Wilfred Emmanuel Jones also welcomed Bev, saying: “As an entrepreneur committed to helping others to develop their businesses, Bev’s experience and insight will be a valuable asset to the Forum.”

Ms Hurley started her first business at the age of 25, growing three successful ventures before being appointed as CEO of YTKO, one of the UK’s leading economic development and enterprise support companies, in 1999.

A holder of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion and winner of a First Women Award for Business Services, Ms Hurley is the founder of Enterprising Women, a national community of more than 8,500 female entrepreneurs, and was responsible for creating the award-winning Norfolk Network, a dynamic innovation and enterprise hub for the knowledge economy, as well as creating YTKO’s Outset business start-up and finance programme, which in the last year alone has helped to create more than 550 sustainable new businesses.

Speaking about her appointment to the Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Ms Hurley commented: “The Entrepreneurs’ Forum is a vital initiative that ensures that the role of entrepreneurship in driving economic growth is not overlooked.

“I am looking forward to working with the Secretary of State, the Business Minister and colleagues on the panel, to take the voice of SMEs to this high level forum and help develop effective policies that stimulate and support business creation and growth in the UK.”

CEO Bev Hurley was joined by panelists Alison Seabeck MP; Tim Jones, chairman of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership; Ted Fry, deputy leader of Plymouth City Council; David Parlby, CEO of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce; city entrepreneur Nigel Godefroy; and Gareth Hart, from the Plymouth Enterprise Network.

Western Morning News editor Bill Martin chaired the 90-minute debate, which asked: “What more can the city and the region do to encourage entrepreneurship?

Questions from the floor ranged from whether entrepreneurs are made or born, to advice for new businesses, gender equality on company boards and what Plymouth should do next to encourage entrepreneurship.

Pointing to examples in Sheffield and Rotherham, Moor View’s MP Alison Seabeck said that more needed to be done to encourage public sector procurement for goods and services from Plymouth businesses.

Responding to a question about how entrepreneurship could be encouraged among young people, Bev Hurley said, “Teachers need to know more about enterprise so they can help to plant the seed”, with Tim Jones encouraging  business people to become school governors. David Parlby praised school enterprise contests, adding that it was important to get the concept of enterprise and entrepreneurship into schools.

Speaking after the debate, Ms Seabeck congratulated Outset Plymouth, saying: “Well done to Outset Plymouth for staging this innovative business debate. The city needs more of them!”

Following demand from other business leaders in the city, Outset Plymouth, which to date has helped more than 100 people to start their own businesses, plans to stage a second debate later this year.

Bev Hurley, CEO of YTKO and start-up support organisation Outset, visited Plymouth last week to share the insights and experience of more than 30 years in business, with a “masterclass’ for some of the city’s newest enterprises.

Ms Hurley’s Business Masterclass, an interactive workshop, was open to Outset Plymouth clients and received substantial coverage in local media, for its no-nonsense approach to tackling the challenges that new businesses face while growing from start-up, through sustainability, to succeed and grow.

Exploring what Ms Hurley calls the ‘business trinity’ of  sales, marketing and finance, with delegates, she said, “Success comes from having a commercial engine – that’s you! – at the front, driving the business. You need good people around you – and once you’re up and running, you need to continue to be innovative. Know what your customers want – and anticipate what they will need in the future.”

Speaking to the Plymouth Herald, Ms Hurley said that creating a new business takes tenacity, determination – and being comfortable with taking risks to make decisions. “A new entrepreneur – any entrepreneur – needs to be clear about where they’re heading, to work out  a logical plan for achieving business goals.”

YTKO’s Outset programme, which operates out of several locations in the South West, reflects this level of pragmatic, hands-on support for new entrepreneurs. Over the past three years, Outset has engaged with thousands of budding new business owners, to help start nearly 600 new businesses in the region. Similar programmes have run in other locations around the UK, with further new contracts in place to grow the Outset network still further in 2012.

Ms Hurley was in Plymouth to present the Spirit of Enterprise Award to winner Lee Duke, at the Plymouth Herald’s Business Awards. Outset clients Patricia Petrie and Janet Wise were shortlisted.

