Case studies

	Absolutely Fabulous Joan McLachlan of Renfrewshire’s Absolutely Fabulous salon explains why she is a cut above the rest thanks to the Women into Business programme of events.
	Curries Made Simple It’s really been a family affair for Tasnim Hussain’s Curries Made Simple business – one that has involved her husband, daughter and son!
	TIPS Ltd Sharon Trotter suffered years of “Del-boy” jokes, but her name came into its own when she launched her company, Trotters Independent Publishing Services Ltd in 2004.
	Little Ironies Bespoke metalwork business, Little Ironies, is going from strength to strength thanks to the Women into Business (WIB) programmes.
	Strings Aloud Strings Aloud is a musical quartet that formed in January 2005 to deliver their brand of musical accompaniment to weddings, special occasions and social gatherings.
	Thudguard - ILA (Scotland) Ltd Concern for her young daughter's safety after a head injury caused Kelly Forsyth-Gibson to come up with a new invention.
	Feelgood Therapies When Lorraine Urquhart was made redundant from her job as Area Manager for Guide Dogs Scotland and Northern Ireland, it marked a turning point for her and spurred her on to start her own business.
	DB Advertising Debbie Bennett was lucky enough to find her passion early in life. But Debbie’s move into self-employment came when she spotted a gap in the market.
	Sheila Fleet - Orkney Designer Jewellery For Sheila Fleet, ideas are the lifeblood of her business. In ten years, Sheila has transformed her family business
	Applied Care and Development (ACAD) After waiting for over five years businesswoman Cath Atkin finally took the plunge and launched her own childcare organisation Applied Care and Development in 2002.
	Kate French Associates Like many entrepreneurs Kate French was spurred into action by redundancy. A passing comment from her partner made her determined to make the most of the opportunity that being out of work provided.
	PURE Nail & Beauty Becky Woodhouse always had dreams to start her own business eventually, so her employer allowed her to go part time so that she had more time to think and develop some of her ideas.
	EnergyWise Health and Fitness Consultants Fiona Brown’s attended exercise classes and found herself looking at the teacher and thinking "I could do that" – she has now been in the fitness industry for eighteen years.
	The Nail Lounge Find out how Mentoring helped Gaynor Nicol to build her successful business specialising in manicures and nail extensions.
	The Travel Clinic (Glasgow) One Glasgow-based company is ensuring that budding travellers take the necessary precautions before their trip of a lifetime turns into a holiday from hell.
	Fitness Training Scotland Launched in October 2003 by Carole Lenny and Sarah-Jane Rice, FTS provides training courses for existing gym/fitness instructors enabling them to advance their skills.
	Fabric Creations Glasgow businesswoman Shona McGregor had been working in the printing industry when she took the opportunity to turn her hobby into a profitable business.
	Catalan IS Services Ltd A Stirling-based businesswoman is offering local companies peace of mind and security after launching her own Information Technology (IT) solutions company.
	Sheerface Sheena Morrison set up Sheerface in July 2003 having come from a background in training, development, and project management.
	The Serenity Room Kathy Smith was a nursing sister by profession, but after an adverse reaction to antibiotics, took an interest in complementary healthcare.
	EarthFire Heather Richardson and her sister Kirstin had always felt that they wanted to be self-employed at some point in their lives so when circumstances presented themselves they grabbed the opportunity.
	Click4abottle Katalin Egri Ku-Mesu was a Senior Lecturer who came to Scotland and turned her skills and experience into two successful businesses.
	Asten Wood Crafts It took Alice Anderson till the age of 50, after what seemed a lifetime of jobs that never gave her any satisfaction, to go for her dream; to work with wood.
	Flavours Italian Cookery Holidays Lorne Blyth runs Flavours Italian Cookery Holidays. She started in 1998 with one route to Northern Lazio and the company has now grown four fold.
	Nicholson Solutions Nicholson Solutions provide PC skills training for small business and individuals in the north-east of Scotland.
	Creativejus Lynn MacKenzie and Michelle MacKenzie, both Graphic Designers with eighteen years' experience, started in business after being made redundant at the end of 2001.
	Integral Associates A conversation between Norma McKenna and Norma Kemp ignited the spark of a business idea that just wouldn't go out.
	myOrganiser Ltd Deborah Forrest's most recent business is myOrganiser, aimed at stressed out clients with no time on their hands to organise their own busy lives.
	Linsey Anne Ann Scott discovered that a lack of good quality baby clothes, gifts and accessories in her home town of St Andrews left a gap in the market that she could fill.
	Thorpe-Molloy Recruitment Judith and Karen realised they could set up their own business after they established a branch of a national recruiting service for their employer.
	Charlotte Productions The success of Charlotte's lifestyle game shows that belief in your product is the most important asset a business can have.