A COMPUTER consultant who admitted to an "awful" opening year for his new business has now taken on staff and is ready to join the big league.

Chris Halloran launched Amberworks, a 24-hour computer troubleshooting business through, a franchise opportunity in September, 2003.

Focusing on mainly small and medium-sized businesses, the company marketed itself on providing the customer with "the complete IT solution" - a one-stop shop for all their IT requirements which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Mr Halloran said: "The first nine months of trading were awful.

"I lost thousands of pounds and it left me regretting my investment.

"In May, 2004, my wife and I took the decision to re-mortgage the house and give it a further three months."

A significant turning point for the company came in January, 2004, when Mr Halloran joined Ontrack, a local networking organisation formed by Bolton Business Support Unit.

He was introduced to other people and other networking groups and says he has never looked back since.

He is now on course to break the VAT threshold when his second-year results come around in August.

"We now have three people on a part time, available on a 'when required' basis. It's growing steadily," he said.

Mr Halloran also recently converted his garage into an office workshop to provide a better base and branded his car with the new logo and telephone number.

And in the future, he may have three or four full-time staff, including an administrator and other engineers.