Why I became a social entrepreneur

My life experiences are the main reason I chose to become a social entrepreneur. I grew up in a deprived area and I think this always encouraged me to help others. I am passionate about diversity and wanted to help improve the lives of deprived communities and individuals in society near where I live in Bradford.

But I didn't want to tell communities what they needed, I believe it is important to work with them to help find a voice and then to design simple, but innovative, ways to support them. That's why I set-up Trescom, a forward-looking company that provides equality and diversity services to the public, private, community/voluntary and social enterprise sector. Our status as a social enterprise fits perfectly with our strong inclusive ethos and helps us to support diverse individuals and communities through our work.

Before starting Trescom, I worked first as a graduate trainee researcher for a community enterprise and then as an employment adviser for the local council in Bradford. Working for the council was brilliant, but you had to go through 20 people before a decision was made, which was so frustrating. I used to get frustrated with organisations that were basing services on perceived rather than actual needs. They also used to deliver in a very reactive rather than proactive way which maintained the cause rather than addressed issues in a holistic way. I felt that often voices of the community were not heard, welcomed and even patronised and this gave me a dream for change.

I feel that many local individuals and groups are excluded and Trescom strives to ensure that such people are included in our work. Through our innovative, flexible and people-centred work practices we aim to allow our stakeholders to build a portfolio of transferable skills and provide them with the training, work experience and opportunities in order to widen their employment opportunities and support their social inclusion.

I am a Muslim woman and my faith means that I don't want what I do to conflict with my values about the way I live my life. I want to live, work and participate in an ethically, socially and environmentally conscious way. Being in the social enterprise sector means that what I do is able to directly and indirectly help some of the most excluded individuals and deprived communities in society.

Social enterprise does not mean you have to sacrifice efficiency or success. In six years Trescom has carried out over 50 projects with more than 100 organisations. It has taken a lot of hard work, determination and learning along the way but we have shown that it is possible to combine business sense with a social conscience.

Trescom has grown from strength to strength since it was set up five years ago. In 2002, Trescom came second in a DTI equality award, just behind multinational giant Unilever. More recently, the company beat scores of big businesses to win a £100,000 contract to deliver race equality training in NHS trusts across the north-east.

Social enterprises make a massive impact across society and in turn help make everyone think about what they are doing for others. Everyone talks about carbon footprints and its impact on the environment, but the social enterprise model allows people to also consider their social footprint in terms of their impact on wider society.

Saeeda Ahmed co-owns Trescom, an enterprise that helps companies and public bodies implement policies, procedures and structures that cater for the needs of diverse groups. Ahmed has a degree in accountancy from the University of Huddersfield and recently completed a Masters in community enterprise at Cambridge. She is a social enterprise ambassador.