FORMER BMW workers wondering about their next move should consider working for themselves, according to an expert in starting businesses.

Paul Griffiths, director of Business Link Enterprise Gateway Service, in Oxford, said being laid off by the car giant could prove to be an opportunity for people to turn a hobby or interest into a full-time occupation.

More than 1,200 agency workers have lost their jobs from BMW’s Mini plant in Cowley in the last four months.

In January the number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance in Oxfordshire hit 6,906 — 1.7 per cent of the working population.

A month earlier, the total stood at 3,546.

Mr Griffiths provides free advice to people thinking of starting businesses from his base in the Leys Linx Centre, Blackbird Leys Road.

His service launched in May last year and is funded by a £125,000 grant from the South East England Development Agency.

He said: “Starting a business is certainly an option for people who have been made redundant, particularly if they had any kind of severance package, or money to invest.

“They may feel that by working for themselves their destiny is in their own hands rather than someone else’s.

“It is obviously a difficult time to start a business but if you focus on costs and focus on your customers and delivering a good service or product, and you can succeed now when times are tough, you will have a good business model to continue with.”

Mr Griffiths said on average the people he had helped to start up businesses had invested less than £2,000.

He suggested former BMW workers might want to think about using their existing skills by becoming mobile mechanics or setting up a car valeting business.

He said: “It doesn’t necessarily have to be something related to what they were doing at BMW or wherever else they were working.

“It might be an interest or hobby and they want to investigate whether that has any potential.

“Setting up a business is not an easy decision but it may be one to explore. There is a degree of satisfaction in working for yourself. The more you put in, the more you get out of it. People like that sense of independence.

“You need to have focus, you need to have dedication and you need the support of your family and friends. You also need a degree of risk-taking.”

To speak to Mr Griffiths, or to find out more about a free three-hour workshop run by Business Link for aspiring entrepreneurs, call 07776 235 072.

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