Military In Business magazine

"Leaving the military and the police was tough for me, but out of that darkness it's allowed me to understand myself and others on a deeper level and I am so proud to be serving the Forces community once more. The fact is, I wouldn't have started that journey without the help of XFE and that's why I am giving back."

As a mentor for XFE, Marcus Matthews is now helping us to help you transition into a new stage of your life.

Advice, Support and Mentoring are available from our Business Captains via the Knowledge Exchange Hub.

If you just want some advice with a quick question, you can find a suitable expert simply by selecting the “Ask a Question” option on the Hub and be put in touch.

Business Captains will also be happy to provide ongoing support as and when you need it.

If you have a specific project in mind, you can find a Business Captain who will act as a Mentor. This is a more formal arrangement designed to help you meet your project’s goals.

FOREWORD

Having spent the last couple of weeks closing out the financials for 2022/23 and working with the team planning 2023/24, what could have been different?

Now is the time to make sure we have things in order for 2024! Its April, the beginning of the tax year for the self-employed and for many businesses which align themselves with the financial year. For us it’s about the strategy, brand, and reach. Ensuring both internal and external factors are considered, not just about what we want to achieve but looking at what our community needs.

In addition, we do a fair amount of voluntary work, and this too needs to be factored as part of the time commitment and purpose. As it happens, doing less isn’t really part of our DNA - however doing things smarter and sharing the load is paramount. In the good old days when I delivered the business start-up training, we had a session just about volunteering as almost all the cohort wanted to give something back, a trait commonly found in the Armed Forces community.

As we have done, do take time to put a volunteering session to work in line with your overall business goals for the new financial year. Perhaps a Masterclass on this with XFE is worth doing. One for the team to action!

It seems the talk of ESG (Environment, Social Value and Governance) throughout the business community nowadays is something new. For those experienced business leaders with morals and a conscious, ESG has always been a priority.

What is now evident is that this makes a difference to how others perceive you In a world of increasing collaboration and competition it has never been so important to demonstrate your credentials and your values.

Governance for many will relate directly to money and financial reporting which we have all had to do throughout our business careers, as these systems and protocols have been in place for decades. But now good governance extends to; the environment, the communities we serve, our own people, processes, products/services, and systems.

I’ve really enjoyed exploring these themes recently with some of our Big Business partners to make sense of what this means to the SME community. There are a few articles in this edition which I hope will stimulate some ESG debate! Let me know.

Ren Kapur MBE CEO, X-Forces Enterprise

A WORD FROM...

After leaving school, Felicity CorneliusMercer joined her family business in toy importing, where she learned from every department - starting in stock control in the warehouse, ending as a buyer working in Hong Kong and China.

After taking a sabbatical to do some travelling, she switched career paths to airline operation as a crew controller whilst learning to fly rotary.

However, her life changed when she met a certain handsome soldier, the current Minister for Veterans Affairs, Johnny Mercer MP.

"When I met Johnny we moved to Plymouth and had our three daughters. I took a career break to concentrate on the children and support Johnny through his Afghanistan tours. It wasn't until 2014 when Johnny decided to leave the army and go into politics that we agreed to fight the general election in 2015 together, so I jumped back into work with both feet!"

As the spouse of a high profile veteran and noted champion of veterans' issues, Felicity is clearly very well informed. We asked for her thoughts on the career support available to military spouses both during and post-service.

"I am a huge fan of all the programs that help military spouses, trying to look after the often overloked contingency of our Armed Forces. I am encouraged that this group is getting more resources than previously, but like all initiatives set up to help, half the battle is making sure that the end user knows that the help is out there.

'The lifestyle involved in being a military familyuprooting your life every three years or so - comes with huge challenges; both emotionally and financially. It doesn’t get any easier; leaving behind friends, relationships, all the things that tie you to a place - your sense of home becomes fluid and that can be really unhealthy - lacking in security and longevity.

'So anything that can ease that burden absolutely must be done to help - ideally through the state but

historically more often through charities targeting a need. If these needs are not met or done badly then the knock on effect is on recruitment and retention for the Armed Forces, familiy breakdowns, welfare issues, and added pressures on local communities."

We often talk about the challenges faced by service personnel making the transition to civilian employment, but it isn't easy for their families either?

'Absolutely not,' Felicity agrees. 'Military families have had to move houses, jobs, children's schooling, doctors, dentists, vets, groups, clubs etc all through the service years but at least with the financial and community security from the forces job. Transition can be a time where you feel very insecure financially and about the future. Leaving the military is a huge leap into the unknown and I really

hope more people and employers realise how terrifying that can be for the whole family.'

Both Felicity and her husband have had to manage career transitions and both now work in politics. Does she have any advice she can share with our readers around transition?

