There’s so much doom and gloom about, whether it’s the economic crisis, the government’s decision making – or even the weather, and what other nation spends so much time talking about that? It’s time to look at something more positive – the untapped potential we have in our population.
Getting a business off the ground can be scary, exciting, risky, financially challenging and stressful. Some people are natural entrepreneurs and jump right in, but there are many more who have great ideas, but are less confident about getting off the starting blocks. And that’s where Smarter Britain comes in.
What is Smarter Britain?
The company came about as a result of my frustration at seeing young people who felt they did not have access to a stable career. This may because of poor academic results, a lack of local opportunities, poor advice or many other reasons.
I speak at schools and other venues, often in deprived areas, where young people would voice their frustration at a lack of local career opportunities. My response was to say, then make your own. Start your own business – employ yourself!
In South Africa I was an early stage advisor to the Angels Resource Centres (www.angelsinc.co.za) which is a professional organisation focused on developing entrepreneurs, normally in economically poor communities. They have done an amazing job, providing essential business training to 15,000 first time business founders who in turn provide commercial activity and jobs in their community.
Using the learnings from The Angels, we have developed Smarter Britain (www.smarterbritain.co.uk). We aim to offer a wide range of services from the most basic advice on setting up a business, through support specialists and experienced entrepreneurs who are able to help new businesses with all aspects of their development. In addition, we’re helping to educate the young people in Britain about career paths that most careers advisors don’t discuss.
Our vision is to help to create 1,000 new businesses in 1,000 days – challenging, but I believe achievable.
We have presented workshops to groups of young people in schools and are building a technology platform which will provide free support to every budding entrepreneur, regardless of age or experience. The feedback has been fantastic and exciting.
How to get involved
If you would like to help us to inspire and develop the next generation of business owning entrepreneurs drop me a line to kevin.gaskell@smarterbritain.co.uk. We are aiming to build a commercial force to drive Britain forward. Your country needs you!