Bryan Bounces Back with Bramble Business

Bryan Richards, 28, from Gateshead was a victim of the recession in January 2009, losing his job as an architectural assistant for which he had been training for seven years.

After experimenting with different career paths he decided to apply the IT skills he previously learned as a Microsoft trainee to his self-employment goal, Bramble Business, a website development and hosting company, before completing his Architectural studies at Newcastle University and qualifying as an Architect.

With the help of InBiz, an organisation dedicated to the development and promotion of self-employment and micro enterprise as a route back into the workforce, he was able to fulfill that ambition with the appointment of a Personal Business Adviser, Dave Stewart. Bryan was given resources and taught the administrative skills to offer his clients IT training as well as an easy to use, website editing software package. Fortnightly meetings sharpened his bookkeeping skills, allowing him to keep down accountancy costs and be more 'hands on' with day to day clerical work.

Before long, the business had gone from strength to strength, ensuring clients had sufficient training to be well equipped to manage their own webpages while also providing an efficient 'one stop shop' for all I.T. requirements. With the company growing at an impressive rate, Bramble Business was soon able to take on an extra member of staff to assist with the increased workload and is now working on sophisticated cost saving I.T systems for much larger organisations such as WEEECO.

Commenting on the help he received at InBiz, Bryan said: "InBiz recommended the Gateshead Council's Back to Work Grant, which paid for my Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance for the first year. The 'on demand' resources and assistance InBiz provided gave me the confidence to jump into areas of business I was unfamiliar with"

Encouraged by his success, InBiz Business Adviser Dave Stewart noted: "Bryan has quickly learned how critical time can be, and he has met the challenge with admirable enthusiasm and drive, making us all proud of the way he has balanced business professionalism with academic goals."

The flexibility of self employment provided the time and resources necessary for Bryan to complete his course in Architecture at Newcastle University, and he is now a fully qualified Architect. He currently applies this training as a sideline to his IT venture in a separate business specialising in Green Architecture. Glad with the progress of Bramble Business and confident in its future prospects, Bryan has the impetus to drive the company forward, expand his client base, and continue to forge new working relationships.