"At the end of the year of their apprenticeship they’ll have a
qualification and a set of skills that will
enable them to make the choice either to stay in
employment or start their own business."
Penny values the relationships with her
husband Thomas (right) and her children, Ross,
Hannah and TJ (pictured below).
trade with one another across the world?” That was the birth of a whole new business: Ecademy. "It was born as a totally altruistic little thing I could do from home. Wouldn’t it be nice to support other people like me to learn how to do this?" Penny received a massive boost to her plans when an investor offered £250 million to develop the idea of Ecademy. As part of the deal, Penny ensured that she would be able to retain her autonomy to build the business and maintain her relationship with her children. "It grew and grew until we were in 200 countries with 650,000 members. It was fantastic and members paid £10 a month to join." As the market for social networks changed, with the advent of Facebook and LinkedIn, Penny found it increasingly hard to make the network stay profitable, and so last year she sold it. This was not the end of her involvement in IT and education. On the back of her experiences in the social networking world, she had written a book called “Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me” that attracted the attention of Mark Prisk, then Minister for Business, who invited her to advise him on digital content and strategies for businesses. It was both a validation and an opportunity. She compiled a Manifesto for Digital Business in Britain, advocating embedding
young people who have grown up as "IT natives" in businesses as apprentices and created an apprenticeship scheme which is now being licensed throughout the country and globally. "At the end of the year of their apprenticeship they’ll have a qualification and a set of skills that will enable them to make the choice either to stay in employment or start their own business." So what does business learn from her apprentices? A whole new way of thinking, it seems. "The culture of going online and being social means you have to be open, random and supportive to people. That’s a network thinking culture - the culture of being a friend online. Business people come from being closed, selective and controlling, so they come from opposite directions." Penny explains that being closed is more task driven, while being open is more relationship driven. And networking is how to build business. Coming from someone who discovered that a packet of Tunes can swing a major deal, it makes complete and utter sense. So what is it that Penny Power wants most of all? She thinks a moment, before answering: "That business people are more collaborative and supportive and loving towards one another."
That's quite an aspiration! b
Buy Penny Power's book "Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me: What Online Social Networking Means for You and Your Business" from www.thebestyou.co
Penny Power At A Glance
• Born in 1964 to a businessman • Did not "fit in" at school • Wanted to be a physiotherapist • By chance worked in telesales • Realised relationships were at the heart of sales
• By 24 became a major marketing director
• At 28 became a full-time mum • Ran a network of agents selling PCs
• Started the Ecademy, one of the world's first social networks
• Hopes to promote a more collaborative form of business