Sunderland businessman is mindful of a new chance

He was made redundant after working in the voluntary sector for 27 years and has now turned his passion into a business by creating Nu Yu Plus, a holistic natured firm that encourages individuals to practise meditation and other therapies to promote stress relief and relaxation.

Working from home, the aim is to provide guided meditation to a mixture of clients including employees of medium and large businesses.

Nu Yu Plus will also sell holistic and New Age goods at markets across the North East, including incense burners, crystals and oil burners, to be used in conjunction with meditation.

“Mindfulness and meditation changed my life about two years ago,” he said.

“Mindfulness is about living in the present and not thinking about past negativity, and meditation changes the way you look at life.

“My business will adopt four key elements and deliver: guided meditation sessions, mindfulness training, the sale of goods and the use of photography.

“Items like crystals and incense all have a holistic feel to them, but I also sell ethically sourced clothing. The clothing also contributes to feeling good because the wearer will know that it has been ethically sourced meaning it was produced in favourable conditions.”

Despite already having in-depth experience of strategic planning and consultation, Rob, 49, improved his knowledge further by receiving business support from the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).

Business adviser Ron Anderson helped him develop a business plan and supported him through the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA), a national government initiative.

“This is a huge passion of mine and the BIC helped me achieve my goal of starting a business. To do something I love and that I am passionate about makes me feel quite lucky,” said Rob.

“Ron provided me with invaluable advice on net profit and the marketing workshop I attended at the BIC blew me away – I’m glad I was referred there.”

Ron added: “Rob worked extremely hard to get his business up and running. He is very passionate about what he does and I am delighted that the marketing workshop, Getting Customers, proved to be a very useful one for him.

“I wish him all the best with Nu Yu Plus.”