THE VENTURE PROGRAMME BE ENTERPRISING BE DISRUPTIVE BE INNOVATIVE

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1 THE VENTURE PROGRAMME BE ENTERPRISING BE DISRUPTIVE BE INNOVATIVE Start your Journey Here I M INTERESTED BE INSPIRED AND ENHANCE YOUR ENTERPRISE SKILLS I HAVE A BUSINESS IDEA NETWORK AND CONNECT WITH MENTORS, ENTREPRENEURS AND ADVISORS I M READY TO START UP MEET INDUSTRY EXPERTS AND PITCH FOR FUNDING PROGRAMME OF EVENTS Careers and Employability

2 The Sessions 2016/17 October 2016 Thur 20th NatWest Start-up Surgery Mon 24th Collaborate Tue 25th Collaborate Wed 26th How Entrepreneurial Are You? November 2016 Tue 8th Why will people buy from you? What s your USP? Tue 15th Marketing Your Business What Matters? Wed 16th Self-Employment: Are you ready? Thur 17th NatWest Start-up Surgery Tue 22nd Managing Relationships and Customer Loyalty Tue 29th How Sustainable is your Start-up? Wed 30th Self-Employment Q&A December 2016 Tue 6th It s who you know! Networking Masterclass Thur 8th NatWest Start-up Surgery Tue 13th The Importance of Branding Wed 14th Knowing what to do next: Setting goals and reaching them January 2017 Tue 17th Tax, Bookkeeping and Accounts Wed 18th Boost Confidence in Yourself and Your Business Idea Tue 24th How to Write a Business Plan Thur 26th NatWest Start-up Surgery Tue 31st How to Use Media Skills in Business February 2017 Wed 1st Managing Your Time and Being Productive Mon 6th Collaborate Tue 7th Collaborate Tue 14th Financial Planning and Funding Options Wed 15th How to Think Outside the Box Thur 16th NatWest Start-up Surgery Tue 21st Designing a Website and SEO Basics Tue 28th The Top 10 Legal Mistakes Start-ups Make March 2017 Wed 1st It s Crunch Time! Making Business Decisions Tue 7th Social Media Masterclass Tue 14th Media Training (Radio, TV, Interviews) Tue 21st What s in a Name? Trademarks Wed 22nd How to Negotiate Thur 23rd NatWest Start-up Surgery April 2017 Thur 27th NatWest Start-up Surgery May 2017 Tue 2nd Wed 3rd Tue 9th Tue 25th June 2017 A Guide to Angel Investors Freelancing Q&A Intellectual Property NatWest Start-up Surgery Mon 12th Collaborate Tue 13th Collaborate Thur 15th Pitching for Success Mon 19th Accelerate 2017: The Pitch Tue 20th Accelerate 2017: The Pitch

3 What is Venture? Venture will equip you with the skills and knowledge to start-up your own business, enter self-employment, freelance or innovate within an organisation; a valuable skill employers are looking for. Our events will challenge your thinking, expose you to the business world, and give you the opportunity to make something happen for yourself. Venture is for any student, studying any course. It s not just for Business students. It s for all students who are developing knowledge or skills at University who are thinking about working for themselves. How does Venture work? Venture is here to inspire you and support you to be enterprising. It s a three level programme designed to help you at different stages of your journey. It s also purposely messy - there are no rules here. You are in control. You can come along to any event, in any order and you don t have to follow a certain process, or do one thing before you re allowed to do another. You can drop in at any stage and essentially it is a pick and mix programme. Lots of students and graduates get involved at all levels and combine them to create a bespoke programme of support according to what they need. Which sessions should I go to? As a general rule, if you re interested in enhancing your enterprise skills and you are looking for some inspiration, our CREATE events are for you. If you have a business idea and would like some help, our COLLABORATE events will connect you to mentors, advisors, entrepreneurs and experts who can steer you in the right direction. If you re preparing to start-up, you can meet experts who ll advise you on business topics through the ACCELERATE programme. What else do I need to know? You can gain recognition for taking part in Venture events through the Chester Difference Award. You can get up to 3 points! Venture is open to students and graduates of the University of Chester (up to 3 years after graduating) If you bank 12 hours worth of support, you can pitch for up to 5,000 courtesy of Santander - to really get your business off the ground! Book your place For events, log on to your CareerHub: careers.chester.ac.uk For appointments venture@chester.ac.uk

