Hayley Charles
Start-up advice RGU alumna Hayley Charles (BA (Hons) Applied Social Science, 2012 and MSc Fashion Management, 2014) is a Business Advisor at north-east social enterprise, Elevator. The company encourages entrepreneurship, business start-up and growth while delivering free Business Gateway services across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Tayside. Here, Hayley explains the varied support available to new businesses. I work with individuals who are at the pre-start and start-up stage of their businesses. During this phase I help them develop their ideas, grasp the sector they are looking to break into and also help with the more practical aspects such as business planning and understanding their market research.
8
My own personal background, I believe, helps with this. I run my own fashion business which has given me hands-on knowledge of issues such as breaking into the market, working with suppliers, marketing and, ultimately, working effectively with customers. I also come from a bit of an entrepreneurial family
