The Business Village People

About The Business Village People

Welcome to The Business Village People. It's an entertaining podcast about the businesses and people who work at The Business Village in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. We take you behind the scenes and discover what success means to companies and staff. We share interesting stories about life, dreams, and ambitions, from the richly diverse range of businesses on site. Plus, over the series, we showcase the great things that can happen when businesses work together. For more information: Call us on 01226 249590 email hello@BarnsleyBIC.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @BarnsleyBIC Find us on Facebook @BarnsleyBIC Follow us on Instagram Join The Business Village on Linkedin

Publisher

podone.co.uk

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Mar 2023

Latest episode

28 Aug 2025

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Aug 2025

   The Business Village People Podcast S2 E9 "THE BENEFITS OF FOSTERING".

   This is a POD ONE production. For more information, visit podone.co.uk. This is the Business Village People podcast. Hello, I'm David Markwell and welcome to the Barnsley Business Village People Podcast. This is episode nine of series two. In this podcast, we showcase stories from the companies, service providers and staff at the Business Village in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. In this episode of Business Village People. The Business Village has a strong working relationship with enterprising Barnsley. They provide business support to companies looking to expand, develop, and flourish, as well as guidance and help for new businesses. Paul Johnson is a key account manager. We'll be finding out from him. How enterprising Barnsley can help companies win. But first, I'd like to introduce you to Capstone Foster Care, an independent fostering agency that supports hundreds of carers across England. One of their officers is based here at the Business Village. I've been along to have a chat with them. My name's Allison Dixon, and um, I'm a senior practitioner, uh, social worker, and I work for Capstone North. It's a fostering agency. We're an, um, independent foster agency who are employee, employee owned. So a lot of our, um, business and our money goes back into, um, supporting foster carers and families. Lots of events for children and families. So we'll have like a celebration day. We'll celebrate Eid. For example, we have Christmas events. We take the children to like Gulliver's or rather valley, the water park we've done in previous years. So it's basically we're, we're a small ho in Barnsley. It's a bigger organisation, Capstone North. But, um, we've got that kind of family feel. So how did Capstone begin? Began in 2009 as an independent foster agency, and then obviously it's evolved over the years and it's quite a big organization. Well, it's become bigger, but like I say, we've got individual hubs. And we are based here in Barnsley Business Centre, but we've also got Hobson, Bradford and Hull in Manchester and also in the south of England. How, how do you fit into the picture? So basically we work with a wide variety of local authorities from all over the borough and, um, it can be as far as far away as, as say, Bristol down south. And sometimes children move around for whatever reason. Um, so, so we work with all the local authorities and we receive referrals for children that need to be looked after and cared for. 'cause they're in, they're very vulnerable and they've been assessed by the courts to come into care. And I don't know if you're aware, but there's a national shortage of foster carers. So, and, and I think as well since COVID and the Pandemic, a lot of the spare rooms that people had. That they need for fostering. 'cause they need to have their own bedroom. Um, they've been used for offices, so then that's created, um, a bit of a problem. And so nationally it's very difficult, um, for children to be placed in area. So the area, so we, we try to kinda. Manage that and recruit foster carers, which every, every fostering agency and local authority is trying to do. What do you look for in a foster carer? Someone that's empathic, that's obviously got got, they need a spare room and a bedroom for a start. They have lots of training. Um, we like them to be holistic and [00:04:00] therapeutic in the approach. And their approach to parenting. We look for skills. It, it could be that they've maybe been, um, teachers or support workers or possibly worked in the care sector themselves. Um, a lot of our foster carers are like kinda middle aged, or they could be in their fifties. We also have some younger ones. And, and there's, it's a wide variety. Sometime we have short break foster carers, so they might just provide care for children on a weekend basis or for a week or just like on a short term basis. And then other short term carers could be, could be up to two years. And if the child settles, then it goes to long term. So the skills we need is, is basically to accept these children as part of your family. That's what we're looking for. They get fully assessed. It's called a Form F assessment, and it basically goes through that person's whole life and any previous relationships or so we, so we look for any kinda strengths, vulnerabilities, uh, that doesn't kinda count them out. It just depends. Um, obviously if they've got a criminal record for violence or something, then we wouldn't consider it. It just depends on the person. So it is like a really thorough assessment because we want to get the right people there. There are so many different kinds of fostering that you are looking for. Yeah, and we also do parent and child as well. And that could be both parents and a child or children or one parent and that's, that's a different, but they need additional training to become a parent and child foster care. So, so it's quite, it's quite wide and varied really. The foster enroll and, and every year the foster carers get like an annual review. They're assessed on a yearly basis. And, um, there's basically the team around the child. So it's not like any other [00:06:00] employment, if you like, that the class is self-employed. Um, and they get lots of support. Like I say, lots of training. We have fostering support, uh, meetings. They have monthly supervision with the supervising social