New Hands

Bumpbling from the 1st Series...Amanda Ishaq

Who can forget 'bumpbling'?

Fed up buying dowdy maternity clothes, Amanda invented the 'bumpbling' - a unique maternity and nursing wear garment which not only looked good, it was practical.

Here’s the latest from Amanda:

‘I’ve completed trademark registration and have been able to carry out the final tweaks on the designs while I also acted as model as I’m pregnant and my baby’s due in February (congrats Amanda!). I decided to keep the Mamma Fashionista name and have a fab new website!

Amanda is still in contact with her mentor from the show, Rachel Jones, who is still advising her and is helping in the marketing of the brand when ready to launch. Amanda also participated in the Nesta programme which is to helps entrepreneurs of all ages with practical and financial help. Amanda has found this support very helpful and has learned from their advice.

Updating from the 1st Series...Abdullah Khan

Do you remember Abdullah the gamer from the first series of New Hands? Abdullah reckoned he had come up with the next generation of computer games He had taken advice from business start up experts and was confident he was on the brink of making a fortune. The trouble was his start-up costs were much higher than normal – he was looking for a cool two million pounds.

Abdullah had this to say when we contacted him:

‘We have just started the process and hope to start officially working on the demo in the coming weeks. After the demo is complete then we stand on solid ground for negotiating for the production of the game. As the demo will eliminate the risks in the investors mind for: Can the concept be proved and developed? Can we get the rights/licenses required for the game? Can we get the participants for the game? Once these questions are answered (which they will be through the demo) negotiating can start and the company can then start properly.’

Watch this space gamers!!

Coming in from the wilderness...Helen McPhee from Programme 2

Helen’s family fosters children and when she graduated from Edinburgh University with a psychology degree, she decided to develop outdoor experiences for children in care, yet she hadn’t got it off the ground in spite of meticulous planning. When we contacted her recently, she had this to say:

" We had hoped to run a pilot scheme in October 2008, but, in spite of interest from both Perth and Glasgow, neither council wanted to fund a place, even when greatly subsidised. We are hoping that, on the back of our upcoming campaign, we can run a pilot or proof of concept course either at Easter or in Summer 2009, as we are fully prepared to roll one out given the groundwork set in place for our cancelled October pilot. Our main hindrance at the moment is our low profile, hence the preparation of the upcoming campaign. Nobody knows about us, so nobody’s biting. With all that we currently have in place, we can roll out a course with minimal notice, so the sooner we can generate interest, the better. We’ve set up a company: Pinnacle. If anyone’s interested, get in touch

The sparkle of Cava from Series 1

In programme 1 of the first series of 'New Hands' we met Coila and Karen, former models who set up CAVA, a promotions company, They had done all this using cash from their credit cards and not much else

Since then,it's been all change. We’ve learned that Karen is now sole owner and director of CAVA, having dissolved the partnership with Coila.She says the company is thriving despite the credit crunch and offers three main service departments, Cava Face to Face, Cava Events and Cava Consultancy. For more information on this success story, go to Cava Ltd.

But whatever happened to ...

In the first series, Lesley Campbell met a wide range of budding entrepreneurs and lots of old hands clipped in with advice. Before the new series kicks off on Sunday 22 February at 10.30am; we caught up with the New Hands from the first series. Next week, on this website exclusively we can reveal what they are up to right now. You will be surprised by some of the stories. Check in here each day next week to find out.

Games and the last recording

That's all the recordings for the New Hands series in the can. Lesley and I were at Abertay University in Dundee yesterday doing a follow-up recording with Andrew and Will, graduates from Abertay University's Games Technology course. When we did the initial recording in December, they told us they were determined to break into the games market but weren't sure how they could do it without shedloads of money. They've set up a web design company to raise some capital to help them on their way but didn't some advice from an insider in the business. Lesley to the rescue! She set them up with Chris Wright who runs a games consultancy company and he suggested they put together some first-playables - demos of games that they'd been working on. Chris came to Dundee yesterday to see what they'd come up with. Andrew and Will certainly got more from Chris than they expected! Tune into the programme on Sunday March 29th at 10.30am to find out what happened......

If this article is anything to go by, the future's looking bright for them.

One down ...five to go

The first programme in the 2009 series of New Hands have been delivered safely to the BBC. One down, five to go. It's been a real eye-opener working with people who are determined to make it in business although the odds are currently stacked against them. Do you think you have to have a small fortune in the bank before you can set up in business? Not according to Denise Purdie. She set her soap-making business up from scratch with, wait for it, £35! She's got four shops now and wants to expand even more. Can she still retain her cottage industry ethos? Will she ever get to grips with the fact that she can't do everything herself? Tune in and find out.

It's been a long wait but we are coming back...

A word from the producer........

Lesley C and I have been racking up the miles over the last couple of months recording the programmes for the forthcoming series of New Hands. So far, we've only managed to get lost twice. We've been speaking to Scottish entrepreneurs the length and breadth of the country who are soldiering on with their new businesses, undeterred by the credit crunch. And we've got some great stories lined up for you. If you've got a teenager who doesn't switch her hair straighteners off after using them, you'll love Gary Burns' invention. If you've got your own invention you'd like to take to market, don't miss the programme featuring Agnes McInnes. I'll be locking myself away for the next week or so editing the programmes. In the meantime, bookmark this page for more information on our intrepid New Hands...

Gill Davies

New Hands.........New Series!

Presenter Lesley Campbell returns to the airwaves with 'New Hands', the recession-busting radio series in February 2009. Entrepreneurs, young and old, get the opportunity to talk through their ideas, describe their current challenges and explain the problems they've hit and can't solve. Lesley makes suggestions to help them on their way and also fixes them up with established entrepreneurs who have a wealth of experience and practical advice to share.

We've an exciting range of would-be entrepreneurs lined up for the next series including a web start-up company, a mother of four who produces natural toiletries from her home and an eighty year old inventor who has patented not one but two of her own products!

The first programme in the new series will be broadcast on Sunday 22nd February at 10.30am on BBC Radio Scotland.

In the meantime. why not listen to programmes from this year's 'New Hands, Old Hands' series here.

Old Hands lunch...

After a very successful series, some of the Old Hands found time to sit down and 'do lunch'. So you can put a face to a name to a programme; from left to right, Angela, Rachel, myself, Anne, Lesley C and Ian. Thanks again, all the New Hands programmes are still available for download and we will be back very soon. Stay tuned !