DIGA Research Findings - Breakdown by Briga Hynes

The Digital Innovations for Growth Academy operates as a Strategic Partnership from seven member states and is involved in the enhancement of digital competencies of entrepreneurs and owner-manager through the provision of appropriate small firm context digital training programmes. The development of such training programmes is underpinned by an informed understanding of the current status and practices of digital in the entrepreneurial context. To achieve this objective an empirical research study was undertaken with a sample of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial educators and trainers and entrepreneurial learners to ascertain the predicaments they encounter in the adoption of digital and what their needs are in terms of addressing these quandaries. The multi country study (United Kingdom; Ireland; Slovenia; Spain; Lithuania; Bulgaria and Finland) returned a response of 482 usable surveys.

Overall, survey results show that many small businesses are engaging with digital technologies and demonstrate intent to increase their usage of tools to extend into online selling, online networking and ecommerce to a lesser extent.

There was a lack of a strategic perspective of integrating digital technology as part of the broader strategy for their enterprise where digital was viewed on the periphery and undertaken when needed.

A challenge for the surveyed firm, was how to more fully capitalise on the ever increasing opportunities presented by social and digital technologies, whilst balancing the use of those most relevant and appropriate ones to reduce a fragmented and piecemeal approach to achieving a non-measured set of tasks.  Related is the lack of clear measurement or tracking of performance from digital efforts and resources extended to digital media – this lack of measurement perhaps is linked to the absence of a clear set of objectives and fear and confusion as to the potential of digital for a small enterprise.

The ability and need for integrating digital into mainstream business activities is an area requiring attention and is a fundamental foundation on which any successful digital strategy is built on.   Entrepreneurs decide on training on a haphazard basis which may reflect the current or immediate needs of the entrepreneur and the stage of their company rather than a holistic and future planned approach.

Therefore capability and competency development are fundamental to enable and embed a digital mind set in the entrepreneurial context and should incorporate a digital learning pedagogy, which contains views on the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of digital as it applies to an entrepreneurial context, and which provides opportunities for the learner to experience and learn ‘with’ and ‘from’ the entrepreneurial application of digital, thus instilling real world and relevant digital ‘know how’.

Dr. Briga Hynes,

Kemmy Business School

Further reflections from DIGA findings so far can be downloaded in two summary reports also prepared by Briga Hynes:

• Going Digital in the Small Firm – Is it all about technology!!! 
• Adopting Digital – Digital Dilemma’s Encountered in the Entrepreneurial Context

DIGA Partners Meet in Maribor

Last week some of The Women's Organisation team headed to Maribor in Slovenia as part of the DIGA Project. DIGA brings together expertise from organisations in UK, Ireland, Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Spain to develop an innovative ICT and digital training programme for staff delivering vocational education and training in the fields of entrepreneurship and business development.

The purpose of the meeting in Maribor was to deliver a knowledge transfer workshop to ensure programme delivery staff from each partner organisation have a shared understanding of the draft programmes and resources available so far. The DIGA collective also shared trainer case study examples for final evaluation report and the essential messages and stakeholders to be targeted for dissemination in the next six months including a Brussels multiplier event. Following the progress of the meeting a pilot of the training will now go ahead early summer 2016 to test the learning and development so far achieved on the project. 

Operations Manager for The Women's Organisation Laura Anderson felt the visit to Maribor was great for the learning of the team particularly for "personal learning, expanding our knowledge of new online tools such as Google Garage".

Laura went on to say the highlight of the trip for her was "Sharing knowledge and expertise" and said of the transnational meetings as a whole "I always come away with some interesting facts or programmes I had never heard of and come away thinking I will look into that further once home. As well as knowledge its also really nice to build relationships with external partners."

From the photos taken it also looks like sampling the local cuisine was a big plus of the visit! (The way to our hearts is definitely through our stomachs).

We'd like to thank our partners from Economic Institute of Maribor, Human Resource Development Centre for their hospitality and we look forward to catching up following the delivery of the pilots. 

For more information on the DIGA project including latest news and findings please visit www.thewomensorganisation.org.uk/projects-and-partnerships/diga 

A Teacher, Then Bookkeeper, Now A Coffee Shop Owner – Samantha Carney’s Journey Into Self-Employment

What exactly do a Barber Shop and a Coffee Shop have in common? You’d be forgiven for thinking not very much! But, on County Road, Liverpool – they share the same space! At Sweeps Coffee House the building is shared with Sweeps Barbers and it seems it’s a match made in heaven! Owner of Sweeps, Samantha Carney spoke to The Women’s Organisation about her journey into self-employment and what Sweeps is all about!

Samantha told us; ‘I’m a Mum of two, and I’ve lived in North Liverpool all of my life. After leaving school with bad exam results, I got a job in Lewis’s Coffee Shop where I worked for a few years.’ Later in life Samantha decided to take the big step and return to school to get the A Level results that she had always wanted and continue on with education by enrolling in University as a mature student. ‘I went onto University and completed my degree whilst also working part-time’ It was all worth it at the end as Samantha graduated with a First Class honours degree and embarked on what would make up a large part of her working life…A ten year teaching career.

‘I spent over ten years working as an early years teacher in schools across Liverpool and it was great! Then in 2013 I left teaching and with the help of The Women’s Organisation I set up my first business as a bookkeeper in 2014.’

Samantha still works on a part time basis as a bookkeeper supporting Sole Traders with their accounting and self-assessment, but a lot of her time is now based around Sweeps which opened in February of this year. Samantha says; ‘In 2015 I was approached by a friend and local business owner, John May who owns Sweeps Barber Shop and he suggested that we go into partnership to open a Coffee Shop in the unit that adjoins the barbers.’ And so they did, and what a success it has been.

Sweeps Coffee House

The one and only Independent Liverpool in their interview with John May described it as ‘An elegant 1920’s styled coffee house that will hit you right in your sweet tooth. Freshly roasted coffee, loose leaf teas and treats – a place to grab a coffee before getting our ears lowered.’ In February 2016 when Sweeps had their grand opening, they knew it was going to be a great success with so many people joining them and launching their business with Leanne Campbell Power of Radio City and Boxing Champions, The Smith Brothers cutting their red ribbon. Now employing five staff and having built good links with local independent suppliers like Joe Black Coffee, it seems like Sweeps Coffee House is right at home on County Road.

Sweep Coffee House Opening

With the seemingly relentless influx on coffee shops and restaurants in the city centre of Liverpool, we think it’s great that new places are opening outside of the square mile of L1 

and Samantha thinks the same! ‘I love owning a business in North Liverpool, this is the area I grew up in and I am proud to have a business in the area. The area has had its problems over the last few years but there is a strong group of local business owners trying their best to regenerate the area, to support each other and to bring new business to the area.’

Sweeps Coffee House Opening

In terms of support, Samantha of course received support from The Women’s Organisation, both when setting up her bookkeeping business and when starting Sweeps. She told us; ‘The support I received from The Women’s Organisation has been invaluable. When I initially set up my bookkeeping practice I was given 12 hours of support including one to one sessions, courses and help with business planning. And when I was starting Sweeps, the advisors at The Women’s Organisation were again always on hand with advice, signposting me in the right direction of funding, helping with business planning and answering my questions.’

So what has been Samantha’s key to success? ‘I would say definitely team work. John and I work really well together. We both have our strengths and weaknesses, but our different skills complement each other. I’ve learnt so many new skills from Sweeps from food hygiene qualifications to payroll. Every day brings something new and it’s been a huge learning curve.’

If you want to find out more about Sweeps Coffee House and barbers, there is a great interview with them on the Independent Liverpool blog, or you can visit their Facebook page here! Sweeps is located on County Road in Liverpool, so pop over and say hello!

