I’ve recently become involved in a new business in Nottingham, with 3 other wonderful women in business that I’ve worked with on various different projects.
The wonderful Jeanne Booth, an eclectic entrepreneur who’s the current Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufacturing Regional Chair, has run an art gallery in the past, gets involved with moderating University projects, supports me with First Tuesday and co-runs the Blue Stockings Society with Beth and I.
Beth Marriot, more about this fabulous lady below.
And Emma Torrance a superb business advisor, with heaps of experience in the social enterprise sector, who supports me with running First Tuesday and is a lover of fine wine.
What we all have in common (apart from being women!) is that we believe business can and should do good. That profit doesn’t have to equal bad practice, that business can make a difference, and have a positive effect on society.
And this business is different from anything we’ve done together before, because we have an actual postal location. So rather than a business that offers services (like mine) or one of the networks that we run, this business has a solid foundation. And we had a preview party last Friday!
And what a party! So many people came to support us and look over the space. It as a fabulous evening to connect with new and old people, have fun, listen to music and feel part of something good!
TH!NK is a wonderful flexible business that works with people in a creative way. There’s literally something for everyone and the thing underpinning the whole business is the want to nurture the people of Nottingham (well that’s my take on it anyway!).
There are 3 main parts to this new business:
The Kiosk – run by the highly talented Beth Marriot, who started her award winning Kiosk in Sherwood several years ago and has a loyal following of people who love eating her food. I have been asked ‘awards by who?’, so it’s awards from the Nottingham Evening Post, The Guardian and The Telegraph. Beth creates a warm, welcoming atmosphere, and creates food that is wholesome and healthy, food that makes you feel good when you eat it.
Popup – we’ve got space for people to try and test out running a shop within TH!NK. This means they can get a feel for what it would be like, test the market and grow their customer base, without actually starting a shop. We’ll be offering support and advice to help them make the most of using the popup space. People can also use the kitchen and test out their own popup restaurants when the Kiosk is closed.
The creative space - for workshops, networks and supported co-working. We're also going to be hiring it out for meetings and events. It's a space for coming together, for learning and for working.
These 3 elements, mean that we’ve created a space in the city centre that’s completely unique to anything we’ve seen before. Something that feeds and nurtures bellies, minds and businesses. We want to look after all of you, to help you grow and to create a space where everyone is welcome, where there are no barriers and where you can just be.
I’m so proud to be part of this fabulous new business and to get the opportunity to strengthen my relationship with these 3 fabulous women!
Interested in finding out more? Why not follow us on Facebook?
We’re based in Cobden Chambers off Pelham Street in Nottingham City Centre and we’ll be opening in November – watch this space!