'Don't underestimate how marketable and transferable our skills are and how the resilient mindset makes you a great addition to any workplace - you are a very useful commodity to employers in civilian life but the trick is in being able to sell yourself. So use the help that is available if you need to - for writing a CV and interview techniques.

'A fear that I have picked up on is that some employers might wrongly presume that

Whether she's expressing her views on Twitter in her trademark forthright style, supporting her husband Johnny in his quest to improve support for veterans, or campaigning on behalf of military families, nobody can say Felicity Cornelius-Mercer lacks passion...

you are too rigid; too set in your ways, moulded by an institution - even as a family member. So, be at pains to tell them that this couldn't be further from the truth - you have learnt to be flexible, adaptable, thinking on your feet, working with fluid factors and plans daily.

"And keep an open mind - yes civilian life can seem chaotic compared to the structure that your family is used to but you also get to exercise a lot more of your own control - so look for the positives!"

We asked Felicity to tell us a little about her work as Johnny's Private Secretary, and the day-to-day in that challenging role:

'Working with one's husband wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea! But I love it - Johnny is my best friend and luckily we work well together and have complimentary styles - he's the cool and calm one; I'm the hot-headed bossy one, but occasionally we switch round if he is getting particularly worked up over something.

"My day to day routine changes depending on whether he is on the front bench. These days, as he is a Minister, I do less following him around as he has officials for that and more liaising with his department. Most of what I do is admin-based for his days, organising his diaries, appointments, visits, travel etc, and evenings can be social events, speaking events, panel discussions and the like.

must be done to help.

"The relationship of husband and wife works well and we have a totally safe place where we can talk out ideas, campaigns, strategies and Johnny always has someone he can talk to."

As a passionate advocate for improved conditions and support for military families, Felicity finds time in her busy schedule to act as an advocate for this cohort:

"A lot of the Christmas holidays (apart from my first ever ski experience aged 42!) I spent trying to help sort out Service Families Accomodation issues with Pinnacle, which I'm pleased to say that I made some progress on using my advocacy website. This is the same one I helped to promote the petition to re-instate a dedicated Minister for Veterans Affairs. So I pick up things I am passionate about through that but it is having the free time to do all that I want to."

The Mercers are clearly an excellent team, at home and in politics, but what does the future hold?

"Hopefully lots of joy, cake, happy children, good health and wins at work! But more specifically I hope that we can get to the end of this political journey, whenever that may come, with the knowledge that Johnny used his time in office to navigate a very difficult system doing his absolute best for as many veterans and Plymouth constituents as he could."

The lifestyle involved in being a military family comes with huge challenges; both emotionally and financially...so anything that can ease that burden absolutely

FINANCE

X-Forces Enterprise is proud to announce that the organisation has been confirmed as a Business Support Partner to British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme.

The contract renewal is a fantastic endorsement of the work done by X-Forces Enterprise over the last 10 years as a Delivery Partner for Start Up Loans.

The innovative business model harnessing collaboration between government stakeholders, corporate organisations and the armed forces third sector was the original idea of social entrepreneur and CEO of X-Forces Enterprise, Ren Kapur MBE.

Ren commented: “We're thrilled to continue our relationship with British Business Bank (BBB) and excited as we look to the future and

the prospect other helping even more individuals realise their entrepreneurial ambitions.The Start Up Loans scheme is a wonderful enabler for members of the Armed Forces community who wish to start their own businesses.

"We look forward immensely to working closely with BBB to facilitate crucial, accessible, and ethical finance, and with our charity partners to provide education, knowledge exchange, and ongoing support to enterprising members of the wider military family so they can make the best career choices for them.'

With over £28,000,000 in start up funds lent, and over 2,600 individuals assisted with their launch plans, XFE has cemented its position as the premier provider of enterprise support to the wider military family.

Recognising this achievement, Richard Bearman, Managing Director of Start Up Loans welcomed the contract renewal, saying:

'I am delighted to share the first phase of our newly appointed Business Support Partners, who will help us ensure that anyone wanting to start a business has the opportunity to do so, regardless of their location, economic

Circustances or social background. We are incredibly proud of the success of the scheme since 2012 and the choice to renew the contract with X-Forces Enterprise is testament to the impact the partnership has had over the last 10 years, in delivering funding and support to those who most need it.

"This group of people deserves, and will continue to get, exceptional support and service from the Start Up Loans scheme through X-Forces Enterprise."

Learn more about funding options at www.x-forces.com/funding

'This group of people deserves, and will continue to get, exceptional support and service from the Start Up Loans scheme through X-Forces Enterprise.'

Richard Bearman, Managing Director, Start Up Loans

ENTREPRENEURS IN RESIDENCE OPPORTUNITY

On Awards!