worker. So foster carers have their own. So social worker. I've been looking at your website and there's some lovely stories on there, and one story that stood out to me, which again, is something that. I'd never thought of. Uh, it is a service that you provide to unaccompanied asylum seekers and there's a story on there, em, EM'S story. How do you provide the support for asylum seekers, unaccompanied asylum seekers who might not even speak English? Well, that can be a challenge in itself, and obviously we work closely with. Local authorities and, uh, interpreters if it's needed. Um, it might be that some foster carers speak more than one language, so they, they might [00:07:00] have, they might have the same language as the asylum seeker, so that's helpful. But if not, we use interpreters and we work with local authority. We look at community and how we can integrate them into. Um, society with, you know, with all the trauma and everything that, that, that brings with being asylum seeker. So how did you get into working in fostering? I started off working with teenagers for 10 years, which was interesting. I really enjoyed it actually. Doing what? Uh, working with young people that were leaving care, uh, 16 plus. So basically the age, the age group was from 16 to 21. And I worked in for, for children for, for 10 years. And then I decided to have a change of direction and looked at, um, fostering. And I've been in fostering social work since 2011 till present date basically. And I really enjoy it. Did you ever think you'd become a social worker? No, not initially. Uh, what did [00:08:00] you want to be when you left school? I didn't really think about it actually 'cause it was, obviously I'm a woman of a certain generation. I kinda left school and um, went with some friends to work in the Channel Islands for a summer and ended up staying for about 15 years. Um, and I worked initially in hotels 'cause there was lots of, um, restaurants and hotels and in Guernsey. And then I got into care with the elderly and did that for a while and then that sort of led me. Then I moved to England in 1992 and then I sort of was led down a different path and thinking. The quality of care for the elderly in comparison to the Channel Islands was very different, and so I, I decided to, to look in another direction and then decided to be a mature student and, and do some qualifications and got my degree and then it led me to social work. What did you really want to be there when you left school? I knew I wanted to travel. So how did you end up in, in Guernsey [00:09:00] jersey? Well, I, I was working in a factory. I left school, I think it was three weeks before my 16th birthday. But they paid me off the books 'cause they did back then and, and then they put me on, on the books obviously as soon as I, uh, my 16th birthday. And then there was, there was some, some friends, uh, that worked beside and they were saying, oh, we're up. We're, um, we won't belong now. We'll be off to Sey Summer's starting. And I, I was like, oh, what are you doing? And just ask some questions. Oh, we're gonna be working in the hotels. And started asking some more questions. I'm like, oh, I could do that. And they were going, you're too young. And I'm like, I'm old enough to work. Yeah. And it was literally one of those kinda spur of the moment I'm off. And I just went with them and, um, and I've not really looked back and, and I'm glad and I sort of left Scotland and it was much, much warmer in ey. Hang on a minute. You're from Scotland? I never spotted that. Which, which, which part of Scotland You're from? All of it. Um, Stirlingshire, a little town called Deni, [00:10:00] which is seven mile from Sterling. So, and my accents kind of diluted, obviously, 'cause I've been, I've been diluted, I've been away longer than I've mm-hmm. Than I lived there, if that makes sense. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So what's the situation like at the moment? Within the fostering sector? It's, it's really difficult because there's lots of children still coming into care, unfortunately, just because of the situations and there's not enough foster carers to go around. So we're desperately trying, working really hard to try and recruit new foster carers, um, and from all walks of life and, and different age groups. And, and that goes, that can be, um, they can be single foster carers, they can be same gender couple. Um, heterosexual shows. It's, you know, if they meet the criteria and they fulfill everything we need them to fulfill within the assessment, then they'll be successful. If anybody's listening to this [00:11:00] and is interested in becoming a foster carer, what should they do? Contact, um, look on the website. Have a look and have a look at the stories. Like you say, you dread some things yourself. And, um, the numbers and everything, emails are there and contact us, um, if you're, if you're interested. 'cause we really are trying hard to recruit. And how did you end up at the Business Village? We, we were initially in, um, Kenry, an area of Barnsley, but we've kinda outgrown that really. So we just wanted, um, it was me, Amy, from business support in Barnsley, and she's local, so she knows the area really well and she tells some good reports about it. And we love it. It's really good. And everybody comes to visit. It's just very professional. There's a lovely wee bistro and everything, reception. Everybody's really friendly. And as you know, there's all different businesses, so we, we all kinda mix in well and, and just really like being here. [00:12:00] And what about yourself? What's, what's lined up for the future? Well, I'm, I'm getting to that age, whereas I'm slowing down a bit and getting ready to retire. Oh, shut up. But not for a few years yet. I'm, I'm looking at maybe, um, reducing my hours next year. Um, but I'm still pretty active and I've, I've just signed up for a Cycle to work scheme, um, the government initiative and, and through Capstone as well. That must be a hell of a ride from Scotland too. You. Well, I live in Costa Roham now, Costa Roham. Lovely. Um, Alison, thank you for your time. It's been really interesting and I've, I, I'd tell anybody to go and have a look at your website 'cause there's so much to look at on it, uh, about what, what the services that provide and the store is just gone and, and. Read some of the stories. They're lovely. Alison, thank you for your time. Thank you.[00:13:00] Wherever your business is on its journey, enterprising Barnsley are here to provide guidance, help, and direction to achieve all the aims of your company. Paul Johnson is a key account manager. I spoke to him about how enterprising Barnsley can help companies win. It's the economic development arm of Barnsley Council, and it's our job to work with businesses that are looking to grow, expand, relocate, or invest in the borough of Barnsley. We support businesses of all sizes from someone who is initially thinking of starting up a business. Right through to multinational global corporations and everyone in between. As a key account manager, what, what do you have to do? Yeah, so part of my role is working with businesses, as the name suggests. We've identified some of the most strategically [00:14:00] important account management companies within the borough. So it's our job to work with them and to make sure everything's okay and to make sure they're here to stay within Barnes in the long term. So those companies have been identified as those ones. That might be major employers or have a significant impact upon what the council's economic strategy is. So they might have a sectorial focus towards them. So my job is basically going out to see them, finding out what issues or challenges they have and to help keep them informed about what projects, grants, or initiatives that are available to make sure they on anything. So how did you end up doing this job? Uh, if I'm being honest, by accident, I've always had a passion for businesses and economic development in general. I initially started off years and years ago, probably about 20 odd years ago as a project officer, and from now I've worked my way through at various levels of different parts of economic development, from project management and policy developments to researching. And as time's gone on, I've slowly migrated into the [00:15:00] fact of thinking, well, actually, I know what the offer is to businesses. And some of the business development managers in the past have quite kindly said, you know, if you are interested, come out and have a look at them and see what the business is and see what it's like. Get a bit more understanding about what businesses do. And from there, the spark really came and I thought, actually this will be a good career. You know, you get to meet people on a daily basis. You understand the companies a lot better, you understand their needs, and more importantly, what I benefit from it is to try and flip on its head. So as a council, we've been very good in looking at developing programs and support over the years, but by working with the businesses, you get a fresh perspective. So whilst you, instead of being, I hate to use the word top down approach. You also must take a bottom up approach this time so you can quickly get to work with companies and identify what the trends and issues they have. And we largely report that mostly before it comes out in the local or regional press. So, you know, we were picking things up about national insurance issues, how it's affecting confidence and how it'll [00:16:00] affect companies productivity. Way before it was in the b BBC news or anything like that. And we're seeing it on the ground level, which is good. So having that personal touch and links with the companies. It's really one of the key things that really attracted me to it, if I'm being honest. You know, to get a bit more of a broader feeling and understanding behind the role. Have you got an example of a a, a business that you work with and what you've done for them? Yeah, of course. Yeah, so my remit is key account management, but also having a slight focus on with investment as well. I'd say one of the best examples of that covers all of those activities altogether is a company called and Dell. They're based up at Dodo. So they relocated into Barnsley probably about three years ago, I'd say originally based in Huddersfield. They do flood detections, uh, systems for the likes of houses of parliaments, water companies and individual local authorities up and down the country. They were constrained for growth where they were, they were looking at new [00:17:00] sites. Met their md uh, at the Fairway Pub of all places. 'cause that's what he wanted to be. 'cause he was viewing properties around there and it was his lunchtime and we got like a house on fire. It was brilliant. We just somehow, we just clicked altogether, even though there was a whacking great age difference between us. I'm not that young by the way, for people out there. And we just clicked. And it was, it was 'cause they, they had been in a local authority where they haven't had this resource. So they didn't know what account management was and how it could benefit their business. So from the go set, we very quickly identified. What the business was, why it was moving, what it needed, and what support was available. And obviously when you haven't had that type of interaction in the past, it's kind of like kids in a sweet shop and you're thinking, wow, there's quite a lot here. And like everything I, I'm on the assumption of, well, I was taught actually by previous account managers to say, give a company what they think they need to start with and then give them what they actually need after. And that's a classic example of, [00:18:00] so obviously the incentives say you come into Barnsley, one of the best things we'd like to do is see if there's any grant support for you. You know, people, people's eyes light up at the thought of money, symbols, et cetera. And we talked about the grant support at the time through the business productivity grants that we've run within the council, the digitalization grants that we did previously, and that obviously was great, that ticked that box to start with. Then once they were established here, set up, we then started looking at other support for them. So one of the key things that made them move across was part of the bottleneck issues that they had, didn't have enough production space or the storage system was right. So we said, right. One of the key things we can do is we can link you in with, at the time that we had some enterprise coaching support, but we linked him in with a lean manufacturing consultant that could look at their processes, procedures, their factory flows, look at support that was available. And that