Huddersfield’s Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award winner 2015
HRH The Duke of York congratulates Katie Mallinson
Wed, 25 Mar 2015 16:00:00 GMT
Power of the pen – graduate entrepreneur Katie Mallinson’s fresh approach to PR brings clients from home and abroad
THE UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield hosted The Duke of York Young Entrepreneurs Awards on Wednesday 25 March. These annual awards are presented to a graduate or student business from each of the 10 Yorkshire universities.
The winner from the University of Huddersfield is graduate Katie Mallinson, who started her own business, Scriba PR, in 2013, providing a bespoke copywriting and PR consultancy service. “It is a real honour to have been chosen as a Duke of York Young Entrepreneur winner. There are so many inspiring businesses in our region so it is a proud moment to have been recognised for doing something a little different.”
In an often overcrowded market Katie Mallinson has found a niche in the UK PR sector by turning complex briefs into reality for industries as diverse as construction, recycling, engineering and even mobile app development.
Offering a “fresh approach to public relations”, word of mouth and customer retention has played a key role her success. “Most of my clients are gained from referrals from existing customers,” says the young entrepreneur.
Scriba PR works with a growing number of clients both locally and further afield, including Austrian-owned UNTHA, who manufacture high-value machinery for the recycling industry.
Huddersfield-born Katie also works with businesses in her hometown, including electrical engineering company Ti Installations, who provide security, electrical and audio systems, and mobile app designers and developers Common Agency. And she goes the extra mile by spending “quality time with each client”, often working as an extension of their team by helping them to meet their business objectives.
Working within such specialist industries means that Katie has to “develop a granular knowledge of each business”, in order to provide a personal level of service.
Support and guidance
Graduating in 2008 from the University of Huddersfield with a degree in Business Management, she then went on to work for a Leeds-based PR agency, a role secured during her university placement year. By 2013, she had reached the position of account director and it was then that she decided to strike out on her own.
Setting up a new business can be a challenge and support and guidance during those early days was vital. Katie decided to return to her university and gain advice from the Enterprise Team. The team works with current students and graduates within the first five years of leaving the University, providing support for those who have business or self-employment propositions. Their experienced business advisors are able to provide one to one support as well as a base in the state-of-the-art facilities at The Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Centre, located in the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre.
“I was really lucky that I qualified for business support just one week before the five-year deadline,” said the 29-year-old. “Working at The Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Centre was a great start for me as I was able to get the support and guidance I needed during the first 12 months of my new business. I was reluctant to leave at first as I’d been there since the start of Scriba PR, but it has given me the confidence to grow and expand the business.”
The Young Entrepreneur Centre was opened by HRH The Duke of York in May 2013. The centre provides office facilities for current students and graduates starting out with new enterprises and includes hot desks, computers, printers, photocopying and meeting areas.
With a start-up fund of £2,400, Katie was able to purchase everything from business cards to CIPR membership as well as being able to attend training events.
In September 2014, Katie relocated her business to the Heritage Exchange in Lindley, Huddersfield. She now employs another member of staff and has plans to expand her team further.
New challenge
Having gained valuable experience by mentoring placement students during her time working in Leeds, Katie is able to draw on the skills she gained by now mentoring her own staff. “It was daunting at first, like any new challenge, but I now have a great new addition to the team with the right attitude and approach,” added Katie.
When asked about her future ambitions for the business Katie is keen to point out that she does not want to become another large PR agency, but would rather retain the personal level of service a smaller consultancy like Scriba PR can provide.
Having attended the ‘Ask the Expert’ sessions run by the University’s Enterprise Team as a student, Katie now finds herself adopting the role of the expert having recently attended her first event providing advice and guidance to current students and graduates looking to start their own businesses.
Katie also continues to maintain strong links with the University as a member of the Management Department’s Advisory Panel providing a graduate’s perspective. She also hopes to recruit a placement student from the University to work as part of her team, an experience she considers to be valuable for both the student and the business.
- Further information about Scriba PR can be obtained via Twitter at @scribapr
