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At Business Unboxed, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a livelihood on their own terms — including those who may feel furthest from the traditional job market. Our approach today is deeply shaped by the experience of our co-founders, Jasmin Appleyard and Jude Sach, who both worked on the IncreaseVS (Valorisation Sociale) project — a major UK-France partnership that explored how self-employment could open new routes to work and confidence for disadvantaged communities.
Although Business Unboxed as an organisation did not exist at that time, the insights and practices gained during IncreaseVS have become part of our DNA.
What the IncreaseVS Project Set Out to Do
IncreaseVS was an ambitious, multi-partner initiative led by housing associations and local authorities across southern England and northern France. Its mission was simple but powerful: to test how socially inclusive self-employment could reduce unemployment and isolation in communities experiencing long-term economic decline.
Over the life of the project, IncreaseVS engaged more than 5,000 participants and helped create around 1,200 new businesses — many from individuals who would never have considered self-employment possible.
It was also the subject of a detailed academic evaluation published in the Journal of Social Policy (Bika et al., 2025), which highlighted its success in helping participants “develop a sense of self-efficacy and agency through micro-enterprise.”
What We Learned — and Still Apply Today
Through their direct involvement, Jasmin and Jude witnessed first-hand what it takes to make self-employment support genuinely inclusive and effective.
Five key lessons continue to shape how Business Unboxed works today:
1. Barriers are complex — and confidence comes first
Many participants faced multiple, overlapping challenges: low income, limited digital access, caring responsibilities, health issues, or poor self-belief. Business planning alone doesn’t solve those. We now start every journey by building confidence, self-awareness and motivation before moving into practical business steps.
2. Test first, then build
IncreaseVS encouraged participants to test their ideas in small, safe ways — from pop-up stalls to online micro-sales. We’ve built this “test-and-learn” model into all of our programmes, helping people validate their ideas before committing fully.
3. Local anchors make the difference
The project trained community ambassadors and peer champions within housing estates and neighbourhoods, ensuring ongoing encouragement and continuity. Business Unboxed now trains “peer mentors” in a similar way — local people who keep momentum going after funded programmes end.
4. Flexibility is key to inclusion
Rigid, classroom-based training models exclude many people juggling unpredictable lives. Today, we offer hybrid learning, short sessions, online check-ins and text-chat mentoring to make support accessible to everyone.
5. Collaboration amplifies results
IncreaseVS worked because housing associations, local councils and enterprise agencies collaborated as a single ecosystem. At Business Unboxed, we now act as connectors — bringing together housing providers, funders and community groups to co-design pathways that fit local realities.
How Business Unboxed Has Turned These Lessons into Practice
| Learning from IncreaseVS | How Business Unboxed Applies It | Benefit for Partners |
|---|---|---|
| Build confidence first | Start every journey with mindset, self-belief and purpose modules | Stronger engagement and reduced drop-out |
| Test before you launch | Embed mini-pilots, MVPs and micro-sales opportunities | Lower risk, faster wins |
| Anchor locally | Train “tenant champions” and local mentors, build local support networks, tap into existing groups. | Builds lasting community capacity |
| Offer flexible access | Combine in-person, online and asynchronous support | Works for complex lives and schedules |
| Collaborate | Co-design with HAs, LAs, and VCSE partners | Delivers sustainable impact and shared ownership |
These principles are now central to everything we do — from our mentoring programmes for housing association tenants, to our Launchpad Community, which provides ongoing peer and professional support for early-stage entrepreneurs.
Why This Matters for Housing Associations and Local Authorities
If you’re seeking to reduce worklessness, improve wellbeing, and build local enterprise capacity, Business Unboxed can help you deliver the next generation of self-employment support — practical, inclusive and rooted in evidence.
We offer:
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Tailored pathways for tenants and residents furthest from employment
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Hybrid delivery models combining community-based and online support
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Peer mentor training to create self-sustaining local capacity
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Data and impact reporting aligned with funder KPIs
We’ve seen first-hand how the right support can transform a person’s belief in their own potential — and we’d love to help you bring that transformation to your community.
Let’s Talk
If you’re a Housing Association, local authority or community partner exploring new ways to support enterprise and economic inclusion, we’d love to share our insights from IncreaseVS and show how our programmes can work in your area.
📧 Contact: hello@businessunboxed.co
