Now in its sixth year, the annual awards ceremony has grown to become a must date in the diary with people from across the business community coming together to celebrate the individual efforts of those young entrepreneurs, employees and businesses making a real difference in the county.

The Hub Awards are a great opportunity to enjoy an informal awards evening which will include a three course meal and guest speaker. It’s the last official date in 2010 for Hub members and stakeholders to come together and reflect on the year whilst taking in the anticipation of the evening at a fantastic north coast location.

The awards will recognise innovation and employment, but also the contribution made to The Hub. The awards are your opportunity to apply or nominate, helping put the spotlight on the great businesses and employees that are shaping enterprise in Cornwall.

YTKO are proud sponsors of the 2010 event and wish everyone the very best of luck.

For more information, visit www.cornwallhub.org/awards.php or watch the official video of the 2009 event at www.cornwallhub.org/awards_2009_video.php

The award categories for 2010 are …

Employee of the Year (under 30)

Best Business Start Up

Young Entrepreneur of the Year (under 30)

Green Business of the Year (new for 2010)

Hub Contributor of the Year (decided by the Hub Committee)

For more information on this event visit www.cornwallhub.org

1. Turn off equipment when it’s not being used. This can reduce the energy used by 25 percent; turning off the computers at the end of the day can save an additional 50 percent.

2. Encourage communications by email, and read email messages onscreen to determine whether it’s necessary to print them. If it’s not, don’t!

3. Reduce fax-related paper waste by using a fax-modem and by using a fax cover sheet only when necessary. Fax-modems allow documents to be sent directly from a computer, without requiring a printed hard copy.

4. Produce double-sided documents whenever possible.

5. Do not leave taps dripping; always close them tightly after use. (One drop wasted per second wastes 10,000 litres per year.)

6. Install displacement devices in toilet cisterns. Placing one or two plastic containers filled with stones [not bricks] in the toilet’s cistern will displace about 4 litres of water per flush – a huge reduction of water use over the course of a year.

7. Find a supply of paper with maximum available recycled content.

8. Choose suppliers who take back packaging for reuse.

9. Instigate an ongoing search for “greener” products and services in the local community. The further your supplies or service providers have to travel, the more energy will be used to get them to you.

10. Before deciding whether you need to purchase new office furniture, see if your existing office furniture can be refurbished. It’s less expensive than buying new and better for the environment.

(Source: www.about.com)

A nationwide search has been launched by the Parcel Force, but in the mean time the Outset Cornwall team are pressing on with their events without her.

Lucy Cox, Outset Cornwall’s Marketing Manager, says, “Lily was a huge hit at the Royal Cornwall Show and has a full diary of engagements for the rest of the summer right across the South West, so we are devastated to not have her in the team. We are hopeful that the couriers will find her very soon!”

Parcel Force were very apologetic and assume that her label has fallen off in transit. When described as a 7ft woman with a light bulb on her head, they were confident that would be able to track her down in no time! But if you’ve seen Lily standing around anywhere looking lost, please contact the Outset Cornwall team.

Outset Cornwall offers free, flexible business start-up advice to anyone wishing to start their own business. Their jargon-free programme is delivered right across the County and is recruiting NOW! For more information please contact Outset Cornwall on 08009174 324 or visit www.outsetcornwall.co.uk.

The interactive session, which followed the presentation enabled everyone attending to get answers to some of the challenges they face now or may face in the future and everyone was keen to hear the thoughts of others they spoke to.

Eileen brought an enormous wealth of experience to the session and it was great to see everyone networking together, especially as some clients were meeting each other for the first time.

The event showed how opportunities can happen even between people starting out for the first time.

If you have any thoughts and ideas on future Networking sessions, we’d love to hear about them, e-mail us at events@outsetcornwall.co.uk with your ideas.

Pictures from the event are shown below.

