I was excited to invited back to be a guest speaker at this year’s County Finals of the Young Enterprise competition that took place this afternoon in Southampton.

Why? Because these young adults inspire me. After watching their presentations and chatting to them at their stands, one can’t help but be motivated by the raw energy they have for their business model.

Young Enterprise is the UK’s leading enterprise and financial education charity and they help students gain business experience in loads of interesting ways. Each student takes away different lessons and value from the programme but they are all exposed to every aspect of a business plan.

This is gold dust for these guys as they are now equipped with an understanding of business that many employees will never have. It’s a head start in their careers that gives them an advantage over the next person. They will have failed, they will have succeeded. They will have figured out what works and what doesn’t. They’ll have had their strengths highlighted and their weaknesses exposed. All huge business lessons that the sooner are learned, the better.

This evening was the County finals. Each school had done remarkably well to get to finals and the businesses that were showcased were all impressive in their own ways. As I mentioned in my talk, each one of them is an outstanding individual for showing the initiative and drive to subscribe to something that is extracurricular and in most cases, out of their comfort zone. To show that level of application to their personal development speaks volumes about their ambition and potential.

I applaud YE for hosting such a fantastic platform for these skills to flourish and for the unearthing and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in our future leaders.

Congratulations to every business who made these finals and all the best to IIVI Form Campus and South Downs College in the Regional Finals.