East Midlands, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/25/2011 -- Fraser Doherty, a young entrepreneur from Edinburgh & CEO of the rapidly expanding jam company SuperJam Ltd which sells a range of ‘100% Pure Fruit’ jams, will be joining local budding entrepreneurs who have signed up to attend the series of Fresh Start events being organised by Business Link.

Fraser will talk about how he went from humble beginnings of making jam in his parents’ kitchen, to seeing his product on every major supermarket shelf within a year of distribution.

Forbes magazine recently valued SuperJam Ltd at up to $2 million based on its current sales revenue of $1 million. Fraser has also won an array of awards including the Nectar Business Entrepreneur of the Year (2009), Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist (2009) and Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year (2007).

Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of EMB Ltd, the organisation responsible for local delivery of the Business Link service says, “We are delighted that Fraser is supporting our campaign by offering inspirational advice to Fresh Start attendees, taking them through his incredible entrepreneurial journey from such a young age.”

The Fresh Start campaign aims to encourage potential entrepreneurs to find out more about the support and advice FREELY available from Business Link and the wider support network, by providing informal advisory sessions and face to face clinics, in addition to two interactive workshops that have been specially developed to help potential entrepreneurs decide what they want from their business and whether becoming their own boss is right for them:

• Is it for me?
Aimed at those people thinking of starting a business or working for themselves, it will look at what is really involved in running a company, the various types of businesses that exist and the support available.

• Getting the basics right
Has been designed to help and support people as they move towards the exciting stage of actually launching their new business. It covers the basics of business planning and what you need to know, and do, in order to give yourself the best chance of success.

When market and employment conditions are uncertain, starting your own business is certainly an option worth examining as there are often opportunities to be exploited. The Fresh Start events are the ideal opportunity to check out your business idea.

Stephen Smith continues, “Evidence shows that people that access the right support and training have a better chance of business success and Business Link aims to help local people access the right support for their needs. The Fresh Start campaign will enable them to start, grow and prosper and as a result, help to build a strong local economy from which everyone benefits.”

For all the latest details and availability on the Fresh Start business events, forthcoming local workshops, or to discover how Business Link can help your business start, grow and succeed, call 0845 058 6644, email: info@businesslinkem.co.uk or visit http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/eastmidlands/freshstart