Today is National Fish and Chip Day, with fans of the traditional English meal encouraged to head to their local shop to show their support for one of the nation’s most loved foods. One such shop preparing to serve up extra portions is Parveen Akhtar, owner of The Chip House in Cottingley, West Yorkshire – […]
Today is National Fish and Chip Day, with fans of the traditional English meal encouraged to head to their local shop to show their support for one of the nation’s most loved foods. One such shop preparing to serve up extra portions is Parveen Akhtar, owner of The Chip House in Cottingley, West Yorkshire – opened in December 2015, with an estimated 9000 bags of chips served so far.
A family background in running Fish & Chip shops provided motivation for Parveen to purchase her own shop, but she lacked experience in knowing how to start her own business. As part of the Start & Grow programme, dedicated Business Mentor Phil Harrison from NEN member organisation Airedale Enterprise Services provided Parveen with much needed support, as she negotiated the purchase of a business close to her home last year. As well as help to get approval of a start-up loan of £16,000, Phil also arranged for Parveen to attend a seminar on Business Planning, which enabled her to create a framework for her business, as well as giving her confidence in planning the future of her business.
Commenting on the approach Parveen took in building her business, Phil Harrison, Business Growth Adviser at Airedale Enterprise Services said: “Parveen was passionate about owning her business from the very beginning – and she has the ideas, energy and enthusiasm to grow the business and guarantee its success.”
Parveen received over 10 hours of support as part of the Start & Grow programme and continues to meet regularly with her business mentor as she makes plans to strengthen the future of The Chip House. Without the financial support offered by this programme, Parveen wouldn’t have been able make her desire to own and manage her own business a reality.
Start & Grow is a national programme run by Cavendish Enterprise and funded by the Regional Growth Fund that provides a range of pre and post start support to individuals across England looking to start a business. The programme is available to those looking to start a business which expects to employ people from its early stages and where start-up financing is required to get the venture off the ground. Find out more about the Start & Grow programme.
