FastForward

Have you ever lived with the weight of a secret? Amy Stanning did just that. She spent 50 years of her life pretending to be something she wasn't. 

At just 12 years old Amy knew she was different. But, she suppressed that feeling for decades. Finally in 2009, she took the brave step to become her authentic self. 

In this final episode of our Amazing Women series, Amy shares her journey, how it affected her personally and professionally and how she is now helping other businesses to become fully inclusive. 

Key topics: 

- What is colleague inclusion? 
- How organisations can be positive agents for change.
- The policies organisations can adopt to make truly inclusive spaces.
- Why your organisation should look at next practise rather than best practise.
- How colleague inclusion improves business performance. 
- Advice for businesses wanting to improve their inclusion policies. 

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Amy Stanning, Consultant AS Associates
Listening Time:  60 mins
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Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

When we recorded this podcast in February graphs documenting toilet roll usage was something we found amusing. Now we may all need Marion's formula!

In 2012 Marion Gamel left her high-flying corporate job at Google to press the reset button. In the previous seven years she had been one of the founding members of the firm's European marketing team and headed up Google's marketing operations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Middle East & Africa.

But years of prioritising work had taken their toll, Marion experienced burn out and the time had come to step off the corporate ladder.

Rather than hamper her career the pause allowed Marion to reflect and rejoin the corporate world with a renewed sense of purpose.

Now a certified Executive Coach (WABC), mentor, digital advisor and non-executive director, Marion shares her impressive career journey and explains why taking time out is overlooked. However, when you find yourself making graphs about toilet roll you know that perhaps the time has come to go back to work!
 
Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Marion Gamel, executive coach, www.mariongamel.com
Listening Time:  35 mins
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Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

Have you ever doubted your ability to have a seat at the table? Why do so many of us question why we deserve to be in the room while others take a seat regardless?

In her early twenties Dawn Embry was Director of Business Development, working with a number of large clients, including Selfridges. She questioned her seat, not because of her gender, but her age. To overcome her doubts she was forced to find her inner strength.

Now Director of Strategy and Performance at the global software services company Mobica, Dawn is passionate about helping other women to find their inner strength.

She shares her career journey, her passion for encouraging more women into tech and why now is an exciting time to work in the industry.

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Dawn Embry, Head of strategy and planning, Mobica
Listening Time:  35 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

All of this month we’re talking to inspirational women, and Fey Ijaware is just that. She's built and empowered a community of community of coders and her story is all the more remarkable after she only discovered coding by accident while at the Coop Group. 

Code and Stuff is working towards correcting the diversity imbalance within tech. The organisation creates an empowering space for women and non-binary people and make a career in tech more accessible.  

In 2019, Fey was names as one of the 50 most influential, prominent and inspiring black voices in Tech. 

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Fey Ijaware, Code and Stuff https://codeandstuff-manchester.github.io/index.htmlv
Host: Patricia Keating
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

This month the FastForward podcast is dedicated to amazing women. In February we lost a phenomenal mathematical mind at the age of 101. Katherine Johnson’s precise calculations made space travel possible. With little more than a pencil and a slide rule she plotted the exact trajectories that would let Apollo 11 land on the moon in 1969. Yet, for decades afterwards almost no one knew her name.  

We know that there is a gender imbalance in STEM fields and that one way to address this problem is to have visible and positive role models. It’s one of the areas the British Science Week, which runs from the 6th - 15th March, is focusing on. The ‘Smashing Stereotypes' campaign encourages STEM employees to share their stories about what they do in their day-to-day work.  

Zara Hodgson joins Trish to do just that. She's the universities lead at the National Nuclear Laboratory and shares her career pathway which has allowed her to work on projects which involve exploring the depths of the ocean to outer space. 

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Zara Hodgson, National Nuclear Laboratory https://www.nnl.co.uk/
Listening Time:  42 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

The tech industry in the North West is growing at a stratospheric pace. The region is the largest tech cluster outside of London but its talent pipeline is struggling to keep up with demand. To help keep up with demand Greater Manchester’s Combined Authority have joined up with the Department of Culture Media and Sport to launch an innovative £3 million Fast Track Digital Fund. Its purpose is to accelerate technical learning for Manchester residents to allow them to enter the digital workforce for the first time.  They seek out non-traditional organisations and business partnerships to deliver employer-led training to fill some of those gaps. Out of this the Tech Equity Consortium was born.  Zainab Yazdani, Natalie Bird and Raji Kolluru are benefactors of the fund on the Tech Equity course being delivered by TAP Project, Heroworx, UKFast and Tech Manchester. On this podcast they share their stories and what motivates them to pursue a career in tech.

