A STORMY START

IN THE WORST ECONOMIC CONDITIONS FOR DECADES, WHERE ONLY 15% OF NEW BUSINESSES ARE EXPECTED TO SURVIVE PAST YEAR ONE, WE TAKE A LOOK AT FOUR VERY DIFFERENT NEW START FIRMS. WE’LL BE FOLLOWING THEIR PROGRESS FOR 12 MONTHS AS THEY TRY TO WEATHER THE FINANCIAL STORM AND TURN THEIR BUSINESS DREAMS INTO REALITY.

PART 2

WITH SMES ACCOUNTING FOR 98% OF THE COUNTRY’S BUSINESSES, SMALLER COMPANIES ARE THE LIFE-BLOOD OF SCOTLAND’S ECONOMY. BUT WITH THE NUMBER OF NEW BUSINESSES LAUNCHED IN THE PAST YEAR DROPPING BY 11%, WILL THEY CONTINUE TO BE SO?

DR TOM GILHOOLY - GLASGOW HEALTH SOLUTIONS

Scotland’s first nutritional health centre has seen 2009 get off to a flying start. Having acquired a separate company, Dr Gilhooly expects turnover to rise four-fold in the coming year.

He said: ‘The past three months have been very good. We have combined The Essential Health Clinic and The Essential Diagnostic Lab with Glasgow Health Solutions (GHS) and are trading as the later company which includes supplement sales and distribution.

‘We are focusing on some new omega 3 products including Omega Swirl which was voted the best buy by the Daily Mail and is selling well. We are also looking at increasing throughput in the clinic and employing new doctors on a seasonal basis.’