Jillian Anderson first came to Five Lamps in June 2012 after she was referred by Job Centre Plus
Jill had been unemployed for six months and had previously worked within the mental health sector for 24 years but had always wanted to start her own business.
Jill was supported by Carol Sanderson, Five Lamps’ Enterprise Coach who worked with her to develop her business and marketing strategy. Jill had a clear business idea to start her own holiday letting agency, initially starting with 1 holiday let and then expanding her portfolio.
Jill was also supported by Deborah Shanley, Five Lamps Business Development Officer under the New Enterprise Allowance Mentoring Scheme.
Jill had some personal funding which she used to purchase a stone built Grade 11 listed cottage in Pickering and was also supported with a New Enterprise Allowance Loan which provided a small weekly allowance for 3 months paid as a wage whilst the business was being developed.
Black Swan Cottage opened for business in June 2012. The business is going well with the cottage being fully booked over the summer and winter periods. The cottage has received excellent reviews which Jill has published on her website.
Jill says
“After deciding to purchase a cottage to run as a holiday let Five Lamps provided a wide range of advice and information to help me start my business. By helping me develop a business plan which made me focus on different aspects of the business both positive and negative, they helped me become aware of pitfalls and how to deal with various issues which may arise in order to develop a well run business.
I now have a thriving holiday cottage which is rarely empty, we get great reviews from our guests and many come back again and again.
I am grateful to Five Lamps for the help they gave me in the initial stages and found staff friendly and supportive”
For more information on Black Swan Cottage visit www.blackswancottagepickering.co.uk
If you would like further information on the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme then speak to your local Job Centre Adviser.
The NEA contract is delivered by Five Lamps. Funding was also secured from the European Union, ERDF fund.