Rehabilitated people start a business every month for 5,000 people to work as bosses, and before social workers open coffee shops, they aim to become social enterprises.

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The prodigal son turned to gold, and the post-80s Liu Zhuoqi (Marco) went astray and suffered from prison. He wanted to turn over a new leaf after he got out of prison, but he was not satisfied with his job search. Fortunately, he did not turn back and had a wealth of working experience. On the contrary, he trained himself with good skills.

Marco, who has always cherished the dream of starting a business, won an advance of six-figure shares in Bole, who had helped him in Gengsheng, making him a coffee shop owner with zero capital. The three people have sublimated from the relationship between giving and receiving to their partners, with the goal of turning shops into social enterprises, employing vulnerable groups such as rehabilitated people and ethnic minorities, and assisting craftsmen to start their own businesses.

Marco (31) had a complicated family background and was raised by his mother alone from an early age. Later, he mistakenly made bad friends, ran away from home, and committed a number of serious crimes such as unlawful detention, extortion and serious bodily harm. He was jailed for three years. During his time in prison, he turned back because he felt the care of his parents (see article-his parents decided to turn over a new leaf after they were released from prison).

After he was released from prison, he was determined to reform, but he encountered many obstacles. At that time, he only had a Secondary five education, and his English level was not high. He could only find a job as a salesperson and a warehouse clerk. However, he ran into a brick wall everywhere. "if I wrote that I had committed a crime, 10 jobs would not be hired, and the other person would never explain why."

Ran into a brick wall when he got out of prison and took part in a start-up competition.

He could not bear to get angry, but his employer only gave excuses such as "the company no longer needs people". The unemployment situation lasted for a year. Marco couldn't help laughing at himself that his last job as a salesperson in a fashion store was because he "couldn't understand the English application form and asked if he had committed an offence, so he didn't fill it in" and was finally hired.

It is even more difficult, but it has unexpectedly made Marco develop his skills. he has worked at least four jobs, learned how to make cakes, bread and manage kitchens in hotel kitchens, learned how to make advertising banners in fashion stores, and recently completed interior design courses and fell in love with carpentry.

Marco's entrepreneurial dream sprouted as early as when he was released from prison. He said frankly, "I have no academic qualifications and have been in prison. It is very difficult for me to find a job and have a stable income." so at that time, he already wanted to start a business and earn his own feet. he had participated in entrepreneurial competitions organized by non-profit-making organizations many times, but his ideas were not appreciated.

Marco, who thinks he is smart, has never forgotten to pursue his dream. Recently, he opened a coffee shop Fe Coffee in an industrial building, partnering with social workers and entrepreneurial consultants who had helped him improve his life in the past-- both post-80s Sing and Ken.

Sing and Ken invested about 1 million yuan to open a store, and later came up with a monthly payment to give Marco, who has not much savings, a taste of becoming a boss. The two gave 30% of the shares (equivalent to 300000 or 400000 yuan) to Marco, and let him withdraw 5000 yuan in repayment and "rights issue" within his monthly salary of 15000 yuan.

Ken said frankly: "rehabilitated people have hands, feet and skills, to some extent, they are not weak, they are very intelligent, but they used the wrong place in the past and went too far." He also pointed out that Marco has changed from a service case in the past to a friend, and now it has even become a partner. "I no longer take him with me, but help each other and grow up together."

At present, the size of the shop kitchen, including the delivery of food materials, menu design, and so on, are all handled by experienced Marco. Sing also said that in the past, he had always wanted to use the "rights issue" model to support the living, but why the structure of non-profit-making organizations was complex, there were priorities in the allocation of resources, and the idea could not be implemented.

Hire ethnic minorities to make ends meet in one year

The two men are well aware of the difficulties faced by rehabilitated people in rejoining society. "there is a big gap between working and breaking the law in the past, but starting a business can make them pay more attention to it." and starting a business is like buying a home, it is very difficult to start without a down payment, so they resign and start a business. I hope to help them in another capacity.

The three-person coffee shop opened in mid-June to recruit rehabilitated persons, new arrivals and ethnic minorities, with the goal of becoming a social enterprise with a view to making ends meet within a year. Marco also hopes to help more people in need to become bosses in the form of monthly contributions in the future.

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