Two women from the Dee Valley who turned the adversity of redundancy into a business triumph are being hailed as role models for would-be entrepreneurs.
Stephanie Griffiths and Anne Allsop were staring into a financial abyss when they lost their jobs after the Threshers off-licence chain went bust.
They both worked at the Corwen branch, Stephanie as the manager and Anne as the senior sales assistant.
Just before Christmas in 2009 they were told that the shop was closing – and that they were being made redundant.
But the despair soon turned to a determination to turn the situation to their advantage.
The duo decided to go into business together and took over the former Cardwell’s bistro across the road in Corwen’s main square.
As the premises were already licensed they were able to open for business three days after Threshers closed its doors – just in time for the Christmas rush.
They say that the free help they’ve received from the Welsh Assembly Government’s Regional Centre Service has been crucial in helping them to make a success of the venture.
According to Stephanie and Anne, the advice they’ve received from Business Support Manager Arwel Hughes has been invaluable.
In addition, they have been steered safely through the potential minefield of complying with employment and environmental requirements.
Mr Hughes said:”Stephanie and Anne are excellent role models for aspiring entrepreneurs.
“They have faced redundancy which is a potentially heart-breaking position to be in.
“But they have taken their chance and used their local networks to build up a successful business – they hit the ground running.
“It’s nice to come back here and see the shop looking good with everything well displayed.
“The shop is in a good location in the square and if it was empty it would give a bad impression of the town.
“It’s all credit to them that when things were bad they have got themselves jobs. They are now reaping the rewards of their guts and initiative – and so is the local community.
“Towns can die very quickly if you haven’t got the retailers so they are making an important contribution to the wider economy.”
Stephanie recalled the desperation she felt when she found out that the Threshers off licence was being axed along with the rest of the chain.
She said: “It broke my heart because I thought I was going to be there for ever. I loved my job and it suited being a mum with school age children because I used to work when they were in school.
“I just thought I never wanted to work anywhere else and I was absolutely devastated and then having to break the news to the staff was absolutely awful.
“I had never been out of work in my life, it was really scary thinking what was going to happen. We have three kids and a mortgage.”
But the road to salvation was signposted by Emma Cardwell who suggested they might rent her recently closed bistro to start their own off licence.
Stephanie added: “We had all the knowledge and I had training in management and how to run the business.
“We only had about two weeks’ notice in Threshers. We were asked five days before coming here if we wanted to rent the building and because this was already a licensed premises we were able to step right in.
“It was a like a whirlwind but opening just before Christmas was a good idea. We didn’t want to leave it too long in case people started going outside the area to shop …we had to jump in really quickly.
“The first Christmas was good and last Christmas was fantastic. We have done really well.
“I think it’s actually much easier being your own boss because we don’t have anybody to answer to except ourselves.
“There was never a problem with the Corwen shop, it closed because of a wider problem within Threshers.
“The Corwen off licence was always very profitable and they were always praising me and my staff over how well it was doing but we became a casualty because other shops were doing badly.
Anne said: “We have had a lot of business advice from Arwel and about how we can improve the look of the shop lay-out.
“It’s really helpful having professional back up like we’ve had to make sure that we’re steering the right course – and better still it’s all free.
“We are getting a lot of support from local people, they are very proud of us. We had lots of cards congratulating us on opening the business.
“It feels special that we are appreciated by local people. We love our job and we are doing well and we are grateful to local people for making that possible.”
Small businesses requiring assistance should contact the Welsh Assembly Government Regional Centre Service on 03000 6 03000 or visit business.wales.gov.uk
