Sarah set up Leeni's, an online store that stocks a curated collection of premium kidswear brands, in April 2021 after she had her daughter. 'I realized how hard it is to find good quality kids' clothes with unique and quirky designs and made from organic materials so I started to search until I found a number of great independent brands that tick all the right boxes but they were mostly overseas. And that's when the idea sparked in my head to bring those beautiful brands closer to families here in the UK.'

Mother-and-daughter Surinder and Safia carried the spirit and teachings of Surinder’s mother into their real Indian food and cultural experience. But the pandemic threatened disaster for their hospitality business. With support from Digital Boost, who provide FREE unlimited mentorships via partners, they created a new immersive, meal-kits and cook-alongs offer online in weeks. With loyal, engaged customers, returning corporate clients and the world starting to open again, Surinder is delighted to have built an even stronger, digitally focused, foundation for Pure Punjabi to grow. Read on…

Liezel and Kitty of Subject Matter Art co-curate an international collective for discerning clients who want to decorate their homes with art they love. They are on a mission to break through the unregulated art market, make it available to all and fairer for artists. Digital Boost helped them take their SEO to a new level, extending the reach of their improved website. Says Kitty: “Digital Boost has saved us a huge amount of time shortcutting to what we need to know to grow.”

When Robert from Dakoda’s Dance Academy decided to diversify his business to reach new audiences, he wanted to get it right from start. He connected with more than a dozen Digital Boost volunteers from companies such as BT, Google, Bloomberg, Barclays, and agencies like Emberton Marketing. They helped him sense-check his strategy, offered new ideas, gave feedback on web design, and much more. Robert says, ‘It’s great to ask the same question to multiple people. You get different perspectives and a real sense of whether you’re on the right track.’

Bringing Ossetian pies to the UK from his native Russia was a dream for Soslan Salamov. But potential customers were unaware of this unique food. So, with the free help of Digital Boost and mentors from BT, Bloomberg, Google and other companies, he created a website, a social media presence, and a mobile retail experience to tell his story. “To me it was brilliant to find Digital Boost. It is a great avenue to get to the right people who can give you the knowledge you need to grow your business.”

Lucy was a part-time maths teacher with a passion for baking when she decided to leave her safe and reliable teaching post to launch a brownie business just before Covid hit. When stay-at-home orders were issued in March 2020, she had to figure out how to quickly move the business online. She and her father in law, Patrick, turned to Digital Boost for free personalised advice from experts in website development, search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, and much more. As a result, www.scrumptiousbylucy.com was born and the business transformed, with the bulk of sales now online.

Ashleigh, founder of Cook It Up travelled the world for inspiration for her fresh home-cooked meals and bakery, which is now going down very well in her local area of Hucknall. She has amassed forty pages of notes from her calls with Digital Boost mentors from BT, Google, and others, which she is acting on with support from a growing network. One mentor, ex-Walt Disney, and BMW Designworks expert Mahima Karol, a digital design and e-commerce specialist, has followed her journey and has high hopes for future nationwide success.

HBR found only 4% of companies consider disability a part of their diversity strategy. Power2Inspire CEO John Willis knows that bringing people together through sport opens minds and sought help from Digital Boost to prove it. Digital Boost, a charity offering one-hour mentoring sessions on a huge range of digital challenges SME’s face, connected John with a data scientist, a data storyteller, and a fundraising expert to help him overcome his barriers to growth. John said: “Working with Digital Boost has taken us in new and unexpected directions towards our vision that no-one is left on the bench.”

Rachel, founder of Akers of Art went through six months of pain in 2020 as she re-focused her business to offer online clay and jewellery-making workshops, and art installations for public spaces. With support from her mum and a local charity partner, she is busier than ever and optimistic about the reach her new digital presence will deliver. A conversation with experts at Digital Boost inspired a dream to create a life-size tree installation in Birmingham dedicated to victims of Covid-19.

Mary, owner of Hippersons Boatyard was already planning to move her customer journey and marketing activity online when the pandemic hit. But a focused conversation with a Digital Boost mentor from BT opened her eyes to the power of YouTube and gave customer insights that helped make her holiday experiences unique. Now, bookings are higher than ever, and she plans to take advantage of the demand for stay-cations.

Jess, founder of Public Persona created a business in 2021 to help non-native English speakers like her living in the U.K. gain confidence and improve their career value. When she lost her job due to the pandemic, she decided to explore a long-held ambition to start up on her own. As a new business owner, having several free mentoring conversations with website experts at Digital Boost has helped her shortcut to the information she needs to create digital assets.

Amarachi, founder of Lucocoa Chocolate makes and sells her own ‘Bean to Bar’ chocolate. In February 2020, her customers were high end hotels and restaurants and a new factory in Bermondsey was ready to manufacture, when Covid-19 took away 90% of her business overnight. She switched to selling direct to consumers online and drove sales up 300%. A Digital Boost mentor from Apple helped Amarachi sense-check her strategy and pushed her to explore even greater opportunities.

Krishna, founder of Mistry Lighting was creating innovative lighting design for restaurants when she lost her job due to Covid-19. She turned her passion for lighting and sustainability into a business, helping people create beautiful schemes for their homes. A Digital Boost mentor from BT helped Krishna create an Instagram following and get her business off the ground.

Georgia is an administrative assistant at the Sue Lambert Trust where she has created an online presence for the charity for the first time through self-taught digital marketing and social media activity. She was helped by Digital Boost to understand analytics and is planning to return and build her design skills.

Amanda, founder of Mann’s Cookies created her first-ever business with the help of her family, baking and delivering fun and delicious cookies nationwide. Digital Boost helped her optimise her social media content and build partnerships with other businesses to help her grow.

Rachel from Creative Active Lives worked with Digital Boost to help her understand how to reach new customers online who could benefit from her activity kits for adults and children with physical and learning difficulties, to grow her business in new directions.