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Challenges

- I was 30 years old >

"I was 30 years old, didn’t have a career path or any qualifications. I felt completely like I had nothing to offer to..." Nickie Gott

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- I went from being a twenty seven year... >

"I went from being a twenty seven year old employee to the twenty seven year old boss. I was in charge of people twice..." Jamie Greenwood

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- The travel agency was based in Seaham... >

"The travel agency was based in Seaham where there was no competition. When we applied for a licence the inspector came..." John Hays

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- When we started >

"When we started, our biggest competitor, the one who was turning over £5.5m, came after us quite aggressively, more..." Chris Quickfall

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- The business cannot be beholden on me >

"The business cannot be beholden on me, though trying to find good quality management for small businesses I believe is..." Alan Timothy

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- I brought in a hairdresser as I had... >

"I brought in a hairdresser as I had quite a few brides coming to get their nails done and I wanted to provide the full..." Naomi Johnson

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- Investment into my business has been my... >

"Investment into my business has been my main challenge, along with needing to have the confidence which will ensure..." Nancy Haughey

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- When I bought the business back in 2001 >

"When I bought the business back in 2001, we’d contracted in size but the marketplace had moved on. So we had to..." Alan Timothy

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- My main challenge is my location >

"My main challenge is my location. I’m upstairs in Eldon Garden so I get very little passing trade, which is bad for the..." Fiona Houghton

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- You’ve got to be big enough to hire... >

"You’ve got to be big enough to hire people who know more about certain aspects of business than you do. That can be..." Sir Tom Hunter

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- Admittedly turning our idea into a... >

"Admittedly turning our idea into a reality was harder than we had anticipated. We managed to acquire some start up..." Rona Askew

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- We’ve had difficulties finding venues >

"We’ve had difficulties finding venues and finding the right staff, but your reputation brings staff to you and retains..." Trudy Hindmarsh

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- Our primary driver was to have creative... >

"Our primary driver was to have creative freedom. It wasn’t necessarily the financial drive to become rich. We wanted..." Satish Shewhorak

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- It was still pretty hard going though... >

"It was still pretty hard going though because CRM, the product that we were selling, was fairly new at that time...." Derek Curtis

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- In our industry competitors do have... >

"In our industry competitors do have quite strong relationships with their customers so it’s quite hard to go and knock..." Paul Bell

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- Although the business has only been... >

"Although the business has only been going for three weeks I have loved every bit of it and I’m learning all the time. I..." Lindsay Hogg

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- We have reached that stage where Sarah >

"We have reached that stage where Sarah and I have to let go and delegate many of the things we have done since we..." Peter Nixon

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- The biggest challenge for us by far has... >

"The biggest challenge for us by far has been recruitment. We need bums on seat to get the output, so I used to think..." Fiona Cruickshank

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- The biggest issue I have >

"The biggest issue I have, and one that I’m getting advice on at the moment, is delegation. It doesn’t come naturally..." Kari Owers

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- Capacity is a major ongoing challenge >

"Capacity is a major ongoing challenge; there really aren’t enough hours in the day! Particularly when starting out..." Sean Gerrie

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- I’d left school at sixteen so I didn’t... >

"I’d left school at sixteen so I didn’t have a clue what a balance sheet, a spreadsheet, a P&L was. Its quite daunting..." Simon Pearson

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- We pay more than the university pays >

"We pay more than the university pays, so I could go out tomorrow and probably recruit lots of people, but they wouldn’t..." Angela Brown

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- When I opened in December I had a few... >

"When I opened in December I had a few really good weeks where everyone was out buying Christmas presents then I hit the..." Fiona Houghton

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- The first eighteen months has been tough >

"The first eighteen months has been tough, financially and being able to manage my time around my two boys. I only have..." Anh Mao

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- I think my biggest challenges so far... >

"I think my biggest challenges so far has been to understand the buyer’s perspective, often big name supermarket chains..." Geoffrey Johns

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- Through sheer determination >

"Through sheer determination, I researched and wrote the ‘vien ici’ business plan myself, and my father gave me a lot of..." Vien le Wood

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- There seems to be a new challenge every... >

"There seems to be a new challenge every day, some of course bigger than others. I think the biggest challenge was..." Jonathan Grubin

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- We weren’t allowed to trade without... >

"We weren’t allowed to trade without having everybody in our company disability quality trained. There was a high..." Chris Quickfall

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- We’ve got fairly ambitious plans to... >

"We’ve got fairly ambitious plans to invest in the business and grow to another level. We could be constrained if..." Greg Phillips

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- One of the biggest challenges in... >

"One of the biggest challenges in business is making sure you have the right team around you. I used to do all the..." Alistair McLean

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- If you get into a situation where... >

"If you get into a situation where you’ve got some bad sales figures coming in, it’s important to be objective. After..." John Hays

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- When we grow in the future >

"When we grow in the future, I think one of the hardest challenges we’ll have to face will be ensuring that the ethos..." Antonia Clifford

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- We've faced massive challenges at every... >

