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A Banbury businessman’s struggle to set up on his own has paid off with a place in the final for the FSB Enterprise Award at the prestigious Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success Awards.
Unemployed Nash Hunter could see a gap in the market for his IT skills but without the finances and support to start or manage a business he didn’t know how to turn his dream into a reality.
From working in the industry and speaking to local people Nash could see where similar organisations in the area were going wrong. The industry was often over-priced without high levels of customer service, Nash wanted to change that.
He says: “I tried to set up the business on own but I was so inexperienced in certain aspects of running a business. I was also struggling financially. I had lost my job and was owed wages, plus I had a lot of debt so the banks wouldn’t touch me. It was quite a dangerous situation really.”
He came to The Prince's Trust for help in 2006 and was granted funding and a business mentor for three years. Nash’s business Banbury PC People offers fair pricing policies and a service based around the customers needs.
Nash said: “The mentor support The Trust gave me was invaluable. The moral support is also really important. It’s great to be able to bounce ideas off someone.”
As soon as he started trading Nash knew he had a successful business on his hands. After 18 months Nash was on track for good profits and could afford to move into premises and employ more staff to improve and provide more services to his customers.
Although it’s been difficult starting as a small business up against some of the main players in the industry, his customer service and ethical attitude has paid off.
Nash says: “I am now much happier and confident in my abilities as a businessman. It’s great owning my own company and doing what I love for a living. It’s taken a while to get here but I finally feel like I have achieved my dreams.” '
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