By Julian Whittle

Last updated at 08:48, Thursday, 21 February 2013

The majority of businesses launched in west Cumbria are run by women, new figures suggest.

Emma-Jayne Gooch, of NuExec Consulting

Nationally, the reverse is true – men in self employment outnumber women by two to one.

But Britain’s Energy Coast says that more than half the places on its business start-up course, Linkstart, are being taken by women.

Shelly Gambles, business support manager at Britain’s Energy Coast, said: “Fourteen per cent of the UK population are self-employed but only 29 per cent of self-employed businesses are owned by women.

“It’s fantastic to see west Cumbria is well ahead of the national trend for women in business.

“Whether designed to work around family life, or to carve their own business path, women-led west Cumbrian businesses do have entrepreneurial spirit and determination to succeed in a wide range of sectors.”

Linkstart has supported 31 people looking to start a business this year, of whom 18 were women.

The programme began in 1995 and has helped almost 1,100 businesses, creating more than 1,400 jobs.

Its success rate is impressive, with 72 per cent of Linkstart businesses still trading after three years.

Success stories include Emma-Jayne Gooch, who set up NuExec Consulting in 2011, a recruitment agency focusing on the nuclear sector, which she runs with business partner Lisa Stanger.

She said: “We both knew how to recruit people but not how to run a business, so joining the Linkstart programme was important.”

To find out about Linkstart, visit www.britainsenergycoast.co.uk or call call 01900 65656.

First published at 08:46, Thursday, 21 February 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk