New Enterprise Allowance scheme - My story

Andy2013

Trueblue, good to hear from you again ,glad its still going forward and even in tougher times you at least thought to put money aside to cover yourself, I find January ,February and march the hardest months also , you just have to grit your teeth and think of new ways to boost business.


pinkypoopydoo I love the fact your happy to be paying some tax, I felt exactly the same which sounds crazy but its a way showing some progress and a real motivator, even if we are paying tax , this time next year we will be millionaires !!!!!

JimmyPage

Im coming to the end of my NEA next month and my god is is it hard, and nt for the wont of trying I can assure you. drive is important but did anyone get any help after they had finished the NEA funding ? Is there anything for low income self employed ?

TrueBlue1965

Hi JimmyPage. Once the NEA funding has finished. Your on your own re funding except for the usual Housing Benefit and Workng Tax Credits which are based on what your making from your business.

Loans are still available from the Start-Up Loan company if you need extra funding to move your business forward.

If your looking for support/mentoring. Have a chat with your loal Chamber of Commerce. They might be able to help. There is a support group in my area for those running new businesses. Many in the group have gone though the NEA process.

Andy2013

There is lots of help if you look in the right places, this link gives help on mentorring , financing and much more, well worth a look.


https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder

armyknife

TrueBlue1965 wrote: »

Hello, Andy2013. Happy New Year to you! Agreed, this forum needs to be kept moving. While we dont agree on some issues/experiences. There is a lot of good information on the thread which can help others to get their business up and running.

My business is still running 14 months after NEA payments started. Very quiet re sales for the last 3 months. I did expect this. So, left enough money in the bank to cover these quiet times and keep the business running.

I,ve had the chance to look at my business and where it goes from here. I,ve made a few mistakes and waisted money in the first year of trading. Some missed opportunities! So, lots of plans in place to gain the most from my experiences in the past year. March was lift-off with good sales last year. So, looking forward and being positive. As always, im in control of my business and my life.

Hello, armyknife. What follow-up info are you after? Ask and im sure those still following the NEA thread will attempt to help.

Just what you and the others have said. Good to hear that several of you are still going and prospering.

And what the other poster said about getting some positive feedback about ones business idea and it being the kick start that was need, is true in my case too.

Thanks one and all, good luck.

Keele_Uni_Researcher

I'm looking to talk to men, aged over 40, who have completed the NEA programme. I'm conducting post graduate research in counselling psychology at Keele University, and have permission from the moneysavingexpert forum team to post a request for participants. For further (no obligation) details, please contact me w2g97@students.keele.ac.uk

aRBemo

I am just about to enter this process this week. I have done the preliminary training and luckily I have started several businesses before, but not alone and not from being unemployed. I would be happy to share this process to benefit others. I have done much research and business planning over the last few years whilst unemployed so I have a good foundation. It is actually amazing how much free training there is on most areas, JobCentre Plus did not tell me about for years. In the end I looked up local resources and now I am a training book keeper and trained in marketing. I already have much experience in IT and web design.

Andy2013

aRBemo, you sound well equipped for NEA, its good to hear someone being proactive and getting themselves going , really hope it works for you, keep us posted.

annimay

Hello
could anyone offer me some further insight into NEA ,I am currently on ESA and PIP ,I have been to have an initial meeting today with NEA advisor and am a bit overwhelmed with all the info ,Will my benefits continue to run alongside NEA for a while until I get off the ground or will they stop once I sign up for it .I haven't been able to get a clear answer of what I will get initially

Andy2013

annimay , things may very well of changed as I was on NEA a couple of years ago but at that time once you signed up to NEA your JSA would stop and you then received NEA payments of £65 weekly for 13 weeks and then £33 weekly for 13 weeks until the 6 months NEA had ended at which time you are ideally in a position to continue running a semi profitable business.


You can apply for working tax credits which can increase weekly income ( dependant on the previous years income ) and this will help but NEA is only intended to be a short term thing to get you going.


HB and CTC are also available but its best to ask them in person as everyone varies and its impossible to give definite answers here.


Like I said things may have changed a little so its best to ask directly questions to your JC Advisor and your mentor when you are offered one.


Hopefully NEA has improved over the years as a few of us had unremarkable experiences with ours, I wish you luck .