Welcome to this blog that shows how enterprising the city of Hull's young people are. The blog will feature up-dates about the work of the Hull Youth Enterprise Partnership and its support for Global Entrepreneurship Week.
















Monday 29 April 2013

Hull Youth Enterprise Awards 2013

Hull City Council, in partnership with the Youth Enterprise Bank, are organising a series of awards to recognise how enterprising our Hull Schools and Businesses are and this years awards winners will be announced in Global Entrepreneurship Week at the University of Hull in November.


1 Most enterprising Primary School in Hull sponsored by The Insurance Partnership

2 Most enterprising Secondary School in Hull sponsored by Hull College

3 Most enterprising Teacher in Hull sponsored by St Stephen’s

4 The business that has done the most to promote enterprise in a sustainable way in schools and/or with a Post 16 provider sponsored by Hull City Council

5 The individual business person that has done the most to support enterprise education sponsored by the Co-operative

6 Special Enterprise Awards sponsored by the Youth Enterprise Bank and Cityworks


Stephen Logan, Malet Lambert School, Hull’s Most Enterprising Teacher 2012

"It was a great honour last year to be announced as the recipient of the title of Hull’s Most Enterprising Teacher 2012 and that Malet Lambert was named as the City’s most enterprising secondary school. I am pleased that this year the awards will go ahead thanks to the support of Hull City Council and individual sponsors. There is no doubt that Hull as a city has real commitment through the Youth Enterprise Partnership to develop the enterprising skills of young people, it never ceases to amaze me how with the right support and encouragement Hull’s young people are truly enterprising and whilst not all will go on to be entrepreneurs of the future they certainly will be more enterprising in their outlook and in the workplace”


Phil Batty MD Force-7 Young Entrepreneur Year 2012

“For seven years Force-7 has had support from the Hull Youth Enterprise Partnership in the work that we are do and are proud to be associated with the work they do especially during Global Entrepreneurship Week, I was really pleased to accept the title of Young Entrepreneur Year 2012 from Councillor Danny Brown Lord Mayor of Hull last year on behalf of Force-7 as a whole and myself as an individual, I look forward to helping to identify the winner this year to represent Hull.”








Claire Young, BBC Apprentice star and businesswoman

“It is always a pleasure and a privilege to support Hull in the way it supports its enterprising young people, your city certainly believes in putting its energies behind its young people and not just paying lip service to enterprise. The work that partners are doing in your city is absolutely brilliant. I was pleased to see that the work of your Youth Enterprise Bank that links up with Teenbiz has helped in lobbying Government that has secured the Humber in having access to the Youth Enterprise Loan Scheme. I look forward to helping identify this year’s winners of your youth enterprise awards with my fellow patrons.”






Further Information

The deadline for the completed full entry forms will be 1st September 2013 and judging will be completed by 15th September 2013. The winners will be invited to receive their award at the Celebration Event we hold in Global Entrepreneurship Week on November 22nd at Staff House at the University of Hull. The winning schools will receive an engraved plaque and £200 to further develop enterprise activity.

The Judges are the Patrons of Youth Enterprise in the City former BBC Apprentice stars Claire Young, Ruth Badger, Alan Johnson MP, Abhimanu Kudasamy the High Commissioner of Mauritius along with Hull’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year in Amanda Hartley 2009, Dave Garbera 2010, Bronwyn Wilson 2011, Phil Batty 2012
Nomination forms are available from charles.cracknell@hullcc.gov.uk



Monday 15 April 2013

Sponsors need for 10th Anniversary of Global Entrepreneurship Week

GEW is an amazing event which inspires young people to take an interest in Enterprise. It helps them learn about the world of work and, for some of them, starts them on the road to becoming the next generation of Business Owners. Here in Hull we have a proud record of success with the event. You can see reports of each day www.youthenterprise-hull.co.uk/GEW.php and short video showing highlights at www.youtube.com/user/gewhull2012


Like every other great event we need sponsors to enable us to inspire local young people to become enterprising. There are opportunities for local businesses to get involved and the cost is modest in relation to the impact you can make.

