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At the first meeting of the original ambassadors, James Caan, Bev James and Duncan Cheatle greeted the ambassadors in London at a roundtable discussion.

Here, each of the 12 shared their stories. They discussed how they had set up their businesses, the stage they were currently at and what their future plans were. Jodie says she was astounded by the level of ambition in the room, as well the incredible businesses her fellow ambassadors were building.

After each had shared their story, the ambassadors were asked how many of them had a parent who had also started their own business. Jodie raised her hand, because her mum has been self-employed for as long as she can remember. She thought there would only be a few people with similar experiences, but to her surprise, 11 out of the 12 ambassadors raised their hands.

Jodie realised that this circumstance isn’t uncommon, and it got her thinking that role models are incredibly important when someone is making the decision to start a business. The role model doesn’t have to be a parent, it could be a friend, a mentor, or even someone in the media.

On this theme, Jodie recently gave a TEDx talk at Aston University where she talked about enterprise education, role models, and the importance of organisation’s like The Start Up Loans Company in preparing new employers of the future.