The Award, which focuses on employers who develop and sustain good working relationships with higher education careers services, was presented to Norfolk Network Director Lucy Marks at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, on Wednesday 4th April.

The Norfolk Network was nominated by the University of East Anglia for its collaborative work to mentor students and graduates, co-deliver events and training, provide networking opportunities to students and graduates and champion the importance and value of higher-level skills to the SME business community.

Lucy and the Network’s members were also acknowledged for recognising the value of higher level skills and graduate employment across the board, through their work with Norwich University College of the Arts, City College Norwich and UEA, as well as a host of secondary schools and FE colleges in Norfolk, to raise aspirations and introduce young people to new opportunities.

The winner was voted for by careers services staff and selected from a shortlist that included Ernst & Young, Foot Anstey, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, GE and Teach First.

The Norfolk Network is a dynamic business-to-business community for innovative, ambitious businesses, scientists and entrepreneurs who want to grow, or who are already growing, a successful company in Norfolk.

Bev Hurley, CEO of Norfolk Network and YTKO, commented: “This is a fantastic achievement for Lucy and Norfolk Network members. The award serves as some well-deserved recognition for all the work they do to help students and support the work of not only the UEA’s careers service, but a host of other local educational establishments.”

For more information about the Norfolk Network please visit www.norfolknetwork.com

Following YTKO’s appointment as the only organisation to deliver Kauffman FastTrac in the UK, the Company’s Stacey Pike has become one of only two accredited FastTrac Facilitators in the country. The other is YTKO’s Sandy Eaton, Country Manager for Kauffman FastTrac in the UK.

Stacey is available on the Kauffman Fastrac stand (stand no 2) throughout GEC 2012, where YTKO is attending this week with KFT’s European Distributor, Italy’s Meta Group.

Other YTKO news from GEC 2012:

YTKO’s CEO Bev Hurley speaks at two GEC events this week:

On Wednesday 14th March, Bev joins the Women’s Enterprise Policy Group Roundtable.

This GEC featured event brings together leading policy influencers, entrepreneurs and business support practitioners from across the UK, to discuss how enterprise policy and practice can be developed to support female entrepreneurship more effectively in this country.

Bev Hurley is joined by Anna Heyes (Active Profile), Carrie Green (The Female Entreprenuer Association), Deborah Leary (Forensic Pathways) and Debra Blisson (Former Director of Enterprise and Business Support at Advantage West Midlands). Jeanette Kehoe Perkinson (Just for People Ltd) chairs the session, which includes questions streamed from around the world.

Women’s enterprise Policy Group Roundtable is hosted by The Women’s Organisation, at 54 St James Street, from 13:00-16:00

Then on Thursday, Bev joins her second panel of the week at Global Brands, Global People.

Leading entrepreneurs and decision makers from some of the best known brands on the planet tell their stories: how they build and sustain international businesses, what inspires them and how they stay motivated.

Other panellists include: James Barton (Cream), Ian Ayre (Liverpool FC), Robert Elstone (Everton FC) Gavin Wheeldon (Applied Language Solutions) and Sean Beech (Deloitte). Frank McKenna (DLIB) chairs.

Global Brands for Global People is hosted by Downtown Liverpool in Business (DLIB), on Thursday 15 March, 08.00 – 10.00, at the Hilton Hotel, Liverpool.

For press enquiries/further information, please contact:

Chris Stiven 01223 421477  | 07786 384912  | chris.stiven@ytko.com

Sharon Nall 01223 421478 | sharon.nall@ytko.com

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “Growth has stalled. European politicians have not acted quickly enough. It has been like a bushfire, and the politicians have not created a big enough firebreak, so each time the bushfire has jumped the firebreak and is now getting closer to the houses.”

Given the potential for industrial action, John Taylor, (ACAS) said: “While we have seen some high profile strikes, we need to keep things in perspective. The number of disputes and days lost to strikes remain at historically low levels.”

John Gieve described the prospects for EU and UK banks and economies as “between grim and catastrophic”, seeing a real chance that the euro would collapse leading to a deep depression across the West. Even if that was avoided, he fears a renewed recession would be certain in Europe, with little the UK could do to avoid it.

