For anyone who has ever thought about setting up their own business, they'll love reading about the experiences of Samantha Cedarwood.

She turns her back on the safety net of being gainfully employed in the corporate world and decides now is the time to go it alone. There are 100 million new start-up companies globally each year, well over half a million in the UK, which has increased following the pandemic - and more women than men start up their own company. Samantha is one of them.

The decision to set up a new business was the easy part. She has her proposition ready to venture into the world of marketing consultancy. Images of herself in a sharp suit with a commanding presence ready to provide consultancy to blue-chip companies - it's a seductive, glamourous picture that's keeping her motivated. She's ready to share her experience and knowledge to a captive audience hanging on her every word of advice, challenging the best heads in the business. She couldn't wait.

There was just one small, slightly troublesome sticking point. How to win her first client.

From flirts who don't take her seriously, to shattered promises of a contract that just fails to materialise, to networking nightmares...we follow Samantha's experience in trying to make it in, what increasingly seems to be, an elusive quest.

Coupled with moving to a new house in a close-knit village following an unsuccessful short marriage, it's all going on in Samantha's world.

A world closely monitored by the residents of the village. Mrs Doughy, with her inimitable stuff-and-nonsense approach, imparts her knowledge of how to run a business at every unasked-for opportunity. Carole, successful businesswoman in her own right, tries to get Samantha to lighten up, smarten up and wise up. The world is hers for the taking, and she just needs to grab it. Pre-teen Britney doesn't know what all the fuss is about and asks helpful questions such as 'why do you have to set up a meeting, can't you just have a chat with someone?'

Then there's the village hunk, Kent, respected and desired in equal measure by the village, a fact the residents like to remind her about at every opportunity, and a source of frustration for Samantha.

From flying high on the heady euphoria of being a free spirit, to wondering what on earth she was thinking, we follow Samantha on her journey of setting up her own business. We laugh, we cry, we relate to her, and we really want it to work. "Excellent read...anyone who's ever thought about going it alone will love this light-hearted look at the experience of Samantha Cedarwood."