Entrust sets wheels in motion for entrepreneur
Feb 2 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal
AN entrepreneur who set up his first business at 17 has taken the plunge again almost 20 years later, after being made redundant.
Tony Riddle looked into self-employment when semiconductor company Atmel closed its plant on North Tyneside with the loss of 600 jobs.
Tony – who had served in the Army, worked for Marconi maintaining the London Underground, and tried his hand at the security industry – has spent the last year preparing for the launch of Alloy Fix, a mobile wheel refinishing and refurbishment business.
It’s a far cry from his first enterprise: a photography firm set up under a youth business scheme in South Shields in 1988, after his father – who fought for Australia in the Vietnam war – encouraged him to go for it.
He said: “I’ve tried several things in different countries. I was in Germany, but the language barrier was a problem. But it didn’t put me off trying again.”
He spotted a gap in the market for Alloy Fix when he could not find a local alloy repairer for his own car, and he has spent a year readying the business for launch.
“I’ve been practising for nearly 12 months,” said Tony. “I got a little bit of help from Business Link and I’d just had back surgery, so I couldn’t set up immediately. I remortgaged to buy all the equipment.”
During his recovery from surgery, Tony attended networking events, where he found out about the New Entrepreneur Scholarship scheme.
He also spent 16 weeks studying business development on a one-day-a-week basis.
The One NorthEast-backed initiative, which is managed by Entrust, is aimed at people living in disadvantaged areas of the region who want to start their own business.
“I used the Entrust chaps as mentors – someone to talk to and bounce ideas off, because it can get a bit lonely,” said Tony.
“We covered all sorts of useful areas on the course, from financial planning to employing staff. The most important thing for me was the support, even though I’ve set up my own business in the past.
“It really got me thinking seriously about my business idea and encouraged me to go for it.”
He graduated from the programme last week and is now concentrating his energies on getting Alloy Fix off the ground, despite the downturn in the economy since he originally came up with the idea.
“I am aware of it but, at the end of the day, I can always go out and get a job,” said Tony. “From the response I’m getting, I’m not too concerned.”
