A CONSULTANCY set up at the start of the recession is thriving by helping others to beat the economic downturn.
Rise Consultants, so named because it aims to help clients rise above their competition, works in the area of business development and project management, mainly in the creative and digital sectors.
The Houghton-le-Spring firm takes on businesses keen to expand or launch new products and is working with clients seeking help to deal with the economic downturn.
Founder Jill Newey, who has a background in staff training and business development, is adamant creative companies don’t need to move out of the region to flourish.
She said: “Personally, I always wanted my company to be based in the North East. I get so frustrated when I see businesses moving to the south when the North East has so much to offer.
“We have great resources and good opportunities that are being overlooked. There’s huge potential here especially for the creative and digital industries to start and grow.
“In starting Rise I ensured that I was confident about the niche I had identified, did my research to confirm a need for the services I hoped to offer, then made sure that I had planned carefully so that we were never financially unstable.”
Ms Newey, who worked with Emap Performance and Codeworks Connect before deciding to go it alone, is also keen to encourage others with business ideas to consider starting their own enterprise. Rise has worked with a number of would-be entrepreneurs to help them get their ideas off the ground, despite the recession.
But helping firms to get to grips with the effects of the downturn is currently one of Rise’s main areas of work.
Ms Newey said: “Businesses have been forced to lay off staff and hiring a very experienced consultant to work on their projects and strategies is much less risky than taking someone on internally. The credit crunch has made it more difficult for us to deliver our targets, as trade is not as easy in the current climate, but we just keep that in mind and consider it when planning our strategy.
“We agree the targets with our customers and we never invoice until we have reached them, so we never make empty promises. Now more than ever businesses need to stand out locally and nationally.”
There’s huge potential here especially for the creative and digital industries to start and grow.
