Shock redundancy hit former bindary technician Dean Martin (pictured above) when Norwich's New Jarrold Printing closed in September 2006. However, turning lemons into lemonade, he used his new-found freedom to commit to a FiltaFry franchise.

"I was disappointed being made redundant, but I miss the people more than the work," says Dean. "Working for myself is absolutely fantastic. The main benefit is being your own boss, choosing what hours you want to work and when. I just like being in control. I am dealing with the same customers on the same days each week and I like going out to look for more work to get more income. I've got a good rapport with the customers and I have got no one to answer to. It has turned out being made redundant was the best thing that could have happened to me."

FiltaFry franchisees provide a cooking oil filtration service to the catering industry. The national shortage of cooking oil and massive price increases mean that FiltaFry's environmentally friendly service, which prolongs the life of cooking oil, is in high demand. "I have built the business up from basically nothing to working Monday to Friday, with around 30 clients," says Dean. "I could get more if I wanted too, if I started earlier in the mornings or worked later at night. The major bonus of this business is that there is no competition or any other business coming close to what I do in East Anglia."

Report by Stuart Anderson