We love celebrating the wins from our community, so we're delighted to be sharing Michael's story today!

Michael is the founder of WhichDays, a digital tool revolutionising physical networking in the era of hybrid working 💪

In 2022, Michael had the chance to experience a Digital Boost Mentoring Day in collaboration with our partners at Visa and the experience totally changed the game for him and his business 🚀

📸 www.whichdays.com/

A Vision for Better Work-Life Balance

Michael has always been fascinated by the world of work and the ways it's changed and evolved over time. Having had a long career as a consultant, he knew the power that networking could have! But in a hybrid working world, he noticed that networking wasn't evolving with the new landscape.

Having wished hybrid working had been an option earlier in his career, he's on a mission to create a world where we have a better work-life balance that doesn't compromise your network 💪

Creating a purposeful business

With more of the workforce displaced due to hybrid and work-from-home roles, Michael set out to create a platform that allows people to build their networks in an organic way, going beyond the superficial connections of traditional networking sites.

"The heart of WhichDays is to help people coincide, socially, and in and around work," Michael explains.

Shaking things up with Visa

At the end of 2022, Michael had the opportunity to join a Mentoring Day that we ran in collaboration with our partners at Visa. Along with 5 other mentees, Michael was invited to join the European Senior Leadership team for an intimate virtual Mentoring Day.

Each mentee was assigned their own personal mentoring team for the workshop and across the day, Michael and his Visa team took a deep dive into WhichDays 🥳

They analysed everything from business strategy, to obstacles, to how his audience would adopt the platform - shaking up Michael's thinking and leaving him with food for thought.

"It was just really good to connect with somebody who is clearly higher up in their game, and considerably younger than I am. Somebody who engaged with the proposition and gave it a good shaking!"

Although Michael was put through his paces by the Visa team, he left with a new found energy.

He said, "it's the buzz you get of engaging with somebody around something that is precious to you and that you put a lot of intellectual effort into it, and seeing them also engage with a similar level of intellectual effort - that is very satisfying"

The Path Forward

WhichDays is just getting started, but the lessons Michael has learned and the encouragement he received from his Digital Boost mentors have been instrumental in making progress. As he continues to develop and refine the platform, Michael believes in the power of challenging discussions and constructive feedback.

"I found Digital Boost and the session we did with these [mentors] immensely useful because, despite all [my] experience, I'm still learning, as is everybody. It's interesting how Digital Boost and the sessions can provide a boost to people who are early in their entrepreneurial careers or much further into them, it doesn't really matter," Michael noted.

We're so unbelievably proud of Michael and the journey he's been on since he joined our community 🥰

We love sharing stories like these because they show just how powerful mentoring is! Whether you're new to your journey, or you're a seasoned entrepreneur like Michael, everyone can benefit from having a small business mentor in their life 🙌

After spending nearly a decade steadily building her voiceover business, in 2022 Blanche was ready to take the leap and go full-time in her business. With the support of the London Business Hub and the mentoring she received from Digital Boost, Blanche has been able to go all-in on her business this year, setting big new goals and forming a plan of action to make her dreams a reality!

An unlikely career path

Having studied acting at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Blanche was ready to make her way in the world of acting. While auditioning and working with agents, a chance comment from a fellow actor sent her down a new path of voice acting. It was something she’d never considered before but she gave it a go and fell in love with it!

Juggling a side hustle

With voice acting as her side hustle, Blanche knew she needed to work other jobs whilst she built up her client base and business. When she first started out she was temping in Harrods, but quickly fell into a job as a full-time executive headhunter. Blanche says that she was extremely lucky to find this job as she enjoyed the work and they were very understanding about her side hustle. They allowed her to choose her own hours and juggle it around her acting! Blanche loved the variety that her day job and side hustle both brought, but eventually, her business grew so much that she suddenly realised that she was getting so busy she could no longer juggle both! So in 2022, she took the leap and went full-time into her business.

