Chris Hill tells us how Sheffield’s diversity, inclusivity and supportive business community helped him set up the city’s fastest growing youth charity Element Society

I was inspired to start my business by …

The perception young people don’t want to make a difference in the world, but they can and will do a lot more than people expect. They have a lot of empathy and want to make that difference. When I was young my dad was on minimum wage which meant I didn’t get a lot of the opportunities other people did, like school trips. Making youth programmes open to anyone has allowed me to see the impact those life chances can have.

My favourite thing about running my business is …

I never wake up and think ‘ugh, I can’t be bothered to go into work’. I’m always looking forward to it, especially our Dragon’s Den panels, when young people come together and pitch ideas of how they can change Sheffield for the better. That day is always a point where all the hard work, long days and nights are all worth it.

The three words that best describe my business are …

Youth-Led, Empowering, Inclusive.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because …

It’s got a supportive business network and mentors willing to invest their time, knowledge and experience. It is really hard to get a start-up off the ground, so advice from mentors is so beneficial. People in Sheffield are willing to come together to support social ideas and action.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow a business because …

It’s the business community which Element feeds into and it continues to support us as our needs change. The talent pool from the schools and colleges, as well as the two world class universities allow us to meet our staff needs as we grow. Sheffield is diverse in almost every way, which helps our goal of inclusivity as well.

The best advice I ever got was …

Get out there and try it because you can write a hundred page business plan without actually testing it and it can be completely worthless, or you can write one page where you test some assumptions, have a go and discover ‘people actually want this!’ You are halfway there then.

The worst advice I ever got was …

Don’t be a non-profit. Their reasoning was you can spend your profit on doing good, but as a non-profit, we spend all our money on being good. Those contacts also believed people wouldn’t take you as seriously as a non-profit as opposed to a business, but we have disproved that becoming quite a big charity.

The organisations that have supported me and my business include …

Jill White, my business mentor.

Lord David Blunkett.

Both universities, all the schools, and colleges.

Other charities such as Chilypep and the NSPCC.

Yorkshire Building Society

Sheffield Businesses Together.

Westfield Health.

John Lewis.

Keep Your Fork PR and marketing.

The main challenges facing my industry/sector are …

The demand to do ‘more for less’, it’s the buzzword of the day. Sheffield’s youth charities are not as well connected as they perhaps are in other cities, which is one of the reasons we are launching the social action studios in the city centre, a central place for youth charities to collaborate, save money and hopefully do ‘more for less’, without compromising quality of services.

In 5 years’ time I expect my business to …

Achieve sustainable growth allowing us to become a cornerstone for young people in Sheffield, listening to and meeting their needs while increasing opportunities for all.

 

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