Archived news
Read archived news and information about the Ready to Start programme.
We are looking for the Future 100 young entrepreneurs
31 October 2008At Striding Out we are searching for talented young entrepreneurs aged 18-35 who are demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation in progressing a responsible business venture in the run up to Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008 - 17th to 21st November.
Global Entrepreneurship Week is looking to unleash people's enterprising ideas to address some of the society's biggest issues.....
Climate Change - Poverty - Gender Equality - Health
Why Enter?
The Future 100 entrepreneurs will be profiled as advocates for sustainable business practices within their industry and known for their entrepreneurial contribution to tackling social and environmental issues.
Being listed as one of the Future 100, will promote confidence amongst consumers and stakeholders in your ethical business practices, and give you a platform to further influence policy and progress your goals to contribute to a better economy, society and environment.
Take Action and APPLY
The deadline for entering the Future 100 is November 10th 2008. Visit www.future100.co.uk
ATTEND the Future 100 Event
To announce the Future 100 events, we are holding two profile events during Global Entrepreneurship Week 17th - 21st November in the North and South of England. Special guests from government, policy innovation and media will be invited to attend.
Tuesday 18th November - London - Hosted by the British Library Business and IP Centre - http://www.stridingout.co.uk/networking-events/london.html
Thursday 20th November - Liverpool - Hosted by Blackburne House http://www.stridingout.co.uk/networking-events/liverpool.html
BT Offers Ringing Endorsement
17 December 2008Up and coming entrepreneurs can take their ideas to the next level by winning a new £10,000 business development competition.
To mark the recent Small Business Week 2008 (13-20 October), BT Business - a branch of British Telecom – has launched a UK-wide search for the most inspiring start-up venture or innovative idea for a new product.
The BT Business Grant contest offers a £10,000 first prize to the contestant who is judged to be either:
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An entrepreneur with the best idea for a new start-up business.
Or
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An established business with an innovative idea for launching a new product or expanding into a new market.
Urging firms to enter the competition, BT Business managing director Bill Murphy said:
“The entrepreneurial spirit is so important for the UK economy and we at BT Business feel it’s vital to support the next generation of entrepreneurs by providing opportunities like this.”
Entries must be made online at the BT Business website by 31 December. Five finalists will be invited to attend an interview in London during January to discuss their ideas in greater detail, with the one lucky winner set to be announced on 28 February.
For more details on the contest and to enter before the 31 December closing date, visit the BT Business website
Make a Wave Awards
12 December 2008The Oguntê - UnLtd - Make A Wave Award is a "kickstart and thinking" scheme (worth up to £1000 in a combination of grant and training) made to women in the UK who can show that a very small amount of money, paired up with a resourceful brain, can be used to make a difference.
So, if you are an aspiring female social leader, if you haven't had the opportunity to shine yet and would like to pilot your project or your campaign, please apply!
We are looking for ideas that fit with the values of UnLtd's mission to reach out and unleash the energies of people who can transform the world in which they live. UnLtd call these people social entrepreneurs.
Your ideas need to be aligned with Ogunte's Women in Social Leadership vision: inspiration, entrepreneurship, networking, confidence, and sustainability.
Think about ways to generate income after your pilot to avoid reliance on grants.
DOWNLOAD Guidelines and Application forms
APPLICATIONS TIMELINE
Submit your application no later than Friday 12th December 2008. NOON (12pm GMT) Successful awardees will be notified by the end of January 2009.
Ready To Start is oversubscribed!
05 January 2009We're really sorry, but this means that from the 5th of January 2009 we will no longer be able to accept new applications, except from people living in South Wales where we still have some availability. If you would like further information or advice in starting up your business after January 5th, please contact Business Link at www.businesslink.gov.uk.
Startup Business of the Year
01 May 2008Startup Awards have launched their 2008 competition to spotlight the best of new businesses. 15 award categories include:
- Social enterprise of the year
- Innovative business of the year
- The Adversity Award
Prizes are £5,000 cash award plus publicity and recognition.
Closing date is 4th July 08
For more information contact http://www.startupsawards.co.uk/index.htm
Barclays Trading Places Awards 2008
01 April 2008Celebrating people who have changed their life by starting a business. Barclays Trading Places is a uniquely focused Awards for anyone who has taken up the challenge to change their life - by setting up a new business. Read more about the awards and find out how to enter by downloading the Barclays Trading Places Awards form or visiting www.barclays.co.uk/tradingplaces.
