Gateshead based Andrew Hayton is fulfilling a lifelong ambition to become the boss of a fashion enterprise after using Business Link’s free workshops to get his business off the ground.

Twenty nine year old Andrew has just launched his online venture Urban Celebrity Clothing, selling a wide range of designer wear for men and women, after Business Link helped him gain the confidence and business knowledge to turn his idea into a reality.

Andrew, a full-time telecommunications engineer, said: “At college I completed a BTEC qualification in Sports Studies but soon realised this wasn’t an area I wanted to pursue. I had always been interested in fashion and dreamt of owning my own clothing store, but I didn’t have a background in business and an understanding of the basic requirements such as legal obligations. Several years ago when I first started thinking about the idea I wasn’t really in a position to consider making the leap into self-employment, but I knew that I wanted to eventually become my own boss.”

Earlier this year, with the finances to invest in the business idea, Andrew decided it was the right time to boost his business knowledge and gain the skills to go it alone and so contacted Business Link to find out what practical support was available. Andrew added: “I attended several workshops through Business Link covering areas such as Getting the Basics Right, Managing Money and Making a Profit and Finding and Keeping Customers. I found them to be extremely helpful enabling me to understand the basics of different aspects of running a business. At this point I was still considering self-employment and the workshops gave me the confidence and food for thought to take away and build upon.

“It was helpful to be able to sit round a table with other people in the same boat to share ideas and learn from other people’s experiences.”

Armed with the knowledge to take his idea forward, Andrew decided that an online business would be the most effective platform for the venture to begin with. The website www.urbancelebrity.co.uk supplies a range of easy to wear clothing for men and women that’s not readily available on the high street. Andrew has been able to secure distribution deals with a wide range of leading brands including Religion Clothing, handmade clothing by Reem, One Teaspoon, ElevenParis, BlueBlood, Vintage One, Black Orchid, Pretty Disturbia and AMH and was able to create the brand and get the site up and running with support from two local businesses, along with funding for the construction of the website sourced through Business Link.

Andrew is enjoying the challenges of self-employment and in the short-term intends to manage the business in his spare time. In the future he hopes that Urban Celebrity Clothing will become a full-time venture with a number of employees.

Andrew added: “I envisage taking on staff within the first few weeks of the launch date once all stock is received. It’s extremely exciting being your own boss and Business Link has helped give me the confidence to go it alone.” Business Link’s range of pre-start workshops cover all the areas required to start a new venture, ranging from creating an idea and business planning, to book-keeping, marketing and generating sales.

For more information about how a Business Link event could help you start your own business, visit www.eventsnortheast.co.uk/workshops.

For general information on the wide range of support Business Link has to offer, go to www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast or call 0845 600 9 006.