FOR Jonny Britton, despite his strong academic qualifications, big salary and the perks of his high-flying jobs in the property industry, he quickly realised that working for someone else was not for him.

After nine months, he realised he needed a change, and joined his father’s history education software publishing business to help it develop and stave off the effects of the economic downturn.

Realising the potential for the market and how lucrative online education is, Mr Britton is now preparing to launch an offshoot of his father’s company, a website called The Atlas of World History.

Mr Britton, 27, from Langley Park, in County Durham, said the creation held big potential, and came as an ideal opportunity for him when he realised he no longer enjoyed his job. He added: “I initially just thought I would amble my way along until I realised that when you do things that you love you want to do them well.

“I started to work for a big property company earning lots of money, with my car and blackberry but not enjoying slowly having the life processed out of me. I realised I needed a change.”

His new project – which is benefitting his father’s business by transferring some of his resources onto the internet, as well as starting a potential new career for Mr Britton – is now preparing to launch.

“The website I am working on will be able to reach out to a massive diversity of people due to it having relevant content on each and every civilization throughout history,” said Mr Britton, who is one of the entrants in the second If We Can, You Can challenge.

“My aim is to facilitate a web presence in as many different categories of where the site can be used on the internet, throughout the world.

“The new website is unique to the internet and has a place when teaching on every topic regarding history due to it having maps of all time periods for each and every nation.”

Mr Britton – who discovered his entrepreneurial streak while at university in Manchester by increasing membership of university societies and starting a dedicated enterprise club for students – said the site will be an ideal educational tool, with lesson plans and presentations among the resources on offer.

Some of the aspects will be free, with others being part of a paid-for premium package.

Mr Britton, although only just starting his first business, said he has already learned lessons.

“I think that doing things your own way is important.

“I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur as the projects I choose now are based on more than making money,” he said.

“However, I am enterprising and ambitious, and I am learning how to run a business, so I think that I am an entrepreneur in the classical sense.”