‘Women’s Business Mentoring’ launches nationwide today (1st June 2017) with some of the most recognisable and successful Scottish businesswomen leading the way.
This initiative brings together the connectivity and entrepreneurial spirit of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network, Women’s Enterprise Scotland and Scotland’s leading women entrepreneurs: Liz Cameron OBE of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Carolyn Currie of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, Jeanette Forbes of PCL Group, Poonam Gupta OBE of PG Paper, Marie Macklin CBE of Macklin Partnerships and Petra Wetzel of WEST Brewery.
‘Women’s Business Mentoring’ will match mentors with mentees to create a self-supporting, collaborative community who understand the specific challenges faced by women in business, whether it is accessing finance, overcoming gender bias or managing family responsibilities alongside a business. A dedicated website will help prospective businesses find a mentor, attend events and access key resources. In addition, women in business can also sign up as mentors: www.womensbusinessmentoring.com
Commenting on the launch of Women’s Business Mentoring:
Carolyn Currie, Chief Operating Officer, Women’s Enterprise Scotland, said:
“Research shows that women seek out business advice in the form of mentoring and coaching rather than on a consultancy basis and we know there is a clear need for more business women as mentors, since mixed-sex mentoring relationships may not always be of benefit for everyone. Only 20% of Scottish SME’s are majority-led by women, yet we know that if women started businesses at the same rate as men, this would contribute an additional £7.6bn to Scotland’s economy. I am honoured to play a part in this inspiring initiative and I look forward to collaborating and creating a lasting impact for women in business.”
Liz Cameron OBE, Director & Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Our approach is innovative and fresh and is all about tapping into the talents and experience of successful women entrepreneurs and matching them with ambitious, driven and aspiring women in business. I am delighted to have Scotland’s most recognisable and talented business women on board, which reflects the strength of female talent in Scotland, but also our commitment to give back to Scotland, grow our economy and contribute to our local communities.”
Petra Wetzel, Entrepreneur & Chief Executive of West Brewery said:
“Anything that can connect women in business and enable growth in their business is good for Scotland and good for the economy. From my experience, having a Mentor in any aspect of your life can add immense value to personal development. I view mentoring as a valuable asset which can bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight to a business. I look forward to personally mentoring aspiring women in business and giving back to the business community.”
Poonam Gupta OBE, Chief Executive of PG Paper and recipient of Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Scottish SME Business Awards, said:
“Mentoring is all about collaboration, unlocking ideas and talents that an add value to your business and to your life. For many women in business, these talents and ideas can often be overlooked, holding them back and preventing contributions to our economy. That’s why this campaign is so appealing. It’s led by women in business and is for women in business. I have seen first-hand how a business mentor can bring new perspectives, new solutions and new techniques to overcoming challenges and enabling success, and I look forward to doing exactly that with Scotland’s next generation of women in business.”
The next UK Government will have a crucial task ahead in constructing an industrial strategy that will deliver for all of the UK and which will deliver the skills and talents that Scottish businesses need to succeed.
Calling for an integration of the strategy at a Scottish and UK level, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“All of the political parties going into the General Election talk about a new Industrial Strategy as a key part of their economic agenda for the next Parliament. If this is pursued on a UK basis, then it is vital that it takes full account of the devolved settlement and that action is co-ordinated by the Scottish and UK Governments to ensure that Scottish firms can take full advantage of a national focus on the key drivers of business success.
“Our businesses need an environment that enables them to identify opportunities and respond to them in an agile manner. We need a national industrial strategy to set out measures to improve our infrastructure and connectivity, to widen our access to key skills and talents, to identify actions to incentivise and reward positive behaviours and to ensure that we have the most competitive environment to do business. However any UK strategy must recognise that many of those levers are under the control of the Scottish Government and therefore it must be fully engaged if Scottish businesses are to benefit from the strategy to the fullest extent.
“Getting our plans right for skills and talent must be a priority for the Industrial Strategy. Scotland and the UK continue to lag behind competitor nations in terms of our productivity and we need to restore a focus on ongoing work-based learning and re-skilling of older workers in order to ensure that our businesses have access to the talents they need to grow and succeed. This is particularly important, given the demographics of low unemployment and an aging workforce.
“Once this General Election has been decided, there exists a golden opportunity for the Scottish and UK Governments to co-ordinate their activity as never before, putting politics to one side and focusing on how to build the success of our businesses.”
On a warm day in May, a group of around thirty (mostly) women joined us at the G&V Royal Mile Hotel for our monthly Inspiring Women in Business Lunch. Our guest speaker was Tracey McNellan, a woman boasting an illustrious career in the fast-paced media industry.
From early on in the event, delegates relaxed in to the comfortable surrounds of the G&V, drink in hand, where they were given the opportunity to network prior to being whisked in to the dining room to hear from our guest speaker.
In something of a break from the norm, this Inspiring Women in Business event was held Q&A style with one of Tracey’s colleagues – Paul Harper of Heart Scotland’s drive time show – quizzing Tracey on a range of topics, from her early career to challenges she’s faced to radio’s place in today’s world. Paul informed the crowd that the last Q&A he hosted was with the lawyers of Steven Avery, the man made famous by the documentary Making a Murderer. This Q&A, he assured, would be much more light-hearted.
