A new online service has been launched by an Andover duo which aims to provide advice to businesses without breaking the bank.

Husband-and-wife team Wayne and Cathy Vass established Green Zebra Business Solutions in 2017, which provides financial management services. Following a report in The Guardian detailing business coaches charging thousands for their services during Covid as businesses struggled, they decided to set up an alternative.

Cathy said: “We’ve heard horror stories from clients charged thousands of pounds for courses, programmes and masterminds to help grow their business which actually leaves them in debt and no further on.

“That’s why we created The Business Zone. It’s an online business community which provides affordable support to help with the day to day running of your business right through to business strategy and growing the business.”

The Business Zone aims to provide advice, resources and feedback on decisions for companies online and over the phone.

Cathy said: “I worked in corporate for most of my 25-year career which meant I could go to my colleagues in marketing, sales, PR, HR or finance and ask for help. I could rely on them and their specialist knowledge to get the job done. We had teams of people to help us.

“But when you have your own business, who do you turn to when you have questions like ‘should I hire or outsource?’”

“You have to either hire an expert, outsource or learn those skills pretty quickly. It can be a shock to the system. It’s hard to know what to do and where to go.”

The firm has got off to a good start, with a variety of businesses from across the UK signing up to their service from across a variety of industries. The couple hope to keep their client list expanding even as Covid restrictions relax.