January 2007 - Posts
Today we had the opportunity to take the questionnaire developed by Nigel Brown. It was interesting to note that the results did show a picture of bits that I know is true about me. However, because of the way some of the questions are phrased it seems to want you to answer the question in a certain direction which is totally not the way I would have answered it if it were asked differently.
At any rate, I did have a word with Nigel about this and he mentioned that he is giving the questionnaire a second looking over in the light of the various comments he had already received from previous cohorts who were the subjects of the same questionnaire.
This is the first event of the Network for entrepreneurial Women for this year held at the Glamorgan Business Centre of the University of Glamorgan.
Tim and myself arrived promptly at 6:00 pm and was able to meet all those present. There were only a few at the start but the rest came in towards half past six. This gave both of us the opportunity to have a chat with several people such as Hugh and Niluka from the Rhondda Cynon Taf ICT Centre, members of Cohort 5 of the MSc Entrepreneurship (Female Entrepreneurs) scheme, and Lecturers. It was lovely to find that Charline Evans whom I met 3 days before made it to the event and promptly introduced her to Chris Atkinson and Dr Muir. It is nice to note that Charline developed an interest in the MSc course and is now scheduled for interview.
Paul Jones' findings on his research 'E-business Usage within Welsh SMEs - the reality' has been an eye opener though not exatly a surprise. It has actually reinforced my own research and readings when Tim and I started TiGra Networks that micro-businesses comprise the main bulk of SMEs in the UK. And that this is the market segment that most need our services.
The GTI+ project as presented by Pam Voisey is also a very useful resource for entrepreneurs and graduates of the University. One thing for sure, I will certainly take Pam's offer on all that GTI+ can offer me as an entrepreneur.
Opportunity Wales was represented by Philip Lee, Head of Web Services. We had a short presentation describing the various services Opportunity Wales offers - e-commerce advice and reviews, a client directory, forum for e-commerce communities and an events/training calendar to mention a few.
Niluka Eratne, ICT Advisor, from the Rhondda Cynon Taf ICT Centre also enumerated the services their organisation provides for small businesses - impartial advice on hardware and software issues among others.
My immediate thought about these support services is that they are great. However looking deeply into each initiative one thing that keeps niggling in my mind is that despite the fact that all these services are supposedly free due to being funded by local government or some other organisation, there seem to be an underlying issue about advisors who privately run businesses of their own. For example, Opportunity Wales, provides impartial e-commerce advice to SMEs, but Mr Lee himself runs a successful web development company. It would seem that these services offering free advice and support are themselves a direct competitor to small businesses such as my own. The SMEs coming to these advisors for help are a ready market for their own personal businesses. Just think about it, these advisors are employed and draw a salary from the organisation they purport to belong to. They are supposed to give impartial advice e-commerce or otherwise. Yet they do have their own business providing the same service. So what is to stop the SME who is seeking support to simply ask for their services outside of their office?
I admit I may have a bit of bias because in my own experience of trying to avail of these free support services, I have not yet encountered one that has really provided me and my business with what I really need and asked for. At the end of a few sessions, a recommended next port of call would be to book a few extra hours or days of sessions to sort out problems or issues that will be chargeable at an additional cost because you have already exhausted the total number of hours provided for free. Well sorry, thanks but no thanks.
While trawling the web for useful information and reading materials, I stumbled upon this blog which focuses on interviews and practical advice for small business, startups and entrepreneurs using a technology called podcasting. Before I try to explain the technology of podcasting, this blog tackles some interesting topics on entrepreneurship and some of those interviewed had some comparisons of the US vs UK entrepreneurial culture.
The podcasting technology is increasingly becoming so popular due to the proliferation of the iPod and MP3s. Just download the file to your computer and listen to them or download them to your iPod or MP3 player and listen to your favorite radio show or interview on the go. It can be audio or video or a mix of both.
Wikibooks defines podcasting as "the publishing or distribution of radio-style programmes on the internet. Podcasts are in MP3 or a similar file format. Podcast producers make their programmes available with RSS feeds, a tool that allows listeners to select programmes they wish to download, or to set software to automatically download new programmes as they become available." Podcasts are normally accessed by subscription whether paid or unpaid.
Podcasting is used in various ways these days by people who wish to provide a more personal method of communicating with their users to describe a product or discuss an idea. What better way to use technology that is already available at your fingertips! Podcasts may be distributed through your mobile, telephone, Skype sessions, and the web.
More recently in America, podcasts are being used by teachers to deliver college lectures. What a great idea! As a student myself, it is more convenient to listen to my tutor deliver a lecture on my MP3 player than reading a book in a car, a bus or on a train. And it would also allow students who had missed a class to catch up. With all the multimedia equipment we have in our university wouldn't it be cool to try it out?
From the term, it is my understanding that an enterprising economy refers to the business environment within a specific geographical area where conditions are created not only by entrepreneurs themselves but also by the public and private sector to encourage small businesses towards innovation by recognising opportunities to grow and rewarding participation in entrepreneurial activities.
My husband, Tim, has mentioned this quiz and here are my results.
Your results:
You are Supergirl
| Supergirl |
|
100% |
| Green Lantern |
|
100% |
| Wonder Woman |
|
95% |
| Superman |
|
85% |
| Spider-Man |
|
65% |
| Robin |
|
60% |
| Batman |
|
50% |
| The Flash |
|
35% |
| Catwoman |
|
35% |
| Hulk |
|
30% |
| Iron Man |
|
30% | |
Lean, muscular and feminine.
Honest and a defender of the innocent.
 |
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
On these two days, despite the strong winds and rain, the induction for the MSc Entrepreneurship (Female Entrepreneurs) Programme started. As in any course, the normal administrative tasks had to be done and we did the rounds of the university campus securing the requisite identification and library cards and filling up forms. There was an interesting exercise where we managed to find out more about the members of the class, their personalities, their business ideas, including their reasons why they are doing this course. By the end of the second day of induction our queries, fears, reservations and concerns had been clarified.
The most important thought that ran through my mind is that I do really want to do the course because it is one way to get an academic qualification and achieve credibility to prove myself worthy of being in the business arena full of challenges in growing a business and to achieve a sense of self-fulfillment.