College students ‘get down to business’

Richard Branson and Anita Roddick might have some competition on their hands as students at Wakefield College were given the opportunity to learn how to turn innovative business ideas into reality.

A group photo from the day.

The G-Start event took place at the Margaret Street Campus and was organised by Wakefield College’s Services to Business arm in association with Yorkshire Forward and Yorkshire universities. Well over 50 students attended the event, which included talks, seminars and a question and answer session.

Students also had an opportunity to question a whole host of local entrepreneurs, Including, Dean Grant from the Really Useful Garden Company, Steve Beckwith from RWR Repro Ltd, Daniel Rajkumar from Web-translations and Julie Crossfield from easytodisplay.com. Experts from Business Link West Yorkshire and the Federation of Small Businesses were at hand to offer advice and guidance to the students.

John Turner, Project Manager for Services to Business, said,” Meeting real local people who have had the courage to start up their own businesses is extremely valuable for would be entrepreneurs, and if just one student goes on to start a successful business, then events like this will have proved their worth”.

John also told the students what Richard Branson’s ex-headteacher had said to him, “I predict you will either go to prison or become a millionaire”. Staff at the College are confident that the current crop of budding entrepreneurs will all fall in the latter category.

ENDS