A lot has happened in 25 years, the world has changed in numerous ways since 1994 and it’s difficult to say what has had the most impact.
The launch of the World Wide Web, the birth of my only son Daniel and developing Crohn’s disease are probably the three most important ones to me.
In 1994 I never imagined 25 years later that I would be managing a successful Business Centre in Darlington, the internet would be so involved in all our lives and my son would be working alongside me in our team.
I wanted to be a nurse or a teacher when I was younger…. I know, you couldn’t get much further away from that in my current role!
However, as part of The North East Business & Innovation Centre we really do care about our clients and their business’s and we try to help add to their knowledge with the events and workshops that we run, so some elements are similar.
The internet and technology in that 25 years has given us so many new ways to communicate with our clients and to make new contacts that it’s difficult to imagine when everything was done by fax, phone and paper and the mobile phones were as large as the laptops we use now. But that’s how it was, and looking forward now it’s hard to know how anyone will manage without their mobile, their iPad or face recognition in 25 years time.
In 2044 when it’s our 50th anniversary I will be 70 (so hopefully quietly retired). The BIC, I am sure, will have continued to roll alongside the next generation of start-ups and SME companies in the North East providing help and support in new ways, with new topics and new issues of concern. Everything we do as part of this team is to maintain and help sustain the fantastic ideas and work ethic that exists in the North East and long may that continue.
The example set by those who started the BIC has always been that our mission is to build success in the North East region through knowledgeable, independent, inspirational, people. Today that’s no different, and wherever you are in the North East, even if it’s just a chat or an event you attend, then it’s worth making the most of all that experience.
So don’t miss out….take a look at what NEBIC has to offer as who knows where you could be in 25 years time!