Funny Women launches 10th Anniversary Charity Challenge!

Challenging Perceptions: Thursday 8^th March 2012, International Women’s Day,Grange Hotel, St Paul’s, City of London

Who says women aren’t funny?

Funny Women, the leading female comedy brand in the UK, celebrates its 10^th Anniversary this year by challenging 10 high profile women from the worlds of business, media and academia to perform stand up for the first time in their lives. 10 women will be performing a stand-up Comedy Challenge supporting 10 charitable causes helped by 10 women’s networks.

The event, which will be hosted by television presenter and founder of Goodypass Kate Garraway, takes place on Thursday 8^th March 2012, International Women’s Day, in the luxurious surroundings of the Grange St Paul’s Hotel in the City of London.

‘If this is the future of womanly comedy,
then it’s in safe, exciting hands.’

Tim Arthur, Time Out

Names such as Charlie Webster from Sky Sports News, the Daily Mail’s sex columnist Rowan Pelling and ‘Queen of Networking’ Carole Stone are just three of the brave women who have agreed to try their hand at stand-up in support of great causes.  Most of the Challengers have experience of public speaking but performing a comedy routine in front of an audience is a different matter.  Funny Women will help all the Challengers with training based on their popular comedy workshops and with help from female comedians – people who make their living from stand-up.

Challenger Vanessa Vallely, senior business manager at Aviva Investors and founder of We Are the City, comments, “ I absolutely support the great work that Funny Women does in terms of encouraging women into comedy and giving women confidence through the use of humour. I am honoured to be taking part and share the stage with so many other wonderful women. “

‘A superb champion of talent.’
Shane Allen, head of comedy, Channel 4

Not only are the 10 names being challenged to try to be a stand-up comedian for the evening  they are each raising funds from the task for their individual favourite charity.  And they are not alone in this effort – each challenger has the help of 10 of the UK’s most well connected women’s networks.   Founder and director of the National Black Women’s Network, Sonia Brown, says, “I am so proud to be leveraging my various networks and contacts to support the work of the Sickle Cell Society. As someone who has built a business around getting diverse women to come together to talk for positive change, why not make them laugh too!”

“We want to stage an event that really benchmarks what Funny Women stands for after 10 years in the industry,” explains founder and executive producer, Lynne Parker.  “Some extremely high profile professional women use humour to good effect, just like their male colleagues, but it’s not seen as a worthy attribute in the same way.  We launched our public workshops and our business brand three years ago and we’ve seen some brilliant new talent emanate from both.

“So, we want to Challenge perceptions with this very special 10^th Anniversary event by demonstrating how women from all walks of life use humour and raise lots of money for some amazing causes at the same time. Over the years we’ve encouraged women to perform comedy in aid of charity when they might otherwise not have felt confident and we’re so grateful to the amazing networks and women who have agreed to take part in the Charity Challenge.”

Tickets to the event are now on sale at www.funnywomen.com and include drinks reception, three course meal with wine plus entertainment from last year’s Funny Women Awards winner Lara A King.

For more information about Funny Women

please visit:www.funnywomen.com
or email: info@funnywomen.com

THE EVENT

 Event sponsors include Grange Hotels, Goodypass.com, Radio Gorgeous and WeGotTickets

Tickets cost £100 plus VAT for an individual ticket and £900 plus VAT for a table of 10.

CHALLENGERS, NETWORKS & CHARITIES

Carole Stone

Author, broadcaster and founder of YouGovStone, has won the inaugural IoD and O2 ‘Britain’s Best Connected Woman’ prize. Known as the ‘Queen of Networking’, Carole has amassed more than 40,000 names in her contacts database and written two successful books on the subject – Networking: The Art of Making Friends and The Ultimate Guide to Successful Networking.

Carole is supported by Women in Journalism and is raising funds for The Victoria Foundation

Vanessa Vallely

Currently head of business management for Finance, Strategy & Legal at Aviva Investors, Vanessa is also the founder of We Are the City, a free website providing city and female-centric information to the 70,000 women who work in the City and Canary Wharf. She recently won the Women in Banking and Finance Champion for Women Award which recognises the person who through personal commitment, application and dedication promotes and inspires women in the workplace to reach their full potential.

