Beacons for entrepreneurs

THERE’S a real burgeoning of talents and companies popping up on a local, national and even international level.

Take Sarah Bedford-Smith who is running a successful graphic design company, Hatch Designs, from her dining room in the Brecon Beacons.

She offers web and print design as well as full scale re-branding for all sized clients. There’s Petra Tester who set up “Leads’n’Feeds” which provides one-to-one coaching for dogs and owners, dog walking, pet sitting and horse services.

Suzie Grant is a virtual PA, running the administration for a London-based company director, taking calls and arranging meetings from her dining room.

And there’s me, AJ Stanning, I run a PR agency called Sharp Relations, specialising in food, drink and lifestyle clients, we help promote companies and organisations to their customers. I have around four members of staff at any given time all working remotely from across London and the UK.

If you want to set up a company yourself, it’s easier than you might think and there are a number of organisations to support you.

Portable business

Sure it isn’t all plain sailing, we all need to get out and about to make our companies work. Be that travelling to London or other big cities every week or so to keep in touch with key contacts, or meeting clients at their homes and offices.

The one thing we all have in common is that next time our soldier receives their posting order, we can just pack up and follow on, with the knowledge that there will be a job for us at the other end.

If you want to set up a company yourself, it’s easier than you might think and there are a number of organisations to support you.

X-forces helps Service personnel and their families and spouses become successful business owners through planning, mentoring and support. Visit www.x-forces.com for more details.

Helping hand: Top tips from our entrepreneurs

[tabgroup][tab title=”AJ Stanning” ]“Never underestimate anybody. You never know when you might need their help or they might want yours.” www.sharprelations.com[/tab][tab title=”Sarah Bedford-Smith” ]“Take your business cards everywhere you go because you never know when you might bump into someone who is interested in your business.” www.hatchdesigns.co.uk[/tab][tab title=”Suzie Grant” ]“Make sure you keep records of absolutely everything – whether that is receipts, phone calls made or hours worked. It’s definitely a good habit to get into and will help you out when it comes to completing your tax returns.”[/tab][/tabgroup]