Young Female Entrepreneur, Gemma Stone, started her company Rock and Ruby after she took redundancy once the Granada, ITV merger occurred.

She had been working in an event management capacity at the time and felt that it was her time to make a mark in the industry.

Gemma founded her own event management firm, Rock and Ruby in 2004. The company has grown rapidly and has acquired large clients such as Tesco, The London Film Festival & The Miss Great Britain Final. It was the natural for her to start a company in the event management industry as that is what she has been doing since college.

Mrs Stone also has kept the company financially stable by not taking out an expensive bank loan. Instead it has been funded by herself and her partner. The majority coming through the redundancy payment she received.

So what was the greatest challenge when starting her business?

Well she says it was deciding on a name. “After four months of deliberation, research, arguments and meetings we decided the first name we ever wrote down was the one,” she says. “Of course there are challenges all the time but that’s what makes running your own company so satisfying.”

She admitted that it was very daunting to start with; the thought of going it alone is often a scary one for many first time entrepreneurs and is often the cause of why many people never go through with an idea.

Mum of two Gemma, knows the importance of achieving a balance between her work and her home life.

“I am probably part of the smallest statistic of entrepreneurs - under 30, female, mother of two, without a degree,” she says. “But I work hard, enjoy what I do and am motivated to be a loving and giving mother and a successful businesswoman. If there are barriers in my path then I say ‘bring it on!’”

It’s this attitude that gives confidence that the company will do well.