Single mum Sarah Pittendrigh went from bankruptcy to business awards, thanks to determination and hard work, as Sarah French reports

WALKING down the steps of the court after being declared bankrupt, Sarah Pittendrigh felt life had lost all direction. The 37-year-old single mum was without a bank account, access to bank cards or income.

“It was the year from hell,” says Sarah, now 41. “I was an unemployed, bankrupt, single parent, claiming income support and on the brink of losing my home.

“I felt a failure, a let-down, totally inadequate and could quite easily have wallowed in my own self pity, had it not been for my son, William.

As a parent, I knew I needed to dust myself down, start again and do something to fulfil my dreams of providing a better future for us both.”

While helping to organise her brother’s wedding later that year, Sarah spotted a gap in the market for stylish chair covers and linen. She set about creating her own business and now leads the award-winning franchise brand, Simply Bows and Chair Covers, which provides highquality table linen and chair covers to hotels across the UK for weddings, events and special occasions, as well as bespoke services for private parties and corporate events.

After finding she had a flair for business at A-level, Sarah took a higher diploma in business and finance at New College Durham.

SHE worked as PA to the marketing director at Derwent Valley Foods and in account management for an advertising and design company. She also studied part-time at Durham University Business School on the Young Managers programme. After becoming business development manager at pharmaceutical company Cambridge Laboratories, she decided in 1995 to take a career break.

“I needed a change,” says Sarah. of Unthank, Northumberland. “I’d been working since I left college and wanted to take a bit of time out for me, time to ride the horses and think about what I wanted to do in the future.”

After 12 months she was ready to go back to work, joining Land Rover as brand manager, rising to business development manager for Land Rover and Jaguar.

In 2002, Sarah got the chance to buy into a corporate event business.

Despite going through a divorce, selling the family home and moving back in with her parents with her three-year-old son, she took up the offer, arranging events for blue chip companies across the UK.

“It was a great business venture and it offered me the opportunity to buy a new house and start again,” says Sarah.

“We invested heavily in the growth of the business but in 2008, following the economic downturn, the work dried up and we were forced to liquidate the company.

“It was sheer hell, but we weren’t the only ones; companies were closing down left, right and centre.

Homes were being repossessed and banks weren’t lending.”

It was the frustrations dealing with a linen-supply company which gave her the impetus to do something different.

After a successful application to Business Link, which covered 50 per cent of the cost of setting up a website, buying a commercial vehicle and marketing, Sarah set about designing the products and getting them manufactured before taking them to hotels and venues.

“I targeted places that I thought might be interested in the service, but I was so hard up that I had to borrow the money for the diesel to get there,” she admits.

She soon built up a prestigious client list, including Durham Marriott Hotel, Rockliffe Hall, near Darlington, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland and Close House, Northumberland.

“I was getting inquiries from all over the country, through my website, from people wanting to hire our services in their region,” says Sarah.

“But it was important for me not to have fixed overheads, so I thought I’d look into the possibilities of franchising the model. had a basic understanding about franchising, but I needed expert advice on how to move the project forward.”

Sarah saw an advert for a competition, run by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, to win the help of a business mentor. She applied – and won.

“Winning that competition was incredible.

The guidance and support from my mentor was invaluable. He helped me to become more focused on how I wanted my franchise model to work.”

The following year Sarah applied for the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, If We Can You Can challenge, to search for the North- East’s most promising entrepreneurs.

As a result, she won a business growth award, which also included a British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) Award for Most Promising UK Business.

“Being involved with the Entrepreneurs’ Forum and If We Can You Can was life-changing for my business,” says Sarah, who is now an ambassador for this year’s challenge.

“The profile of being associated with the challenge is immense – to say your business has been endorsed by some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the region is a great step on the ladder, as well as all the public relations and financial advice that goes with it.”

Now with 12 franchises stretching from Aberdeen to Essex, Sarah’s vision is to have the Simply Bows and Chair Covers brand supplying every five-star hotel in the UK by the end of 2015 and then to move into master franchises within Europe.

Her rise in business success has also coincided with her supplying linen and covers for her own wedding when she re-married husband Stewart in 2012.

“It’s been an incredible journey and I’ve already achieved more than I ever thought possible,” she says.

“But as any entrepreneur will tell you, enough is never enough, and I still have a lot of ambition and drive to take the business even further.”

Entries are being accepted for this year’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum, If We Can You Can Challenge, until June 7 at ifwecanyoucan.co.uk