Are you celebrating World Entrepreneurs Day on Aug 21?
World Entrepreneurs Day or WED for short, is on August 21st. The aim of the day is to create awareness about entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership throughout the world.
People often have their own personal definition of what an entrepreneur is, and mine is that it’s anyone who can make a living doing something they love, under their own steam and to their agenda.
Entrepreneurship is not all about scaling up and earning millions although it can be, but again it’s down to the drive and expectations of each person.
I want to celebrate five entrepreneurs I’ve worked with for a long while – over several years.
Jon White
Jon is the owner of The Britannia Coin Company, Gold-Traders-UK, Old Bank Antiques and RWB Auctions.
Jon left school at 16 with no qualifications, without a care in the world because he’d gained a place at a prestigious dance school. However, after two bad falls his professional dance career was over before he even started.
The first job he found was as a filing clerk at Norwich Union, where his obvious talent for working with computers and having a creative mind, led him to working in the IT department as software tester.
After a redundancy he taught himself web development and SEO, and started creating websites for himself, that were generating earnings. He attended a conference in the US where he learned about Cash for Gold websites, later starting his own successful precious metals and coin buying business – Gold-Traders (UK). He set his business up with ethical practices, which was very unlike what he’d witnessed in the US.
He has continued to build his portfolio of businesses, all around his areas of expertise. The Britannia Coin Company brand launched in 2020 and has a rapidly established an international customer base.
Jon managed a £3m project to renovate the Royal Wootton Bassett Coop; he has also bought and renovated an old bank into Old Bank Antiques. He has 2 auction rooms, a Bistro – and all of these businesses bring people into his local town, where he lives and now employs 38 members of staff.
Despite starting out with no qualifications, Jon is now a serial, successful entrepreneur.
Julianne Ponan MBE
Julianne’s entrepreneurship journey began in 2012, at the age of just 22. Since that time, she has developed and transformed Creative Nature into an award-winning business. She has founded and scaled her business into a multinational multi-million- pound allergen-free food brand during that time.
Her business grew out of her own severe anaphylaxis, diagnosed at the age of two. She has multiple life-threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and more and the lack of safe products led her to develop her nutritious allergen-free products.
She is an advocate for educating people and has called for allergy awareness to be included in the school curriculum, nationwide. Among the many changes she has been involved in, she has pioneered allergy-safe snacks across five major airlines.
Also, she is a founding member of Buy Women Built – a coalition of successful female founders dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs.
In the 2023 New Year King’s Honours, Julianne was given an MBE for her contributions to business, export and allergy advocacy.
Black Nova Designs
Kyle and Danielle are the co-owners and directors of Black Nova Designs, an IT services and web design agency which he started in 2010, to support people with their IT both at home and in business.
Kyle’s original dream was to be a pilot, but unable to achieve this goal, accepting his failure led him to develop the company.
Danielle has also transformed her life, after ending up with a huge debt as a single mother, and being a tech-phobic, she is now co-leading their successful digital company.
In the ten years, since starting the business, the company has developed and grown and now has a team of IT specialists.
Recently, Danielle has also started her own second business – Dog Home Boarding, as she is a huge animal lover.
Sean Harper
Sean, a passionate advocate for active childhood development, directs and runs Just for Fun Holiday Club. It’s an OFSTED registered organisation, whose mission is to get children away from screens and take part in physical, fun activities.
His activities allow children to make social connections, forming lasting friendships, and take part in physical and creative activities, combining structured play with educational elements where everyone can thrive.
Since founding the business, Sean has been able to open the club in multiple locations and has also established a team of youth development specialists. He has built strong community partnerships with local schools and communities and ensures that the activities are accessible to all children.
Athelstan Museum
Not a person, but the Athelstan Museum has an entrepreneurial spirit!
The museum is situated in the heart of Malmesbury town, in Wiltshire. The site of the town has been occupied since at least the Iron Age, therefore not surprisingly, it displays a large range of items from that time to present day.
Last year, Malmesbury hosted a huge programme of events to mark the 1100th anniversary of the accession of King Athelstan (where the museum takes its name from). The celebrations took part between July 2nd to Sept 30th, 2024.
During Athelstan 1100, there were 27 events over 24 days. One of those events, which I took part in as the Big Athelstan Dig. Around the town there are community archaeological sites, and visitors were able to follow a trail and meet professional archaeologists who would interpret finds for them.
The dig resulted in the discovery of Anglo-Saxon remains, including 24 skeletons, near Malmesbury Abbey. Also, there was a small medieval key, which probably unlocked a casket; a tiny Victorian terracotta doll, called a Frozen Charlotte and a single piece of Anglo-Saxon pottery, a rim fragment from a cooking pot from the time of King Athelstan.
This year is the 250th anniversary of the English landscape painter, JMW Turner and there are events planned all over the country. The Athelstan Museum has its own Turner painting which you can visit in the art gallery.
The museum has an updated website, ongoing exhibitions, talks and many artefacts and items on display – they are making the most of the special treasures they hold.