NEW STORE FOR DURHAM E-TRADER

A DURHAM entrepreneur is branching out to open her first ‘bricks and mortar’ store this week – just months after she was named as a finalist in an online trading competition.

Kate Dawson - from Dipton - was one of 10 budding entrepreneurs from across the region who each won £2,000 to start their own business via eBay, in a challenge run by regional development agency One NorthEast and e-business champions the North East Regional Portal.

The idea of the ‘YouTrade’ competition was to encourage online entrepreneurship across the North East and now, only six months after launching her business Spirit Unique, selling jewellery and accessories, Kate has diversified into other products and will open The Spirit Gallery and Giftshop in Eshottheugh on Saturday.

“I’ve attended a number of events and fairs promoting the business and am now supplying a hotel with jewellery for their staff,” she says. “I’ve found eBay to be a very competitive market place for jewellery so I’ve diversified into other products such as watches and home accessories, which are proving to be popular sellers.

“When the Eshott premises came up for rent, I fell in love with the place immediately and decided to take the chance. It’s selling all the products from Spirit Unique, as well as products from other local artists.

“I’m still continuing to develop my eBay store and independent website, getting my products into more local outlets - ultimately, I want Spirit Unique to be my day job!”

YouTrade was launched last November. All the winners have now started trading via eBay, and are competing to be the most successful in their first year of trading. To help them, they are getting support through a series of boot camps about all aspects of running an internet business and entrepreneurship in general.

Andy Walton, e-business Manager at One NorthEast, said: “When we launched YouTrade, we wanted to inspire people to be enterprising and to turn their ideas into something real.

“If we are to achieve the region’s aim of starting 22,000 new businesses in the next decade to help us close the productivity gap between the North East and other English regions, we have to develop our entrepreneurial culture and make sure people have access to the skills they’ll need to succeed in running their own business.”

Regional Portal chief executive Norma Foster said: "We are delighted that Kate’s venture has taken off so quickly, and it’s great news that she’s already expanding her range of products. She is proving to be an inspiration and an example to us all of how a great idea coupled with creativity and enterprising spirit can become something big. As e-business champions we want to encourage and support entrepreneurship in the region and the YouTrade competition has been a fantastic opportunity for 10 entrepreneurs to develop a business idea online.”