Victoria’s toy-rific business placement

University of Teesside student Victoria Fung decided her business placement year would be somewhere different. And she has certainly achieved this, by setting up her own business, a specialist toy shop, Toyko, based in Middlesbrough.

Victoria, 21, from Middlesbrough, will return to University in September to complete the final year of her BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies. A placement year in business is an integral part of the degree, and, with the help of Tees Valley TEC, Victoria set up Toyko.

Victoria said: “My partner and I initially started Toyko together as he is a specialist toy collector and knew there were gaps in the market, such as car models and action figures. He was then offered the opportunity to start his own business, hence I took over the venture on my own. I contacted the Start Right in Business programme, funded by Tees Valley TEC. They were an invaluable help, assisting me with my initial business plan and guiding me in other areas, such as projected cash flow figures. The degree has been helpful, I’ve been able to apply a lot of course knowledge to reality.”

Christmas was an enjoyable time for Victoria. “It was the best time of the year. It was really exciting seeing all the gifts being bought for children, I felt a lot of job satisfaction. Starting this business from scratch has sometimes been stressful, but always interesting and it’s something I can take into my future career.”

Victoria aims to employ someone to work in Toyko when she returns to her studies, although she will also continue to work in the shop part-time. She said: “I chose the Business Studies degree as it’s diverse and covers all the major disciplines, including Marketing and people management. I’ve particularly enjoyed the Marketing modules, as it’s such an interesting concept, looking at how to sell products to people. I’ll be using my experiences with Toyko to plan my final year dissertation.”

For more details on the BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies at the University of Teesside call 01642 342807, or check the University of Teesside’s web site at www.tees.ac.uk

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