I walked into Suited for Success and was blown away. I'm pretty sure as Patricia White, the company's CEO walked over my jaw was still open, my eyes wide, trying to take it all in.
"Kate. Hi. It's so good to meet you."
We both instantly laughed. The kind of laugh you make when you've met up with an old friend and have so much energy to share.
"I'm sorry this just wasn't what I was expecting," I exclaimed apologetically.
Spread over two floors in a building located in the heart of Ladywood, Birmingham, Suited for Success has made an impression not just in the city where Patricia was born and bred but to the rest of the UK.
"Do you think you'll ever franchise?" I asked frankly. Surely this has the potential to be huge?"
"I've been asked but having a franchise takes the personality out of the business. I never created the business to be a franchise. For me this is what it's about" as she pointed over the road to the neighbourhood opposite..
" I wanted to help men and women get back into employment and Ladywood reminds me where it started and why we do it.
In the beginning
Founded in 2015, this UK based charity was initially launched as a six month pilot project.
The aim was simple, to make a positive change to unemployment figures within the City.
"We identified Ladywood as an area we wanted to help. The idea then surfaced to provide gently worn garments to those who were unemployed and actively looking for work.
After a 6-month pilot project in partnership with Birmingham Central Foodbank in 2015, Suited for Success became a registered charity in January 2016 and moved into a new referral centre in Hockley in August 2016 which officially opened in January 2107 with managing director Patricia White at the helm.
We walked to the a balcony that overlooked the ground floor. This was where the stock was kept. Rails of clothes, more organised than most retail stores I've worked for.
"Tell me how it works."
"So once a customer is dressed for their interview and if they're successful is that where their Suited for Success journey ends?"
"In the beginning yes. But over the years we've evolved and morphed. We realised although our client looked great and an interview had been secured, there was still anxiety over the next stage of employment.
"We've had a lot of our clients say they don't want to look poor. They've been living in poverty one minute and the next they've secured a job. They just want to fit in and belong, like everyone else."
Enter Matthew Enstone. The impeccably dressed personal stylist. With a career spanning over thirty years, working for the likes of Gieves and Hawkes and styling on Saville Row, the Suited for Success clients really are in the best of hands.
"The important thing is we give our customers a choice. After we've dressed them for their interview and they've secured a job, I work with them to create a capsule wardrobe.. "
Oh and the choice. Rails of choice. Every stylist's and client's dream. All sizes available, mix and match options. There was more choice than I've seen in many of high street stores.You have the option for casual wear if you secured a job in a non corporate environment. It's not a store full of suit options and corporate dresses ( as I naively expected ). From red heels, to gingham to denim, this place really does have it all.
"The work capsule I like because you can see their confidence grow. It's a bit of a pamper session. We help them with their makeup too, " explained Matthew.
"I have so many clients who blow me away" said Matthew. "They feel like they're shopping with a friend and the beauty is we do cater for everyone."
"So how did the two of you meet?
Matthew & Patricia
I came out of menswear tailoring when I was fifty. I went to work for a homeless charity who helped the homeless get back into employment and that's where I met Patricia, in Ladywood actually."
They both laughed. You can feel the strong bond they have. The energy is a calming one between them. The kind of working relationship where you're totally comfortable with one another.
"He was like gold dust," exclaimed Patricia. " I knew I had to have him come and work for the business."
" And I was blown away." Matthew smiled, nostalgically. " I was almost expecting a charity shop set up. It really exceeded all my expectations."
Having done my research prior to the interview I knew Patricia had worked for the BBC as a journalist. So what changed?
"Prior to my redundancy from the BBC, I knew I wanted to work within the community. During my journalist days I always wanted to be out the office, getting the real grassroot community stories. Colleagues would joke "Where is Patricia now?" I'd be out talking to the people who make this city what it is.
"When I left the BBC , I took two years out to gain more knowledge and experience of working within the community. I was approached to set up the first Tussle Trust food bank, right here in Ladywood. It was the first one of it's kind in Birmingham."
It was whilst Patricia was working at the food bank that she questioned, how could anyone present themselves in a professional way at a job interview, when they can't even afford to put food on the table. It was also a time when all government grants and funding for helping individuals get back to work had stopped. That's where the thinking started.
"We got a lot of support from corporate business doing food drives, collecting tins of non perishables for the food bank and I started to think wouldn't it be great if they could do that for clothes?"
The impact.
Lorna Gavin, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Corporate Responsibility at Gowling WLG has spoken about how Suited for Success came to life. "The goal was simple – bring together a small group of young professionals to form a volunteer consortium and identify a need in a disadvantaged community or group within the region. The members of Project 14 had to implement a scheme to meet that need and deliver a solution for it."
"I literally had £5 in my bank," laughs Patricia. "We had no money, no resources and it had to be a sustainable business. We just had to make it work."
"We found a unit next door to Tesco. The store paid our rent for the first twelve months but we still had to fundraise. We still do."
Dressing for interviews and seeing a client through their first weeks of employment really made me take a minute to take it all in. The impact this charity is having on the local community is monumental.
"With the new job start appointment the client will get coaching too. The job centres often found an individual may get a job but then wouldn't turn up on the first day. They may not have enough clothes or not know what to expect from their first few days. This heightens their anxiety. We guide them through.
I was fortunate enough to witness Patricia and Matthew in action. A client came in to see them. They knew her first name straight away; greeting her with a warm hello; stopping to ask how her week had been and guiding her to the hub, located at the back of the store, a place where the client can meet business individuals for support.
Plans for Suited for Success in the pipeline. (There's set to be a big announcement soon) .
"As well as people coming in on a one to one basis we want to be out there in the community reaching the ones who need it the most. We want to work with individual groups. A franchise isn't for us. For us it's remaining focused and committed to the people who need our service."
For more information on Suited for Success or to find out how you can contribute to the valuable service they provide you can visit https://www.suitedforsuccess.co.uk
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