Partner Article

Cathy's Fresh Cuts 'meats' expectations

Years of hard work and training have paid off for an Ashington woman who took the opportunity to start up her own butcher’s business in a Northumberland supermarket.

Cathy Woodward had previously worked as a meat cutter before being made redundant when the butcher’s shop where she worked closed down. Rather than face the dole queue and the prospect of unemployment, Cathy decided to use her trade skills and start her own business. With the help of various grants and practical business advice she has now opened Cathy’s Fresh Cuts at the Netto Store at Ashington.

As well as sourcing meat from local suppliers, a new speciality market is also emerging as Cathy is bringing in food with a distinctly Scottish flavour. New delicacies include Beef Olives, Haggis and Lorne Sausages.

Cathy said: “It’s been quite scary starting out on my own but it’s also a great feeling knowing that I’m doing something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve had a lot of help with various grants and practical business advice but none of this would have been possible without the help of the BizFizz team.”

BizFizz provides free business advice to local entrepreneurs. Graeme Trotter, a BizFizz coach in the Wansbeck area as, helped Cathy in her first steps towards running her own business. He said: “Cathy was a joy to coach; she has a lot of passion for what she does and battled every obstacle in her way. “Our aim is to help people at every stage of their business, so help is on hand if Cathy encounters an unexpected problem with any aspect of her work. We wish her the very best of luck.”

The BizFizz team can be contacted on 07815 955278 or 07967 200268.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .