Business Live: for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs

Sarah Beaumont had held high-level management roles and worked all over the world. But when a chronic condition left her in constant pain she was told she'd never work again. Now she's launched and runs her own business helping other people, and tells her story in today's episode.

Diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and Fibromyalgia – both long term chronic illnesses – Sarah became bed-bound, saying "there were times I would crawl on my hands and knees just to get to the bathroom.”

Heartbreakingly, Sarah then went through a difficult divorce and says she "gained a huge amount of weight because I was so sedentary and I couldn’t cook healthy, fresh meals so I ate a lot of junk. I lost my career and I lost my life before illness, I grieved for them for a long time.”

But told she would never work again, Sarah could not accept that as her future: “I’m not a quitter and very slowly I have rebuilt my life, one piece at a time. I have lost 100 lbs in weight and I went back to work as a weight loss consultant.”

Having fought and won her battle with her chronic illness and weight loss, Sarah felt empowered to use her own experiences to help others. She dreamed of launching her own business to encourage and support people, both with weight loss and in living with a chronic illness. And despite a roadblock on the way, which Sarah explains in this interview, she's done just that.

Also in the show today: funding opportunities and events for businesses and social enterprise.

Timings:

• 0 - 28:25 interview with Sarah of Sarah Beaumont Inspires.
• 28:25 recap; Sarah is also now volunteering for Samaritans.
• Fibromyalgia Action UK,  a registered charity, operates as a signpost to information and resources for people who are affected by fibromyalgia, including helplines and support groups. Ehlers-Danlos Support UK is a UK charity that represents and supports people with EDS.
• 30:30 Grants of up to £50,000 for micro and small businesses from Innovate UK. Details.
• 32:10 The Enterprise Development Programme from the Social Investment Business offers grants of up to £30k to relevant organisations. Details.
• 33:05 Grants for startup and growing social enterprises through the Social Enterprise Exchange programme.
• 34:16 Events from the Business and IP Centre South Yorkshire and from Business Sheffield. 
• 35:30 Wrapping up.

What is 'ever-boarding' and why should you use it in your business?

Why do over half of sales people not hit their targets, and what can you do to support them better, giving you a huge return on investment if you do it right?

And what does Ash Ali mean when he talks about unfair advantages which people can identify and apply?

Imagine you spent a long time and invested a lot of money to get the best talent into your company, then gave your new starters a poor experience. In those first few weeks and days, new employees decide whether or not to stay. Their decisions and successes in their roles depend on your process when they join your business, and your ongoing support.

Ash is the co-founder of Uhubs, seeking to help sales leaders in B2B tech companies grow faster. If you recruit and employ sales people, he has lots of important advice in this episode – in fact it will be useful to most business leaders.

Uhubs itself has pivoted and Ash explains why. And it has secured investment in a couple of funding founds, including from TwinklHive in Sheffield.

Ash was the first UK marketing director of Just Eat and is author, with Hasan Kubba, of The Unfair Advantage, winner of Business Book of the Year 2021.

He is an enormous advocate of bootstrapping and launching minimum viable products and used the same process to get his book in front of initial readers then an agent and publisher.

So lots of practical advice today from Ash, including three essential elements for successful recruitment, retention and ongoing support for salespeople, the best time to seek investment and how to go about it, working with complementary co-founders and more.

Also on the programme (after the interview) – two business funding opportunities, including the ReNew Sheffield Call for Projects, and reflections on a lovely article about dry stone walling in the Peak District published by The Sheffield Tribune.

Thanks for listening today. Please rate / review / follow / subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast app and get in touch to suggest guests or topics.

When Hellen Stirling-Baker launched Small Stuff in 2016, a mentor told her it would fail because she was so focussed on ethical business. Six years later she runs a thriving online and physical shop, has opened and expanded into larger retail premises, and survived the challenges of the pandemic. Turnover and profits are increasing, says Hellen – and she has not compromised her ethics and values.

Hellen is one of over 1,000 leaders of businesses large and small calling for a "Better Business Act." They want the Government to amend legislation to ensure businesses are legally responsible for benefiting workers, customers, communities and the environment while delivering shareholder and stakeholder returns. 

