PRIME business club

When PA, Sharon Lawrence, was made redundant at 50, she decided to go it alone and set up her own business as a virtual personal assistant (VPA). Flying Changes PA offers independent secretarial support for £19 - £23 an hour. Sharon says, ‘The more you stick at it, the better it gets. I would never go back.’

Sharon, now 53, worked as a Personal Assistant at a large corporate company. After four years, Sharon was made redundant at the age of 50. She says ‘My boss came and told me he wanted to retire and play more golf. No one thought about me at all.’ Not wanting to go through the stress of being back on the job market at 50, Sharon decided to set up her own business.

Her main duties as VPA include producing documents, audio typing, and a telephone and e-mail correspondence service. The majority of clients are small businesses, sole traders and entrepreneurs, but she also helps larger organisations who need assistance with a backlog of administration to get through and a deadline to meet. Recently Sharon has taken on work from HM Prison Service and Social Services. Sharon says, ‘I have transcribed some digital recordings of interviews between prisoners and their mentors and often produce reports in preparation for court. Some of them are quite harrowing, but it is much more rewarding than corporate work and my aim is to take on more work within the social sector.’

Starting out

In October 2006, Sharon registered as a sole trader. The name and logo of Flying Changes PA are a nod in the direction of dressage, which Sharon used to take part in; a ‘flying change’ is a dressage movement. In her youth, Sharon took part in the competitive arena and says, ‘to be a good horsewoman, I needed to be patient, dedicated and impeccably focussed; coincidentally, all the qualities of being a good VPA.’

Sharon took a free, three-day small business course with Inbiz to get some support starting up and says: ‘They walked us through the basics - how to do your accounts, get a business logo and name, register with companies house and a multitude of other hugely important information for someone just starting out in business. It was incredibly useful.’ You can find out about other Inbiz courses at www.inbiz.co.uk

There was no business funding available in Wigan, so Sharon started from scratch. She began by doing favours for friends for free, who later became clients. Sharon says ‘It was difficult finding a balance of how many freebies to give out. You have to be careful not to get walked over.’

Marketing

Having an Internet presence is one of Sharon’s key tips for being successful. It is especially necessary for a virtual assistant, as a large percentage of communication is web based. Sharon used www.streamline.net to build her website. She says ‘It is under £100 for a year and walks you through the basic stages.’

When starting out, Sharon made a marketing mistake by forking out £400 for an advert in a magazine. She says, ‘A company approached me via the Chamber of Commerce, so I immediately trusted them. I was not sure if I could afford the advert, but was told I could cancel at any point and be refunded. When I did decide to cancel, I found that my less than honest salesman had left the company and I just had to pay the money; it was a hard lesson.’ Now Sharon markets via networking and word of mouth, which is much more cost effective. If she does place an advert, Sharon makes sure that all promises are agreed in writing.

Networking

Sharon joined Business Network International (BNI). But after paying for an expensive membership and a breakfast at every meeting, Sharon estimates the cost being around £1100-1200 annually. She says I did a lot of work to help the group but got very little in return.’

To get round the expense of networking, Sharon and a group of other business owners set up their own group, ‘Just Networking’. It costs just £50 a year, and goes towards equipment for the group. The group meets every Wednesday morning and after just two months Sharon already feels it is more productive than other networking groups. She says ‘I have already had a good deal of business interest from the group and I know I can refer other members with confidence.’

Wigan Borough Business Club hold a free networking session once a month. The event includes presentations and refreshments and brings in 20-100 networkers. Sharon says that her increase of networking in the last eight weeks has brought in three new clients.

Problems

Sharon became so dedicated, that she got into an unhealthy habit of missing lunch. ‘I would check my emails at 7am and before I knew it, it was 3pm and I hadn’t even had a cup of tea!’ Sharon explains. The problem got serious and she was taken into hospital with severe stomach pains. There was no permanent damage, but Sharon resolved to look after herself. She says ‘I make sure I eat lunch before 3pm, and force myself to have breaks and wind down. You have to look after your health.’

Future

Three years after setting up, Sharon has got a good selection of regular clients. She says, ‘In two more years I’ll be really comfortable. But I’m happy now and would highly recommend being self-employed..

