King Of The Markets
Kent may be famous for the White Cliffs of Dover but with Matthew Crawford and his Easy’Nuh food stall, it will now have added Caribbean flavour!
Before becoming a market stall holder, Matthew worked as a high-flying Business Development Manager for a media firm in the City. In January the credit crunch came close to home and he was made sadly redundant. Using this uncertain time to take stock and reflect, Matthew decided to turn the recession into an opportunity and launch his long held business idea.
Using his last pay cheque to buy stock and equipment, Matthew went to his local market in where market manager, Lesley Jennings recommended he entered the Make Your Mark in the Markets competition. This was the kick-start Matthew needed, he adds “I’ve always wanted to set up my own business but have never had the opportunity, so when Lesley told me about the competition, I jumped at the chance!”
Matthew filled out the application form and was promptly selected to begin his free 10 day trial. It went really well and his tasty home-made Caribbean classics such as spicy Jerk chicken and warming rice and peas went down a treat with both market traders and visitors. After a fun-filled but busy trial period, he could barely catch his breath as was then invited to London to attend the awards ceremony – where he found out that he had won!
Matthew will receive 6 months free trading, £1500 and free membership and mentoring from the National Market Traders Federation (NMTF). He adds, “Being laid off was the best thing that ever happened to me! Taking part in Make Your Mark in the Markets has been an amazing experience and we have big plans for our business. I can’t wait to get back on the market and start trading for free. I spent my career generating income for my employers so it’s great that I can finally generate some money for myself!”
Check out what Matthew thought about his fantastic win and have a peek at some of the snaps from the day!
On Enterprise 
