Funded By The Princes Trust
What gave you the idea for Wirral Wide Web Design?
I was studying at university and realised web design was the industry I wanted to go into. In my last year I designed a website for Marymount School on the Wirral as part of their campaign to save it from closure, but because of the urgency of the situation I had only 24 hours to design a whole site! I managed to complete the job on time and also got a bit of work from this – and one of the impressed parents was Tom Murphy who designed and created the John Lennon sculpture at Liverpool Airport.
After designing a website for him and his projects he and his wife were very pleased with my work and they suggested that I should work for myself as there is a market for customer-focused web designers. So as soon as I graduated I contacted the Prince’s Trust and the rest is history!
Who helped you, and how?
The Prince’s Trust gave me some sound business advice as well as help and support with marketing ideas. And ever since I had the idea to start up my own business my family – and my parents in particular – gave me their extensive support and continue to do so.
Has anyone influenced you and if so who?
Since a young age self-made entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson and Alan Sugar have fascinated me. They show that you can start with absolutely nothing and still become a huge success through hard work, determination and shrewd decision-making.
What obstacles did you encounter along the way?
Being 21 and having just graduated from university I would say the biggest challenge I had was the perception other people had of me because of my age. Some people would almost dismiss it when I said I was starting up my own business and some people even thought I was joking!
Unless you’re determined then it can be hard to keep going, especially at the start when you are trying to get established – but The Prince’s Trust gave me the belief as well as the sound advice to go for it and looking back I am so glad I did! Initially breaking into the market is a huge challenge and the biggest reward for me is being two and a half years down the line and having an established web design company.
When did the idea start looking viable?
In the first few months my work was just from the Wirral but now I do work for clients all over the north west in places such as Liverpool, Manchester, St Helens, Southport, Ellesmere Port, North Wales, Lancashire and the Wirral. And because I make sure I go that extra mile and get testimonials from every client a lot of my work is from referrals, and I have found that this can be much stronger and effective than actual advertising.
Future plans for the idea?
The first aim was to break into the other areas of the north west beyond the Wirral, which I have successfully done now. The next step (which I have already started) is to diversify into other areas of industry which my clients would also need when they are getting a new website such as logo/graphic design, brochure designs, business cards etc, so that I can provide my clients with all the services they would need when they look to market their business. It is important to keep on top of the needs of my clients so I am now providing a host of other services apart from web design or e-commerce solutions.
By providing a wide range of services this will increase my workload and therefore increase my turnover with a minimum amount of effort. Another goal is to branch out further, beyond the north west.
Have you / your business entered / won any awards if so which ones?
I was one of the finalists for the Celebrate Success New Business of the Year Awards for 2005/2006, which was with the Prince’s Trust. And even though I did not win, being one of only five finalists definitely helped create more work for the business and gave me a reward for all the hard work I have been putting in.
Advice to anyone else who wants to make their idea happen?
I definitely say go for it! In the beginning I had this idea of starting up my own business, but that’s all it was – an idea. With the help of my family and the guidance of The Prince’s Trust I transformed this hope into belief and in turn this gave me the conviction to give it everything and realise that starting up and establishing a successful business is not as daunting as it might seem. The Prince’s Trust has been excellent with me and I could not recommend them and my mentor Claire Pedersen highly enough.
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