Business start-up – Liam’s story

When Liam joined Work Routes for support in setting up his own self-employed business, he told us how he had struggled to do this by himself due to his mental health.

Liam felt that his mental health had declined due to being out of work for so long, however, he knew that finding work would help him improve this. During his initial appointment, he met with Employment Adviser, Collins, who got to know him on a more personal level to assess what areas of support were needed as priority.

Collins worked closely with Liam, creating a business plan, and researching the market opportunities in their sessions together. Liam attended in-house courses on the Pioneer service that are tailored to support people who wish to become self-employed.

Our self-employed courses focus on the structure of setting up a business and provide tailored support around each individual participant’s requirements, to create and sustain a successful self-employed future.

Liam attended some of the self-employment workshops available and benefitted from meeting other likeminded participants in the group setting, learning together the importance of market research, staying on track and monitoring business finances. The courses and sessions with Collins gave Liam the confidence boost he needed when setting up his own online bookstore.

Work Routes can financially support participants with travel costs, business equipment and required documents to ensure they get off to a good start in their new self-employed careers.

Liam told us:

“I want to say a massive thank you for all your help over the past few months. The team at Work Routes have been brilliant and your support really has been appreciated. I’ve really looked forward to and enjoyed every one of our sessions, and I feel that I have learnt a lot and taken great ideas on board that I can put into my business.”

Liam now works full time as an E-commerce Trader selling books and has told us how happy he is in his new job with his own business. Congratulations Liam!