"We've faced massive challenges at every turn. There are lots of ups and downs involved in being an entrepreneur. During..." Kevin Owens

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- I guess one of the worst experiences... >

"I guess one of the worst experiences that you can ever have in life is going home to your wife and saying, “We might..." Roy Stanley

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- I’ve had to put a lot of time into the... >

"I’ve had to put a lot of time into the business. I’m a student so while everyone else is going out I’ve sacrificed that..." Matt Scott

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- Age has been a stumbling block >

"Age has been a stumbling block, but I’ve come to realise that if someone won’t work with me because I’m sixteen, it’s..." Jonathan Grubin

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- As a single mum it’s been hard to... >

"As a single mum it’s been hard to maintain a business- like persona when I’ve got a son at home whom I want to be there..." Ann Oliver

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- We constantly have to think creatively... >

"We constantly have to think creatively to overcome the many challenges that present themselves to a growing business...." Anne Curtis

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- I’ve found delegation pretty tricky >

"I’ve found delegation pretty tricky. When you first start, the business is your baby and it’s very hard to let go and..." Louise Allcroft

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- I’d been thinking of ways to be able to... >

"I’d been thinking of ways to be able to open my own practice for years, but in today’s climate, with big hitters in the..." Kaye Winship

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- The biggest challenge in business is... >

"The biggest challenge in business is identifying what customers value, and what they don’t. It’s more difficult than..." John Elliott

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- An opportunity came to take on... >

"An opportunity came to take on Milligans bakery who we did an asset transaction with at the end of 2006, and we had the..." Greg Phillips

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- One of the hardest things is trying to... >

"One of the hardest things is trying to understand how much someone will pay for the products and services you provide...." Jonathan Wells

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- Bingo needs liquidity >

"Bingo needs liquidity, it needs lots of players otherwise it just doesn’t work. But I couldn’t get enough people to..." Phil Cronin

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- One of the holes in our business plan >

"One of the holes in our business plan, which was undoubtedly the biggest, was that we wanted to start a business in the..." Pete Hunt

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- I’ve had four businesses before Rozmic >

"I’ve had four businesses before Rozmic, but I always wanted Rozmic to be a lot bigger than my other companies and it’s..." Ross Cooney

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- Obviously money has been a huge... >

"Obviously money has been a huge obstacle as I hadn’t worked for three years beforehand and my confidence was a little..." Ann Oliver

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- Getting the right people with a passion... >

"Getting the right people with a passion for what they do can be tricky. You can have the best CV in the world but..." Louise Allcroft

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- We’d just managed to get a massive loan... >

"We’d just managed to get a massive loan to expand the business but the day after the money went into our bank account..." Alistair McLean

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- The biggest barrier I faced was leaving... >

"The biggest barrier I faced was leaving my family business which was an emotional time. It made starting a new..." Peter Nixon

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- One of the biggest challenges I faced... >

"One of the biggest challenges I faced was getting the name of the business, Exclusive Human Resources, into the market...." Mark Ions

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- I’d never studied anything to do with... >

"I’d never studied anything to do with business, finance, negotiation, marketing, personnel , contracts, etc; or..." Chris Quickfall

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- It was still a pretty difficult time... >

"It was still a pretty difficult time though in those early days. It was basically a case of trying to find as much..." Derek Curtis

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- I spent eleven months trying to raise... >

"I spent eleven months trying to raise the money. I’d committed myself as I wasn’t doing anything else. I worked from..." James Robson

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- We’re in the process of acquiring a... >

"We’re in the process of acquiring a development opportunity behind our current premises, that’s our next phase...." Lynn Gate

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- I come from a family who have quite... >

"I come from a family who have quite traditional careers; they’re all artists or writers. Or architects. So when I..." Sarah Taylor

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- Lack of finance has also been a... >

"Lack of finance has also been a challenge throughout. I’ve found that little business improvements can make the world..." William Ingram

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- The i-snapshot team >

"The i-snapshot team, which is my new exciting project, currently has six employees. It needs to expand to sixty in..." Alan Timothy

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- The barriers I faced in setting Musa up... >

"The barriers I faced in setting Musa up were pretty enormous. I had no idea how to run a business and had never done..." Carol Metcalfe

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- We looked at getting more funding from... >

"We looked at getting more funding from banks, but as soon as they saw we were an online business, they wanted nothing..." Sarah Taylor

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- The main challenge I’ve faced is simply... >

"The main challenge I’ve faced is simply organising the sheer amount of activity that goes along with starting and..." Anne Larvin

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- I needed to recognise when the new... >

"I needed to recognise when the new business began to build up. At the beginning we were reliant on a small number of..." Jamie Greenwood

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- In terms of technological knowledge >

"In terms of technological knowledge, as an architect, I had a lot. As an internet entrepreneur, I had none whatsoever...." Sarah Taylor

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- The business had really started to grow >

"The business had really started to grow; I hadn’t expected it to be quite as successful as quickly as it was and I was..." Nickie Gott

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- The business didn’t require serious... >

