Start a business
The discipline it takes to rebuild a life is a founder skill. Use it.
This week: the one-pager
One page: what you sell, who buys it, what it costs, why you. Say it out loud to one person who'll be honest with you. Costs nothing.
FreeThen: first paying customer
Before logos, before paperwork. Sell one job, one product, one service. Registering as a sole trader takes 20 minutes when the money starts — and nobody runs a check on a founder.
No check at allMonth 3+: real backing exists
Start Up Loans is government-backed lending with free mentoring — a conviction is not an automatic bar. The King's Trust backs founders 18–30. Hatch and local enterprise hubs run free programmes.
Funding + mentoringThe ceiling: yours
Limited company, employees, contracts. Some of the most driven founders in Britain have records — the application form problem disappears when you're the one doing the hiring.
Not sure where your record stands? Since October 2023 most records become spent far sooner than people assume — and spent records are invisible to a Basic check.
Check yours — it stays on your phone →Real places to start
Links open the real provider. Good:Folk never sits in the middle.
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