One of Britain’s most successful female entrepreneurs, Kavita Oberoi, visited Blackburn to give local business owners and managers her impression of the challenges, risks and rewards of launching a business for the first time.

In her leadership masterclass – entitled 'Going It Alone', she recounted the decisions that had led her to leave a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry in 2001 and to set up her own IT and business healthcare consultancy.

Kavita, who has since appeared on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire programme, told the gathered audience that, in terms of her business life, going it alone was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

The event was organised by Enterprise4All and held at Blackburn College’s University Centre as part of LEAD – an intensive ten-month leadership development programme supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA.)

It was attended by representatives of around 50 businesses from across the North West.

In her presentation, Kavita examined many practical issues – including keeping a tight rein on cash flow and using the balance book to monitor progress against the business plan – but she also discussed how leadership qualities could make a fundamental difference to the way in which an organisation develops.

She said that success could be driven by many things – "desperation, inspiration or aspiration" – but that having the right mindset was always vital for achieving it.

"Leadership is often about turning challenges into opportunities," she said.

"You need to visualise success if you’re going to make it happen, you need to stay fully aware of what’s going on around you and, above all, you need faith in yourself. That belief – that passion, is something you can share with your clients and it’s something that will help you to overcome almost any barrier."

Enterprise4All’s chief executive Ilyas Munshi attended the masterclass.

He said: "The reaction to Kavita’s presentation was really positive and enthusiastic.

"Kavita has clearly been on a challenging but very rewarding journey and she has given us all a clear and compelling idea of what can be achieved with energy, commitment and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I’d like to thank her for her excellent presentation, which I hope will inspire many other local people to embark on the same personal journey."

Companies wishing to find out more about Enterprise4All’s work on the LEAD programme should call Business Link North West on 0845 00 66 888 or visit www.businesslinknw.co.uk/lead and select Enterprise4All from the list of providers.