What does it take to turn a good idea into a real business when you are just starting out?

In this episode of North of Ordinary, Tina Swann sits down with Phoebe and Charlene from Hull City Council's Youth Enterprise and Microbusiness team. Their new home, Elevate @ Mark Jones MBE Centre on Hull's High Street, is a space built for new beginnings, named in honour of Mark Jones MBE, the city's former director of regeneration and a passionate advocate for young people and care leavers.

Phoebe and Charlene walk us through Making Changes for Careers (MC4C), the programme helping 16 to 29-year-olds in Hull and East Riding set up in self-employment. From weekly workshops on tax, money management, marketing and pitching, to one-to-one business advisers, sector mentors and start-up grants, they share how the team adapts support to each individual.

We hear why many participants say the workshops matter more than the money, how young founders are building their own community and swapping numbers, and how past participants return as mentors and ambassadors. Plus the competitions and events coming up during Global Entrepreneurship Week, and the big ambition for Elevate: to help young businesses grow out of the bedroom and into their own space.

In this episode: The story behind Elevate and Mark Jones MBE; what MC4C offers and who can apply; workshops, advisers, mentors and grants; confidence, community and the power of networking; competitions and Global Entrepreneurship Week; the five-year vision for Elevate.

Find out more about MC4C at mc4c.co.uk or email youth.enterprise@hullcc.gov.uk

North of Ordinary is powered by C4DI, the Centre for Digital Innovation in Hull, celebrating the people and businesses driving Hull, East Yorkshire and the Humber forward.

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