X-Forces Enterprise is excited to announce a very special opportunity for the winners of the business categories of the Soldiering

From 2023, the winners of the Soldiering On Awards Business Start Up, Business Scale Up, and Business Community Impact Awards, will become Entrepreneurs in Residence at Anglia Ruskin University.

The Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiR) will have the chance to work with students on projects, share their lived experience, feature this post on their CVs, and receive expenses.

X-Forces Enterprise CEO, Ren Kapur MBE, welcomed the news saying:

'We’re thrilled to bring this extraordinary opportunity to successful entrepreneurs from the Armed Forces community. Not only will the EiRs benefit hugely from the experience, they will also be able to share the stories of their own careers and enterprise journeys, thus inspiring the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.'

Professor Gary Packham, Pro Vice Chancellor Student Enterprise & Entrepreneurship,

commented:

‘ARU is delighted to be associated with

the Soldiering on Awards, recognising the critical role small businesses play in our economy and local communities. We are excited to be able to offer these Entrepreneur in Residences to the winners of these categories.

'They will be excellent role models and help inspire the next generation of graduate entrepreneurs to transform lives, business and society’

Soldiering On Awards provide a platform to both reflect on incredible achievements and inspire future endeavours within the wider military family. Now in their 13th year, the Awards celebrate those selflessly volunteering their valuable time, excelling in the sporting world, setting up pioneering ventures, tackling diversity head-on within their community, and much more. Learn more about the Awards at www.soldieringon.org

X-Forces Enterprise Welcomes

New National Academic Adviser

X-Forces Enterprise is proud to announce that Professor Gary Packham, Pro Vice Chancellor Student Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Anglia Ruskin University, has joined the organisation as National Academic Adviser. Gary has responsibility for international development and employability, entrepreneurship and innovation across the institution. He also runs the University's A.R.E.A. (Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy) project which engages with and supports enterprising students to encourage them to deep dive into the realms of business.

Our collaboration with Gary was instrumental in creating the Entrepreneurs in Residence initiative for the winners of the business categories of the Soldiering

On Awards. In his new role he will support X-Forces Enterprise CEO, Ren Kapur MBE, in her work leading the Education and Skills workstream of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women and Enterprise, as well as facilitating research on these issues by Anglia Ruskin University.

Students from the University will also examine the landscape for scale-up businesses, researching the incubators provided by banks, Local Enterprise Partnerships, and Government initiatives to support scale-ups and foster growth.

Gary is a passionate advocate for social entrepreneurs and in his article on the next page he underlines the importance of giving them the foundations from which they can succeed in ‘doing well by doing good’.

Social Entrepreneurs: The Super-Heroes Of Tomorrow?

ByProfessorGaryPackham,ProViceChancellorStudentEnterpriseand EntrepreneurshipatAngliaRuskinUniversityandNationalAcademic AdvisertoX-ForcesEnterprise.

For some time, our social and economic outlook in the UK has been uncertain. It is also clear we cannot just rely on government, the public sector or large multinationals to address the challenges we are facing. Instead, we must continue to support and develop our private sector and in particular support more social enterprises to thrive and grow.

The UK Government reports that there are now over 5.6 million businesses in the UK

of which fewer than 2% employ more than 50 people.

Therefore, while policy makers, industry and the media might focus on larger organisations, the wealth of small companies within our regions and around our cities, tells a different story.

It's a story of a society in which entrepreneurship is a vital, if somewhat invisible thread, accounting for the majority of businesses, over 60% of private sector employment and around 50% of aggregate turnover.

Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose According to Social Enterprise UK there are now more than 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing £60 billion to the economy and employing around two million people. As a society we have therefore come to acknowledge and value entrepreneurship in all its forms. Entrepreneurs are often cast in the role of ‘cultural superheroes’ fighting valiantly to drive innovation, change and growth.

Social entrepreneurs form new enterprises for a specific purpose or to pursue a particular passion: usually to create goods and services that benefit other members of their communities. They interact with communities in different ways and for different reasons but at their heart is the principle of a social mission taking precedence over commercial profit.

These businesses therefore put forward a better way of doing business in which the needs of communities, the environment and people are prioritised. Some of these firms operate at a purely local level, drawing employees and selling goods and services whilst others extend beyond these boundaries, introducing social innovations which have a more profound impact on business and society.

A successful social enterprise, however, needs to operate like any other business, seeking to succeed commercially. It cannot rely on grants and fundraising alone, but instead needs to find ways to generate ‘social profit’ to meet its primary purpose of either protecting our environment, benefitting communities or tackling social inequalities.

More than ever, we now need to champion and support these social entrepreneurial superheroes, capable of making things happen, creating new futures and transforming lives.

