Rashida
 As an unemployed 50 something Asian woman Rashida Bhayat didn’t know where to start when her children left home. She knew she was good at making ice-cream and from her first contact with the Women’s Business Development Agency she has been encouraged and supported to ‘go for it’ every step of the way.
Rashida imports 9 unusual flavours to create her specialist ‘kulfi’ Indian ice-cream, which she produces from scratch in a specially designed unit in her own kitchen! Her product is bought and eaten by a wide range of customers, including local restaurants and can also be bought in tubs for weddings and parties as well as single tubs to keep in the freezer at home.
The Women’s Business Development Agency were able to provide intensive support to help Rashida overcome difficulties with English and writing skills to develop a winning business plan and get her business off the ground.
“WBDA helped me with the business plan and then with the funding, I was able to buy the vital machine I needed to begin making the ice-cream.”
WBDA were also able to ensure that Rashida received help from a network of appropriate agencies including Business Link, the Chamber of Commerce, the DTI and the Local Authority – Business Advisors at WBDA helped with ongoing confidence building & support.
Other business women are seen by Rashida as one of the most important elements of the support package. “I have been able to meet other women who have started up on their own and it is really useful to be part of a network” she says.
Rashida has plans to get a bigger place to make the ice cream to deal with the increasing demand as each room in her home is now filled from floor to ceiling with boxes and packages for her business! She has recently purchased land opposite her home and will be building a factory unit to house more freezers as her home is full up!
She has employed a driver to support her with the growing orders and has plans to employ local people for the new factory unit.
Rashida continues to grow from strength to strength!
Rashida Bhyat
135 Stoney Stanton Road
Coventry
CV1 4FW
Tel: 02476 225902
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