Vanessa is supported by We are the City and is raising funds for Wellbeing for Women

Hela Wozniak Kay & Annie Brooks

The only double act to take on the challenge, Annie and Hela co-founded Sister Snog, a networking group for movers and shakers – Sister Snog hosts over 30 sparkling business events a year. Members can interact directly with each other via a discrete and very private social network; create harmony by joining the choir, Sisters of Soul. Or be a guest on Annie & Hela’s weekly radio show, Sister Snog on Gas&Air on OnFM101.4. Sister Snog is a brand with a twist.

Hela and Annie are supported by Sister Snog and are raising funds for Dress for Success

Deb Leary MBE

CEO of Forensic Pathways, which provides advanced data analytics, forensic intelligence, forensic products, training and consultancy, Deb is also chair of the Midlands World Trade Forum, vice president of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs and deputy chair of the United Nations UK Global Compact.

Deb is supported by the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs and is raising funds for The Family Planning Association

Sonia Brown MBE

Founder and director of The National Black Women’s Network (NBWN) is a non-profit network organisation dedicated to raising the status and position of BAME women in all walks of life. The NBWN provides dynamic initiatives through network support; enabling women from diverse backgrounds and occupations to develop strong professional and social contacts; high quality training and education programmes; leadership and national recognition.

Sonia is being supported by the National Black Women’s Network and is raising funds for the Sickle Cell Society

Charlie Webster

A huge football fan, Charlie presented Real Madrid TV and Live Premier League football for ESPN for two seasons. Charlie currently presents on Sky Sports News, features on Sky Sports boxing show Ringside and has reported for BBC’s Football Focus in the 2010/11 Football season. Charlie has presented Live Speedway for Sky Sports for the past 3 years, and on various projects including GP2, F1 feeder race, for ITV and the UK School Games for C4. Most recently Charlie has presented the Olympic 2012 beach volleyball test event in Horse Guards Parade.

Charlie is being supported by Women in Film & TV and is raising funds for Women’s Aid

Kate Nustedt

Kate Nustedt joined Women for Women International as UK Executive Director in May 2009. She is an experienced global campaigner and has run high-profile campaigns on social justice, women’s rights, anti-poverty and environmental issues. Kate was a key part of the Labour Party’s campaign team that won the landslide general election in 1997, and she has since managed campaigns and communications teams at Greenpeace, ActionAid and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. She was an Associate Partner with Brunswick Group, a leading public relations agency.

Kate is being supported by Soroptimist International and is raising funds for Women for Women

Dr Julie Greensmith

Julie, AKA ‘Doctor Thrill’ gets paid to indulge her passion for rollercoasters as part of serious research to devise entertainments that adapt to how we are feeling. Her talk was one of several arranged to enthuse and inspire undergraduate women attending the BCS Lovelace Colloquium at the University of Leeds in April 2009.

Dr Julie Greensmith is being supported by Women in Technology and is raising funds for the Angelus Foundation

Rowan Pelling

Rowan has contributed to a variety of newspapers and magazines, including regular columns for the Independent on Sunday, The Mail on Sunday, GQ and Jack. She was a judge of the 2004 Man Booker Prize. She is now a columnist for the Daily Telegraph,

Rowan is being supported by Ladies at 11 and is raising funds for Children in Crisis

About Funny Women

Funny Women was set up in 2002 by Lynne Parker, as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction to a misogynistic comedy promoter she worked with in 2000.  The Funny Women Awards were launched in 2003 and are now the benchmark for women breaking into comedy.

The 2011 Awards were won overall by the ‘people pleasing’ Lara A King. There are now three main Awards including the Variety Award, won by sketch duo Ladies Live Longer, Louise Fitzgerald and Victoria Temple-Morris, in 2011 and our first Comedy Writing Award won by Christine Robertson launched in 2011.