Social Enterprise Comics Youth Delivers Inspiring Work Across Merseyside

Business ideas that occur over a bottle of wine on a long winter’s evening, or that are magically created on a delayed train journey sitting next to your friend, don’t always tend to be turned into a reality. Some business ideas stay just that, ideas. But Jhelisa Taylor-Brown’s idea which she set up with her friend Rhiannon Powell didn’t. It’s become a reality for them, and here’s how she did it…

Jhelisa had always been passionate about reading and literacy and began to talk to Rhiannon about an idea that she had for a Social Enterprise working with comics and the potential of reading for pleasure to promote literacy. Rhiannon, who has experience in the third sector, encouraged Jhelisa to make the necessary steps and turn the idea into a business. Now with Rhiannon, Jhelisa and two other Directors, Mark and Joel, Comics Youth is being launched in the Merseyside area.

Comics Youth provides comic based literacy programmes for disadvantaged young people aged from 13-25, targeting areas that are high in deprivation, unemployment and young people that are NEET. Jhelisa is passionate about the possibilities that reading, literacy and in particular comics, open up for young people and believes firmly that reading for pleasure and opportunities for creativity should always be on the agenda.

After studying English Literature and French at University, Jhelisa taught in a French Primary School as part of her year abroad, and it was here that she grew to really enjoy the process of teaching and facilitating with groups of young people. ‘When I taught in France I thought I was just going to be supporting the kids, as a Teaching Assistant. But in reality I was plonked in a classroom and they told me that I needed to teach all these classes. It was really intense, but it was great at the same time to be able to plan the curriculum, the topics and deliver all the lessons.’ 

Once Jhelisa graduated, she decided to carry on living in Liverpool and began looking for work as a Teaching Assistant, but soon the wheels were put in motion for Comics Youth to become a business and Social Enterprise.

Comics Youth for Jhelisa is; ‘A way of fostering a love of reading and encouraging self-expression, rather than just trying to hit targets. I wanted to promote literacy because I’ve always loved reading, but a lot of people don’t have the opportunity, especially with Comics, as they aren’t studied in mainstream schools and aren’t on any curriculums.’

Jhelisa got in touch with The Women’s Organisation when she was beginning the process and has been supported by Senior Business Adviser, Huda Mamoun as well as attending some of our training courses with Bernie Cox, like our Planning for Success one-day course to help her put together a solid plan for Comics Youth. Something that Jhelisa has found difficult as she starts up her business has been the legal side of things that are sometimes more complex when beginning a Social Enterprise and working with young people;

‘The legal side of things was difficult, deciding what type of structure to set up as, and then how to set it up. On top of that was the amount of policies that we needed to be in place, especially working with young people and vulnerable adults. I had to delve head first into that, and try to get to grips with it all. That was tough to begin with, but just because it was really new.’

But luckily Jhelisa isn’t the type of person to let that faze her; ‘I enjoyed the challenge of it, and I enjoy knowing that what we do is going to have an impact. I think I’m one of those terrible people who thrive on stress, so I relished the challenge, and just went 100% into it.’ 

At the moment Comics Youth is starting to deliver comic and zine creation workshops and comics reading groups in youth centres in Liverpool and Knowsley, and is preparing to deliver workshops and programmes in conjunction with other third sector organisations in Merseyside. They have also recently started to recruit volunteers to contribute comic book reviews and community articles to their website.

Lots of big plans are under wraps with Comics Youth and Jhelisa, now a Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs, is looking forward to growing the business. ‘This year will really be a developmental process, seeing what we need to change and improve - we want to end up with a model that is efficient, effective and functions well. In the future we want to expand and develop Comics Youth as much as possible, running a range of sessions, workshops and drop -ins for lots of young people across Merseyside’

If you’d like to find out more about Comics Youth, you can do by getting in touch with them via email, social media or their website. Get in touch with them at www.comicsyouth.co.uk or comicsyouthliv@gmail.com, or you can find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

In The Media: The Women’s Organisation Asks: Are Your Daughters Worth 20% Less?

Maggie O’Carroll CEO of women’s enterprise support agency The Women’s Organisation spoke out in response to the news that the gender pay gap now stands at 19.2% and that large companies will have to publish their pay reports in 2018.

