Growth hub collaborates with business lender to support Yorkshire skin care business

“YOUR VERY OWN BUSINESS SIRI”, HOW HOW’S BUSINESS IS SUPPORTING BUSINESS GROWTH

Growth hub collaborates with BEF to support skin care business, Mia and Dom

There’s a lot of great support available in York, North Yorkshire and East Riding for businesses who are looking to grow and How’s Business is here to help them make sense of it. Jennifer Feltham, owner of Natural Skincare Business, Mia and Dom is one of the many businesses they’ve supported. She describes How’s Business as “your very own business Siri” – as talking to How’s Business was an easy and quick way to find out what funding and support was on offer to help her business grow. They worked with Jen to take her from her initial idea through to an established business.

Jen has always had an interest in essential oils and natural products, explaining that there’s a joke in her family that she may have even been “a witch in a former life”. The final motivation for Jen to take her hobby to the next level was her son, Dom, who suffers from eczema. Jen noticed there was a gap in the market for products that were suitable for her son and that nothing really worked for her child’s skincare routine. After creating a product for her son with natural ingredients and essential oils, it finally hit Jen – she could actually make a business out of her hobby, and Mia and Dom, an organic skincare range, was born.

Minimising costs is always important for businesses, especially when starting up, so Jen knew she would need some free support when she began. This is when she stumbled upon How’s Business and signed herself up for one of the events they host, a Popup Business Café in Ripon. These are free events that offer the chance to speak to experts on marketing, finance and much more. For Jen, the cafés worked because they were a “non-threatening environment”.

In the two years since Jen attended that Popup Business Café and she’s come a long way, with support from How’s Business’s online articles and eBooks. Jen has even earned herself four awards, including the Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards 2016. And, with her business established and awards under her belt, Jen knew it was time to take her business to new premises.

How’s Business introduced Jen to The Business Enterprise Fund (BEF), who deliver loans from the Government backed Start-up Loans Company. With this funding, Jen has been able to move into the picturesque location of Newby Hall and has the potential to do so much more with her business.

When asked what she thought of the support, Jen said, “there’s a lot of people out there that want to help and it’s fantastic, but businesses need to become more aware of this. How’s Business is incredibly responsive and proactive and through their introduction to the team at BEF, I will now be able to employ a sales consultant, buy more oils for a new product range and much more.”

How’s Business is here to help people like Jen continuously grow their business through a suite of programmes. On top of the above support, Jen has also been recommended to a free mentor scheme from the Institute of Entrepreneurs and Enterprise and has been introduced to the Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub. Any businesses based in York, North Yorkshire and East Riding who are looking to grow, should get in touch with How’s Business via support@howsbusiness.org to find out what support is available.


Attached Media


About Business Enterprise Fund

The Business Enterprise Fund is a social enterprise that lends money to businesses in West & North Yorkshire & the North East, who are unable to get lending from the banks. As a social enterprise there are no share holders – all profits generated are reinvested into the business.