Shirley
Drummonds a single mother with seven children founded Spiders Web Solutions in April 2010 to give herself the flexibility
to balance her family commitments with using her skills and experience to
develop a social enterprise consultancy business. Previously, she had worked on
a voluntary basis with community groups supporting disabled and other minority
groups.
Until January
2010 Shirley was Chair of Lewisham based Fun Fizzical providing active gym and
dance sessions for 4-16 year old children from disadvantaged backgrounds. When
she heard about the free support available from South East Enterprise to people
wanting to work for themselves she realised that she could turn the many hours
of voluntary time she was devoting to this into a viable business.
As Shirley
says… “ I have a lot of experience to offer, but because of my family
commitments a 9-5 salaried job was out of the question. To keep my skills up to
date I involved myself in local community programmes as a volunteer. This made
me realise that there was a gap in the market for somebody to start a
professional management consultancy service to fill the skills shortages in
many of these community groups.
I couldn’t believe it when
I heard about the free support and advice that SEE provide people wanting to
start businesses, I realised that I could that being my own boss would give me
the flexibility to balance work with my
family life. SEE advisers gave me sound practical advice on setting up and
running a business, marketing and accounting; this gave me the knowledge and
confidence I needed to start Spiders Web Solutions”
SEE, have been
supporting residents of Greenwich
to set up successful new enterprises as well as those wanting to grow existing
businesses for over 20 years. The School
Gates Enterprise
programme is funded by Greenwich Council to give parents who want to work
for themselves the support they need to start their own businesses. It is delivered
through a mix of enterprise workshops and individual coaching at nominated
schools in the borough. All participants receive a Certificate at a Graduation
Ceremony to acknowledge their efforts and achievements.
SEE will
support School Gates graduates throughout the trials and tribulations of
starting-up their business and, through its other support programmes, continue
to offer free advice and guidance in the critical first years of trading.
To find out
more about School Gates Enterprise
and SEE’s other range of business support see their website www.seenterprise.co.uk or send them
an email info@seenterprise.co.uk
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