Problems starting business coz of jobcentre!

Hello guys and thanx for reading in advance. im in a bit of a difficult situation. I was on jobseekers allowance and was reffered to do the inbiz program which was going great and i finished stages 1 and 2. however the jobcentre told me i had to do gateway to work or i cant do stage 3!! has anyone ever come accross this before and managed to not do gateway to work program? coz i cant see the point in doing this when i am going into self employment. also if anyone knows where i can get funding to start my business would be much appreciated, whether its grants or low or no interest loans.
cheers
any advice or experiences would be great.

thanx

 

[TechFox]

As for funding you could sell a share in your business. Depending on the nature of your business I might be interested.

 

Princes Trust if you are 30 or under.

 

the princes trust refused me because i have gcse's. my business will be selling computer parts online, at fairs and things like that and i will repair them and build computer systems. so is there no where other than princes trust?

 

[DuaneJackson]

Odd that they refused you becuase you had GCSE's alone. Are you what would be classed as 'long-term unemployed' ? That should really go in your favour with the Trust.

Maybe re-apply and forget you had GCSEs? : )

 

i will give them a ring now. i have been unemployed for a long time now. and i was really gettin somewhere until them fools at the jobcentre said i had 2 do a course of no relevance to me. so im a bit stuck really

 

[Tazuk]

I was also on JSA when i started a WBLA work based learning for adults, my learning was a localish enterprise agency training support course in setting up in business. I was allowed to test trade for six months and granted a further six months extension whilst still in receipt of benefits. you should talk to your Jobcentre plus advisor about this and also contact you local enterprise agancy at the same time and ask them to help you. If you tell me where you are i can try and get some contacts for you.

Tony

 

[DuaneJackson]

So are they saying that you need to do the course in order to keep your benefits when you start trading?

How long is the course for?

 

[TechFox]

my business will be selling computer parts online, at fairs and things like that and i will repair them and build computer systems.

Where are you based?

 

I was put on inbiz program, i was just about to go onto stage 3 which is test trading, and u keep ur benefits for a certain period etc till u go out on ur own. however, when i went to sign on, on friday i was told i must do a gateway to work program. where i wood sit there everyday for 2 weeks applying for jobs which is pointless because i want to be self employed. can u guys see how irrevelant that is? so i said i woodnt do it coz i was on inbiz. (im based in london btw) so now i cant complete stage 3 because i refuse 2 do this because i can be spending that time doing something to benefit my business. so i effectivley signed off. i am appealing this to see if anything can be arranged, or if i could find funding i wood just carry on by myself. any help guys would be much appreciated. and the prince's trust have said as i have education, no funding is available 2 me. what a load of ****!!!! LOL
cheers

 

[JoyDivision]

I was on JSA before I setup my business. I went onto a business course but not because the job centre told me about it. I went because I researched it myself on google, when I told the job centre they thought it was a hinderence.

Then the second I started trading I was told I had to sign off, even though I didn't have any customers at the time.

I was promised a grant of £300 but when it came down to the crunch I was told labour and had stopped their funding.

6 months later I am doing ok, my business is not making me rich but it is paying the bills much better than JSA could ever do, and more to point and I am much happier now.

What I am trying to say is there is no reason why you can't just tell the job centre to stick it and just sign off. Just make sure you have everything ready to start trading before you do this though!

I am in Manchester so it may be different in other places but here if you live in a poor post code and have no qualifications you get all the help you need, if you live in a decent area and have a lot of qualifications such as myself you get no help at all.

But then I guess if it wasn't for my university education I could not do this job, so it is all swings and round abouts.

I just know how difficult the system makes it, the staff at the job centre try to help but the red tape makes it impossible.

Edit the GCSEs thing does sound strange, pretty much most people have GCSEs of sort. I m pretty sure they even take on people with degrees if they match other criteria. I.e had lots of sex changes, lived on floor 90 in a council flat and married to a snake.

 

[CG Effect]

I tried to get funding when I started from the Prices trust. I had to prove I had applied for a business loan off two banks before they will take it any further than the first phone call. Best thing to do is work till you have enough cash to set up working from home, with some extra left over for bread, water and coffee.