We cover what that means and this week's Better Business Day, and discuss Hellen's multiple-award-winning, eco-conscious children's store in Crookes, Sheffield. Hellen has tips for entrepreneurs who hope to launch other sustainable (in all senses) businesses. A healthy dose of inspiration and practical advice in this, episode #366 of Business Live.

Timings and links:

• 0:00 - 25:48 Introduction and interview with Hellen Stirling-Baker, Small Stuff. Hellen also presents This Sustainable Business podcast.
• 25:48 More about The Better Business Act, the four principles and how to learn more.
• 29:53 Quick recap of some previous episodes with guests who demonstrate ethical business is great business, including Kresse Wesling (Elvis & Kresse), Yasin El Ashrafi (HQ Recording Studios), Jen O'Brien (Music Broth), David Hanney (Alpkit), Louisa Ziane (Toast Ale).
• 32:13 Funding: 15-20 projects can secure up to £1m each through The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. Power to Change seeks partners for Community Improvement Districts.
• 34:38 Reflections on Positive News magazine, and a good article from economist and Times columnist Ryan Bourne about why we should allow asylum speakers to work (The Entrepreneurs Network has ling called for this too).
• 37:16 Upcoming events, including Record Store Day 2022 (so why not listen to last week's interview with Mark Elliott of Record Collector), Opportunity Sheffield job fairs, Sheffield Digital Festival, Sheffield Forum Live #3, The Festival of Debate.

Thanks for listening to the show! Get in touch here and please leave a rating or review so more folk can find it.

It's a Sheffield institution, a fixture in the firmament of music-lovers. Record Collector opened in 1978 and sells vinyl albums and CDs from its double-fronted shop in Broomhill and worldwide from its online store.

Vinyl is "back with a bang" says Mark Elliott. He's worked at the store since 1988 give or take a couple of breaks including a stint in New Zealand. UK  vinyl sales have jumped for the 14th consecutive year, according to BPI figures, and nearly a quarter of albums sold are purchased on vinyl.

That must be good news for independent record shops? What does it mean for the second-hand trade? And how did Record Collector make it through the last couple of years, an extraordinary tough time to operate any independent retail business?

Mark also discusses the phenomenon of Record Store Day,  the legendary story of a Public Enemy signing at the store, and independent businesses competing with internet behemoths.

Timings:

• 0 - 2:34 Introduction – this is episode #365 of Business Live.
• 2:34 Interview with Mark Elliott, Record Collector. Its website is here and Discogs listings here.
• 30:08 News from former show guest, Blend Kitchen.
• 32:12 Upcoming events including Sheffield Forum Live #3 in May, The eBay Business Roadshow in April, two new Best of ShAFF events and an extension to ShAFF 2022 Online, Peddler Market, The Festival of Debate, Pollen Inner City Flower Market.

Enjoy the show? Follow/subscribe/rate or review it on your favourite podcast platform. We broadcast most Friday mornings at 9am on Sheffield Live 93.2FM and online, with podcasts here and on most podcast outlets. Thanks for listening!

Diane Evans, whose father was Ukrainian, tracked down her relatives near Lviv in Western Ukraine just two-and-a-half years ago.  Since then she's met them for the first time and been in frequent contact.

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine she wanted to help the Ukrainian people and refugees fleeing the war. Over just two days her business, Evans Lee, collected over £100,000-worth of donations of medicines and bandages, bottled water, canned food, toiletries, baby milk and food, and good quality clothing.

Then with the help of volunteers and businesses which gave the use of warehouses, vehicles, staff time and more, Diane organised, boxed and packed the donations. The goods have been transported to the Polish border and distributed to Ukrainian refugees.

Diane joins me to discuss how she searched for and found her family members in Ukraine; the donation drive and being overwhelmed by the generosity of people and businesses; other ways to support the Ukrainian people, including by  offering accommodation; and the Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal and The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, which is working with accredited and registered Ukrainian charities to provide medicines, food and critical services.

We also talk a little about housing and running a family business – Evans Lee has been established for 9 years – with Diane's top tips about the "small little bits that make a difference."

