BRiGHT
RECOGNISING AND CELEBRATING ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS
Win a
share of
£101K!
INVESTING
IN GREAT
IDEAS
Inspiring and rewarding
young entrepeneurs
YOU DON’T
LEARN TO WALK
BY FOLLOWING
RULES. YOU
LEARN BY
DOING, AND BY
FALLING OVER.
How to get ahead
in Business...
SIR RICHARD BRANSON
By the end of 2015 RBS Inspiring Youth Enterprise will help
100,000 young people explore enterprise, build their skills
and start up in business.
We want every young person to have the opportunity
to consider starting their own business. We do this
through our own products and services, but also
by working in partnership with the youth enterprise
sector and charities such as The Prince’s Trust.
One of the ways we are inspiring youth enterprise
is through the unique RBS ESSA and RBS
EnterprisingU competitions, created and run by
Find Invest Grow. These competitions offer university
societies and young entrepreneurs opportunities
to win thousands of pounds for great ideas and
business ventures, which not only reward enterprise
but help young people develop vital skills to
differentiate them in the world of work.
“Everyone can benefit from developing
their enterprising spirit and skills. And
what’s great about these programmes
is that they are open to everyone, not
just those who identify themselves as
entrepreneurs.”
(Don’t walk when you can fly!)
Thom Kenrick, Group Sustainabilty,
RBS Group
So, if you’ve got the ideas, enthusiasm and
commitment, we will match it and provide
the opportunities for you to succeed.
Read on to find out how 1
PAGE ONE | TWO
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE
What this guide tells you
Question:
This is a step-by-step guide to tell you all you need to know about the RBS ESSA and RBS
EnterprisingU. Read on to find out how to enter, to stand a chance of winning a cash prize!
What is the RBS ESSA Accreditation and Awards?
Answer:
A chance to win £21,000 for your university society – but a lot more too
You’ll also find a comprehensive guide with 12 essential tips to managing your university
societies’ money effectively.
Who this guide is for
Enterprising young people who want to go places:
• If you are involved in running a university society, find out how the RBS ESSA
Accreditation and Awards can benefit you and your society
• If you are an individual still at university or newly graduated and have a great business
idea, the RBS EnterprisingU competition can make those ideas fly
• If you are responsible for the finances of a university society, we have an essential
guide with top tips on how to manage your society finances responsibly
The RBS ESSA (Enterprising Student Society Accreditation) is a national scheme created and run by FIG,
and sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. It gives your society a recognised and official stamp of
approval for the activities and achievements you’re already doing. If you’re ambitious, accredited societies
can then apply for cash awards.
How RBS ESSA helps
The employment landscape is getting increasingly
competitive for graduates, with 70% getting a 2:1 or above.
Most graduates will present similar CVs. To compete in this
environment you need to differentiate yourself. Employers
are looking for you to go that step further. An RBS ESSA
Accreditation can help you stand out from the crowd.
Certificates, provided to accredited society members,
demonstrate achievements and entrepreneurial talent
and are recognised by employers, who will be even more
impressed if your society won a cash award!
RBS ESSA workshops to develop your enterprise
skills will be held on campus throughout the year,
so keep an eye out for them!
“With the employment landscape becoming increasingly
competitive, it is more important than ever to celebrate and reward
the achievements of the UK’s most enterprising students. We’re very
much looking forward to seeing the standard of entries this year.”
Director of Find Invest Grow, James King.
Organisations you need to know
RBS Group
The RBS Group is one of the UK’s leading
banking institutions with 40 million
customers globally. Operating through
well-known brands such as RBS, NatWest
and Ulster Bank, the RBS Group helps
2,000 new businesses to start up across
the UK each week. Through RBS Inspiring
Enterprise we’re helping more people to
explore enterprise, build their skills and
start up in business.
PAGE THREE | FOUR
Find Invest Grow (FIG)
FIG works with young entrepreneurs,
specifically undergraduates and graduates
of the past five years, and helps them to
crystallise their ideas, supports them
through the development of business plans
and introduces them to suitable investors.
FIG offers these suitable investors access
to its unique website to browse and
precisely filter investment opportunities
that are of interest to them with a view
to investing themselves or to offer their
expertise as part of a management team.
Any university society, from sport,
to finance, to arts can apply. Apply
for RBS ESSA Accreditation for
FREE at rbsessa.com.
