UNEMPLOYED people living in Waverley can now benefit from a new project which offers free support to help them to develop the ideas, confidence and skills they need to become self-employed or to create a social enterprise.

Inspiring Enterprise is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the European Social Fund and will provide tailored support to unemployed people or those who are looking to return to work such as parents at home or someone who may have taken early retirement.

Surrey Community Action, together with partners WSX Enterprise, Action Hampshire, The University of Winchester and Fredericks Foundation, are introducing people to the world of social enterprise and the opportunities offered by this fast growing business sector.

The free support on offer includes:

• ‘Is It For Me?’ sessions to explore what’s involved in becoming self-employed.

• Workshops and training sessions on getting the basics right

• Face-to-face meetings for advice and developing ideas

• Mentoring to fine tune business plans

• Networking opportunities

• Meet the Boss sessions for inspiration.

Erica Sandford, Surrey Community Action’s Inspiring Enterprise project officers, said: “You don’t need to have a business idea, or have even thought about self-employment as an option yet, but if you think this is something you’d like to explore further then we would love to hear from you.”

For more information or to register for the ‘Is It For Me?’ Taster session, contact Surrey Community Action’s Inspiring Enterprise administrator Marisa Shaw on 01483 447124, or email inspiringenterprise @surreyca.org.uk.