Looking for support

When she first went full-time in her business, Blanche realised that she had the creative stuff nailed down, but as a first-time business owner, she needed support with her strategy to really drive her business forward.

A friend introduced Blanche to London Business Hub’s Wayfinder programme - a free local service that supports microbusinesses to find the right support to grow their business. Through this service, Blanche was matched with a business advisor and was able to access 12 hours of 1:1 support which really helped her to start thinking strategically about her business. As part of that service, Blanche was directed to Digital Boost as she needed more specialist support with her website and overall business strategy.

First impressions of Digital Boost

At first, Blanche admits she was sceptical about signing up for Digital Boost’s free business mentoring. She was wary of other programmes where “free” really meant free until you bought more services from the company! However, she took a chance and booked her first session and had an amazing experience with her mentor, Alvaro. Her confidence grew and she booked more 1:1s and even joined live Masterclasses to learn as much as she could from Digital Boost. She now calls herself Digital Boost's biggest fan and recommends us to everyone she comes across!

The one thing Blanche couldn’t believe was how much value Digital Boost's mentors deliver in just 60 minutes! She says that she was blown away by how invested each and every one of her mentors were in her business and how much they truly cared about seeing her succeed 🧡

Moving from plateaued to action

When Blanche started her business all those years ago, her BIG goal was to become a full-time voiceover artist. But having achieved that in 2022, she started to feel a little plateaued and unsure how to move forward. But luckily, Blanche's mentors knew exactly how to support her, guiding her to find clarity in her ideas, helping her to develop her website and messaging and ultimately helping her to set new big goals to achieve!

A dream website

When Blanche booked her first mentoring session with Digital Boost, she was initially looking for help with her branding and logo. Whilst her amazing mentor Alvaro (volunteering through the help of our partners at Apple) was able to support her with her logo questions, he also identified that Blanche's website needed a bit of TLC.

Having identified a disconnect between Blanche's messaging and her website, Alvaro was able to help Blanche figure out what message she actually wanted to share with her customers! He supported her as she began to make tweaks and changes to her website and now, after lots of hard work from Blanche, she has a website that she's 'proud' of!

Moving forward

Having nailed her website, Blanche has set her sights on SEO and email marketing, meeting with our mentors to really dig deeper on these goals and connect with her audience. She’s been able to send her very first newsletter, focusing on segmenting her audience for better personalisation and is already gearing up to send her next email as we speak!

And on top of this, she’s also been able to create a strategy plan for her business! She’s worked with our mentors to really sift through all her creative ideas and knuckle down on what ideas are going to actually move her business forward. Analysis paralysis is something a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with as it can be difficult to figure out which idea to do first. But with the support of our mentors, Blanche has now created new goals and has a clear plan of action to help her achieve them 💪

Celebrating milestones

At the beginning of 2023, Blanche was named winner of the Best Radio Promotion Performance at the One Voice Awards! This was a huge milestone moment for Blanche as she was already speaking as a guest on one of the panels, so to be recognised as one of their winners was the cherry on top. Being recognised as one of the leaders in her industry is just the start for Blanche, and with her next big goal on the horizon, we’re excited to keep supporting her on her journey and celebrating her every step of the way.

📸 @scottishblanche

If you've been inspired by Blanche's story just know that this success is possible for you and your business too 💫

Every day founders join our community feeling stuck and overwhelmed and, in just a couple of mentoring sessions, they overcome their challenges and get on track for success 💪

Whether you need mentoring in business strategy, Facebook Ads, or Fundraising, our mentors are here to help 🤗 And it's all totally free of charge!

Meet Ceren, our Mentor of the Month for July! 🎉

Since joining us back in March as part of Bloomberg's volunteering programme, she has had a HUGE impact on our community 🥰 Ceren is one of our highest-rated mentors and most recently hosted her first Masterclass for us - which was a total success 🥳

We're so excited to be celebrating Ceren today - get to know her here 👇

Where are you based in the world?

London, England 🇬🇧

What's your day job?

I work at Bloomberg as an email marketing specialist

What's one thing you're amazing at?

Learning. Prior to starting primary school I kept crying and told my mum that I didn't want to go to school because kids over there knew how to read and write but I didn't. This type of thought continued with me until I finished university. I always had anxiety when approaching things I didn't know and tried to avoid these if possible. When I started my first job, I learnt a lot. That's when I realised the power of learning which I've been practicing my whole life. I think it is really important to realise the power of learning. I feel like I can learn anything in a short amount of time and this gives me so much sense of security. It makes it easier to expand my comfort zone and get exposed to new areas, projects and tasks both in my social and professional life.

What do you love about mentoring small businesses and charities?

Mentoring gives me a chance to think from different perspectives and scenarios as every business has a different set-up with different requirements. Also, most importantly, it allows me to be part of an amazing community that loves to help each other and exchange ideas. I really enjoy it.

If you could start your own business, what would it be and why?

I haven't really thought about this previously but possibly an email marketing agency because I enjoy email marketing.

What's one top tip you always share with small businesses

Testing. It is very easy to miss something in emails. I always recommend to test thoroughly before deployment. Read the email copy again and check for spelling mistakes, test all the links, check the subject line, check the image alt text and check your contact list. Check everything one final time.

What's your party trick?

My party trick is usually my stretchy face. This sounds weird but when I pull the skin on the side of my face, it stretches a bit and tends to gross people out! 😀

What Ceren's mentees have to say 👇

"Ceren was really helpful, she gave me great advice and ideas that were tailored to the type of business I run. Would highly recommend her, thank you!."

Ellie, Ellie Good Illustration

Read Ellie's story here.

Ceren offers mentoring in Email Marketing - if you'd love to connect with her 1:1, you can do so here👇

When you're starting a business, making sure you're legally protected is probably pretty low down the priority list right? It can feel overwhelming (not to mention expensive!) figuring out how to legally protect your business.

But it doesn't have to be! With the help of Visa and Morrison Foerster, we've identified 4 key areas you can focus on to get your business in top-tip legal condition - and it's totally free to get started 🥳

Sorting your structure

As you're developing your business, it's important to address the structuring so that you're legally sound.

Some of these options include:

• sole proprietorships
• limited liability companies (LLCs)
• corporations

Each option will come with pros and cons and will have implications on tax, liability and how the company is run, so it's important to do your own research to find out which option best aligns with your business goals.

Operate like a pro

Once you've nailed your structure, it's important to ensure your day-to-day operations are legally compliant with any laws or regulations that affect you and your industry. These will include industry-specific regulations, consumer protection laws, data privacy regulations, and employment laws.

Once you've checked the laws that affect you, remember to put policies and procedures in place to ensure your business runs smoothly! There are lots of amazing free templates out there to help you write policies and you can always talk to one of our legal mentors free of charge to run through any policies or procedures you'd like a second pair of eyes on.

Get ahead of future liabilities

It's never nice to think about the 'what might go wrong's but being proactive and getting ahead can make a HUGE difference to you and your business.

As your business grows, take the time to reflect on any future threats that might occur and try to think about how you might get ahead.

Two things two focus on are contracts and insurance. Make sure you're covered with the right insurance (you might like to look into general liability insurance, professional liability insurance and product liability insurance) and that if you need contracts, they're set up properly to protect you and the person you're working with!

Being mindful of these two things will help you avoid difficulties in the future 😊

Understanding Intellectual Property

We know as a business owner when you've worked so hard to create your unique business, the last thing you want to worry about is someone copying your idea! That's where Intellectual Property (IP) law comes in 💪

So what counts as an Intellectual Property Asset?

• trademarks
• copyrights
• patents

By identifying and protecting assets like those listed ensures that your products and inventions are properly protected as you grow your business!

Summing Up

You don't have to do everything at once, but being aware of these 4 key considerations means that you can be proactive in protecting your business and potentially save yourself time and money!