4 BREAKING IT DOWN CREATE If you re looking to explore your entrepreneurial side, enhance your enterprise skills or just meet incredibly inspirational people and uncover how they entered the world of business, our CREATE events offer these opportunities. How Entrepreneurial Are You? Self-Employment: Are you ready? Self-Employment Q&A Knowing what to do next: Setting goals and reaching them Boost Confidence in Yourself and Your Business Idea How to Negotiate How to Think Outside the Box It s Crunch Time! Making Business Decisions Managing Your Time and Being Productive Freelancing Q&A COLLABORATE You have an idea niggling away at the back of your mind, you ve thought about freelancing or you re curious about how you can commercialise your skills and enter selfemployment. Perhaps you need a little bit of guidance or a steer in the right direction? Perhaps you don t actually know what you should do, or need to do, now? Our COLLABORATE events are designed to help you take the next step by introducing you to people dedicated to supporting you; who can listen to you, one-to-one. ACCELERATE You ve got an idea, you re raring to start freelancing or you re entering the world of self-employment. We can help you Accelerate your plans. Every year, our ACCELERATE Programme launches in November. We bring in experts to run weekly workshops on business start-up topics so you ll leave with the confidence, knowledge and connections to take your business forward. Join us for as many as you can! Why will people buy from you? What s your USP? Marketing Your Business What Matters? Managing Relationships and Customer Loyalty How Sustainable is your Start-up? It s who you know! Networking Masterclass The Importance of Branding Tax, Bookkeeping and Accounts How to Write a Business Plan How to Use Media Skills in Business Financial Planning and Funding Options Designing a Website and SEO Basics The Top 10 Legal Mistakes Start-ups Make Social Media Masterclass Media Training (Radio, TV, Interviews) What s in a Name? Trademarks A Guide to Angel Investors Intellectual Property Pitching for Success Accelerate 2017: The Pitch Collaborate NatWest Start-up Surgery

5 CREATE How Entrepreneurial Are you? 26th October 1-2pm, Careers Self- Employment Q&A 30th November 1-2pm, Careers Can you name three entrepreneurs? Why are they good at what they do? Entrepreneurial people tend to have things in common. We ll uncover these so you can see which traits you share with the Richard Bransons of this world. From there, you ll be much more self-aware of your own ability to be entrepreneurial. You ll leave with the motivation to explore this career path more fully and/or with some fantastic examples of times you ve been entrepreneurial for your CV. It s a skill top employers are looking for! What is it really like being your own boss? Why did you decide to work for yourself? How do you structure your day? What are the best bits? This is your chance to ask those who took the brave leap into self-employment your burning questions in this open, candid Q&A to explore the world of working for yourself and help you decide whether it is right for you. Self- Employment: Are you ready? 16th November 1-2pm, Careers Knowing what to do next: Setting goals and reaching them 14th December 1-2pm, Careers You apply for, and are offered, a job. If someone said Come in, and we ll tell you all the good bits and all the bad bits before you start you would probably think that is a pretty amazing opportunity. Then, you could weigh it all up and figure out whether you actually want to do it! You would certainly be more prepared. The good news is that we can tell you what selfemployment entails, the common barriers people face and the advantages and disadvantages. You can then decide whether this is something you would consider. If it s a yes, woohoo, you have an option! If it s a no, that s fine, lucky escape at least you know now! Come along and find out. When you re trying to build a business, freelance or work for yourself, you are in the driving seat. If you don t have a plan, or goals, you re drifting. Goals help you get to where you need to be and give you the motivation for getting there. So, how do you set goals? How do you make sure you reach them? Let us give you the practical tools for knowing what to do next.

