The reason for this page

To have volunteered as a Business Adviser you already know about business. We hope that these pages will help you to pass your knowledge on to the Achievers in your YE Company so that they get the maximum out of their experience as budding entrepreneurs.

Seminars and training sessions

We know that you are busy people and finding time to attend seminars in addition to the time that you spend supporting your companies is difficult. However, we do offer Adviser training sessions during the year and as well as passing on knowledge that will help with your groups they are an opportunity to network with other Business Advisers. You will be notified of dates and details of events and they will be posted here in the side panel as well.

Measuring our success

The measure of a successful YE company is not how much profit it makes, but how much the individuals get out of the process. Their personal development and growth in business knowledge and skill and self-confidence is the important issue.

To attempt to measure this, the Young Enterprise organisation holds annual Company Competitions. The events are not simply business competitions for young people. They aim to balance a view of the business achievements of each team as a whole together with their individual personal development.
Therefore, to win an award it is not sufficient just to run a financially successful company or to have created an exciting product. Company members must also demonstrate that they understand how and why the company performed as it did.

Our Key Perfomance Indicator, as the Area Board responsible for Southwark, Wandsworth and Lambeth is for one of the YE Companies in our Area to win the European Company of the Year. When we achieve this we will know that we have provided our Business Advisers with all of the support that they require to pass on their business knowledge to their Achievers. We will then be doing our job as the Area Board.

With this in mind our intention is to give you everything that you need to make your company a success at the annual competition and in the process make the YE Company Programme experience an individual success for each of the members of the company.

The skills needed for success

Let’s look at the skills that a Company needs to win at the competition and you will see why they have been chosen as judging criteria and why they are important in the development of young entrepreneurs.
Documents and other resources that will help you with these various aspects are listed in the left-hand panel of this page and can be accessed in a new window by clicking on them directly, or when they are mentioned within the text.

Individual personal development

• To win an award it is not sufficient just to run a financially successful company or to have created an exciting product. Company members must also demonstrate that they understand how and why the company performed as it did.

Innovation

• Judges will be looking for innovative approaches to the product and to the successful exploitation of new ideas in the running of the company. The Achievers should have an understanding that continuous improvement through innovation is essential to the success of a business. They will also be looking for flair, creativity and enthusiasm at each stage of the judging process.

Product development

• How did company members go about choosing products/services?
• To what extent and at what stage were customer needs assessed?
• How was the product/service designed?
• Were there any technical or manufacturing challenges to be overcome?
• Were pricing and the profit margin considered?
• How were quality standards maintained?
• Was IT used appropriately to support product development?
• Is the product innovative in any respect?

Communications

• How did the company communicate?
• How effective were communications?
• Did the company change/improve communications?
• Do company members understand that effective lines of communication travel up from the ‘workforce’ as well as down from ‘management’?
• Did company members keep their shareholders informed; did they use any innovative methods?
• Did IT play an appropriate role in the company’s communications?
• Do company members convey understanding, enthusiasm and commitment?

Team work

• How well did the company work as a team?
• Was there clear leadership?
• Did company members understand their roles and the interrelationships between roles?
• Did they develop leadership skills?/

Skills and understanding

• How well did all members of the company build their understanding and knowledge of business systems, e.g. finance systems, processes?
• Do individual function directors and team members demonstrate a good knowledge of their sphere of activity?
• Were any technical processes involved in product manufacture or service operations, and to what extent did company members have to develop new technical skills to meet the company’s objectives?
• Was IT used appropriately to support company administration?

Problem solving

• What was the greatest problem company members encountered in producing their product/delivering their service?
• How did they go about tackling the problem?
• How did company members apply and check the effectiveness of their solutions?
• Did they learn from problems?

Customer focus, marketing and sales

• Is the company customer-focused?
• Did the company carry out market research, understand what it told them and respond appropriately to the information gathered?
• Do company members understand the principles underpinning a marketing plan?
• Did the company respond to the reaction by customers to their product/service?
• Did the company serve a market outside the immediate school/family environment?
• Was there any import/export activity?
• Do company members understand why their product/service was a success?
• Given the company’s circumstances, did they maximize sales?
• What sales techniques were employed?
• Do company members understand which sales techniques were effective and why?
• Do company members convey the qualities of their product and an enthusiastic approach to promotion via their trade stand and presentation?

Objective setting/planning/review

• Did the company have a clear, documented mission and objectives?
• Was the company mission relevant to its activities?
• Were objectives regularly reviewed and updated?
• Do company members understand why clear objectives are important?
• Is there ownership of the mission; are there shared values?
• To what extent is innovation built into the company’s ethos?

Personnel management and structure

• How did company members go about allocating people to roles?
• Did this process change over the life of the company?
• Did they consider remuneration, disciplinary procedures, training and health and safety issues?
• How did company members keep everyone motivated?
• Do they convey a strong sense of team spirit?
• How was the company structured?
• Was the structure changed in response to difficulties encountered?
• Did the structure help to involve all of the company members, and do they understand roles and how they fitted together?
• Did they have personnel problems? How did they resolve these and learn from them?

Administration and financial systems

• Did the company have an effective system to manage and record its activities?
• Was appropriate use made of IT?
• Do company members understand the importance of effective administration?
• Did they have to tackle any legal issues relating to their activities, e.g. copyright, insurance on import/export?
• How was the company’s financial performance reported to company members?
• Were any actions taken to control/improve financial performance; was there good financial control?
• Do company members understand their responsibility to shareholders?

Financial results

• Did the company make a profit?
• Was this a good performance against the background of the company’s product/service and circumstances?
• Has the company paid or made provision for the payment of Young Enterprise VAT and Young Enterprise Corporation Tax?
• Do all company members understand their financial performance and concepts such as cash flow, profit and loss, balance sheet etc?

Getting support

Some of these areas may be your specialty but others may be ones in which you need support. If you cannot find what you need on these pages then contact your YE Development Manager or one of the Board Members. Contact details are here As we develop more resources against your requests, they will appear on this site for everyone to share. If you have any useful items that you would like to share, please contact Malcolm Smith (Area Board web site coordinator)