Despite the challenges, the panel explored the importance of creativity and innovation in creating new jobs and opportunities.

Bev Hurley focused on how loosening the reins for SMEs would generate jobs. She highlighted the importance of redefining “SME” to accurately reflect the distinct profiles and needs of micro, small and medium sized enterprises, pointing out that 98 per cent of all UK enterprises have fewer than 50 employees. With the emphasis on incentivising growth and ambition at the critical stages of the enterprise journey, Bev called for more refined policymaking to reap rich rewards for the UK’s economy.

Read Bev Hurley’s full text, “It’s all about jobs!” here.

Enterprising

Reproduced here with the kind permission of ISBE, the paper includes responses from members of their expert panel.

To date, more than 300,000 entrepreneurs have been supported through enterprise creation, management and growth by FastTrac’s NewVenture, GrowthVenture and TechVenture programmes.

Bev Hurley, Chief Executive of YTKO, says, “We’re delighted that YTKO were selected as the only organisation to deliver Kauffman FastTrac^® in the UK.

“FastTrac is a powerful and highly accessible learning tool, that has earned its reputation for stimulating entrepreneurship by results, and this new partnership will enable YTKO to multiply its own successful approach to driving enterprise awareness and job creation.

“With FastTrac, we will be able to reach many more entrepreneurs looking for effective support to grow their businesses.”

Alana Muller, president of Kauffman FastTrac^® commented, “We selected YTKO because of its impressive record in job creation.

“FastTrac was developed to empower people to create their own jobs – and YTKO’s strength in enterprise start-up and business growth makes them an ideal partner to deliver this accessible learning programme in the UK.”

The three Kauffman FastTrac^® programmes address the range of skills needed at the various stages of business:

• Kauffman FastTrac^® NewVenture: Specifically for new entrepreneurs in the early stages of business creation, NewVenture provides the tools to develop the business concept, determine its viability and outline the critical steps to a successful business launch.

• Kauffman FastTrac^® GrowthVenture: Supports existing entrepreneurs to improve business performance with review and evaluation tools for key aspects of the business, exploring next stage growth and reshaping the existing business for improved profitability and performance.

• Kauffman FastTrac^® TechVenture: Focuses on enterprise creation and development created for technology-based ventures with aspirations for growth.

To find out more or register for details of course dates and news, please email Sandy Eaton, Kauffman FastTrac^® UK country manager, or contact her on 01223 421475.

SPECIAL OFFER: FastTrac will be priced at a 20% discount for the first 100 programmes.

Kauffman in Europe

Thanks to the partnership between META Group and Kauffman FastTrac^®, the FastTrac Programme is now available in Europe with a qualified network of certified partners including YTKO Ltd. Meta Group is a leading International group, working for the creation and acceleration of knowledge intensive companies, through the provision of training and coaching and early stage financing.

Now, with the advance of rapid manufacturing, EL-BO has the opportunity to offer high value manufacturing services. This investment in growth will allow them to maximise the market opportunities that composite materials offer.

YTKO are identifying new market applications for EL-BO and potential customers, as well as developing their brand and supporting their entry into these new markets.  Chosen for our specialisms in research, early stage proof of market and value proposition development, EL-BO are looking to YTKO to help create an effective growth strategy for the company.

Virginie Vinel, Head of Strategy at YTKO, commented: “Making a parallel with the market introduction of digital printing, which I was involved in during the 1990s, the rapid manufacturing with composite materials is a disruptive innovation: it is changing the role of companies in the manufacturing value chain and gives them the ability to exploit new and more profitable market segments.”
 The composite industry is currently in growth stage, with a shipment value of US$17.8billion and annual growth of 10.3% last year. Potential applications are numerous within building construction, wind turbines, oil rigs, bridges, aerospace and
trucking/automotive parts.

In addition to high performance and reduced weight, manufacturing with composite materials can solve some serious challenges, for example, in reducing the cost of deep water constructions and resistance to weather adversities.

Enterprising Women, the largest business community focused solely on women entrepreneurs, carried out its own in-depth research across the UK with female business owners who were ‘stuck’ in achieving their ambitions.  More than 220 women responded, to provide specific insights about their barriers to growth.

