Teenage Entrepreneur on Cloud Nine

Bury Entrepreneur launches new business with help from InBiz

Sarah McDougall, 18, from Bury, has become a teenage entrepreneur, launching her own business painting murals for children’s bedrooms.

Sarah suffered from medical problems which led to difficulties at school. Unable to attend as often as she would like, she struggled to catch up with her peers. Eventually, she received home support to help her through her GCSEs. Her experience of traditional education left Sarah with little self confidence, and at 16, she decided to leave school.

Sarah knew that she wanted to make something of her life, but was not sure which direction she wanted to go in. She didn’t feel that she could go into further education, but neither did she feel she was cut out for a 9-5 office job.

It was a hobby that brought her inspiration. Sarah had always been a talented artist, and enjoyed sketching and painting. Sarah loved taking a blank canvas and bringing it to life with colour. It dawned on her that she could use her hobby to create a business, and become a professional artist. She wanted to do more than paintings, and hit upon the idea of creating murals for bedrooms.

Sarah had the talent, and the idea, but needed business knowledge to get started. She contacted InBiz, a national organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of self employment and entrepreneurship, and was assigned to a business adviser, Sam Price.

Together with Sam, Sarah devised a business plan, learning about bookkeeping, marketing, insurance and tax. Launching a business takes a lot of confidence, and Sam helped Sarah to believe in herself. She excelled at bookkeeping, and with each new task completed, Sarah’s confidence grew.

Sarah’s business, Cloud 9, is now up and running. Sarah is always learning new things, and, as with any new business, always facing new challenges. Each accomplishment reminds Sarah of how far she has come. She said, “Self employment lets me make something of my life, without being stuck in an office. I had a dream to start my own business, but thought self employment would be too difficult. InBiz helped me every step of the way to make my dream a reality.”

Tracey Derry, Area Manager at InBiz, said, “Sarah is a good example of the work that InBiz does in Bury. She had talent, and a business idea, but needed some business advice to make it happen. As well as practical advice, InBiz also helped Sarah to believe in herself, and provided support to help her turn her idea into a business.”

InBiz Preess Release