Entrepreneur launches Newcastle slimming clinic with North East BIC support

A North East slimming specialist has launched a new business after identifying a demand for face-to-face services.

Rochelle Williamson decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship after her employer decided to take its national weight-loss clinic business online.

Working with former colleague Allyson Storey, Rochelle launched Your New Slimming Clinic on Saville Place in Newcastle.

Registered with the Quality Care commission, the business provides a weight-loss programme geared around prescription medication from an in-house doctor, alongside diet and exercise advice.

Rochelle explained: “I’d always had an interest in running my own business but what cemented it was when I had to work from home.

“I missed the clinic and the people too much and I knew there was a real demand for that supportive environment that you can only get from talking to someone face-to-face and in private.

“Our closest competitor is in Bradford yet our services are needed more than ever as so many people try to lose weight after lockdown. With our combined experience, high standards and city centre location we are well positioned to satisfy the demand.”

Rochelle found out about the BIC’s business start-up support services through Job Centre Plus and was accepted for the Government’s New Enterprise Allowance Programme (NEA). She was supported by the centre’s business advisor Margaret Cook.

Rochelle continued: “I was really daunted by what lay ahead but Margaret made things very easy and now that I’ve done them, I realise they were more simple than I was fearing. If I can do it, anyone can do it!

“The extra money provided by the NEA scheme was a huge help to our living costs and meant that we could protect as much of our redundancy as possible to invest in the new business.

“It feels liberating to finally be my own boss. It’s more stressful but ultimately I know that the energy I’m investing is going into my own company, rather than someone else’s.”

Margaret added: “Rochelle is a perfect example of a new wave of entrepreneurs who’ve been inspired to start their own business by changing circumstances caused by the pandemic.

“She’s used her redundancy to consider what she really wants to do in life and is using her skills, experience and passion to achieve her own career goals whilst helping customers achieve their health goals.”