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BUSINESS IN WANSBECK A CUT ABOVE

A Newbiggin-by-the-Sea hairdresser is off to a flying start only eight months after opening her doors to customers.

Encouraged by friends and family, Edwina Phillipson opened ‘The Barbers 2’, a unisex hair salon, in March this year. With 33 years experience in hairdressing and her three children grown-up, Edwina decided it was time to focus on herself.

A £3,000 grant from Go Wansbeck’s Flexible Fund helped the business get off the ground. Edwina planned to work alone for a year while the business established itself but within three months had recruited more staff to help service her rapidly growing customer base. Now with a team of three in place, The Barbers2 welcomes customers from as far afield as Amble and Morpeth, Newcastle and Ponteland.

Edwina said: “I am so pleased to be back in business after a break to bring up my children. I had heard of the support available to new businesses through the Go Wansbeck programme and was told by many people what a great place Newbiggin is.
People here have just been so welcoming and it’s great to part of such a thriving, rejuvenated local community.”

Go Wansbeck programme manager Keith Raine said: “We are delighted that through Flexible Funding we could provide Edwina with the financial backing that she needed to
get the business going. We have helped establish a significant range of new businesses across the district, and local people can see the transformation and renewed sense of optimism that is underway in Wansbeck.”

The Barbers2 is one of a number of Newbiggin businesses to have been supported by Go Wansbeck Funding. Edwina added: “There are some fabulous businesses in the area, I think it’s brilliant that The Go Wansbeck programme is encouraging people across the district to start up and grow their own businesses and I look forward to seeing further success stories in Newbiggin, and throughout Wansbeck.”

For further information about how you can take advantage of the business support and advice available from Go Wansbeck contact the Go Wansbeck business support office on 01670 844560.

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