was probably, that really opened their eyes to say, actually, you know, the support here in Barnsley, it is good [00:19:00] and it delivers with what they say and it's what the business needed at the time. Then on from there, you know, it was a general conversation. We meet probably three times a year just to review what the latest challenges are. The support has been everything from looking at skills bank application for their existing workforce. So they have the right level of leadership and qualifications in there. Looking at innovation support. One of the project was an r and d project. They were looking to do, uh, whether they actually use this business center as a trial for one of their antennas, uh, where they triangulated out various points around the borough. Really lovely business. It's great to see them grow and expand. What, what economic benefit does. Enterprising, but honestly brilliant to the town. You can, you can see it from many angles, really. One, one of the key things is obviously the mantra of if you bring businesses to the borough or you support businesses, the long-term benefits is improves their sustainability, their profitability, which means that they [00:20:00] can, uh, as an end result, potentially create new jobs. Now, that's great for the residents of Barnsley because what that does is it means there is that opportunity for work, which obviously hasn't been the case over the years when there's been. The town's been affected numerous times by deindustrialization having a mono industry, and the fact that we're in a position now where we have such a much more broad and varied economy than we we've ever done, it really does allow the route to market for local residents the opportunity to look for jobs. What it also does as well for this kind of like support programs that we have offered, it's allowed a lot more collaboration. So for instance, on Inwood investment side, when we are looking at attracting companies and bringing them into the borough. One of the questions is, is could we have a discussion with your purchasing manager or your supply chain person mainly to see, to say, well, the first thing you're gonna have to look at if you're looking at a new facility, might be racking, or it might be, what's your forklifts or who's your software provider? That type of stuff. Or, what are you looking to do? [00:21:00] And to give those companies information on those companies in the local area that can provide that service. So they have a route to market to see who is available in the local area. Some support that we provided has been really beneficial, uh, through the likes of things like the business productivity group. So that group, as a name suggests, it's all about improving productivity within businesses. There's probably a cohort of around about 30 to 40 businesses that meet once a month. They discuss various issues on productivity. They go to each other's, uh, facilities to learn best practice on implementing a type of productivity aspect that that one company's done that others are learning to do and vice versa. So it's saving companies time and effort through kind of cutting the corners what others would've lost. Um, we add value also in terms of being that single point of contact 'cause we work for the council that comes with everything. It could be complaints about the traveling community when they pitch up [00:22:00] on site. It could be support for planning applications. It could be when companies are in distress and might need a bit of help financially in terms of what can we do with the business rates as an incentive for them to help support them. Um, or it could be, um, what could we need to do in terms of looking at how the skill levels of what businesses have today and will need in the next five years, how it aligns with the education system, for instance. So it's a mixture of, I guess, direct support and guidance to businesses, but at the same time being a critical helping friend. That supports a lot of other initiatives as well at the same time. So it really is kind of like a hybrid role. So that's one of the best things about this role. You never know what's gonna be in the inbox. Paul, how can people get in contact with you if it, if they think that you are the man to sort their business out? First way would be through our enterprise advance websites. We do have links there to all of our key account managers and wider support. So any business that is [00:23:00] looking to overgrow, expand, invest. What we do say is, before you even spend. Any money or think about spending any money, give us a call, drop us an email, target us on LinkedIn, whatever medium is best for you, have a word of us. We'll get back to you as quickly as possible and try and support you as quickly, quickly as we can. Um, our doors are always open, like I said earlier on. We do work with companies at various stages. There is no wrong question a company can ask us. Um, we have the same conversations with someone who has just started the business. Um. Exactly for someone who has been trading for 30 years or is part of a group of companies, uh, that's a sub subary of a company from a, a global company from around the world. Um, all that's different is the type of support that's available, and we will tell you what is available at that time to help you grow your business.[00:24:00] Good morning, the Business Village, Holly speaking. How can I help upgrade your workspace and boost productivity at the Business Village? Our modern offices are designed to meet your needs from solo entrepreneurs to growing startups. You'll have access to high speed internet conference rooms. A bistro and a thriving business community with networking events, workshops, and collaboration opportunities. Contact us today to schedule a talk call oh 1226249590. That's oh 1 2 2 6 2 4 9 5 9 0, and start your success story at the Business Village. That's it for this edition of The Business Village People Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. If you want to find out more about the office rentals or the services available at the Business Village, please call oh one two two six [00:25:00] two four nine. Five nine. Oh. I'm David Markwell, and this is a Pod One creative audio production for the Bosley Business Village. Never miss an episode of The Business Village People Podcast. Simply subscribe and follow from wherever you get your podcasts.

