My name is Karen Leafe and the business I am developing will be a Community Interest Company called ‘Clear Insights’ which will be a consultancy delivering training and Self-Development courses and workshops. I will be tailoring Life Coaching, which is usually only available to professional adults due to its cost and content, to be accessible to Young People as well as adults. I am a 46 yr old mother of two and an approved foster carer and have worked with children of all ages since I was 17. I have also lived and worked within multi-cultural, multi faith communities, including refugee and traveller communities since the age of 17. This work includes running two support projects for Unaccompanied Minors in Hastings and Eastbourne. For the past seven years I have focussed on working with young people aged 10-25, specialising in writing and delivering workshops and providing intensive support and advocacy in Equality and Diversity issues, Self Esteem and Self Development, Mental Health, Benefits and Housing, and Educational support for individuals with Special Needs. I have also delivered training for staff in understanding the Autistic Spectrum. I wish to use my start up money of £250 to deliver three introductory sessions of Life Coaching in small groups for a token contribution of only £5 per person, per session, to make the service available to those on a low income, whilst at the same time gaining feedback through evaluation in order to secure my Life Coaching Certificate which I have already personally invested £1,200 in. I would also complete some specialist professional mentoring to gain further advice on the process of getting my research and manuscripts published, purchase some further resource materials and pay for my basic Public Liability Insurance. I am also keen to support and help to train parents who wish to home school their children in Opti Learning methods and to deliver a unique programme aimed at engendering the joy of learning, encouraging in particular children who have slipped through the net of conventional schooling. Celebrating Cultural Diversity Networks LEGI pilot has helped me to get these ideas off the ground by extending my knowledge of financial and business planning tools and cash flow forecasts. Contact me on: karen@celebratingculturaldiversitynetwork.org