Contact

Sharon Lawrence
Flying ChangesPA
Mobile: 07821288055
Email: sharon@flyingchangespa.co.uk
Web: www.flyingchangespa.co.uk  

Olderpreneur Lyn Siddle, 52 is expanding her award-winning spa, and is looking to set up further centres in York, Harrogate, Chester and Bath. The first centre, Portland Hall Spa in Southport, Merseyside opened in November 2005, and now employs 15 staff. Lyn became self-employed for the flexibility, enabling her to look after her four children and gain a good work-life balance. Lyn says ‘I have always worked my job around what I need. When my children were young, I set up a nanny agency so that I could carry on working and be with them too. Now I need pampering and me-time, so I set up a spa.’

Portland Hall offers everything from a £15 single manicure, to a £585 full day experience for two. Individual treatments include massage, hair and beauty, and aromatic rituals. The spa is housed in a beautiful old synagogue, and separates itself from the norm by offering intimacy and personal space. Lyn says ‘I wanted to do things differently in a set industry. I visited some popular spas and found that they were either like a cattle market, or lacked customer service. I wanted exactly the opposite.’

Starting Out

‘The first thing I did before anything else was to register www.portlandhallspa.com as a domain name’. Lyn put a house up for sale to start financing the business. She then took a full year to raise the rest of the money from lenders.

Lyn used funds to buy and convert the synagogue. ‘I looked at renting to begin with, but I would have had to pay £35,000 to renovate the property.’ Says Lyn. ‘If you buy, you’re investing in your future.’

Lyn wrote a structured business plan but admits there should be a lot of leeway. ‘A business plan is just an educated guess. It’s like saying, “how long is a piece of string?”‘

The business did not take off in the way Lyn had expected. The first 18 months were slow and Lyn had to re-mortgage to stop the business going under. The problem was marketing and pricing.

Lyn created an abundance of publicity for the ‘day spa’, before realising people in seaside town Southport had no idea what it meant. In addition to this, Lyn had given her luxury sessions a high price, as she did not want to de-value them. But this stopped people coming through the door.

Lyn learnt her lesson when striking a deal with Lastminute.com. She says ‘They asked me if I could do something for £10, and I thought “Absolutely not!” But it brought the customers in.’ Lyn did business with other online voucher retailers, and found it was worth selling low and adding on.

When Lyn came to an arrangement with four-star hotel Ramada Plaza, she found her target audience. Lyn says: ‘The Ramada is affordable but a bit of a treat, and that is exactly the market I wanted to reach.’ Portland Hall Spa now has package deals that include a night at the Ramada, which means a whole page of free advertising on the hotel’s website, a reciprocal arrangement, and a lot of new customers.

Subsequent publicity was more specific, and extremely cost effective. Lyn sent out press releases with photographs, and followed up the write up with a call. Lyn’s photographer took the pictures for free in return for exposure on her website, so that was more money spared. Linking the website with other business websites was another way to advertise for free, while doing things for charity, or running events at the spa raised the company profile.

Another tactic was to enter competitions. Portland Hall Spa became a finalist in the British Beauty Awards in 2008, and is nominated for two Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards, to be announced on 19th November 2009. The competitions create a lot of hype, and if Lyn wins her categories this month, she could land herself £30,000.

Business Support

Surprisingly, Lyn waited until expanding before seeking business support. Lyn paid £2000 to do a Train to Gain course called LEAD in Management, and was reimbursed £1000. The course lasts 10 months and helps develop emotional intelligence - the ability to utilise your own emotions and those of others and groups. She says, ‘I used to try and do everything myself, but now I’m working on my next venture, I won’t be able to be in two or three places at once. The course is teaching me to utilise my staff to their full potential.’

Lyn is aiming to open her second spa towards the end of next year.

Lyn will be speaking about her business at the PRIME Olderpreneur Roadshow in Manchester on 9th December 2009. Click here to book your free place.

Contact

Lyn Siddle
Portland Hall Spa
17a Portland St
Southport
PR8 1LR
Tel: 01704 537733
Info@portlandhallspa.com
www.portlandhallspa.com

Are you over 50 and thinking of starting a business or becoming self-employed? Then come along to PRIME’s FREE taster workshop in Manchester city centre.

* Decide if self-employment is right for you
* Hear from older entrepreneurs who have gone ahead and started.
* Meet local organisations that can help you
* Meet and network with your peers

Here’s the programme.