2. 

   29 May 2025

   The Business Village People Podcast S2 Ep 8 "Remembering Adrian"

   Host David Markwell interviews Gemma Edwards from Get Real Comms about her international career and people-first communication strategies, and speaks with Dave Moss from Property Projects Yorkshire Limited about ethical property investment for social housing; this episode also features the late Adrian Waite, former chief executive of the Business Village, in a memorial segment.

3. 

   14 Nov 2024

   The Business Village People Podcast S2 E7 "I really wanted to be Carl Fogarty, but my mum said no!."

   This is a Pod One production. For more information, visit Pod One. Co. Uk. This is the Business Village People Podcast.  Hello, I'm David Markwell. And welcome, welcome, welcome to the Business Village People Podcast. This is episode seven. In this Podcast, we showcase stories from the company's service providers and staff at the business village in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Well, if you're ready, let's go. In this episode, we meet Karen Greenwood from Newable, a non-bank lender.  Newable was founded in 1982  as the Greater London Enterprise by a number of London Borough Councils to help companies with funding. And today, they also have more than a finger or two in the business village pie as well. In the past, Karen has worked for banks and independent lenders  and has provided funding ranging from 8, 000 to purchase a second-hand car to a multi-million pound deal. Which you'll hear about shortly. Here's Karen's story. I work at Newable Commerce and currently head up the credit and risk team. Newable Commerce was created 40-odd years ago by the London Borough Councils um, designed to service the SME market because they were underserved in many areas. So Newell has effectively three divisions, uh, workspace, advice, and lending, and it was designed to take in a One man band who needed an office for the day or a desk or a meeting room, give them advice on how to break into new markets, uh, how to achieve new customers, and then how to fund his work and capital. And we do exactly the same thing today from the little One man band through to businesses that turn over 10 to 20 million pounds. Could you help out a little Podcasting business in Barnsley?  Quite possibly, we could help out a little Podcasting business in Barnsley. This One, we do have One caveat. So Nouveau Commerce is One of the divisions in Lending. We've been set up to help export in SMEs. Um, it's a part of the market we feel is very much underserved. In our advice division, we've had the International Trade Advisors in there. So we've got some experienced people behind the scenes that can help and direct, as well as things like DBT and UK Export Finance. Um, they're saying from our side, we look at finding different ways to find the right solution depending on what size of the exporting business is and what they're trying to achieve. So we've got some existing exporters and we've got some who are new to exporting. When I was reading the web page and the stuff that you sent through to me, it's straight out with the top of my head. How did you start in this business and why? Oh, goodness me. So I came through a traditional banking route many, many years ago, um, because I wanted to work in the small to mid market section. Didn't want to go into corporate banking where the big boys are because quite frankly, they're, they're really easy decisions to make. The difference is that we help the SMEs. Um, as I knew, but we're set up to help the SMEs, which really attracted me, um, into the job. Um, we've gOne from the last three years to no lending to offering under the recovery loan scheme and launching the growth guarantee screen, which is now replaced the recovery loan scheme. And we obtained our accreditation on UK export finance scheme. I'm very proud of that actually, because it took us two and a half years and we're the only non bank lender on the scheme. And the whole point is we are the Ones that's there to try and support the SMEs. Um, One of my favorites. Well, it's not my favorite, but it's One of my favorite to remind people of how desperate the need is for the SMEs is that SMEs in this country export compared to 44 percent in Germany. You know, we're supposed to be a nation of small businesses and the small businesses today become the medium sized businesses tomorrow and the big businesses thereafter.  And I genuinely feel that they're not helped sufficiently by people with the expertise and knowledge, the ability to signpost and network people, or just understand what challenges they face. So this is why I came into it. And I absolutely love it. We've got 200 clients on our books in two years time. Um, we are the biggest lender by number of clients on the UK expertise. What finance scheme, which I say I'm very proud of because we can see we make a difference. We don't just provide funding which is used in day to day working capital. We've  provided funding that's being used for recruitment for expansion  for developing new products, a lot of green technology. So we really make a difference. I love it. What's the marketplace like for non bank lenders? Is it a particularly big market or? It's huge. So currently, as I said, we have 200 clients in our box in two years time, and we have huge growth ambitions. We've carried out research that we believe there's currently about 300, 000 SMEs in the UK that could actually  be supported through our range of cash flow solutions. Can I just stop you there? If you even What did you say? 300, 000? 300, 000,  And if you think, you know, our client base, we're scratching the surface and, well, not even scratching the surface. Um, and I find that quite frightening that it is a huge marketplace, probably One of the biggest issues NESME, the experts, have.  Has to face is convincing people that they're a robust business and the exporting doesn't make them a higher risk. Um, you know, from outside, I look at an exporting businesses, far more robust, far more sophisticated because I understand the challenges that they go through. They have so many challenges. so much administration to deal with, they have to understand the rules and regulations in every single country. Um, and, and that amount of knowledge and expertise, it takes years to, to build up and actually fight your way through all of that to then actually be able to go and sell something abroad. So I've got a lot of respect and admiration for exports and SMEs. I really do. So what would happen if somebody knocked on your door  and said, um, We need some help. What can you do for us?  So we, we have a small team here. Uh, we have a small team currently of 14. And what would happen is One of the relationship managers at the front end would speak to the business, get to know them, understand what they're trying to achieve, understand what their challenges are and how they wish to face it. And particularly if it's from a lending side and a funding side.  Work a solution to cover that challenge and hopefully get them to where they want to be. We've got a number of businesses that come to us because they're growing. They won a new contract and it's a step change. And the issue they found when they've gOne to the banks, if they can get them to talk to them, is that their previous financial history doesn't support lending them more mOney because they're not big enough. And that's where we come in, you know, we like to support the growing businesses. We look forward, we look at what their contracts are coming in, we understand what the cash flow is going forward may be, and we put together a solution that works for everybody.  What's Newable's connection with the business village? So, Newable owns, uh, the Barnsley Innovation Centre, would you believe? Da da da da da da da!  We'll get these windows cleaned, quite frankly.  So our advice division, which I mentiOned previously, um, there's an agreement that predates myself being a Newable, this is how old it is, that, uh, apparently they set up the innovation centre with, uh, Barnsley Council and our advice division. And ultimately they effectively inherited the business village. So some of my colleagues, I believe, are based there and you probably see them walking around, um, day to day. Um, I'm obviously not a million miles away because I'm a Sheffield girl. But yes, so we actually own the premises and we own the business center. So, you know, if there's somebody that you want to talk to, if a member of the team or a member of the vice is not there, you know, quite happily pick up the phOne to myself or the rest of my team around the country. So tell me about the five values. that you work to? And what do they mean?  Okay, so  Nuble has its own set of values. Um, it's the values that we find that our clients tend to work to. So we reflect that from our side, you know, we've got things like dream big, you know, we want ambitious businesses. Going back to my point where we're talking about businesses, you've won a new contract and looking for funding. We want to help them take that step along the next journey on the way, I should say on their journey to go this One. Um, you know, again, trying to, you know, be experts in our field. This is why we set up Newbill Commerce and why we're focused on a particular area of the market. We know that we've got expertise in house and we know that we've got contacts elsewhere that can help us to support and guide the business or signposting to other people who've got that knowledge and support. Um, and so our values, they reflect what we do. They reflect from where we come from. Ultimately, and so from setting out to helping the smaller SMEs to achieve their emissions, to achieve their drives and do things in the right way as well. You know, where Newable is, um, it's often described as a very grown up business. And I think it is. We are a bunch of people that want to sit here, want to talk to you, want to understand what challenge you're facing. And we want to help you. We don't want to try and put you into a round peg into a square hole sort of thing. Thank you. We want to deal with you as an individual because every business is different. So how did you get into the game of finance and working for banks? Was it a dream when you were at school in Sheffield and you thought, you know, that's where the mOney really is. That's what I want to do. Or do I just want to help businesses?  