We are excited to share this next ‘in conversation’ feature. Last week we sat down with Peter Buturo from Bold Leap for a chat about the opening of their new accommodation, the power of collaboration and courage.
Peter is a successful entrepreneur and social worker whose has made it his mission in life is to work with the British youth and help them achieve their potential to be bold!
NH: Can you tell us a more about Bold Leap?
P: So the name itself is two words ‘Bold’ and ‘Leap’. Essentially the idea behind it was to create a space and platform for young people to be bold and courageous in taking that next leap in life. It can apply to young people in care, it can apply to young adults, and it applies across the spectrum, really. It’s for those looking to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood.
We are trying to teach and develop different skill sets in young people, more importantly we provide support and in doing so hope to instill a belief in them that they can become great and that they can become bold. Whether it’s finding a new employer, or going for an interview or getting a new home, you just need that boldness, hence that name Bold Leap. We use bold as our ethos, sending out a clear message to the young people we work with. It’s also something I center my public speaking around.
NH: When did Bold Leap start?
P: Funny thing, Bold Leap is me. It started the moment I was born, the narrative is me and the Bold Leap story is my story. Technically, I started my first company in 2014, then my second company in 2018 which was based in Birmingham and so Bold Leap was a rebranding of the two and came about last year. Over the past year we’ve been reworking around the branding and marketing and creating awareness with local councils and now we have our first home opening in March in Croydon.
NH: So how did you get to know about Normette?
P: It’s a funny thing actually. Last year I attended a lot of talks on Microsoft teams, especially on property and attending workshops. Initially my interest in the property world was rent-to-rent, so I spoke to the Normette guys about different strategies and options. Although I was leaning more towards rent-to-rent, the end objective is to develop a space to encourage and up skill young people. One of the talks I was giving was attended by some of the Normette Homes team and I guess they fell in love, haha. I guess they liked what I had to say and since then we’ve been talking about how we can collaborate.
I think Normette has similar ideas to myself and ultimately our journeys are quite similar. Normette always wants to give back and to build a community so that’s why I’m looking forward to working with them through the year. I’m also hoping to work with Normette on the next Bold Leap building for sure. There are a lot of similarities there and that’s why we have this desire to work in partnership, because I think both Normette and ourselves understand that to achieve greatness we need to understand the power of collaboration.
NH: Can you tell us more about the new Bold Leap accommodation opening next month?
P: So it’s semi-dependent accommodation, aimed at 16-18 year old's. The home that we have will provide support and a variety of skills including CV building and money management but at the same time the young people we work with have a degree of responsibility to lean into the support on offer so they can be developing themselves to the point that they are able to be independent at 18.
We really take a vested interest in the young people we work with, you know, from offering suits for interviews, mentoring programs, therapy. We offer young offender youth violence support as well.
NH: Let’s talk about the property itself; was there a specific design in place?
P: The building was available, so we bought it and it’s been refurbished and we’re currently making sure it’s meeting all quality assurance and compliance checks. The space itself represents what Bold Leap stands for, so comfortable, secure, safe, high-end living. We value our clients so we are working hard to ensure the accommodation meets a high standard. Ultimately, we want to be the place that local authorities recommend. Bold Lap Accommodation is a huge aspect of the company and what we’re trying to achieve.
Find out more about Bold Leap Accommodation here.
NH: What are next steps for Bold Leap and yourself?
P: Next steps, uhm, just expanding you know. We want to reach as many young people as possible. We want to expand in Surrey, and Northampton and other parts of the UK, we want to go international – we just want to grow. But always keeping in mind the mission statement and that’s making sure we are influencing young people in the best way possible.
We want to make sure the brand is improving and developing. We want young people to be successful in whatever they want to do so we are looking to open a second home this summer and then go from there. There is so much we want to do. We also have plans to own our own properties, our own portfolio. We want to teach and educate young people about property, which we’d like to work with Normette Homes on.
“The name was designed for a reason because without a spirit of boldness or courage you ain’t doing jack. “
NH: In terms of awakening the untapped potential in young people, what is your message for young people who want to get involved in entrepreneurship or property?
P: I go back to the name Bold Leap. You’ve got to have the boldness, that’s the starting point. You’ve got to have the courage. The name was designed for a reason because without a spirit of boldness or courage you ain’t doing jack. You’re not going to go as far as you want to go because you’re going to start doubting yourself.
The moral of the story is if you want to become great; you’ve got to have courage and boldness. My favourite quote is quite a famous one, its “Fortune favours the brave” and it really does. For example, someone who leaves their 9-5 to start their own business, they are taking that leap.
One of the main things I say to young people is, sure you don’t have the background of prep schooling or the background of tertiary education or you didn’t come from a position of wealth but that doesn’t define who you are or your future. My message is simply, you can become anyone you want to.
The word bold keeps coming to mind and I think it’s an ingredient you need to have.
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