Credit Crunch

When Janet re-entered the job market after a period of disability, she knew the odds were against her. "I had lots of gaps in my employment history because of my disability.

"I really didn't want to start looking for work the wrong side of 35 and getting offered jobs as office juniors. I really needed something that would pay me some money, but was also flexible enough to work around the children."

"They almost charge you for breathing in the bank. You get charged for putting cheques in ... I was crippled by that."

Janet Dering

• AUDIO: Full interview

Not willing to accept that she would have to settle for a low-grade job, she took the opportunity to set up her own business and it was organising a family get together that gave her the inspiration.

"I did one at the Arches at Brotton for my mum's 60th birthday. Chris Birkbeck, the guy who runs it said, 'It's fantastic. I've never seen everybody so happy and such a well run party.' He said, 'Well why don't you do this as a living?'

"So I guess I owe it all to Chris Birkbeck."

Taking a break at the dining table and looking out over her garden, the only sound is the gentle, insectoid chirping of her son's computer game. No babysitter today, so it's a 'juggling day' for the proprietor of Absolute Parties.

"What you're doing is you're listening to your client's wants and needs and matching them up with products and services you know that are out there and just marrying the two together. It's as simple as that. It really is a lot of fun."

But as she enters the final year of her three year business plan, Janet realises the party is over and turning a fledgeling business into a profit-maker in the depths of the recession isn't going to be easy.

"The peaks are so fantastic, but the lows are equally depressing and you just wonder why you're doing it. You just sit and pull your hair out because there's nobody really to turn to. The buck stops literally with you."

"Business has seen a drop off. There's no denying that," says Janet, after a short interruption to fix her son's computer game. "But people do not stop having birthdays, christenings, weddings. People tend now to budget more."

2009 is the crunch year for Absolute Parties. "This year is definitely the year. If we don't make a profit by the end of December this year, the business will have to close."

Janet is luckier than most. Operating largely from home and over the Internet, she managed to keep overheads down and start up with very little debt.

Her initial experience with banks, though, was an eye opener. "They almost charge you for breathing in the bank. You get charged for putting cheques in and some of my business is small cheques and it's regular small cheques, so obviously I was crippled by that. You get charged for bank statements and things like that."

Janet took the decision to join the Federation of Small Businesses and take advantage of the free business banking membership could get her with the Co-Op. "I can't tell you what a godsend it is. As a really small, micro-business, every penny literally counts - and it does - especially if it's going to move me into profit by the end of this year. Literally, every penny does count."