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Croydon man triumphs over adversity to be named one of the UK's top 25 new business heroes in national awards
A Croydon man, who has triumphed over personal adversity to successfully establish his own business, has been named one of the country's Top 25 business heroes in The Barclays Trading Places Awards. The Awards, which are supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Jobcentre Plus and The Prince's Trust, were launched in March to recognise men and women who have overcome various barriers and battled against the odds to positively change their lives by setting up a business. Waqas Hussain, who started DEO Consultancy, is now hoping to go on to scoop the top prize worth over £7,000 at a glittering gala Awards Dinner, to be held in London on 2nd October. Waqas is an experienced and dynamic professional and innovative problem solver, as a management consultant he has a broad range of skills covering a variety of HR and Organisational functions including training & development, conflict management and mediation in the work place. At the age of 9 Waqas was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition and advised to leave school and attend a specialist institution where he could learn a 'useful' craft such as basket weaving. Fortunately, the doctor was ignored and Waqas continued his mainstream education. His visual impairment sometimes made studying difficult but with the support from his mother, nothing was out of reach. After graduating from the prestigious Government College in Lahore, Waqas planned to come to the UK to complete a Master's Degree in defence studies, but the plane Waqas and his father travelled on was hijacked. The emotional, physiological and psychological effects of the 40-hour ordeal meant Waqas was not able to start his degree as planned. By this time his remaining eye sight rapidly diminished so he had no useful vision left and was encouraged to attend a specialist RNIB college to learn IT and mobility skills. The experience changed Waqas' perceptions and his life. The experience empowered him and through hard work and determination he regained his independence, he also had the chance to meet a wide variety of extremely talented, though disabled people who had suffered because of society's negative approach to disability. The future was decided and Waqas set up a disability equality consultancy to raise awareness of the business benefits involved in employing and serving the UK's 10 million disabled customers. Benefiting from his experience of working on issues concerning socioeconomic disadvantage within his roles in journalism, education and local government, Waqas started working as a management consultant. His business, DEO Consultancy was established in 2004 and has seen tremendous growth. DEO has a very diverse base of local, national and international clients, who range from large corporate entities to small not-for-profit sector organisations and from blue chip and FTSE 100 companies to local authorities and civil service departments. It has not all been straightforward, as Waqas has faced the challenges of setting up a new business compounded by the fact that most support information is only available in print or mostly in PDF, often inaccessible for a blind person. In spite of this he has kept moving forward and diversifying, now offering a range of consultancy services addressing issues including disability, gender, race, faith, sexuality and age, as well as conflict management and dealing with bullying and harassment in the workplace. Waqas has also qualified as a certified workplace mediator and offers mediation and alternative dispute resolution, a fast-growing market in the UK. Barclays, which is spearheading the Awards, aims to champion small companies by providing extensive localised knowledge and award winning services - 80,000 fledgling entrepreneurs got their feet off the ground last year with Barclays' support. Barclays Marketing Director for Local Business, John Davis, said: "Trading Places is a celebration of unsung heroes who, in spite of great personal challenges, have taken steps to establish a sustainable business and in doing so changed the direction of their lives for the better. "The quality of this year's entries was extremely impressive and we hope that national recognition of DEO Consultancy will help it go from strength to strength." "We also hope the stories these Awards have uncovered will help inspire other men and women in Surrey to turn their own business dreams into a reality - despite what might seem daunting odds." The judging panel, to include Big Issue founder and editor-in-chief John Bird, will select the top 10 candidates who best evidence how they have triumphed over adversity to successfully begin a business and change their lives. The judges will be looking for enterprising individuals who have overcome personal challenges and obstacles - such as long-term unemployment, financial hurdles, physical disabilities, discrimination and personal tragedy - to set up on their own. As part of their prize, the 10 National Finalists will all attend a glittering gala Awards Dinner in London at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, on October 2nd, where they will each receive £2,000 worth of free business advertising from Thomson Local Directories, plus software worth £450 courtesy of Microsoft. In addition, the winner and runner-up, to be announced on the night, will also collect £5,000 and £3,000 respectively, courtesy of Barclays. www.princes-trust.org.uk
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