As a young person faced with today's depressed economy, it's hard for a young person to find opportunities to develop their talents. With a million 18-25s unemployed and many people working for free to get ahead, it's not an easy time for those of us looking to get on the job ladder.
However, in social enterprise I saw an opportunity that I was determined to take and throughout the past year I have worked hard to develop a thriving IT consultancy and a number of social enterprise projects to give young people a head start in their careers and in life. While my IT company is a for-profit enterprise, I find that this is the best model to help me support others who operate a social enterprise. This creates an atmosphere of trust and social responsibility which is not always the focus in a corporate venture. The fact that social enterprises are warmed to greatly by the public and other businesses has also been a great anchor to build partnerships and collaboration opportunities upon.
With the support of Reggae Reggae sauce entrepreneur Levi Roots, I launched UnITe Computing one year ago and since have enjoyed working with clients such as Google UK, the University of Australia and others. We have just celebrated our first birthday and though this entrepreneurial journey has had its ups and downs, I am proud of how far we have come. It was hard to launch a business, but with the support of the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy where I studied, I was given support every step of the way.
The main issue I have faced so far in my business life has been gaining the trust of adults and other businesses. Being 19 not very many people believe you when you say you run a number of businesses; in fact I have been laughed at and insulted and even told to get a job by some. This was a demotivating obstacle I have had to find ways to overcome. To do this I simply maintained a professional and positive reputation amongst colleagues, friends and in the media in order to build credibility for myself and my businesses. Age should not limit your ability to succeed and through working in social enterprise, I have gained more respect due to my willingness to give back and reward the communities which support me.
I feel it is vitally important that ambassadors stand up for young people, ensure their voices are heard and represent their best interests and support them as much as possible. This is why I co-founded social enterprise The Initiative. With the assistance of UnLtd the project provides access to hotdesking, over 1000 mentors, business support and enterprise opportunities for youngsters. When I started up there was no streamlined support like this, so I'm on a mission to ensure that it gets delivered. Social enterprise is the best placed vehicle to achieve this I believe; working is not all about profit-making and achieving social good is high on my agenda in this evermore depressing social climate we are experiencing.
At the same time as running my numerous ventures, I am committed to inspiring and supporting the next generation and as such am embarking on a 'world tour.' I am jetting off to Miami to speak in universities about my journey and the lessons I've learned along the way. I will also be visiting India and trialling hub workspaces over there to support budding young entrepreneurs. So far the tour is going well; I've spoken at a number of conferences including UnLtd's Social Futures event in London where I gave thought leaders and policy makers an insight into my work and why young people should support others following in their footsteps. I've also spoken at a number of events in parliament on youth unemployment and at enterprise seminars such as Think Big You're Hired events. I'm also touring a number of schools and colleges, including the network of over thirty Peter Jones enterprise academies for young entrepreneurs across the country.
I personally support a number of entrepreneurs through my support umbrella Adam Bradford Enterprise & Investments Group. One of the young business people I support is Ryan Farquharson. Ryan runs Lovethequote.comand he says "To anybody that has an urge to run their own business I would absolutely say go for it, anyone can do it!"
Another is Abdi Guleid of White Star Productions talent academy, he says "If you are determined to do something then you will achieve it. I have learned that through setting up my company."
And 16 year-old Cameron Alexander is working in partnership with me and my company in the running of his urbanwear retailer Creme Fresh which aims to deliver the creme de la creme of new urbanwear fashion. He said: "We are working to make our website now a public e-commerce store and we have worked very efficiently and we have hopes to relaunch our brand by the new year, but based on the effective progress so far this could be earlier."
It's this go-getting attitude which I firmly believe needs to be fostered and cultivated among today's young people; whether it be in business or simply in their working lives. The 'one million unemployed youth' statistic is a key driver for change and an opportunity to get up and make something of yourself; you simply have to go for it and pick up the relevant support. That is what my journey and my story aims to inspire.
Adam Bradford is a Sheffield-based entrepreneur. He supports young entrepreneurs through his Adam Bradford Enterprise & Investments Group.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To join the social enterprise network, click here
