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NEW VENTURE WILL PUT WIRRAL’S
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS INTO BUSINESS
A major new venture has been launched on Wirral to inspire and
support the next generation of young entrepreneurs.
As the region begins to count the cost of the coronavirus pandemic,
with thousands of jobs already lost and yet more predicted to
come, young people are being given a chance to create their own
livelihoods – by becoming their own business owner.
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy concept, to be piloted on
Wirral, is the brainchild of Sandra Kirkham, an entrepreneur whose
vision for a robust economy has always focused on unity in local
communities, with business leaders using their expertise to set
young talent on the road to employment.
She has teamed up with two other well-known local business leaders,
Paula Basnett, CEO at Wirral Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
and Jonathan Quinn, managing director at Wirral-headquartered
Quinnovations.
All three entrepreneurs are passionate about making a difference
and are giving their time freely to seeing this project succeeds.
Sandra said: “Parts of Wirral, Birkenhead in particular, have a
disproportionate number of disadvantaged young people who have
always faced barriers to employment. The jobs situation is bad and
sadly could get worse. The talent, skills and new ideas are out there
– all it needs is to be noticed and for those who want to carve a
career for themselves by running their own business to have the
right people behind them to turn a dream into reality. It’s a case of
capturing the vision then, with guidance, putting it into place.”
To kick-start the pilot project, young people from Wirral who have
ideas for their own business, but need help along the way, are being
called upon to record a brief video about themselves and their plans
ahead of discussions with a panel of local entrepreneurs who have
“been there and done it”.
All they need to set them off is to be aged between 16 and 24, have
a passion to succeed, believe in their ideas, be open to feedback,
be prepared to learn about business and to work tirelessly on their
ideas.
In return, they will receive practical help, advice and guidance
in essential areas such as finance, tax and VAT, marketing, new
technology, company law, recruitment and they will be matched
with experienced entrepreneurs who may ultimately look to invest
in their businesses in the future.
Sandra, named as one of the UK’s most inspirational leaders with
her inclusion in the acclaimed national list of Faces of a Vibrant
Economy, continued: “I constantly hear about young people who
have a passion for music, dance, technology, health and fitness, food,
fashion, hair and beauty and believe they can make a living out of
things they simply love to do.”
Jonathan added: "I was pretty much like them when I started my
business journey – I had the ideas but hadn’t a clue about business
ethics or putting something like a business plan together. I would
have benefited immensely from this type of support and this is
where we can succeed with our disadvantaged young people to help
make them self-sufficient so that, once they become established,
they can begin to employ others and start to turn the wheels of the
local economy. The current UK economic crisis is reported to be
pushing an additional 600,000 young people into unemployment in
the current year, causing long-term damage to their pay and future
job prospects."
Paula is only too aware of the impact of these statistics on the local
economy and said: “By learning how to create their own business,
they’ll be taking small steps to turn their passions and interests into
money-making concerns and create their own prosperity. By taking
control of their own destinies, their hard work and ingenuity will
help to keep alive their own Wirral communities which have been
so badly affected over the years by recessions and unemployment.”
The trio are also looking for experienced entrepreneurs willing to
have a practical input and happy to give their time into supporting
young people with their new ventures. Their role, as experienced
entrepreneurs, will be to professionally connect with the aspiring
business owners and share their knowledge and business journeys
with them.
Sandra concluded: “Wirral has a strong network of professionals
operating across many different fields whose knowledge is going to
be vital in giving these young people the confidence to start out on
their own. I’m sure many will identify with them their own very
early start-up days and will be able to relate to the ups, downs,
passions and problems of the road leading to success.”
Applicants should send the videos of themselves and their business
ideas by email to [email protected]. Experienced entrepreneurs
are also requested to register their interest in the project by email
to [email protected]. Closing date for round one applications is
Friday, August 28. Successful candidates will be contacted to confirm
a time and date to meet the entrepreneurs at Egerton House, Tower
Road, Birkenhead.
6 wirrallife.com