Business owners that turned to the digital world over lockdown have continued to see their online business grow and become increasingly important, despite the ability to return to the old way of doing business. That’s also true of older, more established firms with owners that might not be considered digital natives, quite the reverse.
The Amazon Small Business Accelerator, powered by small business network and business support provider Enterprise Nation, supported thousands of start-ups and existing business owners to make a digital shift over the pandemic and beyond. According to the latest Enterprise Nation Small Business Barometer, more than half of the business owners using the digital support platform were in their 40s, 50s and 60s.
Emma Jones, CBE, founder and CEO of Enterprise Nation, said: “We saw a huge demand for business support across the age groups over lockdown. Many of those firms were looking for help to move their existing business online so people could access their products or services more easily.
“What’s happened as a result of that is that most of those businesses have continued to grow and expand on that work they put in over the pandemic. It’s very interesting that for some, they had that time to focus, offering them an opportunity almost for a second career later in life.”
Jane Peyton launched her drinks business called School of Booze in 2008 offering in-person corporate events industry training. Jane is an accredited ‘pommelier’ (a cider sommelier) and beer sommelier and has won several top awards for her in-depth industry knowledge.
But over lockdown her business could not operate as usual, so she decided to offer her training events and e-learning online.
Jane, 58, who lives in Brighton, said: “I decided to start to offer events and training online, and to make School of Booze as pandemic proof as I could I needed something else so I developed an e-learning platform where people can download beer, cider, and wine knowledge courses which supply comprehensive introductory knowledge in bite-size pieces. The courses are aimed at people who work in hospitality, and drinks marketing and retail, as well as anyone who wants to learn more about their favourite drink.
“Before the pandemic I was in the very lucky position of not needing to market School of Booze because bookings came by people finding us online due to our search engine optimisation being good, through repeat business from existing clients, and through word of mouth. The development of a new business I started from scratch and for which I needed to target potential customers was a challenge but also an opportunity.
“That’s when I discovered the vast amount of free help and advice for start-ups and small businesses easily accessed online. One of the first things I did was to register for Enterprise Nation and the Amazon Small Business Accelerator which is such an incredible business resource with essential information on a wide range of subjects. I also watched dozens of digital marketing seminars and courses from other organisations and had a steep learning curve about customer profiles, and how to find the ideal client.
“Another challenge is when search engines change the rules, best practice, and what they prioritise just when a small business has implemented the previous rules. The way to overcome this is to have regular SEO audits from professionals who are up-to-date on changes and know how to implement them.
“Anything to do with tech is not limited by age. I’m not a tech person, I didn’t write the code, but I do know how to find the expert support I need to get there.
“While I am now just about going back to in-person events, the online e-learning will always be an important part of what my business offers.”
Sarah Valovin, 46, left her job as science department head at a school near her home in Holmfirth, near Huddersfield, to co-found digitally enhanced pet photograph firm Yorkshire Pet Portraits with her husband Wil over the pandemic.
Until then, Wil had been running a dog adventurer business, which was grounded over lockdown. Sarah joined Wil to launch the new online firm. Having no previous experience of running a business, Sarah needed to pick up know-how fast.
Sarah said: “We’re a good team. Wil is creative and has all the ideas. I’m much more practical and organised, so I took over the accounts and learned how to run effective social media marketing campaigns using free resources from the Amazon Small Business Accelerator run by Enterprise Nation.
“Starting a business has been a really positive move for me – I feel much less stressed and can have a free reign in running the business.“
