Outset Success Stories: Matthew Bello-Baamonde

Want to work for yourself but think you don’t have a skill to turn into a business? Finding the right link in the chain can be the key to success.

Matthew Bello-Baamonde had worked in a variety of roles but felt his career lacked continuity and security of employment so he reviewed his experience and realised that the common theme was dealing with high risk.

Matt decided to retrain as a health and safety officer and got a job with a consultancy. He soon realised he wanted to work for himself, but decided to wait until he had enough experience and savings to launch the business. After 12 months he was made redundant, so the opportunity to set up his consultancy, Vectis Health & Safety Solutions, had arrived “somewhat prematurely”, he says.

Although Matt had a good idea of what he wanted to do, he didn’t know how to transform this into an actionable plan. Fortunately, he met a member of the Outset team at the Jobcentre who told him about the fully-funded programme. Matt’s Jobcentre Plus advisor then referred him to Outset Swindon via the New Enterprise Allowance scheme.

“I had no idea where to start. Outset’s Business Start Up course not only gave me the tools and knowledge, but the confidence to shout about my business to the world. I would recommend it to anyone considering starting up on their own.”

For Matt, the financial projections were the biggest obstacle to completing his business plan but the one-to-one mentoring, which forms an integral part of the Ouster programme, helped him to overcome this. His advisor also e-mailed some examples of financial plans, which “helped tremendously”.

Vectis Health & Safety Solutions is still in its infancy but Matt already has clients in several different sectors. His main focus is advising small and medium-sized companies that cannot afford to employ specialist health and safety staff. This varies from individual services for companies with a good understanding of their obligations to packaged services ensuring full compliance for those with little or no experience.

Thanks to the Outset programme, Matt understands the importance of being flexible and providing good customer service as the basis for growth. He is focused on establishing a reputation for compliance and a strong client base, which he hopes will allow him to expand by the end of year three, as personal recommendations and trust drive an influx of new as well as repeat clients.