Salina Abdul-Rahim, 43, from Mill Hill, has made the leap from unemployment to entrepreneurship and today (3rd November) won the national Avanta Business Start-Up of the Year Award. She was presented with her Award by Peter Brooks, Avanta’s Managing Director, at the ceremony at the House of Commons.

The Avanta Awards recognise individuals who have overcome personal, educational or health related barriers to excel in their move into employment or entrepreneurship.

Salina was unemployed and needed a career that fitted around the childcare of her two children, Ziyad, aged 13 and Jemima, aged 8. She wanted to pursue self employment, but didn't know how to go about launching her own business, so she contacted InBiz in Barnet, part of Avanta, for help and advice.

Salina's original idea was to launch a business importing corporate gifts. However, upon researching it, she found this would require a reasonable amount of capital and it would be difficult to promote her business in an already saturated market.

During her meeting with her InBiz Business Adviser, Alexis Angeli, Salina mentioned her hobby of making garlic in olive oil, which she sold at charity fairs and music concerts to raise money for charity. As this is considered a 'fine food' and there is a demand for it, Alexis thought this could be a great idea for a business.

Salina obtained the necessary permission from the local environmental health officer and license from DEFRA to produce her 'fine food' from her kitchen. Her products have been approved by the public analyst for health and safety. At first, production was lengthy and it took an hour to make one jar. She persisted and was able to invest in some equipment allowing her to produce 40 jars per day.

Salina began selling her goods at fetes across the region, even attending the FIne Food Exhibition in Harrogate (June 2009) and The Speciality & Fine Food Fairs in Olympia, London (September 2009). The response was astounding. In July 2009, she appeared on IQRA, an Arabic/Asian television programme talking about her business. Her products, under the brand name of L'ailolive, are now being sold in delicatessens, health food shops and food halls, and are so successful she is even struggling to meet the demands of customers for Christmas orders.

Salina said, "Winning the Avanta Business Start-Up Award means so much to me. I hadn't considered that my hobby of making garlic in olive oil could be a good business idea, until my InBiz business adviser suggested it. I was nervous about self employment, but having the support of a business adviser every step of the way made a huge difference to the success of my business. A great mentor, Alexis, for your patience, continuous guidance, expertise and support."

Janette Faherty, CEO of Avanta, said, "Salina is a fantastic example of the work that InBiz has done in North London. She has worked hard to take the step from unemployment to self employment, proving that you can use existing hobbies and skills to launch a business. With expert, tailored help from InBiz, Salina is fast on the way to producing the new must-have ingredient."

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