6 CREATE Boost Confidence in Yourself and Your Business 18th January 1-2pm, Binks 106/1 How to Think Outside the Box 15th February 1-3pm, Careers When you re working for yourself, there are good days and there are bad days. Ask anyone who has just set up a business and they will testify that there are times when they feel like giving up. Often you re on your own, so it is really important to know how to deal with stress and change so you feel motivated and committed to taking your brilliant business forward rather than packing it all in. It all starts with confidence; in yourself and in your business and we can help you to develop ways to build this. This session is seriously good. Like, really good. It s your chance to come along and meet serial entrepreneur Paul McKie. Paul knows that in order to make your business succeed, you ll need to think outside the box and have good ideas. So, are you going to wait for light bulb moments? Or, are you going to take control and find out how you can be creative when you need to be? In this thought-provoking and interactive session, Paul gives you the tools to do just that. Managing Your Time and Being Productive 1st February 1-2pm, Careers It s Crunch Time! Making Business Decisions 1st March 1-2pm, Careers You get into work at 9am, log-on, look through your s, prepare for your team meeting, give a brief update to your colleagues oh, wait. That doesn t happen when you re self-employed. It s up to you to structure your working day. So, how do you make sure this isn t spent in your pyjamas watching cute cat videos on YouTube? It s all about managing your time so you are being productive. Katy Carlisle was shortlisted for Freelancer of the Year 2016 and knows a thing or two about balancing demands. She ll share her tips and techniques so you can get stuff done. They say the average adult makes about 35,000 decisions a day. Being decisive is a skill, and even more so when you re running your own business or working for yourself. All those small or sometimes big decisions can have an impact on your business. So, how do you know you re making the right one? Enter, the Six Thinking Hats. You ll be able to look at things from an entirely new perspective and have the confidence to say Yes, this is what I m going to do now. If that isn t a skill, what is?!

7 CREATE How to Negotiate 22nd March 1-2pm, Careers Freelancing Q&A 3rd May 1-2pm, Careers You have to be prepared to negotiate. As Sir Alan Sugar says Negotiation is the DNA of business. Before you enter a negotiation it is really important to plan and prepare so you get the best outcome for you whilst keeping the other party happy. A win-win as they say. Come along to find out the dos and don ts of effective negotiation and how you can seal the deal! Have you ever thought about freelancing? There are lots of perks and lots of things to consider, too! Come along and quiz our freelancers to find out how they get work, how they decide what to charge, how they manage their time and whatever else you would like to know!

8 COLLABORATE Collaborate 4-7pm, Churchill House, Queen s Park Campus Monday 24th & Tuesday 25th October Monday 6th & Tuesday 7th February Monday 12th & Tuesday 13th June When you connect lots of people with ideas all in one room, exciting things can happen. Add some entrepreneurs, mentors, experts and advisors and the fun really starts. If you have a business idea or are thinking about becoming self-employed or freelancing, COLLABORATE is for you. It s designed to help you start-up your business or progress your idea by introducing you to people dedicated to supporting you. Best of all, it s free. Over two evenings you: Meet Entrepreneurs. Pick the brains of entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. They ll share their story with you; the highs, the lows and what they ve learnt. Meet Mentors. Speed-date with the 15 minute mentors to uncover how you can move your idea forward and get going. Meet Advisors. A thought-provoking and challenging session will get you thinking about the realities of business. Meet Each Other. Practise your networking skills and meet other aspiring entrepreneurs. Meet Experts. We ve invited some people to help you get started, and will book you appointments to meet with them 1-to-1. It s your chance to meet a solicitor, accountant, funding guru, marketing expert, business banking pro or financial advisor. Beyond amazing. All aspects of a business were discussed. Fantastic insight. Great people, great knowledge, welcoming and massively helpful. I loved speaking to the entrepreneurs who have recently started up, as they gave me some invaluable advice.

9 COLLABORATE NatWest Start-up Surgeries 30 minute appointments between 2-4pm, Careers and Employability Centre Do you have a business idea that you would like to run past an expert? Do you need some help to figure out your start-up costs? Do you need some advice on what banks look for in a business plan? Do you know how to impress investors? Have you started up and want to know how NatWest can help you? We have the NatWest Start-Up experts on hand to answer all your questions and provide you with FREE information, advice and guidance. To make it even easier, they ll be coming to the Parkgate Road Campus, and you can book an appointment to see them. They re very friendly, and they are looking forward to chatting with you informally in the Careers Centre. There are 30 minute appointments available at 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm and 3.30pm. Times will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. venture@chester.ac.uk to book an appointment. Thursday 20th October Thursday 17th November Thursday 8th December Thursday 26th January Thursday 16th February Thursday 23rd March Thursday 27th April Thursday 25th May This has made me feel really positive about my business idea and I really feel I can make this work! Brilliant to have access to professional people who would otherwise be unreachable to me.