It wasn't my dream growing up. What was it? What was your dream? What was my dream? I either wanted to be a baker or I wanted to race motorbikes.  And unfortunately, my parents were dead set against me racing motorbikes. You know, Carl Fogarty on a Honda as he was before I went to Ducati was on my wall every day. My parents were very frightened that I was going to kill myself on a bike if I went down that road. And then I actually did my year at placement when I was doing my degree in Manchester at an IT technology company in their finance department. I thought, okay, I like some of this. But I don't want to go into accountancy. Um, and then when I was at university, I went to the milk rounds and went to see, obviously, the various companies that turned up. And there was One position available in Royal Bank of Scotland back in the days it was, which was in the credit side of the business. And it was talking about, well, how can you analyse a company? How do you understand it? And that appealed to my logic, as you were saying, trying to understand things built together. And then it was really nice, Sit there and talk about the new business and how it came in and go, well actually they're coming to you because they want to grow. 'cause they need funding for this. And it did. It genuinely appealed to me. They going, okay, I want to help here. So I stayed in the bank for four years and then I saw the light and I came out and went to work in the independent market where there's not less rules and regulations, but people are a little bit more human should we say, and have the time to sit there and talk to you. And it's not a case of an algorithm. Um, and yeah, I've built my career from there. So I've gOne through, um. Couple of different independent lenders to get to where I am. Uh, my, my biggest role was a ge uh, for 10 years I was there helping small businesses grow different types of funding. Then I went into Bibi, uh, was head of Trading International there for two years before I joined Nobel. And it, it just seems to be a progression that, you know, every job I go to, I, I take my experience, I take my values, I take my knowledge, and I put it to good use and I. Personally, I find I've taken the next step in in my enjoyment in my career because I help more and more companies every single time. Well, you said you wanted to be a baker. I suppose you're still out working with the dough.  Ha ha ha ha. Yeah.  Tell me exactly what your role is then as an underwriter. Okay. So, uh, when, uh, an application comes in, so it's been with a relationship manager, they've understood what the business is trying to achieve. Okay. They've shaped what they think is a suitable solution for the guys. They bring it and affecting to the credit team, which is what the underwriters look at. And we sit there and make sure number One is the right solution for the client. And number two, that we actually lending responsibly. So if we actually follow through and go, here's the funding that you need, here's the working capital to live that contract. Are we actually putting too much pressure on the business to deliver it? Because there's so many things that could go wrong. Um, again, we speak to the client. We understand, you know, what they want to achieve. We understand what they see as the risks in their business, but how they feel they've mitigated that. We take that all on board and then effectively we will go, okay, great, we want to support this. And then we go and sell it to UKEF. So we go to UK Export Finance. We tell them what we want to do. We tell them that we're putting our name to this and we're backing this business. And at which point UKF will hopefully agree to it. So currently I've got a 99 percent success rate. So there is a little 1 percent potentially where they have the right to say no. Um, but yeah, generally speaking, they come back and they support us. And at which point our relationships starts and we've got clients on our books since day One who keep coming back and renew with us and we keep doing more and more things with them, which is brilliant. Um, but yeah, so that's how it goes through. And then obviously when it's live in the books, we have the, the portfolio and I look after the portfolio as well at the back end. So if you've got any concerns, if you've got clients that want increases, things like that, they come back and they talk to us and we find again, the right solution at that point in time for them. What's the biggest deal you've dOne?  