Earlier this spring we hosted Employ Yourself; a Tree Shepherd course delivered in partnership with the Paddington Development Trust offering free advice and support to aspiring entrepreneurs.
From May 13th to June 1st we held the workshop for all individuals looking to gain the necessary tools to take their first steps as business owners, as well as all of the skills needed to keep up the good work well into their business ventures.
This year, through our blogs we’ll be keeping in touch and up to date with Cherelle Salmon, who hopes to follow her passion and begin her own personal branding photography business.
Cherrelle is an ex-programme manager and Media Production graduate and took part in our Employ Yourself course hoping to gain some confidence and encouragement before taking the crucial first steps in building her own company for the very first time.
In this first part of our case study we will be handing over to Cherrelle to let her tell us in her own words a bit more about her, her experiences that have brought her to Employ Yourself, how what she’s gained by attending the course has given her the skills and confidence to take the next steps, and of course her hopes for the future-
“I found out about the project through a close friend of mine. I have a Degree in Media Production and have an extensive employment history. In January 2022 I was working as a programme manager, but my passion for photography was calling. I knew I had to make a drastic change before I lost myself completely.
I’ve always loved listening to people’s stories. I’m passionate about portrait and street photography, as a picture can tell a thousand words, particularly where people are concerned. That was it! I thought, that’s the answer to changing my life and taking myself on a whole new trajectory. Scared that I may be making a huge mistake, but knowing that I couldn’t go back to that zone of comforting distress, I took a leap of faith and jumped. I left that job a month later.
The barriers I faced before the project was that I was unsure if I had a good enough business
idea and feelings of self-doubt. Worries that leaving my job to start this venture may be the wrong one. Imposter syndrome. My initial goals were to get a better understanding of how business works, develop a business plan and whether I had a viable business idea.
The business course was a chance for me to see if I could really do it, to take the necessary steps to make changes in my life, no matter how uncomfortable.
I now have a better understanding of business and the ways in which my business is viable.
Gaining the skills to be able to talk about my business through the elevator pitch tasks, gaining a better understanding of who my target market is, what makes my business idea unique etc., has given me the knowledge and the skills to take the next tangible steps on my journey.”
Make sure to keep an eye out over the coming months as we document (and celebrate!) Cherrelle’s story as a small business owner right here on TreeShepherd.org.uk.
If you’d like to find out more about the Employ Yourself course, over on our website we have blog posts that can give you all the details of what you can expect to gain by attending.
Registration is currently open for our Start Your Own Enterprise course – you can register here. If you can’t attend this time don’t worry, we offer this course, the Employ Yourself course , classes and mentoring sessions year-round to help you on your journey to self-employment. If you’d like to find out more about the services and support that Tree Shepherd offers, you can contact us here. Alternatively, have a look at our website which is full of useful resources and is updated regularly to include all upcoming events and courses.