Meet Our New Team Member – Sue Phillips!

We’ve had an exciting few months here at The Women’s Organisation, and have taken on 2 new team members in our Administration staff! We’d like you to get to know them, so we’ve sat them down and had a chat to find out all about them. First, of all meet Sue Phillips – our new Administrator!

What’s your full name and where are you from?

Sue Phillips from Liverpool

Tell us how your first found out about The Women’s Organisation and became part of our team?

I first found out about The Women’s Organisation when I was applying for the job although I had known about Train 2000 many years ago when I was working at CDS Training for Enterprise Ltd. When reading the job advert I felt that this organisation was very similar to other organisation I have previously worked for and I felt that I would really like to work for the organisation. So I applied and became part of the team!

What kinds of things have you done prior to coming to The Women’s Organisation?

I have worked for 2 other organisations similar to The Women’s Organisation as mentioned; CDS Training for Enterprise Ltd. Which was an Enterprise Agency, training long term unemployed people to get back into employment. We were the first training organisation to teach people working in the print industry on Apple Mac computers back in the 80’s when this was new to the industry. We also helped people starting up their own businesses, accessing grants and training courses.

The other organisation was Positive Impact, this was an all-female business set up by myself and 3 other women. This was a Performing Arts training agency set up for young people from disadvantaged groups, it was very successful helping many young people from Liverpool fulfil their dreams of performing, whether it be singing, dancing, acting or scriptwriting.

Both these organisation were very similar to The Women’s Organisation in the way we worked towards helping people achieve their goals.

What has surprised you about working at The Women’s Organisation?

The thing that has surprised me most about The Women’s Organisation is how much I have learnt in the short time I have been here.

What’s the best thing about working at The Women’s Organisation?

The best thing about working here is working with people who genuinely enjoy being here, which makes my time here very enjoyable!

Could you describe one of your typical workdays?

A typical workday would be opening up the building, dealing with our clients who have booked rooms, arranging refreshments for our courses, checking that rooms are tidy and any unused rooms are locked. We also email or text people reminders who are on our courses or for one to one meetings, and sorting out our post for the tenants,, we deal with tenant’s visitors when they arrive, book rooms for internal and external visitors and set up rooms for the following day! So lots of different things to do!

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

That I was in a 4 piece girl band called Distinction when I was younger! We got back together during my time at Positive Impact and did all the backing singing in our productions, so I was doing finance during the day and on stage during the night!

What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

When I’m not working I still do some finance work for Positive Impact as the company is still going but much smaller due to lack of funding. I also spend time with my daughter and son when I can; we enjoy the same things like the theatre and music concerts. I also visit and spend time with my friends and family when I can.


We're delighted to welcome Sue to our 54 and WO family, and know she's going to fit right in!

Erasmus+ ACE Partners Meet in Bulgaria

Last week project partners for the 'ACE' project met in Sofia, Bulgaria hosted by 'Know and Can Association'.  Enteprise Director Jackie Williams and Training Coordinator Bernie Cox from The Women's Organisation joined the transnational meeting to represent the UK.  

The purpose of the visit was to review progress to date on the creation of the 5 training modules which are being developed to support adult educators and enterprise advisers in working with lifestyle entrepreneurs. The modules will cover:

• The Basics of Lifestyle Entrepreneurship
• The Use of ICT and Open Educational Resources in Lifestyle Entrepreneurship
• Marketing of Adult Education on Lifestyle Entrepreneurship for Disadvantaged Learners
• Assessment Tools of Learners' Skills and Competancies in Lifestyle Entrepreneurship
• Creating Awareness on Validation of the Acquired Competences 

During the meeting the group also reviewed the template for video and written case studies around lifestyle entrepreneurship that will be used to gain better understanding of the practical experiences of lifestyle entrepreneurs. 

Bernie Cox reflecting on the meeting saying:

"Transnational partnership meetings are a great opportunity to build closer bonds with the team you are working collaboratively with.  It is great that we have skype and other online tools to allow us to work together even at a distance, but meeting in person solidifies that working relationship and allows us to workshop ideas as a group.

It was interesting this time to meet in Sofia as it is somewhere I've not visited before, so it was good to have a chance to soak in some of the local culture and to find out more about our host organisation. 

I've come away from the meeting in Bulgaria with renewed understanding of what we are hoping to achieve through the ACE project, and I look forward to seeing how the training modules continue to develop."

The next transnational meeting will take place later this year in Cyprus where a pilot of the training modules will be carried out. 

