This blog has moved!

Please note I have now resumed writing this blog, to work on my book at http://ruthiecollins.blogspot.com. I've spent most of the last year since my trip to New York working on the projects that inspired me to become entrepreneurial in the first place. I'm currently studying with the School for Social Entrepreneurs in London, and really enjoying it. I'm working on the new blog and open to hearing more stories from women: and men too! Please have a look at the blog and if you want me to write about your story, do get in touch.

Thank you!

Ruthie x

I Love Hip Girl Entrepreneurs - In New York

New York has attracted thousands of would-be dancers, artists, actors, writers and entrepreneurs - not least Madonna, who moved here in 1976 to forge her career in dance and worked part time in Dunkin Donuts. "When I came to New York, it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." As we all know, Madonna is now one of the world's highest paid women, a brilliant artist and entrepreneur.

New York has been home to some of the world's most prominent writers, artists and entrepreneurs - and with the US rate of entrepreneurial activity amongst women statistically higher than the UK's, what better place for me to go talk to hip, girl entrepreneurs? For the next three weeks, I'm based in New York City, working on the Hip Girl's Guide to Being an Entrepreneur, and hostessing a little 'I Love Hip Girl Entrepreneurs' dinner at a low-fi, laid back restaurant in Brooklyn for savvy, entrepreneurial women. On my first day here, I met a brilliant-minded artist in Brooklyn selling vintage wares on the street to support her art - an entrepreneur. "Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone. Never get too comfortable", she told me: she now has an invite to spend a weekend on my boat, if she ever comes to the UK.

Yesterday, I heard author, Janice Erlbaum, talk on how, at 15, she left an unhappy home for homelessness and drug abuse, and transformed the experiences into the smash hit that is her book, Girl Bomb.

The artist in Brooklyn had told me: "my art is turning negatives into positives". This is the drive that has kept entrepreneurs going so much that, according to some statitistics, the tougher your upbringing - the more successful your business will be. From hip hop diva Missy Elliot, to lingerie star Michelle Mone, this has proved to be true: so, no matter what you have been through, no matter what your background - believe in yourself and your dreams, and you will succeed. Just keep going!

Green Fashionistas - Succeeding With Style

Free Downloadable T Shirt!
from http://www.tamsinblanchard.com/tshirt.htm

Following your passion is key to entrepreneurial success. But often, in life, we're taught that our passions are the frivolous, throw-away activities 'just for fun' that mean nothing in the 'serious' world of work. This is simply not true. Your passions are your currency to happiness. And the fuel to any business success. Without passion, your business will go nowhere. For creative entrepreneurs, this passion, and sense of fun is essential.

In December 2007, I took the plunge and finally committed to boycotting high street fashion unless sourced from ethical companies - as an experiment, for six months. A big influencer for me, was the hell that is Primark, Oxford Street, London. The much-hyped mecca that promised so much - the seduction of glittery, on-trend bargains, slashed prices never before seen - was in reality, predictably shocking. Stampeding shopaholics! Mind-numbing 45 minute queues! Too-many things to buy! Critically though, is the uncompromising reality of the human and ecological cost behind such low prices. And how that makes you feel.

I'm a girl with principles, who's campaigned to raise funds to help alleviate the plights of child labour in the pouring rain, in suburbs half the UK has forgotten. I've snapped-up Naiomi Klein's No Logo in its hey-day, armouring myself with facts about the rise of sweatshop culture, and supported activist mag Adbusters through Buy Nothing Day. But still found myself in Primark, years later, buying - very pretty - shoes. Shoes most probably made in a sweatshop. Shoes that - inevitably - fell apart within weeks of purchase, on the way to the tube, in the sodding rain. Life gets busier, and busier; fighting the allure, and easy-access of high street fashion, can eventually feel too difficult - and pointless to continue. I never stopped caring, I just felt bewildered: if I couldn't buy from the high street on a quick lunchtime shopping-spree, then where else was I supposed to go shopping, to buy new clothes? Based on a boat in Cambridge, trekking to London every time I needed a new coat to shop at TRAID, just wasn't always practical. Even when living in London, where time is the greatest luxury - buying nothing only works for as long as you want nothing.

