Peter Doherty and Holly Morrison of Inverness Kart Raceway discuss the giving back social enterprise aspect of the business as a mentoring charity, by providing young people with new skills and future job opportunities.
“We tend to employ people that it’s their first time job and they’re young and enthusiastic. No experience to then go on to bigger and better things through the training that we can provide for them here.” — Holly Morrison, Inverness Kart Raceway
Podcast excerpts. Interview by Drew Hendry
Drew: In this episode, we’re looking at the subject of good business and giving back, and we’re doing that with Inverness Kart Raceway, a company designed around providing young people with new skills and future job opportunities. Tell me a bit about your business here.
Peter: Well, our business is running go-karts. We are a social enterprise. Our parent company is called Day One, a charity, a mentoring charity and they help young adults that maybe lost their way. We help them back on track and we’d give them, I wouldn’t say a lifeline, but we’re certainly a point in the right direction with a mentor.
Drew: Holly, what would it be you like most in the business?
Holly: I think it’s seeing young people grow, we tend to employ people that it’s their first time job and they’re young and enthusiastic. So, seeing them come through the door. No experience to then go on to bigger and better things through the training that we can provide for them here. And just exposure to work really.
Drew: You talked about the personal challenges that you faced to get this set up in the first place, what were the real hurdles for the business to overcome for you to get to where you are today?
Peter: For the first few years it was a honeymoon period. It was brilliant. And then it started to level off. And so, making sure that the charity had money was always at the forefront. The bottom line is always at the forefront of every meeting we ever have is how do we get on, how is the bottom line?
Listen to the full Video Podcast to learn more about Inverness Kart Raceway and the charity work the sports centre is built around.