This blog gives an outline of the kinds of sponsorship packages available. One of the volunteers from the organising team can talk to you in more detail.

Please help us inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Platinum Package £5000

- Page Advert in GEW 2013 Brochure and Report
- 1 table (10 staff/guests) at the Hull Ready Event
- 1 table (10 guests) for GEW 2013 Celebration Evening
- Appropriate branding during the Week, including logo in your chosen day’s presentations and produced video
- Identification as sponsor via Social Media
- Identification as sponsor via Press Releases
- Invitation to judge/speak on your chosen day
- Invitation to lunch at all events
- Stand in Networking Village
- Web links from www.youthenterprise.co.uk

Gold Package £3000

- Page Advert in GEW 2013 Brochure
- 1 table (10 staff/guests) at the Hull Ready Event
- Invitation for 6 people for GEW 2013 Celebration Evening
- Appropriate branding during the Week
- Identification as sponsor via Social Media
- Identification as sponsor via Press Releases
- Invites to lunch at events
- Stand in Networking Village
- Web links from www.youthenterprise.co.uk

Silver Package £2000

- Half Page Advert in GEW 2013 Brochure and Report
- Invitation for 6 staff/guests to Hull Ready Event
- Invitation for 4 people for GEW 2013 Celebration Evening
- Appropriate branding during the Week
- Identification as sponsor via Social Media
- Identification as sponsor via Press Releases
- Stand in Networking Village
- Web links from www.youthenterprise.co.uk

Bronze Package £1,000

- Half Page advert in GEW 2013 Brochure
- Invitation for two people to attend the Hull Ready Event
- Invitation for two people for GEW 2013 Celebration Evening
- Identification as sponsor via Social Media
- Identification as sponsor via Press Releases
- Stand in Networking Village
- Web links from www.youthenterprise.co.uk


There are also opportunities to sponsor individual prizes that go to the young people at each of the events. We need to fund four sets as follows:


Monday Event with Malet Lambert

1st Prize £200
2nd Prize £150 
3rd Prize £100
4th Prize £50
5th Prize £50
6th Prize £50
Best Video £50
Evaluation Draw £20
Wednesday Event – Primary school Event

1st Prize £400 (£200 for school)
2nd Prize £200 (£100 for school)
3rd Prize £130 (£50 for school)
4th Prize £80
5th Prize £80
6th Prize £80
Evaluation Draw £20 

Thursday Event – Post 16 Event

1st Prize £300
2nd Prize £200
3rd Prize £150
4th Prize £100
5th Prize £100
6th Prize £100
Best Video £100 
Evaluation Draw £20

Friday Event Secondary School Event

1st Prize £400 (£200 for school)
2nd Prize £200 (£100 for school)
3rd Prize £150 (£50 for school)
4th Prize £100
5th Prize £100
6th Prize £100
Best Video £100
Evaluation Draw £20

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Enterprise recognition for Hull Youth Enterprise and Hull Training from Warwick University

Hull City Councils Youth Enterprise department have been an associate of Warwick Universities CEI for a number of years and expressed the wish some time ago to be assessed as an enterprising and innovative organisation, alongside a CEI award program which is currently being carried out for apprenticeships and primary and secondary schools as part of the City enterprise education agenda. After the visit from two assessors from Warwick University, Youth Enterprise were able to demonstrate the enterprise competence of a local authority department, showing that the public sector can be as enterprising as business.

The recommendation of the assessor is that Youth Enterprise section of Regeneration and Partnerships at Hull City Council will now receive the CEI award for Organisational Innovation and Business Enterprise, therefore the only local authority in the country to get it and that Hull Training will get the Organisational Innovation and Business Enterprise for its Signmaking Apprenticeship Programme.


