In celebration of this Global Entrepreneurship Week during 14^th-20^th November, we wanted to take the opportunity to give a shout-out to some of the amazing businesses we have in our centres. We asked a few business owners what motivates them to run their businesses and what success means to them.

Venaspace Bournemouth

Elizabeth Fitzgerald

Founder of SOCIAL AGNCY, a management agency based on the South Coast working with global brands. Their mission is to create an experience online for both consumer and client, helping elevate online presence, reputation and bespoke branding through thumb-stopping campaigns.

What motivated you to start your business?

I’ve always wanted to start my own company. I loved the idea of creating something built on love and passion. I had no clear or set motivation – my motivation for running my business and working hard changes every month but a big factor of my motivation is the bright future I see for everybody I love around me and myself. My business is my baby and I adore nurturing and growing it.

What’s your definition of success?

Success to me is love. Everything in life whether it’s building successful relationships, successful friendships or successful businesses is centred around passion and LOVE. If you show love and passion to every situation it expands. My personal success is built on hard work (lots of it), curiosity, not backing down, and showing LOVE to everything I have built within my company.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

My biggest piece of advice would be don’t ever pause, always pivot. It’s so cliche, but there’s not dead end if you just change direction – start it up, love it, love the highs and get through the lows. Surround yourself with the right people. You’ve got this.

Chris Forero-Slee

CEO and Co-Founder of Shrap, an anonymous and freely transactable digital currency for micropayments that makes cash efficient and sustainable by removing the need for coin.

What motivated you to start your business?

I’m a big believer in the value of having cash – as in banknotes – in society. They help protect our freedom and independence; most people aren’t comfortable thinking there would be no way to take their money out of the system. Anyway, I came across a big problem that needed to be fixed – the fact that our national cash infrastructure is broken. After realising that no one else was addressing the core of the problem, Shrap was born.

What’s your definition of success?

To me, success means making a real difference in the world.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

My advice to budding entrepreneurs is to test your concept as soon and as often as possible. It’s easy to be over protective of your idea. Get it out there. If you’re going to fail, fail fast… and try again!

David Dos Santos

Co-Founder of The Supply Room, a UK based Education Recruitment Agency for Teachers and Support Staff with offices in London, Bournemouth, Bristol and Exeter.

What motivated you to start your business?

I was 16 when I took my first job as a part-time weekend waiter and even back then I had a keen interest in how the owner ran her business. With every job that followed, I imagined myself in the driving seat and envisioned what I would do differently; How I would make it even more of a success, how I would keep staff happy and win new customers… That way of thinking only helped me be successful in each position but ultimately gave me the confidence to take the leap once I found something I was passionate about. Of course, there were a few early failures (my furniture assembly business in my early 20s lasted less than 8 hours)!

What’s your definition of success?

Achieving results and not taking shortcuts. Building something credible and rock solid that adds long-term value to people’s lives. Seeing my colleagues exceed their expectations and reach new heights within a company I co-founded gives me great satisfaction.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

Stay consistent with the tasks that you know will lead to success. It’s easy to give up at the start and doubt yourself when things are tough, but those who are consistent, succeed. Also, share the load, if possible. From personal experience, having a great business partner who adds value in areas I may not necessarily be the greatest, has fast-tracked our success!

Venaspace Exeter

Jaye Cowle

Director and founder of Launch, an award-winning paid media agency for ambitious businesses whose mission is to be the happiest agency in the world.

What motivated you to start your business?

Two things motivated me to start Launch. Firstly, and more practically, I needed a job which could be flexible and allow me to work around my young children, but still challenge me to advance my career. Secondly, I had great encouragement from other business owners to help get the business off the ground – they went on to become my first clients! That gave me confidence that I was doing the right thing, which really helped motivate me.

What’s your definition of success?

Wanting to jump out of bed in the morning. Whether it’s for a dog walk, or to get to my desk. You quickly realise that happiness can drive success, but success doesn’t necessarily create happiness. I know things are successful when I’m happy and motivated.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

Build a community around you so you can access support, a shoulder to lean on and someone to listen. Also, don’t think you can do everything. Outsource as much as you can, so you can focus on what matters. I wish I took my own advice more..!

Mike Saunders

Founder and Director of Re-flow.