Take your learning one step further with this handy Masterclass from Visa and Morrison & Foerester.

Want some extra help to legally protect your business?

With a network of more than 900 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the business and employment-focused network that most entrepreneurs aren't leveraging. Here, Henry, Social Media Manager @ BT, shares his top tips to grow your business using LinkedIn 🚀

What does a good profile look like? 👋

• Add a professional profile picture & header
• Make your headline stand out
• Write a summary
• Add relevant skills
• Request recommendations

What does a good post look like? 🤔

• Be personal
• Be relevant
• Don’t be too self-promotional
• Mix up the topics you post about
• Educate people
• Show results from your work and/or business

The most important thing when posting on social media, and especially LinkedIn, is to be yourself. Let your personality show through your posts so people can connect with you on a personal level 🤗

Content Ideas to help you grow your business on LinkedIn 📝

• Talk about events/fundraisers you’ve attended or will be attending 
• Product and service releases and announcements
• Articles/blogs from relevant and reputable customers (you could turn these into customer reviews and/or case studies too!)
• Career stories, journeys, learnings, and training
• You can share personal news on LinkedIn too, it’s not just for work!

Once you’ve started posting different types of content, have a look at the impressions and engagement on each of them. See what your audience is enjoying and build on that 🤩

Tips for growing your network on LinkedIn 🤝

• Personalise your connection requests
• Follow up on in-person networking opportunities
• Explore LinkedIn Groups
• Ask your employees to update their profiles
• Link to your LinkedIn Page from your website - promote it!

Want to know more about how to apply each of these tips to your LinkedIn strategy? Watch Henry’s webinar where he goes into more detail and shares some examples 👇 

Don’t struggle alone!

If you'd like personalised advice about you should use LinkedIn to grow your specific business, book a free 1:1 mentoring session with one of our volunteer mentors! Our mentors are on hand to support you totally free of charge 💜

Also, check out these resources designed to help you create your social media strategy!

Meet Parvez, our Mentor of the Month for June! 🎉

Since Parvez joined us back in 2022, he's been an absolute powerhouse of support for our community and consistently gets incredible feedback from his mentees - so we caught up with him to find out what he loves most about mentoring small businesses 🥳

Where are you based in the world?

London, England 🇬🇧

What's your day job?

Product Portfolio Director at EY

What's one thing you're amazing at?

Product development, and startups

What do you love about mentoring small businesses and charities?

Giving back

If you could start your own business, what would it be and why?

I'm not telling you that !! Probably something in fintech to help people reach financial security

What's one top tip you always share with small businesses

You're not the boss, your customer is.

If you could sit next to one famous person at a dinner party (dead or alive) who would you choose and why?

Prophet Muhammed, to teach me compassion.

What Parvez's mentees have to say 👇

"Parvez was incredibly insightful, helpful and personable. The session provided me with a wealth of information and things to consider with regards to furthering the development of my business. Would highly recommend to anyone thinking about starting a new business."

Mustapha, Caterer Catalogue

Parvez offers mentoring in Business Strategy, B2B Sales, and Leadership and Founder Advice, find him on our platform here👇

Meet Ellie, our member of the month for July! With a focus on connecting people back to nature and protecting the environment, Ellie creates beautiful hand drawn illustrations and sustainably produces all her incredible cards and gifts! 💚

We caught up to find out all about her business and why she loves being in the Digital Boost community 🥰

Tell us a little bit about your business

I am an illustrator and print my artwork onto a range of cards, homewares, and gifts. After I had my kids I wanted to go back to my more creative roots (I was in graphic design previously) and wanted to prove it was possible to run a creative and GENUINELY sustainable business that made a profit. (I'm still working on that last bit...)

Taken from Ellie's Instagram @elliegood_illo

What's your favourite thing about being a small business owner?

I love the flexibility and freedom and control.

Let's chat about your business journey...

