If there’s one sentence I hear most of from people wanting to start something it’s that. I’m not talking about the tech startup scene or investment vehicles to exit a company with a 3.5x multiplier. I’m talking about something a lot simpler, someone just wanting to make a decent living from week to week.

The reality is that if you want to set up as a hairdresser, window cleaner or open a small popup shop then there are going to be startup overheads.
So the sentence, “If I had ??1000 I could……” is now the biggest stumbling block between lifting people off the unemployment ladder or keeping them there. I have an idea….. Sammy Wilson if you’re listening I want a million quid.

??1000 to 1000 individuals. They pay it back too over the course of 12-18 months. So the cost to the tax payer over 18 months would effectively be zero. Everyone’s happy.

With ??1000 someone could get setup, print their flyers and get selling. Even if it was the minimum wage of ??6.08 we’re talking the following figures.

Investment of ??1,000,000 to fund 1000 people in the community.

All 1000 will be expected to earn the minimum wage of ??6.08 per hour and work 36 hours a week.
36 x 6.08 x 48 working weeks = ??10,506.24 a year x 1000 = ??10,506,240

It makes good PR but with the personal allowance for 2012/13 at ??8105 the income tax generated wouldn’t be huge. But it takes 1000 off the unemployment register and that’s a good thing, promotes well being and shows that people given the right help want to do stuff.

Where would the million quid come from? Well there’s going to be ??5m sloshing about from the Tesco Tax so I don’t mind borrowing it from there and putting it back in 12 months time.

This is what the local enterprise agencies should be promoting in my opinion and I’m not just talking Northern Ireland, this should be UK wide.

People do want to work you just have to give folk the encouragement to do so.