A night full of motivation and inspiration
Claire Young – who Sir Alan Sugar nicknamed the Rottweiler –said she hopes to pass on her motto of “Just Do It!” when she addressed us last night and she certainly did just that!
We held the event at the HSBC on Parliament Street, York where James Coyle the Business Manager was a perfect host (he even did the washing up after we left, how many bank managers do you know would do that?) We had a real mix of women from all backgrounds and businesses so it was a fabulous audience for Claire to present to.
We were spoilt whist listening to the talk beacuse Sophie from Little Pretty Things brought along some beautiful handmade chocolates for us to try. We were lucky enough to be able to sample Yorkshire Raspberry chocolates made with local York Raspberries and also the Yorkshire Bitter chocolates made with Centurion’s Ghost from York Brewery….well it was rude not to! I think everyone was in agreement that they made a superb special treat or an excellent wedding favour.
The killer look
Claire had been in the local paper prior to the event click here to read what they had to say and she was on Radio York the day of the event giving a real taste of what was to come click here to listen to the interview.
Claire began by talking to us about the early days; where her famous ‘killer look’ that I believe we all remember from the show came from and about how she hadn’t realised until seeing herself on the TV just how expressionist her face was. I think from what she said no-one in The Apprentice, including Alan Sugar was under any illusion as to what she was thinking.
Claire went on to talk really open and honestly about her progress up the career ladder, the ups and some downs of some of the roles and companies she worked with. It was a real insight into her world and her tenacity; which would prove to be a key attribute when tackling the huge task of filming The Apprentice.
The candidates in The Apprentice
I think it’s doubtful when the next series of The Apprentice comes to our TVs in September 2010 that I will scoff and say such things as, “Is that the best business people our country can produce?” After listening to Claire about the YEAR of hard word she and the other candidates experienced and the things that you don’t see when you watch the show. I will most certainly be viewing it with a different eye this year.
Claire does an incredible amount of work for young people, in particular young girls demonstrating how aspirations and having plenty of them combined with hard work can open so many doors wherever you come from. It really is worth doing a little bit of research on Claire to find out more about her differing roles she gives our young people.
Claire started a new business around a year ago called Elegant Venuesdespite the credit crunch as she believes that times such as these can offer huge possibilities for businesses as long as the risk is a calculated one and you work hard. Please take a look at the business, it’s a great idea and is going from strength to strength. I believe they have actually signed a property suitable for a team or corporate business to rent for Silverstone; if you know of anyone who might be interested please get in touch.
All in all I believe everyone would agree a fabulous evening was had by all who attended so I wish Claire well in everything she does and I am sure we will continue to hear about her antics for a long time to come!
Thank you to Claire http://www.claireyoung.co.uk/
Thank you to James Coyle who offers 18 months free banking for start up or people switching to the HSBC, if you would like to chat to James here are his details:
EMAIL: james.coyle@hsbc.com
NUMBER: 07738816961