• Be polite
• Dress neatly
• Smile
• Shake hands firmly
• Illustrate your knowledge
• Make eye contact
• Speak clearly
• Share ideas, content and praise
• Be positive
• Ask how they are doing
• Know when to shut up
• Be confident your product or service is valuable
• Say “please” “thank you” and “excuse me”
• Admit when you’re wrong
• Don’t gloat when you’re right
• Hold the door or elevator for someone else
• Pay attention to those talking to you
• Don’t gossip
• Be open minded
• Respect their right to not answer or agree

“In my time as an Army medic in the East, I had seen first hand the benefits of Reiki on conditions such as this, but most treatments were up to £30 a time in the UK and out of my price bracket! One day, I came across a Reiki healer that believed healing was more important than profit and worked with me for £5 a time. He changed my life and inspired me to help people who found themselves in disadvantaged situations unable to afford holistic treatment for their ailments.”

David (who has always been fascinated by this eastern medicine) started training in Reiki shortly after leaving the Army in 1982 so knew how powerful it could be. Having experienced the complete generosity of his Reiki healer and suffering none of the common relapses associated with recovering CFS suffers, David started researching how he could make his new business work.

“I contacted Outset Cornwall in late 2009 and started immediately on their programme. I wanted to get the best advice on starting a business in a recession, but also such a specialised business as this. I suffered a serious head injury while in the forces which left me with concentration and short-term memory problems. The Outset Cornwall team worked with me, tailoring the programme to suit my

needs. Having been out of work for a while and in my sixties I was worried that I would struggle with the programme, but it was exactly what I needed!”

David now runs a very successful social enterprise from the back of a converted 10-ton horse box which he takes around to homeless shelters, nursing homes etc to offer his services for a small donation. This income is supplemented by private work where he takes his mobile unit to offices, fairs and fetes.

Outset Cornwall has been funded by the ERDF Convergence programme which invests in activities that will have a long-term impact on the growth and develop of the Cornish Economy. Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office says, “David’s journey is exemplary to us all. Through the Convergence funded Outset programme he has used his personal experience and newly gained skills to create a social enterprise which is of value to himself and the community he serves.“

For more information on DWC Reiki for All, please contact Outset Cornwall on 0800 9174 324.

“I was given a pump by the hospital which would continually administer my drugs for me. I started to get problems with it due to the fact it was very difficult to carry around so the hospital gave me a grey pouch to hold the pump in. The pump would regularly fall out and make me quite ill, resulting in me spending more time in hospital. I decided to design my own pouch that would hold the pump more effectively and give me better physical and emotional comfort, and it worked really well. I thought ‘if I can do this for my self, I could do it for other people!’”

Once basic designs had been drawn up, Daniel looked into other portable medical devices that would benefit from having a practical, but discreet pouch. He found that there were a lot of people just like him that would benefit from having a product such as this.

“When I first started I had no experience in this field and needed some help to put me in the right direction. I have found the Outset Cornwall programme very helpful and it has really increased my self-confidence. The team have been there for me when I needed help and put me in touch with the right people for additional support.”

Joey Pouch is a range of specially designed and patented pouches to hold a wide variety of ambulatory pumps and medical devices. Each of the products in the range has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the wearer.

“I am a very strong person which I have had to be due to my illness.  With this business, I have taken my weakness and turned it into a strength, which is helping me get my life back on track.”

“My ambitions for the future are to come off benefits and to be self sufficient whilst raising awareness of my illness. This project is very close to me and has given me my life back in some ways. I will make this work whatever it takes!”

Outset Cornwall has been funded by the ERDF Convergence programme which invests in activities that will have a long-term impact on the growth and develop of the Cornish Economy.

For more information on Joey Pouch, please contact 0800 9174 324

Anna found a real passion when she started attending courses in dressmaking and fashion and instantly found a love for corsetry and working with special fabrics. She decided to follow her heart and start making beautiful wedding and occasion dresses and accessories under her own label; Anna D’Souza Designs, at home where she could work at her own pace allowing her time for her family.

