Fancy yourself as a bit of an entrepreneur? If the answer is yes, an award-winning programme designed to get you off to the best possible start will be rolled out in Hartlepool later this month.
The nationally renowned Rebel Business School, which has educated over 11,000 people in seven different countries, is working with locally based charity the PFC Trust to give people the knowledge to run their own business for free.
Rebel helped launch 805 businesses in 2020 alone and its fully funded two-week course of inspirational face-to-face and streaming talks aims to support and help individuals within the area.
It is a major coup for Hartlepudlians to have an opportunity to gain invaluable insight from Rebel, which won a prestigious Queen’s Award for enterprise last year In 2021, and its work has been backed by organisations including Google and the Henley Business School.
The PFC Trust and Rebel are working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions in the greater-Hartlepool area to support as many people as possible.
Frances Connolly, the co-founder of the PFC Trust which was created in 2019 to improve life chances of people in Hartlepool and the surrounding areas, said: “We really want to help fight unemployment and to help get more and more people back up on their feet after the pandemic. I’d love it if we could help people so that they could be in a position to help others, too.”
The PFC Trust has secured Rebel to deliver free training events, designed to help small businesses, those seeking work, the self-employed or those wanting to change careers, to create a business, develop an existing business, and improve their life skills.
The course will cover all aspects of starting and running a business, from sales and marketing to launching a website, as well as tax and legals. It will also show people that ‘anyone can launch a business, even if they don’t have any money’ or a business plan.
The Hartlepool Rebel Business School will be held at Hartlepool College of Further Education for up to 100 people from Monday, February 21 to Friday, March 4 from 9.30am until 2.30pm.
Frances added: “I’ve seen the evidence from previous Rebel Business School events that it can help people from all walks of life get started in business or restart their careers.
“I really hope and believe we can help the people of Hartlepool and the surrounding area, especially now restrictions have been reduced.
“Absolutely everyone is welcome to attend from Hartlepool or beyond, whether they are an existing business, or think they might like to start one in the future.”
Simon Paine, co-founder of the Rebel Business School, said now was the perfect time to start a business.
“The world has changed in a big way over the past two years, but that means there will be great opportunities for those who take them,” said Paine.
“Many people in Hartlepool and the surrounding area will have experienced a really difficult time in the past year, but we are here to help them bounce back.
“Our message is simple. You don’t need money, an expensive education or a big plan to start a business, you just need to find something you love and a bit of help.”
The Rebel Business School event is available to everyone in Hartlepool and the surrounding areas. Those who can’t attend in person can sign up for virtual classes which can be streamed for up to 600 people.
You can book a free place via the Rebel Business School website: https://therebelschool.com/hartlepool