I love my job!

Last Thursday I had the privilege of speaking at the East Midlands Business Women’s Conference and presenting the Awards for the three categories, sponsored by EMDA (East Midlands Development Agency),for Business Woman of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Most Innovative Business of the Year. Some weeks earlier I had been a judge for these awards so I was involved in deciding should win.

Every one of the finalists deserved to be a winner but we had to decide on one from each category. We were looking for a strong business model, passion for their business, and that special ‘something’ that made the winners stand out from the rest.

The Small Business of the Year was won by Amelia Horne, from Derby, who ran a home-cooking-to-take-home shop. Her marketing skills were outstanding and her passion for what she did was inspiring. She was a very worthy winner and hopefully, in time, she will be able to roll out her business into further outlets because her concept was replicable.

The Most Innovative Business Award was won by Babybond Ltd which is run by Jan Steward, a radiographer who was frustrated by the short time available to expectant parents to participate in ultrasound scans that were available on the NHS. Instead of having to be part of a hastened-through 10 minute production line, Jan saw an opportunity to allow parents-to-be to be able to enjoy a relaxed, 40 minute bonding process with the unborn baby – and the clients lapped it up. Her company has grown and grown to a franchise with 32 outlets, with plans to incorporate other scans for health checks. The business is impressive and very different.

Our Business Woman of the Year Award was given to Debbie Bass for her business Sugar and Ice. Debbie is a cake decorator by hobby, passion and inspiration. She has created two shops where visitors can see Debbie and her team in action, can buy every accessory known to man to help you decorate your own cakes, she runs cake decorating training courses and she has a great supply business by cross selling other products. Debbie has turned her hobby into a business and there is nothing better than to earn a living by doing what you love best.

A Special Achievement Award was given to Stephanie Drakes of 23red, a marketing agency, as Stephanie had achieved so much in her long career in the PR, marketing and advertising sector and, over the years, she has taught and inspired many who have worked with her.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Maureen Milgram Forrest Who has devoted many years to promoting women in business. Maureen is now retiring to Canada and deserves recognition for her tireless efforts.

All of these Award winners have found a way of turning their hobby into a business and there is nothing better. In my keynote speech I finished by saying that ‘Success is ....having fun!’. I have had fun throughout the 38 years I have been in my business. Our 172 franchisees who run Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs are doing what they do best – teaching exercise and helping their members to lose weight. It’s a privilege, it’s rewarding and it’s enormous fun. Checkout our website www.rosemaryconley.com if you want to know more about how you might have fun too.

The youth of today can be our inspiration

Last night I had the privilege of watching six teams from Leicestershire Schools battle it out at the Young Enterprise County Finals. They had already progressed from the Area Finals and here they were, in front of a panel of Judges selected from leading businesses, to excite and impress.

Each Young Enterprise ‘company’, is set up near the start of the academic year and pupils have volunteered to participate. They set about forming a Board of Directors including finance, marketing, HR, IT and so on. A Managing Director is appointed from the pupils to head up the operation. They decide what business they want to create(sometimes they make products and sell them, or their business could be offering a service for which they get paid) and set it up under the guidance of an external volunteer business adviser and their link teacher.

The team learn about the importance of communication, working as a team, relationships, problem solving, money management, and dealing with crisis. They discover their strengths and weaknesses and realise that finding other people’s strengths in the team, and utilising them, can make the difference between success and failure. It is a fantastic initiative and one that I would have loved had it been available when I was at school.

The Keynote Speaker, Luke Pulford, told us how he started his first business when he was 15 and the lessons he had learned along his journey. He is now 21 and about to launch an exciting drinks dispensing business to be available in Night Clubs. Luke has created a special cap for bottles to prevent drinks being spiked. Let’s hope it is a roaring success. But his message last evening was that running your own business should be fun and that it isn’t just about making money. If just making money is your goal you will probably fail. A sentiment I endorse completely.

We run a franchise company – Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs – and Luke told me that while he was at University they use our franchise model to teach about franchising on their business course. Is the recession hitting us? No, because we, and our franchisees, are running our own businesses and when it’s your own, you work that bit harder when the going gets tough. You look after your customers even better, you offer them even more value for money. And if you can have a lot of fun doing all of that, everybody wins.

Check out our franchise on our website, either for classes or how to become a franchisee