Post Runner in the Community
Partnership with Leeds City College
We are delighted to announce we are working with Leeds City College to provide our young staff with an opportunity to gain various qualifications through guided learning courses. The courses range from customer awareness to team leading and will be provided completely free of charge to our staff through subsidies from Leeds City College as well as Post Runner.
We are really excited to announce this and already the interest from our staff has been really encouraging meaning the project should work well. We hope the uptake will reflect the interest we've had so far and ultimately be able to provide dozens of young people with valuable qualifications that will go on to support their career aspirations.
We believe strongly that given a chance young people can prove a lot of the doubters wrong and go on to make a great success of their lives whatever that definition of success might be to them. We have see first hand the potential of young people and how they have accelerated our business, so to give something back is both a rewarding and worthwhile process. Here's to a successful partnership with the college and most importantly a positive future for the young people going through our program.
Social Enterprise - so what?
In 2012 we received our accreditation to make Post Runner a registered Community Interest Company. Great I hear you say, but what does this mean?
We are a social enterprise operating as a 'for more than profit business'. We still operate as before and ensure our standards, service and prices are as effective and competitive as ever. Although we now have several more important aims than just to keep a profit, our basis for CIC was around helping to resolve youth unemployment in the local communities to us (across W.Yorkshire). We aim to help predominately 16-24 NEET (not in education, employment or training) individuals get back into work and build themselves a long term career. I for one know that words mean very little and actions are what counts, I also realise this is a long road and won't be easy. We took a long time to come to this decision as the best way we felt to take the business forward and we believe we will succeed as we have a sustainable model and scope for considerable growth.
As with all aspects of the business we like to be transparent so over the coming months we will update the page with information on how our community aims are progressing. In the meantime if you feel you can help in any way or would like to discuss our work please feel free to contact us.
John Macleod
Co-founder, Post Runner CIC
In the Press...
Post Runner picks up Business of the Year title
John Macleod
A COMPANY set up by two Leeds Metropolitan University graduates, which helps the disadvantaged and young unemployed get back into the workplace, has won an award for Business of the Year.
John Macleod, 23, launched Leeds-based direct marketing service Post Runner, which operates as a community interest company, with fellow alumnus, John Tetik, 25.
Now in their second year of business, Post Runner has been named Business of the Year and Mr Macleod was last night presented with a £1,500 prize at a Leeds Enterprise Network event.
Mr Macleod graduated with a sports coaching degree in 2010 and launched Post Runner via Leeds Metropolitan’s Business Start-Up scheme and its QU2 business centre. Post Runner’s clients include Northern Ballet, the Leeds Grand Theatre and Subway.
Now in its second year of trading, it has a target turnover of £65,000 for this year but Mr Macleod said he expects it to reach a six-figure sum.
The business, which now has a team of five plus a freelance distribution team, originally started as a direct mail distribution service, but has since expanded to include design, event promotions and the planning of marketing campaigns.
Post Runner works with Leeds charity Youth Point to share opportunities within the firm with young people classified as Neets – not in education, employment, or training.
It also provides free courses for young people via a partnership with Leeds City College. Mark Taylor, Leeds Met Business Start-Up adviser, said: “John really impressed the judging panel with his progress so far. Not only does he combine a commercially successful business with a social ethic he demonstrated clear plans for growth and we can’t wait to see how Post Runner develops.”
John Macleod
A COMPANY set up by two Leeds Metropolitan University graduates, which helps the disadvantaged and young unemployed get back into the workplace, has won an award for Business of the Year.
John Macleod, 23, launched Leeds-based direct marketing service Post Runner, which operates as a community interest company, with fellow alumnus, John Tetik, 25.
Now in their second year of business, Post Runner has been named Business of the Year and Mr Macleod was last night presented with a £1,500 prize at a Leeds Enterprise Network event.
Mr Macleod graduated with a sports coaching degree in 2010 and launched Post Runner via Leeds Metropolitan’s Business Start-Up scheme and its QU2 business centre. Post Runner’s clients include Northern Ballet, the Leeds Grand Theatre and Subway.
Now in its second year of trading, it has a target turnover of £65,000 for this year but Mr Macleod said he expects it to reach a six-figure sum.
The business, which now has a team of five plus a freelance distribution team, originally started as a direct mail distribution service, but has since expanded to include design, event promotions and the planning of marketing campaigns.
Post Runner works with Leeds charity Youth Point to share opportunities within the firm with young people classified as Neets – not in education, employment, or training.
It also provides free courses for young people via a partnership with Leeds City College. Mark Taylor, Leeds Met Business Start-Up adviser, said: “John really impressed the judging panel with his progress so far. Not only does he combine a commercially successful business with a social ethic he demonstrated clear plans for growth and we can’t wait to see how Post Runner develops.”
Entrepreneurs John Macleod and John Tetik launched Post Runner, a leaflet and flyer distribution service based in Leeds, after seeing a gap in the market for leaflets to be handed out in a supervised, professional and motivated way.
The pair, who graduated in 2010, came up with the idea after they were disappointed by other leaflet distribution companies.
“We decided to speak to people who were doing this for a living and get their views about the job,” said John Macleod.
“The problem quickly became clear. Many people said they felt highly under-motivated and devalued due to poor wages, while some admitted to taking short cuts, delivering the leaflets or flyers late or at times not delivering them at all.
“We decided there was a real opportunity to provide businesses with a service they can rely on where the staff delivering leaflets and flyers on their behalf are smartly dressed in uniforms and are happy in their work.”
The pair launched Post Runner via Leeds Metropolitan’s business start-up scheme based at the QU2 Business Centre at the university’s city centre campus.
John Tetik said: “We employ young motivated people at Post Runner and our community aims are at the heart of everything we do. We help the disadvantaged and young unemployed get back into the workplace, learning skills and attributes to forge a long-term career. Plus we pay them decent wages to ensure they remain motivated.”
Post Runner - Direct Marketing - Leeds - 0113 281 6778
Post Runner Community Interest Company. Company Registered in England & Wales No. 7850725.
