June 2, 2017, by The Ingenuity Lab

Model Students: One Year On

“There is no scientific answer for success. You can’t define it. You’ve simply got to live it and do it” – Anita Roddick

At The Ingenuity Lab, no day is the same and every member has a different story and requirements.  As a group, we support each other, collaborate and ensure we have as much fun along the day; creating a melting pot of ideas.

This week, we’re turning our attention to Ingenuity Lab member Anna Gray. We launched Inside the Ingenuity Lab with a feature on Anna, one of our longest-standing members, so let’s see how her entrepreneurship journey is going one year on…

Full name: Anna Gray

Age: 29

Nationality: British

Company: Model Students

What did you study at The University of Nottingham?

I graduated in Management Studies in 2010.

What made you want to be an entrepreneur?

I always wanted to set up my own business. When I was younger I was inspired by Anita Roddick setting up The Body Shop, I thought she was a wonderful person. I was also very passionate about fashion and loved Vivienne Westwood’s story and business.

What is your business concept?

We are a Nottingham model agency that specifically represents students. We find fun, flexible, part-time work for students. At the same time, we provide models for companies at affordable rates.

What stage are you currently at in setting up your company?

We have been in business for over five years now. I would say we are still a start-up, but a stable start-up that has shown significant growth over the past few years.

Jose, Anna and Pauline – the team who keep Model Students achieving amazing results!

What have you achieved since our last blog about Model Students?

Since we last caught up, we have more than doubled our turnover on last year and we have offered Jose a contract for next year. Jose is a University of Nottingham graduate that we took on in January 2016 to work full-time as a model booker in London for us.

We have also picked up some great new clients over the past twelve months, including Lulu Guiness, Just Hype and John Smedley. We have also had a model walk in a show for Ian Stuart.

How has being an Ingenuity Lab member helped you?

This year, I feel the sense of community and support at The Ingenuity Lab has been a great asset to all members. I think we see each other a lot more, know more about each others’ businesses, and help each other out when we can.

What are your goals for the rest of 2017?

We aim to double our turnover again, to build our relationships with existing clients and hopefully gain some new ones. We also aim to build our relationship with our models, provide more training for them, and deliver a higher-quality service to both our models and clients.

Good luck to Anna and the rest of the Model Students team with the rest of 2017. If you would like to find out more about the work they do, please visit their website.

We’d also like to thank all of our readers for engaging with our blogs and keeping our blog-writing team company! If you have any article suggestions, please email the team at ingenuitylab@nottingham.ac.uk!

If you would like your business idea to be where Anna’s is in five year’s time, why not become a member of The Ingenuity Lab? Find out about membership options and how you can turn your entrepreneurial dream into a reality here.

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