10 ACCELERATE Why will people buy from you? What s your USP? Tuesday 8th November, 4-5pm Delivered by Mike Scott, Mike Scott Associates What makes your idea or business special? How will you stand out from the crowd? Identify your Unique Selling Point Marketing Your Business What Matters? Tuesday 15th November, 4-5pm Delivered by Hems de Winter, Hems de Winter Consulting The idea of branding How do you add value to your customers? How do you reach and communicate with your target consumer? How Sustainable is your Start-up? Tuesday 29th November, 4-5pm Delivered by Henry Sidsaph, PhD Researcher, University of Chester What is sustainability? Why is it important for you and your business? What impact does sustainability have on your business model? It s who you know! Networking Masterclass Tuesday 6th December, 4-5pm Delivered by Jacqui Wilson and Carol Vella, CWaC Why should you network? Practical tips for effective networking Dos and Don ts Managing Relationships and Customer Loyalty Tuesday 22nd November, 4-5pm Delivered by Sarah Bailey, NatWest What is relationship management? Why is it important in business? How do I do it? Branding Your Business Tuesday 13th December, 4-5pm Delivered by Jools Barsky, Brand Marketing and Change Manager What is a brand? How important is branding in business? How to get your brand right from the start

11 ACCELERATE Tax, Bookkeeping and Accounts Tuesday 17th January, 4-5pm Binks 106/2 Delivered by John Farrell, Senior Accountant, Ellis & Co. Selecting a legal entity What do you need to record? 10 things to expect from an accountant How to Write a Business Plan Tuesday 24th January, 4-6pm Delivered by Sarah Bailey, NatWest What is a business plan? Why is it useful? What do you need to include? Leave with a step-by-step structure for your business plan How to Use Media Skills in Business Tuesday 31st January, 4-5pm Delivered by Shirley Jones, The Write Word How to use media skills How to promote your business How to get hundreds of pounds of free advertising for your business All About Finance and Funding Tuesday 14th February, 4-5pm Delivered by Sarah Bailey, NatWest What are your funding options? Have you thought about your start-up costs? How do you forecast for the future? Designing a Website and SEO Basics Tuesday 21st February, 4-5pm Delivered by Alex Franklin and Michael Williams, Founders, A.M. Custom Clothing What s web hosting? What do you need to think about when choosing a domain? How do you effectively design your website? What s SEO and how can you use it to get noticed online? The Top 10 Legal Mistakes Start-ups Make Tuesday 28th February, 4-5pm Delivered by Robin Gill, Partner, Storrar Cowdry What do you need to get sorted before you start? Learn the mistakes you can t afford to make When do you need the help of a solicitor?

12 ACCELERATE Social Media Masterclass Tuesday 7th March, 4-5pm Delivered by Andrew Greenyer, Raise the Roof Marketing Why it is important to use social media to promote your business? How can you manage all your social media effectively? Identify the best platforms for your business The Dos and Don ts of using social media Media Training Tuesday 14th March, 4-5pm Delivered by Shirley Jones, The Write Word How to present yourself and your business in the media Tools and techniques for preparing yourself for radio and TV interviews Knowing what to say when you re in the public eye What s in a Name? Trademarks Tuesday 21st March, 4-5pm A Guide to Angel Investors Tuesday 2nd May, 4-5pm Delivered by Mike Skinner, Regional Investment Manager, Xenos What is VC funding? What is a business angel? Identify what funding you need, and when! Intellectual Property Tuesday 9th May, 4-5pm Delivered by Ed Barnes, DTM Legal Why are intellectual property rights important? Types of intellectual property Introduction to patents, copyright, design rights and trademarks Pitching for Success Thursday 15th June, 1-5pm How to prepare a business pitch How to make an impact when pitching your business Opportunity for a 1-to-1 coaching session Delivered by Kate Cruse, Trademark Attorney, Forresters What is a trademark? How to register a trademark How to protect your brand

13 ACCELERATE Accelerate 2017: The Pitch Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th June 10am-4pm, Churchill House, Queen s Park Campus Prepare for your first year in business Connect with mentors, advisors and experts as you get ready to launch Pitch for up to 5,000 and business support prizes I ve made so many contacts through Accelerate. It s the best thing I ve done. The advice of mentors, entrepreneurs and advisors is worth ten times more than any amount of start-up funding. The speakers were all very helpful and had great advice!

