We caught up with co-owner of Our Kids Social, Jo Walters, to discuss the impacts of the pandemic and how EnterprisingYou helped her overcome the brought on by Lockdown…

Describe your business and how it operated pre-Covid

Our Kids Social was set up and is run by Alice, Hannah and Jo who are experts at planning and delivering unique and memorable events and children’s parties for families and colleagues in the North West.

Pre-Covid we were managing up to 12 of our own events a year alongside B2B corporate events and festivals. We also had a thriving children’s birthday party business and we were hosting children’s parties every weekend.

Why did you approach EnterprisingYou and what help were you looking for?

I wanted to use the downtime during the pandemic to increase my business skills and gain advice and knowledge in areas of the business I was lacking confidence in.

How did Covid impact your business?

Business stopped overnight for us really and we have only been able to run a couple of our usual events albeit in a very different way with social distancing and Covid safety measures in place.

What did you do to come out fighting to overcome the challenges?

We kept going by focusing on what we could offer families to celebrate an occasion safely in their own homes or gardens. We set up deliverable silent disco party boxes and collaborated with a local bell tent supplier to provide a fun activity for families to enjoy.

Alongside this, we launched seasonal downloadable craft and party packs on our Etsy shop covering halloween, NYE party games, home scavenger hunts, birthday party packs, colouring in postcards and posters. We also grew our social media following by keeping visible and sharing useful content for parents at such a challenging time.

We were also able to diversify and work with children’s holiday clubs running events for children safely in small bubbles. And finally, I increased my business skills and knowledge by joining mentoring programmes such as Enterprising you!

What help did your EnterprisingYou business coach provide?

The one to one support Nick gave me helped re focus the business from the day to day running, the financial side and how we grow in the future.

What other help did you receive from EnterprisingYou?

Access to training programmes covering all aspects of marketing and finances. FSB membership and access to networking events.

How has the EnterprisingYou support helped you for the future? What are your plans?

EnterprisingYou’s support has given me the confidence and knowledge to put a sound plan together to grow the business in the next few years.

I now feel I can tackle with confidence those areas in the business that seemed a challenge. It has given me a renewed energy for the business and we can’t wait to get started!

• Check out Our Kids Social by visiting their website: www.ourkids.social
• Twitter and Instagram: @OurK_S

 

EnterprisingYou provide fully funded support to the self-employed and gig economy workers across Greater Manchester. If you would like to find out more about EnterprisingYou, register online, email info@enterprising-you.co.uk or call 0161 667 6900 to speak to one of our business coaches. 

More information about the EnterprisingYou programme can be found here.