The government has revealed its plans for companies with over 250 employees to be ranked in a ‘League Table’ dictating the amounts that they pay their male and female staff, including bonuses, in a bid to draw attention to the gender pay gap which currently stands at 19.2%

Although it is illegal to pay men and women different amounts (and has been since 1974) the figure now stands at 19.2%, as estimated by the Office for National Statistics. This figure illustrates the gap between full and part time workers in the UK and means that a woman is now earning 80p for every £1 earned by her male counterpart.

The Women’s Organisation welcomes the changes announced in government this week that larger firms will be required to report and disclose their employees payments and salaries and believe that now is the time for transparency in regards to the pay gap between men and women, even though it is 45 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed demanding men and women receive the same amount for doing the same jobs.

CEO of The Women’s Organisation, Maggie O’Carroll said; ‘This news is a step in the right direction towards gender equality, but there is still work to be done. There needs to be transparency and it needs to come from these larger companies who have the mechanisms in place to monitor and evaluate their business practices.’

‘Women are still earning 20% less than men every year, which is morally wrong. Exposing this bad practice is an incentive to start addressing this issue, but where is the enforcement and where is the punishment for these companies to be held accountable? We’re not interested in naming and shaming these companies, we want action.’

The Women’s Organisation also believes that the 20% difference between men and women’s pay is morally and economically bankrupting the women of the United Kingdom, and that the 20% could impact our economy and our communities if the women had it to spend.

Maggie O’Carroll said; ‘We think it is time that Britain leads by example in this area and doesn’t just continue with the outdated and redundant practices that in place. We would like to invite the CEO’s and Directors of these companies to think about their own daughters and whether they deserve 20% less than their male counterparts.’ 

Local Business Community Offer 20th Birthday Wishes for The Women's Organisation

It is officially 20 years since The Women's Organisation started as Train 2000 Ltd. with a vision of supporting the economic development of women. Over that time we have supported over 50,000 women to consider their enterprise and employment options and helped to build a national framework for women's enterprise.  We have considered it a priveledge to work with so many amazing women the last 2 decades and are excited to see what the next 20 years has in store. 

Some of our key supporters from the last 20 years have been kindly offering us their birthday wishes and thoughts on our achievements over the last 2 decades. We wanted to share some of these lovely comments with you.

Lisa Greenhalgh, MSIF 

“The Women’s Organisation has been such an important factor locally in helping women of all ages, background and circumstance set up their own businesses. A lot of successful businesses in the region are run by women and they are an important contributor to the growth of the local economy. The support provided by the Women’s Organisation has given women the confidence, knowledge and practical advice to make their business ideas a reality and achieve their dreams. We are delighted to have worked with them in partnership over the years and look forward to continuing this relationship in the future to help even more women set up in business.”
Lisa Greenhalgh, Chief Operating Officer, MSIF

Max Steinberg,
Liverpool Vision

“An organisation that promotes and supports the development of women in business is not unique to Liverpool – most major cities will have some group or organisation that promotes women’s business through networking, mentoring, business support or a combination of all of these things. However what is unique to Liverpool is the level of commitment and innovation which the Women’s Organisation has demonstrated consistently over its 20-year life span. Now internationally renowned, the Women’s Organisation nevertheless remains true to its founding principle of delivering tangible results by being accessible to all women, regardless of their social or economic standing. Of the 50,000 women the WO has helped since its inception in 1996, over 27% have been lone parents, 21% from the BME community; and a significant proportion of their clients were experiencing mental ill health and distress. To have achieved the results they have is therefore nothing short of remarkable. I therefore take great pleasure in offering my warm congratulations on their 20th anniversary, and in wishing Maggie and her team even more outstanding success for the future.”
Max Steinberg, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision

Frank McKenna,
Downtown in Business

"The Women’s Organisation are a key strategic partner for Downtown, and they have helped (and persuaded) enormously in recent years in the campaigning and advocacy work our organisation has undertaken on the female enterprise agenda.  We have had the pleasure of working with many of the women led businesses that have been supported by WO, and Maggie and the team fulfil an essential role in helping, developing and growing female owned companies across the Liverpool city region and beyond.
Happy twentieth anniversary. Here’s to the next twenty!"

