Young Entrepreneur Helps Younger Entrepreneurs

- Urges others to follow suit

Reading-based entrepreneur, Nick James, 31, has signed up as a Young Enterprise mentor to help a local team of school-based entrepreneurs develop their potential – and is urging others to do the same. The founder of Nick-James.com, the on-line club offering resources and advice to people wanting to set up an on-line business, has committed to mentoring a team of budding students to be allocated in the new school term, starting September 2007.

The Young Enterprise Scheme aims to offer youngsters real life experience of running their own business, from deciding on a product through to marketing it.  Teams compete for various awards, from business idea through to marketing, and Nick is naturally hoping that his team will win the challenge.

“I’m really excited about taking part and working with students at local schools who have that entrepreneurial spirit and want to turn their ideas into businesses that work” said Nick. “I struggled to make ends meet for years and I’m looking forward to passing on my experience to students to give them that all important ‘leg up’ in industry. The nice thing about running my kind of business, on the Internet, is that I can safely commit to meeting my team each week knowing that I can make the time back later.”

Nick’s own schooling left him with few formal qualifications and saw him working as a taxi driver and as a car park attendant. He worked hard, and supplemented his income by D.J-ing, but his dream of one day owning his own Aston Martin was a fantasy, until a chance meeting in a car park with another entrepreneur set him on his path to success.

“Don’t get me wrong,” said Nick.  “I wasn’t handed anything on a plate, but hard work and listening to the advice I was being given have helped me to create a great little business.  I may not be a tycoon, but I now have the Aston Martin I dreamt of, have all but paid my mortgage and, importantly, still have time to see my son.  I would love some of these kids to be given the opportunity that I was.”

Jan Thompson, Development Manager, Young Enterprise, said: “Business mentors are a key part of the scheme, we’re delighted that Nick has agreed to sign up so early for next year and are looking forward to other local business leaders following suit.  All mentors need is CRB clearance, business experience and time to attend a weekly meeting, coupled with a commitment to facilitating the team’s ideas.”
Notes to editors

Nick James is a Reading based entrepreneur, small business consultant and founder of Nick-James.com, an online club for UK entrepreneurs which offers practical business support and inspiration. It is a resource centre for anyone looking to start their own business or in the early stages of developing their company. Most useful for people primarily using the internet as a business tool, it is a subscription-based website and membership is £19.95 per month.

Contacts:

For more information about how to be involved, please contact Jan Thompson on:

jan.thompson@yese.org.uk
07790 423697

For more information on Nick James, please contact Zara Shirwan on:

zshirwan@zedpr.co.uk
0118 969 8966