TheVillageOctober 2005

Village People
Graham Clark, general manager
of Redditch-based charity Where
Next, explains about its work.
This year is Where Next’s 21 st
anniversary. It was set up originally
to support people with special
needs, leaving school and struggling
to gain meaningful employment.
We provide work-related training
which builds self-respect and confidence
through developing work and
social skills required for independent
living. Working also provides a vital
social network, contact with customers
and members of the community.
Where Next operates three businesses:
a horticultural nursery and
shop, a factory for packaging and
assembly and the manufacture of
wooden products, and a gardening
and landscaping business. Our
Training Department also offers the
option to gain nationally recognised
qualifications.
The trainees definitely see Where
Next as a place of work and, with the
support of staff, play an active part in
helping to achieve financial viability.
This level of individual support and
training is, of course, expensive and
so the profit from everything made,
grown and sold is put back into the
charity.
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Taking the next step
The Village October 2005
The reward for
staff is seeing people
develop pride
and satisfaction
over what they’ve
achieved – a plant
grown and sold,
a garden revitalised,
a certificate
earned. success means seeing some
trainees move into paid employment,
voluntary work or further training at
the end of their course.
We have a real family atmosphere
here. People come back to visit
friends they made, tell us their news
or just pop in for advice.
We are always trying to create new
opportunities and have recently been
granted planning approval to erect
a modern new building to extend
our work. This will include a larger
nursery shop, small business units
and space for a wider range of training
facilities, as well as a community
resource centre for use by other local
charities and community organisations.
There will also be a café for
centre users and shoppers, conference
facilities and a hall for hire. All that
needs to be done
now is to raise the
£1.9m to build it!
The building
Appeal was
launched in
september at the
Abbey Hotel Golf
and Country Club.
The Association is
grateful for the support
of the patrons
of the Appeal:
n sir Digby Jones,
Director General
of the CbI
n Mr Philip Aubrey, Director of
birmingham botanical Gardens
n right revd Dr Peter selby, The
bishop of Worcester
n Mr Michael brinton, lord lieutenant
of Worcestershire
If you think you could help in some
way, perhaps by becoming a volunteer
or fundraiser, or would like more
information on the building Appeal,
please contact Karen Mcveigh on
01527 69955 or by email:
appeal.wherenext@btconnect.com
shop opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am–
5pm; sat 10am–4pm. Top quality
plants and garden furniture are always
available.
Where Next
Wellesbourne Close, Easemore
Road, Redditch, B98 8ER.
Some comments made by
trainees at Where Next:
“I have a laugh with my
friends in the Nursery and
do lots of work. I would get
lonely if I wasn’t here.”
“I have learnt new things like
woodwork which I never got
a chance to do at school.”
“Working here makes the
economy work. I use the
money I get from my disability
allowance to travel to work.”
Village People
MAKING A
DIFFERENCE
You may recall the story of
Cofton Hackett entrepreneur
Michelle Mills, who promised
to make some life changes after she
was caught up in the boxing Day
Asian tsunami.
Her company had recently won
several awards, but the humbling
experience of being looked after by
people who had lost their livelihoods,
and some their families, made an impact
that she vowed never to forget.
“The imbalance in the world was
plain to see. My company had won
awards and enjoyed champagne
toasts in glitzy ceremonies, but I
hadn’t worked harder than the sri
lankans who were sharing their water
with me despite losing everything
they had ever worked for.”
sri lankan business guru Jimmy lal
gave up his house and his garden to
50 refugees including Michelle and
her fiancé. He gave them his family’s
beds, their water, their food.
“One night, Jimmy came over and
sat with me and my partner stu,”
says Michelle. “He shared his last
bottle of Arak with us while telling
us how he had lost everything; his
boats, his trucks, his whole empire…
”but I remember the steps!” he said
as he raised his bottle in salute.
“I have never forgotten his words
or his attitude. He didn’t need accolades
and awards around him to
prove his worth. It didn’t matter that
he had to start all over again – he
could remember the steps, he knew
what he did right, and he could do
it again.”
On her return, Michelle closed
the award-winning company and
launched a new consultancy, Fizzy
business. “I just felt that I wanted to
start afresh in the way that my friends
in sri lanka had been forced to do.
I needed to feel a closer empathy.
I didn’t hurt anyone in the
process: it was an emotional
choice, something I had to
do,“ she explains.
“The new consultancy has
a different feel. It is much
more understated, working
mainly incognito for its clients.
There’s no Pr, no glitzy
ceremonies, no blowing our
own trumpet.”
Fizzy business is a maverick
company bridging the
gap between a marketing
agency and a telesales
company. The consultancy
operates as an outsourced
business development team,
specialising in gaining qualified
meetings with their clients’
target market.
Michelle says the resultsbased
fee structure has
made an impact in an industry
where “accountability”
is certainly not taken for granted,
and that the methods work across the
board, whether working with small
businesses, blue chip companies or
Premiership football clubs.
The most important thing to
Michelle is making a big difference
where it can be seen clearly: “I am
getting much more satisfaction from
my business life now, and have found
a work-life balance that I had heard
about, but didn’t realise existed.”
The only issue left to resolve is how
to find the right people to work in a
company that sits in an undefined
category. “sometimes, people from
a marketing background can be too
snobby to roll their sleeves up and do
the job”, says Michelle, “and people
from a sales background can be too
driven and targeted to consider the
clients’ needs above getting the sale.
Therefore the people we chose to join
Village Business
us need great communication skills
rather than a track record, or a relevant
background.
“With over 6,000 people made
redundant on our doorstep, and
many young adults coming out of
education, it shouldn’t be so difficult
to find the team member we
are searching for. someone who is
bright, articulate, and full of personality,
who will relish the opportunities
for development, will fit right in.
“It’s great fun working in an organisation
which is bold enough
to create its own path, so we need
someone who has a maverick attitude.
They must also share our values
and beliefs about why we are in business
in the first place – making a difference
in the best way we can.”
If you are interested in joining the
company, ring for an informal chat
and learn more about the role.
Fizzy Business: 0845 077 7711
The Village October 2005 31