On Thursday 21st September, the Sixth Form were fortunate enough to be visited by Christine and Asher from Lola’s Cupcakes for their weekly speaker programme.

They presented a very engaging and interesting talk on the growth of the business and their ongoing focus on sustainability, a vital aspect to consider when developing creative enterprises and business. Asher talked us through a ‘business toolkit’, giving us the opportunity to come up with ideas for our own businesses, and Christine talked about her experience managing many of the stores. We learnt a lot about what it takes to manage a business and the importance of persevering even in times of failure.

At the end of the talk, we were surprised by a Lola’s Cupcakes van outside the school and we were allowed to pick a cupcake out of a wide variety of flavours! Thank you so much Asher and Christine, you can come back any time (hopefully with the cupcake van)!

Feedback from the talk has been universally fantastic. Quotes from the Sixth Form are below:

“Really engaging speakers and loved the personal photos as it really demonstrated the community at Lola’s!”

“I thought the talk was so clear and straight to the point. I really enjoyed it! I also thought it was nice to get to know about what really goes on behind the scene and yeah it was presented really well! the cupcakes were also really lovely :)”

“Very informative and provided excellent advice to aspiring entrepreneurs”

“It felt really valuable to gain insight into a business and how it runs from an honest viewpoint”

“I thought it was hugely insightful and was really detailed about how to manage all of the different business issues! Maybe could have focused a bit more on step by step the initial start up bit overall I loved it, thank you so much!”

“This was a really engaging and interesting talk.  It gave both insight and advice on challenges that come with businesses, as well commenting on rewarding aspects of running a business.  This talk also highlighted really relevant topics about the world today, such as sustainability and the importance of a sustainable business, as well as customer service and having a business rooted in providing handmade baked goods and always aiming to please their customer.”   

“Thank you so much!!!! Was so interesting and the cupcakes were delicious”

“I thought the talk was incredibly helpful and insightful. It taught me that to run a business, it requires hard work but also has many benefits of its own.”

“Loved the honesty when answering all the questions (regarding the big expenses, difficult times, water waste thing etc), and of course the cupcakes at the end!”

Millie Hildreth and Allegra Bryant, Sixth Form Enterprise Ambassadors