Frank McKenna, Chairman Downtown in Business

Steve Coffey, LMH

“We have been a supporter of The Women’s Organisation for many years – they carry out some fantastic work for the benefit of the wider community – and have made a big difference in our neighbourhoods.
The organisation has helped create over 100 new businesses run by tenants, which in turn have supported more than 1,000 women in their attempts to achieve economic and social well being.  Our enterprise team works closely with them to deliver an innovative partnership programme to encourage emerging female and social entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, which is crucial if we are to build truly equal and diverse communities.”
Steve Coffey, Chief Executive at Liverpool Mutual Homes

Pamela Ball, KCVS

For twenty years the Women’s Organisation has progressively worked to improve the lives of women entrepreneurs and our local communities. They are leaders in the equality movement as well as giving expertise for businesses that is unmatched across Merseyside. When I first became aware of The Women's Org and then met Maggie and her colleagues , I was bowled over by the passion , shared commitment and bravery that they all showed with regards to championing women’s rights, positive equalities policies and in simply raising  the profile of women in our local communities. Personally TWO and its events and people have become like a second home to me where I can not only count on support for our newly forming Women’s Equality Party local branch, but support my beliefs in equalities and the harm done to women in an unequal society. Thank you for letting me become a friend of TWO and I would be privileged to share positive passion with your organisation through its next twenty years !
Pamela Ball, CEO KCVS , BA , FRSA   

Heather Waters, Natwest

"I have had the pleasure to work with The Women's Organisation for 3 years although there has been a long standing relationship with some of our staff.  We have always had a great working relationship where we have been more than happy to promote/signpost the support the W.O. Offers  to women looking to start and growth their businesses.  In the last 2 years we have had the opportunity to award grant funding for additional support. One of these projects was POWER- this was a great success and they exceeded the targets agreed. They worked with over 300 women and did create businesses.  Promoting Opportunities for Women in Enterprise and Regeneration (POWER) programme provided support to women living in deprived communities in the Liverpool city region and who were disadvantaged as a result of being unemployed, economically inactive, disabled or from a BME community, to start their own business or social enterprise.

 I am so pleased to hear that they are celebrating 20 years of supporting women in Enterprise and long may it continue. Congratulations and Well Done!"

Heather Waters, North England Territory Enterprise Manager Natwest

We are so grateful to have worked alongside some amazing organisations and fabulous women over our 20 years.  If you have fond memories of your time with The Women's Organisation (formally Train 2000) and would like to share your story or birthday wishes with us, please contact our team via 20Years@thewo.org.uk - We are making 2016 the year of celebrating 20 years of women's economic development and inspirational stories of our women. 

Vicky Powell Carden Created The Perfect Job For Herself With Retail Business Queen...

Vicky Powell-Carden is the Retail Business Queen, that’s her business name and it’s a name that so totally encompasses everything that Vicky is about, she’s passionate, knowledgeable and has years of experience in the retail industry, and we were delighted to get the chance to sit down with Merseyside’s official Retail Business Queen.

Vicky has worked in retail for numerous years, getting her first retail job as a Buyer’s Assistant when she was only 23 and has worked for Matalan, Pound Stretcher, Home Bargains (TJ Morris) and many others over the years, most recently working as the Head of Buying & Merchandising for Liverpool Football Club, always in one retail capacity or another. She says; ‘I’ve always worked for other people and other businesses, I loved my work and have travelled all over the world with it, from China to Indonesia, the USA and Europe. I had a great career but came to the conclusions that I wasn’t happy working for someone else and I had this burning desire to start my own business, except I didn’t know exactly what that business was going to be.’

So with only the idea of wanting to start a business, Vicky came to The Women’s Organisation and was paired up with Business Adviser Jo Mountfort, and together they began to brainstorm and think about how Vicky’s skill set could be turned into a viable business. ‘I originally came to The Women’s Organisation and spoke to Jo about starting up an online retail shop, but we soon realised that this was not going to get me to the level of income that I really wanted.’ 