Funny Women’s impact on the world of comedy is the alumni themselves.  Their success speaks volumes for the brand.  Previous winners include comic duo Thankless Child, Freya Slipper and Liz Black in 2010, 2009 victor and CBBC star, Miss London; Canadian Katherine Ryan in 2008; ‘Stand Up For The Week’ star Andi Osho in 2007; Suzy Bennett, who took the title in 2006; Debra-Jane Appelby, winner 2005; Zoe Lyons, who won in 2004, and Sarah Adams, who triumphed performing as Jade The Folk Singer in 2003. Other successful Funny Women Awards finalists include Gemma Whelan, Katie Wix, Anna Crilly, Bridget Christie, Susan Calman, Diane Morgan, Emma Fryer, Kerry Godliman, Wendy Wason, Sara Pascoe, Roisin Conaty and Holly Walsh as well as the multi award winning Sarah Millican.

On Monday the Big Venture Challenge was launched, a competition to find 25 of the nation’s most ambitious social entrepreneurs and give them the chance to fast-track their ventures to the next level.  The initiative, run by UnLtd and supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the Millennium Awards Trust, offers more than £1.2m of capital investment to the winners of the nation-wide ‘Dragons Den’ style competition.

The competition runs in three stages.  In stage one, which opens today, the search is on to find 25 winning entrepreneurs. These winners will receive funding of £25,000 each and intensive business support, including support from the competition’s corporate partners, including Deutsche Bank, Hogan Lovells, Coutts and The Supper Club.

Of these 25, the best ten ventures will receive a second round of £50,000, with a final two which demonstrate the fastest growth receiving an additional third round of £100,000 – a potential additional £150,000, but only if applicants can match it with loans or equity from co-investors. This mix of investment capital and grants is unusual in such a competition and reflects one of the competition’s main ambitions to attract new investors to the social capital market place.

Applications open today, 9 May, and close at 5pm on 30 June.  Shortlisted entrants will be invited to a business pitch in front of a panel of experts – including Pret A Manger co-founder Sinclair Beecham, other investors and successful entrepreneurs and business leaders – and will be chosen on the basis of their venture’s potential and their ability to scale it up to the next level at speed.

As of today, more than 1,000 people have registered their intent to enter.

Cliff Prior, CEO of UnLtd, said,

“It is a time of great opportunity and great need for a new generation of innovative social entrepreneurs.  The overwhelming interest to date demonstrates Britain’s entrepreneurial and ambitious spirit to change society for the better.  We are looking for 25 exceptional people with the ambition to grow their ventures and deliver significant social impact at scale. Help us find these 25 people – the search is on!”

Peter Wanless, CEO of Big Lottery Fund, said,

“Founding a social venture is a challenge; it needs determination and perseverance to take it from the start-up to being an established business. The Big Lottery Fund is delighted to support such an initiative that inspires people to unlock their own powers and abilities to make a difference.

“Big Venture Challenge gives entrepreneurs the unique chance to scale up quickly, helping deliver social impact in communities – from a local to national stage – where the public sector can no longer provide. This is a huge deal, and a really exciting new presence in the social enterprise market.”

Geoff Burnand, Chief Investment Officer at Charity Bank said,

“Big Venture Challenge is a fantastic initiative supporting social entrepreneurs. The social investment market seems alive with opportunities but to secure early stage backing the pitch and the quality of the management team are paramount. Even if you are unsuccessful in winning the competition the process can help you create a really solid business plan. Good luck.”

Big Venture Challenge seeks to provide the leverage for ambitious social entrepreneurs to scale their ventures up in order to meet increasing social needs in a time of significant public service budget constraints. These ventures, given top-flight business support from UnLtd, are a key solution to fill the ever-growing gap between publicly funded services and society’s needs. As well as providing crucial services, social ventures stimulate economic growth by contributing more than £24 billion to the economy.*

There is a clear gap in the social investment market between small start up funds and later stage investment for established social ventures. Big Venture Challenge will help bridge and stabilise this gulf by providing flexible co-investment finance of up to £175,000 for these mid-market social ventures, making a direct bridge between start-up and success. This competition aims to reduce the risk in the early stages of growing a social venture through business and financial support and to attract new investors into this space through the innovative co-investment model.

