We caught up with Megan Archbold of Trailblaze Electrical Services almost 18 months after she founded her business with the help of TEDCO Business Support. Things can change quickly in business and we were thrilled to talk to her about leaving employment behind, the power of word of mouth referrals and her passion for inspiring more young women to follow in her footsteps.
Megan Archbold first founded Trailblaze Electrical Services in May 2024. Although she was full-time employed at the time, Megan knew that she ultimately wanted to become her own boss and start her own company. With the help of Business Advisor Bill Hartshorne (pictured here with Megan) and the team at TEDCO she began working through the steps to making her dream of self-employment a reality.
When we first sat down with Megan for an interview at the start of 2025 she had worked with Bill to secure a £15,000 business loan from the Business Enterprise Fund in order to purchase a commercial van. At the time, she had begun taking on small independent electrical jobs around her full-time employment – hoping that she could eventually turn her side hustle into a full-time business.
Fast-forward to the end of 2025 and Megan has gone from a fledgling start-up to an in-demand business based in South Shields. She explains,
“Ever since I started as an apprentice electrician in 2018, I’ve really wanted to become my own boss. I was fortunate to work within another company in order to train and gain my qualifications but I was always passionate about setting up Trailblaze.
“By April 2025 I’d found that my reputation was growing in the local area and I was getting referrals by word of mouth. In fact, I was getting so many enquiries that I felt the time was right to make the leap and go it alone.
“It’s really gone better than I could have hoped and I’ve become busier than I expected in such a short period of time – particularly because it’s all been word of mouth and I haven’t done any traditional advertising other than my branded van and posting to my own social media.”
While Megan had developed a business plan with Bill’s assistance and had high hopes for the future of Trailblaze, she says that her career has moved faster than expected – not least because she quit her job just nine months after starting Trailblaze rather than the 18 months originally planned.
Already, she has embraced opportunities to broaden her skills, offer new services and take on a more diverse range of work:
“Over the last year I feel like I’ve grown as both an electrician and a business person. I’ve learnt so much about how to run a business properly, manage my diary, manage overheads and everything like that. In many ways my lifestyle has changed completely – because I can pick and choose what I’m doing with my work time.
“It is definitely stressful being your own boss and you have to put in a lot of hours that nobody sees, but it is also rewarding and I have the ability to choose what I’m doing. I’m also now taking on a larger scope of work including different kinds of lighting installs – lots of garden lighting, in particular – and also EV charging point installations. That’s been a really big growth area for me since I put myself through a course on fitting chargers.
“When I was employed, I really did the same kind of work, day in and day out. Now, it’s much more varied and rewarding. But if you’d told me eight years ago when I started my apprenticeship that I’d be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Blazing a trail for women in STEM
Reflecting on her experience with new clients, Megan says that she’s enjoyed a particularly positive response from new clients who’ve perhaps been surprised to find a female electrician working in the local community.
“I understand that I occupy a little bit of a niche as the only female electrician in the local area, that may have helped people to remember me when it comes to referrals.
“If anything, I think being a woman has worked in my favour because some of my clients have been older women living on their own – people who might feel safer welcoming a woman like myself into their home. I’ve even had comments from people saying how nice it is to see a female electrician providing a role model for young girls.”
Asked about whether she had thought about the role she might play in encouraging more young women to follow in her footsteps, Megan says,
“I am passionate about helping to show that women can be successful tradespeople and that it is a rewarding line of work for girls.
“I’m actually working with some other professionals at the moment to develop a Tradeswomen’s Alliance that will help to spread this message. We have an idea that we might go into schools and just help to make more girls aware that working in trades is a possibility for them and that taking an interest in STEM may serve them well in the future.
“I don’t have an ambitious growth plan to turn Trailblaze into a big business but I would love to think that in the future I’ll take on a young person and give them the opportunity to learn the trade in the way that I have.”
The value of ongoing support
Having been supported through the early stages of her start-up process and funding applications by Bill and the TEDCO team, Megan now reflects on the value of having an experienced business advisor to consult with:
“I’m honestly not just saying this but I genuinely don’t think I would be where I am now if I hadn’t first met Bill and had the support from TEDCO to pursue this path. From the classes and sessions I attended that gave me confidence in how to set up a business right through to accessing a business loan.
“All of that was daunting to me and felt like a huge step but it was made easier by having consistent support from Bill. Another key benefit in those early days was having the opportunity to meet other new start-ups sharing the same ideas and concerns.
“While I no longer need the day-to-day support of TEDCO, I still stay in touch with Bill and he often emails to let me know that there are courses I might be interested in, funding pots available or networking events to attend. It’s nice to always have someone like that in your corner.”
And if you’re thinking about starting a business of your own, TEDCO is here to help. Register here Initial Registration Form
Start Up South Tyneside is a business Start up programme delivered by the TEDCO Business Support on behalf of South Tyneside Council which aims to support local residents with their aspirations to start up a business.
This project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus