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When redundancy affected my family, I looked back home to the good old USA for a business idea and, I’m happy to say, it’s working brilliantly. My business, The Mesquite Company, is based in Retford and is now thriving - with help from the First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) which has given its support in the form of a business loan and advice.

I’m from Austin, Texas, and I met my husband to be when I was attending a conference in New Orleans. I was working for the Texas Public Interest Research Group and Joe, who is from Nottinghamshire, was on a post-graduation road trip of a lifetime to the States, buying a cheap car in New York and driving it to San Francisco and selling it before flying home.

We met waiting for a delayed bus from our hotel on 4 July Independence Day in 2003 on the way to join the celebrations in the town centre. I think it was raining heavily and Joe said something very British like: “Beautiful day for it isn’t it?”

Luckily, the bus dropped us six blocks short of where we needed to be, so we had more time to walk and talk.

We started dating but, due to the strict three-month periods for Visas for non-nationals either side of the pond, we soon found we had to make a commitment so we got married; a year to the day after we first met.

We had to choose where to live; here or there. I was fine in Britain. I think Americans, especially southerners, are more gregarious and ‘Hi, how are you?’ and I had to get used to the fact English people will look at you like you’re mad and think ‘I don’t even know you.’ I had to learn to tone it down…

We settled in Retford, north Notts and started a family, but our situation changed quite dramatically in 2009 when Joe lost his job in warehouse and distribution management in the recession. I was quite naïve at first and thought Joe would have no problem finding another job but, as time went by, he was lucky to even get any interviews, let alone offers.

With our three daughters, Zea, six, Maia, four, and two-year-old Laila, to think about, we were prepared to consider every option, including moving over to the States; even going so far as to start the immigration process.

Strangely, the answer to our problems turned out to be in America, but not in the way we thought. My family runs a ranch in Texas where mesquite, native to the region from Argentina to the South Western USA, is plentiful. We decided we could make a living cutting the trees for barbeque wood and, in the process, restoring the natural ecosystem of the land.

From this observation stemmed another idea. British people are keen on hard woods and mesquite is an expensive rarity in the UK, whereas in Texas it was commonplace. They’re invasive, so they’re the bane of many peoples’ existence in Texas. Ranchers have infestations that take over their land. You cut one down and ten grow back in its place, so it’s certainly not hard to come by.

As well as the wood making handsome furniture, stylish home accessories and beautiful, burnished floors, mesquite pods can also be ground down and used as a powder, which is sweet and cinnamon-like in taste and suitable for those on gluten-free diets. At the moment, we split our business 80-20 between wood products and the pod flour.

Our ‘lightbulb’ moment was to import, sell and market these niche, luxury mesquite products in the UK. I had a seven-generation connection with the mesquite-choked Texas Hill Country as well extensive experience running a busy office, and a background in nutrition.

Joe had his lifelong love of trees - he was an avid climber and tree-house builder in his youth - as well as his knowledge of logistics, management, and a desire to promote the aesthetic, environmental and community benefit of mesquite hardwoods to the UK and European market.

We brought the unfinished flooring to Britain and craftsman finish the product here. We work with some of the finest flooring craftsmen in the business which really adds to the appeal of mesquite flooring.

Hardwood is very on trend at the moment and mesquite has a lovely grain pattern and it’s practical; twice as hard as oak and extremely stable. You can make vases from it and put water straight in, or use it over under-floor heating with no problems.

We set up as co-directors in 2010 and the new company took off well. However, a loan from the First Enterprise Business Agency of £12,000 was an incredible boost.

I was advised by Bassetlaw District Council to apply and I made my case to a panel from First Enterprise in an informal meeting. The organisation felt we had a solid base and a sound business plan and was therefore able to assist with a loan. First Enterprise lend on a 70/30 basis – putting up 70 per cent against a company’s 30 per cent, with an agreement to pay the money back over an agreed period of time.

The loan made a monumental difference, as has the reassurance, support and advice. You can sit around and think you have a really good idea but when that’s ratified by six people with experience, it gives you the confidence to get out there and achieve your goals.

We have managed to turn the economic downturn into a life-long dream of running a business. None of which would have been possible without Small Loans for Business - an invaluable resource for start-ups with a good business plan who are unable to obtain a commercial loan.

And no-one’s more pleased – and amused – by our entrepreneurial enthusiasm than my family. They say ‘how come you have to go all the way over there to sell something we have right here?”

Still, it’s nice to do something that still has that connection with home.