It wasn’t only this reason, but also the fact that Vicky was missing certain aspects of her previous roles as a buyer for big organisations. ‘I missed the whole buzz of it really, I missed talking to suppliers, I missed getting excited about product development. Jo told me that I had a solid set of skills and a lot of experience and told me that there would be people interested in hiring my services as a buyer, either on a contract or project basis. Or I could consider offering training workshops… And that’s where it started really.’

Vicky’s business, RBQ Consultancy Ltd (Retail Business Queen) offers services to businesses such as Supplier and Cost Price Evaluation, Buyer Project Work and Retail Operations Planning and training. Vicky started the business in 2015 and it seems like she’s found the perfect fit for her! ‘Since I started my business, I’m evolving as a business owner and my business model is able to move constantly. I’ve had lots of different clients and I’ve got many more different directions that I would like to go in, in the future.’

For us, here at The Women’s Organisation, where we interact with female business owners on a daily basis, it’s clear to see how needed Vicky’s skill set is for those starting or growing their retail businesses. We’ve heard countless stories of business owners purchasing goods from overseas at, what seems to be at first, great prices, before being hit with a big bill on delivery and taxes! Vicky, through her connections and experience, is able to alleviate this stress and help business owners avoid nasty surprises like these big bills!

Vicky says; ‘There’s so many potential pitfalls in retail, there’s quality issues, packaging, labelling, compliance to name but a few, and people can get themselves in a bit of a mess! If you’re bringing something into the country, you are liable and responsible for anything to do with it. So for things like electrical or children’s products, everything has to be completely water tight and comply to British and European regulations.’

As well as using her experience and knowledge to help businesses buy their products properly, Vicky says she there are also more diverse angles to Retail Business Queen that she is enjoying exploring. ‘I was approached by a student property company, they are a new business and they supply the student accommodation sites with items like beds, bedding, pots and pans, cutlery and even wine glasses. I worked with them on a tight deadline last year and drew on my buying skills so I was able to save them huge amounts of money from smarter sourcing, as well as making sure they have the quality products that they want. I saved them over £50,000’

Although, of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Vicky, like all start-ups, Vicky has had her challenges. ‘To get everything off the ground is always going to be a little tough. I’ve got to divide my time between so many different things; doing a bit of PR, meeting new clients, invoicing, quoting, as well as doing some actual work!’ As well as this, Vicky is juggling her new business with looking after her two children and developing her skills in areas like Social Media. ‘I’ve always worked in huge organisations where we had whole departments to look after our website, Social Media and SEO, so this has been a great learning curve for me.’

Matt & Vicky At 'Should I Wholesale?'

And there are more plans in the pipeline for the future of RBQ Consultancy Ltd such as workshops, drop-in surgeries and clinics aimed at giving business owners fast, great advice when they need it. Back last year Vicky took part in an event we held here at The Women’s Organisation, Should I Wholesale? Where she sat on a panel with Matt Bell, Founder of Revolver Retail and the REX Concept Store, and answered questions and queries on wholesaling; ‘It was the first time I’d ever done anything like that before and I really enjoyed it, it’s something I would like to develop further. I’m passionate about the sector and being able to break difficult topics down for a business owner is something I really enjoy doing.’ 

But most of all, Vicky relishes the variety of work that RBQ Consultancy allows her, from working with large organisations to working one on one with start-ups, speaking to suppliers or sourcing the best products for a client.

And what advice does Vicky have for anyone thinking about starting their own business; ‘Well. It sounds cheesey, but do come down to The Women’s Organisation or any other support service and talk your idea through! Your friends and family can be quite biased so talk to those who are surrounded by business start-ups and they can come at it from a different angle. By speaking to Jo, I was able to see my business idea from a different perspective and it gave me the confidence and the push that I needed…’

If you would like to find out more about Vicky and her business RBQ Consultancy Ltd. Get in touch with her using the contact details below!

Website: www.rbqconsultancy.co.uk                      

Email: vicky@rbqconsultancy.co.uk

Phone Number: 07767 870977

Social Media: Facebook: RetailQueen

Twitter: @RBQConsult

And if you are interested in finding out how The Women’s Organisation can support you and your business idea, then get in touch with us! You can ring us on 0151 706 8111 or email hello@thewo.org.uk