My journey to becoming a sole trader.

I come from a long line of entrepreneurs. On my father’s side of the family I am a descendant of a railway entrepreneur whose enterprise made York, in the north of England, a major railway and commercial hub in the 19th century. Another was my great- great- grandfather who started a printing business in 1866 in North Yorkshire. He managed to combine this interest with his other responsibilities as postmaster, ropemaker and innkeeper. He also sold pianos. Since then the family printing business has continued and is now run by my father and my two brothers. I was involved in the business from a young age and learnt to work hard and to take responsibility. I also learnt that it is challenging to have your own company and I am very proud of my family for their achievements. It is inspiring.
I hoped that one day I could start my own company but I did not want to go into printing. It has taken me many years to fulfil this dream and to decide what my own business idea would be. I have always loved reading biographies of entrepreneurs. People who have seen a possibility and done something with it.
Through all my experiences in life I have determined that my driving force is INSPIRING PEOPLE TO DEVELOP. From being a babysitter, a tennis coach, a lawyer, a teacher of English and entrepreneurship my reward has always been seeing people taking the next step. Daring to take a new challenge and showing that anything is possible. That we can achieve more than we think we can.
My company is called Inspire and Aspire and my mission is to inspire people to develop so that they can aspire to achieve their goals. I want to make a difference. The definition of Inspire is to” encourage someone by making them feel confident and eager to achieve something.” Aspire is “to desire and work towards achieving something important.”
Initially my company will concentrate on coaching in English and business English and in this area the goal is to inspire and encourage people to improve their English whatever their level, so they have a more advanced vocabulary, speak more fluently and confidently and dare to use their English more. To make that phone call to a potential customer abroad and explain what your company produces. To make a presentation to an international audience with confidence. To dare to take an assignment that requires you to be fluent in English.
Frank Smith said:
“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”
Let me inspire you to aspire. Sarah Hudson Kristoffersen