Member Article

Gentoo: Inspirational Bunch at ‘Be your Own Boss’ Event

Global Entrepreneur’s Week celebrates all those who are brave enough to take the leap and be their own boss. To celebrate, a new business start-up and advice service ‘Be Your Own Boss’ welcomed local entrepreneurs to Amore Restaurant in Sunderland, to share their experiences and learn how to sustain their new businesses.

Attendees at this week’s event were invited to sign up for future MasterClasses - a series of workshops and seminars designed to teach people everything they need to know about succeeding in business, including: Selling through Social Media; Hiring and Firing (Employment Law); Ebay and on-line selling; and Marketing on a Budget.

One of the speakers on the night was Lisa Mitchinson who opened her own florist The Wild Bunch in 1996. Lisa told how she sold her house and everything she owned to rent a shop unit on New Durham Road that had no water, electricity or a front door. She refurbished it with her own money and on her first day of business had only £200 to her name.

Since then The Wild Bunch has gone from strength to strength and she has created flower arrangements for Prince Charles, the Beckhams, Shay Given, Alan Shearer, and even Her Majesty the Queen.

Lisa said: “If you know your craft and are really passionate about what you do, you will succeed. You have to believe in what you do. The commitment from the partners involved with the Be Your Own Boss programme can help turn the entrepreneurs’ passion into a successful business. There are 275,000 people in Sunderland and if only one percent can potentially be their customer base, they can’t go wrong.”

Peter Harrison, Deputy Director of Gentoo Living, said: “The event was very inspirational and epitomised what it means to ‘Be Your Own Boss’. The partnership between Gentoo, SES and FISCUS, is enabling people to fulfil their aspirations of running their own businesses. The Master Classes we are offering, in follow up to tonight’s launch, will give the entrepreneurs the tools needed to develop their businesses further, as well as the opportunity to share experiences with people in the same boat as them.”

For free and confidential advice or for more information on starting your own business and becoming your own boss, contact the team at:

SES – 0191 515 5500

Gentoo – 0191 525 5000

FISCUS – 0191 565 7605

Gentoo Group’s whole ethos is about believing nothing is impossible and finding new ways to challenge conventions, Gentoo aims to make society a better place to live and to make a real difference to the way people live their life. To find out more about Gentoo, visit gentoogroup.com for more information or follow @gentoogroup on Twitter.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Facey .