Four alumni, who studied courses provided by the Centre for Micro Enterprise at the London Metropolitan Business School, have been commended on the success of their business ventures. The women came together to showcase their success at a ‘She’s Ingenious’ event held on June 19th at The British Library in London.

L-R Hilary Farnworth, Manager of CME, Vicky Lewis,Gonul Zynettin, Sue Scott Horne, and Zandra Johnson

The CME runs courses which encourage women and older entrepreneurs to hone their business skills and talents, an opportunity which - as the recession still bites - is vital to giving people the confidence to become self employed along with contributing to the economy.

There is some evidence women entrepreneurs may be better placed to survive the recession than their male counterparts because of the difference in their approach to debt, risk and the motivation of staff according to recent research (Challenges and Opportunities for Growth Survey, Delta Economics , 2008)

The business ideas use the women’s crafts and talents, from dress making to web design, to great effect. Fairtytale Furniture, run by Zandra Johnson, provides imaginative pieces of furniture, each with its own storybook. Zandra has overcome many challenges, not least finding a manufacturer, for which she had to go overseas after exhausting all possibilities in UK.

Vicky Lewis, at Artemedia webdesign specialises in web sites for the therapeutic and charity sectors, and Gonul Zynettin runs a couture gown service, plus is branching out into designer horse blanckets and, very useful in the recession, dressmaking classes.

Sue Scott Horne, Director of EGAR, provides posters and other educational materials for work with teenagers and young people on controversial topics, such as knife crime. www.egar.co.uk

For more information about CME and its work, contact:
Hilary Farnworth hilary.farnworth@londonmet.ac.uk
The Centre for Micro Enterprise