Business Mentoring Master Class

Dinah Bennett OBE, Co-founder of the International Centre for Enterprise & Entrepreneurship (ICE), produced an exhilarating interactive seminar for us on business mentoring. An elite group of entrepreneurs and business leaders honed their mentoring skills and signed up to support new and emerging businesses via the ‘Get Mentoring’ programme.

Around half those present are already mentoring another business owner or entrepreneur. This Master Class took our mentoring skills to the next level and reminded us just why we are prepared to commit the time and expertise to help others in business.

Dinah’s expertise guided all participants and each of us learned a lot. The exercises were highly interactive and fun. They helped delegates gain insight into all the different aspects of mentoring. It was particularly useful to be able to recognise the many and varied benefits for us as Mentors, not just to see how we can help those whom we will mentor.

We were asked whether it was important to be in the same sector as the business women (or men) we mentor. Most of us felt not, that we could bring transferable skills and fresh perspectives to those in another industry. However there are some advantages –this led the group to agree that its often helpful to have more than one Mentor and certainly that different people will being different skills to us at different career or business stages.

Not only was the Master Class brilliant for opening us to new ideas and tips for being a successful mentor, we were also able to explore mentoring circles, which Pink Shoe already facilitates for its members under the guidance of PSC Leadership Director Vanda Green. 'Pink Sky Circles' are open to all members and are run by and for the group participants.

Pink Shoe Club Hosts Serbian Delegation

Pink Shoe Club hosted a highly interactive roundtable with an EU Serbian delegation visiting the UK to study Improved SME Competitiveness and Innovation.





The group included representatives of the EU; the Serbian Ministry of Economy & Regional Development; National Agency for Regional Development; and the Association of Management Consultants of Serbia.

Pink Shoe Club Ambassadors comprising professionals, academics and entrepreneurs joined the discussions to discover ways of collaborative working between our two nations.

It was agreed there were a number of opportunities to work together. Helene Martin Gee outlined the activities of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship and also how the Pink Shoe Club engages in business mentoring.

Delegates from Serbia then explained a new EU-funded mentoring programme which is already proving a success. The scheme links one private sector mentor and one public sector mentor with an emerging business entrepreneur. The mentor is trained and the business assessed so that success can be measured on an ongoing basis.

After an enlightened exchange of ideas and viewpoints many business cards were swapped and it was decided the meeting will be followed up via electronic media.

Then the Earl of Erroll formally welcomed the delegates, who enjoyed a full tour of the Palace of Westminster including a visit to both the Chambers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Pink Shoes at the State Opening of Parliament

For the State Opening of Parliament, members were balloted and a select few were treated to an unparalleled view of the Queen and Royal procession over glasses of Champagne and smoked salmon sandwiches. In this the Diamond Jubilee year, crowds outside were busier than ever and there were many Union Flags being waved.

After watching the Royal Standard fly over the Houses of Parliament, we listened to the Queen’s Speech and all that Her Majesty's Government aims to undertake in the new Parliamentary year.

We then joined the Peers and tiara-wearing Peeresses to enjoy Pimms on the Terrace – despite the rather chilly weather our British spirit prevailed!