Deirdre Nicholls
Aftercare Advisor, The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust, Opportunity & Enterprise
Working as an aftercare adviser with the PSYBT is one of the best things I have ever done.
Being able to help young entrepreneurs is a privilege, and I have been very lucky to work with some extraordinary people such as Donna Mackenzie and her fabulous beauty salon in Bonnyrigg, Fleur Macintosh and her gorgeous vintage & recycled design shop in the Grassmarket, Neil Doig's innovative shop for young cool men in St Mary's Street, and Keira Thorley with her beautiful leather designs.
My training as a Sculptor means that creativity influences all my activities, whether they are with people or materials.My business background as a product designer, means I can bring this experience to bear on my work, and my early experience in teaching has also been useful.
At first, I wondered what on earth I could do to help, and then when I met some of the young people, I realised that all the mistakes I had made were going to be of use after all, and I could relate really well to their worries.