With 238,000** people starting or planning to start a social venture in the UK, social entrepreneurs are key to providing alternative, innovative solutions to social problems across England, and also to economic renewal: UnLtd’s research has shown that  each individual social entrepreneur it supports creates (on average) four jobs and fifteen training opportunities for others.***

Applications for Big Venture Challenge open today, 9 May, and close at 5pm on 30 June. Ambitious social entrepreneurs should visit www.bigventurechallenge.com to apply.

About Big Venture Challenge

Big Venture Challenge is a unique, new competition, run by UnLtd and primarily funded through The Big Lottery Fund, to find 25 people in England with 25 inspirational ideas to change the world. It is open to people aged 16+ in England, who have a viable, scalable and ambitious business model to drive social change in this country. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who use tools and techniques from the world of business to make a positive impact on society – creating ventures that place emphasis on social good as well as financial return.

Big Venture Challenge runs alongside UnLtd’s regular awards programmes, which offer smaller amounts of capital and business advice to social entrepreneurs from start-up and beyond.  The charity was established as the trustee of an endowment from the Millennium Commission called the Millennium Awards Trust, to invest in individuals wanting to create positive social change.

About UnLtd

UnLtd is the leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs and offers the largest such network in the world. We resource over 1,000 individuals each year through our core Awards programmes which impact many tens of thousands more. We operate a unique model by investing directly in the individual and provide a package of resources; from funding to ongoing advice, networking and practical support.

• UnLtd Ventures provides specialist support to a number of outstanding entrepreneurs, helping them to scale up or replicate their organisations
• UnLtd Research leads on inspiring and informing action, policy and social change
• UnLtd Connect brings together experienced professionals able to offer pro-bono support to individuals growing a social venture
• UnLtd Advantage is an investment readiness programme that assists social ventures to access the right type of investment for growth
• Live UnLtd is transforming how society views young people and how young people view themselves

We resource community entrepreneurs to start-up; support those with more established ventures to scale up; and are committed to developing an eco-system of support to make it easier for those who need help to find it.

www.unltd.org.uk www.UnLtd.org.uk

We are coming into the spring, which means it’s competition time!  Here are a few of the competitions that you can enter as a small business owner.  Some have a financial reward for the winners, and some just prestige, but competitions are a great way to build profile for your business.

T-Mobile Small Business Competition

On  1^st March T-Mobile launched a competition for small businesses with a £2k first prize; It follows the last competition aimed at small businesses which ran in December and asked small businesses to pitch themselves in as straight talking a manner as possible within 140 characters. This time round we’re asking small businesses what positive changes they would make to their business with £2k.

The idea is that with an increasingly uncertain economic climate, it’s getting harder for small businesses to predict how their business will be doing in the months ahead . This competition gives small businesses examples of what other businesses are doing to make positive changes in their business, whilst also giving them the opportunity to get some free advertising/self-promotion on t-mobile’s site.

Click here to find out more and enter for the chance to win http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/business/business-sense/competition/

The Pitch

Britain’s biggest small business competition is back for a fourth year! The Pitch is a small business competition where you pitch your business to a panel of experts who will assess your business viability and pitching skills.

Four lucky entrants, plus a wildcard contestant chosen by the public, will make it through to the central London final where the winner will receive a prize package worth £50,000.

So if you think you’ve got a killer idea / or business click here to find out more and enter

Everywoman

The NatWest everywoman Awards celebrates inspirational business women who have achieved significant success – particularly those who’ve had to overcome adversities such as financial constraints, social disadvantages or skills gaps. The Awards play an invaluable role in both recognising success and inspiring other women to venture into the field of business.

Click here to find out more and apply

Business support company launches “friendly” business website Bitsy

Bitsy (http://bitsythis.com) is described as “the friendliest business to business marketplace on the web” – and it was started following conversations on the social network Twitter.  Launched by business support company Enterprise Nation, Bitsy is a new website to help small business owners sell their services – and make friends.

San Sharma of Enterprise Nation said: “Social media websites, like Twitter, have allowed us to grow closer to our community.

