Business

Bedroom to boardroom


4/ 5/2004

OLDHAM sisters Ishrat and Shagufta Parveen are hoping to inspire youngsters to turn their bedroom dreams into successful business ventures.
The young entrepreneurs who have recently set up Party Deco - a retail service providing elaborate decorations for Asian weddings - have been invited by Channel 4 to speak to young people about the ups and downs of setting up a business for a new programme called, Bedroom Britain.
The programme will challenge 14-19 year-olds to put forward their brightest business ideas that are often dreamt up in the sanctuary of their bedrooms.
The best schemes will be featured in the programme and there will be experts on hand to help get them up and running.
Ishrat, aged 24 and Shagufta, 29 will also give advice on setting up a business.
The sisters say they struggled to get their wedding idea off the ground through sheer lack of business knowhow.
But then Ishrat enrolled on Manchester Business School's new entrepreneur scheme (NES) - a three-month part time free course on how to set up a business. She successfully completed the course and received a £3,000 grant.
Said Ishrat: "I had wanted to set up a party decoration service for years.
"It came from the frustration we felt when we organised family wedding and had to buy decorations from Bradford or even further. Another issue was that though a lot of money is spent on decorations, they are only used once. No-one appeared to offer a decorations hire service.
"So we decided to set up a service ourselves offering the most detailed and elaborate wedding decorations.
"There are plenty of weddings in Oldham alone so I knew there were a lot of potential customers out there.
"It was a great idea but we didn't have the confidence to do anything about it until I heard about the NES scheme which has been a huge help.
"Whilst I went on the scheme my sister went on a balloon decorating course. We're now in the process of getting our shop ready and we're really excited about getting started.
"I'm more than happy to help with Bedroom Britain and share my experiences. Once you find people to talk to and to put you in the right direction it gives you confidence to take an idea and make it successful.
"There are many young people with great ideas, they just need the right people to speak to."
Teenagers interested in putting themselves for Bedroom Britain should visit their website on www.channel4.com/bedroombritain


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