Women entrepreneurs in the awards spotlight

Dec 6 2007 By The Journal

FLOURISHING businesswomen got together at a prestigious awards ceremony to celebrate success.

Hundreds of female entrepreneurs, their colleagues and other business professionals from across the region gathered at The Sage Gateshead on November 16 to see women running businesses in many different sectors pick up awards.

The North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, developed and organised by Women Into the Network (WIN) of Durham University, sponsored by One NorthEast and South Tyneside Council and compered by Julia Hankin of BBC Radio Newcastle, saw more than 700 people hear the results and celebrate the achievements of the North-East’s women entrepreneurs.

Guests waiting for proceedings to begin were entertained by young dancers from Stagecoach Theatre Arts, owned and managed by Trudy Hindmarsh, a WIN cultural and creative category award winner four years ago.

For the past eight years WIN has been supporting aspiring and existing women’s businesses by helping them to access mainstream networks and support organisations in the region.

WIN has been incubated by Durham University for eight years and next April, with the university’s support, will become an independent entity, managed by a board of women entrepreneurs.

It is anticipated that the next stage of WIN’s evolution will also be very much a collaborative effort.

A study is currently being undertaken in association with Durham University and the regional enterprise agencies with the aim of updating understanding of the needs of women going into business in the North-East and the support services that exist for them.

As a result of WIN and other interventions over the past eight years the landscape has changed for women starting and growing businesses and this study will ensure that WIN’s offering continues to be appropriate.

Dinah Bennett, WIN’s director thanked all of the sponsors and supporters. She said: “Without you the entrepreneurial landscape of this region would not be changing so rapidly.

“All of us at WIN applaud you, and celebrate with you this evening.”

At the event a special North-East welcome was offered to several Jordanian guests and representatives of the British Council, both from the UK and Jordan, who were visiting the region on an exchange visit as part of an international project led by the British Council to tackle the issue of cultural and traditional stereotyping of women’s roles in the workplace and society.

Members of the delegation visited female business representatives and WIN members in the region from Young Enterprise North East, The B Group, Central Newcastle girls’ school and Mechetronics.

Journalists from the Dubai-based TV station Al Arabiya were reporting on their visit.

The ceremony also saw Nickie Gott of events management company She’s Gott It! win the Susan Dobson Award for Entrepreneurship and be named North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2007.

Nickie, who formed the company in 2002, impressed the judges with her professional and inventive approach to events management and communications.

With an impressive portfolio of major projects in the public, private and voluntary sector, the latest contract has seen Nickie win a four-year deal to deliver the world’s biggest winter festival in Edinburgh.

Nickie said: “I’ve never felt so proud. Because loads of people have believed in me for a long time, and have put their faith in me – my family and my team. This just affirms that maybe I should do that too. To be up there in front of so many successful women, and to be told that you really are successful, is amazing”.

“We as a company have achieved so much over the last five years, that I have to stop and pinch myself on a number of occasions about that success. This award will give us the strength and motivation to go on to do even bigger and better things.”

The nine categories on offer were sponsored by a host of organisations from across the region – The Journal, South Tyneside Council, Thompson Building Centres, North East Social Enterprise Partnership (NESEP), Arts Council England, Northumberland County Council, University of Teesside, Solutions Recruitment, and The Susan Dobson Memorial Fund.

Other winners on the evening were:

Best Newcomer – Delyth Raffell of TwinsUK

Young Woman Entrepreneur – Rebecca Philipson of UR – In the Paper Ltd

Woman in Retail – Jan Massey and Melanie Crow of Photography for Little People

Woman Social Entrepreneur – Kate Welch of Acumen Community Enterprise Development Trust Ltd

Best Cultural and Creative Business – Sue Moffitt of Fifiefofum

Rural Woman Entrepreneur – Gill Burgess of r//evolution marketing UK Ltd

Woman in Technology or Innovation – Elaine Hall of The Alternative Supply Company Ltd

Woman in the Service Sector – Janice Auton of Poppys Hairdressing Ltd

Lisa Vickers, WIN’s events and communications manager said: “The awards are a perfect platform for us and our sponsors to bring recognition to the phenomenal number of talented women running businesses here in the North-East. Over the years our winners have grown their businesses substantially, gone on to win national awards and, most importantly, acted as role models for the many other women running businesses or thinking of starting an enterprise.

“I have no doubt that this year’s winners will follow in their footsteps, continue to grow and help encourage more women into self-employment.

“The awards were on a much bigger scale this year – we almost doubled in capacity and tickets still sold out well in advance.

“People recognise the importance of The North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards which is why it will always be one of the most popular and highly rated business competitions in the region”.

Attending the awards was Margaret Fay, chairman of One NorthEast, a long-time supporter of WIN and the Awards.

Margaret said: “The continuing development of women’s enterprise offers our region enormous untapped potential and is a key areas of focus for One NorthEast. One NorthEast has provided significant financial support to Women Into the Network and we are proud to be associated with these awards. The North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards continue to motivate and inspire our women entrepreneurs and I congratulate WIN for bringing together another successful event”.

Also attending was Rick O’Farrell, head of enterprise and regeneration at South Tyneside Council, who said: “We are delighted to support the North East Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

“The nominees and winners are a real inspiration to people throughout the region, and our congratulations go to them all. South Tyneside has always been a place where successful women make their ideas happen and where creativity, determination, dedication, and entrepreneurial skills and talent continue to flourish”.

Premiere invitation for Pam PAM Ainsley, of Hopes and Dreams Photography, who won the runner-up prize for Best Cultural and Creative Business at the awards has just been invited to the US premiere of the movie Atonement and has been invited to display the photos in her book of the filming. Apparently her invitation was clinched by the fact she got one of the WIN awards.