Originally published 20 July 2004

The 4th Enterprise Fest held at Warwick took place on 15th June with over one hundred attendees from across the West Midlands.

The focus of the day was on demystifying the process of setting up and running your own business, with workshops on everything from how to make a business out of an idea through to the legal and financial aspects.

Highlights included Bill Tidy, the cartoonist, with his man-sized scroll on ‘the World of Business’ and Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind up radio, with advice for budding inventors.

As ever, the event was a great success for those who attended. Yewande Akinola, a first year Engineering student, came along to find out the basics of setting up a business: “It was good to see people who have actually taken their business ideas and put them into practice.” Sam Lanyon, an alumnus of Warwick’s Engineering department, has been to the EnterpriseFest three times now and finds it so worthwhile he travelled all the way up from Cornwall for the day. Stephen Fowler, a third year Chemistry student, was particularly interested in the workshops on finance but also felt he had learned a lot about aspects which are often overlooked such as the personal attributes that are useful for self-employment and the importance of doing something you enjoy.

To find out more visit the Mercia Institute of Enterprise website at: www2.warwick.ac.uk/mercia/enterprisefest