Recent research has shown that around three quarters of young people are interested or open to becoming their own boss or starting a new venture, with many indicating that they want to do something of real value which will benefit society more widely. Therein lies our challenge.

We need do more and find effective ways to recognise, nurture and support these aspirations, helping as many as we can to realise this ambition to become the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

In addition, we must also enable our young people to develop social entrepreneurial mindsets and acquire a range of enterprise skills that will not only give them this opportunity to make a difference but also give them the foundations from which they can succeed in ‘doing well by doing good’.

You can connect with Gary on LinkedIn here.

While policy makers, industry and the media might focus on larger organisations, the wealth of small companies within our regions and around our cities, tells a different story.

From WIS To SARAH To XFE!

Dougie Thomson doesn't talk much about his days in uniform. He doesn't talk about medals, awards, or glory. He goes about his business quietly, determined to provide fellow veterans and their families with the best possible learning experience.

Dougie is Learning, Development, and Community Events Manager at X-Forces Enterprise (XFE). If you attend an XFE workshop, networking session, or event, his fingerprints will be on it.

His Army career saw Dougie operate in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and beyond. When leaving regular service after 24 years he began teaching Infantry Soldiers English and Maths Functional Skills. He used his resettlement to qualify

in tree surgery, thinking of this as merely a back up plan. However, as we know, no plan survives first contact. What happened next the man himself describes as a 'lifechanging experience':

'I joined the Reserves and became Core Recovery Event WO for the Wounded Injured and Sick cohort at Help for Heroes (H4H) Tedworth House. I got to meet some fantastic people, but I also had the privilege of helping lads and lasses who were in some really low places.'

The work was stimulating and rewarding, and led to advancement in the form of a role as Career Recovery Manager for H4H:

'My main task was to help individuals discover their pathway and help them

work out how to achieve it. This could be in the form of work, hobbies, or drastic medical treatment that they didn't think they could face. In some cases, selfemployment or business start-up was transformational.'

This was where Dougie first encountered XFE, but it came at a time when he himself was facing his toughest battle. A double cancer diagnosis (head and neck) led to invasive treatment to stop the spread of the disease, commonly known as 'kill or cure':

'The treatment has done more damage than the cancer ever did,' Dougie explains. 'It has left me with health conditions that will be with me for the rest of my life. During my treatment, I could only think about being outside and doing tree surgery. It was this that gave me focus to drive forward '

Dougie attended the XFE Business Experience course at Tedworth House Recovery Centre. All of a sudden, tree surgery was no mere back-up, he needed to go further and learn how to set up a business:

'There were so many lessons I learned that I just didn’t consider, some of which could have caused legal problems if I hadn’t covered them. When I was made redundant from H4H in 2020, I stepped straight into tree surgery as all the hard work had been done with regards to the business.

'However, in 2020, the daily strains of being a tree surgeon started to physically affect me, and I was forced to give it up.'

At this time, the XFE team were preparing to attend the National Transition Event, and guess who they bumped into and subsequently recruited? 'That chance meeting led to me working in an organisation that gives me passion every day to support our community,' Dougie enthuses. However, it hasn't all been plain sailing and recovery is a process: 'We use the SARAH model to help work out where we are and what we need to do to move forward in our recovery. I fast-tracked the S (Shock) but was stuck on A (Anger) and R (Rejection) for a while. When I got to Acceptance, I was able to get back to living life. During this period when I was trying to work all this out, I went to some dark places. It was key for me to move on from this for the sake of my family I suppose that I was one of the lucky ones '

Dougie has been left with Sjogren syndrome from the chemotherapy, which can be immobilising at times but he knows he has to keep moving to prove to himself that he can. There's also the possibility of sight loss, but he's not dwelling on that and dispenses some parting advice for others facing tough times: 'You have to take time to get to grips with the major changes in your life. I have my sight at present, and intend to use it.'

Connect with Dougie on LinkedIn.

Spring Is In The Air - Time To Stop And Smell The Flowers!

Creative industries may be a less common second career for ex-military personnel, however, there are clear parallels between skillsets in workforces that yield defence and those whose output is artistic.

Attention to detail, problem solving, innovation, communication and the ability to work independently prove to be valuable skills for individuals to re-deploy, whether going into employment or embarking on enterprise.

Keri Jones served just short of 17 years in the Royal Navy. She joined straight after leaving school in 2004, entering the Operator Mechanic branch. Keri met her partner, who is still serving in the Royal Navy, and they created a family home in Whiteley, Hampshire, welcoming two young children. As can be the case with two serving parents, family life became a juggling act and Keri began to consider her career options.

“I’ve always held a deep passion for flowers and arranging them. It was a wreath-making course in 2018 that sparked the idea of pursuing floristry

as a career To create something special with my own hands was exciting and I began to imagine how a new civilian career could both fulfil my creative side and improve our family life.”

