A farm shop owner celebrating his first year in business is encouraging others to “go for it”, despite the gloomy economic outlook.

Tim Freathy, co-owner of Depden Farm Shop, near Bury St Edmunds said his business was surviving the fallout from the Credit Crunch and others can too.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) may have revised down its UK growth forecast this year to just 0.8%, but Tim believes that his multi-award-winning business shows that shouldn’t put off potential rural entrepreneurs.

“We launched the Farm Shop, Café and Smallholder Training Centre in 2012 amidst predictions of uncertainty for the economy and a negative outlook for new businesses,” he said.

The ex-civil service high-flyer called on new business owners to “follow your heart and actively engage your customers, listen to them and innovate”.

Depden Farm shop will be celebrating its one year milestone with an open day birthday celebration with free cake next Saturday (June 15).

The farm shop smallholding will be opened up to the public, who will be invited to visit the animals and sample local Suffolk delicacies from a range of local suppliers.

Visitors will be able to see the fruit and vegetables growing in the garden and see the sheep, ducks, pigs, chickens and turkeys.

Alongside the open day, the venue will be holding a series of events through June and July including a wine tasting evening on June 20 featuring wine expert Neil Courtier, a gardening course for beginners on June 19 and a smallholding course on June 22.