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August 2013 |
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Enterprise corner
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are meeting what they’re supposed to. Ultimately it comes down to whether
we’ll continue to be funded – and if the service is cut, that doesn’t meet
anyone’s needs’, while others commented that disinvestment was already
happening.
There were also significant problems around recruiting specialist GPs,
Martin Weatherhead told the event. ‘The areas where you have the most
problems recruiting doctors are deprived areas. Doctors are herd animals –
they’ll go where the herd is grazing. There’s a huge recruitment crisis in
general practice – the GPs who are working are overwhelmed and the last
thing they want to do is make their lives even more difficult by working with
people with substance problems.’
Risk was often used as an excuse not to act, commented one delegate.
‘Senior politicians need to have the ability to trust people to deliver, so they
can prove the impact. You’ve got to protect your funding streams, but there’s
no trust that things will actually be delivered. There’s got to be a better way
than just telling us to tick boxes.’
‘You have to bring hope and aspiration into it,’ said John Devitt. ‘If you can’t
do that – because you’ve had a crap day or whatever – then you’re messing with
people’s lives and you shouldn’t be in this profession. We’re defining people by
their symptoms, so you’re not designing the system for individuals. The key is
personalisation – you’re providing a service here. It’s a privilege to be looking
after these clients, and if you really believe that you’ll get the results.’
DDN
serVe
‘The key thing is to
stop bringing people
into services...
Take the services
into the community.’
BRIAN HINDMARCH
ENTERPRISE CORNER
A TALE OF TWO
ENTREPRENEURS
Nola and Jackie are living proof that you can
turn life’s adversities into business opportunities,
says
Amar Lodhia
OUR VISION STATEMENT GUIDES OUR WORK:
‘Our vision is to create an enterprising and
entrepreneurial society that does not hold
people back from becoming successful.’
When you hear from people like Nola and
Jackie you feel that we all can bridge the gap
between aspiration and inspiration and you
reiterate the fact that we all can make an
impact and a difference in people’s lives. Lest I
bore you with my motivational talk, let me
delve more into the real stars of this tale, Nola
and Jackie – two of the participants from our
City of London E=MC
2
programme.
When Nola left prison, she came back home and looked for a job to no
avail, but since she joined the TSBC programme she has started her own
business, an initiative to get ex-offenders into work, called ‘Wanna work’.
When Nola completed her prison sentence, she came back home and
looked for a job to no avail. She believed she was being stereotyped by
employers because of her past criminal history, then thought: ‘I have
served my time and I am a better person but why does society want to hold
me back?’
In her new life chapter, TSBC’s E=MC
2
programme has inspired her to
start her own community interest initiative for those who have left prison
and are searching for work. ‘I think the course is excellent, well delivered
and practical learning models were used,’ she said. ‘I have been able to put
my ideas into practice and make steps towards starting my own business.’
We see a serial entrepreneur in the making, as Nola has several other
start-ups in the pipeline, including an organic food catering business.
Jackie had been unemployed for years after she had finished serving her
probation and was on benefits. However unhappy, she continued teaching
drama classes to children, although she knew she had more to offer society.
She was invited to the TSBC E=MC
2
programme by a friend and it
created a world of hope and opportunities for her. She has started her baby
clothing business and has stopped collecting benefits. ‘I enjoyed the fact
that E=MC
2
helped me to push myself a lot and gain more business skills,’
she said.
Jackie’s future is filled with aspiration and hope. She now feels
independent and in control of her future, and is not dependent on
government benefits or even employment anymore. She is very excited
about her baby clothing manufacturing business. She has her business
plan, design prototype and the support of her TSBC mentor, and is ready to
take on the world.
To enquire more about our work please contact me at ceo@tsbccic.org.uk
and follow me on Twitter @amarlodhia or @tsbclondon – don’t forget to use
the #tag DDNews when tweeting!
Amar Lodhia is chief executive of The Small Business Consultancy CIC
(TSBC), thesmallbusinessconsultancy.co.uk