“What we’ve found is that small business owners want a way to sell their services – and, at the same time, overcome feelings of isolation that sometimes come with working alone.”

Bitsy boasts Facebook-like social networking features that allow small business owners to add friends, update their status, create and join groups.

For as little as £1.60 per month, members of the website can become ‘sellers’ and list their business services in the Bitsy directory.

It already includes accountants, web designers and journalists. Freelance writer Christine Robins joined Bitsy on its first day, and found the website refreshing.

Christine said: “It can be a shame when business websites are boring and overwhelming. Friendly is good!”

Bitsy is run by Enterprise Nation, which last year carried out a survey that found that over 80% of small businesses wanted to outsource and subcontract work rather than take on staff.

Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones said: “Small business owners are growing by focusing on what they do best and outsourcing the rest. They’re looking for talent to take on jobs like marketing, design and bookkeeping – and Bitsy offers a place to do that.”

Bitsy will be rewarding its friendliest members with extra profile. Those who subscribe to Bitsy as sellers may be interviewed for the Bitsy blog and considered case studies for press enquiries and Enterprise Nation publications.

It’s free to join Bitsy. It costs £5 per month to list one service in the Bitsy directory and £8 per month to list up to five.

For more information, visit http://bitsythis.com, follow us on Twitter @BitsyTalk, or call Emma Jones on 01743 272555.

About Enterprise Nation

Bitsy is a product of Enterprise Nation.  Enterprise Nation is a business support company that helps small businesses online, in print, in person and in research. Its founder Emma Jones is a business expert and author. Her books include ‘Spare Room Start Up’, ‘Working 5 to 9′ and ‘Go Global: How to take your business to the world.’

Entrepreneurs who are true to themselves at all times stand the greatest chance of success when starting a business, it has been claimed.

Writing for the Democrat and Chronicle, Enid Arbelo said businesspeople should use all their previous life experience when setting up a company, drawing on both positive and negative incidents where applicable.

They are the individuals with the vision for success, and the people investing time and money in the enterprise, she said.

As such, trying to be somebody different or pursue somebody else’s dream makes no sense, Ms Arbelo suggested, noting that authenticity counts for plenty in business.

She also commented that entrepreneurs must always retain a strong work ethic, patience and willingness to make sacrifices if they wish to succeed in business.

“Most importantly, though, you have to be true to yourself,” Ms Arbelo added.

Last month, Daniel Jones told entrepreneur.com that creativity and determination are essential for any individual hoping to experience business success.

He claimed that entrepreneurism is about “making opportunities out of apparently nothing”, and having the enthusiasm to follow ideas through.

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners should ensure they have some idea of how the law affects their activities as an entrepreneur, it has been claimed.

Writing for Bytestart, Angel’s Den founder Bill Morrow noted that every SME founder must be prepared to face “the harsh realities of the business world” and gain the knowledge required to bring their ideas to fruition.
He commented that SME owners should become “intimately familiar” with a number of pieces of legislation, including copyright and patent laws.

“Copyright infringement is serious business, and if you use words that belong to another, the original owner can come down on you with copyright laws soundly on their side,” Mr Morrow stated.

“Patent laws are in place to protect your brilliant ideas, as well as the brilliant ideas of others. Lack of attention to detail can leave your intellectual property unprotected, while lack of research can leave you open to lawsuits.”

Knowledge of finance, employment and contract laws is also critical, he added, along with health and safety, property and advertising regulations.

“Ignore them at your peril because each comes with a sting in its tail for those who, intentionally or due to ignorance, abuse them,” Mr Morrow added.

Earlier this month, the Federation of Small Businesses called on the European Union to alleviate the burden of red tape currently faced by small businesses in the UK.

Female businessespeople and other women need to be encouraged to make their own pension provision, it has been claimed.

Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that women are more likely to face poverty during retirement than men.

He was commenting after research by Prudential revealed that vast numbers of women could be risking financial independence in retirement because they expect to rely on their partner’s pension.

More than one in four women (28 per cent) aged 40 and above but not yet retired, who live with their partner or spouse, said this will be their main source of income once they cease working.

