Local News

A local woman has returned to her North East roots in a bid to realise her dream of running a business.

Michelle Balam, 28, who grew up in Guisborough, has launched Roseberry Funeral Service in Redcar, thanks to help from TEDCO Business Support Ltd and Virgin StartUp, following several years spent building industry experience in Somerset and London.  

After deciding on her career path at an early age, Michelle moved to Somerset in her early twenties to pursue a career as a mortuary technician, working for five years to gain the relevant qualifications and experience to undertake the work.  

With an eye on her ultimate goal of working as a funeral director, Michelle volunteered regularly to work at a nearby funeral service to learn her trade in a real working environment.  This invaluable experience led to a job as a funeral director in London where Michelle led a team delivering a range of services from caring for the deceased, making coffins, arranging funerals and managing the day-to-day activities of the business. 

Despite enjoying her day-to-day role, Michelle was keen for her young son to enjoy the benefits of living life on the North East coast, and so returned to the region to work as an assessor for people undertaking funeral industry qualifications.  

Michelle comments: “Every day I had to see people gaining qualifications in the job I myself loved.  The funeral industry can be hard to get into, and jobs are few and far between, so I decided that given my experience and passion for the work that I should look into self-employment to give others the high level of service I knew I was capable of.”

Michelle got in touch with startup support agency, TEDCO Business Support Ltd, to talk through her business idea.  With the support of business advisor James Craft and the Ready for Business programme, Michelle was able to refine her business plan and apply for a loan through Virgin StartUp, a not for profit organisation launched in October 2013 to provide low-cost business loans and mentoring support to entrepreneurs across the UK. 

Michelle continues: “Virgin StartUp were straight away able to advise me on how to access the right level of financing to set up my new business but I also needed to get my business plan in order to give me the best possible chance of securing financing”

Sir Richard Branson partnered with TEDCO in 2013 to officially launch Virgin StartUp for entrepreneurs in the North East and Cumbria. TEDCO is the main access point for people in the region looking to source funding through Virgin StartUp. Its team of advisors will guide aspiring entrepreneurs through the application process, offering additional help and wider enterprise support as part of the Ready for Business programme.  

Michelle adds: “James was really quite invaluable as I prepared to apply for the loan with Virgin StartUp.  He fired every question at me you could possibly think of so I not only had to know my business inside and out but I had to be clear on my goals and plans for the future.  Thanks to the support of James, I was successful in receiving an £11,000 low-cost business loan from Virgin StartUp to fund the set up costs of Roseberry Funeral Services.”

Michelle has now started trading from her base on Coatham Road in Redcar and is hoping that her personalised service and expert approach to arranging funeral services will allow her business to grow in the future. 

Michelle said: “I have an apprentice training with me now to learn the trade as I wanted to be able to help young people into the industry in a way that other funeral directors helped me many years ago.  I am a passionate supporter of local businesses and have used independent firms as much as possible in the set up process – even employing local photographer Stuart Brown to get shots of the local area to populate my website and office.” 

“We are now open for business and have been overwhelmed by the support from people who are happy to see a small, independent business now offering funeral services in the local area. “

Ready for Business is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund and Barclays, and is delivered nationwide by the Cavendish Consortium, a partnership between some of England’s leading enterprise agencies, together with the National Enterprise Network. So far the programme has created more than 3,500 new jobs across the UK, more than 500 across the North East, and provides individuals with concentrated support in the pre-start and early stages of their business. 

James Craft, business advisor at TEDCO Business Support said: “Michelle has the experience and drive to be successful within the funeral industry but her goals extend beyond the day to day running of a business into providing the kind of personal service demanded at this sensitive time for families.  I have absolute confidence in her abilities and I expect Roseberry Funeral Services to become a firm fixture in the local business community.”

For further information on Roseberry Funeral Services, please visit the premises at 3 Coatham Road, Redcar or visit www.roseberryfuneralservice.co.uk / 01642 756 324.