Times have changed. With the likes of supergirl-model Lily Cole pioneering green, the eco-fashion world, has grown and evolved and - thank god - even mainstream journalists are now regularly publicising labels, retailers, and ideas to buy fashion without supporting sweatshops. So much so, that after reading an article in Elle last Autumn written by a canny writer who'd decided to stop buying clothes for six months, I realised that it wasn't actually that difficult to make the plunge - particularly if done as a learning curve. And then did it.

It's been a brilliant decision, one that I'm fully passionate about. It's forced me to really research alternative retailers, designers, and fashion media - locally and worldwide. I'm now not only armed with the facts, but am also armed with real choice: I don't have to buy there, I can also buy here. There are books to help me: Matilda Lee's Eco Chic, and Tamsin Blanchard's Green Is the New Black, are excellent. And friends - I've been hostessing Clothes Swap parties - coined 'Swishing' by sustainable communications consultancy Futerra, that have showered upon me a whole array of clothes I just would never have bought before. Kimonos, leopard-print woolens, polka-dot vests, hand-made cardis, white boots, an amazing paisley-print and fake fur-trimmed coat, and stunning jewellry. These girlfriends - including make up artist Natalie Barden, textile designer and artist Freya Zinovieff, designer-maker Githa St John Ives, and graphic designer Jane Norman - have excellent taste, which certainly helps. Our little, intimate girly- nights have led to plans to customise and recycle choice garments, to sell at a festival this Summer - just for the fun of it. I've even been contacted by a retailer in Portugal interested in my fledgeling recycled clothing designs.

I've discovered some excellent vintage boutiques, at prices that really rival Primark's. Cambridge's RSPCA boutique on Mill Rd offers quality, high-end labels and vintage for very low prices. 'As a charity shop, we just couldn't compete with Tesco-style prices, so started putting aside all the designer-finds we were donated with plans to open a retro, high-end boutique', said haute coutre designer Andrew Martin, deputy manager for the shop. I now wear some truly innovative and creative designers, with favorites including Naturally Bohemian http://www.gemma-eve.co.uk/, whose recycled clothing is to die for, and Nancy Dong's Kailia Footwear http://www.kailiafootwear.com/ - who I do PR for. I've even been invited to fashion production workshops at the London College of Fashion, by their sustainable fashion department (check Facebook group Green Is The New Black); to write a column for an ethical fashion magazine; and model in a fashion show at London club Egg, organised by Brighton-based Red Mutha (currently being filmed in a new series of Wife Swap!)

It's not all been easy. Some designer boutique owners become distinctively, self-righteously sniffy - embarrassed with their lack of information - when asked if they can provide ethical manufacturing credientials for their clothes. Other high street stores just don't have a clue about the conditions their stock is manuafactured in. Because they don't have to. Marks and Spencers, for example - ironically pioneers of fair trade - crumbled at questioning about where their shoes were manufactured - demanding 'well, why do'ya want to know??', where's Next, however, proved the diamond in rough, with one very young sales assistant making phone call after phone call to find out which of their 'Italian range' of shoes were made from material made in Italy - and, therefore, ethically sourced.

Four months on from my pledge, and with two months to go, I can't imagine going back - mainly, because I've learned that with so much choice out there, I really don't have to.

Fairies Have Missions, Too

Writing a company mission statement is one of the most fun parts of creating a new company. This is your chance to really focus on what your true beliefs and values are as an entrepreneur. And to really express your aims. The first mission statement I wrote for my company, Positiveworld, was written in the political fall-out of September 11th, when the anti-war movement was arguably at its peak in the UK. More creative writing than the SMART 'document of corporate aims' business text books encourage budding entrepreneurs to write, it served its purpose well in motivating us to stage the first Positiveworld events in aid of CARE International's aid to Iraq, in London's Shoreditch. It's changed: now its a collage poem made out of old copies of the Face magazine, Art Review, and a cardboard box. I have an extended, slightly more conventional one for my business plan and memorandum, but for me, that creative work is the true mission statement.