Mr McPhail commented: “There is the fact that historically women’s working patterns have been more fragmented than men’s. As a consequence, women’s pension rights generally are lower than men’s. Women of course, live longer than men, so many of them will outlive their husbands.

“We need to raise investors’ awareness generally about the importance of making prudent forward-thinking decisions around the retirement income, at the point of retirement.”

Unless action is taken, there will be an increase in the number of impoverished women in their 70s, 80s and 90s, he said.

News Source

Growing a business is an achievable ambition if female entrepreneurs remain focused on their end goals, it has been claimed.

Writing for WomenEntrepreneur.com, industry commentator Maria Orozova said a number of basic steps come to mind when talking about business expansion.

Based upon her own experience as the founder of boutique design studio MOD, she said that maintaining relationships, staying current and knowing your limitations are all essential.

In addition, Ms Orozova claimed that businesspeople need to develop discipline and spend intelligently if they want their company to thrive.

She said people should not let their fears hold them back when considering a life in self-employment, urging anyone with the “entrepreneurial spirit” to try starting a company.

“Harness that drive and chase the dream. Doubts and fears will inevitably creep in, but push them aside,” Ms Orozova urged.

“The easiest route to failure is not acting at all out of a fear of some vaguely anticipated future disaster. Instead, suck it up and dive in.”

Marjorie Geise recently told Electro Articles that new businesses are likely to go nowhere without the guidance offered by a sound business plan.

News Source

At the BusinessMums Conference this week, Brighton based Yummy Lollies picked up the Best Growing Business BusinessMums Award and London’s Third Door was named Best Start Up.

The Awards are an integral part of the BusinessMums Conference, a day to celebrate the growing number of women who combine motherhood with entrepreneurship, and to inspire those who are just getting started.

Within just four years, Yummy Lollies has 700 outlets selling its real fruit ice lollies across the UK. Winners Sarah and Zoe of Yummy Lollies say, “We are shocked and delighted to win the Best Growing Business BusinessMums Award. I’m sure it was very evident that we didn’t except to win the award as there were so many amazing women at the conference who have achieved so much. We believe it will make a fantastic difference to us and our business. The recognition that comes with receiving the award is great as we have already had lots of lovely emails and messages from people congratulating us and wishing us continued success. The award has already found pride of place in our lovely new office.”

Third Door offers flexible workspace with on-site childcare. Shazia Mustafa, Managing Director of the business and mum of two, scooped the Best Start Up BusinessMums Award despite having been in business for only four months. For Shazia and her husband Yusuf Chadun who took a sabbatical from his regular job during Third Door’s launch phase, the Award makes their hard work worthwhile.  “It hasn’t been easy opening up a business of this scale during a recession while looking after our own two young children. But knowing that we’re helping parents get the work life balance they need has been our motivation,” she says.

The BusinessMums Conference celebrates the achievements of mothers with businesses, with the inaugural BusinessMum Awards showcasing truly outstanding business mums. There were two award categories: Best Start Up and Best Growing Business. For more information on the BusinessMums Conference go to www.businessmumsconference.co.uk

Women do not need to choose between motherhood and a life in business, it has been claimed.

Writing for Entrepreneur.com, Lisa Druxman, chief executive of fitness firm Stroller Strides, said women are capable of balancing their work and business life.

Although she noted that becoming a female entrepreneur is not easy given the potential time constraints, success can be achieved by prioritising tasks.

“We all have the same 24 hours. So, if we are filling those hours with business and motherhood, something has to give,” Ms Druxman said.

She said certain leisure activities, such as watching TV and browsing the internet, may have to be sacrificed to a degree to create time for business activity.

However, Ms Druxman noted that women in business should be wary of giving too many things up, instead focusing on making the very most of every single day.

Jane Hopkins, founder of Mumsclub, recently claimed that women often find themselves torn between their career and family life.

Alluding to the benefits of home working, she noted that many women find that the logistics of childcare and work “make it almost impossible” to find a job in the City.

News Source: Microsoft Small Business Centre