Rugby man Carling to host advice forums

Jul 24 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

FORMER England rugby captain Will Carling is coming to the North East to share his entrepreneurial expertise with the region’s small firms.

Now a successful businessman, Carling will host free advice forums at the O2 Business Boot Camp event on Tynemouth Beach on Saturday.

He will lead a series of half-hour discussion forums centring on the lessons he brought from the pitch to running his own company, Will Carling Management Ltd.

“Having made the transition from the rugby to the business world, there are many skills that I learnt on the pitch which have proved extremely relevant in the boardroom,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with the small businesses in Newcastle and to meeting some of the people behind the exciting ventures coming out of the North East. I hope people will come along and have a relaxed chat and take away some pointers. I’m not going to give a big corporate powerpoint presentation.”

Carling’s own business organises bespoke hospitality events for the corporate market and larger occasions at Twickenham, featuring current and former sports stars. After his first career as a professional sportsman, he was keen to start his own enterprise.

“I wanted to try to experience my own business,” he said.

Carling is a great supporter of small businesses and is looking forward to meeting North East entrepreneurs.

“If they think they have a good idea, I’ve got a lot of admiration for that. It’s easy to hide in a big corporate, although there are people in big corporates who work very hard,” he said. “I’d like to think all I do is give an honest appraisal. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some very talented people. I think I’ve learned a few bits and pieces that almost increase your luck.

“I’ll be talking about the things I learned, the things that work in a team environment and basic principles such as the ability to deal with people.”

The event is also part of the O2 Scrum on the Beach festival of rugby, which features England rugby stars, beach rugby and live entertainment.

The event has room for around 40 small businesses to take part in the discussions with Will Carling and have the opportunity to network afterwards.

To book an invitation, email businessbootcamp@talkpr.com