On social media, Keri found X-Forces Enterprise and enrolled on a Self Employment Discovery Workshop, which was specifically aimed at Royal Navy personnel and families, supported by Greenwich Hospital. The course was held close to Keri’s home in Portsmouth in March 2020 and included topics such as the pros and cons of self-employment, money and finance and the legal aspects of trading. She said:

'The X-Forces Enterprise workshop was really useful to understand fully what business would entail. The trainer covered a lot of aspects I hadn’t thought of, and it felt comfortable to learn among people with similar backgrounds.'

Fuelled with confidence from the selfemployment course, Keri submitted her notice to leave the Armed Forces, confident and excited about her future. The Career Transition Partnership supported her with a package of resettlement guidance including access to vocational training. Keri commented: 'I chose a course at the Sussex Flower School, which was specifically aimed at people changing their careers and wishing to build a sustainable and profitable floristry business and was delivered over three months.'

Keri’s floristry business offers bouquets for all occasions as well as wedding and funeral packages. She takes pride in a high standard of customer service and an ecofriendly approach, using British flowers where possible within seasonal limitation and all Keri’s packaging is either recyclable or biodegradable.

See more of Keri's work here.

Industry Leaders Collaborate To Empower Female Entrepreneurs

More than 100 industry leaders joined together at the recent Strive Female Entrepreneurship Event to come up with solutions to support female entrepreneurs.

Discussions generated powerful recommendations to boost growth and unlock productivity. These were put to the Chancellor via an open letter signed by Kelly Devine, UK & Ireland President at Mastercard, along with leaders from startup incubators Enterprise Nation, Digital Boost and Be The Business, sent ahead of the Budget.

While policymakers have an important role to play, there’s also so much we can do, if we all work together. Female founders need more access to investment and lending. But not all businesses want to raise investment,

so we also need to help businesses with information on how to create wealth and grow their balance sheet.

While broad mentoring schemes are great, entrepreneurs need hands-on support to help them succeed – like legal and financial advice, and very specific guidance such as how to put together pitch decks.

Late and slow payments cause cashflow issues for small businesses, which take time to chase, so larger businesses need to pay faster and reduce administrative processes that cause delays, which the Federation of Small Businesses has long championed.

The gathering also heard a number of proposed solutions. Which ones can you get behind and make happen?

1.) Give female founders more funding and help them create wealth.

If you invest in businesses, make sure investing decisions are made by a diverse group, or include the opinions of a diverse group Look at how many female founders are in your investing and lending portfolios And if you don’t already measure that data, start. If you are an investor, consider signing the Investing in Women code and reporting progress each year.

2.) When developing small business support programmes, create specific help targeted at specific needs.

Be as specific as possible and pinpoint the areas where you can help solve problems. If you are creating a small business support programme, be clear about exactly what you are providing. Aim to complement existing support and collaborate with other organisations.

3.) Reduce payment terms and adjust procurement processes for small businesses

Review your organisation’s payment terms for small businesses. Look at your procurement processes, or ask your procurement team questions like: Can our payment terms be shortened for small companies? Can we sign up small suppliers quicker and reduce the admin involved? Can we commit to procuring a percentage of our services from female or ethnic minority-led businesses?

When Strive was launched in 2021, XForces Enterprise CEO, Ren Kapur MBE, was formally asked to be part of the collaboration and steering board to represent The LEP Network, Enterprise M3 LEP, and X-Forces Enterprise. Ren comments: "It is another place to network and drawdown tools and information for budding entrepreneurs as well as get a voice of the coalition of the willing to effect positive change for micro and small businesses. It's great to see the data and recommendations come through from the last meeting, held at our partner NatWest Business' site.’

LIFTING THE LID ON: BUSINESS CONTINUITY

As a business owner, you never know when an unforseen challenge will arise...after all, you cannot control external factors. This is where business continuity planning comes in.

Business continuity planning is a way for a business to increase its ability to survive and recover from disruptive events.

Business continuity planning involves identifying the types of event that potentially threaten the business and developing stepby-step procedures and checklists for dealing with these events, so that the business can continue to operate as effectively as possible.

The first step in making a business continuity plan is to carry out a comprehensive assessment aimed at identifying possible events that may threaten the continuity of the business. The assessment also involves working out what impacts these events are likely to have on key business operations and determining the steps that need to be taken to reduce these impacts.

To carry out the assessment, it can be useful to list all of the key areas in which the day-today running of the business could be vulnerable to disruption. Examples of this include: premises, employees, customers, suppliers, finances, IT equipment, and communication networks.

The contents of a business continuity plan will vary widely, depending on the particular threats that each business faces, and on the

size and complexity of the business as well as its areas of operation.

