HOG services: The Beginning

Hi, I'm back after a busy couple of weeks of business meetings, marketing and a few jobs. This installment I will explain how I came up the idea of starting my own gardening and handyman business. I have always loved being outdoors since the day before forever, I was always out playing all kinds of sports in my school days and I continue to play American Football for the North East's premier team, Gateshead Senators, who's history spans exactly 2 and a half decades this year.
Anyway, lets get back on topic, I have always enjoyed helping others, which is obvious given my previous jobs, I started my work life delivering living aids for elderly and disabled people throughout the North East for a company called Liveasy, formerly B.C.A. Direct, from that job I moved back to health and fitness and got qualified as a personal trainer and immediately got a position to work in Fitness First Newcastle, but that was short lived due to the cost of paying Fitness First £100 per week just to use there facilities with no guarantee of clients and due to my deteriorating mental health as a result of stress and personal troubles.
Following several months of treatment and counselling I struggled to get back to work, until the opportunity of revamping my friend's grandmother's garden came up, which worked as great therapy and helped me to start and grow my business idea (no pun intended, just a happy accident). The next move was to get my business plan drawn up, once i had done this, I asked at the Jobcentre to be put onto the New Enterprise Allowance scheme, where you work with an agency, in my case Project North East, and they help you build and/or improve your business plan, build you cash flow forecast and survival budget. Once these are finished, you get signed off and become self employed while receiving a small weekly payment to help get you set up for 26 weeks.
I am now 2 weeks into the NEA and have a few jobs which will hopefully help gain more through word of mouth and as the spring hits, I should hit the ground running. A few special thanks have to go to my family, especially my grandad who encouraged me to help out in his shed and allotment as therapy and then since moving into my own place has helped with supplying the materials for boarding out the loft and the walk in wardrobe that I built. So that's how HOG started in a nutshell, you can find one of my adverts in The Foresters' Fund For Children, Friend for Life Handbook, as HOG is an official sponsor, please have a look at their website www.fffc.org.uk to see all the great work they do.
If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
You can email me at; daddydback21@gmail.com
Leave a comment on here or on the website; www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
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Direct message and/or follow us on Twitter; @HOGservices

Thank you for reading once again, please check back soon for new entries.

Ben