Once your society receives
accreditation, society members are
issued with RBS ESSA certificates.
You can then apply for the RBS
ESSA Awards, also at rbsessa.com.
By applying, you’ll have the
chance to:
As a winner, you’ll have the
chance to:
• win up to £21,000 for
your society
• attend the RBS ESSA
Awards ceremony
• become an RBS ESSA
sponsored society
• achieve national media coverage
• write an article for our Telegraph
online hub
• apply for work experience at RBS
The more enterprising your society,
the more money you stand to win –
and you can win more than one
cash award.
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE
The Awards
The Awards are split into different
categories, and you need to decide
which category your society fits into
before you apply.
University of Warwick
Finance Societies
The University of Leeds
Men’s Hockey Team
Winner of Most Enterprising Student
Society Award 2012 - £15,000
Winner of the Bronze Award
2012 - £5,000
With a turnover in 2011 of five figures and with
1,900 members, Warwick Finance Societies is
the University of Warwick’s largest society on
campus. Made up of the four principal finance
societies, it aims to help students discover
great job opportunities and gain the skills
necessary for a career in finance.
University of Leeds Men’s Hockey club is one
of the largest student hockey clubs in the
country boasting a membership of 120 and six
teams playing in both domestic and university
competitions. They have raised £35,000
through sponsorship and fundraising, as well as
organising charity events with local businesses
and communities. Last year they implemented
an alumni network to enhance the profile of the
club and prospects of its members.
The society, sponsored by RBS Group,
JP Morgan and ICAP runs an extensive
calendar of events hosted by top employers,
such as BlackRock, and holds various talks
with industry leaders. The society has also
organised trips abroad to a variety of locations
including Hong Kong. The society will use the
£15,000 prize money for a major cultural,
financial and charity trip to Mumbai and
they are also setting up a student-run
investment fund.
If you have any questions about RBS ESSA email us
at [email protected]
Visit our website as rbsessa.com
Video entries will be posted on a dedicated YouTube
channel youtube.com/user/RBSESSA2013
Join us on Facebook on facebook.com/RBSESSA
Visit
the
site
PAGE FIVE | SIX
Follow us on twitter @rbsessa
93%
of universities
in UK took
part
You can see their entry here:
youtube.com/watch?v=11_pnYqTDw8
“Running the hockey club was some of the
most important busines education I’ve
ever gotten. If I had to choose between
getting an MBA and running something,
even a college club, I’d pick running
something every day.”
Brian Chesky, Co-founder, Airbnb
The Jewel
in the
Crown
RBS ESSA FACTS
317
Accredited student
societies in 2011
79,000
Combined membership
of accredited societies
£1.8m
Collective turnover in
2011/2012
15
Societies accredited
at University of
Bristol alone
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE
RBS EnterprisingU is a
nationwide business plan
competition open to any
student or graduate of the
past five years who has either
a business idea which needs
kick-starting or who’s running
a business which needs
further investment.
Finding
your
inspiration
Uniquely, the RBS EnterprisingU
competition also helps winners
gain business advisors and other
potential investors.
You can start your entry to the
competition by registering on the
RBS EnterprisingU website.
www.rbsenterprisingu.com
The website will ask you to fill in two
online forms to test your idea for
business viability.
SalesGossip
Overall winner of £25,000, 2012
This process also introduces you
to a wealth of tools and resources
specifically designed to help your
business grow.
Co-founder and CEO Zabetta Camilleri started
up her online fashion company, which brings
up-to-the minute, local, inside information
on sales and discounts for fashion brands to
discerning shoppers, in the London Business
School, sharing space with lots of different
start-ups. She developed the idea of bringing
fashion bargain hunters together with retailers
wishing to gain greater sales for their tactical
promotions and discounts via email, phone
apps and other social media platforms.
The company has been a runaway success.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited
to workshops to help crystallise their
ideas and business plan. Finalists will
then be invited to pitch to a room full
of investors at the RBS EnterprisingU
final in September.
Watch out for details of entry
dates of the competition on
www.rbsenterprisingu.com.
Don’t miss out on the chance to win
a share of £40,000 of prize money!
First prize:
£25,000
Second prize:
£10,000
Third prize:
£5,000
PAGE SEVEN | EIGHT
RBS ENTERPRISINGU FACTS
Aston University
Top university for entries
22
semi-finalists
Food
the most popular category of idea entered
6
made it through to the final
If you have any questions about RBS EnterprisingU
email us at [email protected]
Visit our website rbsenterprisingu.com
For up-to-date business tips and new insights
follow us on Twitter @enterprisingU
Join us on Facebook:
facebook.com/RBSEnterprisingU
Join the professional networking platform
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/RBS-EnterprisingU
Winning the £25,000 award has helped them
to recruit their first employee, redesign their
website, develop mobile apps and to move out
of the London Business School to their own
premises in Shoreditch, London as well as
attracting further investment. As a Londonbased company, SalesGossip has gradually
expanded to other major UK cities and the
company continually gets requests about
venturing into the global market.
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE
Developing good financial habits will help you throughout your life
but are also important for your society now and in helping it grow
long term.
Look to
the future
Ventive
2nd place winner of £10,000, 2012
Whilst a student at the University of East
London, Tom Lipinski was researching how to
make existing buildings energy efficient at a low
cost and was surprised at the lack of products
available on the market to do this. He set to
work creating ‘Ventive S’ – an energy efficient
ventilation device that operates on nothing
other than natural air-flows. Tom then gained
government funding to start developing
his product.
PAGE NINE | TEN
The RBS EnterprisingU competition provided
£10,000 to help further develop Ventive as
a business venture. Additionally, potential
investors who attended the awards ceremony
were so impressed with Ventive that the
company secured two major investors. Both of
these have committed funds to enable Ventive
to transform from a product and business idea
into a fully functioning business, employing
staff and launching the product into the market
place with plans of rolling out the product into
five million housing association homes and
taking it abroad.
These top tips will help your society to financial success. They will
also help you develop essential financial management skills and
ensure it will be in tip-top shape for future students to enjoy once
you have moved on.
1. Appoint a Treasurer
Your society will need at least one person dedicated
to looking after its finances. Ideally someone
with financial knowledge (an accounting or
economics student perhaps). Larger societies with
more complicated or time-consuming financial
administration may establish a financial team,
including a treasurer, book-keeper and possibly
an accountant.
2. Money management
There are a number of tasks involved in running a
society’s finances. These might include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
annual budgets
cashflow forecasts
preparing accounts
book-keeping
cash handling and banking
paying bills and individuals
liaising with society members, student union
officials as well as outside organisations such
as banks
• negotiating costs with suppliers
• stock control in a bar and control of assets such
as vehicles and equipment.
Larger societies may want to have a set of general
rules to promote good practice – such as not
allowing any committee members to borrow
society funds.
3. Income generation
The responsibility of applying for grants, organising
fundraising events and generating income is
often divided between members. You can form a
fundraising team to report directly to the treasurer
or chairperson to ensure good communication and a
speedy response to financial opportunities.
4. Handling cash and cheques
Special attention needs to be paid to the handling
of subscriptions, takings and payments. All
transactions must be carefully recorded and
monitored. Money and receipts need to be passed
to the treasurer to bank and file as soon as possible.
You may also set a cash limit for current accounts
and move any extra money to a savings account with
a higher rate of interest. It’s also good practice to
require two signatures on cheques, petty cash slips
and expense claims. 1
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE
There’s a little
genius in all of us...
... do you have an
inspired idea for a new
enterprise that could
be the next BIG thing?
Need help to tap in to
your inner genius to
help make your dream
a reality?
5. Setting budgets
10. Emergency/Contingency fund
Budgets are worked out by the society’s committee
and comprise the expected income and costs for the
financial year. Budgets should be reviewed regularly
to ensure they are on track and to work out ways
of stemming shortfall if they’re not. The treasurer
needs to keep other members informed of the
society’s financial position on a regular basis.
If possible, your society should have a sink fund
or reserve. This is money regularly put aside to cover
one-off expenses, high capital costs or emergencies.
Ideally (although it may not always be possible), your
society should have a year’s worth of expenditure
put aside in a sink fund, although you will not want to
restrict money unnecessarily.
6. Planning your budget
11. Marketing
Whether your student society is large or small,
starting out or long-established, you need to have
a budget in place. This budget should factor in
current aims, surprise expenses and long-term
goals. Think of your budget as part of a business
plan. Review it regularly and adapt to meet changing
circumstances. Long-term budget planning should
tie in with the society’s ultimate goal or ambitions.
Effective marketing will help you attract
members, sponsors and donors, who will in turn
bring money to help you run your society – whether
that’s to meet everyday costs or to purchase new
equipment. Try to minimise the costs of your
marketing by using volunteers and asking (politely)
for favours from local businesses – possibly in
return for favourable publicity. Any costs you incur
should come from existing funds – not from loans
or overdrafts. Lastly, make sure your marketing
messages are honest and truthful – be sure your
society can deliver on its promises!
7. Funding
Write down every source of income for your society
and forecast how much money you will generate this
year. Membership subscription, grants, sponsorship,
fundraising and social activities (events, balls etc)
can all contribute to the pot.
8. Costs
Top tip
It’s all too easy to lose
track of what your society’s
spending. Good record
keeping is essential,
it’s one of the keys to
accurate financial
management.
PAGE ELEVEN | TWELVE
Add up your projected costs. Some of these will be
fixed, others may vary month-on-month. Accurately
predicting your expenses will help you manage them
more easily. Look at past costs and try to work out
if you expect these to be more, less or the same.
Work out which are your greatest costs. Do you have
accurate quotes or good estimates for all of these?
9. Budget reviews
The treasurer should review the budget before
each society meeting to provide a clear view of the
society’s finances. This is usually done on a monthly
basis. If it appears income will not cover outgoings,
prompt action must be taken – by either revising the
budget or increasing fundraising and other incomegenerating activity.
12. Kit You Will Need
Online banking
lets you manage and track your
society’s money easily 24/7.
You can also make and receive
electronic payments.
Petty cash box
for collecting fees and
receipts, and making small
cash payments.
Cash book
for recording income
and payments.
Receipt book
to issue receipts for
money received.
Filing system
to store financial information,
including previous years’
records.
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE
ste
s
ta
A r es
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su
FIND OUT MORE
There’s a wealth of information and guidance
available online – also check out the following
links
RBS Inspiring Enterprise
rbs.com/inspiringenterprise
The RBS Royal Bank of Scotland Group supports businesses
of all shapes and sizes in every sector of the economy. RBS
Inspiring Enterprise is our way of helping more people in more
communities to explore enterprise, build their skills and start
up in business.
University of Glasgow’s
Salsa4Water
Winner of Most Innovative Fundraising
Activity Award 2012 - £7,000
Salsa for
all tastes...
The concept behind Salsa4Water is pretty
simple: the society runs three salsa classes
a week attended by up to 150 dancers and
donates the money (£3 per person per class)
to Water Aid, a charity trying to ensure the
poorest people in the world have access to
safe, clean water.
RBS ESSA
rbsessa.com
The RBS Enterprising Student Society Accreditation (ESSA),
sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, is a national
scheme which rewards and recognises student societies and
the teams behind them. The RBS ESSA certification is the
official stamp of achievement and recognised by employers.
RBS EnterprisingU
rbsenterprisingu.com
If you have a business idea, this competition could make it
happen. Using the FIG process, you will be introduced to a
wealth of tools and resources specifically designed to help
your business grow.
Telegraph - Inspiring Youth Enterprise
telegraph.co.uk/youthenterprise
National media partner for the RSB ESSA and RBS
EnterprisingU. An online resource of case studies, articles and
interviews to inspire and support young people interested in
developing enterprise skills and setting up in business. It will
also showcase the best competition entries and videos to the
RBS ESSA.
NatWest small business advice:
startup.natwest.com
Salsa4Water
Since launching two years ago, it has raised more than £27,000 and
sister societies have been established in Edinburgh and Stockholm
with plans to raise over £100,000 during the next five years by exporting
the concept around the UK and world. The £7,000 prize money is being
used to set up a new website providing advice and support to individual
Salsa4Water groups all around the world.
Help and guidance on choosing your business sector as
well as set-up admin, red tape and finances. Also includes
information and ideas to help you expand.
NatWest Business School:
natwest.com/business/business-school.ashx
PAGE THIRTEEN | FOURTEEN
Includes free guides from NatWest, including a free business
plan template and webinars on the topics of the moment.
INSPIRING ENTERPRISE