The A.M Hustle programme has been created to help young people grow their confidence and resilience, and develop a stronger growth mindset through mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a way of perceiving, thinking, and behaving. It works by taking your focus to the present moment and away from other thoughts.

Feedback so far has shown that those who have undertaken the A.M. Hustle programme have developed:

• Higher self-esteem
• Greater resilience
• Strengthened love of learning
• Lessened fear of failure
• Willingness to take on challenges

Nahim Akhtar has been a teacher for 12 years, he founded A.M. Hustle when he relocated to Bingley after spending 6 years as a teacher in London.

During the pandemic Nahim witnessed setbacks in the school community and a general decline in the mental health of both students and teachers. He decided to put his research, certifications, and passion for mental health to good use and began delivering online mindfulness sessions.

“Following the project’s success, I continued the voluntary sessions when we returned to school and received an unprecedented response from students, parents, staff, and local media. Parents who noticed dramatic and apparent changes in the behavior of their children, who were encouraged to spend time with loved ones, exercise and read books outside of the school curriculum to help them achieve their personal and professional life goals.”

Realising there was a real demand for this type of support, Nahim decided to explore the possibility of developing a business.

Objectives

When Nahim joined Start-Up West Yorkshire he was not yet trading, he had licenced the business but needed to further establish his idea and develop it into a fully functioning business.

“I came across Start Up West Yorkshire at a networking event in Bradford earlier this year.

I was immediately blown away with the instant support that was available since the day I joined.

It has boosted my confidence to step into the world of entrepreneurship day by day.”

Results

Bradford's Start-Up Manager Katrina introduced Nahim to Andy at People Plus (Start-Up West Yorkshire delivery partner).

“Andy was able to underpin which aspects I needed the most support with, which helped me to prioritize my research and workload. Webinars I have been a part of so far:

• Promoting your business
• Basic bookkeeping
• Building business confidence
• Jumpstart your business planning
• Marketing strategy and planning

The content delivered in above sessions was emailed across which I have been able to refer to throughout my own strategic planning and it has informed my day to day actions.

One of the most useful aspects so far has been learning about disclaimers and ensuring terms and conditions are compliant - something I would not have been able to compose alone.

The support Katrina has made available has been tremendous. While I undertake some supply teaching roles as I set up the business, no day off has been the same and I have been able to fill my days with productive to-do lists. Katrina has encouraged me to create a plan of action and I touch base with her periodically with updates and to seek further advice.

Check-ins have covered joining networking events in the local area and online, ways to research competitors effectively, creating flyers to distribute at events, and setting up my business pages on social media platforms.

I was also recently put in touch with a professional website builder who has helped me to design some of the features of my upcoming site, which I am very excited about.”

The A.M Hustle website is now live and includes an interactive quiz to help assess individual needs.

Feedback

“I joined the programme in need of some professional direction and I have gained so much more; I have become part of a supportive community that I know will always be available to help me.

Business building has been hard and I have really struggled at times. Particularly as I have switched from being in school settings surrounded by numerous stakeholders, to being by myself with just a computer screen! But - and as my own business underpins - I am viewing my own struggles and failures as chances to learn and grow, and I am certainly learning new things along the way.

And giving back to the Bradford community and helping to transform the lives of young people in my local community with mindset coaching gives me great satisfaction and drive.”