Success stories

A £10,000 grant from Sharing the Success has allowed Leeds Paper Recycling Ltd to expand its business even further for the new year, by helping to provide a new waste organising machine.

Natasha Ali's passion is playing music and song writing. She wanted to see if she could make a living out of her talent so she came on the Sharing the Success backed, MyBiz programme in September 2009 to help move her business forward.

A lifetime lover of the baked treat, Viv Parry’s cake company rivals bland supermarket offerings.

Emily Farncombe is one of a growing number of arts and craft practitioners turning to the Factory4 workshop to get their business moving.

Tony first came to the My Biz programme with an idea of setting up a business for the over 50’s that involved exercise with socialising.

Ben will have been trading for 2 years come this November, and what a 2 years it has been. Having amassed 70 clients on his books, and moving from his home office to trade out of Hillside, he has also been celebrating being a dad again after the birth of his second child which came just before he started trading.

Piotr first enrolled on the MyBiz Workshops with the idea of setting up a mobile business selling candyfloss. However Piotr soon realised that he needed to expand his product range so that the idea would appeal to more people.

Sheila Specialises in drawing animal portraits in both pastel and pencil but wanted her passion to become more than a hobby. She knew that one of the most important aspects of working from home was to build up her network, both for her business and for herself so that working from home would not make her feel isolated.

A trip to the Job Centre after being made redundant earlier this year turned out to be the best thing that 27 year old Web Design Graduate Alex Ward ever did; he joined the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Enterprise Rehearsal Scheme and only months later has a thriving website business “Invasion Media”.

Chris Tremlett, founder of TREE used to be a sales and marketing manager for an energy company which specialises in energy saving, but was made redundant in March 2009. From this point Chris decided to set up his own business, a social enterprise called TREE (The Renewable Energy Experts).

John Nutter set up Mindworx, a hypnotherapist practice in June 2008 when he decided to go self-employed.

Having the same name was not the only thing the two Rob’s had in common. Rob Wade and Rob Sutermeister started discussing ideas for a business when they met at a climbing course.

Professional basketball coach Kwasi Adoo, 34, from Harehills jumped at the chance to start his own business when he spotted a gap in the kind of sports clubs available to children.

From setting up a printing business twelve years ago from his garage in Pudsey, Peter Biggins, 57, is no stranger to making the most of opportunities.

After juggling cries from his new born baby with equally unpredictable calls from freelance jobs, Gipton-based Paul Broadie, 28, decided it was time to take control.

Located in Leeds' Grand Arcade is 'Upstaged', a new vintage fashion shop which opened in November 2008.

MyBiz has helped lots of people like Sally-Anne to turn their ideas into real business ventures.

Neville is an over 60 artist, orginally from South Africa, who has just completed a Master's degree at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Andrew joined Rise a few months ago with his company Latitude53.

Blossom Thyme is a social enterprise set up in 2006 by Jennie Collins, from Cottingley, Leeds. Jennie liked working with flowers and plants and had begun making floral arrangements and planters for family, friends and colleagues.

Facing her problems head on was the way Anna Rayner of Seacroft moved her life forward.

Based in Gipton, Lyndsay Din originally trained as a photographer. Now pregnant with her second child, and already mum to a 15 month old daughter, Lyndsay wasn’t planning to start up a new business.

Wayne Day of Swarcliffe, set up his own PAT testing business six weeks after being made redundant.

Gemma Povey and Paula Temple's social enterprise, Future Arts, enables people in the most deprived parts of Leeds to learn to use video, film and DJ equipment. They run workshops and courses, some of which are just for women, and some catering for people aged 13 to 25.