However, the best plans typically include the following information:

▪A checklist of all the actions that need to be taken.

▪The roles of key staff members in carrying out these actions.

▪The timescales that need to be followed

• Contact details of anyone that needs to be notified, such as insurance companies, customers, suppliers, the local council and utilities providers.

• Service providers that can help in the event of an emergency, for example plumbers, electricians, IT support services and solicitors.

• A logbook to record actions taken and expenses incurred. This will be helpful if an insurance claim needs to be made, and will provide useful information for reviewing and improving the plan in future.

All businesses face the risk of sudden disruptive events that prevent them from carrying out their normal operations, whether this be extreme weather, cyber incidents, supply chain failures or the loss of a key employee.

Testing The Plan

Business continuity plans should be tested and reviewed regularly. This could involve a simple paper exercise, for example checking and updating contact details included in the plan.

Alternatively, it could involve a runthrough of the main actions required in the plan, involving all employees who have responsibilities for these actions.

If the plan is ever used to deal with a real incident it is important to learn as much as possible from the experience and use it to improve the plan where necessary

If the circumstances of the business change, for example moving into new premises, it is important to review the plan and ensure that it still covers the correct steps.

The X-Forces Enterprise Military in Business® Knowledge Exchange Hub is an incredible source of information and expert advice on a huge range of topics relating to small business ownership. Sign up to the Hub for free today and access this amazing content at https://xfehub.com

Set against the backdrop of the iconic Silverstone race track, the National Transition Event is a unique opportunity for service leavers, veterans and their partners to find out about careers away from the military. The event on the 27th February 2023 saw the first XFE Military in Business Village, showcasing 20 veteran-owned businesses!

"I'mheretodaywithXFE,downatSilverstoneatTheNationalTransitionEventandit's beenanamazingdaytogrowmynetwork,notonlywithB2BbutalsoB2C.Idefinitely thinkit'sworthcomingnextyearastheeventisgettingbigger-agreatnetworking opportunity.ThankyouX-ForcesEnterpriseandtheMiBVillage!"

RobertHughes,Founder|ExecutiveDirectorStirlingRecruitmentLtd|StirSec

NTE 2024 WILL BE ON 04TH MARCH 2024 - CONTACT US FOR THE CHANCE TO SHOWCASE YOUR BUSINESS. LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE!

MONTH OF THE MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD MILITARY CHILD

Many children all across the country have parents serving in the military. This can be challenging for families given the logistics of moving post every few months, extended periods of separation, and the toll this takes on relationships. That's where the Month of the Military Child comes in.

There is fantastic work being done by charities and organisations to support military families, from novel means to keeping in touch during overseas deployments, to counseling for those who have suffered bereavement, and much much more.

During April, the Month of the Military Child, these initiatives will receive well-deserved coverage, but the amazing people who run the programmes are committed to the cause all year round.

We thought it would be interesting to look into the origins of this celebration. Back in 1986, US Secretary of Defence Caspar Weinberger, a Republican who served in the White House during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, decreed that April be the Month of the Military Child. He did this to honour the many sacrifices made by the children of serving and former Armed Forces personnel. As Defence Secretary he was well placed to appreciate this.

While the concept may have been born in the USA, the Month of the Military Child is also recognised here in the UK. For evidence of this one need only look at the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust's website or the social media feeds of the Army, Navy, and RAF Families Federations and the many charities dedicated to children's and families' issues.

We know just how important family is in the Forces community. We are privileged to have shared the stories of extraordinary, inspirational finalists and winners of the Soldiering On Awards and the incredible work they do.

In August 2021, 12-year-old Seren Killpartrick - winner of the 2022 Family Values Award - discovered that her dad, Paul Killpartrick, a Royal Navy Engineer, had been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. Unfortunately, there was no cure, but a special life-prolonging treatment was available privately Faced with one of the scariest times of her life, Seren decided to raise funds so that her dad could benefit from this treatment. She had an idea to attempt to paddle board from the Isle of Wight to Stokes Bay, Gosport, and crowd-fund to raise the £100,000 needed for Paul’s treatment. A bold and ambitious aim, which this remarkable young woman duly accomplished.

When Nikki Scott lost her husband in action, leaving her alone with two young children, she realised there must be many children in a similar situation who had lost a parent serving in the Armed Forces. Nikki was determined to make these bereaved children smile again, so in 2010 she set up Scotty's Little Soldiers in honour of her husband. Nikki has overcome adversity and used the experience she gained from tragedy and tough times to help hundreds of families. She remains dedicated to supporting the children of our fallen heroes and her goal is to support every child who has lost a parent who served in uniform.

Jamie Small’s father struggled to make the transition to civilian life when he left the Army after 21 years service. Tragically, took his own life. The then ten-year-old and his mum, Mandy, were helped by military charity SSAFA, and decided they wanted to channel their grief into amazing fundraising efforts for the charity. Jamie's strength and courage is an inspiration to all those he meets and in 2019 he and his mum won the Family Values Award.

Learn more about the Soldiering On Awards and the compelling stories of our finalists and winners here.

ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is delighted to award a £20,000 grant to The Open University (OU) Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund (DVSF) to provide study kits for Army veterans.

Ensuring that veterans can access education opportunities and find rewarding careers after their Army service is a priority for the charity.

It has been a longstanding supporter of the DVSF, the only scheme of its kind in the UK offering free education and specialist careers and

THIRD SECTOR

disability support to former members of the Armed Forces.

The grant will help around 14 disabled Army veterans to complete their further education studies by providing them with new study support kits, including computer equipment, desks and accessories.

Gregg, a veteran and DVSF beneficiary, said: 'Before the DVSF scholarship with the OU, I experienced knockbacks from my local universities saying I wouldn’t cope with higher education. The OU understood and valued my experience, for

that I’m so very grateful. Not only has studying with The Open University given me a degree, which I am very proud of, it has also developed my research skills, improved my confidence and given me a different view of the world.'

Brigadier (Ret’d) Peter Monteith, CEO of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, added: 'We need to ensure that disabled veterans can study effectively and comfortably to complete their degrees and get the financial support they need. We were only too pleased to provide this grant to the OU.'

AROUND THE WORLD

The U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting applications through the Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) program as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to expanding access to resources for Veterans and other underserved populations.

The improvements in the customer experience for Veteran entrepreneurs and business owners made by VetCert built upon $25b in government contract spending with service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses in Fiscal Year 2021.

"The Small Business Administration (SBA) new Veteran small business certification program is designed with our commitment to deliver exceptional support for entrepreneurs from the veteran community,' said Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman 'Supporting these Veteran entrepreneurs with access to government contracting will ensure they can continue their valued service to the American people.'

The program will be the Agency’s primary certification vehicle for all Veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, important classifications that enable them to qualify for federal contracts.

Is there a lesson here for the UK? Let us know your thoughts.

PRIVATE SECTOR

One hundred and fifty-six applications were completed for the second international call of the Business Innovation Factory (BIF) from global defence firm Leonardo.

In 2023, Leonardo’s startup accelerator aims to select up to ten startups capable of developing innovative solutions to help expand the company’s digital service offering.

“The numbers recorded testify to the consolidation of Leonardo’s BIF as the leading startup accelerator in the Aerospace Defence & Security sector,” explains Paolo Salvato, Senior Vice President Strategic Innovative Projects at Leonardo

“The Founders’ awareness of the value of a Corporate Accelerator has increased. This allows them to accelerate startups exponentially faster thanks to the Group’s skills, knowledge and assets, and to obtain business and technology deals and access to investments,” stresses Salvato.

Leonardo and their partner LVenture's teams are working on selecting the Top 20 who will be invited to the Selection Day, which will choose the ten best proposals admitted to the acceleration programme starting at the end of May and closing in November with a Demo Day also open to investors.

Learn more about the Leonardo Business Innovation Factory and how it's accelerating and partnering with startups and founders determined to make an impact.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

Just to add, the support so far has been brilliant, I really couldn't have wished for a better set of people to start my journey with, so thank you again!

FIND OUT ABOUT OUR FUNDING & TRAINING OPTIONS

X-Forces Enterprise is an official Business Support Partner of the Start Up Loans scheme, administered by the British Business Bank

FROM THE ARCHIVE

This issue's 'From The Archive' comes from June 2019 when our CEO Ren Kapur MBE examined the origins of microfinancing.

The concept of microfinancing existed prior to the invention of money. The idea was simple: a small trade of something I need in exchange for something you need. For example, trading crops in exchange for livestock.

As society developed its reliance upon money as the main form of currency, money soon became the most demanded commodity. Did this have an increasingly detrimental impact upon the poorest in society who were still trading their goods and services to survive? Were they therefore unable to obtain traditional bank credit without any assets to rely upon?

Muhammad Yunus, a Bengali social entrepreneur, banker and economist visited some of the poorer areas of Bangladesh and

recognised the value of the entrepreneurial efforts of women in these villages. Despite these women having an established supply and demand chain, their inability to access finance meant the majority of their profits were being paid to loan-shark type lenders. Yunus decided to lend a group of women in the village a small amount from which they were able to make a profit.

In contrast to other lenders who believed that the most disadvantaged in society were higher risk borrowers, Yunus believed that because these women applied for the loans as a collective, this would ensure they supported each other to make the repayments, thus acting as a ‘co-guarantor’ for each other. From Yunus’ small trial grew the Grameen (village) Bank, established with the sole purpose of bolstering social

development for women and the poorest in society. The idea of microfinancing serving the most basic needs of society remains at the core of the concept. Yunus and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and the model has since been replicated around the world.

