“The support from BRIDGES has been phenomenal, I don’t think you realise the help you’ve given me and how it will change my life. You have to try new things in life or you’ll never move forward, although scary it’s part of the adventure”

Simon joined the BRIDGES project early November 2016 after meeting the project officer at Walsall Job Centre.

Simon had been unemployed for many years after sustaining an injury in his last role. He has always been a keen fisherman and is able to fish anywhere from local canals to competition pools and made his own bait when he was a child.

Although he lacked confidence, Simon was keen to explore this further and worked with the project officer to develop a robust business plan as he wanted to progress onto New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) and access a £2500 business start-up loan.

They worked on a one to one basis to look at every element of the business from customer base to sales and financial forecasts. The plan was accepted and the loan was granted, he then moved onto NEA. He has now developed and sold some testing baits and is getting ready for the new fishing season.

Simon said of the support he had received from Access to Business and BRIDGES:

“You’ve helped me focus, I know where I want to be and how to get there”
Simon Boguszewicz – Holy Grail Baits