A Kirkby Stephen woman has opened her own party shop after improving her business skills.
Rebecca Heap worked at a newsagents for seven years, the last three of which she was the manager. The shop stocked party goods such as helium balloons, and this sparked a long-time desire to run her own party shop.
She already had a great knowledge of the party supplies industry, with relationships with suppliers and a good knowledge of prices. She also knew there were few specialist shops in Cumbria where people could go to get all their party supplies in one go.
“One thing that was stopping me was that I lacked knowledge of accounting,” Rebecca says. “So I contacted Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency and attended six Business Skills Workshops to fill the gaps in my knowledge.”
Rebecca finally took the plunge and opened her shop, Heaps of Fun, in September last year.
She is now building upon her success with a website, heapsoffun.co.uk, that incorporates an online shop, extending her market beyond the immediate area. She is also doing more venue decorating.
CREA Business Adviser Kellie Bradburn-Sims says, “We assisted Rebecca with completing a Business Plan before starting trading which gave her a better insight into the costs involved in running her own business. Armed with this knowledge, Rebecca was confident she would be able to turn her dream of running her own business into a financially viable and profitable reality.”
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