Writing this blog marks exciting new beginnings for me at a time in my life when I feel that almost anything is possible. I'm currently on the brink of launching my new business JO LOVES and feel a huge sense of anticipation, teamed with fear and excitement, which makes me determined to achieve great things.
I'm incredibly proud to be British and the entrepreneur inside me feels passionately about creating new opportunities and, even though we're experiencing troubled times, there is still a great sense of hope and the desire to work hard and succeed amongst us. Looking around me, I see a huge amount of creativity and it's at times like these that we need to encourage and support small businesses with information and an environment to help them get ahead, to follow their dreams and contribute to getting our country back on it's feet. The government and our banks need to recognise that it is these people, desperate to take their business to the next level, who will one day stimulate employment and trade. As someone creating new business opportunities for the second time around, I definitely feel a responsibility to give back and use my experiences to help strengthen our struggling economy and breathe hope and new life into British industry.
Despite the economic uncertainty, good things are on the horizon, and I feel that 2012 marks a momentous year for Great Britain. I'm looking forward to celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics and the London Festival. These landmark occasions not only stimulate great business opportunities for so many industries but they breathe so much life back into our capital and create an unrivalled sense of community which unites the whole country. All four corners of the globe will have their eyes upon us next year and I hope it proves to be a dynamic turning point.
It takes courage to take a risk, a leap of faith and to make a change, however I truly believe that now is the time that we, as a nation, put the 'great' back into Great Britain and start to nurture our home grown talent. I feel privileged to be in a position to build a new British brand. It's knowing that from the moment you set about creating a new business, you embark on a journey during which you have the ability to change not only the destiny of your life and that of your family, but of the world.