A mentor's story ? Marzia Aloisio | Get Mentoring

Marzia Aloisio joined an artisan bakery called The Moody Baker in Alston in 2005 after moving to the North of England from London. In 2010 she and her business partners opened a sister shop in Barnard Castle, County Durham, and Marzia faced the challenge of starting up and running a company from scratch. This experience left her well-versed in the intricacies of running a small rural business: from the early stages of writing business plans, filling out grant applications, recruiting staff and financial planning, to growing an enterprise through product development, exploring new markets and building relationships with suppliers and clients. Marzia says, ?I have met with most of the difficulties of running a business in a rural area and learned to overcome them. As a partner in an artisan bakery I have been involved in both production and retail aspects of the food industry.? Part of that start-up process brought Marzia into contact with some extremely helpful mentors as she looked for funding and business support opportunities in the region: ?I met with people who really opened my eyes to different options and helped me to examine issues in more detail. Their knowledge also helped to make me aware of schemes that I could benefit from ? through The Rural Jobs Fund, for example, we were provided with a member of staff who stayed with us for several months. He had been long-term unemployed but became a fantastic addition to our team.? Having seen first-hand the impact that well-placed advice and guidance can have on an enterprise, Marzia is now focused on doing the same for others. She recently left The Moody Baker for a change of scene, saying, ?I am keen on pursuing a career in business advice services and I thought that the mentor training would give me some of the necessary skills and volunteering would provide a taste of the job. She is now actively looking for her first mentee, preferably a start-up that can directly benefit from her knowledge and experience: ?I?m passionate about the food industry, fresh organic produce and working with local suppliers so I?d like to help anyone who shares those values and could use my experience. I would like to work within the local entrepreneurial community and volunteering as a mentor would enable me to start that.?

Source: http://getmentoring.org/a-mentors-story-marzia-aloisio/

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