These were not all micro businesses. Claiming a total turnover of £47m at the time of responding, some had multi-million£ turnover, some employed between 50-100 people.  All, however, had ambitious plans for growth, which, if those barriers were demolished, would represent a cumulative contribution of £232 million of sales and the creation of more than 3,500 jobs.

If the goals of this representative sample were replicated in every women-owned business in the UK, an additional 240,000 jobs could be created. That is six times the job creation being promised by the £950 million Regional Growth Fund.

Is this level of employment and growth realistic? The women responding to the survey were confident and determined, but they clearly needed specialist help to grow.

Enterprising Women has trained more than 3,000 existing women-owned businesses and helped more than 350 new businesses to start up, delivering a survival rate of more than 80 per cent after four years.  Women business leaders engaged with the Growth Programme report significant job creation, GVA growth and return on investment, none of which have been replicated in traditional business support initiatives.

In Cornwall in 2011, with a group of just 14 businesswomen, the Growth Programme reported – only six months later – turnover increases between 10 – 250% on sales between £100,000 and £1 million. It also revealed greater profitability; significant investments in infrastructure, including expansion into larger premises for four of the businesses; expansion into new markets, including South Africa, Canada and Italy; eight new full time and three part-time jobs – and more forecast.

Participants reported greater strategic direction and focus, growth planning and execution abilities, confidence and vision; and tangible benefits from working in a group of supportive, like-minded peers.  Leadership, sales, growing teams, understanding risk, marketing strategy and tactics, and financial skills improved greatly.  Benchmarked across 14 personal and functional attributes before and after participation, improvement percentages ranged from 130% – 193%.

Further evidence of the longer-term impact of the Growth Programme came from women taking part in Northern Ireland nearly two years ago.  More than 80 per cent said that they were still using learning from the course to grow their businesses, and that their confidence, motivation and determination to succeed endured.  As one respondent commented:

“The impact was profound for me.  The spirit and ethos of the programme, and the tools and knowledge I gained, continues with me to this day, especially when I’m pursuing new business.”

Two new products and three new services had been developed and launched, including into new export markets, four businesses had expanded into larger premises – and first year turnover increases had continued into the second year, with sustained increases between 30 – 120%.  32 per cent of women contacted had created new full and part-time jobs.

Of equal validity, the Growth Programme helped two women to realise that their business idea could not deliver the sustainable growth they sought. Undeterred, they have since set up new companies, applying the skills and knowledge they had gained. Considering that the economic recession struck particularly hard in Ireland during this period, such results are a strong testimony to the Growth Programme’s legacy.

Growth Programme results are so good because content is relevant and pragmatic. It is based on 30 years of practical, first hand experience of growing businesses – and a decade of supporting women entrepreneurs in particular, with the benefit of real-world experience at its core.

The focus is on the individual as well as on their business; you cannot grow a business without growing the founder at the same time. Effective management and leadership skills are imperative for growth. Results from Enterprising Women Growth Programmes to date very clearly demonstrate the value of a different type of intervention, shaped according to the size of the business.  Aggregating everything from sole traders to businesses with 250 employees together under the broad heading of SME – and trying to address the widely disparate needs of such a broad band with generic support – is bound to fail.

The Growth Programme is therefore directed at different levels, in a variety of ways, to suit not only the numerous trials that most micro, small and medium businesses face, but also to address the specific challenges faced by women in business.

This is where the employment and enterprise agendas for women start to come together. Unlocking the huge potential of women entrepreneurs to drive their businesses through successive stages of growth will reap significant economic rewards. This, combined with the government’s campaign, following Lord Davies’ report, to encourage more women into leadership and directorship positions, will increase the performance of the UK economy as a whole. But one size does not fit all.

At No. 10 recently, YTKO Chief Executive Bev Hurley was encouraged to hear the Prime Minister speak about the importance of the latter agenda; but frustrated that there was absolutely no mention of support for the former. Enterprising women are demonstrating that this could be a serious oversight – and the Growth Programme will continue to support them, as they target the kind of growth that makes jobs and delivers almost unparalleled returns.