Hi, my name is Patryk - but everyone calls me Paddy.

I was born in Poland and raised in England after my parents made the difficult decision to move our family here when I was 12 years old. They wanted a better future for me and my two younger sisters, leaving behind a tough life in Rawicz, Poland, where both of them worked opposite shifts just to keep food on the table.

As the eldest child, I quickly became more than just a son - I became a translator, a helper and someone who had to grow up fast.

Before moving to England, football was my whole world. I trained in a football academy in Poland and truly believed that was my path. But life had other plans.

We moved to Cannock, to Chadsmoor - an area many locals know can be rough around the edges. It wasn’t always the easiest place to grow up, but it became home. Like many young people trying to find themselves, I made mistakes, drifted through jobs and learned life the hard way.

Looking back now I’m grateful for those lessons because they shaped the man I became.

Cannock and the surrounding areas took me in as an immigrant kid trying to find his place in the world. Over the last 19 years, this town became my home, my community and the place where I built my life.

That means something to me.

I’ve seen both the good and the hard sides of life here. I know what struggle looks like. I know what it feels like when life feels like it’s closing in. That’s exactly why I’ve always promised myself that if I ever got the chance, I’d give something back.

Not because I have to - because I want to.

Everything changed when I found purpose.

I started working in manufacturing at Gestamp Automotive, eventually working my way from factory worker to shop floor supervisor, managing teams and major client production for companies like BMW, Toyota, Jaguar, and Land Rover. For the first time I had pride in my work. I cared, I pushed myself and I wanted more.

But life changed again when I met my wife.

She became the best thing that ever happened to me - not just my partner but my biggest supporter, my backbone and the person who helped me believe I could build something bigger for us.

Together, we stepped into telecoms and subcontracting, starting from the bottom: TRR, surveying, cabling, fibre work, splicing, aerial work, FTTH builds - learning every part of the trade.

I worked for others first but I always knew one day I wanted my own company. Eventually, with encouragement from my wife, I took the biggest risk of my life and started our own business.

We invested everything. Our savings, our house deposit fund, loans and every bit of energy we had. We bought vans, tools, accreditations, training, qualifications, machinery - everything needed to make it work.

We built a strong team. We worked through bank holidays, long-distance contracts, winter mornings, 14-hour days and months away from normal life just trying to stay ahead.

My wife wasn’t just helping - she was carrying this business with me. Early mornings, site work, office work, invoicing, admin, home life - she did it all despite struggling with ongoing health problems that make daily life exhausting for her.

She has battled chronic health issues since she was 19, including severe sinus problems affecting her sleep and ongoing bowel issues that leave her constantly drained. Yet she still pushed through to help us survive. She never gave up on me, that’s why I can’t give up now.

Along this journey I slowly lost touch with most of my friendships and much of my social life. Not through arguments or bad blood but because every bit of time, energy, and money went back into the business and the people around me.

While others were enjoying weekends and downtime, we were working, travelling, reinvesting into qualifications, machinery, repairs, staff and trying to prepare for the next contract or survive the next dry spell.

Any money we earned rarely became personal money. It stayed in the business.

The company became family-built and family-driven, alongside two carefully chosen engineers who I genuinely value and never wanted to let down or lose. I always felt responsible not only for myself and my wife but for the people who trusted me enough to build this journey with us.

The problem is this industry gives no guarantees. No guaranteed work, no guaranteed income. Only dry spells, delays and financial pressure.

We’ve had contracts end suddenly, weeks with no work, major repair bills, training costs, tax pressure and the constant fear of trying to keep our staff paid while keeping the business alive.

I’ve done everything I can to protect the people around me. I kept paying my workers during quiet periods because I never wanted them to feel the same fear and uncertainty we were carrying.

But now I’m reaching the point where the pressure is becoming too much.

I’m fighting for my business, I’m fighting for my wife, I’m fighting for the life we’ve spent years trying to build.

One of the biggest struggles in telecom subcontracting is the inconsistency of work throughout the year. Some months are strong, while others can suddenly leave you with little or nothing at all despite still carrying all the costs of running a business.

That uncertainty is one of the reasons I’ve started looking into expanding into tree surgery and woodworking alongside telecoms.

I want to create something more stable and practical that can survive the quieter periods instead of constantly living contract to contract.

I’ve even started looking at ways to recycle and repurpose materials such as pallets and reclaimed wood into useful projects for the local community and future ideas we have.

The challenge now is space.

To make that vision possible, we would need access to a small unit or workshop space where we could safely store equipment, materials, machinery and begin building something long-term rather than constantly fighting short-term survival.

This isn’t about luxury. It’s not about asking for an easy life.

We don’t want millions. We want breathing room.

We want security. We want health. We want the chance to keep building something honest.

Long term, my dream is bigger than just surviving.

The first goal is to stabilise and expand the business properly - to create breathing room through telecoms, tree surgery, woodworking and practical work that can keep us going when one area slows down.

Only once we are steady, comfortable and no longer constantly fighting to stay afloat, I want to give back to Cannock and the surrounding areas that gave me a chance. That would be my way of saying thank you.

Helping improve public spaces, cleaning local areas, supporting people who are struggling, helping with animal rescue and rehoming. Creating something meaningful that gives back to the town I love.

My wife knows I’m doing this but she doesn’t fully believe people would help. Truthfully, part of me feels the same. I’m doing this because I know if I don’t try, I’ll regret it forever.

My biggest fear is not failure - it’s being beaten down by life so much that I lose the drive, love, and ambition I still have left. Because despite everything, I still believe.

I still believe hard work matters. I still believe good people deserve a chance. I still believe this town is worth fighting for.

Most importantly, I don’t want to get burnt out and I want to help my wife finally focus on her health properly so we can enjoy our younger years together.

I love her more than words can explain.

What Your Support Would Help With:

Any support received would be used carefully, honestly and with purpose.

This is not about luxury, shortcuts or trying to live beyond our means. It is about giving us breathing room while we stabilise the business, protect the people around us and build more reliable ways of earning so we are not constantly living from one contract to the next.

Support would help towards keeping essential business costs covered during quiet periods, maintaining vans, tools, machinery, insurance, training and accreditations, and helping us keep hold of the small team we have built - including family and two carefully chosen engineers who I genuinely value and do not want to lose.

It would also help us move into additional work such as tree surgery and woodworking, which could give us more stability when telecoms work slows down. Part of that vision would mean securing a small unit or workshop space where we can safely store tools, machinery, reclaimed materials such as pallets and begin building practical projects that could help the business stand on stronger ground.

Most importantly, it would help take some pressure off our shoulders so my wife can finally focus properly on her health and so we can both have a chance to enjoy our younger years rather than constantly fighting to survive.

To give an honest idea of what different levels of support could mean:

£5,000 would help give us immediate breathing room with essential costs, repairs and short-term pressure.

£10,000 would help stabilise the business further, protect key equipment, maintain accreditations and support us through quieter periods while we build additional income streams.

£20,000 or more would help us move closer to securing a small unit or workshop space, expanding into woodworking and tree surgery properly and building something more stable for the future. Once that stability is there, our longer-term dream is to use it as a platform to give back to the local community.

I know everyone has their own struggles and I do not expect anything from anyone.

But if our story reaches someone who believes in hard work, second chances, community or simply helping two people who are trying their best, then even the smallest support would mean the world to us.

I just need a little help to keep going.

If you can help in any way - whether through a donation, sharing this story, or simply reading it - please know it means more than words can explain.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.

Sincerely, Paddy