Mrs Brown, 53, started her professional life working as an English teacher, but soon followed in her parents' footsteps when she left teaching to work in Social Services in Child Protection, taking care of vulnerable children.

But after 20 years working for Cleveland Council, hungry for a change of direction, she decided to start lecturing sociology at the City of Sunderland College, and later Durham College.

But even though she enjoyed her family life in East Boldon with her husband Michael, a solicitor, and their two daughters Alissa, 24, and Fay, 18, Mrs Brown became disillusioned with lecturing at 44, noticing that education was becoming more like a business.

She said: "A lot of lecturers were forced down a line where it was more about the number of people that you had in front of you, and getting them through, rather than actually helping people.
Starting up

"That really impacted on me. I wasn't comfortable with the way it was going, so I decided to get out."

In 2001, Mrs Brown formed Training in Childcare Ltd, which gave people the chance to train as professional childcarers. It now boasts a £500,000 annual turnover.

And last year, Mrs Brown took the innovative step of working with her former students to set up The Childcare People, which was officially opened last month by South Shields MP and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

She wanted to give her 'graduates' from Training In Childcare a career and shares in a business.

Her ex-students had already achieved their ambition to become professional childcarers. Now they have a stake in their own company.

Speaking about her success in the business industry, Mrs Brown said: "I always thought that business was something that other people did.

"I've never had tonnes of confidence and I've never been officially trained in business.

"To say I was a businesswoman when I first started out made it seem like I knew something about business. That was a bit dishonest as I didn't have a clue.

"When I was younger, I thought all business people did was take advantage of people to make money. Sharks in suits really.

"I think that's the public perception of entrepreneurs, they're just people who chase cash.

"But I can honestly say I've helped more people in business than I've done in my years in the service industry. I always try to bring strong morals into my business."

Mrs Brown, who now helps others in her industry nationally and is the chairwoman for the South Tyneside Means Business Forum, believes the borough is a great place for entrepreneurs to flourish.

She added: "We're really lucky in South Tyneside because there's so much help for people here.

"There are organisations like Tedco and South Tyneside Means Business, which can offer some really great advice. Tedco was a great help to me.

"There's definitely a great business community here. But I think it's unfair for people to say that business is easy and anyone can do it, because it's not easy, and it's not right for some people.

"You just have to have that passion for what you're doing to succeed.

"If I could give one piece of advice, I'd say listen to others who have already been successful in business, because their help can be invaluable."

The If We Can, You Can challenge is now calling upon enthusiastic individuals who are thinking of starting a business, running their own company or are looking to expand their existing enterprise.

To enter visit www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge or keep visiting our website for regular updates and links.