The ACE Project brings together a dynamic European Partnership of Key Practitioners within the fields of ICT, Education and Entrepreneurship to research and develop a programme that will focus on developing adult educators' competences to promote learners' lifestyle entrepreneurship.

For more information about ACE please click here. 

Ruth Smart Establishes a Family Council To Continue Her Legacy of Tranect Ltd.

We’ve heard many different business stories here at The Women’s Organisation, but never have we heard one quite like Ruth Smart’s and the business which she is the Executive Director of, Tranect Ltd. Tranect is a design and manufacturing company for electrical components used for power generation and transmission. Ruth is currently in the process of something rarely seen in the UK, establishing a Family Council so that her business can be taken over by her children when she retires. We spoke to Ruth to find out more about her background, her business and how she is implementing this interesting business model.

Prior to founding Tranect Ltd, Ruth worked for different multinational companies designing and manufacturing this type of product, after studying at Brunel University and becoming a Chartered Engineer. Ruth told us; ‘I wanted to start up my own business because I kept on being made redundant as manufacturing plants moved overseas. When I had the opportunity to buy an obsolete product range and redevelop it. I took out a bank loan, secured on our family home and invested all of our savings and my redundancy money into the business.’

During the initial years, like many business owners starting own, Ruth faced some challenges such as cash flow and other issues which she faced head on. She told us that she has a supportive partner, and although she worked for longer hours, she enjoyed the benefits that come with being your own boss such as deciding when she needed to be in the factory and when she could be at home. Tranect Ltd. has been running for 15 years now, and it’s really starting to get interesting at this point a Ruth begins to think about what will become of her legacy after she retires.

She told us; ‘Originally the business was to provide a secure source of income for my family, but now that they are grown up and working, I can see how the business can continue to provide security for all the members of the family, and potentially my grandchildren. It can be a legacy that I pass on.’

And the way that Ruth will pass on her legacy is through the formation of a Family Council who will take control of the business, so when Ruth steps down as the Executive Director, her children will be able to take over the running of the business through the Family Council. Ruth says; ‘When my children were growing up, they didn’t want anything to do with the business, they wanted to go off and do their own things. But now that they’ve graduated, had some time out in the big wide world and have their own families and children, they are starting to appreciate the benefits of a family owned business. Where we have far more control over the hours that we have to work, and we’re better able to get our work/life balance right. So, now my son and son-in-law work in the business, and we are having discussions about how to hand over the business when I retire.’

This was the conversation that led Ruth to seek help through her local growth hub where she came across The Women’s Organisation. Ruth has been working with our Senior Business Adviser, John Jones, on an ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funded business growth programme; New Markets 2, and has found specific support from John in transferring the business from one generation to the next; ‘I’ve been working with John, which has been really helpful. We’ve ensured that the women within the family are all equally represented within the Family Council going forward and are provided with the training and support that they need to be able to fulfill their role.’

So what has Ruth found challenging throughout this journey? Namely, explaining this interesting business model to the rest of her family; ‘The strangest explanation was to my youngest daughter who lives in London and has nothing to do with the business whatsoever, but will inherit a third of the business in time. I had to explain that as the non-executive shareholder, she would have to take over chairing the Family Council including the role of having to sort out any disputes in the business going forward. She responded saying that she doesn’t know anything about that sort of thing, but The Women’s Organisation and their recommended consultants can provide the training and support she needs to fulfil that role.’

What we found most interesting about this business model of the Family Council was that they are relatively unknown in the United Kingdom. The Institute for Family Businesses has general guidance for succession planning, but Ruth said; ‘We are using a model that has been adopted by family businesses from around the world, and it’s quite a typical way for German family-run businesses to operate. It’s one of the greatest successes of German businesses that they are able to have the second, third and fourth generations come into the business, learn about it and provide the business with continuity and continued investment. I think there is something in this that we could all learn from.’

So, now Ruth has her family on board and the Family Council is established, she is safe in the knowledge that the business she has worked for half her life to establish and grow, will continue after she retires, in the hands of her children and grandchildren.

If like Ruth you are looking to make changes and grow your already existing business, please get in touch with us to see how we can help you grow. As a local growth hub broker we are here to offer you advice and guidance whatever stage your business and help you to connect to relevant support. Email us on hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111

Contact Details for Tranect Ltd

Web: www.tranect.co.uk

Tel: 0151 548 7040

Email: ruth.smart@tranect.co.uk

Photo Credits: Liverpool Camera Girl

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