The biggest deal I did was 427 million, to be precise, and it was into a global car manufacturer to do, um, do company cars into the manufacturer itself, to do employee car schemes, which they offered to numerous companies around the country, um, to do their secondhand car dealership, uh, networks of nearly new cars, three to six months old, um, and also into daily rental business. What are your personal plans for the future? Personal plans for the future. So I have absolutely zero intention of leaving Newble. I have a fantastic team around me. I love every day, uh, coming to work because it's always something new. And the best part of my day is, is meeting new businesses, understanding what they do. It really floats my boat. Um, so personally, I've got, I've got no intention to say to leave. However, I want to help more.  We've got plans for new investors coming in any day, which means we've got more mOney to basically go out and support more companies. Um, so I'm desperate to disperse that. Um, I'm also trying to put pressure onto UK export buyers to tweak some of their conditions in their facilities, just to make it easier for us to lend to the businesses that are out there, rather than penalising those that have battened down the hatches and come through Covid. Um, and at some point I'd like to retire somewhere warm. Arizona most likely will be, and hopefully before I'm 97. Okay, well that's, that's going to be another 57 years at least!  It's a very dodgy signal, you can't see me, it's a filter. Okay, right, well I can see somebody. Are you from Sheffield, are you?  I am. I'm a Yorkshire lass, this One there, but born and bred, uh, moved down to Sheffield, goodness now, 20 years ago, but my family's still there. In fact, I'm coming back to Sheffield this evening for my dog after my mom's, yeah, because I've got a fun holiday tomorrow. Whereabouts in Sheffield? Greenwich side. Oh, right. Greenwich side. Proper side. You know, not totally and all that a lot. Oh, God, no, no. On way to Barnsley. This One. I, I've said probably always that bit. So, when I'm cracking my grandparents back in the day, they used to live around, so, Attercliffe and Darnall, where Norman Steel works and things like that. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, it's One of them. My parents kind of, sort of, That's basically they've got further and further out as it was. I think they just wanted a bit of peace and quiet. And then they got me. And did you ever manage to get on a motorbike? I have been on a motorbike on a few occasions. I've never been allowed to own my own. So my cousins have had bikes. Um, and friends of the family, very close Ones the family have. Um, so I've been out riding with those guys. But yes, I was well and truly banned from a motorbike by my mom. So what's, what's the future looking like for the company? So it's looking really, really rosy. Um, as I just mentiOned, we've got the investors coming in, which opens up a whole new raft of things. But Newble is It means we can start to work on expanding our solutions range, which hopefully we'll find more opportunities to go. This is what works for you as a business. We can help you and support you. Um, as where we currently stand and say that the client base is about 200,  we'd like to increase that to four or five times the size. We've got the resources. We've got the systems to deal with all that. We're just ready to scale and grow. Um, and also if it's not a case of just actually finding clients that we want to deal with ourselves, we also want to become, um, a trusted advisor, I suppose is the phrase I would use. When we have businesses that don't know where else to go, come and talk to us. It may not be me, but actually I probably know somebody because I've been around a while. And if I don't know somebody, I know somebody who will. So I can point business into whether it's Export Academy, because they want to do research on a new market that they're thinking entering, or the needs and support from DBT. Um, or if it's an international trade advisor, you know, we can start kind of mentoring relationships. NOne of that is my business, but actually, you know, I want to help and support other people. So if I can signpost people, I really will. If anybody's wanting to get in contact with you or your organization, how do they do it? So the easiest way is probably to go on to our website because the contact forms come directly into my team from there. So you can go on to commerce. newborn. co. uk. Or alternatively, if you want to send me an email, you can send it to karen. greenwood at noble. co. uk. Um, and I will deal with it or One of my team will deal with it. Karen, thank you for your time. You're very welcome. Now, now this business idea that I've got. Sorry, David, bit busy. I've got to go now. Bye. Oh, Karen. For all the latest news from the Business Village, subscribe to our free newsletter at business village. co. uk By the way, if you want to find out more about office rentals or the services available at the Business Village, call Barnsley 01226 249 590.  Finally, I'd just like to thank my guest, Karen Greenwood from Newable. I'm David Markwell, and this is Business Village. Is a Pod One creative audio production. Never miss an episode of the business village people Podcast. Simply subscribe and follow from wherever you get your Podcasts.

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