Billy Carslaw is not new to the world of business, in fact he's spent most of his career helping businesses large and small navigate the world of employment tribunals, HR,  training, and bid writing. Now, with help from Get Started, Billy has cemented his business plans and is enjoying it more than ever.

Billy's journey to self employment began in 2011:

"I was working for the Chamber writing bids but then in December 2011 the business development landscape changed and they could no longer fund an in house bid writer, so like many others working in similar roles, I was made redundant"

He was keen to launch a business using his experience but the work kept coming in, and so he postponed formalising the business properly until November 2013:

"It was easy to be quite distracted when I was getting enough work to keep me going, but I was aware I needed to have more of a plan. I was operating as a consultant, continuing to deliver projects and write bids for the Chamber, and getting increasing amounts of work in third sector organisations which I found particularly enjoyable"

Billy applied for a start up loan to help him set up his business properly and create a more professional offer, he says:

"I've set up quicker and better as a result of the loan. It helped me clarify my offer by encouraging me to develop my business plan. It also gave me some working capital and enabled me to get some nice marketing materials and business cards. I've now got a good quality printer and the right software too, which are definitely needed for the kind of the projects I deliver. My next step is developing the website".

"The process has really made me feel that I am actually running a business rather than messing around. Now I know that when I'm not working on a project I should probably be networking. I think that mindset's quite important for making it work and bringing in the kind of projects I enjoy working on."

Billy has found that one of the benefits of sourcing a Start Up Loan has been the structure. Developing a business plan makes you think about your income stream and costs, and enables you to have a financial reserve that flattens the peaks and troughs.

It's the interesting and rewarding projects that have become Billy's main motivation with the business, and since the business became official Billy's been able to focus on the kind of projects he enjoys, he says:

"I've just won bids for The Change Consortium, The Peoples Orchestra and for St Barnabas Church Centre. I'm also going to run a local volunteering project and I'm working with the Hindu community in Birmingham on a project to support the younger community, many of whom are feeling disenfranchised. It's a great way to use my skills and support worthwhile projects too".

Billy has been a mentor many times throughout his own career so we asked whether has taken advantage of the mentoring available through Get Started, he says:

"I have a network of other businesses that I work closely with, I suppose they're my friends as well. I'm quite sociable and I've found that that's a great way to share and gain ideas and support"

"I also take advantage of the fantastic new library in Birmingham which has a business and learning section and is fantastic for hot-desking and networking".

Although Billy could deliver much of his work from home he likes to use Skype for meetings, and, where possible, will work in the offices with the teams he's developing ordelivering projects for

"Whoever I'm working for I prefer to work from their office, and they can see that I've done 7 hours work. I think it's good for them to get to know your working style and the process behind the project".

We asked Billy what his plans were for the next year or two:

"As I work on many European bids, there'll be some travel across Europe in the coming months, and I've got a contract up to the end of March. I'm working with 4 organisations that are likely to want my services in the future so I'm feeling quite confident that I can make this a sustainable business to retirement"

We asked Billy how self employment compares to his previous working life, he says:

"What you forget when you're employed is that you're quite mollycoddled. When I was made redundant I didn't have a car, a phone, a laptop. Saying that, the trade off is worth it as when you become self employed the freedom is fantastic".

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