Nathan Berry founder of Aston Beaumont on building his property empire

He’s still in his early 20s but Nathan Berry already presides over more than 160 residential and commercial properties as founder of Aston Beaumont. The result of nepotism or a lucrative trust fund? Nope. Nathan has realised his own entrepreneurial ambitions thanks to a combination of determination, hard work and a supportive mum who knows which merchandise will help her son’s business stand out...

Sarah and Chris Fryers’ plant-based pie business, Magpye, takes flight

A desire to take control of their career was almost scuppered by the pandemic but thanks to a quick pivot and a national marketing campaign, Sarah and Chris Fryers’ plant-based pie business, Magpye, has taken flight in a big way, as the couple tell Alison Cowie. After years working in teaching and admin respectively, Chris and Sarah Fryer were in search of a career change that would give...

Medical tattooist and business woman Ann Oliver Harvey reflects on her varied career

Ann explains why the aesthetics industry is not the best place for entrepreneurs to Alison Cowie. I’ve been writing entrepreneurial profiles for more than 15 years and almost without exception, the primary drivers of those running private businesses are profit and growth. But this isn’t the case for Ann Oliver Harvey. This is not because Ann - who has established several companies – isn’t...

David Land advocates getting more kids interested in STEM

It’s perhaps one of the biggest conundrums in education – how to get more kids interested in STEM? One answer has been to involve industry, and a North East figurehead that has contributed considerable time, knowledge and expertise to the cause is David Land – an advocate of the current thinking to ‘start them young’. David Land is in no doubt about the benefits of an engineering career....

Lucy Erskine has been dancing through the world of business for over ten years

Lucy Erskine recently celebrated Dance Envy’s tenth anniversary with a spectacular showcase that demonstrated how far her dance school and 100-plus dancers had come. But, as she explains to Alison Cowie, there’s no need to feel envious at the school, which specialises in freestyle, as it’s open to everyone. Lucy Erskine has been dancing since she was three years old, and entered her first...