News and Blog Articles

Susan Hughes is the founder and CEO of Opportunity Plus; a not-for-profit organisation supporting individuals who are facing challenges in finding employment, helping them to explore the potential for self-employment through SFEDI Awards qualifications. This month we chatted to Susan about supporting grassroots businesses, flexible learning, and the importance of community.  Susan had been working in […]

Steve Hooper is the founder and CEO of Site Geek; a website design and digital marketing company this is dedicated to providing companies with ‘full and complete solutions to their inbound marketing requirements’. Having built the company from nothing to the success it is today by being extremely client-focused, Steve now feels that he’s in […]

‘Enterprisingly Me’ is a monthly feature where you can follow my entrepreneurial adventures. Names have been changed to protect the innocent but everything you read really happened. I hope my story inspires you to take your first steps, or if you already have, then it lets you know you’re not on your own. Starting and […]

The IAB’s awards will be taking place on Thursday 7 December and nominations are now open. The categories are: Small Business Mentor of the Year – sponsored by SFEDI Group Bookkeeper of the Year – sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group Accountant of the Year – sponsored by F A Simms and AMLCC Payroll Professional of the Year – sponsored by […]

Jackie Jenks is an IOEE Ambassador and the CEO and founder of Leapfrog Mountain; an IOEE Academy that supports mentors, business leaders and entrepreneurs. When we first chatted to Jackie in June of this year, we congratulated her on the outstanding achievement of being awarded an OBE for her services to training and people development. Fast-forward […]

IOEE Academic member, Reece Leggett, is our latest blog contributor for Think Enterprise. As a business teacher of 16-18 year olds, Reece discusses why he thinks it is important to implement enterprise and entrepreneurship education into the curriculum. David Bowie once said ‘’I feel confident imposing change on myself. It’s a lot more fun progressing […]

London South Bank University (LSBU) student, Emilie Mendy, partnered with the university’s Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation to create her business, Bizzie Bodies, which teaches children languages in a creative way. For Emilie Mendy (BA Arts and Festival Management, 2016), the partnership has been central to achieving her goal of bringing a new kind of language […]

On 11th July 2017 The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise in Wales (PRIME Cymru) hosted their annual PRIME Cymru Awards event, celebrating the diversity and success of the businesses that it has supported recently, as well as the dedication of their volunteer mentors. On the day, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Founder and […]

Giuditta Meneghetti is an academic who has recently secured a prestigious post as Curriculum Leader for Business and Public Services at Barking & Dagenham College (BDC), which will begin in August of this year. Giuditta will be influential in rebranding and reshaping the structure and delivery of the college’s Entrepreneur and Enterprise courses, and in preparation […]

John Parker is the CEO of The Academy of Leadership and Management based in Ayrshire in Scotland. Working alongside his wife, Janet, this husband and wife team are at the heart of the Academy, which gained its IOEE accreditation last year. We interviewed John for the very first issue of Think Enterprise, and this month […]

On the 17th May, Ruth Lowbridge MBE and SFEDI Executive Chair attended the SME Advisory Board meeting at The Westminster Conference Centre in London. Lead by British politician and entrepreneur, Margot James, the board is made up of only 12 SME industry experts, and as the only awarding and standard-setting body from the UK to […]

Q&A with GConsultancy Innovation’s CEO, Dr.Julia Goga-Cooke. Julia Goga-Cooke is the powerhouse behind GConsultancy Innovation; an Academy of Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship, based in the heart of London. GConsultancy Innovation believes that ‘innovators are not born – they are made’, and describes itself as ‘an ecosystem of design thinkers who can give you the mindset, knowledge […]

Things are hotting up in my journey towards becoming my own boss. I’ve been to view the office space that is part of an incubation centre near to where we live. It’s ‘cosy’ but I don’t really need that much space as I’ll only be using it to prepare my training packs and make my […]

Fathi Mehdi’s journey in enterprise and education is truly inspirational. He arrived in the UK as a refugee only a couple of years ago, and he found himself homeless, speaking very little English, and being uncertain of how to get a job – least of all embarking upon a long-term career. However, despite these enormous […]

I’m pretty sure that everyone reading this will be able to associate with at least some of the pains that working for others in a stereotypical “traditional” business often presents. I’m talking about all the things like the daily commute chaos, being stuck in traffic on the motorway or trying to get a seat on […]

Jane Baines is the Woo ‘B’ Woo Fairy; sprinkling her own unique brand of fairy dust through her self-starting company and bespoke service of vintage-style wedding décor and fresh floral arrangements. Jane worked in the fashion industry for almost three decades before she decided to follow her passion and ‘go it alone’. Through the IOEE, […]

Alex Till is the CEO of MENTA; an organisation that delivers services to new, emerging and growing businesses in Suffolk. This month we spoke to Alex to find out more about the support and services that MENTA offers, the advice he would give to aspiring entrepreneurs, and what it means to MENTA to have recently secured […]

WRITTEN BY RICHARD GIBSON HEAD OF COMMUNICATION, CROSSCOUNTRY Love them or hate them, either for speed, comfort or just not being stuck in a traffic jam, we have probably all used the railways at some point. And with more people using them every year, the level of investment being made in Britain’s railways is staggering […]

The IOEE is delighted to offer its most sincere congratulations to IOEE Honorary Fellow John Timpson, who has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. John is the chairman of the cobbler and key repair company that bears his Timpson family name, though his knighthood is also in recognition for his fostering […]

Jackie Jenks is an IOEE Ambassador and the CEO of Leapfrog Mountain; a mentoring and enterprise academy that supports mentors, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Leapfrog Mountain secured its status as an IOEE Academy in May 2016, and just over a year later Jackie has been awarded an OBE for her services to training and people development. […]

Viv Bellamy is a self-employed holistic therapist based in Bristol. Last month she was awarded her Level 2 Award in Enterprise and Employability through the city’s Centre for Capacity Building & Enterprise Development (CCBED), which has recently gained its IOEE Enterprise Academy status. This month we chatted to Viv about how the experience has not only […]

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) held its 10th annual Grand Idea awards evening on Thursday 8 June, celebrating student success and RAU’s continued commitment to student enterprise. Established in 2008, the Grand Idea business competition gives students the opportunity to pitch their business idea to panel of expert judges, in the hope of winning a […]