A YOUNG woman who battled back from redundancy to launch a chartered surveying business is the latest entrant to an entrepreneurial competition.

Qualified chartered surveyor Emma Yarrow, 26, of Darlington, set up her practice after losing her first graduate job because of the recession.

Her business boosts the growing list of fledgling firms hoping to win The Northern Echo’s If we can, you can challenge.

Ms Yarrow said: “After I was made redundant from Charltons Chartered Surveyors I found there was a lack of job opportunities within the building surveying sector.

“I had already begun training as a chartered surveyor and, after investing my time, I felt that this was something I wanted to complete. In order to get my qualifications and be accepted as a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors I had to take unpaid work to get the relevant experience to complete the exams.

“It was a tough time for me, but I saw an opportunity to set up a business while in training, and thought that there was little to lose.”

In 2008, Ms Yarrow set up her first business, Nationwide Commercial Energy Assessors, which enabled her to raise enough capital to launch Yarrow Surveying Services once she had completed all her exams.

She said: “It has been a long hard journey. The fact that I was able to set up the business and survive in a recession shows that that I am determined to succeed.”

Anyone who is interested in entering the 2011 If we can, you can challenge should visit ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge or call 0870-850-2233.