1pm Welcome, and what PRIME can do to help.
Chuffy Jenkins of PRIME.

1.25 pm – Making the most of the internet for your business
Ian Stobie, PRIME.

1.55 pm – What help is available locally
Steve Connolly, Business Link.

2.05 pm – Olderpreneurs who have gone ahead and started up
Lyn Siddle, Portland Hall Spa
Sharon Lawrence, Flying Changes PA
Jackie Hatton, Country Cousins Lifestyle Gift Shop

2.50 pm – Refreshment break

3.00 pm – Question & Answer session, an opportunity to ask the
panel your questions.

3.30 pm – How to network effectively leading on to speed networking.

4.15 pm – Session close.

This event is for anyone in their fifties or sixties in the greater Manchester area - so you can still come along if you live in Bury, Macclesfield, Oldham, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford or anywhere else nearby.

Like other events in PRIME’s roadshow series, the emphasis throughout is on helping you establish whether self-employment is the right thing for you. This event is suitable for those still at the ideas stage, and those with a firm plan in mind who are almost ready to go ahead. You can find out the practical steps involved and hear from people who have already done it before making the leap.

All PRIME events are free. As a charity we are interested in helping people make the right decision - to start in business or do something else. Our role is to provide you with good information so you can make a well-informed decision.

Anne Walsh, 53 from Manchester, went from BT operations manager to quirky craftswoman, when she applied for voluntary redundancy.

BT operations manager Anne Walsh was the breadwinner for a disabled husband and three children. Fed up with her office job, Anne promised herself she would change her life when she turned 50. Anne applied for voluntary redundancy, sold her Porsche, and bought a van. She began to make gifts for family friends, and to sell on eBay. Anne made flowers out of socks, cakes and trifles out of soap and face cloths, and large cakes out of baby’s nappies. Anne says ‘the cakes definitely started as a hobby, but more and more people wanted them, and it soon became a business.’ My Unique Gifts now caters for a wealth of occasions from births and weddings to dog and cat pampering, with products ranging from £3:95 to £55.

Research

Anne’s first idea was the ‘nappy cake’. This is a fake cake made of disposable nappies, which Anne saw on holiday in San Francisco in 2001. Anne researched the product on the Internet and found that though extremely popular in the US and Canada, the nappy cake was barely on the British market. Anne purchased a ‘teach yourself’ DVD, and began to experiment. My Unique Gifts now boasts a whole range of nappy cakes from single to five tiered, complete with 96 nappies, two bottles, a pair of baby socks, baby suit and matching hat or bib, receiving blanket, crystal keepsake, photo frame, and soft toy.

Training

When Anne registered with PRIME, she was told where to go for business advice. She attended a free HMRC Business Advice Open Day, where PRIME hosted a seminar on working for yourself. Anne then booked herself onto a free HMRC workshop on self-employment tax issues. Anne says ‘both events were extremely helpful in getting to know the basics.’ But she did leave some things to the professionals, and hired a bookkeeper to document her accounts. The rest of Anne’s training was simply trying new things and learning as she went along.

Marketing and development

An early marketing tool was to circulate an email round Manchester College. A family friend, worked at the college, and sent out pictures of Christmas cakes that were on offer. This was very successful, and large orders flooded in. Anne now keeps her own mailing list, and sends out details of new gifts, or seasonal promotions.

Anne attended a craft fair with her Daughter in the Lake District, and was thrilled by the positive feedback her gifts received. The buzz spurred her on and Anne began to go to craft fairs and farmer’s markets on a regular basis. This brought in repeat customers, and the business began to expand.

Anne is now considering larger trade markets and has applied for her first two day event, the Stars and Stripes Classic American Car Show in Cheshire. Larger markets are £25 - £60 for the pitch; more expensive than the small craft fairs Anne is used to. But they provide a great opportunity to hit a larger and more commercial audience.

When going to get a logo painted on her van, Alan, the graphic designer gave Anne a tip. He recommended investing in a 0800 number. This means that if Anne’s real number (or ghost number) changes, the business line will remain the same, and customers will not be lost. The freephone number costs Anne about £60 a year. Calls cost an extra 4p a minute, but Anne keeps costs down by using her answer machine to take messages, then phoning people back from her landline, which has free minutes.

