Redundancy gives James the Opportunity to Realises his Dream of Setting Up his own Business

After being made redundant, James Hunter decided it was time to follow his ambition of starting his own business. With the support of St Helens Chamber and Enterprise Hub, he started mobile valeting company, High Definition Mobile Valeting.

High Definition Mobile Valeting

James explained: “High Definition Mobile Valeting is based in Newton Le Willows, but we cover most of the North West. I valet cars and other vehicles too; offering a range of services from full valets, to showroom valets and even a disinfecting mist service which kills 99.9% of germs.

“The misting service has gone down really well at the moment as people are much more conscious of keeping their cars clean and free of bacteria. I also offer a carbon clean too which is good for the engine maintenance, so I help people take care of the inside of their car as well as the outside!”

After being made redundant, James was keen to get his business off the ground. However, after talking to St Helens Chamber’s Start Up team he slowed things down to make sure all of the relevant funding and business plans were in place.

James commented: “I knew once I took redundancy that I wanted to start my own business with the money. I thought it was a great way to turn something which was quite stressful into something good; and its worked out really well.

“I wanted to finish my job on the Friday and go straight into the new business on Monday. After speaking with my Business Adviser Steve, he advised me to take a step back and look at a business plan; which really was the best thing I could have done.”

James didn’t just benefit from the support of the Start Up team, he took every opportunity to train with St Helens Chamber and boost his skills – all completely free of charge.

James explained: “The support has been superb. Steve slowed things down for me and gave me a new perspective, he advised me about different funding available and then he helped me access relevant training.

“I took advantage of some of the courses on offer like ‘Getting started with LinkedIn’ and I did a Bookkeeping course which was really useful. With me handling money I wanted to know I was doing everything right, so this really helped.”

High Definition Mobile Valeting is going from strength to strength and business is growing even through the lockdown.

“The timing of me starting in the middle of the pandemic wasn’t ideal, but once we came out of the first lockdown we really hit the ground running. In particular, Facebook has been really good for us lots of bookings come through Messenger.

“I wasn’t sure whether the business was going to take off through the pandemic but it really had and I’m so pleased. I work nearly 7 days a week and we’re really busy which is great. I’m establishing my business so it’s great to have so many bookings coming through.”

Steve Mather, Business Start Up Adviser at St Helens Chamber, added: “It’s fantastic to see James’ business doing so well through these tough times, I’m looking forward to continuing working with him and seeing how his business will grow in the coming months.”

Enterprise Hub is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

To find out more about High Definition Mobile Valeting, visit https://highdefinitionmobilevaleting.com/

To find out more about Start Up Support via St Helens Chamber, visit https://www.sthelenschamber.com/startup

Or for general Enterprise Hub enquiries contact EnterpriseHub@TheWo.Org.Uk or 0151 706 8113.