New Enterprise Allowance scheme - My story

Andy2013

leonski welcome to the thread sounds all to familiar I wish you well keep us posted.

And yet another unhappy customer of NEA

TrueBlue1965

No stevenb, im not going to correct you on the numbers. I will give you and others who might be interested the correct information. Then, you and others can make your/their own minds up regarding the NEA loan.

The NEA loan has 6% interest. Im paying back only the interest in the 1st year of 3 years of the loan. Thats £12.53 per/month. I have the £2,500 in the bank if I want to clear the loan.

Could I have started my business without the loan? NO!

Has it paid for itself? Yes, and quite a bit more!

Was it a risk. Yes, but a risk worth taking. Without the loan. I would not have been in business and making a living from my hard work.

Great if you can get your business off the ground without a loan. Great if you can get your start-up money from other places. What a few are forgetting is that not everybody has the money to start their business. Without NEA, many would never have the chance to start their business!

stevenb, im only reading from a few people who have issues with NEA and its loan. Strange that the few who are knocking NEA and its loan did not bother with the loan but are claiming to be doing very well with their businesses. NEA gave you the kick up the backside or confidence to start your own businesses. So, why knock it at every opportunity?

The feedback I get comes from a networking group I attend once each month in my area. Most have gone though the NEA process. Some have had issues with NEA or the loan but most are positive about their business and what NEA gave them.

If you dont have anything positive or helpful to say about NEA. Why post on this forum?

Welcome to the forum, leonski.

Andy2013, its Manchester City Council/Housing Benefit who are messing leonski around. Housing benefit has nothing to do with NEA. How can you blaime NEA for leonski,s problems?

tomterm8

I'd not have started my business if I required a NEA loan for it.

Frankly, I think it's hard to see a situation where if your business can't start without a £2,500 loan it's well enough capitalized to survive in the event of the SHTF.

I'm leary of using debt to start a business anyway, but borrowing too little money is far worse than borrowing no money at all.

TrueBlue1965

I sort of agree with you, tomterm8. £2,500 is a small amount to start a manurfacturing business in my case. I had most of the tools but the materials I use are not cheap and making my first few sales cost almost as much as the profit I made. Things did settle down and orders are quite good now but my £2,500 went below £500 in the bank before things improved.

I was offered £4,500 by Start-Up Loan Company to start my business after some mix-up over who was the provider of the NEA loan. £2,500 seemed more risk free and I belived it would be enough to get my business running and making money. My estimate was right but only just and I could very easily have gone under though lack of funding.

I,m after a bigger loan now from Start-Up Loan Company to expand my business but the risk is less because i,ve had 5 months of reasonable sales (8 months trading). Made a few mistakes that im sure I will not make again. Found a few extra sales areas when E-bay had its issues. So, im confident that im ready for stage 2 of making my business grow faster by moving into a different area of sales. Less E-bay selling and pushing for sales to the general public. More manufacturing and direct sales to the garden industry (garden centres). That needs higher funding to promote my products in the correct way, cover the costs of holding more stock and cover cash flow until I get paid.

While the NEA loan offers first funding for those who need it. Start-Up Loan Company offer higher loans for those businesses that need further funding to grow. These businesses need to be able to show that the business can pay the money back though proved earlier sales. Not sure NEA and Start-Up Loan Company were set-up to work with each other but from my experiences. They work well in giving new businesses a chance to start and grow with reasonable funding in the first years of trading.

Andy2013

Andy2013, its Manchester City Council/Housing Benefit who are messing leonski around. Housing benefit has nothing to do with NEA. How can you blaime NEA for leonski,s problems?

God forbid I abuse your sacred NEA how dare I.

TrueBlue1965 I wish you luck but I dislike your business method of getting one loan after another, your going to disagree with me as you do stevenb and most others but its not the answer to everything.

From now on no more comments are being made in your direction, your blinkered if not blind to others opinions and when we voice any opinion you don't like you say they are speaking rubbish , a quote from a few posts back.

Your business model sounds financially draining which I guess could lead to trouble , but you will know best so we will leave it at that.

Stevenb

Oh my goodness I think andy2013 just divorced knowitall1965

cant stop laughing:rotfl:

Actually I am joining the exodus as well .

Andy2013

it feels good Steve, i found in the end we argued all the time and i just had to leave

TrueBlue1965

Andy2013, you have nothing positve to say about NEA. At every chance you slag it off and attempt to put the blaime on the scheme for everything. Why?

I know you expected more from NEA and where possibly let down by the scheme. However, there are NEA schemes being run correctly all over the country which offer much more than you found.

I,ve come to the conclussion that you have a chip on your shoulder. You big yourself up with how well your doing inspite of NEA. Statements suchas that anybody can become self-employed and make money really annoy me. What annoys me even more is that NEA and Start-Up are there to help people who want to start a new business. You come across as having a big chip on your shoulder. Gealous of those who have gone though NEA and are making their business work for them. Envious resentment of what you never got. NEA is to blaime for everything!

The loans are a massive part of what NEA and Start-Up offer. Most new businesses need capital. The unemployed need loans more than most to start a new business. Just because you never needed one. Does not mean that its wrong or not needed to start a new business. You believe everybody else should stay well away from the loans. This again suggests a chip on the shoulder complex. One further point on loans. Most businesses use loans. Its not unusual or unethical to use loans to start new business or finance growth in business.

Andy2013 and stevenb, you dont have anything positive to say about NEA. Why waste your time posting utter rubbish that is only going to turn off the unemployed who are thinking of starting their own business with the support of NEA?

Stevenb

I think I will speak on behalf of Andy as I doubt he will be commenting on your post.

He has been honest and beneficial to this post for over a year, always giving those who need it a helping hand and a positive word, and no he doesn't give much positive feedback on NEA as most of us wont because why lie or tell untruths.

I hope he continues to add his input because he made it work for him even though he had barely any cash and a hopeless experience with this scheme.

He has a right to big himself up given the excellent 12 months he has had and all without loans or financial borrowings.

Like me I think its fair to say his problem is with you, we cant all get on and we cant all agree but no matter what the comment you have to put in your two penny at times making defamatory remarks about others .

12 months ago I was struggling and started watching this thread and his comments helped me to push and make the money I am today so please don't do him the injustice of saying he speaks rubbish.

I think you will find he just speaks the truth.

Andy don't stop posting because of one idiot , your an asset to this thread and every story need 2 sides .

Andy2013

Old pal I ain't going no where , I still have much to offer , thank you for the words though.