They covered Tracey’s career first, noting her background in computing and early love of music, which undoubtedly influenced the direction her life would later take. We learned of Tracey’s determined nature from an early age, where when she told her mother about her intentions to take on a sales role and being told she didn’t have enough experience in sales, she replied with a straightforward; “I’ll learn”. They spoke of her rapid career progression, winning the roles of Sales Manager at only 25 and Sales Director at 29, and her philosophy that – to counter those who believed she was too young for such a senior role – “if you’re capable enough, you’re old enough”.
Radio and the wider media industry are seen as ever-exciting and fun places to work, yet like most businesses they don’t come without their challenges. We heard next of some of the obstacles Tracey has faced in her many roles (and in her personal life, too). She spoke of her earlier marriage, the changes she has seen her workplaces undertake as the media industry has evolved, and her conflict of choosing between her career and her personal life – notably, a career move that would see her move to Nottingham for the role of Managing Director at Capital FM East Midlands, at the cost of leaving behind a life she loved in Scotland.
Tracey couldn’t stay South forever though, and eventually moved back to Scotland for the role of Managing Director at Global Scotland (Heart & Smooth), where even today she and her team face challenges that many radio stations face in a world of constant and rapid technological and societal change. She believes that radio must continue to “evolve and change rapidly”, and that in this time of ‘fake news’ radio must hold on to it’s status as an instant, yet trusted source of information.
We heard a little of Tracey’s life outside of work, too. While she admits that it can be difficult to ‘switch off’, she enjoys coaching other businesses and, while in Nottingham, took up a side project of becoming a yoga and pilates teacher.
Tracey then talked us through a typical day – well, as typical as one could be, given that “no two days are the same, because it’s radio [and] things happen, and we need to react”. That concluded the Q&A, and after applause, lunch arrived. The staff at G&V promptly delivered our plates, a delicious pork belly, followed by a dessert of honeycomb and ice cream, and tea and coffee.
During dessert, there was the opportunity for delegates to ask any burning questions – after which Tracey and Paul had to take their leave. Paul was due to host the drive time show in only a couple hours time and while we were enjoying their company, as Liz McAreavey said, “we’d rather not be responsible for silence on the air this afternoon”.
Our next Inspiring Women in Business Lunch will be held on June 27th at the Waldorf Astoria, where we will hear from Catherine Topley, Director of Corporate Services at Scottish Prison Service. Click here to book your place.
New alliances open up new opportunities for Edinburgh companies
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce has participated in one of the first network-wide overseas trade missions to China, led by a delegation of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
Chief Executive, Liz McAreavey joined senior representatives and business people from Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee & Angus, Glasgow, and West Lothian. The mission explored new trading opportunities and links with business, education and government organisations.
As part of the programme, Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) announced the official opening of a new International Trade Office in the city of Yantai. The formal opening ceremony was hosted by the Vice Mayor of Yantai city, Madame Zhang Bo, together with senior officials from Yantai Municipal Government.
As part of the event, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding for trade engagement and partnership, designed to achieve an effective channel for exchange of business between Scotland and Yantai.
During the trade visit, Edinburgh Chamber participated in a series of productive meetings with senior business people, highly influential politicians including Vice Governor Wang Shujian, and local government officials as well as national ‘think tanks’ bodies in Beijing, Yantai and Jinan in the Shandong Province
Chief Executive, Liz McAreavey commented: “The Chinese economy continues to grow at a faster pace than western economies and the rate of growth within new cities such as Yantai and Jinan opens up the potential for Edinburgh businesses to promote and sell its goods and services which Chinese businesses and consumers want and need. That demand, together with a more recent policy of ‘opening up’ to new trading partners and overseas alliances by the Chinese, presents a myriad of opportunities for our local businesses to capitalise on.
“The aim of our mission was to strengthen relationships and increase engagement with existing and new contacts in sectors where there are direct B2B or knowledge-sharing opportunities for Edinburgh companies. Yantai is a city of 7 million and SCC’s base in Yantai will enable us to plan a comprehensive approach to exploiting the many opportunities in Yantai and further afield for our members and non-members.”
Shandong Province represents the third largest economy in China with a population of over 97 million and a GDP in excess of 6.3 trillion yuan (£0.7 trillion). It is China’s best wine growing region accounting for over 25% of all wine production. Yantai is the biggest trading port in North China and in 2016, the city imported over $19 billion (£14.7 billion) of goods and services.
Chief Executive, Liz McAreavey also visited the city of Jinan, which is home to one of the first national high-tech business incubators and since its foundation in 2002, it has incubated more than 1,000 small and medium sized science and technology enterprises. It focuses on cultivating fast-growing sectors such as biomedicine, ecommerce, energy, environmental protection and new materials.
Key sectors for Edinburgh Chamber based companies to meet key economic needs in the Chinese target cities include: electronic information, robotics and artificial intelligence, bioscience, R &D and smart technologies, food and drink and even football management.
The accelerated growth of consumers in Shandong province also opens opportunities in consumer goods, recreation and tourism services, financial and professional services and education.
Chief Executive, SCC, Liz Cameron said: “We now have a deeper understanding of how we can achieve the best exchange for business, where the opportunities exist for Scottish organisations and how we can best pursue these.
“We have also identified a number of potential opportunities for inward investment into Scotland and will be working with Scottish Government and SDI as well as other trade organisations to explore these and leverage the momentum of change within China.
SCC intends to return to Shandong Province later this year to conclude discussions on further Memorandums of Understanding and explore new ways to foster co-operation between the two countries.
