I’ve been actively encouraging women to network since starting a lunchtime networking event in Nottingham in March 2006. Being a volunteer mentor for start-up businesses and for students on the Entrepreneurship course at Nottingham University, I’m always keen to encourage young women to make the most of every networking opportunity. My online community for East Midlands business women set up I 2007 and the Smart Women site, www.womegetsmart.co.uk, has been going from strength to strength ever since. The site encourages inter-network networking and for women to post their own events to cross-fertilise contacts and opportunities.

Jonathan English is co-founder of Skeleton Productions - a digital marketing company. He is a specialist at creating multimedia content and is currently producing online video clips for Sport England, Cambridge University, Nottingham University and a number of other corporate clients. Jonathan also developed the popular “The Big Uni Reunion”. It all started by bringing together Nottingham graduates who had moved to London – the events were designed to re-create nostalgic student nights out. Now they run regular reunions throughout the year in London for graduates from different universities across the UK.

Kelly has operated a carpet recycling business Carpet-Burns since 2002 after winning the Shell Live wire Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2003, (East Midland region) and many more business and innovation awards since. Kelly is a founding member and director for the creative Industries Network (CIN) which is actively involved with the organization and running of monthly events, which enhance and promote the creative Industries within the region. Kelly has recently become a business advisor for creative launch pad offering business support, training and guidance to pre-start and early stage businesses specialising in creative industries support raising and obtaining finance and Intellectual property.

Naomi teaches at the University of Derby on the SPEED programme, which enables students to start up their own businesses, whilst at University. She has experience in starting up businesses, and has her own business that she runs alongside what she does at the University. Naomi is also finishing her PhD at the University of Derby in the subject of student enterprise.

I started my own business 6 ½ years ago, since then I have started another online webshop with my 2 daughters + have taken on directorship of BNI Northants & Leics, Biznet Enterprises ( Social Enterprise) and have become very active in my local Federation of Small Business on a regional & branch level.

I am not an academic. I am a linguist by education having studied French and Italian at Nottingham University. I am from a business background, having word for many years in International Trade, shifting for a brief while to a major accounting firm, before establishing my own consultancy business specialising in small business start-up and development, international trade advice and business funding. Before coming to Nottingham Trent University, I ran my own consultancy business, as well as developing a number of other small business opportunities over the last few years in areas such as mobile communications, printing, software development, first aid supplies and latterly express courier transport. I am currently student enterprise adviser at Nottingham Trent University and provide support, encouragement and advice to undergraduates and graduates in their business development aspirations. I manage the Students in Free Enterprise programme for the university as well as the Student Placements in Education (SPEED) programme and am an integral member of the Hive team. The Hive is the university’s own business development and creation centre based on campus in Nottingham.

I am the Chief Executive of the East Midlands Incubation Network (EMIN), an organisation dedicated to increasing the volume, value and survival rates of new start businesses (primarily in the UK). EMIN has a membership of over 25 Business Incubators across the region and supports over 2,500 new and early stage businesses both through the network and through our innovative website - www.emincubation.co.uk In addition to this, I also run a thriving (thankfully!) consultancy business which specialises on business development and project management, often at the interface of the public and private sectors. I have a background in marketing, having spent 7 happy years at BP, and in business development within the Higher Education world (at the Open University and at the University of Derby). I believe passionately that “what goes around comes around”.