When Rachel had to leave her job in the NHS it became very difficult to find a role that continued working around her daughter’s ongoing care.
She was aware that a lot of people would benefit from additional services within the community. She also missed hearing people’s life stories and experiences – having conversations with them about their situation and supporting them to a brighter place and giving a little bit of relief.
Rachel realised she wanted to be back in the community, helping those feel that relief and freedom once again. For her, offering a home help service would give her an opportunity to do this.
Rachel had never set up her own small business before and knew she needed some help. That’s when she came across Community Catalysts and met Heather, the Catalyst in Gloucestershire. Heather gave Rachel the confidence and support to feel excited and not fearful about setting up her own home help service. By completing the Community Micro-enterprise Development Programme, she was given all the right training, policies and practices to get going, so her business was safe, legal and sustainable.
“Every idea I had was listened to and encouraged and instead of feeling like I was going through a programme run by a company it was more like working with a friend who was my cheerleader.”
Rachel now runs Humbugs (name was her daughter’s inspiration) which provides help at home services in the Forest of Dean. Humbugs provides an all-round help at home service that ensures people feel connected to their community.
Humbugs is listed on our Small Good Stuff directory.
Matt decided to rethink his career when things became tough at work. He was also very office based and wanted to use his skills and talents to help people directly and be out and about in the local community.
He met Heather, the Catalyst in Gloucestershire, and embarked on the Community Micro-enterprise Development Programme, which he found very helpful. Matt was surprised by just how much support was available to help him set up his micro-enterprise.
“The most useful things were having someone to talk to, to keep things on track – not having a timescale, and being able to build things up slowly was also a very good way to do things.”
Matt runs Ayres Home and Garden in Cheltenham and supports the surrounding areas.
He is building a strong rapport with local people and helps with a variety of home and garden tasks. It’s very satisfying – he feels great to be helpful and to work for himself.
This project is a partnership with Gloucestershire County Council. If you’re interested to set up your own community micro-enterprise in Gloucestershire, submit your details and we’ll be in touch. Or contact Heather directly.
If you’re a local authority that would like to increase the choice of care and support in your area, contact us to discuss.