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THEME: LOCATION BASED ENTERTAINMENTS
Summer 24 Conference
@ WELLCOME MUSEUM
LONDON EUSTON
The Summer Sizzle Party 24
@ THE UNION BAR
REGENTS PARK PLACE - LONDON
Tues 2nd July 24
Tues 2nd July 24 - (5pm till 11pm)
At a time of great sadness and uncertainty -
sticking together and supporting those that
are less fortunate than ourselves has never
been so needed in our time...
10th Sept 22 - The Editor - we welcome a new chapter in all of our lives
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HRH Queen Elizabeth II - 1926 - 2022
We mourn the loss of a Queen who has been so omnipresent in all of our lives. Someone who gave her life to duty and our country right to the end and who will be sorely missed.
King Charles III is our new head of state and I wanted to share with you how I was supported by his wonderful charity - The Princes Trust.
My career is varied like most I reckon. Some of us are lucky to find the job they have always wanted to do - and some of us are still looking.
I have been the victim of recessions and prospered through good times and it is on the subject of the wonderful charity 'The Princes Trust' I am writing to you today.
In 2008 in my late twenties I was affected by the recession as I was made redundant from a role in my old career in banking and finance. Working in the corporate world never appealed to me as I have always been entrepreneurial from an early age, and with a creative min.
I had always wanted to start my own business but petrified to take the plunge. The benefits of being a PAYE employee is the safety of a regular wage and now without one back in 2008 I had to think outside of the box.
Being forced into starting a new business due to the lack of employment opportunities is never ideal which I believe is why I am now someone who has no fear of failure and gets on with the job in hand in any venture I take on.
So I looked for start up financing but no bank would support me as they had none to give out. Although from my experience, even when times are good banks still don't like to give money out.
There are key moments in our lives we remember clearly in our minds and my meeting with the Essex Princes Trust committee and presenting them with my business plan for a Greeting Card company I wanted to start is one of these moments.
His Royal Highness's charity granted me a start-up loan of £3,000 to help me take the first steps into entrepreneurialism and I setup my greeting card company in one of the most difficult times. What was wonderful about the Princes Trust was the additional support they gave me by putting me in touch with local business owners, who acted as mentors (something you don't get with banks).
Being grateful for the support I wrote a letter to the chief executive thanking the charity for their support and giving someone like me the chance of pursuing my dreams.
To my surprise I received a a letter with the Royal Warrant on the front of the envelope and assuming it to be from The Princes Trust Chief Executive on opening it to my surprise it was in fact from His Royal Highness.
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Even receiving a short letter of acknowledgment from Prince Charles gave me the confidence to work harder, to make sure that if something wasn't working in my business I would change it without any emotion and to keep at it.
I could continue and fill you in about any the ups and downs of my career from the date of that letter to present - but that is for another article, and - no - my Greeting Card company didn't really take off but it was a stepping stone to something bigger.
In 2015 I wrote to His Royal Highness again giving him an update of my Greeting Card (failed) business and how it had evolved and what my plans were for the future, and thanking him for the early support. I had long since paid back the loan of £3,000 so their help had long finished - I received this wonderful cherished reply letter from him shortly after.
All entrepreneurs evolve - we have to - I think it is something in our DNA of never standing still and always taking risks when others wouldn't.
My hope at the time of writing this that our new Prince of Wales 'William' will become the new Princes Trust Patron and continue the incredible work his father has done for people like me.
What I want to get across is how important and even more so than ever is that we support young creatives, young entrepreneurs and those that need guidance in their careers more than ever.
You will have no doubt attended, took part in or been aware of my Brands & Retail UK Conferences this year. Something I setup which the industry already loves and without your support wouldn't have happened.
As I write this I am planning my next set of educational conferences which are called 'Get Animated' and will take place in Birmingham throughout 2023. My underlying aim for 'Get Animated' conferences are that they will inspire the next generation of creative talent to go on and become entrepreneurs themselves.
By attending these three conferences - creative juniors will learn about all aspects of the creative media business through lectures from executives who have the knowledge and experience and whom now wish to share their expertise.
My hope is by giving our next generation of creative genius' information on the basics knowledge on law, finance, budgeting, branding and marketing we can create a future British workforce that is not frightened to take the plunge and who will have the tools to become business owners themselves - universities can only teach them so much - our business should be the ones to teach them as well.
So I am calling all senior executives in Animation and Branding. If you feel you have experience you wish to share and want to present a seminar at Get Animated please let me know. Also sending your staff on the course will mean they have a wider knowledge which can only benefit your company.
Also please do think about mentoring a young person through the Princes Trust. It is a wonderful charity with many success stories and at a time when the UK needs to start 'making and creating' more - our creative industry needs more support to grow and to export all around the world.
As we near the end of 2022 I will be announcing the full program for Get Animated UK 2023 conferences and am also starting to work in the background on 'Get Gaming' conferences as well which will be the same format but dedicated to one of our biggest sectors - Gaming - and these will take place in 2024.
You can find out more details on www.GetAnimated.uk and to support the Princes Trust you can do so at www.Princes-Trust.org.uk
I would like to thank everyone who has supported Brands Retail UK in making it the success it is and can not wait to finalise the program for the Winter 23 Event taking place on the 18th and 19th January 23 at the Wellcome Collection Museum.
So my thoughts on our new King is he is a man that has done so much for UK PLC and youngsters who need guidance.
Ryan Beaird - A Princes Trust Forever Grateful Entrepreneur
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