She's the Business 2020

She's the Business

09:30-15:30 // Thursday, 19 November 2020

The University of Manchester will once again be celebrating women in business by hosting another inspirational event aimed at empowering women to embrace their inner-creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.

Despite the ongoing global pandemic, we've changed the format this year to deliver our flagship She's the Business event online. We’re delighted to be welcoming not one, but two fantastic keynote speakers who will share details of their phenomenal start-up journeys.

Immerse yourself in this energetic event, and learn, network and share experiences with like-minded individuals across the University.

Hosted by the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre, She’s the Business will feature a range of insightful workshops for budding female entrepreneurs wanting to accelerate their ideas to the next level through powerful concepts and original thinking.

Prepare to be empowered, and equipped with the knowledge, tools, contacts and resilience to thrive in our globally-connected, challenging business world.

Whilst this event is aimed at empowering female entrepreneurs, we actively encourage men to come along and take part in the conversation to understand some of the unrealised advantages they have over their female counterparts.

Workshops & Talks

Keynotes

Mehmooda Duke MBE - Founder and CEO of Moosa-Duke Solicitors

Business leader and advocate for women in leadership, Mehmooda Duke MBE will take the spotlight as keynote speaker at this year’s She’s the Business.

After graduating from Cambridge, Mehmooda went on to be founder and CEO of Moosa – Duke Solicitors, specialising in medical negligence claims. She was President of Leicestershire Law Society from 2015-2016 - the first Asian female in the Society’s 155 year history - and was appointed Chair in May 2017.

Mehmooda is also the founder and Chair of ‘Leading Ladies’, an organisation made up of women of all generations. The aim is to inspire, mentor, coach and support one another to ‘dream big and fly high’.

Join us for this inspiring talk as Mehooda offers insights on how to foster entrepreneurial spirit and shares her incredible journey as an entrepreneur and woman in leadership.

Marilyn Comrie OBE - Black United Representation Network & The Blair Project

An award-winning entrepreneur, Marilyn is a former BBC TV series producer and an accomplished media & strategic communications specialist.

A game changer who enjoys a good challenge, Marilyn is a champion for girls in motorsport and a member of the British Womens Racing Drivers Club. She is a chemistry graduate and STEM Ambassador.

Marilyn developed and honed leadership skills managing large scale, high profile operations within the media sector. This progressive seventeen-year career included several senior management roles within major plc organisations where she earned a reputation for transforming multi million pound projects, from underachievement into unquestionable success stories.

Marilyn was honoured by HRH The Queen in 2009 with an OBE for services to women’s enterprise.

We’re excited to welcome Marilyn to She’s the Business 2020 as she’ll close off this prestigious event, sharing with us some tips for success.

Session 1: Workshop (10:50 - 12:00) - Developing your entrepreneurial mind-set, Jonathan Styles - The University of Manchester

How do you become more entrepreneurial and build your resilience to overcome fear of failure and own your accomplishments? This workshop will not only look at your entrepreneurial mind-set for setting up a business but also look at how you can become more entrepreneurial in your student life or working role, and use these skills for your next adventure. You will hear about the various traits of an entrepreneur, identify where your entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses lie and how you can build and develop on both. Realising the importance of having a clear vision, Jonathan will help you create a roadmap for your entrepreneurial future.

Session 2: Workshop (10:50 - 12:00) - Promoting your business, Cheryl Hill - We Are Chill

So you’re ready to run with your idea – you’ve completed your market research and validated your assumptions. You’ve taken the plunge and set up your business. So what’s next in terms of promoting your business and making those all-important sales? In this workshop, we’ll cover some of those burning issues such as;

• Who are my customers – breaking down customer profiles

• How can I make Social Media work for me?

• Securing clients – conversations are key!

• How do I make those first sales and what makes a great negotiator?

Session 3: Talk (13:00 - 14:10) - How to know whether your idea could be successful, Cath Whitaker - Team Services

So you have an idea but you’re not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we can help you identify whether this could be a successful business. During this talk, we’ll tackle some of the key questions you need to ask to determine whether there is a market for your product or service, highlighting the importance of validating your assumptions with your key stakeholders. Delegates will come away with a toolkit to use and set themselves 'pledges' to progress their idea.

Session 4: Workshop (13:00 - 14:10) - Growing your business, Jessica Jackson - GC Business Angels

Now that your business is up and running, how do you scale it? During this session, we’ll discuss some of the ways you can grow your support network, where to look for funding and most importantly, what investors are looking for when you pitch for their investment. In this workshop, Jessica will share her knowledge of the equity investment sector and provide an overview of what to include in an investment pitch deck. Tackling both the physical delivery and the content aspects of the pitching process, we’ll help ensure you’re taken seriously.

(Please note: This workshop is for those entrepreneurs who either have a business which is trading and ready to scale by pitching for investment, or close to trading and looking to secure serious investment)

Agenda

09:30 - 09:40 - Welcome, Lynn Sheppard - The University of Manchester

09:40 - 10:30 - In conversation with... Mehmooda Duke MBE - Founder and CEO of Moosa-Duke Solicitors

10:30 - 10:50 - BREAK

10:50 - 12:00 - Session 1: Workshop - Developing your entrepreneurial mind-set

10:50 - 12:00 - Session 2: Workshop - Promoting your business

12:00 - 13:00 - LUNCH BREAK

13:00 - 14:10 - Session 3: Talk - How to know whether your idea could be successful.

13:00 - 14:10 - Session 4: Workshop - Growing your business

14:20 - 15:10 - In conversation with... Marilyn Comrie OBE - Black United Representation Network & The Blair Project

15:10 - 15:20 - Close, Lynn Sheppard - The University of Manchester

Please note: due to limited capacity, the workshops are only available to students and members of staff at The University of Manchester, and are available on a first come, first served basis.

With special thanks to our partners, Bruntwood Works and DWF for sponsoring this event.