’s my hard work that has got me this far as well as not having anyone else to take credit for my work

What is your top business tip?  Although it’s imperative to work hard, make sure you give your self-time to breath and don’t expect everything to happen overnight.

Beatbox Agency

Todays #IFB50* is

Business owner: Dash O’Brien
Name of Business: Beatbox Agency

Website address: www.beatboxagency.com Twitter @beatboxagency

 

Tell us about your business:  "I first had my idea of starting a business before going to university.  Whilst I was at LJMU I saw flyers and posters that gave information about the Enterprise Fellowship Programme that was run through the Centre for Entrepreneurship at LJMU. I approached the Centre which led me to attending the EFP programme and by doing this it gave me the stepping stones to starting up my own business. My business Beatbox is providing an integral service to the music and film business with its full range of support including DJ and Live Act Agency, Music Supervision and Consultation, Music Playlists and Branding, Video Filming and Editing and Copywriting and PR."

Who are your customers? Bars, Clubs and North West agencies

What is the best thing about owning your business? Having the freedom to work to the hours you set yourself.

What is your top business tip? Use a trusted accountant!

 

TLC

Today's #IFB50* is

The Touring Local Cinema

Website address: www.thetouringlocalcinema.com

Twitter : @enjoy_tlc

Tell us about your business:   After leaving university I decided to put all of my experience into one company which gave me the opportunity to do something I enjoy. I first met with the Centre for Entrepreneurship team at LJMU, they helped me refine my idea and gave me advice and guidance and prepared me to launch my business. The Touring Local Cinema is focused on providing high-quality service and customer satisfaction - we will do everything we can to meet your expectations.

 

Who are your customers? Care homes, local council and community centres

 Have you employed anybody since starting up? Yes, 2 Staff

What is the best thing about owning your business? Having control and doing something that I really care about

What is your top business tip? "If you really care about something don’t hold back"

 

 

To celebrate the International Festival for Business 2014, the Centre for Entrepreneurship is blogging every day about  graduate businesses that we have supported.

They are our 50 Stars of IFB #IFB50*

Name of Business: Archiphonic www.archiphonic.co.uk Twitter: @archiphonic

Business Owners:  Adam Mokhtar and David Banister

 

Tell us about your business:  

"Archiphonic is an architectural design practice that deals with projects across the UK. I attended a workshop at the Centre for Entrepreneurship called Hunting in Packs and from there I learnt what invaluable services the Centre offered.We then got the support and business advice to helpus start up and grow  our business"

Who are your customers? Private developers

Have you employed anyone since starting up? We contract people when we need to

What is the best thing about owning you own business?  Having full control of the design

What is your top business tip?  Early start and don’t try to cram all work into one day. Leave something for the next day!

John Lewis visits LJMU

Staff from Trafford’s John Lewis Visual Merchandising & Community teams visited the Redmond’s Building recently to lead a cross-curricular visual merchandising workshop with students from the Liverpool Business School and Liverpool School of Art and Design.

Students from the Business & Public Relations, Business Communications and Fashion degree programmes who are participating in two separate Young Enterprise-LJMU programmes came together to attend the workshop. They listened to a fascinating talk about the John Lewis organisation and how the merchandising team coordinate their visual merchandising in store. Students then participated in some activities to try out their own visual merchandising skills, producing a seaonally-themed display for a John Lewis store.

 

Sally Partington, Enterprise Education Officer from LJMU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship said:

“We are very grateful to Carole Hartley and Edd Fearn from the John Lewis team for taking the time to come and share their expertise with our students. Their workshop really got the students thinking about how they can merchandise the products that they are producing for their business and fashion projects to good effect”.

Landbaby entrepreneur shares her expertise with LJMU students

LJMU Fine Art graduate and Liverpool-based independent retailer, Claire Bates, recently visited the Liverpool Business School to share her business and merchandise experience with Business PR and Business Communications students who are currently setting up their own small businesses through the Level 5 Graduate Enterprise module.

Claire graduated from LJMU in 2006 with a degree in Fine Art. Shortly afterwards she started her own business, Landbaby, with support from LJMU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship. Landbaby specialises in selling unique hand-crafted work and one-off pieces by designer-makers and is based at The Bluecoat in Liverpool City Centre.

She told the story of her start-up journey and provided students with a valuable insight into how to merchandise a product effectively and creatively with her first-hand experience of the independent retail sector.

Lynne Robertson, Start-up Manager for the Centre for Entrepreneurship, “We are very grateful to Claire for taking the time to come back to LJMU to talk with our students. The fact that she had students lining up to speak with her at the end of the session about their own ideas demonstrates how positively she was received.”

Any LJMU student with a business idea can receive free business advice and support from the Centre for Entrepreneurship www.ljmu.ac.uk/startup

 

 

Claire Bates from Landbaby meets students from student startup Babynature