What motivated you to start your business?

Before Re-flow, I ran another firm which I still run to this day – Reactor15. We’d been developing clever apps for numerous businesses and organisations, including the NHS. We were looking for something that would provide more of a monthly recurring revenue model and had played around with a few ideas that came to us mostly by accident. In fact, one of those accidents was how Re-flow began.

In short, there wasn’t a grand motivation behind the business, rather, we took the time to float around ideas and set our aims high when we knew we had something with potential that resonated with the target audience.

What’s your definition of success?

I’d say that Re-flow as a company has already found a lot of success. We’re very fortunate to be growing so rapidly, bringing more clients onboard and growing our reputation within the industries we serve. In a business sense, I’d say that our long-term goal is to become the leading field management software for the infrastructure sector in this country, that being rail, road, utilities and power.

On a more personal level, I would define success as being able to come into work every day and thoroughly enjoy what I’m doing. I get the impression that my colleagues feel the same way – we cultivate a great culture and a great team. I think that’s quite special.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

Be very clear about your goal. Once you figure that out, you should work backwards. I think the real secret to a really successful company is narrowing in on that end goal, deciding what to do, and more importantly, what not to do.

It’s also important to have the awareness and humility to examine your own skills and ask yourself what resources and people you need to bring to remedy your own shortcomings. Once you have that in place, you need to look after your team! Cultivate that culture and put in the work to maintain a loyal team. They’ll be your comrades on your journey, and you need to treat them right and care for them.

Lastly, you need to be prepared to make mistakes. I myself have made a lot of mistakes along the way, cutting my teeth on other businesses I’ve been involved in throughout my life. I was able to make a huge number of mistakes early on in my journey and do the exact opposite of everything I just said. It takes many years to gain that experience, so it’s important to have the determination and patience to trust that learning process, especially when you’re making mistakes.

Conor Flanagan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Founder and Director of Black Box Planning – a specialist consultancy advising landowners, developers and investors in all planning related matters.

What motivated you to start your business?

We wanted to create a business which put people before process, offering a personable service to clients and an enjoyable workplace environment.

What’s your definition of success?

Repeat business and referrals from clients is the most tangible signal that were doing something right.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

Spend time getting to know people to build lasting business relationships.

Venaspace Plymouth

Steve Kyffin

Co-founded Bluestone360 in 1988 after a few years as a freelance designer working in London and Bristol. Steve and the team at Bluestone360 are always looking to innovate, collaborate, bring energy, creativity, and expertise to make brands meaningful and successful.

What motivated you to start your business?

After spending 4 years training and qualifying as a Graphic Designer in Cornwall I realised that I would need to move to London or similar to further my career as there were only a handful of design agencies in the region at the time. I did try but couldn’t get on in a city environment. So, if I didn’t want to move too far away from the coast, the sea, and the beaches I had no alternative but to set up a new business in the region. I also think the mindset was always there, in that I would set up my own business.

What’s your definition of success?

It has varied over the years as circumstances in life and business change. Early on the goals included winning a specific company’s business, building a great team to support the growth, and managing the operational process to ensure we hit various financial targets. But as creatives, we always felt success was more emotive in terms of producing well-thought-out and creatively executed work that we could feel proud of and      that made a difference to our clients. Also to enjoy what we are doing. That still holds true today.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

There is so much great (and not-so-great) advice out there these days it’s hard to add anything new. It is important to keep reading, watching, and distilling all the time to keep learning and growing. Get good people around you and create the best team culture you can that fits your particular business values and ethos. Look after your health and well-being when the going gets tough. Build mental resilience in the best way that suits you. Keep the passion burning for what you do. Don’t underestimate the power of creating a strong brand for your business based on the values of you and the team.

Wendy Codner

Founder and Director of Forget-Me-Not Care and Support Services.

What motivated you to start your business?

After losing my mum we have started Forget Me Not in memory of her. Coming from a care background and working in a previous company we know like all do the high demand  of care needed within the community.

What’s your definition of success?

To be proud of the business we run and knowing that we are helping vulnerable adults no matter what they’re needs are to remain safe in their own homes. Being proud of the outstanding quality and believing in our staff.

What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?

Be prepared for hard work, dedication and commitment. To have a supporting network behind you no matter how big or small you are