Also in this, episode 364 of Business Live: if you're an extraordinary business leader, creating social change, then a £10,000 award from the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize could be a game-changer for you. We have details about how to apply (deadline 8 April).

Timings and links:

• 0 - 29:45 Interview with Diane Evans, Evans Lee. 
• 30:45 Good news from former Business Live show guest, Natterhub
• 31:35 Employment law changes from April, in brief. Frequent guest Jay Bhayani of Bhayani Law has a blog with more details.
• 33:08 Details of the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize. Plus a shout-out for an interview with Nicole Helwig of Cambridge Social Ventures on Heidi Fisher's Make an Impact podcast (which I edit).
• 35:54 Wrapping up, including a signpost for Sheffield Live's interviews with journalists and people in Ukraine, and its list of ways to support Ukraine. Plus congratulations to The Sheffield Tribune as it celebrates its first anniversary of "a different kind of local journalism." And how to get in touch if you want to suggest a topic or put yourself forward to be on this radio show and podcast.

It's crucial to prioritise when you launch a Minimum Viable Product. How? And how do you progress from MVP to uptake in more than 60 countries worldwide?

Caroline Allams and Manjit Sareen launched Natterhub, an educational social media platform which prepares primary school children to thrive online, in April 2020. Their platform teaches children to be safe and kind digital citizens and is an experiential learning environment where pupils learn about their relationship with screens.

This interview with Caroline was originally recorded and broadcast in July 2021. It proved so helpful to many listeners, we included it in episode #363 of Business Live on 18 March 2022.

Caroline also covers media literacy, finding and working with a complementary co-founder (I have also interviewed Caroline's co-founder, Manjit Sareen) and building a culture where you and your team can ask questions.

Also on today's episode: Olha Peredera, a Ukrainian journalist and IT worker in Konotop, Ukraine, has spoken with Sheffield Live! about how the war has affected her and her family. Watch Sheffield Live's interview here.

Timings and links:

• 0 - 2:35 Introduction.
• 2:35 Caroline Allams, Natterhub.
• 42:01 Wrapping up.

Who are we talking with when we meet someone on a dating app or social media platform? A real person or a fantasy construct? How do we know a person's profile is genuine and what they're telling us is true?

With romance fraud rocketing, scammers and criminals are using dating apps and social media platforms to reel in their victims. But a new, British dating app uses robust ID verification to ensure users are who they say they are, and Jessica Zeun joined me today to explain how Fluttr works.

It's based on three pillars, "safety, authenticity and efficiency" and Jessica tells us the app's founders saw "so much terrible stuff happening in dating apps" which they sought to fix – but at the same time it needs to be fun.

She covers the user experience, how the founders raised their startup-costs and plans to roll-out the app beyond the UK. And as a long-term expert on social media Jessica gave her perspective on platforms – plus tips for anyone moving, like she has, from building products for other people to building their own.

Also on the show: funding opportunities and events for businesses and social enterprises. This is episode 362 of Business Live – hope you enjoy it!

• 0 - 25:53 Jessica Zeun, Fluttr
• 25:53 Funding! Act fast if you want to apply to the Digital Innovation Grant (DIG) programme which supports Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Yorkshire to develop their use of digital technology. Plus travel sector and hospitality, accommodation and leisure grants (Sheffield), details here. 
• 29:41 Events: The Sheffield Universities Managing Directors Club on 10 March covers funding to innovate and grow your business. Details and booking.
• The SME Business Breakfast event on 29 March: details and booking.

Thanks for listening!

Remember going to shops and popping your change into a charity collection box next to the till? The problem for charities is this has become a memory, not a habit, as we move to a cashless society.

And it means an £80m shortfall in fundraising every year for charities which used to collect spare change.

But Sean Donnelly's business Ripples, a social enterprise, wants to fix this and help small acts of generosity ripple outward to make a huge impact. Ripples uses Open Banking and its own clever, flexible and secure design to make a positive difference. It seeks to enable small penny donations and ultimately raise millions for charities, schools and important causes around the world. 

Sean  had to "kiss a lot of frogs" on the journey to secure seed funding for Ripples (which launched as Roundups and has just refreshed its branding). So he's got lots to say which will help other entrepreneurs prepare for seed investment rounds and finding angel investors.

