The diabolical mess that is business start up funding
Have you thought of starting up a business in the recession? Got some ideas, done some research and now want to start your business?
Well don’t start it in the UK, we are clearly not equipped to deal people wanting to start a business.
As some of you may know, I worked on the New Deal projects when they were first launched over 10 years ago.
I am tenacious by nature and I want to get things done and if someone wanted to work, I was going to help them. What was available back then, was better than what is available now. I mention tenacity, because when starting a business you need this in abundance and as an advisor to people who wanted to start businesses, I immersed myself in what was available and what you had to do to get these grants.
To be on New Deal you 
had to be unemployed for 18 months, as an adult (and aged over 25), so any savings nest egg would be depleted. A loan impossible – what bank would give a loan to someone who hasn’t worked for at least 18 months? The amount of money that a benefit claimant gets the newspapers would have you believe is huge, it isn’t enough to have savings with. Grants and training funds were the only way forward.
I did 6 weeks of research and spoke to many people in the business funding arenas.
If you were under thirty, or 30 but it was before a certain date in July, then the Prince’s trust would try to help. Try. They did a very good job, rarely did I have someone returned to me as not successful from the Prince’s Trust. Providing they met the age criteria, they focused on the younger generation, and with a few other parameters that needed to be met, they did a fantastic job.
Then there was the Leonard Cheshire Trust, they helped the over 50′s, they had a few other criteria such as locations etc but they were very helpful and very supportive.
Then there was/is Business Link. Remember I am not allowed to liable or slander on a blog, I can only offer my opinions based on my experiences. In two years I got over 1000 people back into work and not one was through assistance provided by Business Link. Now, not all people in my thousand were wanting to be self employed, 250 did though. A quarter of my caseload that went into work, went into self employment/running their own business. Not for the lack of trying may I add, I tried very hard.
I have to give a mention here to the normal ‘bad guy’ in the scenario, Job Centre Plus (JCP+). Three very special people, Martyn Chambers, Matt Brady and Kirsty Steel. If there was a way to help someone, these guys helped me pull out all of the stops to make it happen. It was through them I learned about discretionary funding that JCP+ could provide given evidence to support the person. All of a sudden I was able to tap into a small fund to help those people who were between 30 and 50 years old and completely cut off from mainstream funding! Woo Hooo.
People who needed tools to start up got it, people who needed a small bit of equipment got it, we are not talking a huge amount of money here – the maximum was £250 per head and each person was evaluated individually. Working with Matt, Kirsty and Martyn really made a difference to these people’s lives. They went on to employ people, to become independent business people, contributing to their communities once more.
Remember that, 10 years ago, £250 and 4 people who are not looking to change the world but change lives.
As we have seen with Our Girls, changing a life does not have to cost a lot.
So 10 years on, how do we compare? Part two in a few days…
About Sarah ArrowSarah Arrow is the managing editor of Birds on the Blog, in real life she is the communications director of a same day courier service. She is an enthusiastic UK based pro-blogger and co- author of the soon to be published Zero to Blogger
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3 Responses to The diabolical mess that is business start up funding
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Hi Sarah,
Very interesting blog. I have had dealings with all of them.
JCP what a load of unnecessary red-tape and can be very frustrating UNLESS you have a person like yourself and the 3 others you mentioned. The jobcenter in Poole was hopeless most of the staff where very unhelpful and it seemed that in most case they couldn't care UNTILL we found a lady pulling out all the stops to help us get self employed and working on contracts she was amazing and did this all selflessly to help us and people in our position.
Now I do think that a large amount can be put to blame on the people visiting and not really wanting a job and just going there because they have to or pick up there giro etc. I have seen to much of these people moaning about not working and then when a job comes along the make comments like I'm not doing that gotta get up to early not enough money to many hours isn't that a job for immigrants etc. which can have a effect on the staff.
Prince's Trust in my PERSONAL experience they where useless the people I spoke to didn't have a clue and when I found out what I needed to deliver (business plan etc.) and did after several long days getting everything ready they just looked at me said no because they had people who needed it more and after some digging around I did not qualify as I did not have a criminal record and have not been to jail so I would not need as bad as they would??? Up until this day I still hold the opinion that if your not a ex-criminal then no help from the Princes Trust.
NOW before any of you have a go at me for the last statement you have to understand that when you are in a position where you are doing everything you can to make a living for your family and then hear that you cant get the grant/loan because several young guys have just come out of prison and need a helping hand to start their own business. How would you feel?
Ok Business Link never have I had any sound business advice or a positive response to my situation. Ces and I started up 7 years ago in Poole where we encounter PT JCP and BL from the very first start when I went to BL showed them our plans and ideas where we needed investment how the investment would be paid back a scheme to employ people everything from a 3 ,month to a 5 year plan.
This is what they said:
Good luck with that as their is now market nor funds available to help people LIKE you????
When I asked what they meant with LIKE me they did not answer nor support me nor try and point me in the right directions.
I think that everyone will have a story to tell about these companies and would love to hear them.
Sarah people like you who do care about the person in front of you and do try to help are far and few in between Ces was like that when she worked for the CSA and do believe that these jobs are getting harder because the people who ruin this for the good guys are getting lazier, ruder and less bothered.
Catch up soon
Jay x
It's only the tip of the iceberg here Jay, I just wanted to set the scene
There are so many people who just clockwatch, and they need careers advice as they are clearly not happy doing what they do.
I wonder just how much talent we waste as the funds are not available for 'our types of business', and if the new government will make significant changes?
I didn't mention here one of the much hated quangos, the TECs. TEC funding was available for many small niches (well it was through London East TEC) and their disintegration was a bad move in my eyes.
Don't even get me started on this one
The number of hoops we jumped through for various start up schemes – and got nowhere. The only offer we had was for a grant to paint our building – d'oh we were a software company in virtual offices.
There was one grant for funding some sales and marketing consultancy to help launch an innovative product – something we could really have found useful. We spent about three months filling in various forms, supplying plans and project plans and everything. Then at the mast minute we were turned down because it was only available for new projects. It was a new project – but apparently it was software therefore it didn't count as new. We would have had to be launching some kind of new product for say the cosmetics industry, or something.
Business Link were a mixed blessing. We had some really bad experiences with them at first, when they just seemed to want to sell us their own services. But we did eventually get some very helpful time with an adviser who actually had experience in setting up software companies.