This week, I asked my students to research inspiring business mission statements as part of their business case-studies journals, and have been presented with a real range of professional missions: from social enterprises - the Chocolate Day company, and Ben and Jerries Ice Cream, to corporate giants Tesco, the one that really stood out was one written for Sheffield's spiritual shop and cafe, Airy Fairy. I remembered Airy Fairy from my own days as a Freedomfairy, when we both used to set up our seperate stalls at Sheffield's underground parties, promoting our work. Nearly ten years later, here was Airy Fairy's mission statement selected out of, literally, millions of other companies as a valid, inspiring case study in business. Spurred on by the coincidence, I've asked founder of hit bespoke fairy-wing makers Fairy Love http://www.fairylove.com, Shelley Fairy, to shed a little fairy-magic onto the topic of running a successful, fairytastic creative company. Here's a sprinkling of what she said - the rest is in the book!

What is your mission with your shop and business?
Our mission is to spread the fairylove and to bring back some magic into everyday life. We believe that everyone is beautiful and that when you put our wings on you shine, and are expressing something of your own love and light and positivity into the world, and in turn it gets reflected back to you as people are lifted by you!

What was the inspiration behind your shop?
A dear friend of mine died. I started to feel surrounded by a loving energy, and seeing lights around my car when driving, and then saw an angel at the cemetery where my friend was buried. Fairy shops for kids were very popular in Australia, and I went into one with some friends once and bought a pair of sparkly kids' wings, not knowing that I would wear them till they were just wire and scraps!!! I then started being creative and making wings, and doing fairy photoshoots, and really loved being creative. The wings took off, and I never made two pairs the same.

What advice would you give to girls and women thinking about setting up a creative enterprise?
My best advice would be to believe in yourself and to love what you do: I have always, and still do after 14 years, love my work. Also, to persevere, it is not easy creating something new, and if you love it and believe in it, you need to stick with it. Also, it's very easy when you work for yourself, to work too much, try and remember to keep the balance with work and play so the new ideas and creative energy keeps flowing!!!

Do you believe in fairies, if so have they helped your business??
Yes, I do believe in fairies and feel guided since the start. I believe that they want us to enjoy life more and to become happier and more joyful. Without the fairy and angel energy I wouldn't be doing what I do now and I feel very blessed!!!

What's the best way to go about writing a Mission Statement for your business plan?
I have never written a mission statement, Fairylove has come from my heart. It was then joined by Jason Fairies, and then the vision has grown. I had no idea in the beginning that Fairylove would grow to where it is now. We have had so much love and support for what we do here in England.

Hip Girl Of The Month: Karren Brady

This week, I heard one of the UK's most-celebrated entrepreneurial women, Karren Brady, talk on opportunity and ideas in business. Karren took on Birmingham City FC and the rest of the football world in 1993 with with 'big-hair', and an even bigger ambition that made her the UK's youngest managing director of a PLC when she floated the club in 1997. Karren is driven, bubbly, and inexplicably inspiring. And she's also very likeable.

Hailed the 'First Lady' of football, but turned down by Waitrose 'for being too glamorous' Karren is arguably responsible for closing much behind-the-scenes segregation in football management. Once told 'you might not have a dick, but you have balls', she's unwilling to see herself as anomolous 'woman in a man's world', preferring to be professional first and formeost: though 75% of her management at Birmingham FC are women, this is 'only because they are the best'. Now also a non executive director of Channel 4 and Mothercare, Karren also makes an inspiring speaker - doing the business speaking circuit in the UK (next due to appear in Cambridge at EEDA's 'Playing to Win', Newmarket, March 4th).

So what are Karren's secrets to success? And where did she find her balls? She's blessed with 'having an inner confidence' she says, but preparation is key: 'fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail'. Equally essential to company success is staff-motivation: nurturing their dreams, and personal ambitions; taking their passion, hearts, and not just their minds with you. Every new employee at Birmingham FC spends their first day working alongside Karren, and job-swapping is common, promoting a real sense of mutual understanding and value in the company's staff. 'I have one 18 year old who works for me on 12K a year, and another 18 year old working on 12K a week. Both are equally valued, and equally motivated'.

