A young Mansfield man, who beat unemployment and set up in business with help from youth charity The Prince’s Trust, has backed a major campaign calling on the area’s unemployed youth to create their own job by becoming their own boss.

Joe Gallagher (23), turned his life around with mentoring support and training from the trust, setting up mobile disco company Imagine Entertainments.

He said: “After attending a four-day course at The Prince’s Trust, I started seeing where there were holes in my business plans.”

Joe’s mentor helped him write a new business plan and was awarded £640 to start his own company.
Now he has encouraged other aspiring local entrepreneurs to take advantage of the trust’s work in a campaign backed by RBS.

Joe said: “We slowly built the business up from one event to the next. Imagine Entertainments is now going from strength to strength and is expanding into new areas, such as wedding decor and bouncy castles.
“The support from The Prince’s Trust has given me the confidence to carry on when times are bleak.”

Through the campaign, unemployed young people are encouraged to submit business ideas at www.princes-trust.org.uk/ideas

The Prince’s Trust works with 13-to-30-year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.

John O’Reilly, regional director of the trust, said: “Young people can achieve amazing things with the right support – but all too often they have never had anyone to believe in them. We have helped approximately 1,000 entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground in the East Midlands over the last year.”

Thom Kenrick at RBS, the biggest corporate funder of the trust’s enterprise programme, said: “Around 50% of young people have a hobby or pastime that could or does earn them income. This is where The trust can help. We know that, with a little bit of support, it is possible to turn these interests or talents into a viable business.”

Not only this, but it can change your life and give you something positive to focus on for the future.”