Wellbeing for Entrepreneurs — Innovation Pilot: interim report #2
Intro
The second post in a series to update readers about our Creative Fuse North East innovation pilot.
Effectively, it’s the second half of the interim report for the University of Sunderland, so please forgive the minimal re-formatting! The report was dated 23rd June 2018.
More information is available, including our original launch post here, and previous post in the series here.
Insights / Lessons learned
- We listened to feedback about our promotion of the project and that perhaps it might be viewed by some as a ‘nice but not essential event’ due to its focus on the self and not a more tangible issue.
- We heard that our original plan of holding sessions from 10:00–3:00 was unworkable for entrepreneurs. We needed to choose a morning, an afternoon or an evening slot but not a time that cut across two. For this reason, we decided to make the next sessions from 9:00–12:30 with lunch afterwards for those who could stay.
- Eventbrite has been helpful for registering and we have charged £10 in order to offer lunch. This has given people — who were interested but unable to make the start of the session — a chance to meet those who did take part and hear about the event. We also feel strongly that this is an investment in an entrepreneur’s ongoing development and will be valued more with a small cost.
- An intimate and safe space with fewer people rather than many is the way forward. The principles of action-based methods and exercises from the Daring Way can provide an environment of support and reflection that can be applied practically in the world of the entrepreneur.
Feedback from the participants in their own words:
“It’s very timely (and an innovation itself) that the Creative Fuse is focusing on the importance of good mental health and providing founders with practical tips to help them manage their wellbeing. I support absolutely the continuation of this effective pilot.”
— Caroline Theobald CBE [participant from the taster session]
“Thank you so much for checking up! That’s so lovely of you. I really enjoyed our session together and it has changed my attitude. I am more relaxed! The meeting went as we had predicted ….
Nothing is ever easy but I am more able to accept that sometimes things happen that are out of our control. I have since booked the next two sessions with you and very much look forward to seeing you next time.”
— participant from the second session
Promotion / PR
We have used a number of different channels to publicise our project:
Word of Mouth
We have drawn on our extensive collective network in Yorkshire and the North East to made individuals and groups aware of our Innovation Pilot.
E-mail and newsletters
We have promoted our pilot activities using direct one-to-one e-mails, and via Mailchimp newsletters. We have also addressed GDPR issues.
Presentations
We have made a number of presentations, both at CAKE events and those run by other business support organisations (e.g. Generator). Also, at Newcastle Startup Week:
Web
We have created a blog on Medium, and have published promotional material for our workshops; information about us as founders; and a progress report to keep stakeholders informed.
• https://medium.com/resilience-and-authentic-leadership-for-entreprene [our original, launch post]
Social media
Twitter and LinkedIn posts; North East Startups and Creative Fuse North East Facebook groups
https://www.linkedin.com/company/18517260/admin/updates/
Maximising reach
We are grateful to the Creative Fuse North East team for assistance with preparing events and newsletters, and retweeting and promoting our pilot. We have also received similar support from regional thought leaders and other business support agencies.
May include Actions that haven’t happened yet but need to
Our proposal stated ‘additional outcomes will be a national conference presentation and an academic refereed journal paper’.
We applied to deliver a presentation at the Creativity, Knowledge, Cities conference in Bristol but were turned down. Because this has been a pilot, it has not conducted research as such. Therefore, we have not written a paper.
Another item in our proposal was that we “will ‘superfuse’ learnings from dance, theatre, music, and the visual arts with insights from the digital and IT sectors”.
Coda
To continued in our next post. If you’d like to hear from us in future, please consider signing up to our newsletter. Alternatively, you could e-mail us via our homepage [click on the envelope on the right hand side] and we’ll respond asap.
