Katie’s lightbulb moment

After a flash of inspiration at one of our Taster Sessions, mum-of-two Katie set up her own business, OrangeSheep Research.

Here, the market research specialist recalls that lightbulb moment and how Successful Mums helped kick-start her new, flexible career.

“I’d thought about setting up my own business for a while but had no idea how to go about it. As a market researcher for a big agency, I loved my work but wanted more flexibility when I had my first child.

I went to a Successful Mums Taster while I was on maternity leave, although I hadn’t really thought anything through at that point. But sitting there, listening to people’s business ideas and to Jane Knight talking about the importance of knowing your market, an idea started to take shape.

I realised I could help small businesses with their market research and customer surveys much more cost-effectively and flexibly than if they went to a big agency. I spent the next few months getting things clear in my head and, when I got the chance to go on the Successful Mums Business Start-up course to develop my idea, I jumped at it.

The course gave me all the practical help I needed to get my consultancy, OrangeSheep Research, off the ground. Perhaps more importantly, it also helped me believe that I could do it and that running my own business wasn’t just a pipedream.

Jane’s idea of “wearing your crown of confidence”, standing tall and letting people know what you’re doing has stuck with me. I don’t tend to big myself up – even when I know I’m good at something, I can feel quite awkward about doing that. But Jane’s take on it has really helped me, particularly around pricing and recognising the value of what I have to offer.

The women in my group all came from different backgrounds and so brought different ideas to the table, which was great. Given my target market is small businesses, it was also really interesting to hear how they were going about getting their information – it was like having my own focus group!

I’m now my own boss and it’s absolutely ideal. I work the hours that suit me and can fit work around my children, which is what I always wanted to do. Successful Mums was actually one of my first clients and I loved working on the Returner Survey with them. Jane’s passion for helping mums is second to none and it was clear that the research was going to make a real difference.

I have lots of future plans and am now working on identifying my core customers and how I can better meet their needs. I’m also expanding into product surveys, with different packages for businesses with different budgets and time frames. It’s great to be moving my business on and I’m so glad I went along to that Successful Mums session. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone in my position!”

If you’d like to set up your own business, there’s no better place to start than with one of our fun and professional courses. Book your free place today to start your Successful Mums journey – register HERE today!