EWIF 10 Special Events

This year at EWIF celebrates it’s 10 year anniversary, our Regional Chairs will be hosting activities specifically to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. Throughout September and October, each region will be running their own events, and we will all join together for our national EWIF Annual Conference on Friday 21st September.

Regional Celebrations

 

EWIF South West & Wales Region

Entrepreneurship Expert Panel @ Cardiff University

11th October 6-8pm

As part of the 10-year anniversary of “Encouraging Women into Franchising” (EWIF), the South West & Wales region are bringing a focus on franchising as a business model to university students, aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners looking to expand.

Organised and led by local commercial law firm Darwin Gray, the evening event at Cardiff University will take place on 11 October 2018 and will feature a panel of entrepreneurial expertsfrom global franchise Toni & Guy who will talk about their path to success and also the award-winning Mrs Bucket, who will be sharing her inspiring journey starting out as a young entrepreneur.

Representatives from Natwest Cymru’s Entrepreneurial Spark and also Business Wales will be on hand to offer details of the financial and other support available for businesses in Wales.

The event is free to attend and bookings are now open through Eventbrite:  https://darwingrayfranchisingeventcardiffuniversity.eventbrite.co.uk  

EWIF is a not-for-profit organisation, providing support and guidance to women who may be considering buying a franchise or franchising their business.

The South West and Wales branch of EWIF is chaired by Stephen Thompson, British Franchise Association affiliate and Managing Partner at commercial law firm Darwin Gray. Stephen also heads the Corporate and Commercial team at Darwin Gray as well as the specialist Franchising team.

Stephen said: “We are thrilled with the line-up for the event at Cardiff University and look forward to hearing from the panel experts as well as our members with their experiences and advice. Our clients range from start-ups to established franchises, so we know that franchising can be an excellent commercial option for those looking to be their own boss. It’s important that the younger generations are given the guidance and support to pursue this path.”

Llinos Carpenter, Cardiff University said: “Starting a franchise can be a fantastic career choice and offers many advantages to starting a business from scratch and yet it is often overlooked as an option by most people, let alone students. We are excited to be offering support to budding entrepreneurs in Wales with this rare opportunity to hear insights from leading franchise companies and organisations about the route to building your own business and being your own boss. It’s going to be an inspirational evening!”

 

EWIF North West Region

Partnership with Smart Works

17th – 21st September 

Rebecca Young, North West Regional Chair, and her colleagues at BLM are organising a “clothing drop off” in partnership with Smart Works. Smart Works is a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes, styling advice and interview training to women in need. You can donate your clothing at any designated drop off point or at the BLM Manchester office and then help with interviews! There is a 2-hour slot for dressing and interview practice! There are collection points outside of Manchester and the surrounding areas. This is not only to create a great working partnership with Smart Works, but also to raise awareness of EWIF and our values.

The schedule is as follows:

Clothing drive

  • Interview appropriate clothing
  • Good quality smart casual clothing – after the first appointment and if successful in obtaining a job, the lady is invited back to put together a capsule wardrobe to take them through the first month
  • Handbags, coats, shoes, accessories – Smart Works aim to provide a complete outfit
  • New or gently used

Volunteering time

  • Stylist appointments – if you have a flare for fashion!
  • Interview preperation
  • Ad hoc volunteers that might want to help managing the stock
  • For the first two, Smart Works would require an informal discussion with the volunteer (prefer face to face so that they can see the location too, but happy to be over the phone).  Need around 1 week notice.

Drop off points

BLM’s Manchester office, Smart Works’ Manchester office (based in Stockport), and any other Smart Works location including London, Edinburgh, Reading, Birmingham and Newcastle.

 

EWIF Midlands Region

Castle to Castle Challenge

Saturday 22nd September

Fiona Boswell, Midlands Regional Chair, will be participating in Stage 1 of the Fraser Brown Castle to Castle Challenge along with other willing volunteers. The event involves walking 13 Miles from Nottingham Castle to Newstead Abbey, mainly on off-road paths and trails after the first 3 miles. They are raising money for Rosa and for Autism (East Midlands).The walking stage will commence at 7am from Nottingham Castle.

 

EWIF South Region

Historical Walking Tour of Reigate

Tuesday 18thSeptember

Instead of their usual roundtable discussion, Kate Matthews, South Regional Chair, organised a historical walking tour of Reigate, Surrey.

Although low on numbers due to clashes and non-attendance, we had a good walk and indeed the dogs enjoyed it followed by a trip around Canon PLC and its award winning innovative ecological building.

EWIF London Region

Tour of Houses of Parliament Viewing Gallery

Thursday 13th September 10am -12pm

For the London region Anne-Marie Martin has organised to hold their London regional meeting on Thursday 13th September10am -12pm at the Houses of Parliament. To celebrate EWIF’s 10th anniversary they will be trying to obtain seats in the viewing gallery after the meeting, however this is availability dependent.

 

EWIF North East Region

TBC

 

If you would like to get involved with any of the events please let your local Regional Chair know or email info@ewif.org

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