18 February 2021|Business Growth, Latest Posts, Launching a business, Meet the Successful Founder
Cheryl Dodd, 42, has many years experience in business and over 10 years experience of being an entrepreneur, during lockdown she helped her 10 year old daughter set up a successful slime business (where she took over £1K in 90 days!) and is now getting kids loving learning online and helping them launch business via her new business venture – BizKidz.co.uk. We were delighted to catch up with her for our Meet the Successful Founder Series.
Cheryl is no stranger to business and for the first 12 years of her career, her roles included managing multi-million pound businesses, with roles as; Store Manager at M&S and Services & Development Manager at Debenhams HO and across all stores. Since having children, Cheryl has multiple businesses of her own, all parent and child related, including Starz Ballet® LLP; Starz Franchising Ltd; Dynamix Gymnastix Ltd; Cheryl Dodd Limited and now BizKidz® & Teenpreneur® Academies.
When she said YES to helping her daughter launch her slime business early in the first lockdown, Cheryl saw her daughter go from feeling demotivated to empowered and she is now on a mission to share her skills more widely reaching out to other young people who may be feeling the same. Cheryl said: “My daughter Issy is a really bright kid, but has always been ‘working towards’ milestones at school which I think was starting to become demotivating, despite her efforts. She was driving me mad back when we first locked down, dodging her homework and I was stressing about it (secretly) so in desperation when she asked for help to start her own biz (a slime shop)! I said yes! We worked together and it was like magic. Issy had a goal. A goal and vision that she had set for herself, all of a sudden she was reading (to research, online) writing (into her website) calculating her costs/profit! The learning suddenly took on meaning. Issy was learning loads and she took over £1k in 90 days!!! … at 10 years old! I saw how she grew in confidence as she succeeded at something and built her self-belief. The lessons are endless and ongoing. While building her resilience and confidence Issy has flourished.”
Many are feeling frustrations and challenges of navigating a traditional curriculum in non-traditional circumstances and this is breeding stress and unrest – BizKidz is helping to channel children’s interests and talent through teaching them the processes of turning their passion into pounds. Parents have the support of Cheryl’s step-by-step lessons on how to start a business, so they are not expected to teach their kids. With a blended learning approach, most learning styles are covered including short videos, written lessons, workbooks and live interactive calls and the children are encouraged to work together on tasks, to build that collaboration element too. An app and website provide access to weekly short video lessons and written workbooks which is further supported by a kids community space for help and support from each other, and Biz Mentor Cheryl. Alongside this also sits a parent’s community in Facebook for extra communication support and updates on their children’s progress.
Since launching, BizKidz and Teenpreneur Academies those who have taken part have launched a huge variety of businesses from entrepreneurs as young as 7, including; Crazy Daisy Lip Glosses, Morgan’s Hand Crafted Cards, Fizz Fantastic Bath Bombs, 3D Printings … and loads more! Some sold their products online as early as week 7 of the BizKidz Academy programme and one BizKid Morgan made £400 before the end of the course.
Cheryl said: “It has been an absolute joy to see them all flourish. I feel passionately that this kind of education is invaluable. I want kids to know that starting a business is achievable for them and could also be a viable path for their future.”
“If I have learnt anything from this process it is that mindset really matters, for us as adults but also for our kids. Learning to become self aware, control our thoughts and ultimately our feelings as we stretch our comfort zone to try new things. This all takes practice but achieves so many amazing results – imagine if we’d been taught all of this at school!
“When I think back to where I was in March 2020 when we locked down for the first time, I was home with two kids, suddenly sharing work space between four of us and my three businesses were closed! I could have focused on what I didn’t have, but instead, I chose to focus on the positives of a new income stream that I’d just generated in online ballet classes. I focused on this new opportunity with BizKidz, and this whole new world of online business opened up to me, and the potential is huge!
“I’ll be launching some new offers to my BizKidz Academy which will include a low cost BizKidz membership for kids to keep in touch and continue to have a support network around their interest in learning business. I’m also creating an online BizKidz course option, without the live and interactive element, for those who prefer to learn this way.”
“I’m focusing on my plans for 2021, I’d like to impact as many young lives as possible, opening their eyes to the opportunities that life offers them in the business world!
For more information or to book on the next course see www.bizkidz.co.uk
Cheryl’s socials are and attached are some images of her and daughter Issy…