Anne’s main marketing weapon came in the form of stepson Steven Walsh. Steven is the Director of Marketing Success Unlimited, a company which specialises in branding and marketing campaign management, with a focus on online marketing. Steven provided Anne with business cards, letterheaded paper and flyers, and crucially created her website and online shop. This made Anne’s products more visible and accessible to customers outside Manchester. It also allowed people to pay by credit or debit card, which made the transaction process easier and safer for customers.

Problems

Anne’s main problem was finding suppliers that would keep the costs down. Where the Internet had proven an invaluable research tool in other areas, a lot of old warehouses were just not online. The Internet pointed to expensive and commercial manufacturers, and Anne had to dig a lot deeper to find wholesalers that provided a cost-effective price. Word of mouth became the best resource here. Anne asked friends that worked in retail, and got some good leads. Finally she was able to get her materials at a bargain, and bring down the asking price of her own gifts.

Future

Anne’s business is steadily growing and expanding. With each request, more socks and nappies are taking over the house. On 1st June 2009, Anne opened a shop and workshop, giving her business more space and achieving her target for 2009. Free Cobwebs (information factsheets) on renting, buying and choosing business premises are available from PRIME on request.

Contacts

Anne Walsh
53B North Road
Droylsden
Tameside
Manchester
M43 6NN
Freephone no: 0800 043 7156
Website: www.myuniquegifts.co.uk

Anne Walsh, 53 from Manchester, went from BT operations manager to quirky craftswoman, when she applied for voluntary redundancy.

BT operations manager Anne Walsh was the breadwinner for a disabled husband and three children. Fed up with her office job, Anne promised herself she would change her life when she turned 50. Anne applied for voluntary redundancy, sold her Porsche, and bought a van. She began to make gifts for family friends, and to sell on eBay. Anne made flowers out of socks, cakes and trifles out of soap and face cloths, and large cakes out of baby’s nappies. Anne says ‘the cakes definitely started as a hobby, but more and more people wanted them, and it soon became a business.’ My Unique Gifts now caters for a wealth of occasions from births and weddings to dog and cat pampering, with products ranging from £3.95 to £55.

Research

Anne’s first idea was the ‘nappy cake’. This is a fake cake made of disposable nappies, which Anne saw on holiday in San Francisco in 2001. Anne researched the product on the Internet and found that though extremely popular in the US and Canada, the nappy cake was barely on the British market. Anne purchased a ‘teach yourself’ DVD, and began to experiment. My Unique Gifts now boasts a whole range of nappy cakes from single to five tiered, complete with 96 nappies, two bottles, a pair of baby socks, baby suit and matching hat or bib, receiving blanket, crystal keepsake, photo frame, and soft toy.

Training

When Anne registered with PRIME in 2009, she was told where to go for business advice. She attended a free HMRC Business Advice Open Day, where PRIME hosted a seminar on working for yourself. Anne then booked herself onto a free HMRC workshop on self-employment tax issues. Anne says ‘both events were extremely helpful in getting to know the basics.’ But she did leave some things to the professionals, and hired a bookkeeper to document her accounts. The rest of Anne’s training was simply trying new things and learning as she went along.

Marketing and development

An early marketing tool was to circulate an email round Manchester College. A family friend, worked at the college, and sent out pictures of Christmas cakes that were on offer. This was very successful, and large orders flooded in. Anne now keeps her own mailing list, and sends out details of new gifts, or seasonal promotions.

Anne attended a craft fair with her Daughter in the Lake District, and was thrilled by the positive feedback her gifts received. The buzz spurred her on and Anne began to go to craft fairs and farmer’s markets on a regular basis. This brought in repeat customers, and the business began to expand.

Anne is now considering larger trade markets and has applied for her first two day event, the Stars and Stripes Classic American Car Show in Cheshire. Larger markets are £25 - £60 for the pitch; more expensive than the small craft fairs Anne is used to. But they provide a great opportunity to hit a larger and more commercial audience.

When going to get a logo painted on her van, Alan, the graphic designer gave Anne a tip. He recommended investing in a 0800 number. This means that if Anne’s real number (or ghost number) changes, the business line will remain the same, and customers will not be lost. The freephone number costs Anne about £60 a year. Calls cost an extra 4p a minute, but Anne keeps costs down by using her answer machine to take messages, then phoning people back from her landline, which has free minutes.

