This year we've been following twelve firms in the region, to find out what's really going on in the economy. They look back on a turbulent twelve months.
With Christmas just a few days away, many of us will be reflecting on the year gone by, and looking ahead to what the next twelve months have in store.
It's no different for members of our Business Club, whom we've been following throughout the year. It's been a turbulent 2012 for many reasons.
No one ever said that running your own business was easy. A double dip recession in 2012 has demonstrated why.
All companies have had to adapt.
But two entrepreneurs in our Business Club have been forced to throw out their plans and start all over again.
Our Business Correspondent Ben Chapman, who's been following them all year, explains why.
Over the past year we've been following the fortunes of businesses who are trying to succeed, despite the economic climate.
This year the economy went back into recession but unemployment across the region fell.
Hannah McNulty has been speaking to the men and women who employ hundreds between them and make their living from our landscape - through tourism and farming:
As 2012 draws to a close, it's been another turbulent twelve months for the economy. This was the year we went back into recession - but also the year that unemployment fell.
At the heart of the story are the region's businesses - desperately trying to grow despite all the cuts. Since January, we've been following the fortunes of twelve of them in the ITV Business Club.
All this week we'll be looking back on their year. We begin with two firms who've been forced to look further afield for success.