Getting started with council’s programme

Satinder Salona set up her own business, Home Instead Senior Care Calderdale, two years ago thanks to advice she received from the scheme.

She met with Eric Binns, the council’s principal officer for enterprise support, and found his help invaluable.

She said: “I moved to Brighouse from London in 2013 and was keen to start my own business but didn’t know where to start. I’m originally from Calderdale so I knew the area and had a good knowledge of finance, but running a business was completely new to me.

“I went to a ‘start your own business’ drop-in session and met with Eric. He gave me lots of great advice and passed on a range of useful contacts. He really guided me in the right direction and within three months I had opened my own business. Since then, the business has grown considerably and we now have 72 employees and offer a variety of services.

“My business wouldn’t be where it is now without the council’s start up scheme. It can be daunting setting up a business and if you’re thinking about it I would definitely recommend getting advice from Eric and his team.”

Since the programme began in 2009, over 4,000 people have asked about becoming self-employed, and nearly 2,500 people have benefited from tailored advice.

In May 2015 there were 8.7 start-ups for every 10,000 working age people in Calderdale, compared to 6.5 for Yorkshire and The Humber, while 113 businesses opened bank accounts in Calderdale during the same month – the average across the UK was 100.