Paving the way to success: April Rose’s Road to running a business

I’m still in the early stages of running my business, April Rose Marketing, and I have a few clients now which is exciting. I create websites and social media content for small businesses. My focus is to give startups back the time they would have spent on marketing their product and instead, allow them to use that valuable time to work on their product or service.

By the end of the year, I hope to make April Rose Marketing my full-time focus, stepping away from my part time job and fully support myself through my business. I’d love to reach a point where I could employ other students and marketers. Eventually, I’d love to be able to pick and choose my own work and travel with it too.

Ulster University’s Enterprise Placement Year (EPY) is a year-long placement aimed at anyone interested or starting their own business. I applied for a couple of placement opportunities with other marketing agencies, but they were so competitive, and I struggled to secure a role that I was genuinely passionate about.

During a lecture in second year, a former EPY student visited our class and gave a presentation on their experience of EPY. This really caught my interest, and I booked a call with Jackie Smyth, the Ulster University Employability and Enterprise Consultant, where she talked me through the EPY application process. The more I learned about the programme and the fact I could use this opportunity to work for myself and choose my own hours, the more EPY felt right for me. I worked on small social media jobs in a previous retail role and for friends’ businesses, but I had no idea I would be able to start my own business at this age.

Freelance working is exciting, but it can also be a bit daunting as you don’t have the security of regular income to rely on. Sometimes I miss having a manager to guide you and set tasks to complete, but I also really appreciate the sense of freedom that comes with being your own boss.

My newest project involves managing social media platforms for a sustainable flower farm and showcasing the benefits of growing seasonal produce over importing. This is a completely new area for me, and I’ll have to do a lot of my own research, but I am very grateful for the trust placed in me to lead this project take and bring my own creativity to their social media presence. By doing that, I’m giving them back valuable time to focus on their core business.

Since setting up my business, I’ve discovered that working with local businesses is so much more rewarding. In my experience, they’re more willing to share your work and suggest other ways to collaborate and often recommend me to friends which helps grow my client base. While local businesses tend to have smaller budgets and can be harder to, the impact of my work on their business makes it worthwhile and I want to do everything I can to help other small businesses succeed.

At the minute, my favourite job is making social media content for a local artist because everything is so colourful and fun to look at - their videos are creative too! On my business page, I'm focusing on posting examples of my work and little tips and tricks for business owners to build a following of people who might benefit from what I offer.

In just a few months of working on EPY and launching my business, I feel my confidence and professionalism have skyrocketed. I have no problem walking into a networking lunch full of professional marketers or business owners as I’ve seen now how much I can learn from those who genuinely want you to succeed – they’re all on your side. I’ve also learned important skills like doing my own tax return and the legal side to starting a business.

One of my biggest areas of growth so far from EPY has been my pitching skills. Before the course, I would’ve cringed at the idea of standing up in front of a room and talking about myself. Now I see it as a great opportunity to get other people involved in what I do and talk about ways to collaborate. I’ve met new connections and clients through talking to people I wouldn’t have expected. This experience has also taught me the importance of time management. Being self-employed means there is no one setting the deadlines for you - you need to want to get up and do it for yourself. It’s a challenge but it’s also empowering!

My biggest challenge so far has been tackling imposter syndrome. It was scary starting my own business as I didn’t know anyone else my age doing the same and I was worried that I would be asked lots of questions I didn’t know the answers to. But that has been the best part of EPY! Everyone’s in the same situation and it’s really inspiring to connect and spend time with other students on a similar path.

This experience has been the most exciting opportunity, and I believe I am learning so much more than I would have in a traditional placement. Getting hands-on experience makes you feel like all your hard work is paying off and I would encourage anyone who is considering EPY to book a call with one of the mentors and talk about your idea.