‘Tis the season to ring the changes…

Mistletoe and mince pies, parties and presents, turkey and the trimmings – these are the thoughts that tend to be uppermost in most peoples’ minds over the festive season. For the majority of people Christmas is a time of eating, drinking and making merry with friends and family. The festive season provides a welcome chance to get away from the world of work and make the most of the opportunity to relax.

However for some this period proves to be the catalyst which makes them decide to start their own business. Karen Stewart of Business Gateway says, "Many people are so busy in their day to day lives with the commitments of work and home that it can be difficult to find the time to plan for the following weekend never mind something major like leaving the security of employment to set up their own business.

"As most people tend to be off work at some point over the festive season this does seem to act as a trigger. For those who have already been considering starting their own business they find that they have the time to crystallize their thoughts and decide if this is really what they want to do. And those who have already decided to take the plunge can take the necessary action to make their dream of becoming their own boss a reality."

Lynsey McDonald began selling hair extensions during the summer of 2004. This was on a part time basis to fund her university studies. A little more than 18 months later, over Christmas 2005, Lynsey decided that the time was right to move to running her business, www.hairextensionsnow.com, full time.

She explains, "I always think that Christmas and birthdays act as milestones; I use them as a chance to reflect on where I am and what I’m doing. Last Christmas I realised that I wanted to take my business to the next level.

"Until that time I had been selling hair extensions part time but over Christmas 2005 I had a chance to evaluate the demand for the service that I supply and assess whether or not it would be possible to make my part time work into a full time business. Taking the time to reviewing the business position illustrated that there was more than enough demand to allow me to concentrate fulltime on www.hairextensionsnow.com."

In March 2006 Lynsey launched the business fulltime and it has continued to go from strength to strength; she now supplies hair extension to salons across the UK and also worldwide - some of her customers are based in Australia and the USA.

Lynsey adds, "Looking back I can see now that I used Christmas 2005 as an opportunity to take a step back from what I had been doing and to consider my plans for the future. Whether working for yourself or for someone else it’s important to be able to take time to look at what you’re doing and what you have achieved and see if you are on track. Sometime it is only possible to do this when you have some time away from work – such as at Christmas."

This also proved to be the case for Alan Alexander. He set up Granite City Plastering and Tiling at the end of January 2004. Alan explains, "I had been employed as a plasterer for 17 and had become a bit disillusioned – I didn’t feel that I was being paid what I was worth for the job that I was doing. This along with a desire to be my own boss prompted me to consider setting up my own business.

"I had been mulling it over for a little while before I contacted Business Gateway in November 2003 and started to organise everything that I would need to set up on my own. I wanted to be certain that I had everything in place and was ready to start before I handed in my notice."

"During the relative quiet of the 2003 festive season I was able to take the time to make sure that I had got everything sorted so that I would be able to quit my job and start trading as Granite City Plastering and Tiling. That was three years ago and since then I haven’t looked back."

Business Gateway provides information and advice to those wanting to start their own business. Learning opportunities and, where appropriate, funding can also be accessed via Business Gateway. The Business Gateway service in Grampian is delivered by Enterprise North East Trust. For more information telephone 01224 289725 or visit www.bggateway.com.

Ends

Picture Caption: Lynsey McDonald of www.hairextensionsnow.com says that she used Christmas 2005 as an opportunity to take a step back from what she had been doing and to consider her plans for the future.

For further information contact:

Karen Sage
Tricker PR
9 Victoria Street
Aberdeen
Telephone 01224 646491
Direct Line 01224 654087
Mobile 07795 522012
Email ksage@trickerpr.com