my background>
" When I graduated from Newcastle University I wanted to stay in the area because my family and friends were here. Besides, I had a season ticket and still wanted to go to the matches. But I found that a lot of businesses in the local area weren’t taking on graduates without work experience. My uncle had a small sandwich company in the west end of Newcastle and he said why don’t I come and work for him for twelve months, then put whatever it is down on your CV and get a step further into employment. So I was driving vans, making sandwiches and just doing whatever needed to be done. Gradually I got more and more involved in the business. I was saying “We can do this,” and “Why aren’t we doing that?” We increased the sales quite significantly in those twelve months so my uncle said, “We can’t really afford to lose you really. Why don’t you buy into the business?” That original plan for me to go on and do something else was sort of shelved. My uncle was at the stage where he was wanting less and less to do with the business, and I was going the other way. I’d built up a lot of confidence that I could really do it for myself in those two or three years. I just thought, there’s no reason why I can’t do this. It’s my personality that I’m not afraid to take a chance and I decided to buy into a family business with Andrew, who’s now my business partner, and I as co directors. It was a small bakery turning over two or three hundred thousand a year but it was an opportunity for me to take more of a lead. North East Bakery was born in 2004. "
