Case Study 6: Memtel Essex Ltd

Memtel Essex Ltd was formed in 2008 by Paul Richardson after he became qualified in life coaching and neuro linguistic programming. The business provides counselling services. From the start the business was supported by Paul’s own funds and the first months were a real struggle.

What support did they receive?

• After coming into contact with the boroughs business support team Paul was pointed in the
  direction of Starting Point and the social enterprise advice provided at CVS.
• Encouraged to become an active member of the social enterprise network SENSE at CVS

What did they achieve?

• Starting Point provided Paul with a free hot desk facility, accessible support and guidance and the chance to network with other social enterprise start ups.
• After nearly three years, whilst the business has continued to develop slowly, Paul has managed to build up a regular clientele. Through contacts met at SENSE he was able to tap into the Portuguese speaking community and develop a range of workshops for them. This has developed to such an extent that Paul now has a website in Portuguese!

Paul reports that “the business is still growing and I have now been able to hand over delivery of my workshops to someone else. This gives me more time to work on articles and promote my website. I am very pleased with all the support I have had over the last couple of years
and am optimistic about the future.”