Last night ten business women and ten of the UKís leading businesswomen joined in the celebration when the winner of the FreshIdeas Events Mentor Competition was announced at a ceremony hosted by HSBC in Mayfair last night.
Karen Darby and Paula Wynne were stunned to find out that they had been chosen as the most successful mentoring couple from the very strong group of contestants, all of whom who had successful partnerships with their mentors.
Karen Darby, CEO of Call Britannia and Paula Wynne, co-founder of Remote Employment and the Remote Worker Awards, and Jackie Brennan, Director of FreshIdeas Events and organizer of the Mentor Competition, are available to share their mentoring experience with the millions of small business owners across the UK.
From the 10 businesswomen mentees, Paula impressed the judges with her passion and enthusiasm to succeed and for the innovative Remote Employment concept. Paula is Director and Co-founder of Remote Employment, an online web service dedicated to connecting employers with job seekers who work remotely or work from home, and has seen substantial expansion to her business with Karenís help and guidance.
Paula said: ìI am thrilled to win this prestigious award! I feel so privileged to have been a part of this competition. Working with Karen has been an incredible experience for me and my business!î
Karen Darby kicked off the evening with a talk about mentoring and how it can help a business grow. She also announced that she is now launching a new social enterprise to create jobs for the unemployed.
Like her first project, Call Britannia will offer an outsource call centre service. Karen plans to set up 10 contact centres in the most deprived and disadvantages communities in the UK and her recruitment process will positively discriminate in favour of the unemployed.
The successful mentoring 'couple' shared their journey with delightful stories of Karen fishing frogs out of her garden pond to add intrigue to Paulaís stand at an Olympia exhibition, and Paula wearing brightly coloured guest slippers while Karen served chocolate crepes and vanilla ice cream during their meetings at Karenís home.
Along with lots of fun and laughter, the audience also heard about inspirational moments, determination, business ësavvyí and revenue growth. After meetings with Karen and her whirlwind of lateral thinking, Paula invariably dashed off firing all guns, buttons, and cylinders to create new marketplace activities.
One of the initiatives Karen and Paula have worked on is launching The Remote Worker Awards
Paula and Karen were presented with prizes from HSBC and Business Link in London, who have supported the innovative competition.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Fran Currie, Chief Operating Officer at Business Link in London congratulated the participants on their achievements. She said: ìCongratulations to all of the participants for their hard work and perseverance. These women learned from the best in the fields and I am highly impressed with the quality of all the entrepreneurs.î
Pointing to recent research conducted by Business Link in London, Ms Currie said that many women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers to developing and growing their business. ìBusiness Link in London was delighted to support this worthwhile programme. It is vital in the current climate that Londonís women entrepreneurs are encouraged by other established businesses and organisations to develop and succeed in their own business ventures.î
Jackie Brennan, Director of FreshIdeas Events said: ìThe awards evening is a fitting celebration of the entrepreneursí achievements. We are pleased to have matched such bright entrepreneurs with some of Londonís leading businesswomen. This scheme has required hard work from all of these women, and the positive outcome from this mentoring programme is extremely promising for the UKís small business community.î
Along with her daily business, Paula is a SEEDA Women's Enterprise Ambassador and talks to women around the UK about the exciting new remote working culture. Her personal experience and proof of her determination and persistence is inspirational. Paulaís passion and enthusiasm for knowledge, new experiences, and business focus motivates other womenís belief in their business and renews their confidence.
Recruitment Job Board Announced as Winning Mentor Couple
Last night ten business women and ten of the UKís leading businesswomen joined in the celebration when the winner of the FreshIdeas Events Mentor Competition was announced at a ceremony hosted by HSBC in Mayfair last night
