• Turn Styles Off
• Printer Friendly Page

25th September 2006

Business Plan Challenge Goes Back to the Nursey

‘Nought 2 Nursery’, a local magazine aimed at new mothers, has won Nova Woodrow, the MD of New Star Marketing, the ‘Best Pre-Start Award’ in a Business Plan Challenge set up by the Enterprise Pavilion at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth.

The Business Plan Challenge (BPC) called for entrepreneurs to identify and develop their business ideas with the opportunity to turn their ideas into a reality. The competition was open to both students and new businesses in their first 3 years of trading, and the prizes on offer included business incubation units in the Enterprise Pavilion; cash incentives and mentoring support for new businesses.

Nova launched Nought 2 Nursery in June 2006 as a lifestyle magazine for families, covering all aspects of family life including homes and gardens, business, finance, local groups and events, among other things. The magazine has a distribution network of 15,000 copies over Dorset and is published quarterly. Nova came up with the idea for Nought 2 Nursery after her son was born. She realised there was a distinct lack of information for new mums highlighting where to go and what to do when you become a mum, as Nova commented, “I wanted to have some kind of listings for new mums that put the information together in one easy to find place – I needed to know where all these mums got together and where they took their children so that I could feel a part of this new world.”Part of Nova’s business plan included a strong, viable distribution network for her magazine, which includes health visitors, hospitals, nurseries, Doctor’s surgeries, leisure centres, libraries and places of interest – all ideal for her target audience (predominantly female in the 25-38 age bracket).

Matthew Desmier, Operations Manager for the Enterprise Pavilion commented, “Nova submitted a strong, practical business plan for the BPC – Her plan highlighted the intensive background research she had undertaken prior to the launch, which is essential to enable any start-up business to succeed in their chosen market. We were impressed with her levels of business acumen, and, by offering an incubation unit in the eP as the top prize along with consistent mentoring support and financial set-up incentives, we will support Nova in the growth of her business every step of the way” In addition to Nova’s win for ‘Best Pre-Start Award’, 2 graduates from BA (Hons) Arts & Event Management course at the Institute, Melissa Inman and Jenny Dick won the ‘Best Start-Up Award’ for their company Cultural Fusion Events, which brings African and Indian cultural events to a wider audience.

The BPC Awards Ceremony takes place at the Enterprise Pavilion on 16^th November during National Enterprise Week. Rachel Lowe, one of the first participants in the inaugural BBC programme ‘Dragons’ Den’ and now Managing Director of RTL Games will be giving a presentation on her business rise, and will exclusively launch the 2007 Business Plan Challenge.

The business plan for Nought 2 Nursery – which was researched and written during a 6-month stint in Monaco – combines over 30 years of marketing, pr and design expertise. As Nova commented, “2006 has already been a fantastic year with the successful launch of the magazine, so winning the ‘Best Pre-Start’ in the Business Plan Challenge has been the icing on the cake. We have now moved into our ‘winnings’ – our new premises in the Enterprise Pavilion, and are busy working on our bumper Christmas edition of the magazine.

Starting my own business has been far from easy, but I would not wish to be doing anything else. I love doing what I’ve always wanted to do, and anticipate that 2007 will be a great year for both the magazine and New Star Marketing.” For more information on Nought 2 Nursery, please contact Nova Woodrow on 08452573402 or email nova@nought2nursery.co.uk Their website www.nought2nursery.co.uk will be going live in the next couple of months. For more information on the Enterprise Pavilion and the Business Plan Challenge, please visit www.aibep.co.uk

eP related

• Contact the Enterprise Pavilion