We also cover effective altruism, seeking to maximise the impact of money donated or invested into doing good, plus the value of networks and ecosystems for startups in tech, finding a co-founder and the lessons Sean learned from earlier businesses he launched.

Timings:

• 0 - 3:17 Introduction.
• 3:17 Interview with Sean Donnelly, co-founder, Ripples (which has secured investment from Sheffield-based business accelerator, TwinklHive).
• 33:30 What books have informed, inspired or challenged you, or given you tools you've found useful? Let me know. Sean and I talked a little about William MacAskill's "Doing Good Better – Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference." Worth reading. Do you have book recommendations? Get in touch.
• 35:28 Upcoming events including Tramlines, the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival and the Outdoor City.
• 36:29 Funding! Travel sector and hospitality, accommodation and leisure grants (Sheffield), details here. And the Digital Innovation Grant (DIG) programme supports Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Yorkshire to develop their use of digital technology.
• 38:09 Wrapping up.

There's a game Natalie Doherty likes to play when she meets young people on one of the Source Skills Academy's programmes.

They have this image indoctrinated into them about the type of person who is a Director of Quality, Curriculum and Innovation, she says. And they're often shocked by her career journey from dance to director – but hearing it makes the idea of a senior job more accessible to them.

Doherty, whose father wanted her to be an accountant, "wasn't the conventional student" at school, she says. After studying dance and sport she began a career as a dancer which took her all over the world. Her career developed into running major sport and cultural events before she "broke into education" and she's worked in both a formal and community context in the education sector for 15 years. Today we discuss:

• Does education prepare people adequately for the workplace?
• Confounding the expectations that society, schools, families often make of people.
• Transferable skills from dance and sport which helped Natalie overcome brick walls and be resilient in the face of knocks on her career journey.
• What those brick walls and knocks were.
• How the Source's traineeship programmes help young people develop and, crucially, apply their skills.

Also on today's show: Aneeka Zarar says she has transformed her life thanks to The Source Skills Academy’s Traineeship programme. Aneeka, 18, now has a full-time job she loves at Yorkshire Accommodation Bureau Ltd in Rotherham. She and her manager Laura Else talk about how the experience worked for Aneeka and the business.

Timings and links:

• 0 - 3:18 introduction,
• 3:18 interview with Natalie Doherty, Director of Quality, Curriculum and Innovation, the Source Skills Academy,
• 30:40 Aneeka Zarar and Laura Else, Yorkshire Accommodation Bureau,
• 43:27 If you run a business in Yorkshire and the Humber which sells online, the ten free of charge Digitise Your Exports (DYE) events could help you to increase their online sales. Details.
• 46:01 Wrapping up.

"We're not just hashtagging, we're actually doing something about it. I hope that gives anyone listening with a mental health problem strength: you don't have to be shut down, you don't have to be defined, you can take control."

Kat Morley is the founder of Insight PR and Media. After studying journalism and winning awards for her coverage of wrestling, while living with her own mental health issues including PTSD and BPD, Kat launched the  #WeGetThat Campaign on social media, hit a crowdfunding target and launched her agency.

 She has made "bridging the gap between mental health and sustainable, productive employment" integral to her business. Her five-person firm has a dedicated mental health and wellbeing programme, and Kat shares the four elements of this with advice other small businesses can use. She also gives tips on crowdfunding, branding and winning attention for campaigns or businesses.

Also on today's show: co-operatives are the UK"s best-kept business secret but tick all the boxes when it comes to building a better society, says Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK. With infectious enthusiasm and a stack of examples, Rose shows how co-operatives are thriving in all sorts of sectors.

Rose has crucial advice too for new co-operatives about what to include in  your governing documents and tells us about the Ownership Hub, a partnership between the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) and Co-operatives UK. It has launched its first development hub, in the Sheffield City Region.

Timings and links:

• 0 - 3:17 introduction
• 3:17 interview with Kat Morley, Insight PR and Media
• 33:53 interview with Rose Marley
• 54:06 wrapping up

Thanks for listening to the show.