Anne’s main marketing weapon came in the form of stepson Steven Walsh. Steven is the Director of Marketing Success Unlimited, a company which specialises in branding and marketing campaign management, with a focus on online marketing. Steven provided Anne with business cards, letterheaded paper and flyers, and crucially created her website and online shop. This made Anne’s products more visible and accessible to customers outside Manchester. It also allowed people to pay by credit or debit card, which made the transaction process easier and safer for customers.

Problems

Anne’s main problem was finding suppliers that would keep the costs down. Where the Internet had proven an invaluable research tool in other areas, a lot of old warehouses were just not online. The Internet pointed to expensive and commercial manufacturers, and Anne had to dig a lot deeper to find wholesalers that provided a cost-effective price. Word of mouth became the best resource here. Anne asked friends that worked in retail, and got some good leads. Finally she was able to get her materials at a bargain, and bring down the asking price of her own gifts.

Future

Anne’s business is steadily growing and expanding. With each request, more socks and nappies are taking over the house. On 1st June 2009, Anne opened a shop and workshop, giving her business more space and achieving her target for 2009.

Contacts

Anne Walsh
53B North Road
Droylsden
Tameside
Manchester
M43 6NN
Freephone no: 0800 043 7156
Website: www.myuniquegifts.co.uk

Free Cobwebs (information factsheets) on renting, buying and choosing business premises are available from PRIME on request.

With the credit famine now biting hard all over the country there’s a glimmer of hope in the North West. The Northwest Regional Development Agency, which is part of government, has put together a scheme with local partners aimed at new and small businesses.

You can apply for any size of loan between £3,000 and £50,000. To be eligible you have to be based in Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire or Cumbria.

More details at Small Loans for Businesses

Hopefully this scheme with be copied by other Regional Development Agencies around the country. But at the moment the North West is leading the way.

This all-day free drop-in event will help you start your business - or decide if you are ready to take the plunge. Guests include Roger Phillips and Linda Mcdermott from BBC Radio Merseyside who will be interviewing attendees live.

Four free workshops.

One-to-one advice surgeries – confidential and impartial advice.

Exhibition and marketplace – see everyone from start-up specialists to banks, and meet other would-be entrepreneurs.

Interviews with successful local entrepreneurs.

The day is aimed at anyone over 50 who is thinking of starting a business or planning to be self-employed. You can drop-in to the exhibition but you need to book to be sure of a place at the free seminars.

Click here to register

As part of the day, PRIME will be running business idea sessions to help those who may be interested in becoming self-employed or setting up a business, but are lacking a clear idea of what product or service. PRIME’s sessions will help identify relevant, transferable skills and experience, examine potential income-generating hobbies and interests, and stimulate ideas for business that can be enjoyable, productive and with financial reward. Sessions will be run throughout the day, so come and book at the PRIME stand for the next available session.

Date: Friday 21st November 2008

Time: 11:30am - 2:00pm

Venue: The International Business Centre, Delta Crescent, Westbrook, Warrington, WA5 7WQ

Status: PRIME recommended event

 

Opportunity to meet and talk with local advisers who can help you start and grow your business. Please let the organisers know if you are attending, so that they know how much food to prepare.

Please contact Cheshire and Warrington Business Venture on 01925 715 175 or stella.libertini@wbv.org.uk  

Date: Tuesday 18th November 2008

Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm

Venue: Hyndburn, Globe Centre, St.James Square, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 0RE

Status: PRIME recommended event

Advice on business for the over 50s. Drop-in format, Q & A for potential start ups, existing start ups on panel plus partners to answer questions.

Please contact Aileen Evans at centa@fsmail.net  

Date: Tuesday 18th November 2008

Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Venue: Conference Room, St Helens Chamber, 7 Waterside Court, Technology Campus, St Helens, WA9 1UE

Status: PRIME recommended event

The seminar ‘Be your own boss when you are over 50′, is free to attend and features presentations on the most frequently asked questions when starting a business, as well as a chance to arrange a one-to-one meeting with a business start-up adviser, refreshments and a chance to network with like-minded people.

For more information or to book a place, please contact Lauren King on 01744 742096.

