Tots on the Rock enables Joanne fill market niche

Sep 29 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

AWOMAN has taken a leaf out of her partner’s book and decided to start her own business after spotting a niche in the market.

Joanne Venners set up children’s clothing and accessories shop Tots on the Rock after being inspired by her other half, who opened up a garage.

Ms Venner, from Blackhall in County Durham, worked with Be Enterprising, East Durham Business Service, the Shaw Trust and JobCentre Plus to get her idea off of the ground.

She said: “I had been looking into running my own business for quite some time, and after Be Enterprising helped my partner set his up, I decided to contact them about my idea. I started working with them in March and things have been progressing since.

“It has been exciting watching my idea develop into a retail shop and my coach Amanda Hennessy even helped me look around several premises and finally choose one that would be suitable for my business.”

The 25-year-old, who had worked in retail since leaving school, studied for an NVQ level 3 in retail before setting up her own business. She picked up baby clothing experience while working as an assistant at Little Gems, then moved to Card Warehouse where she was promoted to general manager.

She was able to secure start-up funding from Be Enterprising, which is part of the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness Programme, and aims to boost entrepreneurship at local level.

Ms Venner said: “The initial grant I received from Be Enterprising I spent on stock for the shop.

!I bought some from the wholesalers, and also, two local women are knitting and crocheting garments for the shop which I will then sell on.

“Right now, I am just looking forward to getting the business up and running, I have already roped half my family into working for me.”

She initially worked with Be Enterprising business coach Amanda Hennessey to consider how viable her idea was.

Ms Hennessy said: “Joanne came to us several months ago with an initial idea following some research that Blackhall didn’t have a baby clothing store.

“We then set about putting together a business plan to create a profitable business and moved forwards from there. Joanne has plenty of experience within retail, so I have every confidence that her business venture is going to be a success.”