It all started when my second child was very small. I started making cards, printed in England on 100% recycled paper. People liked them and I quickly scaled up to selling online, selling wholesale and expanding my product range. Everything I make has to be useful or meaningful - and be made with closed-loop production or biodegradable. Over a year ago I employed a VA, who helped set up lots of systems as I found I was getting overwhelmed with all the different jobs I was doing. Last year I started using a brilliant fulfillment company, and I am hoping to outsource more jobs and create new product lines this year. It's still very hard work but it is good to know that I'm at a point where people love my products and I have a much clearer idea of the direction I want to take things in.

What made you decide to join Digital Boost?

I heard about it on an Instagram live with Holly Tucker and thought it sounded like such a brilliant resource. I have had some excellent advice and support, particularly on email marketing, from the mentors on the platform. I've recommended it to so many people!

What's changed or happened in your business since you started being mentored?

I've been more focused on the importance of email marketing, and I have also had a couple of sessions with people on SEO, so have got my head around that a little bit more too. The latter actually helped me realise that I can't take SEO on myself, so have outsourced that. It's great to have some basic understanding of what you're outsourcing though and the session definitely pushed me forward with that.

And finally, what's been the proudest moment with your business?

Two things! My notebooks were featured in the Guardian over a year ago and I still get hits from that today. Secondly, I've been working on a Sleep Journal with a life coach friend and we just won an award for it, so we are stoked about that!

Taken from Ellie's website, www.elliegood.co.uk 🧡

Want to try our free business mentoring for yourself? Click here to get started 👇

Whether you're a small business owner or you're running a charity or organisation, it's important to get a birdseye view of your business - that's where a SWOT analysis comes in.

In this beginner's guide, we'll walk you through the steps you need to take to conduct a SWOT analysis in your organisation and how you can use it to take action and grow your business 💪

So what is a SWOT analysis?

SWOT is an acronym for:

Strengths - these are what set you apart from your competition

Weaknesses - these are areas that may need a little improvement (don't worry, every business has them!)

Opportunities - these are new possibilities or areas you may be able to branch into to keep strengthening your business!

Threats - these are anything that could threaten or prevent your business from growing

Conducting your own SWOT analysis

Examples to help you get started

Strengths: What makes you different from others in your industry?

• exceptional customer service
• high-quality materials
• personalisation
• talented team

Weaknesses: What areas need a little more love and improvement to help your business excel?

• need additional training in particular skills
• struggling to keep up with social media trends
• limited marketing budget

Remember, by being honest and acknowledging your weaknesses, you then have a better idea of what you need to work on which will feed into your strategy - making you a stronger business overall 💪

Opportunities: What haven't you tapped into that might positively impact your business?

• online marketplaces like Etsy
• Facebook communities/ word of mouth to promote business
• industry collaborations

Threats: What could potentially threaten your business from growing?

• financial pressures (cost of living etc.)
• changes in regulations
• competitors producing products for lower price points

Putting It All Together: Developing a Strategy

Once you've completed your SWOT analysis, it's time to transform insights into action 💪

Prioritise the most critical things from each category and brainstorm ways that you can leverage your strength and opportunities to overcome your weaknesses and threats.

You'll be surprised how many new ideas this exercise opens up! 💡

Once you've brainstormed, you'll be able to feed everything you've learnt into your business strategy. If you're looking for a business strategy framework, check out our blog post on creating a business strategy that actually works!

Remember, it's important to regularly review your business, so we recommend reassing your business with this framework at least once a year, if not more depending on the changes happening in your market.

Don't struggle alone!

Whether you're needing some support to go through your SWOT analysis, you're worried about how to overcome threats, or you want to develop a concrete business strategy, our free mentoring can help!

Our mentors are on hand to support you through all these challenges and more, totally free of charge 💜

After discovering Digital Boost's free business mentoring, Gary couldn't believe there wasn't a catch! He was able to meet with expert mentors who helped him to develop his website and increase his sales by 1300% in just a few months 🚀

Meet Gary...

