Two Birmingham entrepreneurs are helping other enterprises switch to selling and delivering their services online in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Christina Jones and Steph Middleton-Foster each run successful businesses on the internet and have pooled their resources together to help other businesses pivot and grow some of their web-based services through their new programme SHiFT 30.
Christina is the founder and CEO of digital marketing business Blacktype Digital and Steph is the founder and CEO of virtual assistant business Outhouse-UK. Both have been part of the NatWest Accelerator based at Brindley Place, Birmingham.
Blacktype Digital is a Facebook Marketing Partner with a wide client base in the sports and outdoor event industry.
Christina said: “In early March it was clear that things were changing as the impact of the outbreak began to hit and service industries are naturally one of the first areas that are affected when people are being advised not to go out. Steph and I have been talking about working together for a while as our core business skill sets compliment each other so well.”
She added: “We launched our first product this month, an online training program to help expert led service businesses sell online, deliver their services online and scale up. We know that the situation with Covid-19 is forcing many businesses to examine what they are doing and look at what new opportunities may be available to them.
“Steph and I believe that there is huge opportunity to not just survive but thrive during this period and we want to help as many businesses as we can through the process. We know it can be quite a daunting thing for a business owner who has previously worked predominantly in a physical/face to face capacity and one of our core objectives is to remove some of the overwhelm associated with this and offer practical support at a time when people really need it ”
Steph is in contact with Government ministers about SHiFT 30 and the services being provided.
Christina said: “The only way we launch a new product so quickly is by working together and there is no way I could have done this without collaborating with Steph.
“The collaboration, focus on resilience and mindset has been really powerful in terms of what I have gotten out of the NatWest Accelerator and they are absolutely central to what I am working on with Steph.”
Pam Sheemar, Entrepreneur Development Manager at NatWest, said: “It’s fantastic that Christina and Steph are working together to support other businesses through SHiFT 30. For some businesses, Covid-19 is forcing the owners to make different business decisions with many looking at their online offering.
“If you don’t know what your options are, ask people like Christina and Steph or another business mentor who may be able to help you realise your new vision for your business during this time.”