Date: Tuesday 18th November 2008

Time: 10:00am - 4:30pm

Venue: Cumbria Rural Enterprise Centre, Red Hill, Penrith, CA11 0DT

Status: PRIME recommended event

One day seminar in Penrith.

Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency also offer free consultations in Penrith and Kendal. For more information please contact Gemma Barnes on 01539 726 624 or gemma@crea.co.uk  

Entries are now being sought for next year’s awards for women-owned businesses in the North West of England. There are six categories (including the ageist Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award - must be under 30 years of age).

The prizes are £2,000 per category, with £1,000 to the runner up, and a top prize of £5,000 for the overall winner. Plus of course the value of the publicity winning may bring. The closing date is the 31st of November 2008.

You can download the entry form (a PDF) here.

The categories you might be eligible for are:

• Business Start-up of the Year
• Social Enterprise of the Year
• Growth Business of the Year
• Business and Professional Services Sector
• Overall North West Business of the Year

The North West region includes Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire, Lancashire and the Lake District. The awards are sponsored by the development agency for the region, the NWDA.

“Services are falling away thick and fast. There are fewer post offices, fewer bus services. Villagers were in danger of becoming isolated from one another.” This was the thought process that sparked Ann Davidson into creating My Village News, a local magazine which is attempting to bring her community back together.

After being made redundant from her job in newspaper advertising, Ann, 57, saw a need for a magazine in rural Cheshire where she lives. What started as a small idea is now well on the way to becoming a big success story. The monthly magazine My Village News has just celebrated its first anniversary, with 12 issues published.

“We started modestly in May last year with 24 pages”, says Ann, “and delivered to two-and-a-half thousand homes and businesses. Now we are averaging about 50 pages - and we deliver to over 5,200 homes”.

Ann and her husband John deliver all the issues themselves, which takes about eight days a month to do. What makes the task more arduous is that My Village News is aimed at a rural readership. In rural communities houses aren’t always easy to reach. Indeed, many free newspaper teams don’t bother to find the more difficult country addresses, but Ann and her husband feel it’s important to deliver to everybody. They laugh about the trials of finding the elusive letterboxes and the long drive-ways. “We’ve got to know the dogs - and which ones are friendly and which to avoid!”

Local advertisers fund the magazine. Ann believes one reason the magazine is doing so well is that people are moving away from buying from large chains, preferring instead to put their trust in local retailers and produce. For example Ann’s father’s freezer recently broke down - and one of the magazine’s advertisers not only delivered a new freezer and set it up, but packed up the old freezer and put it out for the council to collect. As long as people are happy to support their local advertisers, Ann is confident the magazine will be well funded.

However, My Village News isn’t all about business. It also contains free listings for local events such as fetes, proms and charity events, reviews of local pubs and eateries and editorial features. Ann and her husband write and produce the magazine entirely themselves, sending the final disk to the printers in nearby Nantwich.

Ann’s advice to others thinking of starting a business is to do plenty of research first. For example, Ann came to the conclusion that delivery had to be a high priority, to make sure enough readers were genuinely receiving copies. This would then increase the chance of advertisers getting a good response – which is what drives the long-term commercial viability of the business.

Ann turned to PRIME for encouragement after a friend suggested them. “We went to see PRIME within our first three months. I wanted some advice about the insurance I’d need to cover my business. I used PRIME to discuss ideas and thoughts, and used them as a sounding board. They are very approachable, and always returned my calls.”

Ann suggests making full use of your own experience. “After being made redundant, your first instinct might be to do something completely different. But consider the experience that you have gained in the workplace, and think about going with something you are familiar with. Selling advertising is second nature to me.”

Compared to Ann’s old office routine working on a newspaper, the hours that she works now suit her much better. She can fit magazine work around looking after her grandchild.

STOP PRESS: APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED.

PRIME is hiring. We are looking for someone to get a new project going for us in the North West, based in Warrington.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday the 5th of December 2007 at 4pm, and interviews are scheduled for Friday the 14th of December in Warrington.

Full details and application pack on our other web site.

A new small-business award has been launched for those who live on Merseyside, backed by the Liverpool Daily Post and Dominique Faversham Group. The prize is 12 months’ mentoring and support, and a loan of up to £100,000. There are three age categories, including one for people aged 50+. The closing date is noon on the 1st of October 2007.
More details at

www.thesearchmerseyside.com