As Yunus said: “For millions of years that we were on the planet, we never worked for anybody. We are go-getters. We are farmers. We are hunters. We lived in caves and we found our own food, we didn’t send job applications and do interviews. So this is our tradition”. Yunus believes that entrepreneurship comes naturally to us all and with the right support even the most disadvantaged communities can become successful entrepreneurs.

This basic concept is one which has resonated with me throughout my career and one which I have sought to include in my own entrepreneurial efforts. The foundations of Yunus’ microfinancing concept can be adapted to different community groups by understanding the particular challenges associated with that demographic and

geographical landscape. For our Armed Forces community this includes mobility, commercial exclusion and mainstream credit eligibility challenges, amongst others. When I set up X-Forces Enterprise, we were never going to be ‘just a loans company’. We built on Yunus’ concept of community lending and community support and decided we should be harnessing both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. This was the stark difference or add on from Yunus’ method that we adopted.

Good Social Entrepreneurship and what we stand for is about a leader who harnesses both elements (intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship) and encourages the spirt of both through enterprise A rhetorical question but an important one: “Is it not the aim of society to be self-sufficient with the skills required to ebb and flow through both intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship as circumstances and situations change in life; be those successes or challenges, selfinduced or natural economic movements, good or bad?”

You can read the full article on Ren's blog.

Yunus believed that because these women applied for the loans as a collective, this would ensure they supported each other to make the repayments

From late summer, the UK Government will be issuing Nuclear Test Medals to eligible service personnel and civilian staff, including posthumous awards to next of kin.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer said: 'This important step moves us closer to recognising the work of those civilians and veterans who played a critical role in establishing the UK’s nuclear deterrent and contributing to our enduring international security. I strongly encourage all eligible veterans and civilian staff to apply for the award, which demonstrates the important role they played in making the UK the third nuclear power, and wear their new medals with pride.'

The medal will be awarded free of charge to individuals who participated in the UK Nuclear Test Programme.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: 'Nuclear Test Veterans have made an invaluable contribution to the safety and security of the UK and it’s right that we recognise and value their enduring service to our nation.'

The medal also recognises the contribution made by veterans and civilian staff from across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati. To further recognise the contribution of veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests, the government invested £450,000 into projects which will commemorate and build further understanding of the experiences of veterans who were deployed to Australia and the Pacific. As part of that funding, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs is launching an oral history project to chronicle the voices and experiences of those who supported the UK’s effort to develop a nuclear deterrent.

How Sustainable Is Your Business?

If you think about your business idea or review your plans for the year ahead, do you consider how sustainable your business is?

Reducing costs, boosting competitiveness, and helping the environment are the paths that small businesses are on to achieve net zero. At X-Forces Enterprise we support you to start or grow your sustainable business and offer Masterclasses to help you meet your goals. You can also find key information through Start Up Loans here.

To support your path to net zero you may need to borrow additional funds to invest in new equipment or technologies and a Start Up Loan could be an enabler for you. Please contact us today to learn how we can support you in becoming more sustainable

WHAT'S ON: COMMUNITY

Friends Leigh Morgan (22) and Marco Turnbull (19), both Royal Engineers, based at RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, are running the London marathon together to support SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. Marco is the youngest runner for the charity and Leigh is the tallest.

Marco comes from a military family and has seen first hand what a help SSAFA can be

Learn more here.

Speaking in the latest General Talk podcast, hosted by Harry Bucknall, bestselling author, Joshua Levine, talks about the unsung heroes of the Special Air Service (SAS) during World War Two and his very latest book: The Illustrated History of the SAS. Joshua tells Harry how his book breaks new ground including new archive photos and stories about the less famous heroes in the regiment’s early days.

Gareth Davies is currently walking from Chepstow to Prestatyn along Offa’s Dyke path to raise money for Woody’s Lodge. This will take around 10 days. Although he is doing this alone, he would very much like to encourage anyone to join him for their local stretch of the walk. Details are on Facebook. He will post updates of where he can be found every day, for people to join in for a bit of banter.

On 23 April Fire Protection Engineer Martin Hills will be getting a close shave for charity in his local public house, The Duchess of Kent. Having spent many hours hearing stories from his friend, London cab driver Paul Cook about the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, Martin decided he wanted to raise some money to support the veterans.

SELF-EMPLOYMENTDISCOVERY 1-DAYVIRTUALWORKSHOPS

Whether you’ve already started working on your business idea or are just beginning to consider selfemployment, come along to one of our X-Forces Enterprise workshops and meet like-minded people.