Being made redundant has unfortunately been a more prevalent occurrence over the recent year or so, but you can turn the situation to your own advantage by deciding to go into business for yourself. A prime candidate for this was Ronald Robson who, after being made redundant in December 2008 from his managers’ role within the double glazing industry, decided to set up a his own double-glazing sales and service company - Specialist Window Services Limited - that also supplies roofline products to trade.

Having contacted NBSL (Northumberland Business Service Ltd), Ronald met with Enterprise Bridge Programme Business Adviser, Sylvia Grainger, who helped him develop and research ideas for his business, produce a business plan and obtain a grant from the North East England Investment Centre (NEEIC) with the help of David Murphy, Account Manager at Business Link North East, to purchase items of equipment for his new business.

Sylvia confirmed, “It is an unfortunate sign of current times that we are seeing more businesses making people redundant – we all see it on television and in the papers almost every day, it seems. At NBSL, we are really heartened to find that often people in this situation, such as Ronald, have the enterprising attitude of ‘not being beaten’. Without perhaps realising it, such individuals displaying this quality will actually be assisting our country back towards a situation of economic growth, and are placing themselves and their new businesses in an ideal position for when ‘the bounce’ out of recession occurs.”

Ronald has now opened a new showroom in Haltwhistle’s Enterprise Park at Hadrian Works and is building up his stock of roofline products. Specialist Window Services Limited provides new windows, as well as a complete repair service, to local builders’ merchants and private customers. He is continuing to work with business support services to increases his company’s profile through advertising and targeted marketing activity.

Ronald said “I found both Sylvia and David a great help and a tremendous boost to my confidence. I found that compiling a decent business plan made me look at things in greater detail and focus on things I needed to do to get started. Now I am well prepared and ready for the challenges that may lie ahead!” Specialist Window Services can be contacted on 01434 321147.