Enterprising charity means business in helping start-ups

EVERYONE, it seems, fancies themselves as a budding entrepreneur these days.

Popular TV shows like Dragons’ Den, where business hopefuls pitch their ideas to a panel of sometimes unforgiving millionaires, and The Apprentice, featuring would-be captains of industry doing battle with one another for the chance to work with Lord Sugar, have given people the hope that they, too, can make it in the business world.

And why not? With the economy growing at a snail’s pace and jobs for life all but a thing of the past, the idea of running a business and being master of your own ship is an attractive one.

The Government certainly seems to think so. David Cameron’s enterprise adviser Lord Young wants the age cap for Start-Up Loans extended to the over-30s so that more young entrepreneurs can get their business ideas off the ground 
and help “fire up business” in 
the UK.

But what about those people who would like to start their own business but either can’t get a bank loan or don’t have the experience of running a firm? These are the kind of people being targeted by The Enterprise Foundation which launches in Leeds today.

Based at a business hub in the city, the new charity – set up by a group of successful entrepreneurs – wants to give the “disadvantaged” in society the opportunity to start their own businesses.

The charity’s initiative is targeting a range of different groups, including those under 30, the over 50s, the unemployed and disabled people as well as ex-service personnel and ex-offenders, who have a business idea but don’t know how to get started.

The foundation will offer fledgling businesses subsidised rents, as well as accounting lessons, marketing tips and a mentor, to enable them to get their new ventures off the 
ground.

The aim is that once established, the new businesses will then move out of the hub to make way for new start-ups to follow in their footsteps.

The Enterprise Foundation’s chief executive Keith Powney says the aim is to motivate people to set up their own company and ensure that fewer start-ups fail in their first year. “We want to make sure the start-ups have the very best chance of launching their own business and making a success of them over those early years.

“People from all backgrounds and age groups have great ideas and whether they are just out of education, looking for a job or wanting to be their own boss, we can help them,” he says.

It’s estimated that around a third of new businesses fail in the first three years, but The Enterprise Foundation, which plans to roll out similar hubs across the country over the next couple of years, believes it can make a real difference.

Some people might question whether now is the best time to launch something like this, when the economy is struggling and banks are being stricter about 
who they lend money to, but 
Dr Wayne Wright, an entrepreneur involved in the project, disagrees.

“Small businesses with nine 
or less employees make up around 95 per cent of businesses in the UK and Lord Young has written to us to offer his support for what we’re doing. So if we 
can boost this group then it can make a massive difference and help the country’s economy,” he says.

Leeds was chosen for the first of these new business hubs because of the contacts they have here. “We’ve got really strong relationships with the universities here, the colleges and the local authority and other support networks in the city.”

The idea is that business mentors will offer their time
 and expertise for free and 
provide guidance along the way. But Dr Wright says not everyone
is cut out to run their own business.

“Programmes like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice are very popular but not everyone can be an entrepreneur. You need 
to be resilient and to have the right mindset because you won’t make a pot of gold after one year, maybe after 30 years but not straight away. So people need to know what they are getting into and that’s where we come in,” 
he says.

“The aim is help people who are marginalised and give them a helping hand so that they aren’t dependent on the state. If we can give them a leg up and start a successful business then it can have a massive difference not just on individuals, but families and communities, and that’s what it’s all about.”

To find out more information log on to www.enterprisefoundation.net.