Colette McKenna has many skills to her name that she has
accumulated throughout her career which helped to launch her business Colette
McKenna Etc...(Employability/Education & Training Consultancy)
Prior to diving into self-employment Colette was Head of Employability
for The City of Liverpool College for 8 years but had worked at the college
since 1995 in various teaching and then management roles which were often
employment and skills focussed too, and has many qualifications ranging from
CIM Management to CIPD.
After deciding to leave The City of Liverpool College last
autumn, Colette says; ‘I felt that I had
more to give and wanted to use the skills and experience I had to work with
businesses and organisations in supporting the communities they serve. I truly
loved my work at the college and working with employment and skills is still my
passion and I bring that passion to the stakeholders I work with.
Colette’s specialisms range from project
management in employability, education and training to curriculum training
design and stakeholder and employer relationships. It’s clear to see that from
her career she has gained an incredible amount of knowledge and skills that
will help her on her way to making her business a success.
After Colette had decided that she would start her own
business, she got in contact with The Women’s Organisation pretty quickly as
she knew about our organisation through working with us during her previous
roles. ‘From that moment on, I was on my
way to getting the support and guidance that I needed. I had already started
setting up everything but wasn’t quite sure if I had covered all bases. My
Business Adviser, Yan Miao, really guided me in the right direction and made me
feel like the business could work. It was so reassuring that my model had potential
and she believed that my business had a future and also in what I was trying to
achieve but her approach was always in a realistic and practical manner.’
But of course, when starting up a new business there are
always going to be challenges that a business owner has to face and Colette has
realised a few things about self-employment on her journey; ‘Actually finding the work was a bit daunting at first and I realised
how much work I had to put into actually setting up the business! I hadn’t
realised just what needed to be done before you even start working on the
business. Also I had to get used to the isolation of working alone and begin
learning different skills to boost the business. But luckily I found it all
very exciting!’
Now that the business is up and running, things are going
really well for Colette and something that she has found particularly valuable
has been networking and relationship building. Colette is receiving great
support from an ex-colleague who has also branched out into running her own
business, and has worked closely with her to signpost work back and forth.
Colette told us; ‘I’m also working really
hard on networking and developing relationships, by basing it on my skills and
knowledge. And thanks to this I now have a few really exciting projects that
I’m working on!’
And what advice would Colette give to someone who was
thinking about starting their own business? ‘I
would tell them to think about what they want from their business and whether
there is a market need for their skills and expertise…And then of course, get
yourself along to The Women’s Organisation!
Looking towards the future of the business, Colette is
hoping to become a Ltd. Company this year and also develop an associate arm of
the business at some point too! So with all this to look forward to, and Colette’s
experience and positive attitude – we just know that the business is going to
be a success!
If you would like to find out more information about Colette
McKenna Etc… you can use the contact details below!
Colette McKenna Etc
Employability/Education & Training Consultancy
54 St James Street
Liverpool
L1 0AB
07468 414 683
email: info.cmketc@gmail.com
And if you’ve been inspired by Colette’s story and are
thinking about starting your own business, The Women’s Organisation can support
you! Email us on hello@thewo.org.uk or
ring us on 0151 706 8111 to see how we can help!
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