Two Grimsby women are seeking support to take their business start-ups to the next level.
Danielle Partington and Becky Barnes are vying for the NatWest Back Her Business 2020 Award. Both are in the running for a £10,000 prize, if a crowdfunding kickstarter round goes their way.
Danielle, a new mum, is hoping an alternative application of her special effects higher education can give her the right mould for a fund-winning business.
From her Grimsby home she preserves sentimental flowers from weddings and funerals, and captures Cleethorpes sand for coasters, as just two early applications for a special mixture she has devised.
Having worked for graphics company DAB on South Humberside Industrial Estate deploying her creative skills, when daughter Samira came along the 23-year-old decided she wanted something that could work alongside bringing up her baby.
“I went to university to study special effects, and it was something I’d used there. I was on maternity leave and wanted to do something from home so I could still look after my daughter,” she said.
“It provides a glass/plastic look. I mix the specific resin, apply it in layers and the flower can be inside forever, preserved.”
Still working for DAB, Danielle does hope to turn Everlasting Love Resin into a full time business, having fulfilled scores of orders already, in just a few months of trading.
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Of the competition, the former Caistor Yarborough School and Grimsby Institute student said: “It is all about trying to get rid of any gender issue when it comes to a start-up business. “NatWest has selected me to take part and the final stage is crowdfunding. I have to find supporters to get me to £550 and then NatWest will give me £500. The more support, likes and shares I get count, and the more chance I have to win the final.
“£10,000 would allow me to take on a little workshop and move out of my shed!”
Launching on Monday, on the , there are gifts for those contributing over a certain level.
Becky wants to deliver digital skills to build business confidence of her peers.
She said: "I have lived with mental illness my entire adult life. As a result, I have always found it incredibly difficult to work in what is deemed a 'normal' work environment. As a result of this I ended up working freelance so I could shape my work life around the difficulties I experience.
"I would now like to use that experience to help other women in similar situations to mine gain the skills and confidence to do the same.
"My area of expertise is in social media and marketing, but I feel that no matter what your business is, these important digital skills are necessary in building a successful business and I'd like to pass that knowledge onto others."