Success stories

A lifelong interest in tinkering with technology led Roy Sanyang, from Harehills in Leeds, to set up his own social enterprise, Ycs Computers and Ycs Skills Centre, which repair computers, laptops and recycles IT equipment from households, businesses, schools, colleges and universities.

When ethical fashion designer from Leeds, Lizzie Harrison, 26, was left with a shell of a studio space after the construction company due to complete the refurbishment went into administration, she found the help she needed from Sharing the Success

MyBiz has helped lots of people like Sallyanne to turn their ideas into real business ventures.

Emily Farncombe is one of a growing number of arts and craft practitioners turning to the Factory4 workshop to get their business moving.

A lifetime lover of the baked treat, Viv Parry’s cake company rivals bland supermarket offerings.

A £10,000 grant from Sharing the Success has allowed Leeds Paper Recycling Ltd to expand its business even further for the new year, by helping to provide a new waste organising machine.

18 months ago Shaynee was working as a marketing/asset sourcing Manager for a bespoke private investment club in Central London but due to the recession, lost her job and could no longer afford to live there.

Things are very different now for Luke, who began by making badges from a kit for his band, as he runs a growing print and merchandise business from premises in Holbeck with seven full-time and three part time staff.

The How Bizaar! market stall is situated in the 1976 market hall of Kirkgate Market and enables Leeds residents to test their business ideas free of charge

Jonny Akers has designed some wonderful items of clothing using his screen printing skills

Larna Campbell is an artist who loves Chapeltown

The LS14 Trust is a community owned and led organisation working with residents and business in Seacroft

Nina Ricks was struck down with an illness that left her stuck at home

Ashley Cohen is the MD of award winning Pharm-Assist (Healthcare) Ltd

Luke Aylward, 25 from Swarcliffe, struggled for three and a half years to find employment after graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Lincoln in 2006. Luke has Asperger’s Syndrome,

Nina Hunter is working from her studio at Union 105 on Chapeltown Road, Leeds to turn her passion for creativity into a business.

Wykebeck Primary School, Leeds, is situated in an area of marked and complex social disadvantage. Children start nursery with very low levels of attainment and often other social and emotional difficulties.

Yorkshire and the Humber is now the second fastest growing digital region in the country after London and businesses in this sector are thriving despite the economic climate.

With more than 11 years' experience in martial arts and a degree in sports, health, exercise and nutrition from the University of Leeds, David Keynon knew that exercise and well being was his passion and he wanted to turn it into a career.

The opportunity to set up his own studio and fulfil a teenage ambition came for jobless Lyes Charallah when he found out about the Enterprise Rehearsal project

Dennis Bainbridge, 59 originally from Seacroft proved it’s the right time to become your own boss when he opened locksmith and alarm company Leeds Lock Centre

Xina Broderick, director of Nature’s Parlour talks about her experience at the business hub in Shine

Afaq Ahmed is on the Leeds Chamber of Commerce Enterprise Rehearsal Scheme and has launched his own tailoring company.

Ken Brown has been creating work in his Chapeltown home for 40 years. The walls of Ken Brown's home are literally covered in artwork. Most of them are on canvas in hand-made frames, but many of them are on the actual walls.

Gemma worked as a probation officer in North Yorkshire for seven years but when her daughter was born she decided not to go back to her old position but to use her expertise to help young people instead.

Spurred on by the current trend for homeowners to ‘improve, not move’, Misty Granger, 26, from Harehills is targeting people who want to make the most of living in their current home by setting up her self-named interior design company ‘Misty’

Shahida Chaudhry is of Pakistani origin but trained as a hairdresser and beautician whilst living in Switzerland. She moved to England last April to get married and was keen to start up in business

What was originally a nice way of promoting health and well-being amongst his office colleagues is now a fruitful business venture for self-made boss, Jonathan Russell from Bramley.

Natasha Ali's passion is playing music and song writing. She wanted to see if she could make a living out of her talent so she came on the Sharing the Success backed, MyBiz programme in September 2009 to help move her business forward.

Piotr first enrolled on the MyBiz Workshops with the idea of setting up a mobile business selling candyfloss. However Piotr soon realised that he needed to expand his product range so that the idea would appeal to more people.

Sheila specialises in drawing animal portraits in both pastel and pencil but wanted her passion to become more than a hobby.

A trip to the Job Centre after being made redundant earlier this year turned out to be the best thing that 27 year old Web Design Graduate Alex Ward ever did; he joined the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Enterprise Rehearsal Scheme and only months later has a thriving website business “Invasion Media”.

Chris Tremlett, founder of TREE used to be a sales and marketing manager for an energy company which specialises in energy saving, but was made redundant in March 2009.

John Nutter set up Mindworx, a hypnotherapist practice in June 2008 when he decided to go self-employed.

Having the same name was not the only thing the two Rob’s had in common. Rob Wade and Rob Sutermeister started discussing ideas for a business when they met at a climbing course.

Professional basketball coach Kwasi Adoo, 34, from Harehills jumped at the chance to start his own business when he spotted a gap in the kind of sports clubs available to children.

From setting up a printing business twelve years ago from his garage in Pudsey, Peter Biggins, 57, is no stranger to making the most of opportunities.

After juggling cries from his new born baby with equally unpredictable calls from freelance jobs, Gipton-based Paul Broadie, 28, decided it was time to take control.

Located in Leeds' Grand Arcade is 'Upstaged', a new vintage fashion shop which opened in November 2008.

Neville is an over 60 artist, orginally from South Africa, who has just completed a Master's degree at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Andrew joined Rise a few months ago with his company Latitude53.

Blossom Thyme is a social enterprise set up in 2006 by Jennie Collins, from Cottingley, Leeds. Jennie liked working with flowers and plants and had begun making floral arrangements and planters for family, friends and colleagues.

Facing her problems head on was the way Anna Rayner of Seacroft moved her life forward.

Based in Gipton, Lyndsay Din originally trained as a photographer. Now pregnant with her second child, and already mum to a 15 month old daughter, Lyndsay wasn’t planning to start up a new business.

Wayne Day of Swarcliffe, set up his own PAT testing business six weeks after being made redundant.

Gemma Povey and Paula Temple's social enterprise, Future Arts, enables people in the most deprived parts of Leeds to learn to use video, film and DJ equipment. They run workshops and courses, some of which are just for women, and some catering for people aged 13 to 25.