I was an official Finalist at the Make Your Mark in the Markets competition with Enterprise UK: sadly I didn’t win this Award, but it was an enjoyable event with some speakers from the various organisations for market traders and I had the opportunity to meet some of the other finalists. I took the kids along (school holidays!) and they insisted on appearing in the Finalists photo!
I’m on Family Friendly Working blog! Check it out http://www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk/2010/08/12/mumpreneur-profile-tabitha-of-mimimyne/
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tower Hamlets Mums Business Club Networking and Coffee Morning for Mumpreneurs and Businesswomen
URL: http://towerhamlets.mumsbusinessclub.com
Category: Business
Description:
Tabitha Potts, owner of Mimimyne (http://www.mimimyne.com), the online store for kids, is now Tower Hamlets Representative for Mums Business Club (http://towerhamlets.mumsbusinessclub.com). The first Mums Business Club Tower Hamlets Networking and Coffee Morning for mumpreneurs, start-up entrepreneurs and business people in Tower Hamlets will be held in the gorgeous venue of Ping Pong Dim Sum in Appold Street, near Liverpool Street Station, on Tuesday 14th September from 10am to 12noon.
There is a £4 entry fee per visitor and Ping Pong Dim Sum are providing free tea and coffee while the networking meeting and expert speaker sessions go on. The first confirmed expert speaker will be Leanne Dal Santo of Smartbags (http://www.smartbags.co.uk) who will talk about how she started up her eco friendly company and combines it with working from home and taking care of her two young children. Attendees will be able to learn about how to set up a small business, work from home and be their own boss while still managing to have a family life. Men are welcome too!
Ping Pong Dim Sum has a baby buggy parking area, a toilet with baby changing facilities and a lift to the Private Dining Room on the first floor where we will be meeting. Children are welcome but are parents’ responsibility! Each guest who chooses to stay on and buy a delicious lunch at Ping Pong Dim Sum after the networking session will be offered a complimentary cocktail, alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
Address :
Ping Pong Dim Sum Appold Street
3 Appold Street
London
EC2A 2AF
Tel: 020 7422 0780
Tuesday 14th September from 10am to 12noon
Contact Name: Tabitha Potts
Contact E-mail: towerhamlets@mumsbusinessclub.com
Contact Phone: 0208 133 0961
Tickets: http://mumsbusinessclubtowerhamlets.eventbrite.com/
ENDS
I just wanted to share with you the great news that my online eco store, Mimimyne has reached the finals for three national awards! On Wednesday 11th August I will find out where I have reached in the Finals for the Make Your Mark in the Markets Awards run by Enterprise UK. The prize is a year’s free trading at my local market.
I have also just found out that I made it to the Finals in the Babyworld Parentpreneur Category in the 2010 Remote Worker Awards run by Paula Wynne. The awards ceremony for this is at the Grand Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5DA on the 1st September and I will also have a stand giving away some Mimimyne Smartbags at the event.
I’ve also been chosen as a Finalist for The Best Online Business Award, sponsored by Create.net, at The Mumpreneur Awards 2010. There were 302 entrants for this so I am very pleased to have made it through to the final 6, as you can imagine! The Awards ceremony is at the Mumpreneur Conference 2010 on September the 18th.
It’s a massive recognition for the business and a huge confidence booster for me to have got this far. I started Mimimyne only two years ago and have run it single handedly most of that time. It’s certainly been tough at times, so it’s wonderful to have this recognition. I hope the facts that I always put my customers first, have a fantastic range of designers working with me and have worked hard to create an ethical business that also celebrates great design for children will help me to win one of these awards!
I’ve just found out the Final event for Make Your Mark in the Markets run by Enterprise UK is on Wednesday 11th August in London (at Old Spitalfields Market) and I’ve been selected as one of the top 14 businesses! This is very exciting news as it means Mimimyne is a Finalist (out of 197 applicants) and will be given an award on the day for Highly Commended, Runner up or Winner. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed!
By Louise Hale
21 June 2010
A budding entrepreneur is flying the flag for Stepney after securing her place in a national competition that rewards brilliant business ideas with free trading space at local markets.
Tabitha Potts, 39, was shortlisted to the semi-finals after her business www.mimimyne.com – an ethical online store for families who want to grow up green, wowed the judges.
Tabitha noticed a lack of online stores selling eco-friendly organic baby clothes so decided to set up her own.
Now she has won ten days free trading at Old Spitalfields Market as part of the competition Make Your Mark in the Markets, in which she was one of 71 shortlisted traders in the UK.
“This competition is a fantastic opportunity for me and the business, and could help propel it to the next level,” she said.
Tabitha’s success puts her in with a chance of winning the overall prize of six months’ free trading, and the support needed to set up their business.
During trading, she will be visited by the competition judges who will assess all aspects of the business.
Eric Graham, manager for Old Spitalfields Market, said: “Tabitha demonstrated that she has what it takes to turn an idea into reality.”
With the help and support from East London Small Business Centre, Tabitha won a start-up loan from Deutsche Bank to build her website.
Mimimyne has also been nominated for several business awards, including the Thames Gateway Business Awards, the Archant Enviromental Award 2009 and Women on their Way 2010 and will soon feature as a British Library Business and IP Centre success story.
TABITHA Potts is a budding East End entrepreneur who has won 10 days free trading in London’s Old Spitalfields Market to test her business ideas for real.
The 39-year-old won the 10 days in a national enterprise contest after setting up her own ‘ethical’ online business for families who want their kids to ‘grow up green.’
She noticed a lack of suppliers on the Worldwide Web selling eco-friendly organic baby clothes.
“I can’t wait to get going,” she said, just as she set up her stall in Spitalfields Market today. “Markets are great test grounds for people like me to get real feedback from the public.”
Read the rest of the original article here
I was very excited to be May’s British Library Business and IP Centre 
Success Story.
As someone who loves libraries, especially beautiful ones (I wish I’d appreciated the Radcliffe Camera more in my student days, instead of going to sleep in it so often) I still thrill to get my British Library reader’s pass renewed and feel a little lift to my spirits whenever I go in. It was wonderful, because of this, to be asked to have my photograph taken and to have a video filmed about my experience using the British Library Business and IP Centre.
I talk in the video about how helpful the library has been to me, but to sum up it was there that I researched and created a business plan that won me a start-up loan from Deutsche Bank and made my dreamed-of business a reality. It’s a fantastic resource, with networking events aimed at business people (some free and some low-cost), its Inspiring Entrepreneurs series, a great front room to chat in, lots of relevant business periodicals, access to databases, books and anything else you could need. I am still using it on a regular basis and I thoroughly recommend it to every entrepreneur or person dreaming of starting up on their own.
I’m very excited to let you know that Mimimyne has been shortlisted for the Make Your Mark in the Markets competition organised by Enterprise UK. It’s a great opportunity for small businesses and start ups as they are subsidising all the shortlisted entrants for 10 days trading in the market of their choice. We will be assessed by judges over our 10 day trading period and the winner will get six months subsidised trading!
I’m very happy to have been given a pitch at Spitalfields Market, twice voted Best London Market, which is in my opinion the coolest and most stylish market in London. It has fantastic stalls, great shops and beautiful architecture: what could be better? Also, speaking as someone who’s done a lot of outdoor events, I will be very happy to be under cover and knowing that my lovely products won’t be blown away by breezes or rained on!
Dates for Mimimyne at Spitalfields Market this May confirmed so far:
Friday 14th May
Sunday 16th May
Monday May 17th
Tuesday May 18th
Sunday May 23rd
Monday May 24th
Tuesday May 25th
Friday May 28th
Sunday May 30th
If you’re planning a visit to Spitalfields over the next couple of weeks, look out for me! Hope to see you there.
The Women on their Way Awards, for which I was nominated as one of the Best Online Businesses, was a great day out and very inspiring. I didn’t win the award, but had a very enjoyable day catching up with some of the fantastic people that I’ve chatted with on Twitter and met at other events. We listened to a talk from Caroline Marsh (from the Secret Millionaire series). From a difficult start in Africa after her family fell on hard times, she went on to work as an air hostess, move to the UK and then build up a million pound property portfolio. She is very active in her local area doing charity work as well, helping young people get a start in business. One thing I enjoyed about the Awards was how varied they were, taking in so many different areas of business and charitable work. Here is a photo of all the nominees and award winners together, from the day!