“You’ll never make anything of yourself unless you go to university” the words of my careers advisor ring in my ears.
Tucked away somewhere amongst my clutter is a burgundy folder gifted to each student of a certain era – National Record of Achievement. Mine contained my bold goal to become the CEO of a multi-national business.
I’m sure the teachers chuckled at that one in the staff room. 
From a poor background, I definitely had bold ideas.
The people in my life who inspired me had their own businesses and good quality of life. There was even a little of the lovable rogue Delboy in the mix.
But I knew then, as I do now, that entrepreneurship and small business is what I love.
I can’t remember the name of the careers advisor at Homewood School. But their words made an impact that stayed with me for over 20 years.
So today was a two-fingers moment.
Today, I was at the House of Lords with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship championing the latest report on Entrepreneur Education in our schools.
Those negative words stuck with me, despite having employed over 50 staff in a number of different businesses in my entrepreneurial career. 
Niggling in the back of my mind.
Just imagine if those words have been positive, supportive and encouraging towards my ambitions in business and I’d been signposted to help and mentoring.
‘To infinity and beyond.’
As children, our creativity knows no limits. We constantly ask ‘why’ and create solutions to the world’s problems without being held back by the ideas of money or lack of resources.
Most of all, we learn to adapt and change constantly. I don’t know many 40 year olds that can’t walk because they gave up on the idea
In many ways, its the formal education system that starts to constrict our thinking.
The world has changed so much in two years and it’s time to change things in the way we educate our next generation. Over Covid in the UK, we saw a 14% increase in Start-ups and more people have side hustles.
But, England is far behind other parts of the UK and Europe in our entrepreneurship education. Almost 2 decades behind Wales. That’s generations of school children missing out on life skills!
Our government is lacking in vision, today’s report points out some real areas that need accountability and action. It’s really worth a read.
From school education that ties up skills with the real business world, to teaching business skills on trades courses there’s a real need for joined-up thinking. Not just a cookie-cutter curriculum, one size doesn’t fit all.
Most of all, we need to teach and cultivate the entrepreneurs’ mindset. One of problem-solving, resilience and constant learning, most of all a dogged determination despite others’ negativity.
So, with my proud 
salute to my careers advisor, I embolden my resolve to help inspire, educate and support ambitious business owners, after all, entrepreneurship really is an option thats good for the creator and our economy.
You can read the APPG for Entrepreneurship report into Enterprise Education here – https://bit.ly/3OqwBMh
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