Gary is the genius behind YoBack, a revolutionary health & wellness product that's designed to ease back pain and improve posture! Having experienced back pain for many years following an accident, one day Gary had the idea to create a totally portable wheel that would allow users to stretch out their back, wherever they were in the world.

The idea was born on a napkin in a restaurant and within just a few months, Gary had mocked up the designs and was ready to take his idea to the world 💪

Image from YoBack

Finding free support

Having attended many virtual networking sessions with our partners at the FSB, Gary was introduced to Digital Boost! He joined a couple of Masterclasses before deciding to see if he could get some help with his website. He took the leap and within 24 hours he had a session booked with an eCommerce Website mentor!

"I called my partner up and said, 'this is amazing! I've just had a conversation for an hour and 20 minutes about my website [...] and it cost nothing, it's free! It's amazing"

Gary, Founder of YoBack

Visa mentoring day

After experiencing great results from his 1:1 mentoring, we decided to invite Gary to an exclusive Mentoring Day we were hosting with our partners at Visa. Throughout the year, we work with incredible industry partners to create special experiences that take mentoring to the next level. Gary was able to meet with some of Visa's top-level European team to discuss his product and by the end of his personal workshop, he'd come away with a whole new approach to his product and reimagined who his ideal client was!

Getting results

After realising how powerful mentoring is, Gary has gone up to become a Digital Boost regular, consistently booking sessions and taking steps to make his business better day by day 💪 Through our free mentoring programme, we've been able to support Gary with business strategy, export trade, conversion rate and so much more!

And through consistent hard work and support from our community, Gary has increased his sales by 1300%! 🚀

What Gary's mentors have to say about him

"Gary came to me with a great product, however the strategy did not fully encompass the amazing work he had been doing so far nor highlighting the full potential of the product. As a result we stripped everything back to basics, from the Website, the digital marketing proposal and business strategy to get a solid foundation and start again. Within the first few weeks we saw sales more than triple and since then Gary has pushed the brand into new platforms and exploring additional marketing opportunities which has seen a growing brand reputation and sales increasing. I am very happy to have played a part in his business and no doubt his early retirement."

Ian D., BT mentor

Watch Gary's full story here

Want to see how mentoring can help your business?

As we continue our Volunteers' Week celebrations, we wanted to show you just how easy it can be to start adding volunteering into your life!

1. Find a cause that's aligned with your passions

Maybe you're passionate about animals? Perhaps you're interested in the environment? Or maybe you're interested in careers and seeing young people thrive.

Whatever your passion, there's a cause and a volunteering opportunity out there for you!

2. Research local and online opportunities

Once you've identified your passion, it's time to find the right volunteering opportunity for you!

Looking for local organisations and groups related to your passion is a great starting point, but in this technological age, don't rule out our online opportunities! Lots of communities are now offering remote and online volunteering opportunities to enable skill sharing and support to those further afield.

Try searching keywords like 'online volunteering' or 'remote volunteering opportunities' to see what comes up!

3. Decide how much time you want to give

Whether you can volunteer for one hour a week, a day or two a month, or even a couple of times a year, there's an opportunity out there to suit everyone's schedule!

When researching opportunities, it's important to understand how much time you need to commit to your chosen cause. Some opportunities will ask for a minimum commitment, but many others won't! Here at Digital Boost, we don't ask for a minimum commitment on our volunteering as we want it to be as flexible to you and your schedule as possible 🤗

4. Make it a habit

Once you've started volunteering, take it one step further by making it a habit! Volunteering and giving back to communities has been proven to increase your happiness, so let's keep that happiness high by making volunteering a part of your every day 💪

Once you've decided how much time you can give to an opportunity, make sure to schedule volunteering sessions in advance in your diary where you can, so that you carve out the time to give back to your chosen cause 😊

Lots of volunteering programmes will have scheduled events that your're able to join and others, like Digital Boost, will allow you to book sessions in your diary in advance so you can easily manage your volunteering around your day job 🎉

Interested in volunteering? Why not become one of our volunteer mentors!