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Inspiring North East Entrepreneurialism: Bdaily speaks to Nicola Short of the Entrepreneurs Forum

Next year The Entrepreneurs’ Forum will celebrate its tenth birthday. In the last decade the Forum has strived to foster a culture of entrepreneurialism in the region, encouraging new businesses to grow and flourish under the guidance of more established firms.

Six weeks ago, Nicola Short took up the position of executive director of the Entrepreneurs Forum. Despite only being in post for a short period, Nicola is determined to put her stamp on the organisation.

“The Forum was initially set up to provide entrepreneurs with inspiration to grow and develop, and ultimately to create wealth generation for the North East,” she explains.

“Entrepreneurship is paramount for the success of the region to be able to survive and to make us less dependent on the public purse, so if we can incubate businesses and take them through growth, then we will do our utmost to support them.”

The Forum now brings together a range of businesses from start-ups to established corporations creating connections to encourage business growth and success. Nicola’s passion for the work of the Forum is clear as she discusses its role.

“Ultimately, what would happen if we weren’t here?” Says Nicola. “No one would be bringing those entrepreneurs together, and there certainly wouldn’t be an environment where they could get a mentor or be a mentor themselves.”

The Entrepreneurs Forum works closely and harmoniously with other business organisations in the region to ensure that each ones role is clearly defined. This means there is no duplication, and ensure that members get the most out of each group.

“We want to ensure that people understand what the forum does, what we deliver and how we intend to provide new opportunities for them,” Nicola continues.

“We’ve created this unique environment to share knowledge, and help members inspire other members through storytelling. Running a business can be a very lonely place, and I believe the Forum can help to alleviate that issue.”

As One North East prepares to close next year, organisations like the Entrepreneurs Forum will become even more important to businesses in the region. While they cannot replace the RDA, they will provide the region with a base to go to with their business wants and needs.

“One North East did a fantastic job in coordinating the region on big opportunities where we’ve needed to shine out.

“Now we’re part of the new wave going forward to keep the support going, and keep on the national radar to understand how we can raise or profile nationally.

Nicola is keen to instil a sense of community within the Forum, and over the coming months she plans to further develop to deliver an even better service to its members.

“We will be putting on bigger and better events, and have plans to further develop the mentor scheme. We also have plans to become more integrated into large corporations.

“Ultimately we want to build on the Forum’s successful base and try to deliver what the members what to the highest possible standard.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .