{"id":31903,"date":"2020-02-26T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/?p=31903"},"modified":"2020-02-28T10:17:59","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T10:17:59","slug":"never-give-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armanios.co.uk\/dev\/sia\/never-give-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Never give up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Inspired by the support he received from his friends following his SCI, Steven Aitchison <\/em><\/strong>decided he wanted to give something back and set up a clothing and merchandise company for those who refuse to give up.<\/h4>\n

On 25 July 2015, I was on a night out in Hebden Bridge with some friends. On the way back to the train station we were messing around, as lads do after a few drinks, when one of my friends decided to push my other friend and I over a wall and into a bush \u2013 or what he thought was a bush. It turned out the \u2018bush\u2019 was actually a tree growing out of the other side of the wall, which had a 20ft drop straight down to the canal side. The fall shattered all but two of my ribs on my right side, punctured my lung and separated my spine at T12\/L1 (complete), leaving me paralysed.<\/p>\n

Like many people who have an SCI, mine happened by pure chance and came as a total shock to my friends and family. I\u2019ve seen some friends and relatives really step up to the plate and help, while others have faded away.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also changed my relationship with my girlfriend and I have gone from being the \u2018manly\u2019 man, to having to rely on her for help. It\u2019s the little things like being the one who opened doors for her before, to now being the one let through \ufb01rst. The untold toughness that it puts on a partner and on a relationship makes me so unbelievably lucky to have such an amazing girlfriend by my side \u2013 even if she does occasionally put chocolates out of my reach. She rocks, I roll.<\/p>\n

Setting up a new company<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was 33 when my accident happened and I wanted to go back to work. I was previously an industrial electrician and was unable to return to that role, as during my time in hospital my former employer was unable to \ufb01nd me alternative work within the company.<\/p>\n

It kind of came about by chance, when on the \ufb01rst anniversary of my accident, a group of my friends got together and arranged an awesome day of events to raise money to help me when leaving hospital. We did it around the theme of \u2018can\u2019t quit\u2019, mainly because I thought it was a great message, and because there was space for the letters to be tattooed across my knuckles!<\/p>\n

After receiving such support I wanted to do something where I\u2019d be able to give back and hopefully inspire other people to \u2018not quit\u2019 along the way. Nine months from that day, Can\u2019t Quit Cartel was launched as a clothing and merchandise company for those who refuse (or just don\u2019t have the option) to give up.<\/p>\n

Before setting up my company I had zero business management experience. This entire experience has been a massive learning curve \u2013 mistakes have been made and sometimes still are! Every day is a school day, but I\u2019m enjoying the journey of learning, improving and growing. Some days you win, some days you learn.<\/p>\n

When starting I did seek the help of SIA and the job centre, which was helpful and pointed me in the direction of some really useful resources and tools.<\/p>\n

If someone else with an SCI is looking to set up their own business, I\u2019d say go for it! While I wouldn\u2019t say we\u2019re lucky ending up with an SCI, we are lucky in that you can create a business that\u2019s \ufb02exible to you. There are so many opportunities out there now \u2013 you can blog, have a YouTube channel, online store, clothing and merchandise company \u2013 although don\u2019t be stealing my customers!<\/p>\n

The biggest thing I\u2019ve learned since starting my business is that it\u2019s tough working with an SCI. I honestly hadn\u2019t imagined how tough. I have the utmost respect for all who go back to full-time work, as there are days when the pain or dreaded bowels just don\u2019t want to let you work, and those days I\u2019m so lucky that I can be \ufb02exible. But, it is super rewarding being back to work, creating something cool and having a purpose each morning to get up and get your hustle on for.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in our FORWARD magazine, February 2018.
\nMore information about FORWARD.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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