                                                         Hull Youth Enterprise Partnership Patron, Ruth Badger said



Ruth Badger

“I am delighted that the Department for Youth Enterprise within Regeneration and Partnerships and Hull Training at Hull City Council have been awarded these prestigious awards. Out of all the City’s in the UK this proves how hard Hull works to improve the lives of the young people who live there. The dedication and passion the enterprise and apprenticeship partnerships have in developing young entrepreneurs and apprentices is not only to be admired but to be used as an example of how it should be done. Well done to all involved.”











   Councillor Bayes, Portfolio Holder for Economic Regeneration & Employment said

“Congratulations to the Youth Enterprise and Hull Training teams on this achievement; it really shows that being enterprising in the workplace is happening and this CEI Award acknowledges the fact. The City needs our young people to be enterprising either as apprentices or as entreprenurs, more so in the current climate than ever before, so the Youth Enterprise and apprenticeship support we have in place is crucial and it is important that they practice what they preach”






Craig Grewcock, Warwick University said


"The Department of Youth Enterprise in Hull City Council has been working with the Centre for Education and Industry at the University of Warwick for a number of years, successfully developing and encouraging enterprise education within city primary schools. In recent months it has further supported the University by piloting a new series of awards. Hull Training as part of Hull City Council has now successfully gained the CEI award for Organisational Innovation and Business Enterprise in Apprenticeship Training for its well-regarded Signmaking apprenticeship programme. Additionally, the Department of Youth Enterprise has itself gained a second and overarching award for Organisational Innovation and Business Enterprise. The process has involved detailed analysis of the organisations with the provision of supporting evidence, associated case studies and an action plan for future development.

The University is currently talking to the government Department for Business Innovation and Skills who have expressed a particular interest in this new process and will be illustrating the process using the work which has been done with Hull. It is also hoped that the innovation and enterprise awards will be extended to other apprenticeship programs within the City Youth Enterprise Department”







Wednesday 3 April 2013

Advice for retailers by Simon Xing Smoothies

I was recently asked for business advice from someone that loved the simplicity of the menu at our high street shop. He’d just become manager at a coffee shop that also made sandwiches and was thinking of being more of a restaurant. What instantly sprang to mind was focus. After launching a smoothie bar and redefining ourselves as a healthy fast food outlet, i could say with 100% confidence, that every area of a business will benefit from focusing on making the fewest things you possibly can. If you can be known for doing one thing, that’s perfect.

Your training will be easier resulting in increased consistency. Less equipment will improve the ergonomics of space and reduce the amount of costly sq ft wasted on prep space or stock. You’ll know exactly who you are targeting. And in return, customers will know exactly what you sell. They’ll assume you’re the expert – which you must live up to.

If you try to be a coffee shop, sandwich shop and restaurant, the chances are your coffee won’t be as consistently good as a coffee shop. Your sandwiches won’t be as good as a sandwich shop etc. You don’t get, and keep, customers by accident.

By doing one thing you can go to extreme lengths to do it perfectly, to award winning standard – not cutting any corners. Then you need to do a good job of communicating that. Your shop should be a theater – a celebration of your product and the process that goes into making it.

Some good examples of food and drinks companies in York and Leeds are the espresso bars like Laynes, La Bottega Milanese, Spring Espresso, they’re even more focused than a coffee shop. Or York Hog Roast with the hot meat joints in the window.

A personal favourite is the Luxury Ice Cream Company in York. By focusing on Ice Cream they can go to the trouble of pasteurising their own cream. With seating, the place is very popular year round, even though the core product is very seasonal. It’s a beautiful shop that celebrates ice cream and understands exactly who their target market is,

It takes balls to say ‘we only sell ……….’. But having a bigger menu doesn’t = more customers. Do your research first as to what product will be most appropriate for the location. Unlike the internet or market stalls and street food vans, location can’t be changed once you’ve signed that lease.

Decide what your perfect customer looks, and behaves, like. Plan carefully your complimentary products for changes in the seasons. Then jump in with both feet. As Steve Jobs famously presented, ‘focus is about saying no’. He knew a thing or two about business. And retail as it turned out.

Simon @SimonALong