“I love the transforming effect of clothes and decided to use this to help brides feel special. All my designs are commissioned, and inspired by beautiful fabrics, vintage wear, historical fashion, theatre costume, stories and fairytales, beautiful landscapes and old buildings!”

When asked to describe herself, Anna said, “I am a romantic daydreamer with a passion for what I do and doing it well.” Something that is reflected in the quality of her dressmaking and the ethereal feel for her imagery.

Anna came to Outset Cornwall looking to learn new skills and build on what she had learnt from other business support. In particular she wanted continued support for after she had set up on her own as well as the additional training and mentoring in those vital early stages.

Anna, who describes the Outset Cornwall programme as ‘invaluable’, continues to say, “I found myself learning how to do cash flows simply and at my pace, with someone who really understands what it is like to struggle with Maths! I went away from every session with at least one very useful point I remember and use all the time.”

Anna invites clients to her home to discuss their formal dress requirements. She then gets to work drawing up designs before embarking on making the final garment. One day she hopes to have her own dedicated premises and a partner or assistant to support her creative process.

“The flexible support Outset Cornwall offer meets your needs whatever stage you are at and my confidence has grown so much since I started.”

Outset Cornwall has been funded by the ERDF Convergence programme which invests in activities that will have a long-term impact on the growth and develop of the Cornish Economy.

For more information on Anna’s work, please contact Outset Cornwall on 0800 9174 324

As with everything we do, we like to add a bit of something different, so this year we created a theme to celebrate an entrepreneur’s ‘light bulb moment’.  Outset Cornwall recognises and supports new entrepreneurs to realise that their big “light bulb” idea can become a reality. In support of this theme, and as an illustration of how busy we were, the team gave away 800 energy efficient light bulbs, 1,000 helium balloons and over 1,200 special leaflets, as well as encouraging all visitors to take the “light bulb buzzer” challenge especially created for the stand.

As well as all that, the team were on hand to answer visitors’ questions, and we also ran a very special competition to win a selection of goodies from our exhibiting clients. Prizes up for grabs included;

-       An original Anna D’Souza brooch (www.annadsouzadesigns.co.uk)

-       A gift voucher for 4 free Reiki sessions with David Cross

-       A Flock Follies designer bird-feeder (www.flock-follies.com)

-       A Cuchi Cake from Cornish Balms and Crafts

-       A Joey Pouch mobile phone case

Good fun was had by all, and we look forward to heading back to the show in 2011.

Click on the names below to see the case studies of the clients that exhibited with us

Thursday 10^th June

David Cross – Reiki

Vaughan Haynes – Hogswood Brewery

Friday 11^th June

Jayne Tarasun – Flock Follies

Jasmine Saint – Cornish Balms and Crafts

Saturday 12^th June

Anna D’Souza – Anna D’Souza Designs

Daniel Male – Joey Pouch

To celebrate Enterprising Women coming to Cornwall, the team at YTKO invited Bev Hurley (Outset Cornwall’s CEO) and Sally Hurst (Owner of The Old Bag Company) to be guest speakers at an official launch of the Cornwall Enterprising Women network. 30 local female business owners attended to hear their inspirational stories, and learn about the business benefits of joining one of the fastest growing communities in the UK. Among the huge range of benefits on offer are:

• Fully editable business and personal profiles
• Valuable web-links back to your business to increase your visitors
• “Woman of the Week” home page publicity
• On our site and in the press – become an Enterprising Women case study
• Publicity for your PR on our home page and in members’ news
• Your business profile linked on the Google map
• Your listings on the events calendar
• Profile-raising: contribute to our “Ask the Expert” knowledgebase
• Speaking opportunities at networking events and conference
• Access to our Mentor database
• Business support providers listing
• Fortnightly Enterprising Women e-newsletters
• Awards and competition opportunities
• Over 200 online resources and guides
• Partner/supplier/prospect searching
• Free Enterprising Women network events
• Priority linkages with the Truro and Penwith College ‘Empowering Smart Women programme’

To find out more, contact Lucy on lucy.cox@ytko.com