Posted: 17/12/24
Great business minds inspire trainee entrepreneurs
Business guests who visited our students
Last week, our business students warmly welcomed a range of guests from the area as part of the department’s employer induction, looking at raising the profile of the Mansfield and Ashfield areas.
Students also concentrated on their Mansfield project, which involved looking at the breadth of industries in the town presently, as well as those that existed in the past, and those up-coming companies of the future.
Jordan Booth from Portland College joined learners to discuss the purpose of charities and the importance of volunteering. Becky Tyler, founder and director of BTST osteopathy in Edwinstowe, explained her journey into helping people live a pain-free life through the family-run business and the process of setting-up and running a company.
Both Mansfield and Ashfield district councils were represented by Francine Rowley and Nathan McNicholas respectively. Students found out more about their local councils and what function each one has for the area, as well as how students can look at future job opportunities within the authorities.
Jay Rowlinson, chief executive of Mansfield Business Improvement District (BID), explained the purpose of the organisation and its responsibility for delivering projects and services to Mansfield. Students were able to ask more about how business ideas are taken forward for the benefit of the town.
Making payroll simple was the subject of Marc Johnson’s session with students as he explained how his company, LivePay, serves a range of businesses with the outsourcing payroll service, including those in hospitality, education, manufacturing and healthcare.
Louis Brown, sales director at BeeNoticed, shone the spotlight on his business and the clients that he serves. Louis’ company offers products such as marquees, tablecloths, printed flags and clothing to a wealth of well-known organisations.
Padel tennis was the sport in question as students learnt more about it from James Bowring from the World Padel Academy (WPA). James explained all about WPA, founded in 2020, and it being the official technical partner of Nottingham Padel Centre, located at Notts County Football Club. WPA has submitted plans to Mansfield District Council to develop a brand new padel tennis facility in the town.
Fazane Fox, from the Fazane Fox Production Agency, shared her story and journey of setting up and running her business, which is deemed to be a unique production partner for new and innovative products.
Fazane, who has worked in fashion design and product development for over two decades, admitted her fear of public speaking, but her joy at speaking to our students.
She said: “The anxiety and stress I have to go through to deliver something like that is off the scale. But you know what, I push myself to do it.
“It's so important to tell students about the reality of business and inspire them to achieve what appears to be impossible. So I went in there and just spoke from the heart.”
Fazane’s honest approach saw her receive some heart-warming, anonymous feedback from one of our students, who said: “I wanted to email and say how inspiring and motivating your speech was for me personally. I had never previously even considered to start my own business, as I felt as though I would not have the right mindset or that I just simply wasn't smart enough for a task as big as making a business from scratch.
“However, after listening to you speak about the real hardships that are faced when creating a business, and how difficult but rewarding starting up a business can be, I have now considered starting a business in the future.
“Your speech has made my confidence grow further than what I ever thought was capable. Hearing you speak about how you are also shy, just like I am, made me believe that I can do it too and I can make a business, even when I am shy. You are truly the strongest and inspirational person I have met.
“Thank you for bringing me to a conclusion of what I would like to do in the future, as I didn't have any idea before.”
