How would you describe yourself? Who is Heather?
I would say i’m entrepreneurial and creative. And I get inspired
by other people and what they do.
I like making things happen. As part of that, once I have an
idea, I’m quite good at finding resources – I have a knack for
channeling my energy and just going all out to get things moving.
What are you working on now?
Setting up
Striding Out, a support service for young people aged 18-30
with enterprising ambitions. After working on it for the last 7
months, it finally got launched last week. The key intention is to
create an infrastructure to connect, motivate and give confidence
to enterprising young people. I wanted to create an organisation
that responds to client’s needs, with services that help them to
define their next steps to creating a successful business.
I’m also working on my own personal development. Setting up the
company has been the biggest learning curve for me. When I was
working as a consultant, I lacked training in my full time job,
and I recognised that I needed to work on developing myself. So
I’ve taken on additional training, such as a coaching course,
management training, networking, and learnt a lot from other
entrepreneurs. This all helps me to take this business forward
with confidence and positive energy.
What has been your journey to what you are doing now?
As a kid I wanted to be a helicopter pilot. My dad ran a business
selling model airplanes, so we went to all the trade shows, so
that’s where that came from. But I always knew that I wanted to
set up my own business and do something with a social conscience.
As a child I was quite enterprising, having a stall at craft
fairs, making and selling bird boxes... you name it I did it!
I studied economic development at university, and after
university, I worked in the economic development field consulting
on issues such as social enterprise, business support and
employment training. Three years in, I realised I missed doing
something enterprising, so I set up my own business (Just
Blush – A Bridal Make-Up Service) alongside my full-time
consultancy role. Having an enterprising job in addition to my
‘day job’ was a stepping stone for me to really identify what my
specialist skills were, the challenge of running a business, was
something I really enjoyed. This formed the foundations for
Striding Out.
One of the key things I have learnt is that my job satisfaction
comes from making people feel great about themselves. Working with
young people to inspire and motivate them, makes me feel
satisfied. In consulting, there were never any direct rewards from
working with public sector clients, and I needed to shift to work
that had a direct impact on everyday people.
My interest in creating Striding Out, came from my frustration
of trying to find other young entrepreneurs to connect and work
with. I basically realised that there was no networking support
for young entrepreneurs, and I saw a gap in the market, and
decided to do something about it.
Six months ago, after talking to some people and putting my
idea together, I quit my consultancy job, continued on with Just
Blush, and started out Striding Out.
The take up with Striding Out so far has been really good. We
have over a hundred young entrepreneurs involved and the feedback
has been really positive. Our launch event last week was
excellent, with a lot of people making connections and sharing
leads and contacts.
What was the turning point?
The positive feedback I got from people was so strong, that I knew
I had to give the idea a go, I felt like I was going to burst with
ideas if I didn’t do it. So I gave myself 6 months. The idea came
in April, I market tested it, got good feedback and went ahead
with it.
I didn’t really have any doubts, but Yes, I have had people
challenge me and the idea, but I’ve learned that I need to manage
these situations and think how I’m going to get round the
challenges that have been presented to me. So I’ve just kept
going.
I realized that I would have to get used to the unsteady
cashflow as it is something that everybody who has their own
business goes through and you just have to go out there and
continue working and not worry about it.
How are you feeling now? How do you see the future?
I’m feeling really positive about it. There’s lots to do, so I
need to replenish my energy and get to it!
The future? Who knows. I can see Striding Out expanding and
having a business partner join full- time. You know, each day a
new opportunity arises – a new idea that is worthwhile exploring.
Even though I like to plan, I also want to be open to what comes
up, and we’re still in a stage where we’re playing with different
ideas. We have a good basis for something that has potential.
Some of our future ideas include getting Striding Out launched,
and having national outreach with regional representation. In a
few years time, I’d like to hand it over to somebody before I go
and set up my next venture. I’ve really enjoyed the setting up
process, but I have plenty of ideas within me, so I’ll want to try
other things out as well.
Would you do anything differently?
I would try and secure more money at the beginning, although I’m
not sure if this is really possible. Looking back, I would have
liked to have planned more, but there are always so many things to
do! Time management and prioritization is essential, in order to
get more knuckled down with a plan of action.
And ideally, I would have liked a founding team to kick it off,
rather than just myself; even though I recognise that this is
difficult if you don’t find others with the same amount of passion
about the idea. We currently have 30 people behind the project,
involved in a variety of different ways, and it’s nice to have the
moral support.
What advice would you give to other people in similar
situations as you were in?
• Give yourself a chance
• Feel confident in your skills and abilities, and that what
you’re doing is right before you quit your job: talk to people,
verify that you have enough confidence in your own abilities to
pull something off (you need to have this confidence in yourself
or else you are not going to sell your products/services to
anybody)