14 FREELANCING More and more students are making the decision to enter self-employment or start freelancing. Throughout your time at University, you are gaining a variety of skills and knowledge and you can commercialise these; taking on ad-hoc projects for other businesses or selling your services to consumers. There are many similarities between starting up a business and working for yourself and often the considerations are the same. How will you get customers? Who are the competition? How much will it cost to get going? What does the tax man need from me? The Venture Programme can help you answer these questions. Whilst all Venture events are valuable for those taking the leap into business, some are particularly relevant for freelancers. Sessions such as: Using Media Skills in Business Tax, Bookkeeping and Accounts 1. The Practicalities of Freelancing Thursday 10th November, 12-2pm Thursday 30th March, 12-2pm Kingsway Delivered by Lynne Robertson, Liverpool Incubator Manager at Santander UK Corporate & Commercial Before you start tinkering and doing the odd job here and there, come along to find out what you need to consider before you start freelancing. We ll give you the top ten pieces of advice and things to get right from the start. It ll make life much easier! We ll also tell you what you need to do to set up as a freelancer and offer some advice on entering into a contract or taking on a job. It is so important, we are giving you two chances to attend! 2. What Makes You Different? 23rd November, 11.30am pm Kingsway Delivered by Robyn Robertson, Robertson Fox Coaching Ltd Freelancing is a competitive world, so you ll need to stand out! To do this, you need to know what makes you different, what you can offer to a client, define and communicate your Unique Selling Point (USP) and let people know why they should use you! After this session, you ll be able to start confidently marketing yourself and your freelance business. Social Media Masterclass Designing a Website We ve also put together a bespoke programme to help support you if you re looking to start freelancing.

15 FREELANCING 3. Managing Relationships for Freelancers - Clients, Collaborators, Customers Session date, time and location TBC Delivered by Helen Smith, Enhancing Leadership What if someone could tell you how you can get customers, keep them happy and even get them to recommend you? It s all about effectively managing relationships with your clients, collaborators and customers. Our expert is ready to share her top tips for how you can do this to turn a suspect into an advocate someone who ll shout about how brilliant you are. 5. Planning Your Freelance Business 25th January, 11am-12pm Kingsway Delivered by Jeremy Bassett, Corve Consultancy Failing to plan is planning to fail. It s a good idea to think things through and a business plan is a good place to begin. So, what exactly do you need to think about? Whether you re just starting out and need some guidance, or if you are dabbling and need some advice on how you can grow your portfolio, come along to this session and you ll leave with the practical steps you need to get you where you need to go. 4. Finance Basics and What Am I Worth? Thursday 19th January, pm Kingsway Delivered by Ivo Weevers, Co-founder and Creative Director of Albert The most common question potential freelancers ask is How do I know what to charge?! Let us enlighten you with some tools to help you determine your worth. The money side of things doesn t end there though. You ll need to know how to invoice customers and clients, what records you ll need to keep and how to go about quoting and estimating the value of a job. Meet our expert who will tell you all you need to know. 6. Your Brand and Values 30th November, pm Parkgate Road Campus 29th March, pm Kingsway Campus Delivered by Sally Harding, Graduate Futures Manager, Careers Should you be taking significant steps to stand out from the crowd - in person, on paper and online? Then why not do something about it? Come along to this Brand You session to find out how to build your personal and professional brand to make a positive impression. Want to make yourself memorable for all the right reasons? Then this session is for you! Come along to find out how to soar with your strengths, to productively pursue your passions, and how to communicate, collaborate and connect using Brand You. BOOK on CareerHub: careers.chester.ac.uk

16 E.Y.E Training Careers and Employability Enhance Your Employability Develop workplace skills Get ahead in your career Topics include: Communication skills Cover Letters and CVs Leadership What to do if you don t know what to do EYE training is also available online! E: unijob@chester.ac.uk T: W: Get in touch: Log on to: careers.chester.ac.uk Contact us: E: venture@chester.ac.uk T: (Chester) / (Warrington) Be social: