A Good Story to share

Good Story was set up by the family of Mimi Watts from Suffolk, a promising young fashion designer, who tragically died in a snowboarding accident, aged 26.  The charity now supports other likeminded creative young people, aged 18 to 30, to run their own enterprises by offering loans and mentoring. 

 

And this April, the charity’s founders hosted the first ever Good Story Festival of Creativity celebrating its achievements so far and shining a spotlight on the exciting, creative young talent supported to date. Taking place at The Highwayman’s Gallery near Bury St Edmunds, the event showcased young creative business talent visiting Suffolk from throughout the UK. Fledgling businesses, including film producers, musicians, artists, photographers and fashion designers were given the opportunity to sell their goods to the public, offering unique items including upcycled furniture, surfboard covers, fruit cordials, ceramic totem poles and much more! The young entrepreneurs also benefited from a day of seminars and workshops, with talks delivered by a panel of business experts. As someone who launched her own creative business at the age of 29, our MD Suzy Pettican was asked to take part. And delivered a talk on how to ‘master the art of PR to boost your new business.’ A resounding success, the weekend raised £2750 and saw more than 300 visitors attend. While our PR campaign helped to spread the word with:

• 16 pieces of media coverage including BBC Look East and ITV Anglia, reaching a total audience of more than 200,000 (excludes broadcast viewers)
• Font page mention, news and features coverage from Suffolk’s leading regional paper, the EADT, Business East and EA Life supplement
• Twitter support from celebrity entrepreneur, Kelly Hoppen, MBE
• Personal visit to the Festival from Matthew Hancock, Minister for Enterprise & Skills
• 6 new applications for support from young businesses
• 5 business people expressed an interest in becoming a mentor.

Rory Watts, founder and trustee, says: “Reflection PR helped us achieve massive success at our Festival of Creativity. It’s very hard to bring such a large number of people to such a remote location, but thanks to their help we managed to attract hundreds of guests. And were able to bring government ministers, celebrities and business moguls in to the conversation about our work, giving us a much needed platform for promotion.”

Good Story continues to look for business people to join its growing network of mentors. Becoming a mentor can mean a simple 10 minute chat over the phone, or a year’s mentoring support. It’s up to you.

If you’d like to share your time and expertise to inspire young, creative talent, please get in touch.

For more information and to donate visit www.goodstory.org.uk