For more information about Tech Equity: https://techmanchester.co.uk/techequity

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Zainab Yazdani, Natalie Bird and Raji Kolluru
Listening Time:  35 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

'It's literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.' Napoleon Hill. 

It's no secret that having a mentor can make a huge difference to entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders. The most successful people surround themselves with those they learn from. At Tech Manchester we’ve seen many a mentoring relationship flourish and witnessed the magic that can happen from a fantastic partnership.  

So, if you’ve never had a mentor or are wondering how having one could benefit your business, this is the episode for you.  

Trish is joined by Andy Hall and Jeff Bowcock from the GC Business Growth Hub.  Andy is a mentoring relationship specialist, he's brokered 600 mentoring relationships and won several awards including Mentor of the Year Award.  

Jeff is a business development manager and works in partnership with Be the Business to deliver a mentoring programme to SME businesses nationwide.

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Andy Hall and Jeff Bowcock, GC Business Growth Hub https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/ 
Listening Time:  40 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

Find out more about the programmes discussed in this podcast and to start your mentoring journey:

Be the Business – Mentoring for Growth (MfG) programme: 

(Please note that the social media sites are owned & manged by Be the Business – The enquiry line & email are managed by The Growth Company)Website - https://www.bethebusiness.com/mentoring-for-growth/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/bethebusiness/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/bethebusiness  -  @bethebusiness

 Enquiries via: [email protected] Telephone enquiries: 0161 359 3050 The Growth Company: Business Growth Hub – Mentoring programmeWebsite - https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/services/leadership-mentoring 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/gcbusinessgrowthhub/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/gcbusinessgrowthhub/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/BizGrowthHub  - @BizGrowthHub 

Enquiries via: [email protected]

Telephone enquiries: 0161 359 3050

Profit is the lifeline of small businesses. As your profits increase and become more predictable, your small business has a greater chance of surviving. Every day really does count when it comes to turning and increasing your profit margin and the quicker you can do it the better.  

Alex T. Onalaja is co-founder of digital marketing agency TAD360. He's also a mentor, author and has been named in the top 50 inspiring, prominent and influential voices in UK black tech.  

Alex found his calling after being turned down for 1000 jobs. Unsurprisingly his mental health suffered but he turned his disappointment into productivity by writing a book focusing on helping people to find their purpose. 

He’s now an expert at coaching SME’s to grow business awareness and maximise profitability. Alex shares his journey with Trish and gives his tips for how to maximise profit in your business. 
Key takeaways:

- Marketing trends to leverage in 2020: https://thinkadesign.co.uk/top-digital-marketing-trends-to-leverage-in-2020/

- GDPR: https://thinkadesign.co.uk/what-is-gdpr/

- Content is king. Video content especially is important when engaging with your customers.
- Make your content voice-search friendly.
- Don't overlook mobile speed. People won't hang around waiting for your website to load. Start preparing for 5G now!

To order Alex's book: https://alextaiwo.com/product/lost-now-found/

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Alex T Onalaja co-founder TAD360 https://thinkadesign.co.uk/
Listening Time:  45 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

February is LGBT+ history month and to celebrate this episode features two people who are helping to give the LGBTQ+ community a voice within their organisation. 

We know diversity and inclusion is one of the biggest challenges facing the tech industry, from the talent pipeline to products and services.  

It’s no secret that when business consist of people from the same backgrounds, they often overlook diverse ideas, perspectives and considerations.  

Rob Rawcliffe and Ebony Quow share their experiences of being gay, what impact it has had on their lives and careers and why they feel it's important to talk about their stories.

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Rob Rawcliffe and Ebony Quow
Listening Time: 36 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/

More Info:

LGBT+ History Month: https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/
How employers can support LGBT+ employees:
https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/employers/blog/10-ways-support-lgbt-employees/ 

Are you promoting you brand on social media but not seeing the results you like? Maybe it’s time to look at some selling strategies to reach your customers more effectively.  

Social is, of course, a critical part of any business strategy. 45 million people in the UK are now active on users, that’s 67% of the population. It’s one of the best ways to connect with people who already love your brand and is also a vital way of reaching those who haven’t heard of your business yet.  

But how do you use social to effectively generate leads and boost sales?
  Alex Brown and Joe Gradwell are co-founders of social media marketing agency Campfire. They’ve grown audiences from just a handful to millions of users and share their tips on how to get started with social selling. 

Key takeaways:

- Be clear about what you are trying to achieve.
- Keep it short and snappy. Content needs to be shareable and engaging
- Understand organic vs paid reach
- Keep up with the pace of change on social

Host: Patricia Keating
Guests: Alex Brown & Joe Gradwell co-founders Campfire
https://campfire.co.uk
Listening Time: 36 mins
Follow Tech Manchester:
Twitter: @tecmcr
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/techmanchester/