While I am not keen on engaging in lengthy debates about definitions, I think it is important to define ‘innovation’, as it has to be one of the most overused and misunderstood buzzwords bandied around the business world! In ‘The Little Black Book of Innovation’, Scott Antony defines innovation in five words, ‘Something different that has impact’. This is undoubtedly my favourite definition of innovation. Put simply, innovation is a process of having an idea and implementing it. It is not about inventing something new, as many people mistakenly believe; it is about introducing something different to what is already being done, in order to bring about positive change.
Over the past 10 months, we have had to adapt personally and professionally, and our resilience has been pushed to the limit. And this new lockdown will, once again, test those limits as well as our patience.
Some of my habits and behaviours have changed during the pandemic. Has that been the case for you?
What strategies have you used to build your resilience - either in a personal context or in a business context?
Here are my five top strategies for building my personal and business resilience:
At the last Thrive Meetup of 2020, I facilitated an interactive workshop ‘Looking Back to Look Forwards’ during which I invited everyone to reflect on their achievements from the past 12 months, along with their greatest lessons learnt. We also created ‘Our Wall of Intentions’ at the end of the Meetup, capturing one action we committed to take in order to move closer to our goals.
Creative thinking is a process fuelled by conscious and unconscious insight: of generating ideas, concepts and associations, and an ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated things – like a subconscious game of ‘join-the-dots’. As children, there are no limits to our imagination. An ugly concrete pavement can suddenly transform into a flowing pool of lava, and a toilet roll can magically turn into a portal to reach another galaxy. However, as we get older, we find ourselves using our creative muscle less and less. More often than not, our daily routines, work environment, and self-confidence, all play a part in diminishing our ability – and desire – to think creatively.
I am really excited to announce the launch of a new workshop series I have created - The ‘Healthy Business’ Workshop Series, sponsored by Hatch.
Between now and January 2021, I am hosting five workshops designed to give you the knowledge, skills and resilience you need to grow a healthy, small business.
These are practical and informative workshops delivered by experts in their field, written specifically for this series. You won’t find these workshops anywhere else!
Running your own business can be lonely - especially when it comes to decision-making.
Whilst your friends and family can be a fantastic support for you along your entrepreneurial journey, they may not necessarily make the best business advisers.
On Friday, 29 May I did something I never imagined I would do…
I co-hosted RE-DEFINED - our first ever, virtual conference for female founders and women in business, in partnership with the fantastic Karen Stenning, Founder of Absolute Alchemy.
As you may know, I am in the final stages of preparing for RE-DEFINED - the virtual, half-day conference I am hosting in partnership with Karen Stenning on Friday, 29 May.
On the evening of Wednesday, 25 March, following the structure of the face-to-face Thrive Meetups I host, I brought together 25 female founders and women in business for our first Online Thrive Meetup on Zoom!
Last November, Ditchling resident and Founder of Lock Healthcare Recruitment, Abigail Lock launched the Thrive Meetup in Hassocks with the support of Clare Griffiths, Founder and Chief Enabler of The Thrive Effect.
She Rebel Radio is a community-driven podcast dedicated to helping high-performing women leaders unlearn conventional rules, leave prestigious careers and launch businesses of significance. Host Lulu Minns - one of our Thrive+ members - knows that leaving your prison of prestige to do something of significance is a tough call... in fact, it takes ovaries of steel!
Whilst we get to eat the most amazingly tasty and healthy brunch thanks to Stacie Stewart’s Eat Naked catering, this is not the only thing we get to do at our Female Founders Business Brunchin’ event!
Our quarterly brunches — hosted by The Thrive Effect and Barclays Eagle Lab — are designed to be motivational and informative, so that the female founders and women in business who attend are inspired, learn from each other and make new connections.
One of the first founders to join as a Thrive+ member was Lau Moracchini.
Lau is Founder of The Creative Upcycler, a purpose-led, commercially driven social enterprise on a mission to help reduce the amount of wood and metal waste going to landfill. Lau is an eco-friendly woodworker, jewellery designer and maker based in Brighton, who collects salvaged, reclaimed wood and other sustainable materials from cabinet makers, shops, building sites, recycling yards, skips and fly tipping to make a unique range of professional, wooden jewellery and rustic objects for the home and garden.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Steve Blank, famously said, ‘No plan survives first contact with customers’. Whilst the feedback from The Thrive Effect’s new digital platform has been really encouraging, I have taken a moment to revisit our business model and reposition slightly.
I am delighted to announce that The Thrive Effect is a purpose-led membership organisation for female founders in Sussex who want to grow a thriving small business.
On International Women's Day 2019, The Thrive Effect and Barclays Eagle Lab (Brighton) partnered up to host their first Female Founder Business Brunchin'. The feedback from the attendees was so encouraging that we have decided to host our Female Founder Business Brunchin' every quarter!
So, join us at Barclays Eagle Lab (Brighton) for our second Female Founder Business Brunchin' on Friday, 21 June from 11am to 1pm when we will hear the stories of business growth from two founders working in the food and drinks industry: Kathy Caton of Brighton Gin and Stacie Stewart of Eat Naked.
The latest reports on female entrepreneurship don't make an encouraging read. The most recent business statistics from the government have found that only one fifth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) were owned or led by women in 2017. Statistics from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report (2017) don't paint a brighter picture either. In the UK, the Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate in 2017 was 5.6%, compared to the male rate of 11.9%. In other words, men are twice as likely as women to set up a business. The statistics about private investment are equally worrying. Research by Innovate UK has found that men are 86% more likely to receive private investment than women.
I am a proud European, and I relish international encounters, so when the opportunity came up to take part in the Startup Cruise (Newhaven-Dieppe), I didn’t hesitate in booking my seat.
Organised by Graham Precey and Mark Beaumont, Co-Founders of Newhaven Regeneration Group, in partnership with Normandy Ecospace, last Thursday, 4 April, I found myself with 40 other UK-based entrepreneurs on board the DFDS ferry ‘Seven Sisters’ – exploring the innovation and growth potential of my social enterprise, The Thrive Effect.
