PRIZES TO GET PEOPLE TRADING ONLINE AT HOME

A competition to encourage people to start their own business online and at home in North East of England will be launched on 13 February 2008.

[UKPRwire, Tue Feb 12 2008] A competition to encourage people to start their own business online and at home in North East of England will be launched on 13 February 2008.

The ‘YouTrade. Online. At Home’ competition is aimed at helping people in the region make changes to their lives, and will reward 25 winners with a £2,000 cash prize to set up a business from home and trade online, initially through eBay.

Entries are encouraged from people who are employed, and wanting to test out the potential of self-employment, and those who are not currently in employment.

Regional development agency One NorthEast and the North East Regional Portal have joined forces to launch the competition after the success of the last years’ pilot YouTrade competition.

Tim Pain, One NorthEast Head of Business, Enterprise and Skills, said: “Enterprise is one of our key priorities in the Regional Economic Strategy, and the web represents a really good opportunity for budding North East entrepreneurs to create new businesses.

“YouTrade is a unique region-wide competition aimed at inspiring people to be enterprising and to turn their ideas into something real. It is a fantastic opportunity for people to develop a business idea and work online from home around existing lifestyle commitments.

“Twenty five lucky winners will receive £2,000 to purchase equipment which will enable them to start up an online business from home. This can include personal computer kit, digital camera equipment, furniture and office equipment to transform an area of their home into a suitable work area, as well as marketing materials including a website.”

Regional Portal chief executive Norma Foster said: "We are delighted with the success of last year’s competition; the entrants who are now running online businesses are really demonstrating that with hard work, strong business advice and a quality idea, the opportunities are out there.

“The overall winner of YouTrade 1 will be announced on Friday 7 March and will receive a prize package comprising: an all-expenses paid trip to the eBay headquarters; ‘On the couch’ sessions with some of the North East’s most successful entrepreneurs and leaders; one year’s membership with the Entrepreneur’s Forum; free publicity and PR strategy, and a logo designed specifically for the winner by eBay.”

Melanie Dixon launched her own range of Christmas cards after the success of her eBay business ‘Colourwithme’. She said: “I’ve been making my own Christmas cards for years and the reaction they got from friends and family was the original inspiration to start this business. Now thanks to YouTrade, I launched my own range at last and am seeing my dreams become a reality!”

This year’s competition aims to demonstrate that technology provides a means for virtually anyone to start a business and that people can work at home with limited investment. The competition is open to residents in the region who are over 18.

All entrants in this year’s competition will receive a place on a local eBay trading workshop, free membership to an online service for 12 months, which

will provide information about how to trade online at home, and where to go for help, as well as a free copy of, ‘Spare Room Start Up: How to Start a Business from Home’ by author Emma Jones, founder of home business website enterprisenation.com.

Emma is thrilled to be associated with the project and said: “This competition offers a great chance to turn your business dream into reality. In under a month, you could be up and running and enjoying all the benefits of working
from home; benefits like the 60 second commute, earning your own living, and having time left over for friends and family. All you need to do is give it a go and apply with your idea!”

Entrants will be required to describe their business idea, explain how they could change their life or the lives of others if they had the opportunity to set up an online business from home, and how a prize of £2,000 could make that happen.

The deadline for entries is Thursday 6 March 2008 and details on how to enter can be found on www.webetopia.com/youtrade

The judges, a panel of industry experts, will announce a winner on 20 March.
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For more information please contact: Jennifer Robson on 0191 487 2002 or Jennifer.robson@n-e-life.co.uk

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