smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Enterprise Week, seven days of events all over the UK to encourage more young people to start up in business, starts on 14th November with particular emphasis on women entrepreneurs and social enterprise.

From 14th to 20th November, more than around 1,500 events nationwide aim to encourage and inspire people in their teens and twenties to be enterprising – ‘to turn their ideas into something real’.

On Wednesday 16th, women’s organisations from all over the UK are running events and activities to profile successful female entrepreneurs and inspire new female talent with the confidence and know-how to follow in their footsteps. Apparently, men start up 150,000 more businesses a year than women and these events are looking to significantly narrow that gap.

Thursday 17th is Social Enterprise Day, celebrating the businesses of entrepreneurs with a social conscious and, again, to inspire the developing talents of the nation’s young people to build new social and community enterprises.

There is also a competition to find the country's most promising young entrepreneur, a 'director of tomorrow' conference for 12-to-25 year-olds and an armed forces enterprise event.

‘Enterprise Week will provide a unique focus through which we can encourage our young people to recognise and use their talent to become the next generation of entrepreneurs,’ predicts SME minister Nigel Griffiths.

‘The campaign can have a positive impact for us all,’ he continues. ‘New businesses boost our economy, social enterprises stimulate enriched, sustainable communities and enterprising employees revitalise organisations.’

Go to www.enterpriseweek.org for more details.