Most telling of all, is her attitude. 'The really strong entrepreneurs are the ones who carry on', she says. 'If ever asked to do something out of your comfort zone - say yes. You don't know where it may lead you'. Ambition and inner pride really are key. And if you really can't change something? 'Change your attitude'. Be positive. Ask yourself 'what is the worst thing that could happen to you if you make this decision?'

Wise words from a woman once turned down from journalism school, now regularly filling column inches in some of the UK's leading papers. So: follow your heart, or go for money and status? 'If you can find something you love, far greater rewards will come.

'But if you add entrepreneurial spirit, then money and status will come, anyway'.

Entrepreneurs: 'Don't Give Up'

Today, I met an incredibly driven female entrepreneur completely by chance, in a coffee shop. She carried a business plan on her that included supportive letters written on behalf of high-ranking royalty. Entrepreneurship was in her blood. She was fiercely intelligent, sharp, and passionate about her work. Determined and totally focussed. And she was a nun. A nun running a fledgeling not for profit company geared towards spreading peace and reconciliation on planet earth. Sweet.

For me, this is what The Hip Girl's Guide to Being an Entrepreneur is all about. Highlighting those girls and women that totaly break the mould of what being an entrepreneur is perceived to be. Celebrating their successes. Inspiring more.

There's been much talk of this new breed of female entrepreneur - documenting her rise through the ranks of the businessworld, as she challenges the glass ceiling with a juggernaught zeal to rival even Alan Sugar's. Yet how many female start-ups really want to be some kind of Apprentice? How many start-ups actually want to take over the world according to 'traditional' singularly profit-driven business models, anyhow? Yes, quite a few! But, with social enterprise, creative entrepreneurship amongst artists and cultural entrepreneurs, mumpreneurs, the rise and rise of values and ethics within business, the run-away success of companies like Innocent, the growth of the freelance economy - all these things mark a genuine shift within the contemporary commercial world. With increasing kudos and momentum, value-driven business is at the forefront of innovation and change.


Featured in the Hip Girl's Guide to Being an Entrepreneur are stories from some of the world's most inspiring entrepreneurial women. Over the past three months alone, I've heard first-hand some of these stories from a few of the UK's leading entrepreneurs: male and female. Jacqueline Gold, CEO of Anne Summers talking candidly on the need for courage, passion and confidence in your convictions. Author and inventor Anne Miller at her book launch (http://www.themythofthemousetrap.org), on the importance of self belief in the face of negativity. Brothers Nico and Alex van Somervan of N Cypher on the entrepreneur's need for self discipline, optimism, and the ability to deal with failure.

All these people were ordinary, brilliant, individuals who have run with their dreams. And not given up.

The truth is, entrepreneurs are often romanticised as maverick, risk-taking outlaws -cult figures with an uncanny ability to gamble - and win. Yet some even argue that they're made only in hindsight: while they're still struggling to 'make it', they're wrongly perceived as 'flaky' crackpots, or dreamers. And by the time they do - they're so accepted by the business community that they're no longer the 'true' entrepreneurs they once were. They might go on to successfully create enterprise after enterprise, but this is relatively low-risk - with newly increased access to capital, confidence, and kudos, this is a different breed of entrepreneur altogether.

Perhaps this is the one trait that unites all entrepreneurs, then - female and male -the ability to keep going despite failure, defeat, mistakes. The art of resilience. More glamorous, of course, than just turning over and giving up.

What is an Entrepreneur-esse?

The word 'entrepreneur' is of French orgins. It is a sparkly, sassy, sexy word; and is used by millions worldwide, to identify those who drive economies of all kinds: cultural, financial, or spiritual. It's a hip word, in that those who are entrepreneurial set, rather than follow trends; are orginal, free-thinking dynamite.

An Entrepreneur-esse, then, is simply an explosively female entrepreneur. An empress, even. She makes things happen, and does her own thing - her own way. These are the punkettes of the boardroom, and they are taking the universe by the scruff of its neck. And spinning it. Some are millionairesses. Some are simply feeding their families on their own terms. All are redefining our concepts of what it is to be successful: it's a personal thing.