The first winner of The Apprentice is bringing his business to Hackney to help aspiring young entrepreneurs.

Tim Campbell, who won the job in Sir Alan Sugar’s company Amstrad in 2005, set up the Bright Ideas Trust last year and is now searching for young people with business ideas that need investment.

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Some women binge on chocolates. Others watch hours of chick-flicks. But in North Hackney, women are beating the credit-crunch blues by stocking up on brand name bras.

“Ladies still want a treat,” says Rosanne Berry, owner of independent lingerie and bra shop Rosa, on Stoke Newington Church Street. “A lot of customers are fed up with everything, and want a bit of spoiling.”

While most high-street shops have experienced declining revenues over the last six months, Rosa’s sales have remained robust. “We do have slow days,” admits Rosanne, “but we haven’t noticed any real fall in demand”. The secret, Rosanne reveals, is her enthusiasm for the product: “I love selling bras. I get such a pleasure from it.”

Rosanne Berry's shop Rosa is doing well despite the economic climate

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Businesses in Hackney have been given guidance on riding out the recession by an award-winning business guru.

Rene Carayol, who has chaired economic conferences across the world and interviewed leaders from Bill Clinton to Mikhail Gorbachev, took time out of his packed schedule to pop into a Hackney pub this week.

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Betting shop owners have reacted with fury after a local MP accused them of “preying on vulnerable people.”

Hackney MP Diane Abbott said she planned to ask the government to give councils more power to refuse licensing applications by betting shops, which she said “drain local residents’ pockets and fuel gambling addictions.”

She added: “It is no coincidence that bookmakers are one of the few companies still reporting huge profits despite the financial crisis.”

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BBC presenter and former Barclays advisor René Carayol, 41, exclusively reveals his top five tips for Hackney businesses looking to beat the recession.

1. Get your branding right

In the old world strategy informed the brand. Nowadays, your brand informs the strategy.  So your very first step must be to decide what your brand stands for – is it premium? Is it upmarket? Is it a mass market product? Is it niche? 

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