Converting a disused plating factory in Digbeth into a karting track was always going to be a challenge for Simone Schehtman.

But six months after opening - despite the challenges of a new city and a new business community - the karts are whizzing round and her Teamworks Karting business is growing.

The first six months in Birmingham have proved rather different to life in central London, where Simone, and her partner Michael Bryant, once built and ran a track in Bishopsgate.

"It has proved harder in some respects," says Simone, in the giant former factory site on Fazeley Street. "I've been surprised at how few people know the product here. In London, it is very well known.

"Here, I think that fewer people know it can be delivered in a corporate way. It's not oily rags and grime in a nasty environment."

While Teamworks offers champagne galore for postrace celebrations a mere 15-minute walk from Colmore Row, Simone worries that a certain crowd find the psychological barrier of crossing Moor Street Queensway simply too much to handle.

"Its hard to communicate that we have opened a corporate place five minutes from the Bullring," she says.

In part this is because the much-anticipated regeneration of Eastside has barely begun, she fears.

And with Millennium Point failing to capture the public imagination coupled with uncertainty over the new library project, Simone worries that Eastside could do with a bit of boost.

"It can be hard to convey an image of quality because of the perception of Eastside." She points to the massive success of the Bullring in drawing people and hopes they will eventually venture a mile south.

"We've got to get people here to Eastside to pick the energy level up," she says. "But when people have come down we have found that they love it here, people have been very receptive."

Although it is clearly frustrating for Simone that the Eastside project is moving slowly and perceptions of the area remain firmly focused on its industrial heritage, she is not critical of her dealings with Birmingham City Council - and points to the rapid turnaround Teamworks was able to achieve at the site.

"The four-month build time really was very fast," she says, poring over pictures of the site as it was less than a year ago, battered and near derelict.

"With the planners and the legalities, overall things have been smoother rather than rough." In fact, the planning regime proved very receptive to the scheme, perhaps eager to see a £1 million investment in a very run down old industrial building in Eastside.

"We found it in December 2003, and the planning process was very positive. An allelectric regeneration project tends to go down well."

But, as expected, the building process was stressful.

"Getting contractors to do what you want is always challenging. The second time around if anything it is more demanding because you tend to operate on a tighter budget and you want to avoid the mistakes you made the first time around."

Fortunately, Simone has found the Birmingham business community has been particularly welcoming, eager to hear about her business.

Teamworks is currently running around one corporate party per day, typically hosting around 50 people at once.

In contrast to attending events such as a football match, or even Cheltenham, it is participatory experience. And unlike traditional karting, her electric vehicles are quiet, enabling the real business, of doing business, to take place in the wings.

After six months the company is just finding its feet, but Simone is already looking to the future - planning a second track launch outside Birmingham and developing the current venue to make the most of its canal-side location, as well as strengthening her own links with the Midland car industry and local colleges.

Despite a tough half year, she is now looking forward to the time ahead, eager to throw energy into developing her business, with events such as a property developers cup on the cards.