Ready to Start Networking Event - Go Networking!
01 March 2008Go Networking will be hosted by Business Link at the Mayfair Holiday Inn on Thursday 27th March 14:00-16.30. The event is for London Ready to Start Entrepreneurs and Buddies. It will be a long awaited opportunity to meet fellow entrepreneurs and buddies and to build new business contacts. Tea, coffee and a finger buffet will be available.
Business Link Business Advisers will be available to run 1-1 advice sessions for attendees; book your place when you arrive.
Invitations will be posted out week commencing 17 March; please RSVP to book your free place. We look forward to seeing you there.
CompeteFor Olympic Contracts
05 March 2009It is anticipated that between now and 2012 there will be up to 75,000 contracts available through the London2012 supply chain. These contracts will be from a wide range of industries from construction to hospitality.
CompeteFor has been developed to act like a 'dating' agency matching buyers throughout the 2012 supply chain with potential suppliers.
The service is open to all businesses but is specifically designed to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME's) to bid for contracts further down the 2012 supply chain.
For more information go to
https://www.competefor.com/london2012business/login.jsp
Barclays Trading Places Award 09
31 March 2009Barclays Trading Places Awards are for anyone who has changed their lives for the better by setting up a business. With a range of entry categories there is a share of £45,000+ of cash and prizes to be won. Historically, RTS entrepreneurs have done well in these awards. For more information contact http://barclays.co.uk/tradingplaces .
RTS Entrepreneur Awards
16 July 2009We are delighted to launch our own RTS Entrepreneur Awards to mark the end of the Ready to Start project!
The Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of the disabled entrepreneurs that have participated in this project, overcoming barriers and improving their lives to set up their own businesses. The focus of the Awards is the journey to becoming self-employed, rather than the immediate success of the business, and winners will be those people whose story most inspires the judges.
If you are a participant in Ready to Start, and have launched your own business, we want to hear your story.
With a regional prize of £500 for each of the eight regions we work in, plus an additional £1,000 for an overall national winner, this is also an opportunity for you to give your business a boost as well as gain some valuable publicity.
Additionally, one ‘Highly Commended’ winner in each region will also receive a certificate and be supported to achieve local publicity. All finalists will be invited to attend the end of project event at the House of Lords in October.
You can download a copy of the application form from the link on the front page of this website, at the Online Network http://readytostart.rowan.tincan.co.uk/?p=568, or alternatively email innovation@lcdisability.org or phone 0845 6 717173 for large print or hard copy version.
RTS national entrepreneur award winner named
27 October 2009Maria Zedda, a disabled entrepreneur and a mother of two from South London has been named the overall winner as part of a national competition called the Ready to Start Entrepreneur Awards.
Maria from Wideaware Training was presented with two cheques, one for £1000 as overall winner and one for £500 a regional winner by Ilyas Khan, Leonard Cheshire Disability Chairman and John Davis, Marketing Director for Barclays Local Business at a ceremony at the House of Lords on 26 October.
She picked up the honour as a former client and to celebrate the success of Ready to Start, a three year business start-up initiative run by Leonard Cheshire Disability in partnership with Barclays.
Maria, said: “It is a great honour to receive this fantastic award and to have Wideaware training recognised in this way. Support from Ready to Start has meant I have been able gain the skills to make the business grow and overcome the fear, prejudice and misconception that often stand in the way of disabled people."
Maria has been able to grow his business acumen thanks to support from Ann Chaplin, Ready to Start Regional Co-ordinator for London & Kent
Ann Chaplin, said: “Initiatives like Ready to Start play a vital role in empowering disabled people to realise their dreams of running their own business.
“Many disabled people find working for themselves an ideal way to earn a living as they can choose to work from home and arrange hours that suit them.”
To find out more about Wideaware visit: www.wideaware.co.uk
Related links
Barclays
Leonard Cheshire Disability
(These links open in a
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They've already started
Personal stories from disabled people already in self-employment.
Download the report (PDF)
Audio tape, Braille and text-only versions also available by emailing innovation@LCDisability.org
