A north-east woman who was made redundant from oil and gas recruitment has set about turning her hobby into a lucrative business.
Fiona Welsh, 30, contacted Business Gateway Aberdeen city and shire to help her grow Beloved Creations into an online enterprise after she started selling “nappy cakes” to family and friends when she lost her job.
Since approaching Business Gateway Ms Welsh has been able to use her adviser’s connections to collaborate with another local company, Urban Caledonia, to launch bespoke Scottish-themed baby hampers.
Now, she is looking to capitalise on a recent surge in enquiries for corporate gifts by launching a service that will create unique presents for businesses to give staff and clients heading off on maternity leave.
She said: “I was always in charge of buying gifts for pregnant colleagues so I know first-hand how stressful the process can be. It was actually through buying those gifts that I spotted a gap in the market to produce nappy cakes after seeing them on social media.”
Emilia Stanczyk of Business Gateway said: “Being made redundant forced Fiona to launch a business based on skills she may never have expanded upon.
After a year of trading, she broke even and her employer allowed her to go part-time so she could concentrate on growing Beloved Creations further.”
Recommended for you
