Surviving the economic gloom

THE number of new business start-ups in the North East of England remains “strong and steady” despite a 15% fall nationally – as reported in today’s Journal.

The Barclays’ survey shows signs of an increase in the region’s entrepreneurial spirit and also evidence that some sectors are defying the economic gloom.

Also, national figures show the number of new businesses expected to start up this year is 380,000 - down on last year’s number of 430,000.

The construction industry – at least new home building - in the North East is certainly suffering – it came to came to a standstill over the summer. It came to a head for me in July when I was made redundant and I really had no option to start up my own business. But, as I’ve said before, it was actually something that I had wanted to do for a long time, and losing my job was the spur for me to go it alone.

Although the new build market is totally flat at the moment, I am finding that joinery maintenance and improvement work is still a priority for home owners.

Word of mouth is working particularly well for me. Feedback from customers shows that my commitment to quality and ensuring a job is started and completed swiftly is securing me more and more work.

Read the full newspaper report – and my quote! – here.