Mum’s the word for Ayshea Griffiths at birth of new venture (From York Press)

Mum’s the word for Ayshea Griffiths at birth of new venture

2:27pm Tuesday 7th April 2009 in Search By Ron Godfrey

SOME of the hundreds of people who attended York’s week-long business startup events programme are now getting ready to launch their own business.

Business Link Yorkshire reports that more than 1,000 people poured through the doors at the four shows, Thrive And Survive and The Enterprise Shows, held at their new venue of York racecourse between March 10 and 15.

The events covered all aspects of business expertise for people both thinking of setting up on their own and operating established businesses.

Organised in conjunction with Yorkshire Forward and York City Council, visitors met key providers of support under one roof.

In the aftermath, Business Link is working with many advice seekers.

Among them is mother of two, Ayshea Griffiths of Whitehouse Rise, York, who was made redundant last summer.

She is about to launch her maternity products web site, www.baby-stork.co.uk, covering “bumps, birth and beyond.”

Using templates and information from the Business Link website she put together her business plan, her company structure and worked on her financial forecasting.

As a final preparation before the website went live, she visited Saturday’s Enterprise Show.

She said: “I know what I’m looking for now, so I was able to talk to companies about potential investment and discuss my situation with others in the same position.

“You can’t overestimate the value of networking and it’s great to know that with Business Link, I never need to be on my own”.

Helen West, chief executive of Business Link Yorkshire, said: “This year we aimed to make the shows bigger, better and more accessible to those wanting to start their own businesses.

“As the shows were held earlier and following the record-breaking attendance at last year’s York show at Museum Gardens, we took the decision to move to the larger venue of York Racecourse, which has been a great success.”

The region-wide Enterprise Shows, now in their eighth year, attract thousands of visitors – there were nearly 800 at York alone, spanning all ages and from all walks of life, and are part of Business Link’s drive to encourage entrepreneurialism and to give the region’s businesses a competitive edge.

Further Enterprise Shows will be held in Hull (Saturday, April 18-19) and Sheffield (May 2-3).

For further information call 0800 0322626 or visit the website at www.theenterpriseshows.com