"The business didn’t require serious start up costs as I work from home. Time was something I needed more of though and..." Melanie Cornish

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- When I first sat down >

"When I first sat down and thought about the goals I wanted to achieve, on paper I’d said that I wanted fifty artists in..." Carol Metcalfe

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- One of the biggest challenges has... >

"One of the biggest challenges has always been to keep believing even when bad news has just been received. I read and..." Peter Nixon

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- The hardest challenge we had to face... >

"The hardest challenge we had to face was managing growth. In the early days, profit wasn’t that important. It was all..." Pete Hunt

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- Owning your own business if rife with... >

"Owning your own business if rife with challenges that you have to overcome. The main obstacle I’ve had is being..." Terry Barnett

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- Our biggest initial challenge was... >

"Our biggest initial challenge was getting people to visit the websites but we soon learned that generic domain names..." Les Calvert

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- I needed to work on areas where I was... >

"I needed to work on areas where I was weak. For me, that was marketing, PR and communications. I had to learn that..." Sheila Stokes-White

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- There were definitely challenges in... >

"There were definitely challenges in going from a small business where you know everyone, you know their kids, you knew..." Greg Phillips

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- When I was setting the business up >

"When I was setting the business up, everything was happening and there was no one else to do anything. So there wasn’t..." Fiona Cruickshank

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- As this is my first business >

"As this is my first business, I had to make sure everything was in order and I was targeting the right market. I did..." Steve Mbara

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- I knew that I was about to feel the... >

"I knew that I was about to feel the force of a huge, national competition, and that took a lot to get my head round and..." Mark Ions

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- When you first start in business >

"When you first start in business, you love living and breathing it with the people around you, and you do get involved..." Roy Stanley

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- It was the first time that we had to... >

"It was the first time that we had to convince other people to back us, but we went to the bank to be honest. I’d..." Greg Phillips

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- It was difficult getting started >

"It was difficult getting started. Even a small bouncy castle can cost up to £1,500 and I had to use all the money I’d..." Leanne Hodgson

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- I know I’ll face challenges along the... >

"I know I’ll face challenges along the way; I think with starting to work towards my actual long term goal of my own..." Michelle Taylor

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- I think making my own decisions has... >

"I think making my own decisions has been my biggest challenge. Part of the reason why we set the company up was so we..." Antonia Clifford

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- Cash flow will obviously be a... >

"Cash flow will obviously be a consistent concern. Initially I’ll be working from home and within other organisations..." Sean Gerrie

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- Before I started out I had to face some... >

"Before I started out I had to face some stiff challenges. I’ve never been confident about speaking to new people and..." Tom Bivens

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- It was a real shock to go from student... >

"It was a real shock to go from student straight to employer. I don’t think I’ve quite got my head around that fact..." Chris Quickfall

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- The biggest challenge we faced in... >

"The biggest challenge we faced in setting up the business was that it was so bloomin’ expensive to get started! Some..." Louise Allcroft

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- Juggling studying for my degree whilst... >

"Juggling studying for my degree whilst running a business was a huge challenge. I overcame this by working extremely..." Rosie Willett

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- My biggest challenge thus far has been... >

"My biggest challenge thus far has been supporting the business financially. However, I have only myself to blame..." Ceyhan Mihcioglu

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- Taking on staff has been a big challenge >

"Taking on staff has been a big challenge, mostly on a personal level. Your first and primary responsibility is that..." Ross Cooney

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- In my previous jobs I’d always had... >

"In my previous jobs I’d always had administrative support and could call on all the services that you associate with a..." Sheila Stokes-White

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- The salon has only been open for three... >

"The salon has only been open for three weeks and in that time I’ve learnt an incredible amount. When you’re running..." Karen Forster

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- The biggest challenge so far for us has... >

"The biggest challenge so far for us has been in the creating of the ‘instant Cassava balls’- currently this product..." Gavin Blowman

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- Getting the right people can be hard.... >

"Getting the right people can be hard. Teaching is all about learning; you’ve got to get someone who wants to learn and..." John Elliott

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- All of the help agencies offered... >

"All of the help agencies offered similar support; they could all show me how to write a business plan and a cash flow..." Mark Rogers

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- The trouble is >

"The trouble is, my business is a small business but it competes with big business: schools and colleges. I’ve got to..." Angela Brown

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- We faced a number of barriers we had to... >

"We faced a number of barriers we had to overcome in getting the business off the ground, and it was mainly just keeping..." Alan Timothy

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- Obviously starting up a new business... >

"Obviously starting up a new business presented its challenges. I didn’t have any family background in business. My..." Satish Shewhorak

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- The personal challenge I faced was just... >

"The personal challenge I faced was just the fact that I was a girl in my 20s and all the people I was dealing with were..." Louise Allcroft

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Sheila Stokes-White: Strategic Solutions Ltd

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Kaye Winship: S. Walton Eyecare

"I suspect, deep down, I’ve always wanted my own business, even if sometimes I’ve been in denial about it! The..."

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For more information please contact stephen@ifwecanyoucan.co.uk or call 0191 226 7491