A Wearside entrepreneur is preparing to shift shop yet again after seeing her business expand from her dining room table to large-scale office space within 18 months.
It was whilst on maternity leave in 2006 that former Quality Manager Susan Lang, from Washington, began contemplating running her own company.
Susan Lang said: “Whilst on maternity leave from my full-time job the desire to work for myself when I went back to work was greater than ever. When I returned after three months I bravely handed my notice in and went into business.”
To her delight, Susan’s business, S M Consultancy Services, which provides bespoke bookkeeping, Sage Training, consultancy accountancy services to businesses and individuals, took off incredibly well, and her initial office at home was quickly outgrown by the company’s rapid expansion.
Susan said: “After 3 months the business outgrew the dining room table and I decided to move the business into office premises at the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).”
Once again Susan was stunned by the rapid speed at which the business continued to move. At this point she began working for clients as far away as Hong Kong, and as the workload grew she was able to take on a new staff member to support her expanding client base.
Susan said: “Having expected to take on staff at a much later date, I was delighted that the business had taken off to the point where I could employ someone else to join the company. Now we are at a point where we are looking at larger premises within the BIC as we have outgrown our initial incubation office and are preparing to take on more staff.”
As the business flourishes and prepares for yet another expansion in the form of a new company Red Sky Bookkeeping which will concentrate purely on the bookkeeping and payroll side of the business, Susan continues to reflect on the decision to start her own company all those months ago.
Susan said: “The best thing I ever did was to hand my notice in to my old employers. The idea of fitting the business in around my children and family and being flexible were the biggest benefits and, even as the business grows, working for yourself still offers a great deal of control over your work/life balance.”
Training division: www.smconsultancy.net
Bookkeeping division: www.redskyuk.com
tel: 0191 516 6298
Submitted by: S M Consultancy Services