Celebrating Enterprise

• Debbie Elliott-Brown (Dream High Ltd)
• Monday 16 November 2009

Big win for Little League Sports

Two Liverpool students have won an award after launching a company using part of their student loan.

Jordan Wright and Joe Mulhearn set up Little League Sports to enable more people of all ages to get active.

With the help of business support project Waves Enterprise, the students formed a Community Interest Company while studying at Liverpool University and Liverpool Hope University.

Within months they were coaching hundreds of youngsters across Liverpool - and offering activity classes to toddlers in Sure Start centres and older people in pensioners groups. They are now setting up courses to train young people in coaching, leading to employment with Little League.

Joe, now in his third year at Liverpool University, said: "We had been employed by similar companies to do coaching and suddenly thought, we can do this. We recognised there were parts of Liverpool where there were no community sports activities and that's where we started - and it's grown from there."

Little League Sports scooped the top New Business of the Year award at a gala dinner organised by Waves Enterprise at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Speke.

Waves Enterprise facilitator Debbie Elliott Brown said: "Jordan and Joe have done amazingly well and it's all credit to their enthusiasm, determination and resoucefulness. There aren't many people who can continue with full time study while launching such a dynamic new company.

"All our winners are real stars and it has been such a pleasure and so rewarding to see them progress from often raw beginnings, to fully fledged businesses."

The awards event, which was sponsored by Barclays Bank, was a first for Waves Enterprise. It was organised with support from staff and students at New Heys Community School, an enterprise specialist college.

In the last two years Waves has worked with 257 people needing help with starting a new business or developing an existing company.

Waves Enterprise is a community based, business support project, covering Central and South Liverpool and funded by Liverpool Vision.

The tables were turned on Debbie Elliott Brown when she was presented with a surprise award to mark her dedication to Waves and the outstanding success of the project since she joined in April 2008.

Other prize winners were:

The Most Creative New Heys Entrepreneurs:

CC Create

The Business that has achieved outstanding success in 2009:

Greengrape Solutions

Business development with social objectives:

Elaine Stapleton, Insight Photography/Arts for Women

Business that is Contributing to the Local Economy:

The Stables Pub & Eatery

Personal Achievement in Business Start Up:

Julie Anderson

More information about Waves Enterprise is available at:

or contact Debbie Elliott Brown at Waves Enterprise on 07776 188279.

www.waves.uk.com

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