Lucy Thornton
“I heard about the Women’s event on Network Cornwall in March and came along on a bit of a fact finding mission to understand more about Outset. The event was very motivating and I couldn’t wait to get started in formalising my business plan and getting it off the ground properly, instead of just ‘playing’ at it as I had been!
“At the event I was really inspired to focus on my own start-up. The speakers (Jayne Tarasun from Flock Follies, Sarah from EcoBoodle and Amy from Nurturing Hands) were so positive and normal that it made me realise how much I wanted to focus on my own business.”
Shortly after the event, Lucy enrolled on the programme and started working on her very first business plan.
“I always keep up with industry trends and offer advice and support to others about marketing, including online and offline. This seemed a natural progression for me to specialise in as it’s a personal strength, and there is great demand for practical and inspirational training amongst the business community in the South West.”
Continuing in her employment, but attending the sessions one morning a week, the Outset workshops provided Lucy with the space she needed to hone the finer detail of her new business, and feed off the positivity and momentum created by her group.
“The Outset programme has been invaluable – I looked forward to the sessions every week because they were a rare opportunity to step away from my desk, laptop and to-do list, to focus on my business objectives, with a great bunch of people. The input from Outset advisors and the rest of the group were also a real bonus, as they had fresh insight and could give me feedback on my different services and marketing messages.”
Chartered Institute of Marketing qualified, and with experience across of a range of levels within organisations, Lucy worked with Outset to develop services that met the needs of her target market, whatever their skills.
“Perfect Balance Marketing provides training and consultancy in social media for businesses of all sizes and sectors. I work with companies and business owners to understand their strategic goals, audiences, and possible growth opportunities and show them how best to take advantage of those using tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogging.
[clientquote]“I work to demystify social media and help people understand the massive marketing opportunities that it offers for businesses of all sizes and sectors.”[/clientquote]
“I am loving how the business is growing – I have training sessions lined up, as well as clients whose blogs I write and Facebook pages I manage. I would like to do more one-to-one consultancy because it’s always fascinating to work with business owners from different sectors, and to see their enthusiasm grow as they grasp how they can deliver measurable results through Facebook, blogs, Twitter and other social networks. I’ve got a few other products I’m developing which I’m pretty excited about.”
“Jan has been on the end of a phone whenever I’ve needed advice (and new ideas!). Other members of the team have given their support and encouragement at social media courses I’ve run. It’s been nerve-racking in the early days to prepare and deliver training to a large group but having a smiley Outset face in the group made me feel more confident.
[testimonial]Lucy says - “Thank you Outset for lighting the fuse to my business and making me realise it is possible!”[/testimonial]